Border Cook

In the shed, Xia Mingyue kept a small stove so that she could burn some coal in the winter. She could sit around the stove and eat hot pot or boil water for tea. It was very convenient.

Next to it is a rattan chair woven with bamboo strips and a stone table, which is great for drinking tea in the cool spring and summer and watching the stars at night.

As for the remaining vacant land, all the attachments on it were removed and restored to the original flat land. It was still surrounded by blue bricks inserted into the ground to serve as small vegetable gardens and small flower gardens.

While the ground is still fresh and not completely frozen, I dug up the small piece of land with a shovel, leveled it with a rake, and planted garlic sprouts, spinach, and coriander...

Xia Mingyue was happily busy, but a northwest wind started blowing from the sky.

The northwest wind brought a strong chill, turning the originally sunny and warm weather into a cold winter overnight.

The temperature dropped sharply, and even the water tank in the yard was covered with a layer of ice in the early morning.

Along with the ice came a notice from the county government.

It was a notice from the imperial court to collect grain.

However, the collection was not free, but the court spent money to buy grain from the people.

The price of purchasing grain and fodder was set at 10% higher than the market price of grain and fodder, in order to encourage the people to sell their surplus grain.

The people were naturally quite tempted to be able to sell grain at a price 10% higher than the market price, but they also talked about it a lot.

The imperial court purchased grain from the people. This was the first time that a young lady rode in a sedan chair.

What is its purpose is indeed curious.

"I heard that this was the Ministry of Revenue's idea. They bought surplus grain from the people and stored it so that if there was a disaster somewhere next year, there would be enough food to provide relief."

As soon as this statement was made, it was immediately echoed by many people.

After all, apart from the granaries set up in county and prefectural governments in each place for emergency use every year, the imperial court had no other place to store grain.

However, if there were disasters such as droughts and floods, most of the money the court could allocate was silver, and it was necessary to purchase grain from grain merchants and transport it to the disaster areas.

At that time, grain prices usually soared due to the disaster, and many merchants who controlled the grain business raised prices arbitrarily, making a fortune from the national disaster. They were backed by wealthy families, leaving the court helpless.

With the same amount of silver, less food can be bought, and the disaster relief effect can be imagined.

But if we use the method of storing food, it will be different.

In years of bumper harvests, surplus grain would be purchased at a relatively low price, stored and preserved, and then taken out when needed. For the imperial court, this reduced the cost of disaster relief, allowing more food to be allocated to help more disaster victims.

"This is a good idea. It will also help us avoid being unable to buy food even if we have money and starving to death."

"Yes, this way the court can provide disaster relief more promptly. There is no need to buy and transport food after the money is allocated, which takes a long time."

"This is a very good idea, but if we store food like this, it will spoil easily over time. What if when we take out the food, all of it is moldy and worm-eaten? What should we do then?"

"The Ministry of Revenue has also thought of what you have thought of. If the grain is not used for two years, it will be sold to the outside world or consumed as a reward. At the same time, new grain will be replenished. This way, the quality of the grain can be ensured. When the time comes, the grain that is taken out will be new and will not mold or deteriorate." "In this way, there will be nothing wrong..."

"But why is what I heard completely different from what you said?"

"What do you mean? Did you hear something else?"

"I heard that the reason for collecting grain is not because the Ministry of Revenue is using it for disaster relief, but because it is winter now and the fighting power of the Jinwei Kingdom has dropped significantly. The court wants to take advantage of this time to fight a few more battles and capture a few more cities, so they want to buy grain from the people for the war!"

"According to you, the purpose of collecting grain is to fight the war?"

"real or fake?"

"I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard that this is the case. Whether it's true or not, we'll know after we wait and see."

"Too……"

The imperial court purchased grain from the people in order to fight a few more major battles and defeat the Jin Wei Kingdom in one fell swoop. The news gradually spread from the mouths of the people and floated into the military camp.

Fan Honghui, "..."

How come he doesn't know about this?

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Could it be that there is another commander in the Western Frontier Army who had already decided on this matter and reported it to the court, and the emperor agreed to it without informing him at all?
"They say the rumors are nonsense, but now I finally realize it." Fan Honghui joked with a wry smile on his face.

Lu Qiyan on the side laughed, "Commander General, don't you think this rumor comes at the perfect time?"

"what do you mean……"

Fan Honghui paused and raised his eyebrows. "Let Jin Weiguo think that we are planning a new tactical layout, so that he will be alert and fearful?"

"That's right." Lu Qiyan nodded. "Now the two countries have been at war for many years, which has cost the people a lot of money and labor, and is a huge burden on the court. This is true for our dynasty and for the Jinwei Kingdom as well."

"For our dynasty, we can rest and recuperate for a few years, and then expand our territory. This will still allow His Majesty to accomplish his great ambitions, and the people will not complain and the government will not be unstable."

"For the Jinwei Kingdom, the continuous wars have consumed a lot of its national strength. The dignitaries in the court are also very opposed to another war. They hope to stop the war as soon as possible, open up trade between the two countries, and live a stable life."

"It can be said that our dynasty and the Kingdom of Jin have both reached a critical moment. Both sides want to cease fire, but no one dares to speak up first. Otherwise, it would be seen as cowardly and seeking peace. No matter in terms of status or momentum, they would lose to the other side. When negotiating peace, they would be very passive and would not be able to gain any advantage."

"Now that there happens to be a rumor that we are preparing for war, why don't we just use this rumor to make use of it and let Jinweiguo think that our national strength is still strong. Not only can we sustain a long-term war, but even if we really destroy Jinweiguo, it will be a sure win."

"In this case, Jin Weiguo will definitely be afraid and will seriously consider whether to continue the war. If..."

If the Jin Wei Kingdom completely stopped the war and asked for peace, then the Great Zhou Kingdom could take advantage of the situation and temporarily negotiate peace, and gain the absolute initiative in the peace talks.

Excellent plan!

Fan Honghui nodded continuously, "You are right. Jin Weiguo has many spies near the border. If they hear these rumors, they will report them truthfully. Then let's just add some more firewood to make this fire bigger!" (End of this chapter)