Zou Yang readily agreed, telling Su Cheng and the others to rest well before returning to tidy himself up. Back in his room, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Did you see the expression on General Su's face?"
"My lord, will he suspect anything?"
"He won't suspect a thing," Zou Yang said confidently. "The granary was right by the pier. When the flood came, it was the first to be hit and was indeed washed away by the flood."
"But there wasn't any grain inside."
"Who says there wasn't? The granary was full of grain, it was just washed away by the flood!" Zou Yang said as he washed the mud off his body.
The Prefect's wife took the bath brick and helped him scrub. "I understand. The grain was always in the granary, but this time when the flood came, it destroyed the granary and washed away the grain. It has nothing to do with us!"
"Exactly, Madam is very clever," Zou Yang said with a smile. "When the time comes, even if the imperial envoy arrives, we will have nothing to fear. This flood came at the perfect time."
"What if the imperial envoy finds something?" the Prefect's wife said with some unease.
A ruthless glint flashed in Zou Yang's eyes. "We don't need to worry about this. If he's sensible, then everyone will be safe and sound. If he's not sensible,哼, he'll have to face the consequences!"
A figure quietly crouched on the rooftop, having overheard everything the Zou Yang couple had said. It then disappeared into the night.
The next morning, Zou Yang took Su Cheng and the others to see the granary that had been destroyed by the flood.
It was less a granary and more a pile of ruins, with only a few stones stubbornly standing. The ground was covered in mud. The granary, which should have been full of grain, was filled with silt, and a few grains of rice, covered in mud, could be seen scattered on the ground.
Su Cheng looked at the destroyed granary, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "How many people in Jiangzhou have been affected by the disaster?"
"My lord, there are a total of 200,000 people in Jiangzhou, and the entire Jiangzhou has been flooded. You went to the prefectural office yesterday, and even the prefectural office was flooded. It was only cleaned up after the flood receded a few days ago. If you had come a few days earlier, the prefectural office would still have been submerged."
Su Cheng's brows furrowed. Although he knew the situation in Jiangzhou was serious, he hadn't expected it to be this dire. Even the granary had been washed away, and not a single grain of food remained. He had to return quickly and report the situation to Lord Wen.
"This subordinate needs to rush back to report to the imperial envoy. Jiangzhou has no food, and the food we brought is far from enough. We need to purchase more food," Su Cheng said, cupping his hands. "This subordinate will take his leave."
"General Su, I will accompany you to see the imperial envoy."
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment. "Alright, but the journey is a bit far, and we'll be riding horses. Can you manage, my lord?" Su Dan Novel Network
"Yes, no problem." Zou Yang immediately ordered someone to bring horses. With the help of the guards, he mounted his horse and followed Su Cheng to see Wen Mohan.
However, he underestimated Su Cheng. Su Cheng, being from a military background, was accustomed to riding horses. As soon as they left the city gates, he galloped away. This was unfortunate for the Prefect, who had left the house in a sedan chair, his bones aching from the jolting, and he couldn't catch up.
"Master, why did Zou Yang go to see Lord Wen on his own initiative?"
"He wants to see if Mo Han is sensible, so they will know how to proceed next," Xiao Man said with a slight smile. "However, this Su Cheng is an interesting person."
Qin Xue was puzzled. In her opinion, Su Cheng was just a soldier with a simple mind, who was easily deceived by a corrupt official like Zou Yang.
"He's not as simple as he appears on the surface," Xiao Man's smile remained unchanged. "Mo Han has a good eye for choosing people."
"Young master, our men contacted the Jiangzhou Chamber of Commerce, but they refused to meet," Qin Xue relayed the news back to Xiao Man. Jiangzhou was controlled by the Prefect of Jiangzhou and Pang Tong in collusion, and the Jiangzhou Chamber of Commerce had colluded with them to make a fortune. How could they give up such a lucrative opportunity in Jiangzhou?
"Don't worry, they will soon be begging us," Xiao Man said slowly. "They have been too comfortable in Jiangzhou for too long and think they are the emperors here. Unfortunately, an emperor is still an emperor."
"Yes, young master."
"Is A Jin's side going smoothly?"
"Jiang Zuo has also suffered widespread floods this time. Although the situation is not optimistic, it is better than here. A Jin's progress is smooth."
"Send a message to Qing Ge and have her transport a batch of grain to wait in Cangzhou. If nothing unexpected happens, Yunzhong City should be running out of food," Xiao Man looked into the distance. "Yunzhong City must not fall."
"Your subordinate will attend to it immediately."
"You must have been coveting this piece of fat, Jiangzhou, for a long time, right? Such a good opportunity, you shouldn't miss it. I will hand it over to you with both hands, as my apology."
The bumpy ride on horseback made the Prefect of Jiangzhou feel as if his bones were about to fall apart. By the time he reached where Wen Mohan was, he was slumped over the horse, unable to dismount on his own.
The guards quickly stepped forward and helped the Prefect of Jiangzhou off the horse. Zou Yang saw a handsome young man in official robes not far away. He ignored his aching joints and, with the help of the guards, hurried over.
"Your subordinate pays his respects to the imperial envoy."
"Lord Zou, please rise." Wen Mohan gave a slight assist, his expression quite solemn. "Commander Su has already informed me of the current situation in Jiangzhou, saying that Lord Zou has been working tirelessly for the welfare of the people, returning home late at night. Lord Zou has worked hard."
"This is merely my duty," Zou Yang said with a fawning smile, thinking to himself that this Lord Wen seemed easy to appease. If that was the case, they wouldn't need to take such risks.
"I heard that Lord Zou is an incorruptible official. Now the granary is empty, and there are many disaster victims. I, the imperial envoy, had originally intended to mobilize the grain reserves in the granary for emergencies, and brought a lot of silver, but not much grain. Now the grain is depleted, what should we do?"
Wen Mohan was extremely anxious and continued, "I have already ordered people to purchase grain from nearby cities, but the nearby cities have all suffered to varying degrees, so there is likely not much surplus grain. Now I have money but cannot buy grain. However, without grain, the disaster victims will starve. I will be held accountable by His Majesty. How can I quickly gather ten thousand dan of grain?"
A shrewd glint flashed in Zou Yang's eyes. "Reporting to you, Your Excellency, there may not be surplus grain nearby, but there is grain in Jiangnan!"
"There is grain in Jiangnan?" A hint of doubt flashed across Wen Mohan's face. "That's right, Jiangnan is the largest grain-producing area after Jiangzhou. However, it is not a major producer of rice, but it can alleviate the immediate crisis. However, I have lived in the capital for a long time and am not familiar with Jiangnan. What should I do?"