Chapter 79: Food Team
Ouyang Xiu looked anxious.
Lu Sen turned around and asked, "What happened?"
"The large amount of grain transported from Shu in the west is stuck in Jinling and cannot be moved." Ouyang Xiu said anxiously: "If that batch of grain cannot be transported, the remaining grain in Hangzhou will not last long."
Because a large number of ships gathered in Hangzhou Bay, and they had to carry a lot of food for long voyages.
Therefore... Hangzhou City is actually in a state of semi-food shortage now, and it has been buying food from surrounding cities to barely maintain the balance.
But food in other cities was also limited, and the amount of food available was becoming less and less, and more and more expensive, so Ouyang Xiu used his power to urgently transfer a large amount of old grain from the government warehouses in Shu in the west.
As long as this batch of grain arrives in Hangzhou, it will definitely alleviate the city’s increasing food shortage.
But the problem was that this grain team arrived in Jinling by water and was about to be transported to Hangzhou, but they got stuck.
It wasn't because of any robbers, but because of the weather.
It was almost spring and the weather should have been slowly warming up, but suddenly, the temperature dropped drastically. It happened that more than 30 grain ships stopped for the night. When they got up the next day, they saw thin ice on both sides of the river, which trapped more than 30 grain ships on the shore.
The grain transport officer acted decisively, recruited people to cut ice, and barely managed to travel more than 20 miles by water. However, the weather was getting colder and colder, and the snow was still heavy. In less than three days, the river was completely frozen, and the grain team was stuck in the middle of the river a hundred miles away from the canal.
There is no village in front and no city behind.
If this batch of grain cannot arrive in Hangzhou in a short period of time, even if grain can be transferred from other places, it will not be in time, and the grain price in the whole city will definitely soar.
Causing a rapid rise in prices is just a small matter; the biggest concern is that there will not be enough food and people will starve to death.
Ouyang Xiu thought about it over and over again but could not come up with a solution, so he could only go to Lu Sen to see if this living immortal with great magical powers could have any way to solve the problem.
Lu Sen frowned and asked, "How much food is there in that batch?"
"Two hundred thousand koku."
"A lot." Lu Sen couldn't help but say.
"If even Master Lu can't do anything, Hangzhou will be starving." Ouyang Xiu looked sad. "This is my fault. I didn't take the climate into consideration. I have urgently sent people to the neighboring cities to buy food. It doesn't matter if it's more expensive, but it's just a drop in the bucket and can't meet the consumption of Hangzhou. I will apologize to the court later, but the people of Hangzhou should not be implicated by my mistake. If Master Lu has magic to solve this problem, please show mercy and save the people."
After saying this, Ouyang Xiu bowed and saluted.
Ouyang Xiu took all the blame on himself, but if you really look into it, this matter actually had something to do with Lu Sen.
If he had not secretly promoted the "Spice Islands" plan, there would not have been so many ships docking in Hangzhou City that there would not have been enough food to sell.
In fact, Lu Sen had a way to solve the problem. He thought of asking someone to bring a cargo box over, the kind he made using the system, which could hold a lot of things.
But there is a limit on the number of storage boxes. Now, just like buckets, you can only make two and keep one at home.
The other one was given to Yang Jinhua to carry, as it contained their luggage. Otherwise, it would be very inconvenient for four people to carry a lot of things for their long journey. How could they set off on the journey as simply as they did, without taking anything with them?
The storage boxes created by the system have not only restrictions on the number of slots, but also weight restrictions.
Twenty grids, and... the entire storage box can carry a maximum of ten thousand stones of supplies, which is far from two hundred thousand stones.
Therefore, it was impossible to ask people to rush over and bring back food in a storage box.
I can only go there myself and use the system backpack's non-metering feature to transport the food to Hangzhou.
Lu Sen pondered for a while and said, "Then I will go there myself, but I don't know how to get to Jinling. Please ask Councillor Ouyang to send two or three people to go with me and contact the grain transport team. Otherwise, they probably won't trust me and won't give me the grain."
If two hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder were to be taken away by someone, the officials in charge of the transportation would be beheaded, so they dared not give it to anyone casually.
"That's easy. I already have a candidate." Ouyang Xiu heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Lu Sen was willing to go. "I've also prepared the horses. They're waiting at the west entrance of the city."
"In that case, let's set off immediately without further delay." Lu Sen turned his head and said to Zhao Zonghua, "Brother, go inform your sister Lian and explain the matter to her. Let them wait in the yard for me to come back."
Zhao Zonghua clasped his hands together and said, "I understand, brother-in-law."
Then Lu Sen followed Ouyang Xiu back to the city, got on the carriage directly, and drove quickly to the west gate of the city.
At the west gate of the city, a large number of people were queuing up to enter and exit Hangzhou City. It was quite lively. Next to it, four men were waiting on horseback, with a white horse tied next to them.
Lu Sen jumped off the carriage, followed Ouyang Xiu, and then saw an acquaintance.
Ouyang Chun, with a big beard, purple beard and green eyes.
The other three were dressed as officers and soldiers.
Seeing Lu Sen and Ouyang Xiu, the four men immediately dismounted, bowed, clasped their fists, and said, "Your humble servants pay their respects to the Minister of State and Master Lu."
At the same time, Ouyang Chun smiled at Lu Sen.
After all, the two were friends in Hangzhou a year ago, and Ouyang Chun was quite happy to see Lu Sen again.
"You escort Master Lu to Jinling to meet the grain transport team." Ouyang Xiu handed a token and a letter to Ouyang Chun: "Give this token to the grain transport officer, and he will control it and make it easier for Master Lu to act."
Ouyang Chun clasped his fists and said solemnly, "I will protect Master Lu till my death. Please rest assured, Councillor."
"Go ahead, don't waste any more time."
An official nearby immediately brought the white horse over and said flatteringly, "Master Lu, this white horse is a rare good horse. It has a gentle temperament and runs very fast. It is suitable for you to ride."
"sorry to bother you."
Lu Sen climbed onto the horse, looking quite competent.
There was no way out. After marrying Yang Jinhua, every time he brought her back to his parents' home, she would always take him to ride the Yang family's warhorse.
After a few times, he knew how to ride, but it was limited to normal riding. He was definitely not able to do anything advanced like equestrianism or horseback archery.
After mounting his horse, Lu Sen clasped his fists towards Ouyang Canzheng as a farewell, and then, along with the other four people, galloped out of the city through the emergency horse trail entrance at the city gate.
The horses galloped, and the cold wind blew in their faces. The further north they went, the colder the temperature became.
Ouyang Chun rode his horse parallel to Lu Sen and said with a smile: "Lu Xiaolang, it's been a long time since we last met. I would like to thank you for the jade bee nectar. It not only saved my life, but also the lives of my children. In the future, if you have any mission, I will never refuse."
Lu Sen held the reins with both hands, turned his head to look at Ouyang Chun, and asked, "Did you guess that I was the one who gave away the bottle of jade honey at the martial arts conference?"
"The whole martial arts world knows about it." Ouyang Chun laughed: "The bounty you asked the Five Rats to issue has now spread throughout the martial arts world. Anyone who is not a fool can guess what's going on."
The three officers in front had been listening to the conversation between Lu Sen and Ouyang Chun in the back. They were somewhat envious of Ouyang Chun for being able to establish a relationship with Master Lu, a true immortal.
Lu Sen’s reputation in Hangzhou City is extremely high now. After all, the huge treasure ship of Zheng He is still anchored in Hangzhou Bay.
Almost everyone in the city took time out to visit the shore.
I have to say that Ouyang Chun is a very interesting person. Like Zhan Zhao, he doesn't care much about Lu Sen's identity.
When he saw Lu Sen, he still called him Lu Xiaolang.
Lu Sen rode closer and asked, "Does Alliance Leader Ouyang know about Penglai in the East China Sea?"
"That's not really clear." Ouyang Chun shook his head: "We in Juyi Tower have always been active only on land. We don't have enough reach over the East China Sea."
What a pity... Lu Sen originally wanted to make use of the power of Juyi Tower.
After that, Lu Sen kept chatting with Ouyang Chun about the things in the martial arts world. Soon, the three officers in front also joined in. They found that although Lu Sen was extremely famous and had an intimidating status, his words and deeds revealed a sense of casualness.
He doesn't seem like a big shot, but more like a close neighbor or friend.
So the four of them rode fast on horseback during the day, rested and fed the horses when they were tired, and stayed in an inn when it got dark.
Three days later, they finally entered Jinling and immediately found the grain transport fleet stuck in the river.
After arriving in Jinling, we encountered heavy snow. The official road became extremely difficult to travel on. The road was covered with snow. Once the horse's hooves stepped on it, they would sink deeply into it and it would take a while to get out.
"No, we have to dismount. If we continue walking, the horses will probably get stuck here and their hooves will get frostbitten." Ouyang Chun stood on a high place, looking at the river ahead and the more than 30 grain ships parked in the river. He said, "Besides, this place is not far from the river. Master Lu and I will go over there, and the three of can take the horses back to the nearest post station and wait for us to come back."
Lu Sen followed his instructions and got off his horse and landed on the ground.
Ouyang Chun's martial arts skills were very good. When he touched the tip of his toes on the snow, his toes did not sink into it. Only a faint shoe print was left on the snow. This was not scientific at all.
Lu Sen took one step at a time, and each of his shoes would sink completely into the snow. But after he pulled his feet out, no snow would stick to his clothes and shoes, making them look extremely clean.
This is the special function of the 'skin system'.
Unlike the other three officers, when they stepped into the snow and stood up, their clothes and shoe uppers were covered with a layer of snowflakes. Some snow flakes also seeped into their shoes, where they were soon melted by their body temperature and gradually soaked their shoes.
Very cold.
Seeing Lu Sen like this, Ouyang Chun couldn't help but exclaimed: "Is this the cultivator's immunity to cold and heat? It's really amazing."
Then Ouyang Chun looked at the three officials who were shivering in the cold and said, "You three should go back now. You are not prepared to walk on the snowy road. If you continue walking, your legs will definitely be frozen."
"good."
The three of them clasped their fists in gratitude and replied.
There was no way. They were in a hurry to get out and were wearing normal cold-proof cloth shoes, not the kind of long boots specially designed for walking in the snow.
Ouyang Chun and Lu Sen continued to move forward.
Although Lu Sen was not stuck by the snow, there was a deep pit with every step he took. The snow was up to his knees, making it quite uncomfortable to walk.
Ouyang Chun felt comfortable. He used his internal energy to stand on the snow and walk slowly.
The two walked for a long time and finally arrived at the riverside, ready to contact the grain transport team.
Before they even got close, a dozen soldiers with a layer of snow on their heads and shoulders lined up with their guns raised and shouted, "Who are you? This is the imperial grain transport team. Ordinary people should stay ten feet away."
Ouyang Chun immediately took out the token and letter, handed them over, and said, "We came from Hangzhou, under the order of Councillor Ouyang, to help. Please give this token and letter to your superior."
A soldier stepped forward, wiped his hands on his clothes to remove some stains, took the token and letter, and ran back.
The soldier didn't know how the two men could help him, but it was always a good thing to have an order from a high-ranking court official.
Ouyang Chun and Lu Sen stood there waiting, staring at the soldiers opposite them.
As they watched, the soldiers on the opposite side showed horror in their eyes.
Because neither Lu Sen nor Ouyang Chun had a single drop of Edelweiss on them.
From their perspective, Ouyang Chun seemed to have a transparent cover on his body, and the white goose feathers falling from the sky would be bounced aside if they landed half an inch away from his body.
Lu Sen's situation was even weirder. All the falling snow would touch his body and clothes... but would quickly slide to the ground.
It was as if his entire body was covered with an air film that nothing could exert any force on.
The more the soldiers watched, the more shocked they became, and some even began to feel frightened.
At this moment, a young official in green official uniform hurried up from behind.
White mist gushed out of his mouth and nose. He came up and asked with a fist, "Were you sent by Councillor Ouyang? Where are your people? We can't hold on here. All the grain ships are stuck on the ice of the river. In the past ten days, I asked my subordinates to break ice and barely travel a few miles. There is no village in front and no city behind. We can't even force farmers to break ice. If we don't start these grain ships, Hangzhou will be in big trouble in ten days."
"Haven't you read the letter written by Councillor Ouyang?" Lu Sen asked.
"I didn't have time to look." The young official looked at Lu Sen for a while, then at Ouyang Chun, and suddenly found that there was something wrong with the two people in front of him. Neither of them had white feathers on them: "Wait, these two don't seem to be ordinary people!"
"Read the letter first, otherwise it will be difficult to explain." Lu Sen said.
At this time, Ouyang Chun showed a smile.
The young official immediately opened the envelope. His fingers were red from the cold, and his hands were shaking so much that he almost tore the letter paper. After a while, the young official finished reading the contents of the paper.
He looked up in surprise and looked at Lu Sen: "Are you the living immortal Lu Zhenren that is rumored to be here?"
"I'm not a living god, I just know some magic."
"I am Lu Huiqing, a ninth-rank official of the Guardian of Justice. I am also the vanguard of grain transportation. I am preparing to take up the post of county magistrate in Hangzhou. I have met Master Lu and Doctor Ouyang's personal guard."
The young official clasped his hands and bowed.
Lu Sen is a fifth-rank civil servant, and Ouyang Chun is a fourth-rank official. Although neither of them has an actual job, no matter who they are, they can suppress Lu Huiqing in front of them.
Lu Huiqing... Lu Sen looked up and down at the young man in front of him. Later generations had mixed opinions about this man.
It was normal for the other party to have passed the palace examination last year and then be appointed as an official to work in the countryside.
But it was only a little over a year before he was ready to become the magistrate of Hangzhou County and assist Ouyang Xiu, which was enough to prove his ability in administrative affairs.
"No more unnecessary words." Lu Sen walked forward: "Let's collect the food first."
"How do we collect it? Should we carry it away?" Lu Huiqing shouted anxiously, "We can't do that. The grain transport team only has more than 300 people, but there are 200,000 stones of grain and grass. We can't carry it away. Besides, the heavy snow has blocked the road, so it's even more difficult to travel by land. It's absolutely impossible."
Lu Sen ignored him and jumped directly onto the first grain ship on the solid ice. Then he entered the cabin and saw many sacks stacked up, full of grain.
Lu Huiqing caught up with him, panting, and asked anxiously: "Master Lu, what are you going to do..."
Lu Sen stretched out his hand, and the sacks in the cabin turned into golden light and sank into his palm.
In less than ten breaths, the cabin was empty. Without saying a word, he walked out of the cabin, got off the boat, and walked towards the second grain ship.
Ouyang Chun couldn't help but smack his lips: "This is the legendary hidden secret, it's really amazing."
Lu Huiqing looked around at the empty cabin, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, looked around again to confirm, and couldn't help but shouting, "Is there really a magic trick?"
He was sent to the south for training, which was very far away from the capital. Although he had heard rumors about Lu Sen, he always regarded them as nonsense.
After all, when the rumors got here, they became very weird and exaggerated.
For example... Master Lu has a quirk. He likes to drink the bath water of unmarried girls. The more he drinks, the stronger his magic power becomes.
How could there be such a ridiculous master!
