Chapter 519: Current Situation in Sichuan and Shu
In other words, the three to five million taels of silver spent by Daiyu and others are even equivalent to the hundreds of millions spent by the court. The difference between them is naturally not small.
"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner!" Xia Shouzhong said softly to Emperor Longxing in the Dragon Head Palace.
"Clatter!" Emperor Longxing swept the memorials off the table . "Eat! Eat! My people and my army are starving. How can I eat?"
Xia Shouzhong smiled bitterly. Emperor Longxing had been like this most of the time these days, getting furious at the slightest provocation.
"Your Majesty, Tu Huai requests to see you!" an eunuch came in and said in a low voice.
"Xuan!"
A moment later, Tu Huai came hurriedly.
"Your subordinate Tu Huai comes to see Your Majesty!"
"Tell me, what's the matter!" Emperor Longxing rubbed his eyebrows.
"Your Majesty, dozens of shops in the city suddenly started selling rice today! And the price is two taels per stone..."
Swish! Emperor Longxing stood up suddenly. "Really?"
"I have checked and found a total of forty shops in the city, including those belonging to the Jia family, the Xue family, the Wang family of Shangshu, and the Shi family!"
"All shops are open as usual, at noon and closed at dusk. All kinds of rice and grain are available, no limit on quantity!"
"Excellent!" Emperor Longxing laughed and clapped his hands. "They say loyal ministers emerge in times of national crisis. It's truly true!"
"What are the specific circumstances?"
"This... I just received the news and am reporting it. I haven't yet verified anything else. However, it seems the Ministry of Revenue is secretly assisting in this matter. Your Majesty, why don't you summon Lord Lin Ruhai to inquire about it?"
"Issue an order to summon Lin Ruhai to the palace immediately!"
So, Lin Ruhai, who had just returned home after a busy day, was taken to the palace by the eunuchs.
Without waiting for Lin Ruhai to salute, Emperor Longxing asked urgently, "Mr. Lin, are you aware that many shops in the city are selling grain at a fair price?"
"Your Majesty, I understand that this was caused by my daughter and others hearing about this matter. As a result, they raised a large sum of money and bought a lot of grain from all over the country to lower the price of grain in the capital!"
"Oh? Tell me now!"
After listening to Lin Ruhai's story, Emperor Longxing sat in a daze for a long while before he sighed and said, "I have a court full of civil and military officials and a million-strong army, but at a time like this, the women in the harem are risking their lives and property to help. I don't know whether I should be happy or ashamed."
Lin Ruhai immediately said, "Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler. How can the people not support you?"
"Moreover, the wealth and splendor of each prefecture was bestowed by Your Majesty. Now that the imperial court is in trouble, isn't it only natural for each prefecture to help?"
Emperor Longxing nodded in satisfaction. "If all the civil and military officials in the court think the same, then there is no need to worry about the prosperity of the Great Qian Empire. Please tell my daughters that I know about this matter and that I will remember this kindness."
"However, Lin Qing needs to find a solution as soon as possible. After all, they probably won't be able to hold out for much longer! Shenjing has nearly a million people, and the daily expenditure is a terrifying amount. How much silver can they possibly scrape together?"
Lin Ruhai looked at Emperor Longxing and said, "Your Majesty, they have collected five million taels of silver..."
Emperor Longxing opened his mouth and looked at Lin Ruhai in a daze. As an emperor, he had seen hundreds of millions of taels of silver, but he was still stunned that a few little girls could come up with five million taels of silver. He even didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Haha, their family background is richer than mine..." Emperor Longxing laughed dryly.
"However, the money is theirs. After all, they are helping the court. You are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, so you should help them without any reservations. Also, have Wang Ziteng protect their safety for me. I will also give orders to Tu Huai!"
"Your Majesty, that... my daughter and Miss Xue have sent word to Minister Wang explaining this matter, and we've also requested assistance from the city's military. All five city military departments have been mobilized. The streets and alleys near these houses are being patrolled, and there are also secret forces deployed. Even the four city gates are being monitored, fearing that the Cao Gang will become desperate and make unruly moves."
"Uh... Uh..." Emperor Longxing opened his mouth. What kind of wives did his son choose? They were so amazing that even he was surprised.
He smiled awkwardly, "Then Lin Qing, just let us do what we can!"
The maids had already done what they were supposed to do, and yet he, the emperor, had become just another spectator? Baochai? Daiyu? If someone like that were to rule the harem , he wondered what his son's life would be like.
Having a shrewd daughter-in-law... Emperor Longxing has experienced this deeply over the years, and at this moment, he even feels a bit of gloating...
After Lin Ruhai left, Emperor Longxing finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the problem had not been fundamentally solved, at least they had bought the court a lot of time.
"Come here, go to Fengzao Palace. I will have a meal there!"
…
Jia Cong naturally had no idea that his young wives had caused such a big commotion in the capital city of Shenjing!
After relieving the siege of Chengdu, Jia Cong entered the city and met Zhao Xu. Unfortunately, they did not get along well. Jia Cong was too lazy to engage in any clever conversation with Zhao Xu and just said goodbye and left.
However, the remaining troops in the entire Chengdu Prefecture were ruthlessly taken under his command!
After completely stabilizing Chengdu Prefecture, it was almost December. Even in Sichuan and Shu, the weather had turned cold, and the situation in Jiading Prefecture was unclear. Therefore, Jia Cong was not in a hurry to move forward.
However, the army under his command was not idle. Instead, they first captured all the surrounding prefectures and completely brought them under their control.
Taking advantage of the defeat of the southern Xinjiang tribes, Jia Cong's troops marched non-stop to Qiongzhou, Meizhou, Longzhou and other places. Except for Meng Hua's troops fighting a desperate battle with the enemy in Danleng area of Meizhou, the southern Xinjiang troops in other places were not tenacious. They retreated southward after a brief battle.
Obviously, the Southern Xinjiang troops were also well aware that after losing control of Chengdu Prefecture, it would cost a huge price for them to occupy the neighboring prefectures.
Shi Nai, who attacked Daojiang, Guo Wei and Qiu Liang, who attacked Huaian, Shi Si, Shi Ci, Hou Jing, Ma Chuang and others, all led their troops to join Jia Cong.
Daojiang was the former station of the Yongkang Army, and Huaian was the former station of the Huaian Army. In addition, the troops from Southern Xinjiang joined forces with the local tribes, causing great trouble to Shi Nai and others. They suffered heavy losses in the first battle. Fortunately, after a desperate battle, they finally defeated the local enemy and have now returned victorious.
This means that after several months of continuous campaigns, Jia Cong now actually controls all the prefectures north of Yazhou and Jiading around Chengdu Prefecture. Although Jia Cong's subordinates also suffered heavy losses, the successive victories have given the court greater confidence in the battle between Sichuan and Shu.
