Chapter 212 Clearing out the poison sacs, the hungry ones are waiting to be fed...
In the suburbs, soldiers brandished their swords and halberds outside their tents, their heavy armor trembling in the wind and kicking up clouds of dust.
Inside the large tent.
Chen Jue held the budget for the next three months, turning it over and over with a worried expression. Liu Wang sat to her left, staring intently at the ground without saying a word.
"We're out of money again," Chen Jue said dejectedly, tossing the piece of paper aside. "Sigh, I can't find any money no matter how hard I look at it."
Chen Jue was Liu Wang's benefactor. With her support, Liu Wang was put in charge of the army's finances. Of course, she also gave him money, and she even went bankrupt to help Chen Jue support his troops.
But right now, there's really no money in the account.
Raising an army is not like raising cats or dogs; the daily expenditure is frighteningly high. Even though Liu Wang's family was quite wealthy, it has almost drained them dry.
She was deeply troubled, her head bowed. Where could she get some money? If the supply of money and food was insufficient, chaos would surely break out in the army.
If the sword that was once pointed at the court turns into a weapon wielded against one's own people, the situation will be difficult to salvage.
Chen Jue has been experiencing a lot of hair loss lately due to anxiety. She's already a bit older, and the thinning hair makes her look even more haggard.
"Liu Qing, do you have any good ideas?"
Liu Wang really wanted to say, "Yes, there's plenty of grain and money in all the prefectures. As long as Your Highness shows up, I'm sure there will be plenty of speculators betting on her. Wouldn't that generate money?"
However, we cannot openly oppose the imperial court now. Our troops are not yet fully trained; we don't want them to be easily slaughtered.
She could only shake her head and remain silent.
Chen Jue was so poor that she couldn't sleep all night. During the day, she would drool over the wealthy merchants and officials, wishing she could secretly slaughter them and eat them.
However, she wasn't the kind of rough-and-tumble thug who would want to associate with her if she did something like that.
I could only think about it more and more at night, and stare at it helplessly.
Xu Qiushui lifted the curtain and entered, bowing respectfully, "Your Highness."
One of them was a trusted confidant who had followed him through thick and thin for many years, and the other was a trusted confidant whom he had personally promoted. Chen Jue trusted them very much and never avoided discussing important matters with them.
Upon seeing people arrive, he immediately began complaining about money and provisions.
Xu Qiushui had a much broader perspective, but when it came to matters like money and supplies, she was at a loss.
Helpless, they said, "If all else fails, shall we rebel now?" The opportunity had not yet arrived, but the die was cast, and they had no choice but to act.
If they rebelled, they could rightfully take over Yingzhou Prefecture, amass a large amount of grain and supplies, and no longer cower in fear in some remote corner.
However, to achieve great things, from ancient times to the present, one must consider the right timing, the right place, and the right people.
Will launching a northward campaign before the time is ripe result in a miserable and disastrous defeat?
Chen Jue couldn't afford to gamble, but she had no way out.
She finally relented, saying, "There's really no other way; this is the only option."
Just then, the curtain was lifted from the outside, and an unexpected person walked in.
Chen Jue was stunned, then stood up and smiled, "Zhang Qing, it's you. Are you here to report back?" He thought that simply placing a few people would be no problem for someone as intelligent as Zhang Ting, but he never expected her to be so efficient, completing the plan in less than a month.
Just as he was about to praise her decisiveness and resourcefulness, Zhang Ting, holding the bright yellow scroll, shook his head and smiled, saying, "This humble subject has come to deliver provisions to Your Highness."
Chen Jue was completely confused, but when he noticed the imperial edict in her hand, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Did Emperor Chengtai approve funds and grain for Yingzhou Prefecture? How did Zhang Ting persuade her?
She quickly took the imperial edict, opened it, and read it.
Looking up again, the gaze fixed on Zhang Ting was both shocked and strange, as if it were the first time they had ever met her.
Emperor Chengtai wasn't out of his mind to approve grain supplies for Yingzhou Prefecture, but the actual result was pretty much the same for Chen Jue. They could openly and honestly target those wealthy rats without fear of being discovered and purged by the court.
By training and developing troops, and waiting for the right opportunity, they can continue to lie low and accumulate strength.
But there was one thing Chen Jue couldn't understand: "How do you know she will agree?" Emperor Chengtai was getting senile and suspicious as he got older, and it was impossible for him to let his guard down with anyone.
Xu Qiushui and Liu Wang squeezed over, took the imperial edict, and were overjoyed after reading it—this was a golden opportunity!
Zhang Ting smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, I never fight a battle unprepared." As long as she had even a slight intention, there would always be someone pushing Emperor Chengtai to make a decision. Neither the court nor Emperor Chengtai had any reason to refuse her.
Chen Jue burst into laughter, clearly delighted, and his affection for Zhang Ting only grew stronger than before.
I sincerely thank Emperor Chengtai for personally delivering such a talented person with both wisdom and strategy to her!
Chen Jue had never been so confident that his grand plan could succeed as he was at this moment.
"You are truly my savior!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands in admiration. Fortunately, Xiao Yi had kept her beloved minister firmly in check; this grandson was truly worth having.
Zhang Ting smiled calmly, unperturbed by praise or criticism, "Let's begin, Your Highness." His gaze was gentle and docile, yet a chilling light flashed deep within his eyes.
"good!"
That night, the lights in the entire Yingzhou Prefecture were still on as soldiers filed in, searching and arresting people, going to house after house and making arrests wave after wave.
Since there weren't enough yamen runners in the prefectural city, Zhang Ting secretly transferred rebel soldiers to be used, mixing them in and naturally incorporating some of them into the ranks.
For several days and nights in a row, arrests and imprisonments continued, and the prisons were so full they couldn't hold any more.
A few days ago, officials who took a chance and didn't hand over or didn't hand over all their illegal gains were all imprisoned. Zhang Tingcai, with his motto "Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish," showed no mercy to these people, and provided a complete service of confiscating their property.
With most of the people arrested and the warehouse becoming increasingly full, Zhang Ting's mood improved.
Ten minor officials were busy tallying accounts in the treasury, their abacuses practically smoking from the effort. It took her a while to finally arrive at the current amount: 3.18 million taels of silver. Wow! That could feed 100,000 soldiers for three years!
Back then, what was confiscated from Zhangzhou Prefecture totaled no more than a million taels of silver. Yingzhou Prefecture was truly overflowing with gold.
As night fell, Chen Jue excitedly circled around the three large boxes, rarely showing any joy on his face.
"Fortunately, Zhang Qing is exceptionally wise; otherwise, we might still be suffering miserable defeats everywhere."
The onlookers nodded in agreement. They had initially thought that Zhang Ting had risen to power through nepotism and that her reputation was nothing more than money bought. However, they hadn't expected that she was truly capable. Her strategy of using someone else's strength against them was truly admirable!
The scholars, who were initially unfamiliar with her, became much more familiar with her after this incident, not to mention the soldiers in the army. Zhang Ting had earned money and provisions for the soldiers, which was their most important immediate interest, and everyone respected her greatly.
With supplies in place, military training proceeded vigorously. Despite it being winter, the soldiers seemed oblivious to the heat, sweating profusely on the snow, ready for battle.
That day, Zhang Ting discussed matters with Chen Jue in person. After they left the tent, the passing soldiers greeted her with smiles, showing how much they supported and loved her.
"Sir, you've returned."
She walked through the alley as if surrounded by admirers, her face beaming with warmth, returning each compliment to the others.
Soldiers are all insignificant figures, but Zhang Ting blends in with them without any reservations and can even call out everyone's name accurately, which makes her even more famous in the army.
Not only did she gain a firm foothold, but she also won the unanimous praise and love of the soldiers, who supported her in quickly taking control of a corner of the army.
After finishing her business outside, Zhang Ting rushed home, where a big problem awaited her.
After dinner, the mansion was brightly lit in the main hall, especially the study, where nine lamps were lit, making the room as bright as day.
Zhang Ting tied the child to her body, grabbed her hand, and held a pen in her hand, beginning her lesson. No matter how glamorous you are outside, you'll still have a naughty child to deal with you at home.
A tutor was hired to teach the naughty child. At first, she behaved well, but later, seeing that the tutor dared not do anything to her, she became more and more unruly, and in the end, she even angered the tutor and ran away.
Zhang Ting gritted her teeth in anger. "You're always causing trouble, aren't you? Let's see how I deal with you."
"If you don't like those teachers, then let your mother teach you herself." She sneered, loosely grasping the naughty child's hand, and had him write large characters in neat, orderly strokes.
The naughty child couldn't sit still, but was held tightly in her mother's arms; she wanted to pull herself together but didn't dare.
He was listless and let his mother do as she pleased.
Zong Suyi, carrying a plate of cut fruit, hid in a corner, covering his mouth to suppress his laughter. After a long while, he composed himself and walked out again.
"Take a break." He slowly walked over, put down the plate, sat down in front of the mother and daughter, broke off a segment of tangerine and fed it to Zhang Ting, "This is sweet."
"Daddy, my good daddy!" The naughty child grinned, his mouth agape like a little bird eagerly waiting to be fed.
Zong Suyi remained silent, watching her with a smile.
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