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

Chen Futu seemed not to hear the system's notification, staring intently at the ruins.

Click!

Suddenly, a dirty hand reached out from under the rubble.

Everyone was overjoyed to see this, exclaiming, "General Li is still alive!"

"Xiuning!"

Chen Futu ran over quickly, and then the hand burst forth with black energy, forcefully breaking through the rubble. Caught off guard, everyone was almost knocked to the ground by the energy.

At first glance, Ake stood up unsteadily and then helped Li Xiuning, who was lying face up, to her feet.

Li Xiuning patted the mud off her clothes, looking disheveled, and said, "You scared me to death, thank goodness you were here."

It turned out that when the house collapsed, Ake shielded her with his body, even bending over to prevent crushing the baby in Li Xiuning's womb.

They withstood the ruins for so long with their own flesh and blood.

Seeing that the two were safe and sound, excited shouts erupted all around, and even Zhuge Liang and Liu Bowen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, Your Highness is unharmed, otherwise..."

Yu Qian was filled with emotion; he dared not even think about the chaos that would ensue if the young mistress were gone.

Chen Futu quickly walked a few steps to the two of them.

Li Xiuning pouted, almost bursting into tears, looking like a big, messy cat.

Chen Futu touched her face and said to Ake, "Thank you for your hard work."

Ake whispered, "Your subordinate has not failed in your mission."

"Go back and get some rest. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Chen Futu wanted to say a few words to comfort Ake and praise her for doing a good job, but suddenly a trace of blood spilled from the corner of Ake's mouth.

Chen Futu was suddenly startled, "You're injured!"

"It's a minor injury, nothing serious."

Although Ake said that, Chen Futu could clearly feel that her aura was extremely weak. After all, she had endured for so long with her flesh and blood, and finally accumulated power to burst out with her qi to break through the stone pile. Anyone else would have been crushed to death long ago.

Chen Futu immediately ordered someone to escort Li Xiuning and Ake back.

Chen Yuling stubbornly refused to leave, insisting on going with Huo Qubing to help the people. Chen Futu did not refuse, believing that it was good to have a sense of righteousness and compassion, and that seeing the suffering of the people would prevent her children from becoming spoiled brats.

Strangely enough, after confirming Li Xiuning's safety, Chen Futu's headache, which had been bothering him, suddenly disappeared. He didn't know if it was related to the system or if it was a sign of something.

Subsequently, Chen Futu personally oversaw the disaster relief efforts. Yu Qian said that the price of grain in the city had skyrocketed, and Yan Qing had some grain in his possession, but it was not enough to cope with so many disaster-stricken people.

According to investigations, the earthquake affected not only Longcheng, but also surrounding towns and villages. Preliminary estimates suggest that more than 200,000 people were affected.

After a moment's thought, Chen Futu did not forcibly requisition the merchants' grain. Instead, he instructed Yu Qian to write down the names of those people and remove them from the Ministry of Commerce's list later.

Making money is fine, but profiting from national disasters is unacceptable!

The government granary still has some grain reserves, which were originally intended to last until this year's bumper harvest. Now they are being used for emergency purposes, but merchants may not be so kind as to lower grain prices in the future.

The Great Qian Dynasty is currently at war, facing a severe food shortage. With this sudden attack in Longcheng, grain prices in the northern border region are also on the verge of collapse.

"You want me to compromise? Impossible!"

Chen Futu ordered Dian Wei to prepare the warehouse, and then went to the warehouse alone to put away the 100,000 shi of grain that the system had rewarded him with.

One hundred thousand shi is equivalent to twelve million jin, which is enough to feed 30,000 people for a year. In addition, the grain stored in the warehouse and Yan Qing's granary is sufficient to last until the harvest.

However, the news can be kept secret for now; let's see how long those businessmen can hold out.

Dian Wei arranged for the Tiger Guards and Shadow Guards to guard the granary, forbidding anyone from approaching. Subsequently, batches of grain were delivered to the disaster relief sites, and Yan Qing was extremely busy at the relief points.

Upon seeing Chen Futu arrive, she said bitterly, "I have inquired and found that the three major grain merchants, in conjunction with some larger merchants, have raised grain prices. They seem to have inside channels and know that Longcheng's grain reserves are insufficient to support the harvest."

The so-called three major grain merchants refer to the Guo family of Guanzhong, the Sun family of Jiangnan, and the Chen family of Huaixi.

They controlled many grain stores, with branches distributed throughout the country, and they also plundered many smaller grain merchants.

Rumor has it that the grain they hoarded was moldy and rotten, but they kept it in their hands, waiting for a major upheaval in the world to make a fortune.

They have connections to both the princes and rebel kings of the Great Qian Dynasty, and the Red Moon Pavilion is also related to them.

"These damned bastards, once my army arrives, they'll hand over all the grain they have!"

Chen Futu had no sympathy for those who profited from the nation's misfortune; they not only plundered the wealth of the Great Qian Dynasty but also dared to plunder the northern frontier.

The grain stored in the national treasury all came from merchants doing business in the northern border region. They themselves were not sensitive to grain and could not afford to play such a big game. They offered money and grain in order to seize profits in the northern border region, which was just a pledge of loyalty.

Unfortunately, the three major grain merchants are not under the jurisdiction of northern Xinjiang.

"Yan Qing, which is the largest trading company in the Northern Frontier?" Chen Futu asked.

Yan Qing thought for a moment and replied, "It is the Guo family of Guanlong. It is said that they have a granary called Taipingcang with countless grains. Unfortunately, no one knows where it is. If Your Majesty knew, you could secretly send someone to take action."

"Taiping Warehouse?"

Chen Futu ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to send a message to Mao Xiang, instructing him to search carefully for the location of the Taiping Warehouse. If they could find it, they could launch a major operation.

The disaster relief work was entrusted to Zhuge Liang and Yan Qing. When Chen Futu returned to the royal court, he found that the workers were inspecting the houses. There were no major problems, and only minor repairs were needed.

However, there is definitely something wrong with the collapse of Mansion One, and accountability is needed.

Di Renjie narrowed his eyes. "Does Your Majesty mean that someone wants to harm you?"

"You see, all the other residences in Pingkang Ward are fine, only the Gu family's No. 1 residence has an issue. Don't you find that suspicious?"

"That's true, but who has the ability to predict the future? Even Tianjizi couldn't have foreseen the earth dragon turning over so early."

Di Renjie raised questions.

"You don't need to worry about these things. Just investigate and find out the truth. Any problems will naturally come to light."

Chen Futu issued a strict order.

Di Renjie didn't say anything more. In fact, upon closer inspection, there was something strange about it. Logically speaking, the materials used in the No. 1 residence should have been the most exquisite.

Inside the inner palace, Qingyi was also there. She had come specifically to visit Li Xiuning after hearing about the incident at No. 1 Residence.

"Fortunately, His Majesty arranged for Ake to protect him in advance, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable." Qingyi clicked her tongue in amazement.

Her residence in Zhongnan Mountain was not seriously damaged, and her disciples were only frightened. On the contrary, the No. 1 residence, which was least likely to have problems, had an accident, which may be suspicious.

Even Qingyi noticed the problem; I believe Di Renjie will soon be able to find the root of the trouble.

Chen Futu suddenly remembered the system's warning that Long Luo was in danger, so he subconsciously asked, "Is Long Luo alright?"