"It's a small harvest. We should go back and celebrate."
The way to celebrate was nothing more than gathering to eat barbecued meat or hotpot.
The guest house had already opened branches in the other three counties, but the people there had just settled down and business was slow. The guest house in Xiangyang District was full. The weather was getting colder by the day, so the guest house launched a hotpot and barbecue series that was very popular.
The people only cared about food, clothing, four dishes, and soup, but Jiang Pengji and the others had to consider more far-reaching things.
For example, how should they conquer Wanzhou next year?
Wanzhou consisted of Fengyi County, Chengde County, and Shangyang County. All four counties of Fengyi County were in Jiang Pengji's hands. The imperial court could not protect itself and had no time to care about the north. The chief of Fengyi County had been rebuked by Jiang Pengji. He did not have the guts to ask her for Fengyi County.
Chengde County was in the hands of the Red Lotus Group, but after the drought in summer, the situation there was also precarious. No matter how good the Red Lotus Group was at brainwashing, they could not stop the increasing number of refugees. The population loss in Fengyi County was extremely serious.
Finally, there was Shangyang County.
Speaking of Shangyang County, Feng Jin had to be mentioned because he was from there.
Shangjing used to be a part of Shangyang County. Before Dongqing established its capital, Shangjing also belonged to Shangyang County. Later, Dongqing moved its capital to Chenzhou, so Shangjing naturally belonged to Shangyang County again.
After experiencing the earthquake last summer, the north suffered heavy losses and was continuously ravaged by the Tsing Yi Army and the Red Lotus Group. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a living hell with starving people everywhere. The roadside was littered with bones and it was unbearable to look at them.
"Chengde County is controlled by the Red Lotus Group. Shangyang County has yet to fall into the hands of any party."
After all, the Feng family was one of the four noble families of Dongqing. Naturally, they had troops. They did not have many people, but there were three to four thousand of them. Their combat power was considerable. Coupled with their local reputation, when the Tsing Yi Army and the Red Lotus Group were plundering and plundering everywhere, the Feng family had already thought of ways to mobilize the people to defend the city.
They had money, food, and resources. The Tsing Yi Army and the Red Lotus Group did not see eye to eye. They held each other back. In the end, none of them had a way to conquer Shangyang County. Now, although the people in Shangyang County were living hard, their situation was much better than the refugees outside.
Yang Si glanced at Feng Jin and said, "Is My Lord planning to attack Shangyang County?"
After he finished speaking, Feng Jin's brows furrowed imperceptibly, as if he disagreed.
Jiang Pengji said, "Let's use peaceful means before resorting to force. We have to take it down eventually."
Peaceful measures before resorting to violence?
This was really strange. Didn't His Majesty like to go to war at the slightest disagreement?
Wei Ci was also in a meeting at the government office. He glanced at Feng Jin. Jiang Pengji was willing to use peaceful means before resorting to force, mostly because she considered Feng Jin's feelings.
Feng Zhen looked at Feng Jin with a faint smile and asked Jiang Pengji, "I wonder if my lord has a suitable candidate in mind?"
Without waiting for Jiang Pengji to speak, Feng Jin stepped forward and said, "Jin is willing to go to Shangyang County."
Jiang Pengji nodded in agreement. There was indeed no one more suitable than Feng Jin for this matter.
If they could take down Shangyang County without fighting, that would be for the best. But if they couldn't get through talking, then they could only resort to violence.
Her goal was Shangyang County, and she was determined to get it.
If they could take down the entire territory of Wanzhou, it would be bordering Hu County, which was connected to Chongzhou. The Liu family's power would be able to help each other.
If they could not take down Shangyang County, it would be equivalent to cutting off a tail. When the time came and they were outflanked, they would be in a passive position.
Feng Jin also knew the importance of this matter, so he had to think of a way to convince his father at home.
Although the county chief of Shangyang County was not a member of the Feng family, he was not far from it. The Feng family's attitude could decide where Shangyang County would go.
The power in the north of Dongqing was being reshuffled again. In the south, Prince Changshou and the Emperor were also embroiled in a fierce battle.
Prince Changshou originally thought that he could use the power of the three tribes of the Northern borderline to completely conquer Chenzhou, but he didn't expect that the Northern borderline, who had promised him, would suddenly stand him up! God knew how long Prince Changshou had been consoling himself before he agreed to the three tribes of the Northern borderline. If they wanted women, cities, grains, gold, and silver, he endured his anger and disgust and agreed, but the three tribes of the Northern borderline stood him up!
I have a sentence, but I don't know if I should say it!
When Prince Changshou received the news that the Northern borderline had stood him up, he almost vomited blood.
There was another matter that worried him even more. They came from Zhangzhou to attack Chenzhou, so along the way, there was a grain team that supplied them with rations.
Prince Changshou had long had the intention to betray them, so he had made ample preparations for the war. But no matter how ample he was, he didn't expect Chenzhou to be able to hold out for a year and a half under the attack of his army! Chenzhou could obtain rations locally, but their army had to transport rations from Zhangzhou.
Unfortunately, there was a drought this summer, and most of the crops had withered.
The grains harvested in autumn were less than 30% of the previous years. The people didn't even have enough for themselves, so how could they pay the heavy grain tax to supply the army?
Therefore, Prince Changshou's army was once again faced with a shortage of rations. The rations supplied by the grain team were getting lesser and lesser.
In the past, the soldiers would split up twice or even thrice a day. Now, they split up once a day, and cooking rice became cooking porridge.
If they still couldn't conquer Chenzhou, Prince Changshou would have to bring his troops and scram back to his fief in Zhangzhou.
When the Emperor recovered and gathered Dongqing's troops to besiege Zhangzhou, it would be the day of Prince Changshou's death.
A group of strategists and generals were frowning. Prince Changshou's temper was getting worse by the day. Everyone was frightened and jittery.
"No, this can't go on …"
Prince Changshou hadn't slept for two days, and he had a pair of dark circles under his eyes.
His hundreds of thousands of lions definitely had no problem in terms of combat power. If Yang Si hadn't tricked him before he left, he would already be sitting on the throne and being called "Long Live the Emperor". Why would he be worrying about rations in the military tent?
Thinking of Yang Si, who was full of lies, Prince Changshou gnashed his teeth in hatred.
At first, he felt guilty towards Yang Si, but later, he realized that this person had caused such a huge trouble for him. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
The people in Chenzhou also discovered Prince Changshou's predicament of a shortage of rations. They were both happy and worried.
Happy?
As long as they held out for a while, Prince Changshou would have no choice but to retreat due to a shortage of rations.
Worried?
Not only was Prince Changshou lacking rations, but there was also a shortage of rations in Chenzhou. Both sides were starving.
Now, it was just a matter of who would give up first.
If the stalemate continued, both sides could still grind it out, but someone had to interfere at this time.
When he heard the news, Prince Changshou was sitting in his tent and throwing a tantrum. A messenger came in from outside and he almost vented his anger on him.
The messenger was chased out. The flattering middle-aged strategist was just about to see Prince Changshou. When he saw the anxious messenger outside the tent, he couldn't help but ask. Then … his eyes lit up as he listened. He was so excited that he couldn't control himself.
"My Lord … my Lord is overjoyed!"
"What's the cause of the joy?" Prince Changshou asked impatiently.
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