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Chapter 445 Expansion
Princess Nanyang Jiang Shaohua is both talented and beautiful. She has soldiers, food, power, and a large family. In the eyes of everyone, she is simply a model of success for women.

What worries does a Princess Nanyang have?
Of course there is!

The more they expanded, the more they felt that there was not enough money and food, and there were still not enough soldiers and manpower.

Once a person has ambition, it is like a seed planted in the soil. The seed takes root, sprouts, blooms, and gradually grows, and the ambition will also thrive.

"Back then, I asked the Tang family to run a grain store in order to promote the new grain. After two years, it has been quite effective. The new grain in our Nanyang County has gradually been promoted. Most of the people in the north have planted the new grain. Even in the south, some people have begun to come to Nanyang County to buy grain seeds."

"This year, Nanyang County has earned a lot of money just from selling grain seeds." Jiang Shaohua sighed with a smile: "Changshi Feng stayed up late to calculate the accounts, and he didn't feel tired. But why am I still not satisfied?"

"Nanyang County's power is constantly expanding, and we are increasingly short of manpower. Especially the Royal Guards, each grain store must be equipped with 200 Royal Guards. There are still remnants of the rebel army in Pingzhou, and they need more manpower. I wish the Royal Guards could be expanded several times."

Song Yuan glanced at the princess with sparkling eyes and coughed, "With your prestige and strength, it is not difficult to expand the personal guard camp. The difficult part is to raise and train the soldiers. Princess, don't be too anxious. You have to take one step at a time and do things one by one."

In the past five years, the number of personnel in the Imperial Guard Camp has tripled. From the original 2,000 people, to the current 6,000. Moreover, each of them is well-equipped, elite soldiers, and extremely powerful. To be frank, these 6,000 Imperial Guards are enough to sweep away the 20,000 or so troops of the imperial court. Together with the Nanyang Army, they are enough to dominate the north.

The princess will continue to expand... One day, the military force will be enough to influence the situation in the north.

How far does the princess want to go?
This question has been lingering in Song Yuan's heart. I think Chen and Feng, the two chiefs, have also pondered it more than once in private. However, some things cannot be said, so let's just leave it vague!
Jiang Shaohua would pretend in front of others, but he had no intention of hiding anything in front of Song Yuan. He said, "I am indeed anxious. I am afraid that something unexpected will happen in the capital. Only when I have strong strength can people be afraid and not dare to act rashly."

Song Yuan was confused. "The emperor is young and strong. He will be out of mourning in a few months and can marry a queen to continue his family line. Prime Minister Wang controls the government, and he is also supported by the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Anguo. Even if he is inefficient, there will not be any major chaos. Why is the princess so worried?"

Jiang Shaohua was silent.

How could she not worry?
In her previous life, it was in this year that the young Emperor Taihe died unexpectedly. Immediately afterwards, there was a shocking purge of the court. The succession of the throne has always been accompanied by blood and rain. Emperor Taihe had no children, only a mentally retarded younger brother. In order to ensure the stability of the throne, she and Zheng Chen married into the Wang and Fan families respectively, barely stabilizing the situation. Her life was completely manipulated and controlled from then on.

In this life, she repeatedly wrote letters to remind Emperor Taihe to be wary of those around him. However, she was in Nanyang County, too far away from the capital, and her role was limited. The Gaoliang King and his son were both in the capital. There was also Zheng Chen, whose position was unclear and whose intentions were ulterior, and who was getting closer and closer to the Gaoliang King's son Jiang Yi...

There was an endless struggle between the forces at court, and the palace was in turmoil.

What should she do?
What can she do?
"Uncle, my grandfather came to me in my dream again last night." Jiang Shaohua raised his eyes and looked at Song Yuan: "My grandfather told me that there might be a big change in the capital, and asked me to be prepared to deal with it."

Song Yuan's eyelids twitched, and his heartbeat became irregular: "What big change?"

Jiang Shaohua was silent again, and only spoke after a long while: "Grandfather didn't explain clearly, he just said it was related to the emperor. I am really uneasy. However, I am too far away from the capital. It doesn't matter if the people in the capital pass on the news. If I really want to do something, I can't do it."

Song Yuan calmed down and comforted her, "Don't worry too much, Princess. No matter what happens in the capital, it won't affect Nanyang County."

But she seemed no longer satisfied with just guarding Nanyang County. Her ambitions grew bigger and bigger, and her sights went further and further. From Nanyang County all the way to the north, her power continued to expand... Once there was chaos in the capital, it would inevitably be affected. Jiang Shaohua took a deep breath: "Let's not talk about this for now. This year's spring plowing is about to begin, and I should also start inspecting the military camps and the fourteen counties. Uncle, go and make the arrangements!"

Song Yuan bowed and accepted the order, then retreated.

Jiang Shaohua sat alone in a chair, his eyes wandering. After a long time, he sighed deeply.

……

Jiang Shaohua's troubles were unknown to others, and he couldn't reveal them to the people closest to him.

Five days later, Jiang Shaohua began this year's inspection accompanied by a thousand personal guards.

The people of Nanyang County had long been accustomed to the princess's behavior. During the spring ploughing season, the county magistrates all rushed to the fields, paying special attention to the cultivation of the newly reclaimed wasteland.

This year is also an extremely important year for the Tang family.

With the promotion of the new grain, Tang's grain shop jumped from the first grain merchant in Nanyang County to the most famous grain merchant in the north. Fifteen grain shops now specialize in selling new grain seeds, and people line up to buy grain seeds every day for two miles.

The new grain is drought-resistant and cold-resistant, and has a very high yield. Anyone who has planted the new grain knows the benefits of the new grain. Those who have not planted it before have long been jealous of the bumper harvests of other people's fields. This year, when Tang's grain shop opened, it was almost crowded with people rushing to buy grain seeds.

The Tang family’s troubles also came.

There simply weren't enough people. All the men who could be sent out had gone out, including those from nearby and distant branches, but there were still not enough people.

"The princess said that she would open five new grain shops this year, and there is not enough manpower." Master Tang Wu complained to Master Tang Lao: "A grain shop needs at least three or four people to run it. Fortunately, there are people from the Royal Guards to help, otherwise we would be even more overwhelmed."

Master Tang Wu has been traveling outside for two years. He came back this year to attend the princess' coming-of-age ceremony. Now it's time to leave again. His darker and thinner face looks particularly energetic.

Old Master Tang said slowly: "If you don't have enough manpower, don't just stick to the men of the Tang family. Recruit some reliable people, teach them while they work, and they will be ready to serve after a few years of training."

"Just go ahead and do your best. I'll be there to support you in the tribe, and no one will dare to complain."

As he said that, he rolled his eyes at me and said, "You bastard, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. You have already done this in private. You are telling me now, just to make me take the blame for you."

Master Tang Wu chuckled.