Jeonju?
Gu Yuzhi gently patted his head, and it took him a while to understand before letting out a long "oh".
Although it has been said that Li Ji Trading Company may be colluding with people in Quanzhou, in the year or so since he came here, apart from the first time when the Emperor's brother's reward was robbed and the Quanzhou Prefect sent his yamen runners to help, they have had no contact.
That prefect of Quanzhou never wrote him letters of greeting, let alone sent him any gifts during holidays.
It feels like Quanzhou isn't a prefecture in northern Mongolia.
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head: "Then, did you send anyone to Quanzhou?"
Zhang Yuankai nodded and said, "Yes! But no news has come back yet. Your Highness, when we were in Jinzhou this time, we seemed to hear some rumors about Quanzhou."
Not only Gu Yuzhi, but also Xie Changshi and the others had never heard of this news, and they all looked over when they heard it.
"It seems like the whole prefecture is under lockdown."
Zhang Yuankai overheard this conversation between several merchants.
Quanzhou was the first line of defense for the Sang Dynasty against the Northern Di, and it was home to more than 100,000 troops from the Northern Desert. Quanzhou consumed the most grain among all the prefectures in the entire Northern Desert.
Therefore, grain shops are the easiest to do business in the whole state, and it is these grain shops that are the ones that discover something is wrong.
Their grain consumption is extremely rapid, and they have to go to Jinzhou to buy large quantities of grain almost every month. But this time, it seems that the grain merchants in the whole prefecture have not gone to Jinzhou to buy grain for almost two months.
One of them mentioned the statewide lockdown.
But nobody believed that, because they all thought that there was no epidemic or anything like that in the whole state, so how could there be a lockdown?
Zhang Yuankai overheard it but didn't take it seriously. After all, Xinliang and Quanzhou were so close, they couldn't possibly not know about such a big commotion in Quanzhou!
But upon reflection today, he realized something was amiss.
Indeed, no merchants have been going to Jeonju during this period.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Yuzhi found it extremely unbelievable. He stared wide-eyed for a while, then blinked quickly when his eyes felt dry. "If the entire prefecture is under lockdown, what's the reason? Have the Northern Di invaded?"
He twirled his index finger tightly, his lips pressed together, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
He seemed very scared, but he also felt that if the Northern Di people really came, he would definitely have to go to the battlefield.
Gu Yuzhi instantly recalled the scene of the day he was robbed and killed, and his lips trembled.
His fingers were tightly tangled together, and it took him a while to finally calm down. He stared longingly at Chief Secretary Xie and Guard Qi.
Chief Secretary Xie shook his head slightly: "It shouldn't be. We've lived in Xinliang for so long, and we haven't seen any beacon fires lit."
Huo Qiyuan spoke up at this moment: "If the Northern Barbarians attack, we will not only not seal off the city, but we will also send a military report to the Emperor as soon as possible, and mobilize grain and other supplies to ensure that the front line does not fall into a predicament of food shortage."
Gu Yuzhi's expression softened, and he gently tapped his head, muttering softly, "Mr. Huo taught me before that in war, supplies must be prepared before troops move. How could I forget that!"
He clenched his little fist and secretly vowed to encourage the people in his fiefdom to reclaim more wasteland.
Not only does he need to ensure the food supply for the people of Xinliang, but he also needs to find ways to stockpile more grain so that he can serve as the granary for the entire prefecture in the future!
Gu Yuzhi's eyes darted around as he pondered where would be a suitable place to build the granary.
The others, unaware of Gu Yuzhi's true thoughts, were discussing the situation in Quanzhou.
There must be no epidemic in the whole prefecture, otherwise the prefect of the whole prefecture would not have failed to send someone to ask for help.
It wasn't the Northern Barbarians who invaded, so why was the entire prefecture under lockdown?
Most importantly, how did the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the northern desert region survive during the months of lockdown?
In just a short while, Xie Changshi's face turned completely grim.
When did the inexplicable lockdown of the entire prefecture begin, and who gave the order? What is the current situation of the people and the Northern Army within the prefecture?
If the Northern Barbarians knew that the entire prefecture was under lockdown, would they march south?
Xie Changshi closed his eyes and thought of all the bad things that had happened.
He stepped forward and whispered to Gu Yuzhi the possible consequences of the inexplicable lockdown of Quanzhou. Gu Yuzhi sat up straight, and his previously drowsy mind instantly cleared.
His Xinliang is not yet fully built, and his granaries are not yet full. How can the Northern Di people come over?
Gu Yuzhi frowned and pouted, saying, "Guard Qi, Guard Qi, take my token to Quanzhou. If Quanzhou is really under lockdown, tell the Quanzhou garrison to open the gates and let their prefect..."
He looked at Chief Secretary Xie, and heard Chief Secretary Xie whisper, "Ke Liangyi."
He nodded and continued, "Yes, yes, Prefect Ke. Once the city gates open, have Prefect Ke come to Changzhou to see me."
He snorted twice, raised his head and said, "If the garrison of Xinliang doesn't open the gate, I'll write to my brother and ask him to send reinforcements."
"And that Prefect Ke, if he dares not come to see me, I will..."
He tilted his head and thought for a moment: "I'll write to my elder brother and impeach him."
Prefect Ke didn't even come to pay his respects during the New Year; he might be a bad guy!
Anyway, Chief Secretary Xie said that although princes cannot interfere in local government affairs, in emergencies, a prince's token can command local officials.
That's why Liu Dianyi and the others asked Gu Yuzhi for the token after he woke up, and used the token to order the various prefectures in the northern desert to arrest the remnants of Li Ji Trading Company.
Qi Chenglang and Zhang Yuankai exchanged a glance. Seeing Zhang Yuankai nod subtly, he then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject obeys."
The rest was not of much concern to him as a military general. After receiving the token from Liu Dianyi, Qi Chenglang immediately headed to Quanzhou.
After Qi Chenglang left, Zhang Yuankai continued to report on the next steps. In addition to Changzhou, Dingzhou and Qizhou had also given confirmed news that the remnants of Li Ji Trading Company had been eliminated.
Gu Yuzhi gave an "oh," then sat up cross-legged, propping his chin on his elbow, his whole body seemingly folded up: "What about Qingzhou? Didn't we say the prefect of Qingzhou broke his leg? Has the Emperor been transferred to a new prefecture for Qingzhou? And also, has the governor of Mobei arrived yet?"
He sighed like a little adult: "Sigh, there's so much to do, I actually forgot about two such important things."
So much time has passed, surely Your Majesty has made all the arrangements by now?
Whether it's the prefect of Qingzhou or the governor of Mobei, my elder brother will definitely not let my brother, the Prince of Chu, succeed. In that case, only Quanzhou in Mobei will be out of his control.
However, he cannot rush things.
Xie Changshi said, "Haste makes waste," and Teacher Shu also said, "You can't eat hot tofu if you're in a hurry."
He managed to bring several other prefectures in the northern deserts under his brother's control in just one year. He's already very impressive!
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