Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 240: My mouth was watering just listening to it.

"Isn't General Yuchi here?"

"Uh, General Yuchi is currently inspecting the military camp and it's not convenient for him to come over..."

The generals cautiously observed Ying Jiuque's expression out of the corner of their eyes. After all, she was the highest-ranking official present, directly dispatched by His Majesty. If she were unhappy here and wrote a letter to His Majesty to complain, wouldn't they be reprimanded again? In fact, they had almost gotten used to being reprimanded from time to time over the years, but they couldn't possibly implicate their own men as well. They were all just trying to make a living, but now they were even struggling to get enough to eat. As generals, they felt truly ashamed before their subordinates.

However, Jiu Que had anticipated this before coming. After all, she wasn't money, and not everyone could like her. Besides, there really are people in this world who regard money as dirt.

"It's alright, I'll go and discuss this with General Yuchi first. Why don't you all go back and rest for now?"

After all, Jiu Que is nominally the highest-ranking official in the entire Northern Frontier. If she wants to discuss matters with General Yu Chi, no one will stop her.

But after she left, everyone stared at the several carts of dried meat, their mouths watering. What a mess this was tonight! Everyone had been starving for so long, of course they wanted some meat, but where was General Yuchi at this crucial moment? Some clever people had already gone to look for him, but they couldn't find him anywhere.

At this point, some clever people tried to ingratiate themselves with the grain transport team, especially when they saw their sturdy armor and gleaming weapons. They were practically drooling. They hadn't been to the capital in years; had the pampered soldiers there been equipped with such superior gear? They'd been enduring wind and sand on the frontier for years, fighting tooth and nail with those nomadic barbarians, their weapons dulled and chipped, yet the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works hadn't sent them such excellent equipment. It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others!

Some of the higher-ranking officers sensed something was amiss. Even among the pampered soldiers from the capital, it was impossible for so many to be equipped with such fine weapons. Moreover, look at these raw recruits in the grain transport team—their hands and feet are rough, their skin is calloused, and they don't possess the haughty arrogance of the young masters from the capital. They are clearly ordinary soldiers from commoner backgrounds.

"Hey bro, can I ask you something? Did you guys have this gear before?"

They were already on someone else's territory, so the grain transport team couldn't maintain their aloof attitude indefinitely. Besides, they weren't some young masters; they already had great respect for the soldiers guarding the border. Hearing the question, they couldn't help but puff out their chests proudly.

"No, we wouldn't have had such good equipment before we came to the frontier. Lord Ying got all of this for us. He's very resourceful and has a good relationship with the officials in the Ministry of Works. He even helped them improve many weapons. Look how much sharper our swords are than usual! That's because we used the special forging method Lord Ying provided. And these clothes—Lord Ying bought them for us out of his own pocket. They're sturdy and thick; we won't feel cold at night even without blankets! And..."

Everyone pretended not to care, but their ears were practically perked up. Hearing this, many felt a pang of sadness; they had worked so hard here for so many years and had never worn such nice clothes. Unexpectedly, the person who spoke pointed to the trucks full of supplies behind them, a look of envy on their face.

"Brothers, I envy you guys! Do you know what Lord Ying brought this time? Cotton-padded coats! Incredibly thick cotton-padded coats! He brought them all for everyone! I heard winter comes early here and is especially cold, so Lord Ying specially brought many cotton-padded coats for everyone, and even got a lot of medicine for frostbite from the Imperial Hospital. By the way, speaking of which, see those people in white coats behind us? Those are the doctors Lord Ying specially brought from the Imperial Hospital. The one in the lead is a proper Imperial Physician, the youngest and most promising Physician Xie in the Imperial Hospital. His medical skills are incredibly high. We were able to arrive here safely all this way thanks to Physician Xie and his team of doctors. And also…"

Everyone was stunned. They had never been this wealthy in all these years. All of this was brought by General Ying's daughter?

No, I've heard that the officials in the capital are incredibly arrogant and incompetent, completely disregarding soldiers like them who fight on the battlefield. They're already being generous by not deducting their pay. Even if Lord Ying cares about them, how could he possibly gather so many useful resources from various departments in the capital? Did she just ask for them and expect them to give them away willingly?
"Oh dear, how can you not believe me? Don't you know that Lady Ying is the highest-ranking female official in our Great Jing Dynasty? Moreover, she has helped His Majesty accomplish several great things. Let me put it this way, you were out of salt for a while, weren't you? The salt that was urgently sent over was all made by Lady Ying using a new method she researched. You have no idea, just for this one thing, countless people all over the country have secretly erected shrines in her honor, secretly thanking her in their hearts!"

"Oh, I know that. Thanks to this gentleman, our army no longer needs vinegar cloth."

"I've seen the salt that was delivered; it's so white and fine. If I hadn't secretly tasted it, I wouldn't have believed it was salt. It looks just like snow!"

"So you dare to secretly eat salt?!"

"Hey, don't interrupt! Don't bother me, I want to know why!"

"...And there's something Lord Ying made before, called the Thunderclap Bomb. It blew up those bandits who trafficked women and children in Wuyou Cave in the capital, it was so exhilarating! Everyone secretly calls her the Thunder Goddess! Tell me, with a new type of salt and this incredibly powerful firearm, how could the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works not support our Lord Ying? In addition, His Majesty trusts Lord Ying a lot, and in less than a year, she has been promoted one after another. This time, when we came to deliver military pay, we went through a lot of effort to be selected, everyone was scrambling to come!"

"..."

The soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army looked at each other, feeling as if they were listening to gibberish. Wait, was this Lord Ying really that capable? And more importantly, this Lord Ying was not only capable, but also deeply concerned for their Northern Frontier Army. Hearing about the supplies he had brought, they were overjoyed, wishing they could immediately pull General Yuchi over and make him open all those carts so they could see what good stuff was inside!

Immediately, some people couldn't help but turn their heads to look. Lord Ying has been gone for so long, hasn't he found General Yuchi yet? Where on earth is General Yuchi hiding? Really! At such a crucial time, he can't even be found!
(End of this chapter)