Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 845 - 703

Chapter 845: 703

Inside Beijing, Li Xuan was inquiring about the setbacks Peng Babai faced in Jiaozhi.

Sitting in his imperial chariot within the territory of Zhan City, King Li Yuanlong of Jiaozhi was looking excitedly towards the distant Yazhuang City, which was in the midst of a fierce battle.

This populous major city, the northern gateway of Zhan City, was on the brink of collapse under the attack of his 170,000-strong army.

By his side were Lord Zhang Yun of Baihu Palace and General Li Sheng of Jiaozhi.

Further away was the Imperial Censor of the Li Dynasty, Ruan Guangming, who was in a state of distress and indignation "Your Majesty! You too have studied the Four Books and Five Classics and are well-versed in rites and propriety. How can you treat the envoy of a superior nation in such a manner?

Even if Your Majesty dislikes the Jin envoy, simply expelling him would suffice. Why resort to whipping and public humiliation? Besides angering the Jin people, what benefit does this bring to our dynasty?"

He had just returned from an envoy mission to Siam and had fainted upon hearing these shocking news the moment he returned home.

Finally, Li Yuanlong tore his gaze away from the front and looked disdainfully at his Imperial Censor "Anger the Jin people? So what? Would the Great Jin dare to send troops to Jiaozhi and attack our dynasty?"

He felt some dissatisfaction. Hadn’t Huangfu Shenji, the former great general of the Jin army who had attacked Jiaozhi, humiliated his father in the past?

A century ago, his father, Li Li, took advantage of the Yongle Emperor of Jin’s relocation to Beijing to rebel against Jin, ultimately expelling all Jin forces from Jiaozhi, and killing no fewer than 300,000 Jin people. What was the reaction of the Great Jin then?

Didn’t they have to accept it meekly? Even the Xuan Emperor of the Great Jin had to send envoys to Jiaozhi to placate them.

It shows that the might of a superior nation is just so-so.

Moreover, the new young emperor of Jin has just ascended the throne, presides over a realm of internal strife, and has no spare energy to concern himself with Jiaozhi.

Li Yuanlong knew that his treatment of the Jin envoy was somewhat improper, but Ruan Guangming should have advised him in private rather than mentioning it in the presence of Zhang Yun, an outsider, making him feel humiliated.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Guangming gasped, feeling dizzy "Your Majesty, mistreating an envoy is an act of barbarians. Our Annam governs by propriety, how can we stoop to such actions?

Moreover, I heard that the Great Jin has recently crushed Meng Wu in the north, captured the Mengwu Khan, and within a few months, quelled uprisings by two vassal kings, demonstrating their restored national strength, not to be underestimated!"

Although the Great Jin refers to this region as Jiaozhi, the Li Dynasty has always referred to it as Annam.

"Enough!" Li Yuanlong interjected coldly without letting Ruan Guangming finish, his expression chilling "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ruan Guangming immediately clutched his official cap and knelt on the ground "Please draft a letter to the Great Jin, send an envoy to apologize and soothe the anger of the superior nation."

At that moment, a loud ’boom’ came from the chariot.

This was Li Yuanlong, shattering the armrest he had been clutching.

Ruan Guangming, however, continued as if he hadn’t heard "Your Majesty, have you forgotten how the Great Jin attacked Zhan City, triggered by the former king of Annam attacking Zhan City and the king of Zhan City seeking aid from Jin? What if Jin decides to invade from the south now? Our dynasty might face the danger of being toppled."

"Drag him away!"

Li Yuanlong’s eyes, already as cold as knives, blazed with fury "Muzzle his dog mouth, drag him away and beat him forty times, imprison him for colluding with the Jin people! Tell the execution officers, make sure to break his legs!"

"Your Majesty!" Ruan Guangming was momentarily stunned as he looked at Li Yuanlong on the chariot.

He wanted to say something, but a group of strong men had already surged forward, pinning him down.

Someone smashed the handle of a knife on his tongue and then drove a Zhenyuan Nail directly into his body, ensuring he could no longer speak.

Even after Ruan Guangming was taken away, Li Yuanlong’s anger had not subsided.

However, a hint of worry flashed deep in his eyes.

Li Yuanlong was aware that the Jin had recently promoted a County Prince Fenyang, hailed as a Divine General, unstoppable.

It was this man who had captured Tuotuobuhua and crushed two rebellious vassal kings, his military might unmatched.

And now the Jin Dynasty was also controlled by this young man in his early twenties, full of youthful vigor.

Thus, Ruan Guangming’s words might indeed come true.

Li Yuanlong was not very afraid of a Jin military invasion; he had firsthand experience of resisting Jin many years ago.

He had watched his father gradually wear down the Jin forces and then crush them.

But Li Yuanlong was concerned that a southern invasion by the Jin army might affect his campaign against Zhan City.

"Is Your Majesty worried about the Jin army’s southern invasion?"

Lord Zhang Yun of Baihu Palace looked intently at the King of Jiaozhi and then let out a light laugh "Your Majesty worries too much. In the past, when our great king was weak and lacked provisions, he defeated the Jin army repeatedly, beheading hundreds of thousands. Now, with thousands of valiant generals and hundreds of thousands of strong soldiers under Annam, and with a wise and capable king like you, any reckless advance by the Jin army would surely end in defeat."

He had once held the position of left Chengxiang and deputy Shumishi of the Great Yuan Dynasty, managing military and political affairs of an unprecedented great nation, where his word could determine the life or death of vassal states.

Thus, in his eyes, these ministers and kings of Jiaozhi were insignificant.

But Zhang Yun was astute and adaptable.

In the face of the arrogant King Li Yuanlong of Annam, he still managed to lower his stance.

"Laughable, if I feared the Jin, why would I whip the Jin envoy in public at court?"

Li Yuanlong scoffed and then looked at Zhang Yun "However, I hope your Kunlun Sect keeps its promise! Should the Jin army invade from the south, you must send more than ten heavenly level warriors to help me resist the Jin army."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, my Kunlun Sect never breaks a promise and certainly needs an ally like you to restrain the Jin people. Why would we destroy our own Great Wall."

At that moment, a subtle gleam flickered in the eyes of Lord Zhang Yun of Baihu Palace "In fact, if Your Majesty wishes to wage war and invade the Jin lands, not just ten heavenly level warriors, but even twenty can be provided. My Kunlun Sect would even support Your Majesty in marching north and taking over the Central Plains."

Li Yuanlong was momentarily taken aback, his eyes suddenly revealing intense interest.

But he shook his head shortly after, "Let’s talk about that later. Wait until this king has conquered Zhan City, right, Master Shi, what exactly brings you here this time? If it’s for buying grain, then I am afraid I cannot help. I heard that you have recently been buying up a great deal of grain within our borders, amounting to five million dan?

Not only has the surplus grain of my Annan territory been bought up by you this year, but even the old grain of the Ruan and Zheng families from previous years has been completely taken by you. Where can I possibly have extra food to give you now?"

Lord Baihu, Shi Tianze, could only smile bitterly, "Five million dan is an exaggeration. Until now, we’ve only collected two million seven hundred thousand dan of grain."

The grain he had gathered this time in Jiaozhi was far less than expected.

Despite there being fields here that yield over ten dan per mu and harvest three times a year, the local people do not have the habit of storing grain,

simply because the climate in the Tiannan region is too damp, which complicates storage.

Moreover, Jinque Palace nowadays doesn’t have much silver money left either.

Since Li Xuan looted the East Island, the finances of the Jinque Palace have been barely sufficient, and this time Shi Tianze could only bring two million liangs to buy grain.

Now, the city of Xi’an faces a tremendous shortfall of grain; due to the expansion of the army and the large-scale conscription of laborers, many fields in Shaanxi have been left fallow. The grain deficiency this year is at least five million dan.

The Si’s Tu Division of Luchuan is also eagerly awaiting the grain aid from Jinque Palace.

Shi Tianze took a deep breath and leaned forward slightly, "I heard that the great king’s Changping warehouse has three million dan of old grain. Bravely, I offer a price of three hundred wen per dan to buy half of it."

Jiaozhi’s king, Li Yuanlong, couldn’t help but frown and fell into a deep thought; after a moment, he smiled, "Three hundred wen per dan is a fair price, but I can only give you eighty percent."

"Your Majesty, but that is the Changping warehouse!" This came from a Jiaozhi general, Li Sheng, his face full of worry.

"Never mind!"

Li Yuanlong shook his head to stop Li Sheng, "Our rice in Annan ripens three times a year, and in just twenty days, it will be harvest season. How does it matter if we give them some of this grain?"

——As for the high price of three hundred wen, it’s worth noting that the usual price for our Annan grain is only forty-five qian per dan. This is six times the usual rate, enough to make a huge profit.

※※※※

After meeting with Shaoqing Zhang Yun and Peng Babai, Li Xuan stopped worrying about the Annan situation.

Simply because by this time, the Shen Nong Institution had cultivated quite a few sweet potato seeds, initiating a large-scale promotion.

Lv Qiluo’s ability in crop cultivation far exceeded Li Xuan’s expectations, astonishingly slashing the growth time of those sweet potatoes in half,

and the yield of potatoes, in its second planting season, also had a slight increase, reaching forty-five dan per mu.

The main thing is that officials, landowners, and powers from both north and south Zhili rushed over upon hearing the news, requesting seeds from the imperial manor, which doubled the planting area of potatoes.

The staple from Annan was no longer as crucial as he had thought.

And Yu Hongchang had already taken over this matter; if nothing unexpected occurred, Jiaozhi would pay a price for their arrogance and folly.

Li Xuan was also ready, preparing to relocate people to Liaodong.

Shaanxi didn’t need attention for the time being, yet the situation in Shandong was now urgent.

Since the times of the Great Ancestor and Emperor Taizong, Shandong has been the most populous region in Jin,

claiming to have eight million households and a population of thirty million. Therefore, Shandong faces famines annually and rebellions every year.

The Court dared not abolish the grain transportation system despite knowing its flaws, just because the land in Shandong couldn’t sustain such a large population.

Especially now that the cold wave had arrived, the situation in Shandong was even more perilous. The previously suppressed White Lotus Sect seemed to be resurging.

Li Xuan planned to relocate five hundred thousand households from Shandong, and for this purpose, he even made a trip to Liaodong, ordering the stationed army of two hundred thousand to build log cabins according to his plans in the wilderness.

These soldiers naturally couldn’t perform like modern troops who sacrifice for the civilians, working outdoors in the depth of winter.

However, Li Xuan used silver money to hasten the process, and the results were quite satisfactory.

At this moment, Li Xuan was quite complacent, as everything these days, whether official or personal, had gone smoothly.

In the court, any political measures strongly advocated by Li Xuan encountered no obstacles.

Within his private residence, Li Xuan also enjoyed the utmost tenderness.

Xue Yunrou and Luo Yan and a few other girls, perhaps too eager to have children, had been exceptionally accommodating these days, letting him truly taste what a gentle embrace was all about.

Although Li Xuan sometimes felt overwhelmed, barely making it to the morning court on time and having to get a bowl of Cordyceps sinensis and mutton soup from the kitchen at night for tonifying the liver and kidney and enhancing virility, he still felt inwardly proud.

Li Xuan believed he had mastered the art of time management well, harmonizing his household without fear of any future mishaps, and could now enjoy twice the marital bliss.

But as time passed, Li Xuan grew quietly anxious.

Only because by the fifth of October, Jiang Hanyun, who had been sent to apprehend a notorious criminal, still had not returned to the Capital City.

And since the wedding date set months ago by Mrs. Liu and Lady Jiang was on the eighth of October, there were only a few days left.

Initially, Li Xuan thought something had happened to Jiang Hanyun, but after an investigation by the Xiuyiwei, it turned out that Jiang Hanyun was staying in Nanjing and was perfectly safe.

The Liudao Division reported that the notorious criminal Jiang Hanyun had been chasing was already captured and settled in the Nanjing Zhenyao Tower.

Li Xuan instantly speculated that this half-demon fox might be suffering from marriage phobia, or perhaps even considering fleeing the marriage?

On the sixth of October, Li Xuan could no longer sit idly by. He promptly seized Tingtian Ao from Ao Shuying’s temple of Immortal Master Shuide and went to borrow the "Nine Heavens Ten Earths Pixie Demigod Shuttle" from Xue Yunrou, preparing to travel to Nanjing to arrest the errant fox.

But Xue Yunrou just crossed her arms and looked at him, silent for a long while.