哈哈漫画

They discovered that while the Zhao family had little grain in plain sight, they actually had three hidden granaries. These granaries stored hundreds of thousands of catties of grain.

After their investigation, the four of them gathered to discuss their next steps.

Among the major grain merchants in Xiang City, the Zhao family, as previously mentioned, had the most grain in stock. The elderly father of the Zhao Family Patriarch was now gravely ill and needed a thousand-year-old ginseng to prolong his life.

While hundred-year-old ginseng could still be found, thousand-year-old ginseng was extremely rare. Even if someone had it, they would keep it for their own life-saving purposes and wouldn't easily part with it.

To this end, the Zhao family had spread the word that they would offer ten thousand taels of gold as a reward to anyone who could provide such ginseng. Many were tempted, but thousand-year-old ginseng was practically impossible to find.

As it happened, Li Xia had one such root, which she had dug up during a previous mountain expedition. She had found two roots in total, leaving one with Marquis Lu and bringing the other with her to sell for grain.

"Are you suggesting we sell the ginseng?" Jiang Chong was somewhat intrigued. The prices he had recently inquired about at the pharmacies were decent, but they paled in comparison to the Zhao family's offer.

"Not sell, but give," Li Zhao's words made Jiang Chong protest.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm saying we give the thousand-year-old ginseng to the Zhao family. I'm eighty percent certain that we can get them to hand over all their grain," Li Zhao said confidently.

"But there's still a twenty percent uncertainty. We're talking about ten thousand taels of gold here!" Jiang Chong disagreed with Li Zhao's risky plan.

"I agree with your plan," Li Xia spoke up, supporting Li Zhao's strategy. Seeing the young madam's approval, Jiang Chong said no more. Before leaving, he had been instructed by Lu XuanNing to follow Li Xia's lead in all matters.

Li Xia handed the ginseng to Li Zhao, tasking him with negotiating with the Zhao Clan Leader.

Li Zhao, true to his role as a strategist, proved to be resourceful and cunning. Not only did the Zhao family give all their grain to Li Xia, but they also took the lead in helping Li Xia purchase nearly ten thousand dan of grain from merchants in Xiang City and Yun City at prices twenty percent below market value.

"Is this enough?" Li Xia asked Li Zhao and Jiang Chong, looking at the mountains of grain.

"If we ration it carefully, this grain is enough to feed the army for a month," Li Zhao's words made Li Xia frown. The court's grain supplies wouldn't arrive for another two to three months. When they left, the camp had enough food for half a month. Even with this additional grain, it would only last for a month and a half. What would they do for the remaining month?

"We've bought most of the grain from Xiang City and Yun City. What if it's still not enough?" Li Xia worried.

"If we make porridge with this grain, it might be enough," Jiang Chong also wanted the soldiers to eat well, but compared to the watery vegetable porridge they had before, this was already a significant improvement.

Li Xia was the first to object, "How can that be acceptable? We came to buy grain so that the soldiers could eat their fill and fight well."

Wang Chong and Strategist Li exchanged a glance, pleased with the young madam's concern for the soldiers. However, they had no other options at the moment.

"Strategist Li, you're clever. Can you think of any better ideas?" Jiang Chong naturally hoped the soldiers could eat well.

Strategist Li shook his head, "I can't think of any other solution. But now we need to consider how to transport all this grain back. We don't have enough manpower, and moving such a large quantity of grain will be problematic."

Zhou Heng had an idea, "Are there many bandits in this area?"

"Many. The army is focused on fighting external enemies and can't deal with them for now. Once we repel the foreign invaders, I will definitely lead a team to thoroughly eradicate these bandits," Wang Chong expressed his hatred for the mountain bandits.

"I have a plan that could not only get us more grain but also provide the army with a fearless squad, reducing casualties among our soldiers," Li Xia had an idea and glanced at Zhou Heng. She could see from his eyes that he was thinking the same thing.

"What's the plan?" Jiang Chong eagerly looked at Li Xia.

"We go bandit hunting," Li Xia's words puzzled Jiang Chong.

Li Zhao, however, understood Li Xia's meaning. He pondered whether this method would work, "The mountains are densely forested, and the bandits' lairs in the mountains are easy to defend and difficult to attack. It would be hard to storm them."

Jiang Chong also figured it out and clapped his hands, "These mountain bandits have been entrenched here for years. They must be wealthy. Robbing them would be perfect."

"We don't need to launch a frontal assault. The sleeping powder I have can guarantee we won't lose a single soldier," Zhou Heng was very confident in his poison-making skills.

"Alright, let's go rob the mountain bandits," Jiang Chong was very satisfied with the previous raid on Small Phoenix Mountain. They had not only rescued over a dozen captured girls but also obtained a considerable amount of gold, silver, and other valuables.

"Gentlemen, we need to first discuss how to transport the grain back to the camp," Li Zhao interrupted their conversation.

"Let's ask the Xiang City garrison to help transport it back," The commander of the city garrison was Jiang Chong's former comrade-in-arms. They had a good relationship, so they could ask for their assistance.

In the end, it was decided that Jiang Chong would take half of their forces along with the Xiang City garrison, and also hire people from the escort agencies to transport the grain back.

Zhou Heng prepared an enhanced version of the sleeping powder. They arrived at the first bandit stronghold outside Xiang City.

It was agreed that Zhou Heng and Li Xia would go up the mountain to spread the powder. Li Zhao and Jiang Chong would hide with their troops nearby. Upon seeing the agreed signal from the mountain, Zhou Heng and Li Xia flew towards the summit.

Seeing Li Xia move as if weightless, floating with the wind, Jiang Chong couldn't help but exclaim, "The young madam's lightness skill is truly impressive."

Li Zhao didn't say anything, but his expression showed agreement.

Li Xia and Zhou Heng reached the top of the mountain, and Zhou Heng took out the sleeping powder. Li Xia used her wind elemental ability to spread the powder into the bandit stronghold. After a quarter of an hour, they entered the stronghold to confirm the situation.

Half an hour passed, and Jiang Chong grew worried. He nudged Li Zhao beside him, "Do you think the young madam and Doctor Zhou might be in trouble?"

"Don't be such a pessimist," Li Zhao was also concerned but didn't show it.

"I'm just worried about the young madam and Doctor Zhou," Jiang Chong looked at the mountaintop. "Should I take a few men up to check the situation?"

"Don't move without the signal," Li Zhao was anxious inside but still held Jiang Chong back, telling him to wait for the signal.

"But what if..."

"There is no 'what if,'" Strategist Li said sternly.

"The signal's here!" A sharp-eyed soldier spotted the signal sent by Li Xia.

"Let's go up the mountain," Jiang Chong waved his arm and led the charge up the slope. They encountered no resistance or traps along the way, successfully reaching the summit.

There, they saw Zhou Heng carrying things out of a storehouse. All the bandits were lying on the ground. Jiang Chong and his men, having taken the antidote, were unaffected. Seeing the bandits, Jiang Chong waved for his subordinates to quickly tie them up.

The soldiers responded, binding all the bandits.

"I never imagined such a small bandit nest would hide so many treasures," Zhou Heng brought out a chest, opened it to reveal a box full of gold and silver, dazzling everyone to the point where they couldn't help but rub their eyes. These bandits were incredibly wealthy.