Chapter 236 Zhou Ruyuan, why don't you eat meat porridge?
Was it his imagination, or was it because the room was too dark?
Sun Zhong had other things to do and didn't have time to think for too long.
The Northwest is an extremely barren region; not to mention produce, sometimes even drinking water is a problem.
This welcome banquet was something he had painstakingly prepared. Now Shen Lanxi is saying it's unnecessary; he wonders if she's just being presumptuous?
He initially intended for the soldiers to eat her, but worried that she might seek revenge later. Sun Zhong felt the latter was more likely.
"Tell the kitchen that the ingredients for the welcome banquet should be stored if possible, and cooked if not."
"yes!"
There were also battle reports and the deployment of Turkic troops, all of which were classified in the army, and he was required to retrieve them personally!
"General, she was merely sent by His Majesty to oversee the marriage alliance. Shall we give these things to her?"
Sun Zhong glanced at his deputy, who only knew one side of the story.
"Send it to her. If we don't send it now, we'll have to send it later. Let's just do her a favor!" In any case, the old troops of the Northern Expeditionary Army will follow the Prince of Zhennan. After they leave, these things will still have to be handed over to Shen Lanxi.
There's no need to fall out over these things now. Of course, he still holds back some important battle reports.
Shen Lanxi is a woman, what kind of battle report could she possibly understand!
Sun Zhonggang had the battle report taken away, and his subordinates who had gone to welcome the marriage alliance delegation came over to tell him about what had happened along the way.
"She was accompanied by Wei Dongzhu, the young general of the Wei family army!"
Sun Zhong's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately thought of the battle report he had sent away earlier.
Could those be what Wei Dongzhu wants to see?
"Wasn't Wei Dongzhu dead?"
The lieutenant said, "He's not dead. I don't know why. I only saw him holding the tiger tally of the Wei family army!"
Sun Zhong stared intently for a moment, then his eyes flickered, and he immediately ordered all the battle reports to be sent to Shen Lanxi.
He understood that Shen Lanxi's reliance was Wei Dongzhu!
If Wei Dongzhu was always in the army suppressing the rebellion, then the battle reports from Dongchuan could be explained.
But there was one question he didn't understand: why would Wei Dongzhu, a grown man, push Shen Lanxi, a woman, into the public eye?
Even if he didn't want to reveal his identity, he should have pushed a man into the position. Thinking of Shen Lanxi's face, it makes sense.
Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman!
While eating, Shen Lanxi analyzed the battle situation with her subordinates.
On the left and right sides of the desk hung maps of the Northwest and the territories of the three Turkic tribes, respectively.
“The three tribes previously sent envoys, Abe Hiroshi, to negotiate peace. Over the course of more than two years, there were no fewer than six rounds of negotiations, all of which were conducted by this man named Abe Hiroshi!”
Qian Feng frowned: "Judging from so many attacks, I don't think the three races have any intention of making peace."
Wei Dongzhu's eyes sharpened as he said, "The three races are wolves in sheep's clothing. What they really want is to annex the territory of my Great Zhou. The peace talks are just a way to give them enough time to resupply later!"
"Both the Turks and the Tatars were primarily nomadic, and they chose to raid during times when the water and grass were plentiful." At this time, both warhorses and men could eat and drink their fill and have the strength to fight.
Xiao Fang: "The foreign tribes have already captured nine cities and slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians. Let's just start fighting these beasts!"
Ban Sicao: "What are you talking about? Didn't you hear what that general said? They're about to leave, how can we fight them? What are we going to use to fight them? Do you expect us to fight against three clans?" Don't dream about it.
Shen Lanxi: "We'll rest for a day tomorrow, and we must make sure our people are properly settled within two days!"
Wei Dongzhu understood what this meant: it was not yet time for the hidden troops to reveal themselves, and they could not let the Northern Expeditionary Army discover them.
Shen Lanxi said with a deep look in her eyes, "If I'm not mistaken, Zhou Ruyuan should be arriving in Dongchuan soon."
The group remained silent in response.
"Once he arrives in Dongchuan, he will surely submit a memorial to the imperial court. Now is not the time for us to take the initiative. We should wait until someone else has taken care of the most difficult task for us, and then we can act legitimately!"
The group had heard the words "legitimate" from Shen Lanxi more than once, and they all felt that it was unnecessary.
Is she such a proper and orderly person?
Okay, you're quite proper with your words!
"Everyone, get some rest tonight. I'll take you on patrol tomorrow!"
"yes!"
...
Upon receiving the imperial report, Zhou Ruyuan had no choice but to separate from Bai Qingling ahead of schedule and lead his men to Dongchuan day and night!
When we arrived, the wind was already biting cold, and gusts of frost and snow were blowing in the wind.
He had already caught a glimpse of Dongchuan's coldness!
However, after he actually took over the military camp, even though he was in the tent, he felt the biting cold wind chilling him to the bone!
Why are there so many debts?
Why is there no food?
Why are there so many women in the camp?
If it weren't for the local soldiers guiding him, he would have thought he had entered a sergeant's camp.
Liu Yanhui picked up one of the ledgers from the tall stack and showed it to Zhou Ruyuan.
"Because the imperial court never provided the army with supplies for suppressing the rebellion, and only a bag of grain and a penny of silver were allocated, General Shen had no choice but to borrow money from merchants and local prominent families!"
Zhou Ruyuan did not believe it.
"How could the imperial court not provide provisions? Did you fail to request them from the court?"
Liu Yan raised an eyebrow. The God of War's words reminded him of a line from an ancient book: "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
"Yes, why didn't you want it!" A box next to him was full of replies from the imperial court.
He had a good reason and evidence, and he didn't mind reading it to Zhou Ruyuan.
"Let's not talk about what happened before General Shen was officially appointed. Let's just say that after General Shen was appointed as the Grand General for Suppressing the Rebellion, every two months, the General would order us to draft a document requesting provisions and rations. These were all replies from the imperial court!"
"This letter states that the two rebellious kings of Dongchuan have rebelled and blocked the road, making it impossible for the imperial court to transport supplies. The army tasked with suppressing the rebellion must solve its own food and provisions problem!"
"This letter is almost finished; it also tells the suppression army to handle the situation on their own!"
"This letter does explain that the army should collect grain from the local area, but after the people of Dongchuan have paid their taxes, they have no extra money or grain left in their homes."
"And this one..."
Each one bears the imperial seal; it cannot be faked!
Zhou Ruyuan's mind went blank for a moment, then he asked, "If the imperial court doesn't provide supplies, how does the army quell the rebellion manage?"
It's less about solving a problem and more about how to survive.
Liu Yanhui had already prepared a response, and pulled out another account book from the bottom.
"Didn't I say before? It was all borrowed from the general, wealthy merchants, and local prominent families!"
Zhou Ruyuan's eyes sharpened, and he immediately asked, "How come so many people are willing to lend money?" He knew those wealthy merchants and aristocratic families all too well; getting them to contribute money and grain was harder than climbing to heaven.
Liu Yan smiled and said, "Our general has adopted more than a hundred sons and daughters, as well as sworn brothers and sisters. These people are all descendants of wealthy merchants and aristocratic families. With this kinship, they are naturally willing to lend them money."
Zhou Ruyuan remained silent for a long time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
