Chapter 306 Caravan

(I have to work several jobs to pay off my debts recently, so I don’t have enough time to type. So I will copy first, and then replace it after I finish typing at midnight. I’m sorry, readers.)

In this way, after several days, as the news of the Qing invasion spread rapidly, people were panicked for a while.

And soon it was said that the court had issued orders to the princes of various places to lead their respective armies into Kyoto.

There was also news that the Qing did not go south at all. Everything was just a rumor to create panic. It was all a conspiracy of the Mongols. Various news were flying around, and no one knew what was true and what was false.

Xiangyang City did not receive the so-called transfer order.

In fact, Xiangyang City had no soldiers to transfer.

The original soldiers were not enough. If some of the soldiers were transferred away, would the Mongols still be able to defend?

Wu Gong was happy to be free these two days.

After being busy on the road for so long, he could finally stop and rest for a while. However, he did not do nothing.

In fact, Huang Rong has retreated behind the scenes. Now all military and national affairs in Xiangyang City are handled by Wu Gong. As for Guo Jing, no one knows where he went. Huang Rong also sent people to look for him, but she searched all the areas within hundreds of miles of Xiangyang City, but she couldn't find any trace of Guo Jing and his men. It was as if they had disappeared from the face of the earth.

However, she and Wu Gong also knew that they probably went to the Mongolian camp.

As for what they went to do, maybe only they themselves knew.

Looking at the various documents in front of him.

Wu Gong made annotations boredly.

Fortunately, with the help of Wang Yuyan, the processing speed was very fast.

It took less than two days to successfully solve the pile of documents.

In fact, as a prefect.

What you have to do every day is not as simple as you imagine.

It is not just a military issue related to leading troops to fight.

In fact, many prefect-level officials do not have military power.

This is also a way for civil servants in the Song Dynasty to curb their subordinates.

If it weren't for the special situation of Xiangyang City, in fact, there should be two officials in charge of the Xiangyang defense line, one in charge of government affairs and the other in charge of military affairs.

It is absolutely impossible for Guo Jing to be the governor of Xiangyang and also serve as the general of Zhenbei.

But no matter what, Guo Jing's title is the general of Zhenbei and the governor.

It is not just about government affairs.

The economy of the people is also under the jurisdiction of the governor of Xiangyang.

Although, because of the special situation of Xiangyang City, and the Mongolians came to harass and plunder from time to time.

There are no civilians near Xiangyang City.

The farmland has long been deserted.

Even the oxen can't be found.

But there are still millions of people living near Xiangyang.

They huddle in one city after another, big or small. Although it seems that each city has only hundreds of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people, the daily life, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating of these millions of people are all arranged by the local parents.

This was okay at the beginning.

Because they were at war, and everyone knew that once the Mongols invaded, there would be real misery everywhere.

So everyone tightened their belts to make ends meet.

And in order to solve the panic of the people about the Mongols.

Relying on the safe freight channel of the Beggars' Gang, he continuously transported food from the south. At the same time, he suppressed local grain merchants to keep the price of grain at a level that ordinary people could afford.

Relying on the supply of the court and the grain purchased, the Xiangyang defense line was not worried about food and drink for a while.

But as time went by.

The amount of this grain was getting less and less.

Even if the grain sold was sold for silver.

However, the Song Dynasty was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Huang Rong could control the grain price of the Xiangyang defense line from rising, but he had no way to control other places. The amount of grain that could be bought with silver was getting less and less.

And the food in Xiangyang was getting more and more tight.

Especially with the news of the Qing Dynasty entering the pass.

People all over the world were panicking.

This grain became even harder to buy.

In particular, many court officials were involved in the grain reselling.

And, I don't know where the news came from, saying that the Xiangyang defense line was strong and the grain price was very low, and the people could survive if they came.

This led to an increasing number of refugees coming here every day to escape disasters.

More and more people ran to the north, just because everyone heard that the Xiangyang defense line in the north blocked the 300,000 Mongolian cavalry, and it was strong and powerful, and everyone could have enough food.

This also led to an increasing number of people on the Xiangyang defense line, which had long exceeded the upper limit that Xiangyang could carry.

Through the mouths of those refugees, they learned that they had not seen the Qing cavalry directly, but just spread rumors, and they brought their families one by one. Everyone was afraid of death when they fled, and Xiangyang City had no way to keep so many people out.

But the food in the city was not enough to eat.

In addition, the Mongols were right in front of them.

If there were no Mongols, it would be a good idea to organize a caravan to go to the Western Regions to buy food.

However, the Mongols blocked important trade routes.

Going out to buy food is basically nonsense.

Wu Gong took a look at the deposits left in Xiangyang City's account.

He was surprised to find that there were millions of dollars in the account.

However, the money cannot be spent at all.

Because, there are not many caravans coming to Xiangyang City now.

Even the Beggar Gang's own caravan that buys grain from the south has not received any news for a long time. It is not known whether there was an accident on the road.

In such a situation.

If Xiangyang City does not find a way to quickly obtain food.

Then there will be a food crisis before long.

Wu Gong felt a little incredible for a moment.

There will be a day when I will be worried because I can't spend the money.

However, Wu Gong quickly thought of someone.

That is the Empress Dowager of Xixia—Li Qiushui.

The geographical location of Xixia is close to the Western Regions.

Buying food from there is the best option.

However, the Mongols will be another obstacle that cannot be bypassed.

The Mongolian grassland has been restored to a vast and vast area.

A caravan walking on it is like a living target and will soon be discovered by Mongolian reconnaissance rangers.

Wu Gong shook his head.

This can only be considered as an alternative.

The most important thing right now is to find a way to solve the Mongolian problem.

"Brother!" Wang Yuyan walked over from the side with the account book, "I just went to do the calculations. The accounts in this granary in the city are also accurate. Most of the grain bags are real.

Moreover, there was no shortage of weight. Wang Yuyan put the original copy on the table: "However, it should be noted that the rainy season has been relatively frequent recently and the air is humid. If moisture-proofing is not done, the food will be at risk of getting damp." Even if there are no defects in all the granaries, we will only have enough food left for two months. If there is no way to obtain supplies, then Xiangyang City will not be able to defend it in two months. "

Wu Gong nodded and said: "The world's best martial arts conference planned by Godmother will start in half a month. After it is completed, two months will be enough to officially declare war on the Mongols."

Wang Yuyan shook her head again.

"Brother, you can't count it that way.

Nowadays, the number of disaster victims coming here to escape is increasing every day.

There are seven or eight porridge shops opened outside this city, but even so, there is no way to fill the stomachs of all the victims.

According to this scale, the number of victims here will only increase, and by then our food will be less and less. It will not be able to last for two months. "

Wu Gong raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where did these victims come from?"

"They are everywhere, in the south and in the north. Most people have listened to the rumors, saying that the Manchu and Qing cavalry have gone all the way south and are coming in force. Not many people originally believed it, but As rumors spread, a wave of refugees formed.”

"What a nonsense!" Wu Gong raised his eyebrows and said, "Are all the officials from the prefectural government offices in various places dead? Instead of taking the initiative to solve the problem, these refugees are allowed to run around. What kind of thing is this?"

Wang Yuyan nodded, then shook her head: "I'm afraid those officials were not the first ones to escape.

It is precisely because of this that the refugee wave formed. "

"This Da Song Dynasty is hopeless." Wu Gong only felt that it was extremely difficult.

If Huang Rong wasn't involved here.

Wu Gong had already patted his ass and left.

Does what happened here have anything to do with him?

Obviously, no.

After hesitating for a moment.

Wu Gong picked up the map next to him and said, "Sister, do you still remember the road we walked from Xixia?"

Wang Yuyan nodded.

With her photographic memory, she took a pen and lightly marked a curved and twisted snake-like shape on the map, and the path was directly marked.

I took a look at the junction of this path and the Mongolian grassland.

Wu Gong thought for a moment.

"The number of caravans on the road we came to is relatively small. The reason is that the merchants are very profitable. Although this route is relatively safe.

However, the time spent on the road is also extremely long. Basically, you make no money when you come and go. A different look gradually appeared in Wu Gong's eyes, "But if we use this road to buy food from the Western Regions, it will be extremely safe. We just need to be careful at the border with the Mongolian grassland. Basically, We won't encounter any danger. We are just buying food, not to make money. Therefore, although the journey is a bit longer, as long as we can transport the food back, it is enough. "

Wu Gong's words aroused Wang Yuyan's agreement.

Wang Yuyan said: "I can communicate with grandma. The food in Xixia cannot be eaten up every year, and it will be sold to the Western Regions or Mongolia. Now the Mongols are two-faced, and the food and grass in Xixia are piled up in mountains. When the time comes, Xixia City will not be able to There’s another food crisis.”

Wu Gong flipped through the account book: "According to the money in the account, it is enough to buy a large amount of food. Moreover, except for the free distribution of food in the porridge shop, we will sell the other food at the cost price to obtain more food." Silver to buy more food.

Although, there is no way to replenish the loss of the porridge shop.

But just relying on millions of taels of silver is enough to sustain it for a long time. "

"It's just..." Wu Gong suddenly felt a little dizzy again.

Of course, it is impossible to use banknotes when doing business with Xixia.

It must be done with real money.

Even with Wang Yuyan's relationship, the brothers still settled the score.

Who knows whether Da Song's banknotes will turn into waste paper overnight.

This also means that the white money will be transported to Xixia by carriage.

The temptation of transporting millions of taels of silver by horse-drawn carriage was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

After all, this is money that many people may never see in their lifetime.

Wu Gong himself will definitely not be able to take action again.

Others. To be honest, Wu Gong is not worried.

It's not that he's worried about his character, but he's worried about his safety.

After all, with so much money, once the news is leaked, who knows how many people will give it up.

Wealth brocade touches people's hearts.

"Forget it, let's put this matter on hold for now and wait until there is a real food crisis."

He was about to lower his head and continue approving paperwork.

Wu Gong suddenly saw a sneaky old guy sticking his head out the door and watching.

It is the Poison Hand Medicine King.

"What's wrong? Old thing."

The Poison Hand Medicine King came in, and the old guy didn't show up. He sat on the table next to him, took the teapot and poured water on himself: "When will Guo Jing come back? I'm rushing back!"

Wu Gong rolled his eyes and said, "Just wait patiently. I don't even know where he went."

The poisonous hand medicine king stretched out his hand and popped out a pill. The thumb-sized pill drew a beautiful arc in the air and fell into his mouth: "I can't do anything about Ximen Chuixue, I haven't learned Gu insects. He is not a Gu master. There is nothing I can do about the Gu technique. Your treatment method is not wrong. Just eat it bit by bit and it will take at most two or three months to cure it. but some words Let’s be clear!” Poison Hand Medicine King said seriously: “These old guys in Southern Xinjiang are all very vindictive, and they are unscrupulous and very insidious. They are not your opponent, nor are they Ximen Chuixue’s opponent. If you help Ximen Zhuixue solve this problem, those old guys in Southern Xinjiang will hate you. You can do it for yourself, and I will never refuse if you can help me."

Wu Gong waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Let them come!" (End of Chapter)