Chapter 3541 Watching with eager eyes
Nan Yan said, "Didn't the Emperor say before that he had to be beaten into submission?"
Zhu Feng smiled faintly and said, "These two sentences are not contradictory."
“…”
"To subdue the enemy, one doesn't necessarily have to shed rivers of blood. Sometimes, war is about winning hearts and minds, about winning morale. By suppressing their hearts and destroying their morale, the enemy will submit."
Nan Yan didn't say anything when she heard this, but just stood there thinking silently for a while.
Her eyes were as bright and clear as the flickering candlelight on the table next to her, and something was flickering in them.
After a while, she said, "If that's the case, then everything is logical, isn't it?"
“…”
"What on earth is the Emperor waiting for?"
Zhu Feng sighed impatiently and said, "Why are you so impatient all the time? If I had a daughter, she would be just like you. She hasn't learned a bit of my calmness."
Nan Yan gave him a deadly look.
Zhu Feng couldn't help laughing, stretched out his hand to push her, and said, "Okay, it's getting late, you should go back and rest early."
Nan Yan said she came to make tea for him, but in fact she just wanted to keep him company and help him solve any problems. However, she didn't expect Zhu Feng to send her away after a while. She couldn't help but complain, "The emperor really uses people in front of him but not behind him. He sent me away after we finished drinking tea."
Zhu Feng was so angry at her words that he gritted his teeth and said, "Do you want me to strangle you to death?"
Nan Yan couldn't help laughing herself. As she walked out, she deliberately turned back and asked, "Your Majesty, do you really not want me to stay with you?"
“Get out, get out, get out!”
Zhu Feng waved his hands impatiently, and Nan Yan then walked out of the study with a smile.
It wasn't until she left the study that Zhu Feng snorted softly and said to himself, "You're so carefree now, but you'll have to worry about me in the future."
After saying that, he called out again, and Xiao Shunzi immediately walked in from outside.
Zhu Feng asked, "Has there been any news from the capital recently?"
Xiao Shunzi said respectfully, "It's the batch of memorials that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent over three days ago. There are no others."
Zhu Feng frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. He just waved his hand and Xiao Shunzi left.
Thousands of miles away, in the Yue Kingdom's palace in Daluo City, under the same flickering candlelight, the eyes of Li Wushang, the new king of Yue, revealed a different emotion.
Deep and sinister.
On his left hand side was a pile of documents, which were the reports handed to him by the Ministry of Information on the words and deeds of all officials.
Siwentai was an administrative agency of the inner court that he quickly established after he ascended the throne. Although the name was different, it was a department modeled after the Jinyiwei, specifically responsible for gathering information and executing secret missions issued by the monarch. When necessary, it would also cooperate with the military in combat.
He spent more than ten years planning his return to the throne, but after all, he had been away from Yue for fifteen years. Even though he bribed Chen Wenxiao and eliminated the two ministers Chen Biri and Xiahou Jiu, his foundation in the country was still not deep enough. Although after Li Wuyu's death, he succeeded to the throne as the only successor of the Li family, some powerful ministers in the court did not agree with this former prince who suddenly emerged. They were eyeing his throne and were ready to rush in at any time to share his power.
Therefore, the first thing Li Wushang did after ascending the throne was to use some of his Jinyiwei confidants he brought back to select talents and set up the Siwentai.
The current job of these people is to investigate the words and deeds of officials. Once they find that they are forming cliques for personal gain and are detrimental to the new monarch, they will report it immediately. What to do next is just a matter of a word from the monarch.
Within a dozen days of ascending the throne, Li Wushang had killed five officials of the third rank and above, causing panic in the court.
However, he also knew in his heart that killing people would not settle the situation.
His lack of prestige and shallow foundation are the key to the instability of his throne. So at this time, he needs a victory, or a major event as a symbol to establish his prestige as a monarch.
This war with Yan State is the path he must take.
But--
Thinking of this, his gaze turned to the pile of letters on his right.
These were the recent letters demanding grain from Chen Wenxiao, whom he had sent to Doubei Town to take charge of the overall situation. They were previously sent to the quartermaster's desk, but three days ago, they were directly delivered to him through the news desk.
Chen Wenxiao was really anxious.
War is about fighting for food. Although Chen Wenxiao had mentioned to his secret contacts before Li Wushang returned to Yue that there was a shortage of food near Doubei Town, it was not until he returned and ascended the throne and took charge of power that he discovered that there was a shortage of food not only in Doubei Town, but in the entire Yue Kingdom.
Originally, the agreement between Zhu Feng and Xiahou Jiu fifteen years ago, in which Yue State exchanged raw silk for Yan State's grain every year, had ensured a surplus of grain in Yue State. However, it was precisely because of this surplus that people in the country became increasingly dismissive of the food issue, and extravagance and waste became the norm. After Li Wushang ascended the throne, it was discovered that Li Wuyu usually ate more than 130 dishes in one meal at court, and even when he was on tour, the expenses on the road were extremely wasteful.
But because Yan State had been sending food to them continuously before, they were able to make ends meet and were not afraid at all.
But this year, after the lean months, Zhu Feng came to Yongzhou, and Xiahou Jiu also declared war on Yan State under his own design. As a result, Yan State immediately cut off the route for transporting grain. After the most grain-consuming months, no new grain was replenished, resulting in a situation of deficit.
But the people of Yue State did not have such a sense of crisis and they were still wasting food. When Li Wushang realized that something was wrong and ordered an inspection of granaries throughout the country, he found that the remaining grain was less than 150,000 shi.
This is not even as much as the amount of grain stored in a state in Yan State.
If this goes on, there is no need to talk about victory or defeat, they will not be able to sustain this battle.
But why is this happening?
On the night when he confronted Zhu Feng, he suddenly realized that he had been hiding himself very well for the past ten years, but it turned out that he had been like an ant being played with in someone's palm.
And now, for some reason, he suddenly felt this way again.
It seemed as if there was an invisible hand controlling him and playing with the entire Kingdom of Yue.
Thinking of this, Li Wushang's expression became even gloomier.
At this time, Wu Demeng, the steward of the quartermaster's office, came in from outside and said softly, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Li Wushang had been waiting for him. Seeing him coming, he said without further ado, "Transport all 150,000 dan of grain currently stored in the country's 32 granaries to Doubei Town."
"ah?"
Wu Demeng was startled and was about to say something when Li Wushang's face darkened. He continued, "Tomorrow morning, summon all civil and military officials and follow me to Doubei Town!"
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