RPAGF Chapter 268: Letter from Qiangan
Chapter 268: Letter from Qiangan
Zhao Fangyu sent a letter to Princess Hua Luan, originally asking Hua Luan to connect her with the Wang family. Now the affairs of the Third Prince may be exposed at any time. In order to prevent the Emperor from implicating Zhou Qinghe again, the trade plan in Daliang will inevitably have to be temporarily slowed down.
Zhao Fangyu counted the money. In her hands she held the wealth of the Third Prince and the Yang family, as well as the savings of these years, and some miscellaneous good things.
She couldn't be said to be as wealthy as a country, but there was probably no young wife in the capital who was richer than her.
The only one who can compete with her is the eldest lady.
When Zhou Qinghe came back from reporting to the yamen at noon, he happened to see Zhao Fangyu drinking Tremella soup. Zhao Fangyu forced him to drink a bowl of it as well.
"Please help me deliver this drawer of banknotes to my mother or elder brother."
Zhou Qinghe took it, and after feeling the weight, he couldn't help but weigh it.
I couldn't help but sigh again at Zhao Fangyu's wealth.
There are few women in Beijing who can easily take out a stack of silver bills.
After Zhou Qinghe responded, he told Zhao Fangyu a new piece of news: "Today, my father called us to the imperial study to discuss matters."
This was the first time that the emperor included Zhou Qinghe in the team for meetings in the Imperial Study. He had never been involved in such matters before.
But considering that the Third Prince is still confined in the mansion, it is not surprising for the moment.
It would be bad to call the younger Fifth Prince instead of Zhou Qinghe.
Otherwise, it would not be consistent with the external image that Zhou Qinghe was the only one favored by the emperor.
Zhao Fangyu paused while picking up the food: "What did you say?"
Zhao Fangyu always felt that allowing the emperor to take Zhou Qinghe with him was probably not a good thing.
Sure enough, Zhou Qinghe frowned and said, "It is said that the food and grass stored in Qiangan in the north during the winter were burned to ashes by a natural fire, so Qiangan asked Daliang for food."
When Zhao Fangyu heard this, he even put down his chopsticks and said, "How can the grain and grass be burned in this cold winter?"
It was winter, and Qiangan in the north was even colder than Daliang. In such weather, it was still snowing in Daliang. There was no reason why the grain and grass in Qiangan could be burned.
In this weather, even if you light a fire in the wild and pour oil on it, it may not burn!
Zhou Qinghe naturally understood this truth.
"Father received a secret report from the Imperial Guards. They said the fire was caused by a fire from heaven, but it was actually caused by an internal struggle for the throne. The defeated regent decided to go all out and burned all the food supplies in Qiangan."
"The situation in Qiangan is complicated. The regent is the new emperor's uncle. He has been in office for many years and has controlled the court. Now that the new emperor is getting older, the court has begun to waver. Both sides are fighting for power. One of the generals under the regent was instigated by the queen mother to rebel, and others have also defected."
"Before he died, the regent did not want the new emperor to easily take away his legacy, so he burned down the granaries."
For a moment, Zhao Fangyu didn't know whether to sigh at the ruthlessness of the Regent or at the Empress Dowager's flexibility.
But there is no food in the cold winter. Even if food is sent now, Daliang cannot really support Qiangan from spring to autumn harvest.
"The letter from Qiangan has arrived?"
These are just the news sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but if it is a letter from the Qiangan Kingdom, it should have been sent back in the next two days.
Zhou Qinghe shook his head and couldn't help but look up at the clear blue sky outside.
“No credentials.”
"No credentials?"
Zhou Qinghe nodded, his tone heavy: "The reason why our father called us to discuss matters today is because we don't have the letter from the credential."
"The news was sent back seven days ago. Seven days ago, the only rumor in the Qiangan court was that they were asking Daliang for food."
Asking for food but without a letter from the government, this doesn't sound right.
Seeing Zhao Fangyu's heavy face, Zhou Qinghe couldn't help but pat the small box she brought him and said, "It's okay. Even if there is a mess, you, the richest man in Shangjing, will be fine."
Zhao Fangyu was not worried about herself. Even if Qian Gan attacked, she would be able to hide.
She was worried about the people in the north.
Qiangan is not a place that values etiquette. Like Sheli, it has always been a place of robbery and plunder. If things really go in the worst direction, I'm afraid that fighting would have broken out on the border by now.
Zhou Qinghe squeezed Zhao Fangyu's hand and pulled him closer: "The news of Qiangan Skyfire is just an excuse for them to cover up the regent's crimes, but their food is not enough to support them in a long-term war."
Like the Sheli people, the Qiangan people are nomadic people.
They had no habit of hoarding food, and most of what they ate was meat, which was difficult to store.
During the snowstorms in the past two years, they often violated the Daliang border. However, now that the wind and snow have subsided and life has become better, chaos has broken out in their country first.
As a result, during the New Year, people in Kyoto were all worried about the national conditions in Guizhou and Gansu.
"Then what your Majesty means is..."
Zhou Qinghe picked up the bowl and spooned the soup in the bowl into Zhao Fangyu's mouth.
Zhao Fangyu shook his head and wanted to refuse. At such a critical moment, how could he eat or drink soup?
Then Zhou Qinghe said, "Don't be anxious. It's more important to take care of your health first."
If Zhao Fangyu didn't open his mouth, Zhou Qinghe wouldn't say anything. In desperation, Zhao Fangyu drank the soup from Zhou Qinghe's hand, but his mind was all on Zhou Qinghe's mouth.
Zhou Qinghe laughed inwardly and continued to argue with Zhao Fangyu:
"Send the letter, and collect food and fodder in Daliang. It will take at least two months. They can't move for that long."
"I'm afraid the border has already started fighting. Father wants to send a few princes to serve as military supervisors."
Considering the current national strength of Daliang, it is hard to say whether this military supervisor has made contributions or committed crimes.
The next second, Zhou Qinghe said the words that Zhao Fangyu didn't want to hear the most: "The third brother is going too."
When Zhao Fangyu heard that the third brother was also going, he couldn't help but spit.
"Are you afraid that people will be locked up for too long?"
How much is the emperor afraid of Zhou Qinghe's success?
He was the one who was angry when the incident happened, and he was also the one who felt sad after the matter was settled.
Where can I find such a father?
Zhou Qinghe was also the emperor's child, and he had never seen the emperor show such favoritism towards Zhou Qinghe.
"I knew that if something good happened, it would not be your turn anyway."
Zhou Qinghe nodded and picked up two chopsticks of food from the table and ate: "The best thing is that you are given to me."
All in all, marrying Zhao Fangyu was indeed the luckiest thing that ever happened to Zhou Qinghe in his life.
Zhao Fangyu originally wanted to say a few words about the emperor's different attitudes towards Zhou Qinghe and the third prince, but he didn't expect to force Zhou Qinghe to say a few words of love.
In an instant, the atmosphere became wrong.
Zhao Fangyu was silent for a moment, then slowly took out another box of silver bills from her dressing box.
"Don't worry. If we really get to Qiangan, the Li family won't be able to help. But I will put more food and cotton clothes in the rice and grain shops near Qiangan. If there is any news, you can send it directly to the rice and grain shops, and I will be able to see it."