Tianliangyuan

Chapter 88 The imperial court is truly powerful!

Xu Zhaozhao was so angry she wanted to hit someone.

She had originally thought that since Jiang Ning was helping the Prince of Zhong, she would secretly support the Second Prince so that when the two of them faced off in the future, they would be evenly matched, and at least Jiang Ning wouldn't be able to succeed so easily.

But to my surprise, this second prince was so stupid that he was beyond redemption!

So how did someone so stupid become the crown prince in his past life?

Was it solely due to his status as the Empress's legitimate son?

Even someone like Jiang Ning knew to stockpile cotton cloth and act separately from the Prince of Zhong. How could this Second Prince be so incredibly stupid? Even at this point, he still wants to stockpile grain. Doesn't he realize that it's too late to join the game?

If he had used his brain, even stockpiling a large amount of firewood would have been better than stockpiling grain!

Moreover, with so many ways to break the deadlock, why choose the stupidest path?

Xu Zhaozhao was speechless with anger.

He's so stupid, I don't know what Jiang Ning saw in him in her past life.

"Never mind him. Such a big commotion, they're afraid His Majesty won't know. Our people are just stockpiling normally. Near the capital, we're only stockpiling some raw materials like cotton or hemp, and also stockpiling more firewood or charcoal."

"Yes, ma'am."

After receiving the items and letter, Xie Zheng immediately consulted with his father.

They are soldiers of the imperial court, stationed in Jizhou, but that doesn't mean they will stay in Jizhou forever.

Moreover, without imperial decree, they were not allowed to leave Jizhou City.

However, they can send people to protect any caravan that enters the territory of Jizhou.

After discussing it, Xie Zheng arranged for his personal guards to lead a hundred men to Jiangnan to meet them, mainly because he was worried that things would not be peaceful along the way after the price of grain rose.

In addition, Xie Zheng suggested that they simply go hunting outside, so that those people would not behave themselves in the winter.

Xie Xiaolin understood what he meant and thought it made sense.

They are far away on the frontier, and it is impossible for them to consult His Majesty on every matter, big or small.

Moreover, this was done to prevent enemy attacks in winter.

Yes, they're taking precautions.

"You will lead a small cavalry force and only engage in surprise attacks. No matter what kind of opponent you encounter, remember not to linger in battle. Fight and run. As for the spoils of war, take what you can bring back, and destroy what you can't. If you capture prisoners, tie them up in strings. Only take men, not women and children."

"clear."

Bringing prisoners back would slow down their journey because women and children would hinder their progress. So they would usually release the women and children and only bring back the young and strong men. Of course, if a boy grew up to their waist, he would also be brought back.

They won't be killed, but they can be kept as slaves.

Moreover, they are enemies, and only by weakening the enemy's strength can their borders be secured.

This is the natural order of survival of the fittest!

Xu Zhaozhao's people who went to Yizhou have returned, and they have gained a lot.

"Miss, they brought back several cartloads of ginger, all packed in sacks."

"Very good. Arrange for them to rest first, and store all the items properly. This item will be of great use."

"Yes, ma'am."

In winter, ginger soup is used to ward off the cold. Especially if refugees arrive in the capital, a bowl of hot ginger soup could save countless lives.

In addition, Ye Nuan also had a large amount of coarse linen woven, similar to burlap sacks, but thicker. When it gets really cold, it can be used directly as a quilt, or it can be set up with a few sticks to make a tent. Although it is not as warm as a house, it can at least keep out the wind and snow.

No matter how much money Xu Zhaozhao had, it wouldn't be enough to cope with natural disasters.

Therefore, the best approach is for the imperial court to prepare in advance.

Xu Han was a military officer, so it was inappropriate for him to handle this matter. Therefore, Xu Zhaozhao turned her attention to her uncle.

Wang Changgeng was a civil official, and a man of integrity among them. His words carried weight, and it was much more effective for him to make suggestions to the court.

How did Zhao Zhao know that this year would be a cold winter?

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head: "To be honest, Uncle, I didn't know anything about these things before. There are many old hands in the Hundred Fruit Garden who have judged that this year will be a cold winter based on their decades of experience. I didn't believe it at first, but later I heard that Prince Zhong and the Second Prince were hoarding a lot of grain, so I couldn't help but have some doubts."

Wang Changgeng frowned; he was aware that grain prices had risen in the market.

"Uncle, I heard that even the second young lady of the Jiang family is hoarding all kinds of cotton cloth, and she claims that the thicker the better. After her people have collected cotton cloth from within a hundred miles, they are not in a hurry to sell it, and they deliberately set the price high, so now the cloth in other cloth shops in the capital is selling well, but the price has also increased."

Upon hearing this, Wang Changgeng became truly serious.

"I will ask some officials in the Imperial Observatory about this matter. Also, you shouldn't believe everything you hear. Have you also stockpiled grain?"

"I've stockpiled some, but not much, and I've mostly stockpiled coarse grains. It's not that I'm afraid of anything else, but the Marquis's mansion still has hundreds of personal guards to support, so we can't really not have enough to eat when the time comes!"

Wang Changgeng laughed loudly: "You silly girl, do you really need to worry about the Marquis's personal guards? You should be enjoying the flowers and the moon in peace. These kinds of mentally and physically exhausting things should be left to your father and brothers."

“What my uncle said is true. My father and brother have been very busy lately, especially with the iron mine matter, which has been handed over to my eldest brother. I haven’t seen him for several days.”

Wang Changgeng nodded, "It's good that my nephew is busy!"

It is Xu Jun'an's good fortune to be favored by the Emperor.

"I will take this matter to heart. Just wait for news."

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle."

Xu Zhaozhao also knew that she couldn't expect her uncle to go to the palace to report immediately after hearing this. After all, without any evidence, how could the emperor believe it?

Fortunately, Wang Changgeng was not the kind of person to be perfunctory. After consulting with some farmers and then inquiring at the Imperial Observatory, he finally decided to report the matter to the Emperor.

At that time, Emperor Yong'an already knew that Prince Zhong and the Second Prince were hoarding large amounts of grain, as if they were competing with each other, wishing they could claim all the grain they saw as their own.

As soon as Wang Changgeng reported this, Emperor Yong'an immediately took it seriously. He summoned the Imperial Observatory for questioning and also called over Gu Dongyang, the Minister of Revenue.

If it really is a harsh winter, then we definitely need to make more preparations.

Once the imperial court takes it seriously, it considers a much wider range of issues.

Detailed regulations were being drafted for everything from food and medicine to prevention and the final resettlement of disaster victims.

The following day, an order was issued to strengthen the buildings, and all prefectures and counties began to get busy.

When Xu Zhaozhao saw many yamen runners in Wannian County promoting the need to reinforce roofs and sharing some knowledge about keeping warm, she knew that the imperial court had already taken action.

Indeed, at any time, the state apparatus is the fastest-running and most powerful.

“Miss, Miss Jiang’s shop can’t get any more cotton cloth. I heard that some weaving workshops have taken deposits, but they can only deliver the goods a month later. However, because there are no raw materials, many weaving workshops dare not take deposits.”