The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Chen Nan waved his hand: "Take him out and behead him!"

Upon hearing the sound, Qingyu pulled the person away.

After the two left, Mo Bai asked, "Your Highness, this man clearly knew something. Why didn't you arrest him and torture him?"

Chen Nan smiled. He could naturally guess what Mo Bai was talking about.

But the other party said that after he accepted the mission, he never thought about the possibility of survival.

From this alone, Chen Nan knew that he couldn't get any useful information from the other party, so there was no need to keep that person around.

Soon a scream came from outside the government office. When Qingyu came back in, her face was stained with a few drops of blood.

"Your Highness, that man has already been beheaded by this humble general. Does Your Highness have any further orders?"

Chen Nan breathed a sigh of relief; the current situation was indeed a headache.

The people and forces behind Liu Banggua were too terrifying, and the Empress Dowager had fallen into a coma.

If he abandons his responsibilities, no one in this world can do anything to him.

But he couldn't do that; he could only rely on his own abilities to break through this situation step by step.

Chen Nan then said, "General Qingyu, go and inspect the streets first. Make sure the safety of the people is guaranteed. After the people of Weidu are completely settled, come with me to get food."

When she heard the first sentence, Qingyu could understand it.

But after hearing what he said, he was filled with doubt.

Procurement of grain? Where to get grain?

He hadn't forgotten that Mo Bai had already said that all the grain in the entire Wei capital had been collected by the family's forces.

Moreover, he noticed when he left the city that some shops on the street had their doors tightly closed and showed no intention of opening.

However, since it was Chen Nan who said it, he couldn't ask any questions and could only nod: "Then this subordinate will go to the streets to suppress the people!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Nan quickly advised, "Remember, it's not about suppression, it's about appeasement."

"The situation is already chaotic enough. If General Qingyu continues like this, it will only exacerbate the crisis facing Northern Wei."

Qingyu nodded emphatically: "Your Highness, rest assured, this humble general knows what to do!"

He simply assured them that he knew, of course, that under these circumstances, normal methods would be completely ineffective in suppressing the people, and only special measures could be used.

After everyone left, Mo Bai asked in confusion, "Your Highness, there are no shops selling grain on the streets anymore. Even if we wanted to buy some, there's nowhere to go."

Chen Nan stared at Mo Bai with a cold expression, then suddenly revealed a cruel smile: "Do you know the fundamental difference between us and those powerful families?"

Mo Bai pondered for a moment and said, "Could it be that we have the imperial court as our backer?"

Chen Nan shook his head and chuckled, "Of course not."

"The fundamental difference between us and them is that we have soldiers under our command!"

"Two hundred thousand troops are in my hands; the food supplies are only temporarily in their hands."

"If things really come to a certain point, what will that grain be? It will be nothing more than lambs that attract wolves!"

"Your Highness, are you saying we should send our troops to plunder grain?" Mo Bai stared at Chen Nan with his mouth agape in disbelief.

Chen Nan used to be very kind to him, but just now, he felt that Chen Nan was too frightening, like a complete stranger.

Chen Nan shook his head again: "No, you're wrong. We're not letting our troops plunder grain!"

"Do you remember Qian Pi, the Minister of Revenue back then? Didn't he provide a lot of evidence of powerful families forcibly seizing land? We have enough of that!"

Mo Bai suddenly realized and said, "Your Highness, do you mean we should confiscate all the grain from those people's homes?"

He quickly realized, "But Your Highness, although Qian Pi has confessed to a number of people, those people are just small fry in the capital. Even if we ransack their homes, it won't be enough to feed so many people in the capital."

Chen Nan was well aware of this; if they relied solely on plundering the grain from those aristocratic families, it would only last for half a month at most.

But where will the people find food again after half a month?

Chen Nan said fiercely, "Did Qian Pi really only reveal that little bit?"

"Aren't there still many powerful and influential families in Weidu?"

"If they obey and hand over the grain, I might spare their lives. But if they disobey orders, hmph..."

At this moment, Mo Bai finally understood that his prince had not only set his sights on the few families that Qian Pi had mentioned, but on all the families in the entire Wei capital.

However, he didn't understand why Chen Nan would visit those families who usually hid themselves so well and had no weaknesses exposed.

And so, the two waited in the government office until nightfall.

Moonlight fell on the front of the government office, and a cold wind swept by, causing Mo Bai, who was inside the government office, to shiver.

Footsteps could be heard coming from outside.

Afterwards, Qingyu and Changsun Du entered the government office together.

"Your Highness, the people have all been settled!"

"As the prince said, no pedestrians are allowed on the streets after sunset. Right now, there are only patrol teams on the streets!"

After Qingyu finished speaking, Changsun Du frowned and said, "The silver ornaments that Your Highness ordered have been completed. These are just two that this old minister randomly selected."

As he spoke, he opened his right hand, revealing two tiny silver needles lying quietly in his palm.

"Oh? You've already made the silver needles?"

Chen Nan was delighted and took the silver needle from Changsun Du's hand, examining it carefully for a long time.

He praised, "Excellent, this is exactly what I need."

Seeing this, Changsun Du finally breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled twice: "As long as Your Highness's requirements are met, this old minister's efforts will not have been in vain."

Chen Nan didn't reply, but glanced at the door and said, "There's nothing more for the Right Chancellor to do here. Go back and get a good night's sleep tonight, and remember to attend court tomorrow!"

Going to court?

Changsun Du was dumbfounded. The Empress Dowager was lying in the Imperial Hospital, her life hanging in the balance. Who would attend court for them tomorrow?

He looked at Chen Nan for a long time, then finally realized that since it was Chen Nan who was asking to attend court tomorrow, it was naturally Chen Nan who was arranging things in the court.

"Your Highness, rest assured, this old minister will definitely inform all court officials to attend court on time tomorrow!"

Changsun Du was already beginning to regret that he had personally delivered the silver needles in order to make a good impression on Chen Nan and the future Empress Dowager.

He never expected Chen Nan to assign him other tasks at the last minute. If he had known this would be the outcome, he definitely wouldn't have come in person.

However, since everyone had arrived and Chen Nan had made arrangements, he couldn't disobey.

Then, Chen Nan looked at Qingyu and grinned: "General Qingyu, are you ready?"

Qingyu asked, puzzled, "What does Your Highness require me to prepare?"

"Of course, we're going out to gather food!"

With that, he turned his back on everyone and walked out of the government office first.