Traveling through troubled times: Princess disguises herself as a man and becomes a soldier to earn

Above the court

The civil and military officials were filled with indignation: "Your Majesty, the Yun Kingdom is simply too much. After conquering Luo City, they left the able-bodied men behind and drove out the old, weak, women and children. That would be fine, but they are also driving them to Qi Kingdom."

"This is extremely shameless. Why should we clean up the mess when they fight? What use are the old, weak, women and children? If they really come, I can't bear to kill them, so I'll just keep them alive..."

A civil servant panted and said frantically, "We don't have that much food to feed them. Your Majesty, I think we must send troops to intercept them and let the refugees go to Yu Country."

"Yes, it's unheard of. There's also a rumor that Qi has high-yield grains. Now not only are refugees from Luocheng coming, but also from other places. If they all arrive, there will definitely be a big mess."

Jiang Yu sat on the dragon chair, looking at the noisy scene below. He felt a headache and was at a loss for what to do. He turned his head to look at the person who was calmly eating a cucumber. Oh, his head hurt even more.

My father has written the imperial edict, but why is the regent the emperor's sister? Why is she allowed to come to the court? Every day in the court, I can hear the sound of people chewing cucumbers. Can you please consider his feelings?

He pressed his head, his face showing some pain.

Seeing this, Jiang Li handed over a cucumber and said, "Come here, my royal brother. Eat a cucumber to cool down. Being an emperor is just like this. It's a tough job. Haha, you have to be one. I am the innocent poor one."

"I have to get up before daybreak. My father really... deserved his death. Even after he left, he still didn't forget to trick me. Come on, let's eat some cucumbers to calm down and then we can deal with it slowly."

Jiang Yu glanced at the officials below who were arguing and spitting all over the place, turned his face away and didn't want to look at them anymore. He didn't want to care about the rules, so he reached out to take the cucumber and began to eat it slowly.

Cucumbers are crisp and refreshing, and they make me feel better after eating them.

"Mm, it tastes good. No wonder my sister likes to eat it. These refugees will soon reach the border of Qi Country. Does my sister have any good ideas on how to deal with these refugees?"

Jiang Li said calmly, "Take it. There is no one to do the odd jobs. It would be great if someone is kind enough to send labor to our door. Those processing plants can be opened soon, and the fields need people to work."

Jiang Yumu looked sullen and reminded them, "Those are the elderly, the weak, women and children. In times of war, these people are useless burdens. You know how much food they need to eat. The burden is too heavy for us to bear."

"Well, I get it. Who said I couldn't afford it? I know what's going on. Don't worry, my brother. People are already building houses on the border to accommodate refugees."

"Also, don't look down on the elderly, the weak, women and children. Strong laborers are capable, but they also have to eat. Comparatively speaking, the elderly, the weak, women and children are better off. As long as you give them a little hope, they will be grateful and work hard."

Jiang Li counted on his fingers and began to calculate: "Royal brother, you see, old means good at farming, and can't work, so you can go and pass on your experience. As for women and children, it's okay, but drought crops need people."

"It doesn't matter how strong you are, the main thing is to have a lot of people, even children can do it, it's just a matter of giving them food to eat, they can just do whatever they want, and they don't have to worry about food and drink, they won't lose money."

Jiang Yu's eyes were filled with worry, and he looked at her with some trepidation: "Royal sister, this is not a joke, you can't mess around. These refugees are really as useful as you say, not a burden."

"Yes, they are very useful. My next plan requires a lot of people. These old, weak, women and children are very useful. You can just watch them when the time comes. Those rumors are not all false."

"There are indeed high-yield grains, but they require a lot of people to work, and the physical strength required is not too high. They are the most suitable. Even if there are spies sneaking in, it's okay. We can just deal with them."

Jiang Li said this seriously, his eyes full of determination.

Jiang Yu ate the cucumber, wiped his mouth, moved closer, and whispered: "Okay, you make a copy of the plan for my brother and bring it to the morning court. Write down the possible problems and solutions clearly."

"If you need court officials to contribute, just assign them. If they are disobedient, just dismiss them. I plan to promote poor scholars in the next batch. These old officials are not useful."

"Yes, I got it. Don't worry. We are writing the plan and calculating the costs. It is a sure win. Of course, there will be some initial investment, and I will pay for it."

Jiang Yu blinked and whispered, "We can also extort some money from the officials. It's better than letting them embezzle. We can use the money to give to the refugees and do good deeds."

Jiang Li gave a thumbs up: "No problem, my brother, you are really cunning, but I like it very much. This is how a good emperor who serves the country and the people should be."

"Haha, that's a good compliment. Don't say it next time. It hurts my ears."

Morning the next day

The court officials were about to argue when they heard the eunuch taking the book and reading it from beginning to end. Half an hour had passed and the hall was completely silent. The civil officials stared with eyes wide open, expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Jiang Li glanced at them and said unhappily, "I have already solved the refugee problem. You don't need to argue anymore. Let's talk about the next thing. The food processing workshop needs to be opened and the problem of insufficient manpower needs to be solved."

"Put up a notice and ask the women to do the work in the processing workshop. The specific monthly salary will be posted. No one is allowed to stop them. If there is a man who willfully obstructs them and commits domestic violence, he will be directly sent to carry manure."

"...!!"

Jiang Li saw their faces changing like a palette, and he watched with great interest: "Why, do you have any objections? If you have any objections, you can go to the workshop to work."

"Within a year, all meat and vegetable food will be dried to facilitate storage and transportation to the battlefield later. Everyone, do you understand? If there is no problem, please disperse."

After the court was dismissed, the brother and sister talked as they walked.

"Royal sister, houses have really been built on the border, and the refugees will definitely be needed for farming. We need to send people to manage it and avoid unrest. It will be difficult to deal with it later."

Jiang Li nodded and said softly, "I know. The people have been sent out. As long as the refugees have something to eat, there will be no unrest. Since ancient times, unrest has always been caused by the people being starving and having to endure the oppression of the court."

"Once the house is built and the spies among the refugees are cleared, we can start growing seedlings and preparing for farming. Oh, that's next spring. We can't do anything in the cold winter."

Jiang Yu sighed: "So, to feed them through the winter, is the food you prepared enough? Don't use up the food for the soldiers for the refugees, what will we do when the war comes?"

"Not really. I know what's going on. Don't worry."

"...Okay, don't run around. You can leave those things to others. Just use your brain. Rest more. Have you taken your supplements?"

"Yes, I understand. Please don't be so long-winded, brother."