Before the weather completely cooled down, the common people finally dried the autumn harvested millet for storage. This year is a rare good weather. With two seasons of rice planted, every household has a bumper harvest. It feels really good to have a full warehouse of grain. At the end of the hard work, I can finally show a smile.

"Hurry up, the adults who collect the grain tax are here, and tell every household to prepare the grain, and we will weigh it at Lizheng's house."

Every December is the day to collect tax and grain. This year, because Kou’s army conscripted troops ahead of schedule and the military rations were in short supply, the day of grain collection was set in November, but no one objected to this. Everyone consciously took The food that should be handed over is paid in full.

The food convoys from all over the country are also busy. The most lively thing in Minzhou City recently is to look at the food convoys from various places, and compare which places have the longest convoys, which places have the most people and which are the best dressed.

The food and tax officer held the ledger from ear to ear every day. After counting and storing it in the warehouse, he had to run to the county guard's mansion with the ledger in his hand. If he was lucky enough to meet His Royal Highness Shun Wang, he would get a reward.

Ji Hanyu had just met the over-excited food tax officer, and when he saw Li Xu coming at night, he got up and made him a pot of hot tea.

"It's so cold, if the prince has something to do, just let someone come and tell you. Why come in person." Ji Hanyu asked someone to add a pot of coal stove in the house to make the temperature in the house even higher.

Seeing the fire in the room, Li Xu took off his cloak, put his hands on the stove and roasted it, "On weekdays, remember to open some windows for the coal stove. It can't be too closed, it's easy to get poisoned."

"Yes, don't worry, since you reminded, the watchmen will remind the people loudly every day when they go to watch."

Li Xu nodded, looked at the ledger on his desk, and knew that it was the grain that had been put into storage today, and said with a smile: "The reason why this king came so late is to ask for food for the Kou family army. Quantity, how many months can it supply the Kou family army?"

While calculating, Ji Hanyu asked, "Why didn't General Kou come in person? This should be his business." Ji Hanyu knew that Kou Xiao had been living in the palace, and the news had spread throughout the city. The rumors spread even more.

Ji Hanyu was unhappy, he felt that Kou Xiao was relying on the prince on purpose, asking for money for money, asking for food for food, and he would not be willing to leave if it was him.

The garrisons and frontier troops in all parts of Dayan had never been owed military salaries and food, so King Shun was generous and selfless, and all the little money he earned was used to subsidize the marching expenses.

"Kou Xiao led a group of newcomers to go out to suppress the bandits. It was originally Jiang Junshi who came, but the king ordered him to guard the barracks. He didn't need to go out for such a trivial matter."

Of course, the matter of asking for food is not a trivial matter. Ji Hanyu guessed that he was afraid that others would come to the county guard's mansion to be closed doors. This kind of thing happened every year. What they civilian officials were most afraid of was that the generals in the army would ask for money and food.

"I've figured it out. Based on 5 people, the food currently in storage can last until May next year. Fortunately, this year's harvest is bumper. If you count the food that is still on the way, it can last until July and August."

"I made a mistake. It's not [-] but [-]. There are still [-] sailors. Recruiting has already begun, and the assembly will be completed by the end of the year."

Ji Hanyu fiddled with the abacus for a moment, then sighed silently, and said in a low voice: "That's still not enough. According to your guess, the thieves in Haven may send troops at any time. This battle can take as little as a month or two, and as long as a year." For half a year, once a war breaks out in South Vietnam, it will definitely affect next year's cultivation and harvest, and even several of your factories will be affected. What I am most afraid of now is that they will find the salt fields. If we concentrate on attacking, [-] The recruits who haven’t even started training are definitely not opponents.”

"I have thought about these issues, so the first step is to isolate the enemy from the coastline. Although it is difficult, it is better than harming the hometown. Moreover, who said that only sailors can go to sea to fight. The [-] Kou family troops are all water-based Excellent, brave and good at fighting, and capable of fighting."

"My lord, what do you think is most lacking now? The Sheriff's Mansion will definitely go all out to make up for the gaps, stabilize the rear, so that the Kou family's army can have no worries."

Li Xu knew that it was a wise decision for him to push Ji Hanyu to the top position. Not to mention saving a lot of trouble, it could also improve efficiency. If all the civil servants could cooperate like this, many wars in history would be quelled in an instant.

"The first thing is to buy grain. You don't need to buy it secretly. You can buy grain from outside on the grounds that South Vietnam suffered disasters in the summer and the autumn harvest was reduced. This kind of thing is done every year in South Vietnam, and this year is no exception. In the past, traffic was limited, and it could only be done in Linyi. The price of grain purchased in the county is always raised a lot, so we might as well go farther this year, the coastal areas to the north should be rich in production.”

Ji Hanyu wrote it down, and heard Li Xu continue to say: "The second step is to write a memorial to the emperor, and to revise and report what we encountered on Chenxi Island in the past few months. Roughly speaking, a certain fishing boat off the coast of South Vietnam While staying at Chenxi Island, they were attacked by a pirate ship with 50 people, and all of them were sunk. After investigation, this group of pirates was composed of fugitives from the south of the Five Ridges, hiding in a sheltered island half a month away from South Vietnam On the island, there is an island owner who proclaims himself king and sends troops to harass the border of South Vietnam all the year round. According to reliable sources, this group of pirates plans to send troops to capture South Vietnam in the near future, and it is suspected that there are ministers from the DPRK and China to help them. Immediately, it is difficult to resist the invasion of a large group of pirates, I hope the emperor will find out and send troops to help."

Ji Hanyu knew what he meant. This was to position Shelter Island as a pirate. No matter whether he took the initiative to send troops, there was a legitimate reason for sending troops to exterminate them in the future. There was also that sentence, which seemed to be aided by the ministers of the court. If the emperor believed it, this I am afraid that the DPRK and China will not be at peace again.

"Does the lord want the emperor to follow the clues to find out about the relationship between the third prince and Shelter Island?"

Li Xu reminded: "Now we are the King of Qi. The attack on the king at the beginning happened for real. As long as the emperor sends someone to investigate, it will definitely be found out. It’s hard to say, but there will be someone in the court who wants my king’s life, and there is only one Qi king left in the elimination method, so I don’t doubt who he suspects.”

"The lower official thought you were not going to tell the emperor about this."

"I'm not going to tell you, I have to let him investigate by himself, and the timing is very important." Li Xu has never been a person who would suffer from being dumb. It is impossible for someone to pretend that it didn't happen.

******

On that day, Li Xu received news from the capital that the emperor appointed Xue Taiwei's second daughter as Princess Qi, and the person the third prince wanted to marry was Xue Taiwei's eldest daughter.

Although there was a mistake in the order, she is still Taiwei Xue's daughter in essence, and the third prince has gotten what she wanted, but Li Xu later received news that the second daughter of Taiwei Xue had a hidden disease and was thin and thin. Not living to be 20 years old, this is also the emperor's intentional move against the third prince, and the original emperor intended to make Lord Fu's granddaughter the princess of Qi.

Mr. Fu is the mainstay of the civil servants. The Zhao family used to fawn on Mr. Fu, but now the influence of the Zhao family has penetrated widely among the civil servants. They no longer need the support of a civil servant. In contrast, those with military power Captain Xue won their hearts even more.

After reading the news, Li Xu said with emotion: "It's a pity for a good woman. It's a hurdle in life for a girl to marry. If she doesn't marry well, she will suffer for the rest of her life. In the future, the little princess should not marry."

Of course, Liu Shu did what Li Xu said, and immediately echoed: "The little princess has a noble status, and she will definitely not suffer no matter whether she marries or not. It's fine if the little princess doesn't marry. What kind of man do you like to recruit into the house?" That’s it, if one doesn’t work, just replace it with another, there will always be someone who can obey.”

Li Xu laughed and said yes, "Xiao Liu, this king must protect your life, if one day this king is gone, I will rely on you to guard the little princess, and I must let her live happily Happy."

Liu Shu was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, don't scare this servant. This servant is swearing to follow you to the death. This servant is your close eunuch and will be buried. Don't embarrass this servant."

Li Xu pulled him up, "Bah bah" two times, "Sacrificing a fart, people live well for themselves, and the meaning of your life is not greater than being buried? You can't bear to watch the little princess being bullied gone?"

Liu Shu raised his head and wiped his eyes, and said with a mournful face, "I have no power and power. If you are gone, who would care about me? I can't protect the little princess, but don't worry, there is General Kou." At this moment, Liu Shu actually felt that it was good that Li Xu and Kou Xiao were together, at least someone who was capable of protecting them was better than a delicate woman.

Li Xu thought of Kou Xiao, and the smile on the corner of his mouth was a little gentle, "He! I hope the disaster will last for a thousand years."

A certain man defined as a scourge is blowing cold wind in a certain deep mountain. Even if they are wrapped tightly in the thickest cotton clothes, a group of Kou family soldiers are shivering from the cold. In order to avoid leaking their whereabouts, they dare not even start a fire. Cake, drinking cold water, it feels like people are about to freeze.

"Damn it, South Vietnam can be so cold in winter, how do you say they survived the winter in the north."

"I heard that at this time of year, the Northland is covered with ice and snow. The snow is so thick that it can bury people, pee can turn into popsicles, and birds can freeze and fall."

"Hey, it sounds like the truth. Then why are the Huns going south to rob every winter? Are they crazy?"

"It's just crazy because of the cold. At least I can run to the south to warm up a bit. It's freezing and snowy, and the cattle and sheep are freezing to death!"

"Nonsense, the cattle and sheep are frozen to death, where did the prince buy the wool?"

They were all wearing woolen jackets and woolen sweaters inside. They could sweat during the day, but no matter how much they wore at night, their bones would freeze stiff when the cold wind blew.

Kou Xiao has been staring at this group of people for half a month, and he has basically figured out their living habits. He chewed a piece of sugar cane, and asked someone to deliver an order, "Eat everything that can be eaten on your body, and after two more Do it at Shi Chen, sneak in while it's dark, and catch them off guard."

This kind of raid has the highest success rate. Early morning is the time when people are most tired and sleep deeply, and it is freezing cold, and no one will walk outside the house. Go back and sleep with your wife in your arms.

In the past years, I had a miserable life, and I didn't think it was difficult to hide in the cold wind for the night. This year, I was taken care of by Li Xu, and my life was so comfortable that I actually felt that such a life was not for human beings.

He was ruthless in his heart, and sent an order: "If you can't deal with the enemy before sunrise, you can retreat directly. Mother, if you let this general know who is holding back, you will definitely serve him with army sticks when you go back."

"General, do you think we will lose?" Zhao Gang received another hard job this time. Since he offended General Kou, he must be on the list of hard jobs every time. How happy it is to stay in the barracks on such a day ah.

"Don't underestimate the enemy. It's not like you haven't seen the piss of the people of this tribe. They all seem to be unafraid of death, and they will invite their gods. These recruits have never seen blood before. Maybe they will be killed as soon as they meet. Scared out of my wits."

"That can't be done. Before departure, the military division sent everyone a piece of amulet drawn by the prince himself, saying that it can resist all demons and ghosts. Everyone is confident."

"What amulet? Why doesn't this general know about it?" Kou Xiao grabbed Zhao Gang and asked him viciously, "Tell me, where did you get the amulet?"

Zhao Gang fumbled and took out his amulet, and only gave Kou Xiao a look, "This is it, everyone has a copy, everyone will treasure it."

"What about the general's share, was it taken privately by you?"

"No, no, general, don't be joking. You are the reincarnation of the God of War. Where do you need this kind of thing? It's for the soldiers to comfort themselves. You don't need it, haha." Zhao Gang complimented.

Of course Kou Xiao knew that he didn't need any amulets, but it was painted by Li Xu, he painted it himself, why does everyone else have it? Does it make sense?

Seeing that his expression was wrong, Zhao Gang immediately betrayed Jiang Junshi, "The military division didn't give it to you. He said he wouldn't let you know, otherwise you would steal everyone's amulet. Of course, the general is definitely not such a person... Hey, general ,That'smine!"

"Shut up, it's my general's now." Kou Xiao put Zhao Gang's amulet in his arms, patted it, and suddenly felt that the cold wind was not so biting.

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