chief and asked him to sit down for tea. Jia Ren, hearing the commotion, also dropped his axe and came to greet them."Our village will have students from now on! Jiaren, this child, is sure to make o..."My lady, have you heard the news as well" The steward seemed flustered, launching into a flurry of words.
"What are we going to do So much food, wasted like this A perfectly good ship, taking on water every day, and it just happens to leak when we're transporting grain Someone must have sabotaged it!"
"I wonder which scoundrel did this! If I found out, this old servant would truly want to eat his flesh and drink his blood!
"The marquis is out there fighting with his soldiers, no one helps him, let alone he's so vicious to hold him back!"
Jia Yin was utterly confused, but instinctively felt that something was wrong.
"Butler, slow down! What happened"
The butler was taken aback, finally noticing that Jia Yin's face was amiss. He immediately regretted his actions.
Perhaps the Li family was afraid that the county princess would be worried, so they didn't tell her yet. Instead, he let it slip!
But all things considered, it's too late to keep hiding now.
He could only say, "This old servant only learned about it just now. The second batch of military supplies prepared to be sent to Jiangbei was loaded onto a ship at the dock. As a result, when it reached the middle of the river, the hold leaked and sank to the bottom of the water."
These foodstuffs were all collected from various states. Even if we could collect more, it would take another half month before they could be shipped out.
"The Marquis brought 100,000 troops to the north of the river. He can't possibly starve for half a month! What should we do"
The steward was so angry that he stomped his feet!
Jia Yin also turned pale. Needless to say, the sinking of the ship must have been intentional sabotage!
Just as the steward said, the ships traveling back and forth between Jiangbei and Jiangnan every day were fine. How could there be a problem when transporting grain, and even worse, all the military rations were sunk in the river!
One or two, you could say they weren't well-maintained on a daily basis.
That was dozens of them, all sunk. It wasn't human-made, could it be a water ghost appearing
The steward, afraid that the county princess would become angry, forced himself to suppress his anxiety and persuaded, “County Princess, please don’t worry too much. There are still one thousand dan of grain in the manor. This old servant will immediately dispatch someone to get them ready…”
Jia Yin shook her head and said, “It’s just a drop in the bucket! Uncle Butler, please don’t go to so much trouble. We should keep these grains for the people in the manor.”
"I'll go find my second uncle and Mr. Wen first, and ask what's going on and see if they have any solutions."
Having said that, she turned and walked away. The steward quickly followed behind, seeing her off and repeatedly urging, "My lady, I'll just stay in the mansion. If anything is needed, old servant will do my best. Please be sure to send someone to let me know."
"Okay, Master Butler, don't worry." Jia Yin rushed into the carriage and went to find her second uncle.
Li La Er wasn't well-educated and didn't take the civil service exams. Even after becoming a magistrate, he was initially ostracized and ridiculed by others.
But during his brother's disappearance, he was forced to mature early in his youth. He learned to be smooth and shrewd in dealing with things on his own.
Many flower lovers frequented the Hundred Gardens, and the Li family had been prosperous in recent years with deep imperial favor. Therefore, he gradually became familiar with many people in the Six Ministries and made a lot of friends.
At noon, he had just come out of the Ministry of War when he saw his niece waiting outside. He hurried over and greeted her, "Come on, let's go home and talk."
Jia Yin followed Second Uncle onto the car. As soon as the door closed, she immediately asked, "Second Uncle, what's going on Do you know who destroyed the military rations"
Li Lao Er's brow was furrowed like an iron knot, and he replied in a low voice, "This time things are very strange. We originally suspected that the old woman was behind it, but her minions outside were closely watched, and there hasn't been any movement recently at all."
"This is strange. Either we made a mistake, or someone else interfered. And they managed to place spies in the port military camp, otherwise such a big event couldn't have happened."
"Has Uncle Dayong started his investigation" Jiayin asked.
"Of course," Lao Er sighed, "This happened last night. Your Uncle Da Yong sealed the pier overnight."
"I've already had Zheng He look into it. Dayong thinks he messed up big time, his eyes are all red, he won't eat or sleep, and he's been scrutinizing everything."
"What does the Emperor say, Uncle" Jia Yin asked directly, hitting on the most crucial point.
Li Lao'er's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but feel a little sigh.
For so many years, the niece and the emperor got along well, almost like she was treating her own uncle with great affection. It's just that there was a bit more respect in it.
But ever since the start of this northern campaign, my niece had subtly shown some distrust towards the Emperor.
In front of outsiders, of course she didn't show it at all.
Often, her unconscious expressions and words in front of these family members could clearly reveal what she felt.
Although he knew the saying "emperors are ruthless" all too well, he still felt that perhaps the current emperor might be an exception. After all, the emperor had reached his position almost entirely thanks to the support of the Marquis, a relationship built on both kinship and gratitude.
As a result, he didn't expect to be slapped in the face so quickly.
The Emperor was furious and ordered the Ministry of War to investigate. He also decreed another levy on grain from all prefectures, preparing for another shipment in half a month.
Moreover, the Emperor sent a message to the Marquis, asking him to... hold on for half a month.
Jia Yin was immediately angered, “What kind of talk is this! Those alcoholic bureaucrats at the Ministry of War could investigate anything Even if they could figure something out, it would take a year and a half. Letting these hidden cancers exist unchecked, who knows what kind of trouble they will cause for the Northern Expeditionary Army later on!”
And besides, every prominent family in Xindu City has tens of thousands of dan of grain stored. If just a few families pool their resources, they could immediately replenish the army's rations and transport them away. What's the point of waiting for the various prefectures to collect them!
"What does it mean to persist for half a month! The situation on the battlefield changes in an instant, and a slight lapse can result in thousands of lives! Is that something that can be solved by simply persisting"
"Sigh," Li Laoer sighed, comforting his niece, "Don't worry, the Marquis has been through many battles. This time the front line is so long, he must have made arrangements in advance."
"Besides, I've discussed it with Mr. Wen, and tomorrow we will go with your Uncle Da Yong to borrow grain from each family. Since every family has children or grandchildren in the army, they wouldn't want their loved ones to starve."
"In this way, within three days the food supply will be exhausted. Once the grain collected by each province arrives, it will be returned to the households."
Jia Yin thought about it carefully, this is a good idea indeed.
Actually, she had a lot of food in her space, enough to immediately replenish the lost military rations.
But this is her trump card, a trump card that is not bound by anyone, a trump card that can turn the tide unexpectedly.
It's not time yet, we can't reveal it.
Jia Yin replied, "Second Uncle, this is a good idea. You guys just go ahead and do it. If you need help, be sure to let me know."
"I still have to return to the palace this afternoon. Since my foster father is not here, it's not good for you to enter the palace. I need to keep a close eye on things."
Li La Er was a little worried, but he couldn't stop it, so he could only advise, "This matter is very important, and there may be many hidden things that are not as simple as they appear on the surface.
"Whatever you do, think it through carefully. Most importantly, protect yourself and don't get yourself into trouble, understand"
"Understood, Uncle Two, please rest assured." Jia Yin solemnly replied.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the Earl's mansion. Wan’er didn't yet know that the military rations for the Northern Expedition had been destroyed. Seeing her father and sister-in-law return, she was overjoyed and began preparing extra dishes for lunch.
But in a little while, Mr. Wen came back too.
When the dishes were served, Li Laosan and Jiahuan stepped into the room one after the other.
... It's just a fool, even now he understands something's wrong.n Dong Mei turned around and delivered a powerful kick to her sensitive area, sending her sprawling backward with a cry of pain.The two gossips were dumbfounded. Before they could react, Dongmei sent...