Chapter 690, Shengping County Lord
Daohua, who was far away in Ningmen Mansion, was unaware of the changes in the capital. However, when she learned from Yan Shouhou that they had to hand over military rations again, she was stunned for a moment. After asking the reason, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
The opportunity she had been waiting for finally arrived!
Daohua found Gu Jian and said, "Master, the imperial court is going to collect grain again!"
Gu Jian learned from Dongli the day before that the military rations had been burned. He cursed the Eighth King in his heart, and at the same time lamented that it was not easy for Xiaowu to be the emperor.
Seeing that her master remained silent, Daohua had no choice but to walk up to him and say, "The people have already handed over their grain once. If you collect more, their lives will be difficult."
Gu Jian sighed: "What can we do? We can't let the soldiers fight on an empty stomach."
Rice Flower blinked her eyes and said, "Master, I have food."
Gu Jian quickly raised his eyes to look at his apprentice. Seeing his apprentice's eyes wide open, the words "I am a wealthy grain farmer" were almost engraved on his forehead. The corners of his mouth twitched: "So?"
Daohua: "So, if I donate grain, will the emperor reward me?"
Gu Jian asked with a stern face, "What do you want?"
Daohua hesitated for a moment, "For example, could you award me the title of county lady or something like that?"
Gu Jian was speechless: "You are actually arguing with the county lady."
Daohua: "There's nothing I can do. Xiao Yeyang is the son of a prince. If my status is too low, what will I do if I get bullied in the future?"
Gu Jian glared: "Who dares to bully you?"
Daohua: "Xiao Yeyang, or perhaps other people in the capital, if I were just the daughter of a prefect, they would definitely be angry with me."
Gu Jian retorted: "How dare that kid Ye Yang bully you?"
Daohua curled her lips and said, "Not now, but what about the future? Who can tell what will happen in the future?"
Gu Jian was silent for a moment: "How much can you donate?"
Daohua stretched out her hand and made the sign '1'.
Considering the amount of medicinal herbs donated by his apprentice last time, Gu Jian's heart couldn't help but tremble when he looked at the index finger extended by his apprentice.
Dongli and Caiju, who were serving nearby, were also sensible enough not to speak this time.
Daohua: "One million dan of grain in exchange for a county lady, Your Majesty, isn't that a loss?"
When they heard Daohua really say that she would donate 1 million shi of grain, Gu Jian and Dongli Caiju turned their heads away at the same time.
Gu Jian exhaled, then turned back to look at Daohua: "You prepare the food, I will write a letter to the emperor myself."
Daohua's face lit up with joy: "Then I will wait for Master's good news."
Capital city.
Although every family actively donated food, the food needed for hundreds of thousands of troops was not a small amount. Moreover, the food of many families needed to be transported from various places, which took a lot of time on the road. The border guards could not wait that long.
Just when the emperor was worried about this, Gu Jian's letter arrived.
After reading the letter, the emperor sat on the dragon throne and let out a long sigh. After a while, he asked Eunuch An to prepare a blank imperial edict.
Eunuch An stood by and ground ink, watching with his own eyes as the emperor wrote the decree to confer upon Yan Yiyi, the eldest daughter of Yan Zhigao, the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture, the title of county lady, with the title of 'Shengping'.
When he saw this title, a hint of surprise flashed across Eunuch An's eyes.
The title of 'Shengping' was originally intended to be awarded to a princess, but now it's been given to a county lady!!!
He was not surprised that the emperor rewarded the eldest daughter of the Yan family. After all, the eldest daughter of the Yan family had made many contributions.
However, he was still surprised that the title was bestowed upon him personally, and it was such a good title.
After drafting the imperial edict, the emperor summoned Wei Qi and said, "Yan Zhigao, the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture, has donated one million dan of grain. You are to go to Zhongzhou in person and secretly deliver the grain to the northern border. Remember, do not leak the news."
He said with a sneer.
"Now that Lao Ba and the Tatars know that our army is short of food, I will catch them by surprise and take care of them all at once."
1 million shi of grain
Eunuch An and Wei Qi looked at each other, and saw shock in each other's eyes.
One million shi of grain is not a small amount. Is the Yan family too good at farming?
The last time the Yan family donated medicinal materials, the emperor sent people to inquire about the land under the name of the Yan family. To be honest, compared with some aristocratic families, the Yan family really doesn't have much land.
The emperor handed the imperial edict to Wei Qi and said, "Give this to the old man and tell him not to enforce it yet. Once the war in the northern border is over, I will announce it in court."
Peach Blossom Temple.
Wei Qi read the imperial edict to Daohua, who was kneeling on the ground. After reading it, he handed it to Daohua and said with a smile, "Congratulations to the Princess of Shengping County."
Daohua happily took it and read the imperial edict over and over again. When she was sure that she was the Princess of Shengping County, the corners of her mouth curled up.
Wei Qi was anxious to deliver the food, and asked hurriedly, "County Master, do you know where the food is?"
Daohua was still staring at the imperial edict without raising her head: "I'll let the servant take you there."
Yan Shouhou immediately stood up and motioned Wei Qi to follow him.
Wei Qi saw that neither Gu Jian nor Daohua wanted to follow him to take over the grain, and he felt a little sad about their generosity, as this was one million dan of grain.
Soon, Wei Qi escorted the food away.
After rushing as fast as they could, the food was secretly delivered to the military camp in mid-October.
Just when the Eight Kings and the Tatars were still thinking of defeating the Great Xia army by delaying the battle, the Jinling Guards and the army cooperated with each other and launched a fierce attack on them.
At the end of October, Dongqu City, the last city captured by the Eighth King, was recaptured, and the Eighth King fled hurriedly to the Tatar military camp with some of his confidants.
In early November, the Daxia army and the Tatar army engaged in a head-on battle, and the Tatar army was beaten back step by step.
In mid-November, the Tatar army began to retreat.
This time, the Daxia army did not cease fighting after the Tatar army retreated, but pursued the Tatar army straight to the heart of Tatar, where the Tatar royal court was located.
In mid-December, except for a few members of the Tatar royal family who fled to the colder north, most of the Tatar royal family were captured or killed, and the Tatar palace was burned down. From then on, the Tatar royal court ceased to exist.
Pieces of news were passed back to the capital one after another, and officials and common people were all excited when they heard about it.
At the morning court session on December 15th, civil and military officials were much more active than usual, gathering in groups of three or four and discussing in low voices.
"I didn't expect the war in the northern border to end so quickly!"
"Yes, the Emperor previously issued an order to withdraw the grain collection order from all provinces. I thought a truce was coming. Unexpectedly, the Eight Princes were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and the Tatar Imperial Court was gone!"
"I heard someone secretly donated one million dan of grain."
"Who is so rich?"
When the Emperor brought Eunuch An over, he saw the officials talking about it, but he was in a good mood and didn't reprimand them. After listening to the officials' compliments and praise for a while, he said:
"The reason the war in the northern border was able to end so quickly was thanks to the one million dan of grain donated by Yan Zhigao, the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture. With this grain, the soldiers had the strength to charge into battle, quell the rebellion, and drive out the Tatars."
As he said this, he glanced at Eunuch An.
Eunuch An immediately raised the imperial edict he had drafted in advance and began to read it.
The imperial edict had two themes: one was to confer the title of Princess Shengping on the eldest daughter of Yan Zhigao, the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture; the other was to promote Yan Zhigao to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
(End of this chapter)
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