spend time

Lu Ying coaxed her innocent and somewhat silly sister away, and privately told Aunt Mei: "Mother, my sister is simple-minded and can't hide her thoughts. You must be extra careful when you speak in front of her, and never let her know the inside story of her father's death."

Aunt Mei nodded in agreement.

In fact, only a few people knew about Lu Xuan's death due to an acute illness. Some people, such as several officials in the Nanyang Palace, had a vague idea of ​​the situation, but they never mentioned it. Even in private, they never discussed the matter.

No one has ever gotten to the bottom of the Fanyang Lu family.

Lu Xuan just disappeared completely from the palace and left Aunt Mei's life completely.

Now that no one insulted her, let alone beat her, Aunt Mei's life was leisurely and comfortable. It didn't matter if she didn't leave the yard, because she didn't go out before anyway.

The only regret was that his son insisted on staying in the palace to observe mourning and refused to go to the palace school to study.

Aunt Mei couldn't help but whispered, "You just need to stay in the palace for a year, and then go to the palace school to study! It's a pity to waste your best years like this."

There were only mother and son in the room, so there was no need to beat around the bush when talking. Lu Ying said softly, "Mom, no matter how good I am at studying, I can't take the imperial examination."

Yes! Lu Ying is not of Jiang's bloodline, but he is the younger brother of the emperor. With such an identity, the path of imperial examination is not feasible. If he wants to serve as an official in the future, he will have to take the path of the emperor's favor.

For Lu Ying, the most important thing is to satisfy her elder sister Jiang Shaohua.

Even Aunt Mei and Lu Ruohua also rely on Jiang Shaohua's protection to make a living. The most important thing is to please the emperor.

Seeing that her son was of a clear mind, Aunt Mei had no choice but to give up.

Lu Ruohua stayed in the palace for a few days, and soon returned to Ye County Women's Academy. Before leaving, she set an ambitious goal: "After three years, when I am fourteen years old, I will also go to the capital to take the female examination. I also want to take the female imperial examination and serve in the palace like Lu Zhen."

Silly girl, even if you pass the exam, you can never be the same as Lu Zhen.

Aunt Mei sighed in her heart, with a gentle and doting smile on her face: "Okay, mother will wait for the day when you become successful."

After Lu Ruohua left, the mother and son continued to live their lives behind closed doors.

Feng Changshi could not help but secretly admire them. Aunt Mei and Lu Ying, mother and son, were really knowledgeable, tactful and knew when to advance and retreat. When allocating funds, Feng Changshi happily doubled the monthly allowance for Aunt Mei and her son.

For such a small matter, Feng Changshi did not need to report it to the emperor, he could make the decision himself. However, Feng Changshi was careful in his actions and was used to writing letters to report both big and small matters.

Just as he was writing a letter to the capital, his long-servant came to report: "Sir Feng, the Imperial Guards and Nanyang Military Camp have sent people."

Most of the elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard went to the capital, leaving about 8,000 men. The Nanyang Army also had more than 4,000 soldiers. To support so many soldiers, a large amount of money and food would be consumed every year.

According to the usual rules, three months of military funds were allocated at a time. It was time to collect the military funds again.

Feng Changshi put down his pen and said, "Please invite them all in."

The one who came from Nanyang Army was General Li Tie.

The three commanders of the Imperial Guard Battalion all went to the capital, and each left a trusted person behind to guard the city. The first, second, and third battalions all had people coming. When Feng Changshi met the four of them and looked at the military expenditure figures they reported, he frowned slightly and said to Li Tie, "General Li, is the Nanyang Army recruiting new soldiers again?"

Li Tie rubbed his hands and smiled flatteringly, "Yes. General Yu plans to double the strength of the Nanyang Army within two years. In the future, he will send troops to serve the emperor."

The Royal Guard Battalion is also constantly recruiting new soldiers to expand its forces.

Sufficient military strength is of course a good thing. The emperor is in the capital, but his roots are in Nanyang. Nanyang County has sufficient military strength, which in turn is a deterrent to the troops stationed in the capital. The expansion of the Nanyang Army and the Imperial Guard Battalion was tacitly approved by the emperor.

But isn’t this speed too fast?
Feng Changshi felt a bit headache: "You only think about expanding the military force, have you ever thought about how much money and food it takes to support the army? The taxes collected by the palace this year are almost unable to cover the expenses."

Li Tie said with a cheeky smile: "Isn't there a silver mine in Bowang? Just dig more. If we don't have enough manpower, our Nanyang Army will come up with a solution."

Feng Changshi was amused: "That's easy to say. After digging up the ore, we need to smelt it, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources. Moreover, we can't mine it without limit, otherwise the silver price in the market will be affected. The price of rice will also fluctuate accordingly. This is a major issue concerning people's livelihood, do you understand?"

Li Tie shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand.

The other three deputy commanders of the imperial guards also shook their heads, indicating that they knew nothing. These laborious and brain-consuming matters were the responsibility of Feng Changshi. They just asked for silver, rice, weapons, and war horses.

Feng Changshi looked at the four debt collectors in front of him, and his good mood was swept away. He said with a stern face: "You settle down in the mansion and wait for the household department to settle the accounts. The military expenses will be issued in a few days."

Li Tie and others nodded, threw the difficult problem to the omnipotent Feng Changshi, and then left happily.

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Feng Changshi was left behind, having a headache over a bunch of numbers.

The Nanyang Palace was a large and prosperous place with huge expenses. The princess went to the capital and became the emperor, and never came back. Chen Changshi also left, leaving all this big mess to him. He was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders, and he was always on edge.

The military expenditure issue has not been resolved yet, and new problems have emerged in the fourteen counties.

Now, refugees from the north are flocking to Nanyang County. The number of refugees taken in by each county has reached an extremely alarming number, exceeding the original population.

The resettlement of refugees was a top priority, and the county government had to allocate land, and if there was no good farmland, it had to be reclaimed. Before the refugees could cultivate the land and grow food to feed themselves, the county government had to feed them for at least half a year to a year.

The county magistrates all complained bitterly, and the official documents they wrote to them were mostly requests for money, food, and support.

Feng Changshi was busy and angry, and he couldn't help but glare and curse. For several days in a row, even the birds in the sky above the palace had to fly over the houses.

In addition, there were many people who came to the Nanyang Palace to submit their visiting cards. They included officials of all ranks and noble families from all over the country. Feng Changshi had to take time to read them all, and some of them had to be seen in person. He really wished he had three heads and six arms.

Shen Mu and Wen An were equally busy. There were only three proper officials left in the palace. Feng Changshi was so busy that he naturally had to send these two people.

Shen Mu brought his son and son-in-law into the workshop to work, and Wen Zhubu was not polite and brought his children and grandchildren to run errands. After two years of training, they can officially serve.

In this busy atmosphere, we got through May and entered early summer in June.

On this day, Feng Changshi received a letter from Yuzhou. (End of this chapter)