Unlimited Resources: Raising a Minister with a Space Supermarket-Chapter 553 - 487: Ruthless, Truly Ruthless!

Fu Qing saw Jun Mobai so gloomy and depressed, feeling a dull ache in his heart.

"Prince, should we still stay in Yangcheng?"

Jun Mobai said in a deep voice, "Why not stay? Yangcheng is the last city of my fiefdom, Yangcheng cannot be lost again!"

"But... Li Guangpu, that old fox, is unlikely to support us so soon?" Since Li Guangpu had seen through their plan, he certainly wouldn’t deliver himself to their doorstep.

Although Li Guangpu is reputed to be a good general who guards the Great Liang Northern Border, he is not someone who cares for his people as if they were his children. Unless Jun Mobai is forced to flee in a panic, Li Guangpu is unlikely to send troops to support.

The new emperor dispersed his troops, and Li Guangpu could completely delay support under the pretext of regrouping his forces.

"It’s even better if he doesn’t come. We’ve brought four thousand soldiers to Yangcheng, and with the men in Su Jingchen’s hands, we have over five thousand. Although we can’t confront the Hu directly in battle, if we want to defend the city, we can still hold it.

Go out and tell Su Jingchen to come in!" Jun Mobai said, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he spoke.

Seeing this, Fu Qing became worried, "Prince, let me and Minister Su discuss the matter of defending the city against the enemy. You should focus on recovering your health!"

Jun Mobai looked coldly at Fu Qing, "I’m not gone yet, and you’re already planning not to listen to me?"

Fu Qing remained silent and turned to call Su Jingchen inside.

Su Jingchen had already counted the troops Jun Mobai brought, and he did not expect Jun Mobai to bring so many soldiers. He became more confident about defending the city.

Knowing that Su Jingchen had already set up various traps and obstacles at the city gate, Jun Mobai had to look at him in a new light.

"I brought more than ten carts of grain and fodder. You don’t need to worry about food. As long as the gates are well-defended and the Hu army doesn’t breach the city, Li Guangpu will eventually come to support us!

I am in no condition to participate in defending the city now. The task of defense is entrusted to you and Fu Qing; discuss and counter the enemy together."

Soon after Jun Mobai finished instructing them, he fell into a coma again.

Fu Qing and Su Jingchen left the room, instructing Doctor Jin and Qi Yunfan to take good care of Jun Mobai, then went together to the council hall.

In the council hall, Fu Qing suggested that the elderly, weak, sick, and women and children in the city be let out through the South City Gate. This way, the city would be left with only elite soldiers, which would also save food and better defend the city.

"Let them out?" Su Jingchen frowned.

Letting them out essentially meant driving out those with no home to return to, leaving them without their final shelter.

"Minister Fu, rest assured, the people of Yangcheng will not become a burden to our defense!" The reason Su Jingchen insisted on defending the city was to protect these people.

If all these dependent people were driven out of the city, what would be the purpose of defending it?

"As far as I know, the food in the granary of Yangcheng County is already running low. Minister Su is providing porridge daily to relieve the public. If this continues, even if the Hu army does not breach the city, we will starve to death from the siege."

Fu Qing had no hopes for Li Guangpu’s reinforcements. The amount of grain they brought from Linzhou was limited, and if they continued to feed the soldiers well every day, the grain they brought would only last a month.

Fu Qing wanted to save resources, which Su Jingchen understood. "Minister Fu, you may not know, but my wife and I have some private property. We can provide food for those who cannot fare well without tapping into the county government’s granary."

Fu Qing frowned, ever since Su Jingchen and Yu Xiaolian came to Yangcheng, it could be said they had been living under their watchful eyes, and he knew very well whether they had private property.

"Private property? If I remember correctly, Minister Su and your wife’s business is in the south, isn’t it?"

"Has Minister Fu ever heard of the Mountain Moon Money Shop?"

Fu Qing was surprised, "Could it be that the Mountain Moon Money Shop is the venture of you and your wife?"

This Mountain Moon Money Shop, though a rising figure, had spread its branches across all states of Great Liang within just a few years.

He had inquired about the origin of the Mountain Moon Money Shop, knowing only that its owner was called Young Master Mountain Moon. Was Su Jingchen actually Young Master Mountain Moon?

No wonder Su Jingchen had the ability to subsidize the government out of his own pocket.

"Young Master Mountain Moon is my sworn brother." Su Jingchen smiled without revealing more.

Fu Qing immediately became respectful. Though they say scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the assets of this Young Master Mountain Moon were said to be as vast as a nation’s treasury, so who wouldn’t want to meet the mysterious Young Master Mountain Moon?

Even the new emperor, upon meeting Young Master Mountain Moon, would likely treat him with courtesy!

"If that’s the case, Minister Su must still have quite a bit of grain on hand?" Fu Qing was delighted, as long as there was food, he could hold the city.

Maybe, when the Hu army’s food is depleted and men and horses exhausted, they’d even have to open the city gates and pursue them!

"Not much, only enough to give the people some thin porridge.

Minister Fu, I believe merely defending the city is not the best strategy." Su Jingchen noticed Fu Qing did not intend to take the initiative.

Earlier, Su Jingchen also had no plans to confront the Hu army directly, but things were different now. Prince Linzhou brought over four thousand troops, so he was very willing to confront the Hu army head-on.

"Minister Su, what high opinion do you have?" Since learning Su Jingchen knew the wealthiest man in Great Liang, Fu Qing immediately changed his attitude.

"The Hu army has been triumphantly advancing all the way, surely their morale is high. They think we fled in panic and dare not confront them directly, so they will be arrogant and lax in defense.

We must do the opposite..."

As Su Jingchen laid out his plan, the admiration on Fu Qing’s face became more obvious the more he spoke.

Finally, Fu Qing’s eyes brightened, and he gave Su Jingchen a thumbs-up.

Malicious, truly malicious!

Oh no, brilliant, truly brilliant!

Fu Qing realized he had really underestimated, the maliciousness hidden in the bellies of these scholars; indeed, it’s better to anger a mighty force than a scholar.

These scholarly types, they’re sneakily devious!

Jun Mobai’s trusted aides were sent by Fu Qing to pursue An Ning and An Le, leaving him temporarily without available personnel.

This business of secret raids called for a few reliable and skilled individuals, which troubled Fu Qing for the moment. However, with over four thousand men, picking a few dozen good hands shouldn’t be difficult.

He needed to make careful selections.

Fu Qing was responsible for selecting personnel for the secret raids, while Su Jingchen went to find Doctor Jin and candidly asked him for poison.

Medicine and poison are not separate realms; although Doctor Jin did not have any ready-made poison, he expressed his willingness to prepare it and informed Su Jingchen that he had arsenic in his shop, used for processing arsenic trioxide.

However, it was well hidden, in a secret compartment under the floor of his pharmacy. Doctor Jin said that aside from himself, others would find it hard to locate.

Su Jingchen summoned He Jian to accompany Doctor Jin back to retrieve the arsenic.

Before leaving, Doctor Jin entrusted the task of preparing medicine for Prince Linzhou to his daughter Jin Shourou.

Jin Shourou remained by the pot brewing the medicine, her eyes fixed on the steam rising above the pot, her mind filled with countless thoughts.