"Haha, it's so delicious!"
Su Wan put down the bare skewer in her left hand, puffed out her cheeks, and took a new skewer of grilled meat from Wei Jingzhuo's hand with her right hand.
Each piece of lamb skewer is about the size of a small potato, with a piece of fat sandwiched between two pieces of lean meat. Each skewer weighs half a pound, sizzling with oil. While it's still hot, sprinkle it with cumin, pepper, salt, and other seasonings. It's so delicious it's explosive!
No wonder men love to go out for drinks and barbecue skewers every summer; barbecue skewers are really delicious.
"Ah Wan, don't just eat meat," Wei Jingzhuo picked up a skewer of golden-brown, crispy potato slices from the charcoal fire and sprinkled salt on them with his fingers. "Eat some vegetables and potatoes too."
Su Wan wanted to speak, but her mouth was full of mutton, so she could only roll her eyes at him.
Eat, eat, eat! What vegetables are we eating?!
After eating potato and cabbage stew for a week, she felt like she could eat a whole sheep.
The tribal chief, sitting in front of the campfire, stroked his beard and watched her eat heartily. He nodded with a smile and said, "It's a blessing for young people to be able to eat. Unlike this old man, sigh, even a bite of meat gets stuck in my teeth."
Su Wan smiled at the tribal chief, picked up a skewer of grilled meat, and looked over the people singing and dancing in the field, gazing contentedly into the distance.
Under the night sky, there were fields already planted with potatoes. In about a week, these potatoes would sprout. They would be ready for harvest around the Lunar New Year.
The land of the Western Rong is often used for grazing cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock, and the soil is extremely fertile. The Jin army and the Western Rong army planted a total of 15,000 mu (approximately 1,667 hectares), and even if we calculate an average yield of 4,000 jin (approximately 2,000 kg) per mu, they could harvest 30,000 tons of potatoes.
What does 30,000 tons mean? If each person ate three kilograms of potatoes a day, it could feed the entire army of Youzhou for half a year.
In these six months, another crop of potatoes can be planted, along with other crops.
The problem of military rations has been completely solved.
Now the King of Xirong allows Xirong to trade with Dajin, and every day Xirong people lead herds of cattle and sheep to Youzhou in the south to sell them. In return, they bring back tea, cloth, and various daily necessities produced by Dajin.
This trip to the Western Rong started with some setbacks, but the outcome was truly satisfying.
After eating their fill, she and Wei Jingzhuo went for a walk in the potato field to digest their food.
“Ah Jin, now that the Western Rong and the Great Jin are doing business together, the people of Youzhou can eat more beef and mutton,” she said, taking Wei Jingzhuo’s arm and resting her head on it. “Isn’t that better than your previous plan?”
Wei Jingzhuo nodded and said, "Your decision is indeed good. My maternal grandfather was very happy when he heard about it. Now the Northwest Camp only needs to hold out for another three months. Once the potatoes are ripe, the problem of military rations will no longer be an issue."
"Tell me, am I a good wife? Am I?" Su Wan smiled and rubbed her face against Wei Jingzhuo's arm.
"Not yet."
The answer was somewhat unexpected, and she pouted, saying, "What did you say? It doesn't count?"
Wei Jingzhuo reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, helping her to face him. He looked down at her beautiful face and said, "It's not enough to just help your husband with his affairs outside; you're far from being a good wife."
As he spoke, he lowered his head to kiss her lips.
"Hey, you man," Su Wan laughed, raising her hands to push Wei Jingzhuo's chin, "We were just talking, and you used your mouth."
As the old saying goes, a gentleman uses words, not fists.
"That's utter nonsense, haha," Su Wan laughed as she broke free from Wei Jingzhuo and ran along the paddy field ridge. "Are you taking advantage of me because I don't know anything?"
Wei Jingzhuo chased after him, saying, "A-Wan, if you don't like it, I can change it to physical punishment."
Su Wan ran while laughing, "No, don't come any closer, I'm scared... Help! Someone has bad intentions."
After running a few steps, Wei Jingzhuo caught up with her, scooped her up by her legs, and lifted her up in his arms: "We've walked around enough outside, let's go back to the tent. I don't want to smell the potatoes anymore, I want to smell yours."
Su Wan blushed and punched Wei Jingzhuo in the chest with her fist: "You're so cheeky, comparing me to a potato."
Wei Jingzhuo lowered his eyes, looked at her affectionately, and carried her to the tent not far away.
Su Wan lay obediently in his arms, her eyes tightly closed, feeling her heart beating very fast.
Just as he stepped outside the tent, Lin Qingfeng appeared, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "My lord, cough... um..."
Wei Jingzhuo said without looking up, "I'm busy. Let's talk about it tomorrow morning."
Although he didn't take it seriously, Su Wan felt embarrassed and quickly broke free, stood on the ground to straighten her clothes, and said, "They're looking for you, you should do your business first."
Wei Jingzhuo's face fell, and he turned to Lin Qingfeng, asking, "What is it?"
Lin Qingfeng cursed himself inwardly. What a terrible timing! He'd come just when his lord was in such high spirits, to disturb him. It was truly inappropriate. That his lord could remain calm was already extremely commendable.
However, this news must be conveyed to the lord immediately; there can be no delay.
He swallowed hard and said, "My lord, His Majesty's envoy has arrived at the Northwest Camp."
"Hmm?" Wei Jingzhuo was somewhat surprised and turned to look south. "When did you arrive?"
"He arrived at noon today. It was a palace eunuch carrying His Majesty's edict. The Grand General seemed concerned and sent me to find the Lord immediately. The messenger is waiting at the General's residence now, saying he has an edict to deliver..."
He paused, turned to look at Su Wan, and continued, "Send this to Madam."
Su Wan, upon hearing this, was also somewhat puzzled. She approached the two and asked, "You said there was an imperial decree to deliver to me, you didn't mishear, did you?"
“I can’t be wrong about this,” Lin Qingfeng said to her. “The envoy wants you to go to the General’s Mansion immediately to receive the imperial decree.”
Wei Jingzhuo did not answer, but lowered his head and pondered.
Su Wan grasped his hand and said, "Ah Jin, we've done such a big thing in Xirong, it seems the imperial court knows about it too."
“The King of Xirong has already submitted his letter of state; he will find out sooner or later.” Wei Jingzhuo shook his head slightly. “What I’m puzzled by is that there’s something strange about the fact that he came specifically to issue an imperial edict to you.”
Su Wan thought it was quite normal: "It's probably because the Emperor also found out that I cured the King of Xirong's heart disease."
“No, I can’t let you go back,” Wei Jingzhuo raised his finger and pressed it to his forehead. “I need to think of what to do.”
Lin Qingfeng said, "My lord, His Majesty has sent an envoy with an imperial decree. The envoy is currently waiting at the General's Mansion. If we do not go, it will be considered disobeying the imperial decree, which is a heinous crime."
Su Wan understood the consequences of not going back, and put her hand on Wei Jingzhuo's waist: "It's okay, since the envoy is waiting there, we'll just go back."
Along the way, she knew that someone in the court wanted to get rid of Wei Jingzhuo. This person could be Consort Li, or it could be the Emperor. Now that she had the opportunity to get closer to the truth, there was no reason for her to run away.
After all, you can only escape for a while, not forever; what you have to face will eventually come.
Besides, the Northwest Camp is Wei Jingzhuo's territory, so I believe the other side wouldn't dare to do anything to her.
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