Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 1097 - 1094_1

This New Year was remarkably cold - it could be said to be a once-in-fifty-years kind of cold. On the day of the Lantern Festival, goose-feather-like snow fluttered down from the sky, accumulating almost up to the knees.

That day, Xiao’er received a letter from Jingrui and laughed, "Brother Shangguan, most of the poor people in Xuwen County of Nangong Country have nothing to worry about anymore."

Having said this, Xiao’er handed the letter to Shangguan Xuanyi.

After skimming through the letter, even Shangguan Xuanyi couldn’t help but exclaim, "Jingrui’s idea is excellent!"

"Absolutely! In essence, this ends up winning over a portion of the populace in Xuwen County. Even if we cannot get their full support in our bid to take over Xuwen County, at least it reduces our resistance significantly."

Shangguan Xuan Yi nodded in agreement - Jingrui had indeed made wonderful use of opportune timing, advantageous geographical conditions and a harmonious human environment! However, they could also add some fuel to the fire: "We might as well seize this opportunity and have someone make remarks in front of Nangong Country’s people on how good it is to be a citizen of Minze Country."

"Absolutely, being able to be well-fed, well-clothed, and have surplus grain as a Minze citizen, who wouldn’t see life being more hopeful with each passing day! How could the people of Nangong Country not envy when they get wind of this? After repeatedly hearing such remarks over time, they’ll start wishing they too were citizens of Minze whenever they are hungry and cold."

The comparison between the citizens of the two countries was so stark that even a fool would know how to choose!

Shangguan Xuanyi nodded again. He walked towards his desk, took out a sheet of paper, and started writing a reply to Jingrui.

So, what did Jingrui do that made them sing his praises?

Due to this year’s exceptional cold weather, though Nangong Country was located in the south, it experienced the coldest weather in its history, with many people freezing to death before the New Year.

However, Jingrui carried forward his good practices from the Imperial City. As soon as the weather started freezing in Nanyue Prefecture, he set up a soup kitchen and even called upon local gentry to donate their unwanted old clothes and quilts to the poor, to help them ward off the cold.

As a result, the number of people freezing to death in Nanyue Prefecture during the whole winter was extremely low.

When news of such beneficence reached the boundary of the other side, it sparked envy among the citizens of Nangong Country.

After Jingrui received a secret letter from Xiao’er, he learned that the Imperial Court would wage war against Nangong Country after the New Year. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

At the coldest time of the year, he purposely arranged for an administrator to distribute gruel at the nearest border between Nangong Country and Minze Country. To the Marquis Shengping’s Mansion, this person was an administrator - he helped manage the business in the southern region. But, in the eyes of the uninformed, he was a wealthy merchant.

This wealthy merchant, using his personal name and the banner of imitating the Imperial Court’s benevolence, set up a soup kitchen every day. At first, the citizens of Nangong Country refrained themselves from coming over. But after enduring hunger and cold for so long, their lives were on the line and they couldn’t be bothered anymore. They built small bamboo rafts and secretly crossed the river to the soup kitchen to get gruel, and the ones distributing gruel turned a blind eye towards this.

As more and more poor citizens of Nangong Country came to know about it, they sneaked over to get gruel. This "sneaking over" is in relation to the government of Nangong Country. On the side of the merchant from Minze Country, he had stated that regardless of national borders, they were all neighbors, and he didn’t want to see any of their elders and fellow villagers starve to death!

Some citizens of Nangong Country were so poor that they couldn’t even maintain their homes. They chose not to return to Nangong Country but to stay in a ruined temple, planning to return only when the gruel distribution stopped.

Jingrui’s move seemed innocuous, but it was effective in winning the hearts of the people at critical moments.

While the Imperial Court planned to attack Nangong Country, it allowed citizens who did not resist to escape. However, when their homes were invaded, many citizens would resist with hoes, leading to mutual damage. But with the grace of the gruel, some people’s thoughts would change.

Actually, the people did not care who the emperor was - as long as they could live well.

With the gruel of graces and stories from Minze Country’s citizens paving the way, the attack on Xuwen County could definitely gain more than double the expected outcomes!

After finishing his letter, Shangguan Xuanyi sent it out overnight through Pigeon Post.

After the New Year, Shangguan Xuanjun secretly took a hundred thousand elite soldiers on various routes to Zhan’er Island.

The night before Shangguan Xuanjun’s departure, Shangguan Xuanyi came to the Wang Mansion and handed him a key.

"What good stuff are you giving me?" Shangguan Xuanjun took the key and threw it up in the air, then caught it again.

"Food supplies."

Shangguan Xuanjun interrupted his key-tossing action: "How much?"

He estimated that it would take him seven to eight years, if not ten, to conquer the whole of Nangong Country. His biggest concern was facing consecutive years of natural disasters, considering Minze Country had been free of significant natural disasters for a few years now. Ten years could potentially bring forth countless variables.

Human power cannot control situations like natural disasters. If there is a shortage of food and the soldiers have nothing to eat, wouldn’t it mean defeat without a fight?

"Two granaries containing a million food supplies, those are the storage from the granaries. I had them properly sealed, and the rice inside can last at least five years, while the grains can last for up to nine years. These food supplies are for emergencies. If there are no accidents, the food supplied by the Imperial Court should be sufficient."

Shangguan Xuanyi only gave him the keys to two granaries near Zhan’er Island. The food stored in them was previously taken from Xiao’er’s space.

At that time, Shangguan Xuanyi had built over ten granaries in various places to properly store the food from Xiao’er’s space, thereby housing millions of pounds of food supplies.

Those granaries were digged by the people Shangguan Xuanyi had arranged. The granaries were designed with great attention to detail. After digging the pit for the granary, they would first dry it with fire. Then, a thick layer of ash from grass and wood was spread at the bottom of the pit, over which a wooden board was placed. The board was then covered with a mat, straw chaff was laid on the mat, followed by another mat. The same procedure was followed for the granary’s walls. This method of "mat sandwiching chaff" ensured the granary maintained its warmth and was protected from dampness, just like a giant thermos bottle.

Of course, the storage of food supplies had to be carried out during winter to achieve the effects of low-temperature storage.

Such a granary not only provided protection against rodents and theft, dampness and fire, but also had excellent preservation abilities, which prevented the stored grains from heating up, sprouting or rotting.

The Imperial Court usually stored food supplies in this type of granary!

"One million? That much? That’s great!" With such an amount, he had nothing more to worry about and could press forward courageously!

After Shangguan Xuanjun left, Zhu Yan’s belly suddenly bulged on this day. Since she had been mindful about maintaining proper physical exercise while pregnant, she started experiencing labor pains and spotting late at night. By the next morning, she gave birth to a baby boy. The boy, robust and vigorous, looked just like Jingrui. Their whole family was overjoyed.

Xiao’er, upon hearing the news, was also very thrilled and wished she could see the baby right away. However, since her own delivery was soon due and moving around was not advisable, coupled with Mrs. Liu’s fear of disturbances, she refrained from visiting them.

Seeing other people’s children being born, Xiao’er, who suffered every night from breathlessness due to her enormous belly pressing against her heart, naturally hoped that her own child would come into the world as soon as possible. This way, she could escape the misery. No, she should say she was looking forward to regaining her freedom.