novel bin Chapter 140 Hong 7's Worries
Chapter 140 Hong 7's Worries
Upon hearing that they were going to visit the market, Lan Fenghuang immediately became interested.
She loved excitement, and her earlier hesitation was instantly overcome by her curiosity, so she immediately nodded in agreement.
Zhao Yu changed into an ordinary blue robe and quietly slipped out of the palace through a side gate with Lan Fenghuang.
The two walked side by side on Lin'an Street. The street was wide and flat, with shops lining both sides, wine flags fluttering, and vendors' cries rising and falling.
It was the busiest time of the afternoon, with peddlers carrying loads, scholars waving folding fans, and merchants leading horses jostling shoulder to shoulder, creating a scene of prosperity and bustle.
Compared to the imposing grandeur of Beijing, Lin'an possesses a more lively and gentle charm reminiscent of the water towns of southern China.
"They're selling sugar cakes and steamed buns over there, both local specialties of Lin'an," Zhao Yu said, pointing to the food stalls on the street.
He paid for two freshly made sugar cakes and handed one to Lan Fenghuang.
The outer layer of the sugar cake is fried until crispy, while the inside is soft and chewy, coated with sweet brown sugar. One bite and the sweet aroma goes straight to your heart.
Lan Fenghuang took a small bite, her eyes sparkling: "Mmm, delicious, even sweeter than the honey-glazed pastries from the capital. It's just that the people on the street all speak in such a soft voice, it's kind of interesting."
"Now that the Song Dynasty is in a precarious situation in the south, the accent is naturally softer and more melodious."
Zhao Yu said with a smile, leading her forward while slowly explaining the cause and effect.
"Now that I have taken the throne, I cannot stand by and watch the country fall apart and the people suffer. But wars cost money and supplies. Our treasury is empty and the people are poor, so we simply cannot afford to wage war. By chance, I was able to travel between the two worlds, so I thought I would try to get some grain from the Ming Dynasty."
"Yan Song and his gang of corrupt officials are all rolling in money. Their grain is piling up in their homes, getting moldy and rotten, but they refuse to give it to the people. I used the excuse that Zhu Houcong was obsessed with Taoist practices to get them to donate grain to pray for blessings. This way, the people of the Ming Dynasty won't suffer, and we can also raise enough money for the Northern Expedition. It's a win-win situation."
Lan Fenghuang nodded repeatedly as she listened, still holding the fish soup she had just bought, taking small sips.
She mumbled, "So that's how it is. No wonder you went to all that trouble, using witchcraft and pretending to be a ghost. So that's what it was all for. You've certainly put a lot of effort into being an emperor, much more reliable than that old emperor of the Ming Dynasty."
The two ate their way through the street, from Dingsheng cake at one end to pickled fish at the other. Lan Fenghuang was in high spirits, occasionally commenting on the differences between the food and that of the Ming Dynasty, and seemed quite relaxed and content.
Just as they reached the entrance of an alley, a dark figure suddenly darted out from the side, as fast as lightning, and snatched the bag of beggar's chicken that Zhao Yu had just bought from his hand.
He then leaped and landed on the roof of the building next to him.
"Outrageous!" Lan Fenghuang raised her eyebrows and was about to unleash the poison.
Despite her docile demeanor in front of Zhao Yu, she is still the infamous enchantress in the eyes of the martial arts world.
"Hey, don't rush to do it."
Zhao Yu quickly stopped her, looking up at the roof: "Old beggar, when did your Beggars' Clan switch to banditry? Stealing food in broad daylight, aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation?"
On the rooftop, a ragged beggar sat with his legs crossed, holding a greasy lotus leaf chicken in his hands, eating with his mouth full of oil.
It was Hong Qi.
He took a big bite of the chicken leg and mumbled, "Hey, you little rascal, waving around this fragrant beggar's chicken, aren't you deliberately trying to lure this old beggar? You clearly gave it to me willingly, how did I steal it?"
With that, he leaped down and landed in front of the two of them, wiped his greasy mouth, and looked Lan Fenghuang up and down.
Then, Hong Qi winked at Zhao Yu: "Well done, kid. You've only been emperor for a few days and you've already stirred up another young lady. Another day, Lady Lin will come looking for you with her sword to settle the score. This old beggar won't be able to stop her."
"Brother Hong is too kind." Zhao Yu shook his head helplessly and introduced to Lan Fenghuang, "This is Chief Hong of the Beggars' Clan, known in the martial arts world as the Northern Beggar. He has unparalleled martial arts skills, but he is a bit greedy."
He then said to Hong Qi, "This is Lan Fenghuang, the leader of the Five Poisons Sect, and also my confidante."
"The Five Poisons Sect?" Hong Qi raised an eyebrow and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lan Fenghuang.
Lan Fenghuang returned the greeting.
The leader of the Beggars' Sect? The Beggars' Sect had already weakened in the Ming Dynasty, but it was still a rare large sect in the martial arts world.
But I wonder how illustrious the Beggars' Sect was a hundred years ago?
After exchanging greetings, Hong Qi's joking expression vanished, and he said seriously, "I returned from the front lines this time to investigate the source of your supplies. After receiving the supplies you transported to the front lines, Master Wang and I became somewhat worried. We feared that you were too eager for quick success and instant benefits, and that you were imposing exorbitant taxes, forcing the people to starve."
"Fortunately, my Beggars' Sect disciples are all over the world. After searching around, I found that they hadn't taken a single grain of food from the people."
"But that's strange. The old beggar knows the state of the Song Dynasty's treasury perfectly well. Where did these hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain come from out of nowhere? They couldn't have just fallen from the sky, could they?"
Zhao Yu smiled and said, "Brother Hong, rest assured, all the people under heaven are my subjects. How could I do something as foolish as draining the pond to catch all the fish? The origin of the grain is my secret, and I cannot say more for the time being. But Brother Hong can rest assured that this grain is very clean and has not been stained with even a trace of the people's blood and sweat."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Perfect timing, I'll take you to the official granary in the west of the city. After you see it, you'll know that the logistics for this battle are absolutely no problem."
Hong Qi wasn't one to pry, so when he saw that Zhao Yu was unwilling to talk about it, he didn't press the matter further.
They followed Zhao Yu all the way to the official granary in the west of the city.
Hong Qi's eyes lit up when he saw the mountain of grain sacks piled up inside, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Good, good!" Hong Qi slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. "With so much food, the soldiers on the front lines can have enough to eat and fight the Jin people well! Old Beggar will go back to Xiangyang now and tell Master Wang to rest assured that there will be no problem with logistics in preparing for war."
"Thank you for your trouble, Brother Hong," Zhao Yu nodded.
"It's nothing," Hong Qi waved his hand.
However, before leaving, he quietly put his arm around Zhao Yu's shoulder and winked at him, saying, "But kid, you'd better think carefully about how to explain things to Lady Lin."
Zhao Yu laughed and scolded, "Go away, go away. My family affairs are none of your business."
Hong Qi laughed heartily and disappeared into the end of the street after a few leaps.
After Hong Qi left, the granary manager hurriedly stepped forward, holding the account book and bowing respectfully: "Your Majesty, this is the amount of grain we have counted. Please take a look."
Zhao Yu took the ledger, casually flipped through a few pages, but his brows gradually furrowed.
"That's not right," he said in a deep voice. "The numbers are incorrect."
The grain he brought from the Ming Dynasty was a full 100,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
However, the amount recorded in the ledger was only 93,000 shi, a difference of 7,000 shi.
"How could that be?"
The steward was startled, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead: "Your Majesty, I've counted it three times, there's absolutely no mistake. When this grain was delivered, we weighed it bag by bag, there's no way someone could have tampered with it..."
Zhao Yu waved his hand, interrupting him.
This granary was guarded by his trusted confidants from the Eastern Depot, and was heavily guarded. It was impossible for anyone to embezzle funds under his very nose.
The accounts are fine, the guards are fine, so could the problem lie at the source?
Could it be that Yan Song and his son were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, shortchanging the grain being transported? Or was it that the officials at each level of the transport lined up their own pockets and embezzled a portion?
As Zhao Yu was pondering this, Wang Huai'an rushed over.
"Your Majesty," Wang Huai'an bowed respectfully, "Miss Lin knew you were back, and... and brought a guest with her, so she specially sent me to invite you and Miss Lan back to the palace."