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238. Enough Food to Guard South City

After returning to the Gu Mansion, Lin Qingxue immediately began to compile a detailed account of her family's grain reserves so that she could provide more accurate support to the front line.

She knew very well that every grain of food was related to the life and death of soldiers on the front line and the safety of the country.

At the same time, Gu Jinyu and Lin Qingmin were also busy raising military rations. They ran around and negotiated cooperation with grain merchants in various places.

However, things did not go as smoothly as expected. Some grain merchants, worried about the uncertainty of the war and fearing that something might go wrong during the transportation of grain, raised prices one after another, and some even refused to cooperate directly.

Gu Jinyu was extremely anxious. He found Lin Qingxue and said with a frown, "Sister-in-law, these grain merchants are really difficult to deal with. If this continues, the progress of raising military grain will be greatly reduced."

Lin Qingxue pondered for a moment and calmly analyzed, "The situation is urgent now. We can't let these grain merchants lead us by the nose. You and Lao Wu should calm them down first. I have prepared a batch of grain for you. You should send this batch over first."

As she spoke, Lin Qingxue told Gu Jinyu that she had asked her brothers from her mother's side to go to the village to collect grain, and that she had grain stored on her farm.

"Sister-in-law, thanks to you, otherwise this matter would be really difficult to handle," Gu Jinyu's tone was full of gratitude. He almost got into trouble while doing his job.

"Jinyu, transporting food is not easy. You need to arrange more people to accompany you, and you must also pay attention to protecting yourself. Go talk to those grain merchants in the next two days. I will ask Lao Wu to prepare the food, and we can set off in a few days."

Lin Qingxue smiled and said that she didn't necessarily need the grain from those grain merchants, but she just didn't want to leak the news that she had grain.

"I understand, sister-in-law. Should I tell the truth to my uncle the emperor?" Gu Jinyu touched his nose and asked cautiously.

"You can tell the truth. By the way, I also made two of those pistols recently. You and Lao Wu each carry one just in case. You can personally deliver the other one to the emperor! I wanted to ask your brother to deliver it, but he's not at home, so you can do it for him."

As Lin Qingxue spoke, she pulled out a square wooden box from under the study. She placed the box on the desk and when she opened it, she saw three pistols and a pile of bullets inside.

"Sister-in-law, thank you. It is a blessing for my brother to marry you," Gu Jinyu's tone was full of flattery when he saw the pistol he had been thinking about.

Gu Jinyu looked so disgusting that Lin Qingxue could only endure the discomfort in her heart, taught Gu Jinyu how to use it, and then drove him away.

Gu Jinyu had no idea that he was being despised to death. He happily carried the wooden box back to his yard. He put one of the pistols in the box, grabbed a handful of bullets and threw them into the box, then carried the box to the palace himself.

Gu Jinyu rode at full speed to the palace and went straight to the imperial study to ask to see the emperor.

After the announcement, he was quickly led in. The emperor was reviewing the military report from the border with a frown on his face. When he saw Gu Jinyu come in, he raised his head with a look of expectation and inquiry.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report," Gu Jinyu bowed respectfully, placed the wooden box in his hand on the table in front of the emperor, and then reported in detail about Lin Qingxue's preparation of food and the gift of a pistol.

Upon hearing this, the emperor's eyes flashed with surprise. "Lin Qingxue is truly a woman who is as capable as any man. The court is truly fortunate to have her help at this critical moment. This pistol was the one that displayed such power at the Imperial Manor."

Gu Jinyu nodded quickly, "That's right, Your Majesty. This gun is extremely powerful and easy to operate. It will definitely be effective at a critical moment."

As he spoke, he opened the box, took out a pistol, and carefully demonstrated to the emperor how to use it. The emperor's eyes revealed great interest and appreciation.

After the demonstration, the emperor took the pistol in his hand, examined it carefully, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Such a magical weapon must be put to good use. Jinyu, you must immediately make arrangements to ensure that the food and fodder are safely transported to the front line as quickly as possible. No mistakes can be made."

"I obey your order!" Gu Jinyu accepted the order and withdrew. After leaving the palace, he went to find Lin Qingmin to discuss the specific matters of transporting food and fodder.

In addition to drawing a team from the military camp to provide special escort, Gu Jinyu also selected twenty secret guards from the Gu family's secret guard camp to provide accompanying escort.

In the palace, Gu Jinyu handed the box to the emperor, and only the two of them knew what he said. Even the emperor's personal eunuch was driven out, so no one else knew.

What Lin Qingxue knew was that when Gu Jinyu came back that day, he brought with him the imperial decree that the twin Gu Huaixi would be made a princess.

At this point, the third generation of the Gu family had four princesses, and all four girls were princesses.

On the other side, Lin Qingming and Lin Qingran acted quickly.

The next day, Lin Qingming brought his servant back to Linjia Village and patiently told Village Chief Lin that Lin Qingxue wanted them to sell food to support the front line.

When the villagers heard that this was for the purpose of defending the country, they were all very enthusiastic and expressed their willingness to fully support. They not only took the initiative to take out the extra food, but also helped to organize and transport it. The whole village presented a busy and united scene.

"Qingming, Qingxue's husband went south. What does she mean?" Village chief Lin called Lin Qingchu out to work, and took Lin Qingming to sit at home and chat.

"Grandfather, the Emperor has sent Prince Gu to South City to quell the rebellion. Prince Gu's younger brother and the fifth brother have collected enough food and supplies and are responsible for transporting them to South City. Qingxue wants my Xiaoshan and Xiaoqi to follow Prince Gu and run errands for him and learn more."

Lin Qingming looked outside and saw that there was no one else around, so he told Lin Qingxue about his plan.

"This is a good thing. You must have a good talk with Xiaoshan and Xiaoqi and ask them to follow their uncle and do their job well. Qingxue is thinking about you, so you must take good care of the children and don't let them cause any trouble."

Village chief Lin stroked his beard as he spoke. He knew that Qingxue was a good person. Even though she had become successful, she still did not forget to help her family.

"I know, uncle, don't worry, the third brother told me everything," Lin Qingming nodded seriously.

Outside, Lin Qingchu expressed Lin Qingming's intention, and the villagers were naturally happy. They worked hard to cultivate the crops, weren't they just to exchange them for silver?

With so much grain, it’s not that they don’t want to sell it, but rather that the grain is being priced down. If they don’t want to sell it at a low price, they can only keep the grain in the cellar at home.

Every household had a lot of surplus food, and now they could exchange the food for silver. The villagers were naturally willing to do so. They ran back home one by one, called their families and started moving the food out of the cellar.

Every household kept enough grain seeds for next year and food for the family, and the rest were moved to the doorstep of Old Man Lin's house.

Lin Qingchu sat at the door and asked the Lin family's servants to help weigh the items, while he was responsible for registration.

After a busy day, Lin Qingming was worrying about how to transport the food to the city when Gu Jinyu and Lin Qingmin came with a team of soldiers.

"Brother/Brother Lin," Gu Jinyu and the others arrived at the door of Old Man Lin's house and saw Lin Qingming standing in front of them. The two of them quickly dismounted and went over to greet him.

"Old Fifth, Mr. Gu, now that you are here, this is the grain in our village. I will give it to you now that you have arrived. This is the weight of all the grain in each household," Lin Qingming smiled and took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Gu Jinyu.

"I'm sorry to bother you with today's matter, Brother Lin. This is the silver for buying grain, a total of 10,000 taels. My sister-in-law said to buy it according to the market price. The extra money will be considered as your hard work fee. If there is less, I will give it to you later."

Gu Jinyu said with a smile on his face. He took out a stack of banknotes from his arms and handed them to Lin Qingming. The main reason was that he was more familiar with Lin Qingming, but not so familiar with the others.

"Okay, we still have some food on our farm. I'll have someone deliver it to you tomorrow, or do you want to find someone to deliver it yourself? Oh, and we have some back home too. You know we're fleeing famine, and every household likes to store food, fearing famine disasters. So we've got some extra, and Qingxue said you should use it first."

Lin Qingming scratched his head embarrassedly as he spoke. His sister had taken out so much food, and he didn't know what excuse to make.

"It's okay. More food is better. Brother Lin, you don't know those grain merchants in the imperial city who are trying to increase the price of grain. It's just that I'm busy right now and don't have time to deal with them. Otherwise, they will be in trouble. They are still thinking of making money from the national crisis at this time."

Gu Jinyu was so angry that he wanted to bite the bullet. If he wasn't afraid of delaying Nancheng, he would have dealt with those grain merchants.

Lin Qingming smiled and said nothing more. These were not things he could get involved in.

Fortunately, Gu Jinyu also knew his limits. He just complained and expressed his gratitude to Lin Qingming and the villagers of Linjia Village. Gu Jinyu and Lin Qingmin immediately took people to transport the grain back to the imperial city and found someone to guard it.

Lin Qingming went in and said something to Old Man Lin and the others, then immediately returned home with his servant. Only Lin Qingmin was the most pitiful. He finally returned home, but he didn't even have time to spend time with Old Man Lin and the others. He just said hello and went back to the imperial city.

After transporting the grain in the village away, Gu Jinyu and the others breathed a sigh of relief. The next step was to transport the grain from Lin Qingxue and several other farms.

After all the food was received, Gu Jinyu and Lin Qingmin set off for the imperial city with people and food. As soon as they left, the entire imperial city became quiet.

Especially the grain merchants in the imperial city, they thought that the grain in their hands could be sold at a high price and they could also make a profit.

As a result, not only did he not make any money, but he was also targeted by the Gu family.

On the other side, Gu Jinxuan led three thousand horses and galloped day and night, finally arriving at Nancheng after ten days.

As soon as Gu Jinxuan arrived, he took out the emperor's edict and directly took over the entire South City. He distributed the 3,000 soldiers he brought with him to watch the various intersections outside the South City, and also sent a hundred people to watch the herdsmen.

In the South City, Gu Jinxuan called all the officials in the South City to come and understand the situation. He had just arrived and needed to know the specific situation in the South City before he could make arrangements.

Gu Jinxuan sat in the lobby of the Nancheng government office with a stern expression, his eyes scanning the officials below the stage with sharp gazes.

The expressions of these officials varied, some looked frightened, while others pretended to be calm.

"Everyone, the situation in Nancheng is serious now. The emperor sent me here to quell the rebellion. We are all officials appointed by the court and should work together," Gu Jinxuan's voice was low but extremely intimidating.

An elderly official stepped forward and said tremblingly, "Prince Gu, these herdsmen often invade, burn, kill, and loot. Although we are willing to resist, every time we get the news and rush over, the herdsmen have already left. Furthermore, we are short of food and fodder, and we also have to support the villagers who have been robbed. There is simply not enough food."

Gu Jinxuan frowned slightly. "I've already made arrangements for the food and fodder, and they'll be arriving soon. As for the troops, the three thousand I brought have already been deployed at key thoroughfares. Any movement by the herdsmen will be known in advance. However, as the local officials, you have the best understanding of the people and the terrain of Nancheng. Do you have any countermeasures?"

At this time, a young official stepped forward and said, "Sir, I've heard these herdsmen are skilled in horseback archery and are quick to move. We can set traps along key roads, lure the enemy deeper with a small force, and then encircle and annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"We can also send people to monitor the roads leading to the villages, and we can also send people to negotiate with the herders," another official also stood up and said.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Gu Jinxuan's eyes. "This plan is feasible, but we need to think it through carefully and make sure it's foolproof. Also, I want to know the safety of the people in the city. Have any of them been abducted by the herdsmen?"

A portly official looked embarrassed and muttered, "Your Highness, many people in the villages outside the city have indeed been abducted, and their fate is unknown. The people in the city are in a panic, and many want to flee South City."

"The herders would travel in groups of about ten people each time, galloping on horseback, looting things or people and then running away. Our soldiers couldn't catch up, so they had to flee without a fight."

The young official who had spoken earlier stood up, his face full of guilt and helplessness.

Gu Jinxuan slammed the table. "We must not let the people escape. If we disrupt their morale, South City will be in danger! Immediately post notices to reassure the people, informing them that the court will protect their safety and do everything in its power to rescue the captured people."

"Yes, Prince Gu," the officials stood up and accepted the order.

Next, Gu Jinxuan issued several more orders. It must be said that his ability was outstanding, which convinced the officials present.

Gu Jinxuan's arrival made the people of Nancheng feel much more at ease, as if they had found a backbone.

At the same time, Lin Qingxue, who was far away in the imperial city, was not idle either. She knew very well that the food was only enough for South City for a few months, and she had to find a way to get more food.

In order to make Gu Jinxuan worry-free, Lin Qingxue thought of a solution for several days. It was not that she had no way to collect the grain, but that was a bad idea. After dealing with this group of grain merchants, another group of grain merchants would emerge.

This is only a temporary solution and does not address the root cause, so the most important thing is to keep the food in the hands of the steward.

Lin Qingxue originally wanted to go and talk to the emperor in person about the establishment of a granary and a national treasury, but due to her status, she was not qualified to meet the emperor, nor was it convenient for her to be alone with the emperor for fear of attracting criticism.

But the Gu family has no shortage of people who can meet the emperor. Lin Qingxue thought about it and decided how to ask her to take Gu Huaining out of the classroom. She wanted to take Gu Huaining to see Princess Anyang.