The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"What's the matter?" Ning Quan asked.

"Your Majesty, the war between the Arabs and Persia has ended, and many Persian soldiers in the army want to return home. Your Highness needs to make a decision on this matter."

Li Jing said respectfully.

"Well, I forgot about this. I promised them at the beginning."

"How many Persian warriors are we currently holding?"

Ning Quan nodded suddenly and asked.

"Your Highness, there are still more than 16,000 people."

Li Jing reported.

"Over 16,000, that's a lot."

"If we let them all go back, will it have an impact on our army?"

"Your Highness, the impact is not significant. Our army currently has sufficient manpower."

"I suggest that they be released. This will save some military pay and food." Li Jing answered truthfully.

"Well, since it doesn't affect them, let them go home."

Ning Quan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Your Highness is wise."

Hearing Ning Quan's words, Li Jing bowed.

“Well, you can pass it on later and they can leave tomorrow.”

Ning Quan waved his hand.

"promise."

Li Jing bowed and accepted the order.

"Just now we were talking about military strength. What is the total number of troops in our army currently?"

Ning Quan suddenly asked again.

"Your Highness, our total military strength is now approaching 150,000. Excluding the Persian soldiers, there are still over 130,000."

"This includes over 20,000 Hexi troops and 50,000 Xiongnu troops, but does not include General Huo's 30,000 Xiongnu cavalry."

Li Jing reported.

"More than 50,000 Xiongnu soldiers? That's a pretty high ratio."

Ning Quan heard this and said thoughtfully.

"Your Highness, don't worry. The Western Xiongnu have been destroyed. These Xiongnu soldiers will definitely not rebel."

"If Your Highness is still worried, you can use them as the main force in the future battle against Tubo."

Li Jing suggested.

"Well, this is also a way."

"Speaking of Tubo, this king remembered."

"Tubonia is located on a plateau. If we want to attack Tubo, shouldn't we prepare in advance and let our soldiers adapt to the plateau environment?"

Ning Quan suddenly thought.

"Your Highness is right. I was just about to tell you about this."

"I intend to send him to the Tibetan border immediately after General Yue returns with his troops."

"On the one hand, we must continue to deter Tubo, and on the other hand, we must adapt to the plateau climate so that we can plan for the future."

Li Jing bowed.

"Well, you've been very thoughtful. I'll do as you wish."

Ning Quan praised.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."

Li Jing said modestly.

"By the way, when will General Yue be able to return to Xizhou?"

"Your Highness, General Yue arrived in Xiping yesterday and will probably take another seven days to return to Xizhou."

"How many of the people General Yue brought back can be resettled in Hexi?"

Ning Quan heard this and looked at Zhuge Liang.

"Your Majesty, according to the pre-established plan, a total of 50,000 people will be resettled in Hexi, and the rest will be resettled in Beiting and Anxi."

Zhuge Liang reported back.

"Master Man, is everything ready in Beiting?"

Ning Quan looked at Man Chong again and said.

"Your Majesty, I have made all the necessary preparations. Please rest assured."

Man Chong replied.

"Okay, very good."

"With you all here, I am truly relieved."

"Okay, let's stop here for today. I'm going to go to the city to see how the people are doing."

"Master Man, you will accompany me. The rest of you, my dear ministers, please go and do your work."

Ning Quan gave the order with a smile.

"Yes, Your Highness, walk slowly."

Zhuge Liang and Li Jing bowed.

"Ah."

Ning Quan waved his hand, then took Man Chong, Li Yuanba and others out of the government office.

When Zhang Fei is not around, Li Yuanba becomes Ning Quan's personal bodyguard.

Ning Quan walked along the street, and every common people he met bowed to him respectfully.

This is a heartfelt recognition of Ning Quan, without any hypocrisy.

Ning Quan built water conservancy projects for the people, reclaimed farmland, and distributed food to them, which truly won him the respect and love of the people.

This made Ning Quan very proud.

Maybe this is a sense of accomplishment.

But Ning Quan also noticed that the people's eyes were full of worry.

Ning Quan certainly knew why this happened. Wasn’t it because of the drought?

No matter how generous Ning Quan was, he could not distribute enough food to the people, and he could not afford it.

Therefore, it has become normal for many people to not have enough food to eat.

And no one can predict what the future will be like.

This caused even more panic among the people.

But Ning Quan had no better solution. He had already done everything he could.

.........

Ning Quan came to an alley in the south of the city, where there was a porridge stall.

The porridge stall was filled with people waiting to get porridge.

These porridge stalls were all set up by Man Chong, and there were more than a dozen of them in Xizhou City.

Officials at all levels were responsible for distributing porridge, and soldiers were there to maintain order.

Ning Quan walked into the porridge shed, and officials and soldiers knelt down to salute him.

"See Your Highness!"

"No gifts."

Ning Quan waved his hand and looked at the several large pots in the porridge shed.

The porridge in the big pot has boiled and is emitting white smoke.

Ning Quan stirred the porridge a few times with chopsticks and it was still quite thick.

"Your Highness, the amount before was larger than it is now."

"The current quantity was changed just the day before yesterday, mainly for the sake of saving."

Man Chong whispered.

"Well, we need to be frugal."

"According to the military advisor, the drought will definitely last more than a year, and difficult times are still ahead."

"But we must ensure that children are well fed and not let them go hungry."

Ning Quan warned.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I have other plans for you."

Man Chong said.

“Any other plans?”

"Yes, I have established four schools in the city. All children of school age can attend for free, and we provide them with free food to ensure they have enough to eat."

"There are now more than 5,000 children attending the school, basically all the children in the city are there."

Man Chong explained.

"Haha, not bad, that's a good idea."

"As long as I go to school, I have food to eat. This is killing two birds with one stone."

Ning Quan was relieved to hear this.

"Your Highness is right. This is exactly what I meant."

"The children are too weak. Even if they are given food, I'm afraid they won't be able to keep it."

Man Chong said solemnly.

"Well, that's the truth."

Ning Quan pondered.

.........

After leaving the porridge stall, Ning Quan came to the east of the city.

The east of the city is the commercial district, with all kinds of shops.

Business seems to be okay, with people coming and going in front of the store.

In particular, the front of the grain shop was crowded with people, all of whom came to buy rice.

"Why are these grain shops still selling grain? Where do they get the grain?"

Ning Quan asked in surprise.

"Your Highness, these grain stores are all run by the Arabs."

Man Chong explained.

"I see. It seems the Arabs really don't lack food."

"Yes, Your Highness, I have inquired privately. Not only is there no shortage of food in the Arab world, but Persia is also not suffering from drought and is not short of food either."

Man Chong said.

"Isn't Persia short of food?"

"What a pity, Persia is too far away, otherwise we could buy food from Persia."

Ning Quan said regretfully.

"Your Highness, even if it were close, Your Highness doesn't have the money to buy it."

Man Chong laughed when he heard this.

Man Chong certainly knew that Ning Quan had spent all the money.