The Princess of Northern Land
Chapter 514: Really Ruthless(7)_1

Chapter 514: Chapter 514: Really Ruthless(7)_1

The two maids nodded vigorously.

"The prince has drawn some hatred on me." Lin Ziyin sat on a pavilion in the middle of the lake, contentedly watching the withered lotus leaves in the water.

Seeing her languid appearance, Chu Suifeng peeled some grapes and placed them in a bowl in front of her, "As long as we intimidate them, they won’t dare to be presumptuous in front of you. Perhaps soon, the Imperial Court will cut off our grain supply route."

Lin Ziyin understood his meaning. The grain Chu Suifeng was referring to wasn’t military rations, but regular grain trade shipments to the Northern Land.

"The grain being transported by the traders should be enough to support us until next autumn. Moreover, the prince and my farms will soon have a harvest. As long as we don’t levy grain from the common people, they will also be able to hold out until next autumn," Lin Ziyin analysed, "Currently, the biggest shortage in the Northern Land is manpower. Has the prince considered bringing more people here?"

"The Northern Land is vast and the population sparse, it’s also an extremely cold environment. Who would willingly come here for no reason?" Chu Suifeng responded in jest.

"If the prince is keen on bringing in more people, then there are solutions to this." Lin Ziyin replied thoughtfully.

"What solutions?" Chu Suifeng asked, his eyes lit up.

"There are many soldiers under the prince, and quite a few of them are injured and crippled. To be frank, even if they were to return to their original places, they wouldn’t necessarily live a good life. Take Feng City for example, it’s developing wonderfully. The prince could allow this group of soldiers to write letters home, encouraging their families to come here. We are willing to provide free housing, and allow them to reclaim farmland," Lin Ziyin shared her thoughts aloud.

"I’m afraid their families may not want to," Chu Suifeng was not optimistic about this plan.

"Not all areas are abundant, so it’s natural that most people wouldn’t wish to leave their hometowns to come to the Northern Land. Moreover, the reputation of the ’harsh life’ in the Northern Land does make it difficult to attract people. However, everything has two sides. The prince can choose to persuade people from poorer places. By letting them see the development model of the prince’s estate, I think there will be a portion of people willing to come." Lin Ziyin was much more optimistic than Chu Suifeng.

"I’ll give it a try." Chu Suifeng sighed, clearly not hopeful about the plan.

"If people are willing to come, we can have the merchants bring them. All the costs will be borne by us." Lin Ziyin said.

Chu Suifeng’s eyes brightened; this seemed like a viable strategy.

The two discussed further details, only finalising the plan after a while.

In recent days, the aristocrats in Feng City were all paying attention to the Wang Residence, after learning that the prince had punished the beauties in the back courtyard for a woman, they were all frightened. Everyone started paying more attention to Lin Ziyin.

On the third day, many people visited with gifts.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t meet Lin Ziyin in person. For early in the morning, Lin Ziyin had already returned to Shili Village.

"Miss Lin likes her peace and does not wish to be disturbed these days." Bai Xian, the steward of the Wang Residence, smilingly passed on Chu Suifeng’s words, "If you have anything to discuss, I can assist."

Despite Bai Xian being just a steward of the Wang Residence, none of the visiting aristocrats dared to underestimate him.

"Since Miss Lin is busy, we naturally won’t intrude."

"Please accept these gifts, steward. They are a small token of our regard for the prince on behalf of the Zhang Residence."

...

Those who came to visit naturally didn’t come empty-handed, Bai Xian accepted all the gifts on behalf of Lin Ziyin.

Although the visitors didn’t get to meet anyone, they all left in high spirits seeing the steward accept their gifts.

"We can’t keep any of it except for the grain needed for our own household. The rest must go." Inside the Marquis Residence, Li Jiesong was a bit agitated, "Hurry up and find Mr. Hei, to transport the grain away."

"What’s the rush?" Mrs. You looked at him unhappily, "Mr. Hei has already said that the patrols have tightened. He advised us to wait a few days, and if necessary, he will send people to notify us."

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Li Jiesong was furious, "If we don’t act now, we might not be able to save our own lives in the end."

"What did the prince say the other day?" Mrs. You asked shockingly.

"The rice planted in Lin Ziyin’s and the prince’s farm had a good harvest. I heard the prince has begun to inspect the grain merchants in Feng City. If he knows we have hoarded so much grain, he will undoubtedly force us to sell at market price. If that happens, we will definitely lose out." Li Jiesong scoffed, "Even if we are willing to operate at a loss, Mr. Hei probably won’t be."

Mrs. You was taken aback, that was indeed the case. They could afford some losses, but with the strength of the Marquis’ Residence, only minor losses would be acceptable. However, they couldn’t afford to lose on this deal because they had used high-interest loans to buy the grain they stored.