Empress in her second playthrough: Something's not right with this plot!

Before he arrived, His Majesty instructed him that as long as trade could continue, the conditions were negotiable.

David doesn't lack money, he lacks food.

As for border warfare, that's the last resort, the worst possible option.

Shangguan Xuanran took the alliance document and presented it to Jiang Qingying.

Jiang Qingying opened the alliance document and glanced at it.

The eldest prince of Wei is widely recognized as the next ruler of Wei, so sending him to Chu as a hostage does indeed show some sincerity.

The Empress sighed inwardly, having understood everything.

She then understood how Li Yunsheng had doubled the national treasury's silver reserves.

Although she really didn't want to dance for him, she had no choice but to do so for the greater good of the nation...

But having to learn to dance is such a headache.

Jiang Qingying closed the alliance agreement.

"In my opinion, let's just drop this alliance."

My prime minister has his eye on your national treasury; how could we possibly form an alliance?

Chapter 80 When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders.

Li House.

"Your Excellency, letters have arrived from Governor Qian of Guangling Circuit and Governor Zhou of Huainan Circuit."

Li Yunsheng didn't even ask what the letter said, and went straight to the point.

"Tell them that there is no disaster in Great Chu, and they can sell their grain to Western Zhou."

"Prime Minister, you didn't even see it, how do you know what they were talking about?"

"Grain prices soared in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and they couldn't wait any longer."

Liu Quan gave a thumbs up.

"Prime Minister, you are truly a prophet!"

Both men wrote to inquire when disaster would strike their state.

Li Yunsheng smiled.

"It was I who wrote the letter to them back then."

I told them that their state was going to have a major disaster this year, and that if they stockpiled food in advance, they would definitely make a fortune.

Liu Quan quickly recalled the letters he had sent to officials in Jiangnan, Jiannan, Lingnan, Guangling, and Huainan last year.

"Prime Minister, when will our Great Chu be struck by disaster?"

He asked that question because he still had a lot of grain stored up.

Now, grain prices in the Western Zhou Dynasty have skyrocketed.

If we can sell now, the income will at least double.

Li Yunsheng shook his head.

"The Great Chu has no major disasters."

"Then should we sell to the Western Zhou Dynasty? The price is high right now."

Liu Quan suddenly realized what was happening.

"Prime Minister, the nationwide disaster you mentioned last year, were you referring to the Western Zhou Dynasty?"

Last year, the Prime Minister predicted a major disaster.

He had always believed that this so-called great calamity was in the Great Chu.

But who would have thought that the following year, the Western Zhou Dynasty would suffer a severe drought.

Seeing Li Yunsheng nod, Liu Quan asked mysteriously.

"Prime Minister, can you really predict the future?"

When he was stockpiling grain last year, he was curious as to why the Prime Minister knew about the impending disaster.

However, since it was the Prime Minister's order, he dared not disobey.

When a major disaster truly struck during the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was a truly terrifying thought.

Jiangnan, Jiannan, Lingnan, Guangling, and Huainan were all relatively close to the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, the prime minister began to make plans at that time, and his target was the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Li Yunsheng looked at Liu Quan.

"I don't care about Fusheng Grain Store, but those eighteen warehouses of grain cannot be touched."

The reason he told his trusted officials in these five regions was partly to let them make a quick buck.

On the other hand, the more grain they hoarded, the more grain from the Western Zhou would flow into the Chu.

As a result, the grain reserves of the Western Zhou Dynasty were even smaller.

The seventeen granaries in the capital, plus the grain stockpiled by these five officials, were enough to take away more than 50% of the grain from the Western Zhou Dynasty.

As for why the letter initially stated that the Great Chu would face disaster, it was mainly because they didn't want the news to leak out.

Liu Quan's eyes darted around, and he chuckled.

"Whenever the Prime Minister says to move, I will move accordingly."

The grain in the eighteen granaries is still there, so it must have a purpose.

Only by following the Prime Minister can you earn the most.

Li Yunsheng stretched.

"You're smart enough to know what's good for you. Wei will be ours soon."

At that time, the State of Wei will only have mulberry trees, but no grain.

The grain from these five provinces was basically all sold to the Western Zhou. So, who do you think the State of Wei could only buy grain from?

Liu Quan had a fawning expression on his face.

"Looking for the Prime Minister."

"In the past year, Wei State has made a lot of money from our Great Chu."

They have to send all their earnings back to me.

"The money of the wealthy families of the Great Chu was sent to the people of Wei through the purchase of silk gauze."

However, by using grain to bring it all back—Prime Minister, you are truly brilliant!

Li Yunsheng slapped Liu Quan on the forehead.

"You're so clever! Go and reply!"

……

June.

Inside Liangzhou City.

"Reporting to the General, the Weiguo army has set up camp thirty miles outside Liangzhou."

Xiahou Xun nodded.

"Investigate further and report back."

"Yes!"

Immediately, someone volunteered to join the fight.

"General, this humble general requests permission to fight against the Imperial Guard."

"This humble general is also willing to fight against the Imperial Guard!"

Xiahou Xun pressed his hand down and turned to look at the map behind him.

"His Majesty has already decreed that the Imperial Guard's supplies are insufficient and it is difficult to hold out for long. We should adopt a scorched earth policy and simply hold our ground to repel the enemy."

"General, please forgive my bluntness, but none of us have any support in the court."

Jiang Shun stepped forward and spoke.

"Everyone here today is one of us, so I, Lao Jiang, will be frank."

I just want to ask one question: if we really destroy the State of Wei, will we still have wars to fight in the future?

Immediately, others echoed this sentiment.

"Yes, now that the Li faction is arrogant and domineering, and the war against the country has ended, it would be good enough if we could retire and return to our fields."

Xiahou Xun sighed inwardly. He understood these people's concerns, but he was also powerless to change his situation.

Don't let his current position as a high-ranking general, commanding a large army on the border, fool you.

However, the Philadelphia Party is no longer the Philadelphia Party it used to be.

With only a few generals left, how could they possibly defeat Li Yunsheng?

If he wants to gain a foothold in the court now, he can only rely on Liu Cheng and the Empress.

If we could destroy the State of Wei, it would be a great achievement.

Only in this way can one secure a place in the capital.

Perhaps these people have no way out, but he still does.

General Jiang continued.

"In the capital, all the officials who had connections with us have been purged."

The reason we're still alive is because Wei is eyeing us covetously.