From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Have you heard? There's been a rebellion in Suibin County!"

"It's only now that you've found out after things have gotten so bad? And it's not just Suibin County!"

"Tsk tsk, I heard that the two counties to the east have been occupied by the rebels, and they're heading this way!"

"Please don't call us!"

……

Early in the morning, the Marquis's residence was filled with discussions and a sense of unease!

Just two days ago, a peasant uprising broke out in Suibin County. Starving people picked up hoes and kitchen knives, smashed open the county government's granary, divided the grain among themselves, and launched an immediate "rebellion."

They killed the magistrate of Suibin County, occupied the county government office, and within half a day gathered tens of thousands of people, controlling the entire territory of Suibin County. Then they attacked the neighboring Gushu County, which they captured in a single day.

Now, a large number of refugees have gathered in the two counties, like locusts, and are beginning to move towards other counties.

I heard that their next step is to attack the heart of Yongqiu, heading straight for Yongqiu City.

"Ahem!"

As he walked through the mansion, Chen Shi deliberately coughed.

The maids who were still talking immediately fell silent, bowed their heads, and stepped aside.

Chen Shi glanced at the group with a serious expression, but did not reprimand them.

Why did they suddenly rebel?

That makes sense. The number of refugees this year is significantly higher than in previous years. The imperial court hasn't provided a single grain of food, so the people can't survive and are bound to rebel.

Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door, and don't care about other people's frost.

Whether others get to eat or not is none of Chen Shi's business; after all, he himself has just had a meal.

All he wants now is to secure his job and live a peaceful life.

In fact, they shared the same thought as their servants: they only prayed that the rebels would not attack.

Thinking about this, he arrived at Xiao Fengxiao's courtyard.

"How is it?"

Upon seeing Chen Shi enter, Xiao Fengxiao sat up from the couch and quickly asked a question.

"Everything is arranged, there shouldn't be any problems."

As Chen Shi spoke, he sat down on the edge of the couch.

As early as the night before last, Xiao Fengxiao received news of the rebellion immediately and summoned Chen Shi to give him instructions and make arrangements.

Chen Shi was busy all day yesterday.

As instructed by Xiao Fengxiao, he summoned all the shopkeepers and managers, and gave them a reassurance and intimidation to prevent any unrest from arising during the chaos.

In addition, some industries related to the war were also arranged in accordance with Xiao Fengxiao's instructions.

Especially grain shops!

"Are those grains safe?"

Xiao Fengxiao nodded slightly, then quickly asked another question.

"While not foolproof, it's practically a sure thing. We've tripled our manpower compared to usual, plus some specially recruited experts."

Chen Shi nodded and explained the situation in detail.

After hearing this, Xiao Fengxiao was relieved, and then an excited smile appeared on her face.

As early as last year, seeing that most of Jiangnan Road was affected by disaster and grain production was reduced, Xiao Fengxiao began to take action. On the one hand, he used the Xiao family's channels, and on the other hand, he used the Marquis's power to purchase grain from various places at low prices, and then transported it to various places in Jiangnan Road for storage.

According to Xiao Fengxiao, she invested nearly half of her family's savings in these grains alone!

It was a huge gamble.

As a result, the government's grain reserves in the entire Jiangnan region may not even exceed hers!

In hindsight, Xiao Fengxiao's gamble paid off. With a large influx of refugees and a food shortage across the entire Jiangnan region, Xiao Fengxiao could easily earn five, six, or even ten times the profit from his grain holdings!

These are not grains, but piles of silver, so guarding them is extremely important.

For some large grain depots, Xiao Fengxiao even specially dispatched troops there.

In contrast, when a rebellion broke out in Yongqiu Prefecture, the grain depots became the rebels' primary target, so they required extra attention.

"When you have time, take a look around. I'm worried those bastards might be stealing from you."

After taking a slight breath, Xiao Fengxiao gave another instruction.

Xiao Fengxiao not only secured the granaries in various locations with multiple layers of locks, but also sealed them with numerous seals, making them extremely difficult to steal. Furthermore, he would send people to patrol the granaries periodically.

But as the saying goes, wealth can be a powerful motivator. With grain prices rising steadily, it's inevitable that some people will have ulterior motives. If they collude with each other, they might actually break into his granary.

Xiao Fengxiao trusted Chen Shi the most; only when Chen Shi inspected various places could she feel completely at ease.

"Yes, I'll try to find some time to look around as soon as possible."

Chen Shi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"There's no need to rush. If I can't even manage the warehouse, what kind of business am I in? Even if the situation is different this year, at least there won't be any problems in the short term."

Xiao Fengxiao smiled and waved his hand, thinking that stealing her grain was not so easy.

After the conversation, Xiao Fengxiao was in a great mood and asked Yun'er to prepare some wine and dishes.

While there were starving corpses everywhere outside, it didn't stop them from feasting on delicacies here.

This very situation presents a perfect opportunity for Xiao Fengxiao, who holds a large amount of grain. Once the year is over, she can liquidate this grain, and her life will be completely different from before!

A moment later, the food and wine were served, and the three of them sat down on the couch, drinking and making merry as usual.

As they drank, Yun'er gave Chen Shi a big kiss, which made Xiao Fengxiao giggle and scold her as a little slut.

By the afternoon, after the three of them had finished drinking, Xiao Fengxiao and Yun'er, mistress and servant, were already quite drunk and fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch.

Chen Shi straightened his clothes and came out of the house.

"Um?"

As soon as I stepped out of Xiao Fengxiao's courtyard, I felt a chill on my neck.

I reached out and touched it; there was water.

Is it raining?

Looking up, Chen Shi couldn't help but widen his eyes.

It's not raining, it's snowing!

It's already February, the weather is getting warmer, and we should be putting away our winter clothes. Why is it suddenly snowing?!

"What a strange year."

Looking at the falling snowflakes, Chen Shi shook his head, not taking it to heart.

He's not the emperor, so what does it have to do with him if it snows in February?

Right now, besides stabilizing his life, what he needs to do is find that array diagram as soon as possible.

Back at the Lijin Hall, nothing much happened, so I continued practicing the Elephant King Stance.

With the aid of dual cultivation with Shen Bi, his progress was more than ten times faster than before.

At this rate, he should be able to advance the Elephant King Stake to the Profound Rank as early as this year or as late as next year!

Once the divine body is condensed, one can truly step into the realm of a sixth-grade minor grandmaster.

A sixth-rank military officer can serve as a general in the army.

"Steward! The imperial decree has been issued!"

Just as it was about to end his shift, a servant suddenly rushed in.

"Receive the imperial decree? What imperial decree?"

Chen Shi finished his practice and stood still, asking a question.

"A royal decree! A royal decree has been issued!"

The servant swallowed hard and said something hastily.

Imperial Edict!

Chen Shi's eyes widened instantly. Without thinking, he ran out immediately.

With the imperial edict issued, the entire Marquis's residence instantly erupted into chaos. Over there, Zhou Bingzhi was already busy instructing his servants, opening the main gate wide while sweeping the courtyard to prepare the incense table.

In addition, the masters in the mansion, those with official titles and titles, changed into court robes and official robes, while those without titles had to change into the most formal ceremonial attire.

Chen Shi then urged his servants to dress properly and not to carry any dirt on them, so as not to offend the angels later.

After about half an hour, they finally finished their work.

Everyone in the Marquis's mansion, divided into masters and servants, and arranged according to seniority, numbered over a thousand, and they all knelt in the courtyard to wait.

Chen Shi, as the chief steward, stood at the forefront of the servants along with Jin Bingren and Zhou Bingzhi. They were to stand ramrod straight, hands on the ground, heads slightly bowed, and eyes fixed on the ground. They were forbidden from looking directly at the angels proclaiming the imperial edict or the decree itself; doing so would be considered a grave offense of "looking up at the face of Heaven!"

"By imperial decree, Marquis Jing'an is to kneel and receive this order!"

With a loud shout, the messenger angel strode in.