The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1062: nibble step by step
Chapter 1062: Erosion Step by Step
Others saw Qin Shangzhi and the noble-looking woman who was protected by guards, eating some of the food together. This was surprising, as men from wealthy or noble families might not be used to eating from such a big pot of food. However, the girl, who was obviously from a noble family, did not show any disgust and seemed like someone who could endure hardships.
Some people have already suspected that this person is the emperor of their Great Zhou, but they also wonder how it is possible that the emperor would come here in person?
The emperor should be sitting in the Golden Palace and accepting the worship of all officials. Even when he goes out, he should be followed by all officials. That’s what is sung in the opera scripts.
After eating with the common people and soldiers, Bai Qingyan wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, looked at the soldiers and common people eating in the makeshift shed, and said to Qin Shangzhi: “Add some meat to the meals for everyone. It’s impossible to do hard work without meat. If you don’t have enough silver, just ask the Ministry of Revenue for it.”
Qin Shangzhi nodded: “Okay!”
As soon as Qin Shangzhi finished speaking, he saw Xie Yuchang rushing into the dining shed with a report in his hand. He breathlessly handed the bamboo tube with the letter to Bai Qingyan: “Your Majesty, urgent news from Dengzhou!”
Bai Qingyan took the letter tube, opened it and poured out the letter…
Xie Yuchang calmed his heavy breathing for a while and delivered the message according to what the messenger had just said: “On the border between Xiliang and Rongdi, the Dengzhou army clashed with the Tianfeng elephant army. Our casualties totaled 36, and the enemy casualties totaled 13. One elephant was shot blind by the Dengzhou light cavalry.”
Qin Shangzhi’s palms tightened, and he turned to look at Bai Qingyan, who was reading the urgent report carefully, his face suddenly darkened: “Your Majesty…”
My uncle said in the letter that this was a deliberate provocation by the Tianfeng Kingdom. However, less than half an hour after the incident, Akshay of the Tianfeng Kingdom sent his deputy general to the Great Zhou military camp to apologize. Not only did he bring the head of the war elephant, he also sent the heads of more than 20 soldiers who brought the war elephant to the border for provocation, including the 13 dead people.
Not only that, the Tianfeng Kingdom also presented generous gifts and twenty war horses, begging for forgiveness, and also said… that it could bear the pensions of the dead soldiers of the Great Zhou, and the injured and disabled could be compensated ten times the pension of the Great Zhou.
The attitude of the Tianfeng Kingdom actually left the Great Zhou no room to hold on, and this was the first time that the Great Zhou had fought against the elephant army of the Tianfeng Kingdom. Even the cavalry was vulnerable in front of the elephants. Facing the huge beast, no matter how brave the soldiers were, they were helpless. And if they really went to the battlefield, the elephants would run wildly and it would be really difficult to hit their eyes.
Bai Qingyan tightened his grip on the letter paper, and his mind suddenly became clear.
She rolled up the letter her uncle sent her and lit it with the candle on the black lacquered square table.
Qin Shangzhi looked at the flickering firelight, which made Bai Qingyan’s cold eyes flicker. He tightened his palms and lowered his eyes to think quietly. It would take time for the news to be sent from Dengzhou to here. The alliance of several countries was proposed by Tianfeng Kingdom and Xiliang. Didn’t the generals of Tianfeng Kingdom know about it? Why did they do such a thing at the juncture of the alliance of several countries?
Bai Qingyan looked at the almost burnt paper with coldness in her eyes. In less than half an hour, she had been able to cut off the head of the war elephant that their Tianfeng country was proud of, and without hesitation, she also presented the heads of their soldiers, as well as generous gifts and twenty war horses. She handled it so quickly and neatly without even the slightest hesitation. She would never believe that this was not prepared in advance.
She knew… that the Tianfeng Kingdom was trying to test the Great Zhou.
The alliance among the countries was proposed by the Tianfeng Kingdom, so they took action at this time to test the waters, pushing this action onto an unexpected friction between the two sides, and then lowering their posture to offer generous gifts, war elephants, and the heads of the Tianfeng Kingdom’s soldiers, as well as compensation. Even if the Great Zhou was annoyed, they would not really fight, and it could also show that they were sincere in the alliance.
The Tianfeng Kingdom handled it so efficiently. I think… it has used this method to test the strength of other countries in order to formulate a strategy for conquest.
My uncle also said in the letter that the Tianfeng Kingdom had recently been buying grain and fodder at high prices on the border of the Great Zhou. Many grain merchants had to go through the Rongdi route to trade with the Tianfeng Kingdom because Bai Qingqi had blocked the Qiushan Pass and did not allow grain to leave the pass. The Tianfeng Kingdom offered extremely high prices and was buying grain at all costs.
It is normal for businessmen to pursue profits.
Presumably… there were also grain merchants who sent grain to Yan State, and then from Yan State, which had not yet closed the trade route to Xiliang, they sent grain to Xiliang and sold it to Xiliang at a high price.
“Where is the person my uncle sent to deliver the letter?” Bai Qingyan asked.
“The man fainted when the emergency report was delivered. Doctor Hong has already gone to see him!” said Xie Yuchang.
“Qingzhu, pick a few people and go to Dengzhou immediately to tell my uncle… that there is no need to stop the grain merchants from selling grain. Gather them together and tell them that if they want to make a profit, they need to limit the amount of grain they sell to Tianfeng Country every day. And any grain sold to Tianfeng Country will be increased by twenty times the current price of grain in Tianfeng Country…”
“Yes!” Shen Qingzhu received the order and was about to go and pick the Bai family guards to go…
“Miss Shen, wait a minute!” Xie Yuchang looked at Bai Qingyan in surprise, “Your Majesty, do you mean that the daily rate will increase by twenty times the rate of the previous day?”
“Yes! Let uncle tell the grain merchants that only if they start to limit the grain supply to Tianfeng Country, and the less they give to Tianfeng Country…the more room there is for price increase! Merchants are profit-driven…they will understand what I mean!”
The Tianfeng Kingdom came from the other side of the snow-capped mountains, and the land in the country was severely desertified. Although the grain production was enough to maintain domestic operations, and there might be grain reserves, it could not withstand the cost of the Tianfeng Kingdom’s expedition, and the cost of transporting grain was also extremely high. The Tianfeng Kingdom could only get it from Xiliang, or buy it from merchants in Dazhou and Yan…
But these merchants must have already known whether there is grain in Xiliang, otherwise they would not have bypassed Qiushan Pass to transport grain to Xiliang. Scarcity makes things valuable, and if there is less… there is reason for the price to go up. The merchants are very smart!
“Miss Shen, please accompany His Majesty. I will go and pick someone to deliver the letter!” After Xie Yuchang saluted Bai Qingyan, he left quickly.
Bai Qingyan stood up and walked along the river bank for a while accompanied by Qin Shangzhi. He explained the canal repair matter to Qin Shangzhi, and then was helped by Shen Qingzhu and Chuntao to get on the carriage.
Seeing that the pregnant Bai Qingyan was thinner than before, Qin Shangzhi clenched his fists and stepped forward to Bai Qingyan and said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry when you go to Pingyang City. After Tianfeng tried to test the border of Rongdi, it lowered its posture and paid compensation. So I think what Tianfeng wants most now is to take advantage of the situation to gain a firm foothold, establish an alliance with Da Zhou and Dayan, and then nibble away at them step by step. They dare not act recklessly at the moment!”
After saying this, Qin Shangzhi felt that Bai Qingyan must have understood it long ago, so he pursed his lips and bowed to Bai Qingyan: “Take care, Your Majesty!”
First update, keep begging for monthly votes la la la la!