Chapter 1358
Everyone is Acting Out the Martial Emperor
Chapter 1358 Everyone is Acting Out the Martial Emperor
Are you playing me again?
Qin Xiaomi wasn't intimidated and started acting too, bowing to Lord Yan: "Thank you for your kind reminder, Lord Yan. I will think it over carefully."
"But has Lord Yan figured out how to appease the panic of the million people in the city? Is there enough food? Are the silver notes still usable? Are the various resettlement sites for deserters and civilians in the city still functioning well? Have nothing gone wrong?"
Shut up, shut up!
Lord Yan almost lost his composure, but fortunately, his experience as an official allowed him to regain his composure and retort, "The yamen is well-versed in governing the land and ensuring the people's well-being; there's no need for Master Qin to worry about it."
"Really? That's good." Qin Xiaomi smiled insincerely.
Lord Yan couldn't bear to watch and stepped back, then looked at General Chu... "It's your turn to go. Don't try to be a silent observer and reap the benefits!"
General Chu said only one thing: "On the Wei side, people should be sent to guard the weapons workshop. Workers must be searched when entering and leaving, and they must report who they come into contact with, with Wei soldiers present. Their living quarters and food should be checked from time to time to prevent workers from being bribed to slip notes into their food and leak the weapons formula."
"Okay," Qin Xiaomi readily agreed, "but the Wei soldiers who conduct the body search must be female soldiers."
Lord Yan became anxious again: "Master Qin, don't force me. Where did the Wei army get female soldiers?"
"Report! General Alan from the Wei army's mountain civilian soldiers camp is here!" Aunt Alan shouted, slapping Lord Yan in the face.
"..." Lord Yan looked at General Chu: "What did your Wei army say?"
General Chu told the truth: "General Alan is indeed a registered and active member of the Wei army, with a personal military badge and a position. It was General Liang who approved her entry into the Wei army using his authority as commander-in-chief, but she has not yet received a formal appointment letter from the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Personnel."
Lord Yan: "Then they wouldn't be considered legitimate Wei troops."
Aunt Alan wasn't mute, and immediately retorted: "May I ask Lord Yan, do the laws of Wei and the military law of Wei stipulate that the commander-in-chief can appoint and recruit personnel as generals and soldiers during wartime for the use of the dynasty?"
"Yes." Lord Yan was numb. He had truly lost face today and no longer wanted to struggle. He looked at General Chu and said, "This is a matter for your Wei army. I will not interfere."
"Thank you for your approval, Lord Yan!" Aunt Alan was adept at seizing the opportunity, taking Lord Yan's lack of interference as permission.
Lord Yan pretended not to hear and ignored him.
General Chu didn't know what to say, and the scene was eerily silent except for the sound of Si Pei sketching quickly.
Si Feng and Gao Zhenzhi wisely stopped writing for the time being... We strive to climb the ranks, not to offend a high-ranking official like Lord Yan!
"Lord Yan, please assign a group of government officials to guard and supervise the weapons production workshop. After all, both the government and the military are indispensable." Qin Xiaomi broke the silence.
Lord Yan felt like he had been slapped repeatedly and then forced to eat sweet dates.
but……
"Alright, I will select a group of reliable people to help in the weapons production workshop." Lord Yan is not a one-sided person, but a master of handling affairs. He has become the head of the civil officials in the Northeast Prefecture.
His public questioning of Qin Xiaomi wasn't really about competing with her; he was just playing the role of His Majesty.
Tell Emperor Wuxing: Your Majesty, this old minister has cursed Qin Dongjia and fought for the production rights of powerful weapons for the court, but alas, we cannot win!
Many people present understood Lord Yan's intentions, so after the argument, everyone reunited.
"Second brother-in-law, niece, and eldest son, bow and apologize to Lord Yan. Lord Yan has no ill intentions; he is only devoted to the court," said the Prince of Ye.
He asked Jiang Dalang to apologize because he wanted to continue his career advancement and had to respect civil officials, especially older and higher-ranking ones. Otherwise, he risked being branded as someone who bullied civil officials with his military power, which would be disastrous.
"Yes." The three men assumed their stances and formally bowed to Lord Yan in apology. Lord Yan descended the steps, stroking his half-bald beard, and sighed, "Alright, alright, let's unite to fight the foreign enemy first."
"Thank you for your consideration, Lord Yan." The three bowed again, and the dispute was considered temporarily over.
"Lord Yan, General Chu, there's food laid out inside the gate of Wu Garden. Let's go and have a meal together," the Prince of Ye invited them, as well as Xue Dongjia and Li Zhen.
But they all refused.
"This is the Prince of Ye's family banquet, so we will not disturb you any longer. We still need to take stock of the supplies in the city and then discuss our response for tomorrow overnight. Time is of the essence."
"I still need to reply to Wei Min who asked the questions and to guard the criminals, so I won't stay any longer."
Xue and Li also had heavy responsibilities. They had to coordinate with merchants, prevent prices in the city from skyrocketing, ensure that the people of Wei could buy supplies from shops, and help with inventory and accounting.
In short, they were all like donkeys pulling a millstone, pitiful as could be.
"You've all worked hard, I thank you." The King of Ye was truly grateful... Everyone had their flaws, disagreements, and frequent arguments, but both the government and the army had contributed their efforts.
The Prince of Ye then led the Qin family uncles and nephews, Jiang Dalang, Qi Shishi, Qiong Lao, and others to see off Lord Yan and General Chu before returning.
"You children, stop busying yourselves and go eat first. Eat your fill before you get busy," the Prince of Ye said to Si Pei and the other students, adding, "You're also having chicken leg rice."
The Prince of Ye is calling us kids? Gao Zhenzhi and Si Feng were so excited that they almost blurted out "Uncle" to solidify this excellent relationship!
Don't get so worked up. The King of Ye is older than Uncle Qin. If his ex-wife hadn't faked her death and escaped, he could have had you two. Of course, you're just children in his eyes.
Si Pei swallowed hard again and hurriedly handed the notebook he had written down to the servant next to him: "I'll stop writing now, young master is going to eat chicken leg rice!"
"Yes, young master." The Si family's elite martial arts instructors put away their record books and escorted Si Pei and Si Feng to their residence on the side of Wu Garden for dinner.
After the Prince of Ye and Uncle Qin also splashed the medicine to disinfect, they sat at the entrance of Wu Garden and ate dinner... They didn't go into Wu Garden because they had been in contact with too many people, which was quite dangerous, and with Da Bao'er there, it was better for them to stay away.
Jiang Dalang and Aunt Alan led their soldiers to have dinner a few meters away from the gate.
"This is really fresh chicken rice, the rice grains are covered in chicken oil, we've really hit the jackpot!" The soldiers were very happy and ate more than half a bowl in one go. Then they felt a pang of regret and started to eat it in small bites, savoring it slowly, wanting to finish this delicious food slowly.
A soft knocking sound came from Wei Jun bringing several large buckets of chicken rice from Wuyuan Garden.
"Brothers, the Prince of Ye said you can eat your fill! They're even killing chickens and making chicken rice in the kitchen. We can all eat our fill of chicken rice tonight!"
"The Prince of Ye has confiscated Master Zheng's villa and estate, and found a lot of live poultry and livestock. We've made a fortune, we'll have plenty to eat, so eat with peace of mind!"
"Really? That's wonderful!" The soldiers were overjoyed, delighted that the Prince of Ye had ransacked Master Zheng's house. They all stood up and saluted the Prince of Ye, saying, "We thank the Prince of Ye for the meat and rice!"
He said it three times, which showed his sincerity.
The King of Ye did not put on airs. He stood up, cupped his hands in return, and said, "Soldiers, you have worked hard. Eat more. This is what you deserve for fighting the enemy and protecting the people!"
This?
The soldiers had never heard the prince speak such caring words before. A pang of sorrow welled up in their hearts, and their eyes moistened.