Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

The scene was completely silent.

Even the officials from Dongliao Prefecture who followed behind were surprised that the military supervisor who came this time would be so difficult to talk to.

They immediately asked about grain.

The grain was indeed gathered, but only 1,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain were transported the first time, and even that was purchased from other prefectures. As for the granary, the granary in Dongliao Prefecture had long been abandoned.

There has never been any grain storage over the years.

Why is the Great Zhou Dynasty storing so much grain in its granaries when it has been free from disasters and wars for so many years?

"Prefect Zheng, you're not going to tell me that you haven't gathered enough grain, are you?"

Qin Feng's voice gradually turned cold.

He went to the border this time to risk his life.

He cleaned up his family's name and completely bid farewell to his identity as a thief.

After losing, the whole family ran away and went to a place to live in anonymity.

"Lord Qin, the grain..."

Zheng Shijun's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his voice trembled.

Upon seeing this situation...

Qin Feng's heart skipped a beat. In his opinion, even if these officials were corrupt, they would at most deduct some of the military pay. He never expected that they would even dare to embezzle grain.

Making soldiers fight desperately when they're starving is utter nonsense.

"Cao Liang, take some men to the granary and see what's going on inside. Kill anyone who obstructs you along the way, and make sure they have the Imperial Guard's badges. As for these officials, bring them under my watch. The rest of you, disperse!"

At a command.

Hundreds of people rushed up from behind and took control of Zheng Shijun and his group of officials.

"dare!"

in the crowd.

A dozen or so government officials carrying knives roared and charged forward.

"Kill him!"

Qin Feng waved his hand, his voice cold.

"Pfft, pfft!"

The men from the Thousand Households Office are all skilled killers, not much different from the bandits in Daliu Village.

The dozen or so government officials were killed without uttering a sound; their throats were slit, and their bodies were left lying haphazardly on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the people gathered around panicked and fled.

Zheng Shijun and his group of officials were also surprised that Qin Feng dared to kill someone right away, and they were so frightened that they stood there dumbfounded.

"Supervisor Qin, although you are a military supervisor, this is Liaodong Prefecture. To kill a government official in public is something I will definitely report to the commander."

The voice just fell.

Qin Feng drew the sword hanging at his waist.

He pressed his hand against the other person's neck.

"Speak, continue. Do you recognize this? It's a sword bestowed by the Emperor. Don't even mention me killing a few of your officials; believe me, I could kill you right here and now, and the Commander wouldn't say a word."

"If there really is a problem with the grain, not to mention you, even I, the commander, would dare to say that."

"Lord Zheng, I am here to risk my life as military supervisor. If the soldiers on the front lines lose supplies, I will also be in grave danger. Do you think I would care about corrupt officials like you?"

With a cold snort, Qin Feng sheathed his sword, his face grim and uncertain as he waited in place.

If there is grain in the granary, everything is fine.

That's what I'm afraid of!

If the granary is empty, that would be quite a surprise.

You have to understand that Liaodong Prefecture is the prefecture furthest from the border, and also the safest. Its granaries are all empty. He doesn't even dare to think about what the situation is like in the previous prefectures.

Without food, what will the 20,000 people on the front lines eat?

How do you fight a wild boar?

What can we use to win?

"grown ups!"

Fifteen minutes later.

Cao Liang returned with a dozen or so guards covered in blood, their faces extremely grim.

"The granaries are empty. Both granaries are empty. I interrogated the people guarding the granaries. The granaries in Liaodong Prefecture have not stored any grain for the past five years."

"Look!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng burst into laughter in anger.

Approaching Zheng Shijun, he said through gritted teeth:

"I gave you a chance to live, but you couldn't seize it. In five years, you have 20,000 shi of grain reserves, but you don't even have a single shi of grain left."

"Arrest every single one of these officials. You have one hour to find out how much they embezzled and how much wealth they have."

"Lord Qin, spare my life!"

Upon hearing this...

Zheng Shijun's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

"I will spare your life. Who will spare mine? As I just said, it's a life-or-death struggle. Whoever prevents me from winning, I will kill. The same goes for the commander."

"take away!"

Liaodong Prefecture.

Zheng Shijun's residence.

Qin Feng sat in the courtyard, listening to the screams coming from the neighboring courtyard, waiting for news with a blank expression.

Sufficient food must be gathered; that's the bottom line. Even if military pay can't be issued immediately, we can find ways to delay it and make up for it later.

But not food!

How much food would 20,000 people consume in a day? If there were a problem with the food, even if General Gou was highly respected, or even if Zhou Zhengde himself came here, the soldiers would still desert if they couldn't get enough to eat.

"Lord Qin, we've found out. In recent years, the grain has been secretly sold by Zheng Shijun and his men. Some of the money from the sales went to the commander's mansion, most of it was used to buy property in other prefectures, and some was buried in the mansion. A considerable portion of the grain was sent to the border market and sold to wild boar skinners on the grasslands."

"Seize all valuables and inform the grain merchants in the city that I will buy grain at a high price, 20% higher than the market price, with no upper limit. I will take as much as you have!"

Qin Feng sighed softly.

He made the arrangements in a low voice.

Where does the food come from?

The only option is to confiscate the homes of these officials and exchange their property for grain. Otherwise, if we wait for the imperial court to continue sending grain, it will be too late!

Fortunately, more than half of his men were former members of the Imperial Guard, and they were experts at raiding homes.

The rest of the men were bandits from Daliu Village, skilled at looting and plundering.

We guarantee that nothing will be missed.

"The same applies to all other officials. Bring pen and ink. I need to inform General Gou about this matter, which may take some time. I also need to send a letter to the capital to explain the situation!"

Qin Feng stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

What he did was absolutely against the rules.

In the past, the civil officials in the court would have been in an uproar and would have knelt down at the palace gate to impeach him.

But now...

Special circumstances require special handling. He had to explain the severity of the situation to Zhou Zhengde. Otherwise, if the Great Zhou lost another match, its entire foundation would be unstable.

……

Pingsha Pass.

General Gou stood inside the tent, his face ashen and veins bulging on his forehead.

"If a prefecture sends at least 5,000 shi of grain, enough to feed 20,000 people, what are they planning to do with 1,000 shi of grain?"

The conscripted soldiers have been gradually deployed, with a total of 20,000 troops stationed here.

They were just waiting for the supplies to arrive.

Logically speaking, provisions should arrive before soldiers.

However, these prefectures kept delaying, and it wasn't until yesterday that a few prefectures sent grain.

However, the amount of grain collected was far less than what the imperial court had ordered to be collected.

The largest prefecture sent only 1000 shi of grain, less than half of what was expected.

In the battle to defend a city, sometimes it's a contest of who can hold out the longest. If there isn't enough food, how can they defend it?

"General, there is a letter, a letter from the Qin military supervisor, and..."

"And what?"

"And the grain that is being transported, two thousand shi has already arrived near Pingsha Pass, and the remaining four thousand shi are on their way!"

Upon hearing this...

General Gou was taken aback, then quickly took the letter and began to read it.