After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

"These are all essential items for women, and they are more hygienic. Remember to inform the Ministry of Commerce that this is my private business, and that the money will be confiscated whenever it is exchanged."

Chen Futu was incredibly shameless. Women's money was the easiest to earn. In this era, high-quality sanitary napkins would be very popular with women. As long as hygiene knowledge was promoted effectively, brothels in various places would definitely purchase them in large quantities to make up for the losses. And here it is!

Ge Fei dared not ask any more questions, and hurriedly left with the documents.

Not long after she left, Ake suddenly appeared in front of Chen Futu, then slowly wiped the blood-stained moon blade, and finally sheathed it. "Your Majesty, the battle is over. You may rest. Your subordinate will guard you."

"Finished? So fast?" Chen Futu looked at the bloodstains on the black cloth in her palm in shock.

Ake said quietly, "An old bone like him is no match for me. I didn't kill him, I just left a mark on him."

After saying that, Ake disappeared again, and then Qiwen returned, looking rather unwell.

Chen Futu asked with a smile, "Where are you injured?"

"Your Majesty, the minor injuries are nothing serious, but she is very strong. I feel that she is on the same level as Qingyi. Where did the young master find her? I have never heard of such a powerful person."

Qiwen's confidence was shaken.

Both are Grandmasters, so why is he at the bottom? He was first beaten by Qingyi, and then he was beaten down by Ake.

These women are all incredibly monstrous. Judging from the intensity of their fight just now, Ake hadn't even used her full strength. If she really wanted to kill him, her elusive movements alone would probably be enough to kill him with a single strike.

"Don't be discouraged. She is extremely special. It's normal that you can't beat her. Once you break through another small realm in strength, you won't be in such a passive position."

Chen Futu smiled and offered a word of comfort.

Qiwen sighed, then took his leave to comprehend the Sword God's power. He had never felt such an urgent desire to break through as he did now.

Over the next three days, Chen Futu met with Xu Xiake and formally appointed him to his post. As for the Ministry of Commerce, Yu Qian did not agree with the king doing private business because the Ministry of Commerce was a state-owned institution, and every penny earned under all its efforts went to the national treasury.

In the end, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bowen stopped him from submitting the memorial.

The next day, Yan Qing prepared the caravan. Chen Futu disguised himself as one or two rough, bearded men, claiming to be merchants from the Western Regions. He then obtained a batch of hastily made glassware from the Ministry of Commerce. As for Liu Longyue, Dian Wei, Ge Fei, and Qi Wen, they naturally had to disguise themselves as well.

Since Consort Ge was originally from the Western Regions, she could directly impersonate his wife without any acting; it was completely natural.

Liu Longyue disguised herself as a waitress, which infuriated her.

Dian Wei looked at her and wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Qi Wen, on the other hand, disguised himself as a weary old coachman and did a very convincing job.

In the afternoon, the convoy left Longcheng and headed towards Daqian.

Chen Futu, with his rugged appearance, rode a famous horse from the Western Regions, swaggering through the city. It's estimated that even those who knew him well wouldn't recognize him as the majestic King of the Northern Frontier.

Furthermore, Chen Futu named himself Chocolate, a merchant from the Western Regions recommended by Madam Yan. With her as his guarantor, entering the capital would not be a problem.

To outsiders, Madam Yan was merely a merchant who had established herself in the northern frontier and was engaged in trade with various regions, so the Great Qian Dynasty would not make things difficult for her.

As we entered Daqian, we saw many tragic scenes along the way.

The aftereffects of the Chuzhou flood have not yet been resolved; the fields destroyed by the river are left unattended, and the houses have collapsed.

The villages we passed through had become dead villages, and some rotting corpses were left unattended, becoming meat torn apart by wild dogs.

Looking at this scene, Yan Qing couldn't help but feel sad, "How lonely and helpless the people are."

Qi Wen shook his head and fell silent. He had once been the Imperial Tutor of the Great Qian Dynasty, and he was very disappointed that the Great Qian Dynasty had become like this.

Even after the convoy crossed the border of Chuzhou and ventured deep into Daqian, the situation of the people still did not improve.

In Liu Longyue's words, it was lifeless. Perhaps after living in the northern frontier for a long time and seeing so many smiling faces of the people there, the impoverished villagers she encountered along the way had no smiles on their faces, and seemed like soulless shells with empty and numb eyes.

"Let's spend the night here."

As evening fell, they passed through a village, and Chen Futu ordered them to set up camp.

The village chief, old and frail, came to greet us, leaning on his cane and trembling.

In the distance, many people gathered together, watching the caravan and discussing it amongst themselves. However, the caravan was protected by a guard team dressed as the Tiger Guards, so they dared not approach, but their longing was undeniable.

Chen Futu asked the village chief, "What is the situation in the village? Why is it so poor?"

The village chief lamented, “You are unaware of what has happened. In the previous battles with the Northern Frontier, grain reserves from various regions were diverted to the front lines. Now, in order to cope with the possible snow disaster in winter and to stockpile grain for the Northern Frontier, the county governments in the Beixing Mountain area have increased the poll tax in accordance with the imperial court’s orders. Now, every household has no surplus grain and has to eat tree bark.”

"Does the imperial court not care about your lives?" Yan Qing couldn't help but question.

"The county government said that we were all lowly people, like those in Chuzhou, who could be beckoned by the northern frontier and leave. Therefore, the imperial court is becoming increasingly harsh on the people of the north."

The old village chief rambled on for a long time. In short, because of Chuzhou, Daqian not only increased taxes on the people in the Beixing Mountains area, but also strictly controlled speech. Recently, some villagers were reported by their fellow villagers for saying something that angered Daqian and were arrested and beheaded.

The government claimed that they were supervising each other, but recently many of those who betrayed their fellow villagers have been secretly beaten and killed.

Chen Futu looked outside the courtyard and saw that some people were still gathered, craning their necks to smell the meat.

Chen Futu felt sorry for the people and wanted to distribute some food to them, but Liu Longyue gestured for him not to do so, otherwise it would cause trouble and attract the attention of the government officials.

After the meal, Chen Futu took Dian Wei for a walk around the village. When they reached the village entrance, a thin, patched-up woman timidly approached them. From inside the thatched hut, they could hear a child crying.

Chen Futu looked at her suspiciously, "Madam, is there something you need?"

She glanced at Dian Wei first, seemingly very afraid.

Chen Futu laughed and said, "Don't worry, my guard just looks scary, but he's not a bad person. You can say whatever you want."

The woman hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered, "Brother, want to drive a pile? Six coins."

"Wha, what?"

Chen Futu's eyes widened suddenly, as if he had misheard.

The woman gritted her teeth, mustered her courage, and carefully repeated, "Six coins. Don't worry, I'm not dirty."

One penny can only buy a crispy cracker or something; she meant that the cost of driving a pile was the price of six crispy crackers.

wrong!

That's not the point!