Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 169 The Saltworks Are Destroyed
If the thieves' real target was the saltworks, then the burned cargo ship was just a diversion to distract them!
Chunyu Shuang, Wei Yuan, Bai Yichun, and the others almost simultaneously thought of this problem, and their expressions turned grim. Salt from Yancheng was essential for the survival of the entire Great Jing Dynasty, not to mention the incredibly complex and difficult extraction process. Almost all the trees within a fifty-mile radius of Yancheng had been felled precisely for salt production. The massive cargo ship that had just been burned carried this year's supply of salt needed by the Northern Frontier army. This was a huge quantity accumulated over a whole year, and now it had vanished into the river in an instant; the efforts of so many people throughout the year had been wasted.

Of course, that's not the main point. If only one ship's salt was destroyed, everyone could work overtime or squeeze out enough salt. But if the salt fields were destroyed, where would they get so much salt from?
The mastermind behind this isn't targeting the King of Binyang or any of them! He wants to destroy the entire Dajing!
If the soldiers in the northern frontier didn't have enough salt, how could they have the strength to fight? Ordinary people, without salt, could only afford vinegar cloth.

Jiu Que knew perfectly well that salt was essential for the human body, and the salt fields absolutely could not be allowed to fail. They rode swiftly to the salt fields, but even before entering, they were met with a tremendous, pungent odor. Their hearts sank. Could it be? Had the worst-case scenario occurred?
Sure enough, when the group entered the salt field and saw the wisps of black substance floating on the salt lake under the towering flames, everyone's expression turned grim. Cui Zhufeng, standing by the salt lake, dipped his finger into the brine, smelled it, and his face immediately darkened.

"poisonous."

Undeterred, Jiu Que ran to the salt wells and peered down. All he could see were pale black stains. The others also went to check, but not a single salt well had survived.

When the disappointment returned, Jiu Que's eyes were bloodshot and red. Seeing the few thieves who hadn't had time to run away and had been subdued by Senior Cui, he rushed up and kicked them, then started punching and kicking them.

No one stopped them. Even Chunyu Shuang, who usually disdained to fight, rushed out and kicked them several times.

"You bastards! Don't you know how important this salt is to the people of Dajing? If you destroy this salt, what will they eat?! What will you eat?! If you want to die, don't drag so many innocent people down with you! Don't you know there's still a war in the Northern Frontier? Don't you know the grassland barbarians are eyeing Dajing covetously? People like you, people like you, why are you still alive?!"

The men's faces were stiff; their martial arts skills were all quite impressive. But now, having had their pressure points struck by Senior Cui, they lay motionless on the ground. Perhaps they hadn't wanted to move in the first place. They knew before they came that once captured, there was no chance of survival.

However, at the moment of their suicide, Senior Cui dislocated their jaws, preventing them from breaking the poison in their teeth, leaving them only able to eke out a living.

More and more people arrived at the salt fields, and their faces darkened when they saw the situation inside. Everyone realized the crucial problem. With the current salt reserves of Da Jing, even if the people consumed them sparingly, they could probably last another year. Salt City should have stored much more salt, but in the past three years, all the stored salt had been traded to the Northern Barbarians by the fake prince and Zhao Gou. As a result, the salt reserves of the entire Da Jing were now quite low. They had hoped that salt production could be restored in the future, but these scoundrels had unexpectedly undermined the very foundation of Da Jing's salt industry.

Even a mature and composed man like the Prince of Binyang couldn't help but turn pale, lose his balance, and take two steps back. He was only able to stay upright thanks to the support of his loyal guards behind him.

He quickly regained his composure and immediately ordered a doctor to be summoned to test the poison in the salt wells of the salt lake. If it was a common, neutralizable poison, there wasn't entirely no way to deal with it. The real fear was that these people had used a deadly poison to ensure the plan's success.

Of course, since the person behind this was capable of such ruthlessness, they had clearly made preparations long ago. No one held out much hope, but they still waited quietly for that one in ten thousand chance. However, when the city's best doctor finished the examination and looked grim, everyone understood that their last hope had been shattered.

"..." For a moment, the entire world seemed to fall silent. Everyone could hardly imagine the uproar and panic that would ensue once this news spread. Therefore, the Prince of Binyang immediately ordered a news blackout. But could the truth be concealed forever? Even if the news was completely suppressed, unrest would still occur when the people discovered that salt was becoming increasingly scarce and expensive.

But now, there was truly no other way. Who could conjure up so much salt out of thin air? Most of the guards who had come with them had grown up in Yancheng and naturally knew the dangers involved; a few couldn't help but weep quietly. The atmosphere of sorrow was contagious, and soon the entire salt field fell into a deathly silence.

Seeing this, the bandits, whose mobility had been crippled, didn't know whether to be happy that they had completed the task assigned by their master, or to be saddened that the peaceful Great Jing was about to be plunged into war again.

The Prince of Binyang, having finally regained his composure, waved his hand weakly at the sight. Even after three years of torment, this man, who had remained vigorous, now appeared ten years older. With such chaos in Yancheng under his rule, how could he face his people? How could he face his beloved and relied-upon father? Was the country, which they had brought peace to after the sacrifice of so many comrades and brothers, destined to descend into chaos again?
If Heaven truly has eyes, why can't it allow the Great Jing to recuperate? Alas…

"A messenger sent at an urgent speed to inform His Majesty of the situation here."

"Your Highness! Please reconsider! If we tell His Majesty, it will surely cause even greater unrest..."

"Things are already chaotic enough. Do you think hiding them will make things better? Alright, do as I say."

Seeing the grim expression on his chief guard's face, the Prince of Binyang forced a smile, patted him on the shoulder, and told him not to worry. Then he turned to look at the children in Jiuque.

"You've been traveling all day, you must be exhausted. Good children, go back and rest. We have to keep going early tomorrow morning."

Under such circumstances, how could Jiuque just stand by and watch himself return to the capital?

Even with all her abilities, she couldn't possibly conjure up so much salt overnight. If only she had a system like the protagonists in novels, capable of exchanging items. Unfortunately, she'd never had such good fortune. And it's a pity for the Prince of Binyang, who, having finally awakened, is now facing such a chaotic situation.

(End of this chapter)