Keqing, it’s just cultivating immortality, is it that difficult?

The pig iron caravan could not be traced, but the trace of the food of the monophagists was very easy to trace. This matter was handled by Li Hua!

Geng Hu's eyes lit up

"I understand, Princess! I'll send someone to check it out right away!"

"Well, please hurry up, General Geng. Time waits for no one. We need to catch up with him and cut off his backhand before he arrives."

Geng Hu hesitated, "Should I write a letter to the commander and ask for help?"

The provincial government has one civil and one military, the prefect is a civil one and the commander is a military one, intending to check and balance each other. Song has not dared to expose himself until now, and has been secretly mining iron ore and raising private soldiers. He certainly has not won over the commander. After writing a letter, they may be able to use his help to capture the prefect alive, and then it will not be too late to slowly track him down.

But Keqing shook her head and said leisurely:

"How do you know that the commander and Song Zhi are not the same kind of people?"

"Why do you think the court hasn't received the news yet? Can Song Zhi conceal the truth by himself?"

Geng Hu was silent, as if he understood something.

Yes, even if Song Zhi controlled those county magistrates, could he win them over under the command of the provincial government?

Although the commander is a military officer, he also has the responsibility to supervise and guard. With so many refugees and such a natural disaster, even a fool can see it. But the court has not received any news until now. Is the commander really innocent?

Maybe the other party did not join the Goddess Sect and did not get along with Song Zhi, but this does not mean that he is loyal to the court. Since he is not loyal to the court, will he be loyal to the owner of this fiefdom, the princess sent by the court?

Geng Hu felt a little depressed, it seemed that there would be some trouble.

The burden suddenly became heavier, and the sense of urgency in his heart urged Geng Hu to speed up and search for clues based on the traces of the food.

On the other hand, Keqing also assigned a new task to Qizhou, to participate in the counting of refugees and disaster relief, and to arrange their accommodation at the same time.

Now that General Geng has left, naturally we have to find someone to deal with the refugees first. We can't just keep cooking porridge to feed them. As the saying goes, when you are full and warm, you will think about sex. Once you are full, trouble is inevitable. If you think too much, some trouble will arise.

She understood that it would be better to let Qizhou arrange for these refugees to settle down and find some work for them, using work as a substitute for relief.

Qizhou's performance these days also made Keqing trust her abilities and entrusted this important task to him.

And the performance afterwards was just as she expected. Qizhou's performance was not bad. Although he was a little clumsy in the beginning, he became more and more skilled later. He arranged everything very well and assigned Liumingmen various tasks to consume their excess energy.

For example, cleaning, sweeping, transporting and burning corpses, household registration, and building city walls.

The originally dead silent Hengshan County became lively because of the joining of refugees, as if it had returned to the past. With food to fill their stomachs and drinking water, the people in the county no longer had to worry about being robbed by refugees and hide in their rooms cautiously, fearing that they would be used as food by the bandits and ogres rampaging outside.

To be honest, if the princess had not appeared, they might have fallen to the same level as the refugees before. After all, the grain store had long been closed and the county magistrate was doing nothing. Sooner or later, they would have left their homes like the refugees outside the city gate.

"The princess is so kind. If it weren't for her, we would have starved to death."

"Who said it wasn't true? That dog official was killed. He deserved it. He didn't do anything and exploited us all day. The owner of the grain shop had increased the amount of grain several times before, but no one cared. Bah! He deserves to be hung on the city gate now!"

"Isn't it what she deserves? You know what? I heard that this princess is the reincarnation of the lucky star from heaven. This Tongzhou Prefecture is her fiefdom, just like the landlord. All the officials have to listen to her, just like the landlord's housekeeper."

"Think about it, if you were the landlord, and your butler messed up the house like this, with no harvest and still not managing it properly, wouldn't he be a shrewd servant? Wouldn't you be angry?"

"Really?! That's incredible! Does the prefect also listen to the princess?"

"Of course! Do you know what fiefdom means? Those scholars say that fiefdom is the land given by the emperor. All the land in the world belongs to the emperor. If the emperor gives it to the princess, then she is the princess! So even the prefect has to listen to it."

"Oh my goodness, this land is all owned by little princesses, no wonder! If it were me, I'd be angry too!"

"Who said it wasn't true? But it's fine this way. This large area of ​​the city belongs to the little princess. Doesn't that mean we are also her people? Let's see how those dog officials bully us!"

"You're right. We are all the princess's people now. If those dog officials dare to bully us again, we will file a complaint! Kill all these traitorous stewards!"

Listening to the discussions around him, Qizhou, who was passing by, had a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. It seemed that his recent remarks were well accepted.

I believe that it won't be long before these people will spontaneously support the little princess, and the first step will be taken.

Just when Hengshan County was bustling with activity and regaining its vitality, new good news came from Genghu.

They followed the transportation of grain and found traces of private military activities on the southeast side of Hengshan Mountain.

Chapter 567 Hidden Food (4000)

They thought that if they found traces of activities, they would be able to find the location of the private soldiers. However, the result disappointed Geng Hu and his men. Although they found traces of food transportation, as time went by, the traces became fewer and fewer, and they were deliberately erased.

"That's right. Although we found the place where the grain was handed over based on the escorts, because a long time has passed, that group of people seemed to have the intention to erase all traces, and I was unable to find their location based on those traces."

The Hengshan Mountains were not their hiding place, but just a temporary transit point for escorting grain. After the grain was transported there, it would be left there, and someone would take it away when they left.

The people sent by Song Zhi and the people sent by Zhang Sheng to escort were not in the same group. Song Zhi only asked to fake a fire in the granary and then smuggle the grain to that place. Therefore, the people sent to escort were all people who worked for the county magistrate. They left after delivering the goods and had no idea where the grain finally went, nor could they trace its source.

"How about I send someone to search for it? Since the grain was placed there for handover, the private soldiers wouldn't be too far away. After all, the transportation of grain would make some noise and would definitely attract attention."

Geng Hu suggested.

However, Keqing shook her head. "Hengshan is too big. Even if they are there, they may not be able to find it. If we send too few people, we will die if we encounter them. If we send too many people, we will inevitably alert the enemy." She said leisurely, "Besides, those private soldiers may not be in Hengshan."

"What should we do next, Princess?

Geng Hu was a little worried. He originally thought that everything would be fine after he arrived at the fiefdom. Who could have expected that there would be natural disasters, man-made disasters caused by the goddess, Song Zhi's evil intentions, and even the commander's unclear position. This was not a fiefdom, but a den of thieves where rebellion and riots could break out at any time and it was an uneasy place.

The little princess is so unlucky that she has such a fiefdom, which is such a mess.

Without dealing with the private soldiers, they dared not confront Song Zhi head-on. There were so many counties along the way that no one knew how many had surrendered to that guy, not to mention that there was a commander with 3,000 households under his command...

If I go directly to the provincial capital, I'll be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. If I don't go, I can't just sit here and wait for death, raising a tiger as a threat, without knowing the situation outside. It's a dilemma.

Hengshan County seems to be stable now, that's because the little princess has enough food, but this food will be consumed sooner or later, what will she use to replenish it then?

Now there is neither the time nor the environment for safe farming. In other words, these refugees can only be raised in vain and cannot play any role.

They can only spend some energy on repairing the county town. This is not a princess's mansion, but just a small county town. It will not be good for them to spend too much energy.

Geng Hu confided his concerns to Keqing. He knew that although the little princess was young, she was extremely intelligent and should understand their predicament.

Keqing understood Geng Hu's worries, but she already had a plan in mind.

It all comes down to issues of food and water. As long as these two issues can be resolved, most of the problems can be solved. Of course, there is also other information left, such as the situation in other counties, the problem of refugees, and the problem of private soldiers.

"Since we can't find the private soldiers yet, let's put them aside for now. Since Song Zhi is still hiding and doesn't dare to raise an army, I'm sure there won't be too many private soldiers. We should be able to handle it."

"Instead of worrying about the enemy, we should strengthen ourselves. General Geng, do you think it would be feasible to organize those refugees into an army?"

Geng Hu was stunned.

"Are you sure, my lord?"

He couldn't help but confirm once again that even in peacetime, recruiting soldiers was not that easy.

The first is the issue of quantity limitation, the second is the issue of food and fodder, and the third is the issue of weapons.

Due to restrictions imposed by the imperial court, the number of guards for the princess is limited. If the number exceeds a certain limit, the limit will be reached. If there are more, they may attract the attention of the imperial court and be considered to have ill intentions.

Therefore, when recruiting private soldiers, one would usually choose the best of the best, the elite among the elites, and the requirements are quite stringent. However, now the young princess chooses to recruit those refugees. There are only more than 100 places left after deducting the existing ones from the original 500 places, but there are more than 1,000 refugees. If the remaining poor people in the county are included, there are at least more than 3,000 people.

Geng Hu didn't think that the young princess recruited those refugees in such a crude way just to fill the remaining one hundred vacancies, so there was only one meaning for the remaining vacancies.

He looked at Keqing, and Keqing nodded slightly.

"I said that we should expand the guards not just to expand the one or two hundred people. The enemy is strong now. We have come here and there is no turning back. The mountains are high and the road is long. Even if His Majesty knows, it will not be a problem. After all, this is also a helpless move."

"Besides, given the current situation, there are natural and man-made disasters everywhere, and disasters are escalating frequently. General, do you think that the Great Zhou can really continue forever?"

Geng Hu was stunned. He didn't expect that the little princess, who was a lucky star, also thought that the court was no longer viable?

But thinking about it, the journey before reaching Tongzhou Prefecture was not so safe. Along the way, there were only assassins and bandits. Even if there were no natural disasters, there would not be much happiness on the faces of the people.

Grain production decreased for no reason and taxes continued to increase, including horse tax, land tax, and labor tax. The 30% tax set by the imperial court could be increased to 60% or 70% by the local area.

The people can't even feed themselves with the crops they grow.

Not even the crops I worked so hard to grow had to be handed over as taxes, while I could only eat wild vegetables, wild vegetables and tree bark.

Even if the princess secretly collected evidence against these corrupt officials and reported to the court what she saw along the way, it would be a drop in the bucket. Who knows if the next county magistrate sent will not become corrupt and assimilated by the local gentry?

When interests are combined into a community of interests of exploitation and oppression, coupled with the rapid decline in the ruling power of the court, even if the county magistrate is replaced, the impact by then will be a drop in the bucket.

Good policies need people to implement them, and illegal activities need people to punish them. The local yamen runners, jailers, and clerks are already in collusion with each other. What can an airborne county magistrate do? If there is no one to implement and respond, everything is just empty talk.

Keqing saw this very clearly, so she deeply understood that the Great Zhou might not be able to hold on for much longer.

When the people can no longer bear the heavy burden, there will inevitably be a reckoning, and then turmoil and war will break out until new interests are redistributed and a new court is born.

But... can they really hold on until then? The continuous natural disasters made Keqing feel something strange, her sixth sense told her.

Even if a new court emerges again, the lives of the people will not be better. The world seems to be at its end, and these natural disasters are better proof of this.

Geng Hu and Keqing both tacitly ignored this sentence and talked about other things.

"General, don't worry about the food problem. I have prepared it long ago. I just need your help to protect it..."

As for weapons, that problem could be solved by finding the iron mine. Just because General Geng couldn't track it down didn't mean she couldn't do it.

"Does the princess still have any food?"

Geng Hu was surprised. This unfamiliar fiefdom was filled with refugees. Even the princess would not be able to get food. Under the current circumstances, it was impossible to transfer food from far away.

But then, Geng Hu suddenly remembered that the princess had easily dug out some food from some hidden houses along the way, and he suddenly realized something.

"Could it be that you, Princess, not only hid food along the way, but also in your fiefdom?"

As expected, the little princess nodded in response as expected.

"After all, this is my fiefdom, so I have to make some thorough preparations..."

"I've heard that the south is restless, with natural disasters and riots happening all the time. Similar things have happened in Tongzhou Prefecture before. Just in case, I let the Tan family develop as a grain merchant and also made a lot of backup plans."

Keqing heaved a sigh of relief: "At that time, I felt that we should not put all our eggs in one basket, so we set up businesses along the way from the capital to Tongzhou Prefecture, just in case. Tongzhou Prefecture is the focus. The Tan family has a granary, and there are hidden places to store grain in the prefecture, and even in each county town."

"Hiss..." Geng Hu took a deep breath

The princess must have been planning for the long term. I heard from Miss Tan that they got help from the princess a few years ago. Doesn't that mean that the princess had already started planning this matter when she was seven or eight years old and got the fiefdom?

If this is true, then the princess is really very intelligent. You have to know that when he was seven or eight years old, he was still being fed with bamboo sticks and burned on his buttocks! Unlike the princess, who was very young, she read the Four Books and Five Classics, was a skilled craftsman, and was favored by the emperor at a young age, and was granted the title of princess and a fiefdom.

I used to think that I was young, and now that I’m almost thirty, this level is already good. However, compared with the princess, it’s really incomparable.

"Princess Xiaojun, how much food do you have?"

Geng Hu asked tentatively, if the number is small, it may be just in case, if the number is large...

Seeing Geng Hu's inquiring eyes, Keqing blinked and a smile flashed in her eyes.

"Not much. The grain storage in each county is just a little more than the granary in the county."

"!!!"

A little more!? Are you just in case!?

You know, the granary in the county town can supply refugees in the surrounding villages, including the county town, with two meals a day for a month.

And in today's situation, with the current number of people, the supply can last even longer.

Geng Hu didn't think that the princess really stored so much grain just for that eventuality. The storage and transportation of grain required a lot of effort. Except for grain merchants, no one would dare to store so much grain.

It is no joke that old grain is cheap and new grain is expensive. The price difference between the two can reach three or four times.

If it is true that the princess hid so much grain in various counties, then doesn't it mean that the so-called Tan family has been doing business at a loss all along, and has been losing money for several years?

"My Lord, you are not kidding, are you?"

"General Geng, do you think this princess is joking?"

"Unlike... Princess, although you are young, you never joke."

Keqing gave him a look that seemed to be asking, why are you asking?

"Isn't this a bit surprising... Who would have thought that you could hide so much food?"

Geng Hu also reacted and twitched his lips. The little princess was still as secretive as ever.

"Then what you said about the escort..."

"Well, it's very simple. I naturally have people guarding this amount of food. If nothing unexpected happens, those people should be here. I want you to go to various counties and transport the food back."

"

Let me carry it?" Geng Hu frowned. "That's not a problem. After all, there are many refugees now. It would be difficult to carry so much food back without escort."

"But if you do that, it will make a big noise, and your presence will be exposed. And why do you want to transport it to Hengshan County? Aren't you going to the capital?"

You have to know that Zhang Sheng sent the letter to Song Zhi as soon as he saw them coming. If the monarch had not reminded him to capture them from the beginning and kill them as soon as they entered the city to establish his majesty, and then reminded himself to send people to chase them, the letter might have been delivered to Song Zhi long ago.

Nowadays, there are natural disasters everywhere, and all the refugees are moving towards the provincial capital. Everywhere is paralyzed and there are bandits everywhere, so their settlement in Hengshan County is unknown.

It can be said that if nothing unexpected happens, even if they stay here for a month, no one will know that Hengshan County has changed its course and replaced its people.

But if he and others showed up, unless they completely controlled the city like they did in Hengshan County, the news would always reach Song Zhi.