“So, the food supply is sufficient.”

Zheng Boye and the Blind Man were sitting face to face.

Not far away, on the map-turned-carpet, Tian Tian was playing with the Demon Pill.

The Blind Man nodded and said, "Yes, my lord. This winter, our food supply is sufficient. At the very least, we can guarantee that people will likely not starve to death."

The Blind Man had been in charge of agricultural production in Xue Hai Pass.

In this world, there were already crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes, but the yield per mu wasn't very high, and there was no sign of hybrid rice.

But,

you had to admire a person's dedication to one thing,

and that was... the Blind Man.

As early as in Tiger Head City, he had collected many crop seeds from merchant caravans.

Then, he cultivated, screened, and planted them on a small scale.

Those high-yield potatoes and sweet potatoes had already been planted in Shengle City, but they weren't widely promoted; the Blind Man had deliberately kept them secret.

After taking control of Xue Hai Pass, the soldiers and civilians of Xue Hai Pass began to plant these crops on a large scale under the Blind Man's leadership.

Since ancient times, people had been an extremely valuable resource;

but the problem was that the first element supporting the population was food.

Once food was insufficient, too many people would often become displaced, becoming a torrent that endangered the rule.

But...

Zheng Boye looked at the plate of mashed potatoes in front of him,

his brow furrowed.

He picked up a spoon and put a mouthful in his mouth.

There should be some salt in it;

the texture was sandy and soft,

you couldn't say it was bad,

but it really didn't have much flavor.

"Tsk tsk, not tasty," Zheng Boye said.

The Blind Man nodded and said, "But these can help the people get through this winter."

So,

for the long winter and into next spring,

the people of J Eastern lands,

would have mashed potatoes or sweet potato paste three times a day.

The Blind Man added, "It will be much better after this season. Our new workshops will be built, and trade will resume. Besides, even if we frantically absorb refugees in the J Eastern lands, it will be difficult to change the current situation of having more land than people. So, as long as we organize the spring planting well next year,

everything will be fine.

Hard times,

are temporary.

Besides,

for many people, being able to drink paste until they're full every meal in winter is better than eating Guanyin soil, isn't it?"

"Pay attention to the treatment of the biao hu (exemplary households)," Zheng Fan said.

"My lord, you can rest assured that differential treatment will be provided."

"Mm."

"By the way, my lord, there's one more thing. Our original military system should be changed."

Some people would rise, some people would enter, some people might stay in place; in fact, staying in place itself meant a kind of regression.

"As for the military restructuring, when A Cheng is here, you and A Cheng should discuss it thoroughly, come up with a memorial, and then show it to me."

"Yes, my lord."

"Anything else?" Zheng Fan asked.

"The Fan family sent a letter saying that they plan to send some of their clansmen here to serve us. Those people should be talents in management and commerce.

Your subordinate thinks that Fan Zhengwen's move shouldn't have been discussed with the Sixth Prince.

He may think that this move can bring us closer, but it's a bit of an overreach."

In the past,

when everyone was fighting barefoot together,

it was all good, and everyone was close comrades-in-arms.

Now,

Zheng Boye had become successful,

although he wouldn't be so heartless as to turn his back on them,

it was impossible to say that he was still in cahoots with Ji Lao Liu (Sixth Prince).

Behind Zheng Fan also represented a new interest group, no, to be precise, a military group.

There wasn't enough porridge to go around for his own people, how could he run to help others?

Fan Zhengwen might think that since everyone was a member of the "Sixth Prince Party," it was nothing;

but in fact,

Zheng Boye now wanted to be a little more distant,

or rather,

Fan Zhengwen didn't expect that

Zheng Boye had long been thinking about the grand plan of "rebellion."

"What do you think?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Your subordinate thinks that the Fan family's abilities are beyond doubt. Now is the time to use talent. We can use them, just like we treated the Wen family's people back then: use them first, then adjust them. We must put the meat in our bowl first, then we have the chance to let it rot."

"You handle it."

"Yes, my lord."

Zheng Fan stood up,

stretched,

and pointed to the mashed potatoes,

saying:

"Don't know how to make it taste better."

"It was you, my lord, who said you wanted to taste what the people would be eating to get through the winter."

"Alright, alright, it's my fault, it's my fault."

Zheng Boye walked to the map,

looking at Tian Tian, who was playing happily there,

seeing that he had already climbed past Wangjiang and was almost at Li Tian City,

Zheng Boye immediately shouted:

"Don't climb there, we haven't taken it down yet."

………

"Husband, how is it?"

Xiong Liqing asked while pouring tea.

Zheng Boye was reading the family letter written by Xiong Liqing.

It was said to be a family letter,

but the Princess wrote it very formally;

it was divided into three parts:

one part was for her imperial brother, which was for the Chu court to see;

one part was for her empress mother, which was the current Empress Dowager of Chu;

the last part was for the citizens of Great Chu to see.

Honestly,

the pattern reflected in this family letter was already not to be underestimated.

But Zheng Boye still shook his head

and said;

"Too solemn."

Hearing this, Xiong Liqing bit her lip lightly. She had put a lot of effort into this in the past few days, even sacrificing several days of her husband to Liu Ruqing.

Zheng Fan took the teacup, took a sip,

and said;

"If it were me in the past, I probably would have written the same as you."

"Then how would my husband write now?"

"Actually, sometimes the necessary procedures still have to be followed, even if they're useless, even if they're flashy, even if they're immediately used to wipe shoe soles after being read, they're indispensable.

But later, I slowly discovered that the same things, the same procedures, can be done more beautifully; relatively speaking, it will be a little more useful than being completely useless."

"Please enlighten me, husband."

"I know what you want to express, and I know that you have ambitions in your heart. Uh, don't worry, you know, I've never been against having some hobbies with my own women.

It's just that, in terms of pattern, it must be large, but it can't lose its precision.

I think, on top of this, we have to add another part, this part is the real finishing touch."

"Add a part, add it to whom?"

"To the Fan family, and to the Qu family."

"I can understand the Fan family, but the Qu family?"

"The Fan family has been our ally for a long time, that goes without saying. As for the Qu family, Qu Peiluo is still staying in Zhennan Pass. When I led the army to plunder those noble fiefdoms, I deliberately spared the Qu family.

So, the Qu family's position is actually very awkward.

Currently, except for a small group of Yan troops stationed in Mengshan to help the Fan family maintain the situation, the rest of the troops have basically been withdrawn to within Shanggu County.

Even many troops returning from the pass have returned to their respective garrisons.

Although Qu Peiluo is in my hands, the Qu family is not just Qu Peiluo's Qu family. The Qingluan Army's surrender and defection on the battlefield has become a stain that the Qu family can't wash away.

I deliberately gave the Qu family face, which can be said to have made the Qu family an outsider.

At this time, you can come forward, in the capacity of a princess of Great Chu, to give the Qu family a legal reliance.

At least, let the Qu family feel that they haven't betrayed Great Chu, and at the same time, turn the Yan-Chu war into the affair of me, a son-in-law of Great Chu, and my brother-in-law;

In fact, it's originally the affair of our own family, my brother-in-law is working tirelessly to help my brother-in-law in the country to attack the noble forces and strengthen centralization, which is clear to everyone.

The Fan family is a nail of Great Yan in Mengshan, and the Qu family is a bargaining chip that I will support next. What your imperial brother will do next is to take advantage of my departure and the departure of the Yan army to get rid of most of the noble forces in the country in one fell swoop.

And those nobles, although they're badly injured, although their ancestral graves have been dug up, they're still able to jump a few times. It's best to let them all gather around the Qu family."

"Is this useful?" the Princess hesitated. "With my imperial brother's methods, the current Qu family is simply unable to stop him."

"So I will release most of the Qingluan Army, and under appropriate circumstances, I can even release Qu Peiluo to support the banner;

Anyway, Qu Peiluo has been helping me all along, and I have to help him back to repay the favor, right?

Besides,

I'm not expecting those badly injured nobles to stir up any waves. It's worthwhile to slightly hinder your imperial brother's pace and give me a few more breaths here.

Even,

even if it's just to disgust your imperial brother, I'm happy to do it."

"Yes, husband, I understand."

"Mm, good, you've worked hard."

"It's rare to be able to help my husband, it's not hard."

"Take care of your body. I clearly noticed that you're thinner than before when I came back this time. You look better a little fatter. Eat more and gain it back."

"Okay, husband."

The Princess was very obedient,

and Zheng Boye was very satisfied.

In these days,

Zheng Boye met some local leaders, cracking down, tidying up, wooing, and bestowing favors. A set of combined punches went down, treating the symptoms, and the effect was still very good.

In fact, when your strength and prestige reach a certain level, the so-called means are really just a procedure.

As for the condolences to the local soldiers and civilians, such as the celebration ceremony, Zheng Boye didn't do it.

Because the main force of Xue Hai Pass was still in Zhennan Pass,

he had taken the opportunity to take a small trip home to rest,

moreover,

these things,

after his own reward came down, and after the title on his head changed from Boye (Earl) to Houye (Marquis), it would be twice the result with half the effort to carry out the military-civilian carnival and inspections everywhere.

This was one side, and on the other side, Zheng Boye was waiting for Si Niang (Fourth Wife) to return, and the Blind Man was ready to set off to take over.

Tian Tian could already run errands,

and Zheng Boye was also thinking that it was time to have his own child.

In fact, there was originally this plan, but it was delayed by the war.

Now,

it was like working hard when he was young,

and finally scraping together a down payment, that is, the J Eastern lands.

Next,

it was time to live his own little life.

However,

what surprised Zheng Boye was that

he didn't wait for Si Niang to return, but instead waited for the King's Order from Fengxin City.

The King's Order summoned him to return to Fengxin City as soon as possible.

Whether it was the King's personal soldiers who came to convey the King's Order or the Xue Hai knights who were dispatched by Si Niang to come together,

they were very direct and frank in telling Zheng Boye the content outside the King's Order:

The court's reward had come down!

This was much faster than Zheng Boye had expected.

The reason why Zheng Boye dared to steal some leisure time to go home and rest was because he believed that the court's reward couldn't come down so quickly.

But the court was extremely efficient in this matter.

However,

Zheng Boye felt that perhaps the real large-scale batch of rewards, that is, the rewards for the entire army, should still be behind. His own share was advanced.

In this, there was certainly the reason that he had made the greatest contribution in the Chu campaign, and there was also the factor of Jingnan King's recommendation.

Of course,

combining the letter from Xiao Liu Zi (Little Sixth),

there should also be the fact that the Yan Emperor's health was getting worse,

so the efficiency in this matter became extremely high.

Rewards,

were often a final conclusion after a great war;

Generally speaking, the end of the reward represented the complete pacification of a place, and the subsequent governance and defense also had corresponding arrangements.

The Yan Emperor accelerated this process, and his purpose was to quickly stabilize the J Eastern lands, Zhennan Pass, Shanggu County, the snow plains, and the situation against Chu.

And what could be imagined was that

Chu was stabilized,

the snow plains had long been whipped into a lovely appearance;

The Qian Kingdom, which hadn't jumped out in the first place, naturally didn't dare to jump out now;

After learning that Chu had ceded land for peace, the Qian Kingdom's rulers and ministers would probably immediately throw all the memorials with the words "Northern Expedition" into the dustpan, and then renegotiate the amount of tribute with the Yan Kingdom.

The desert would continue the tradition formed over the past century, whether in reality or in name, continuing to maintain a lower posture towards the Yan Kingdom.

The strategic layout of the Great Yan's first attack on Chu immediately became apparent. If you wanted to fight, you had to pick the thorn first, and fight the difficult one first. The rest wouldn't dare to jump out anymore.

Therefore,

the Yan Kingdom, which had been using troops for many years in a row, although both the country and Jin had encountered extremely serious natural disasters, at least the pace of foreign military operations finally stopped, and at the same time, the threat from the outside, at least in the next few years, would not appear again.

This period of calm,

in addition to recovering the huge deficit brought about by years of war and the current devastated financial and people's livelihood situation,

could also have a use,

and that was the transfer of power!

Under the care of Xiong Liqing and Liu Ruqing, Zheng Boye began to put on his armor.

Lao Tian (Old Tian) was in Fengxin City,

so he didn't have to worry about "cunning rabbits die, hunting dogs are cooked,"

This trip to Fengxin,

was to be conferred the title of Marquis (Hou),

Although the court's reward came a little faster,

what Zheng Boye lacked now was this last piece of the puzzle from the perspective of righteousness.

"Husband, should I wear the barbarian knife or the Wuwu Cliff?" the Princess asked.

"Send the barbarian knife into the secret room and put it on top of Shatuo Queshi's coffin, I'll wear Wuwu Cliff."

"Yes, husband."

After tidying up,

Zheng Boye slowly walked out of the hall,

and behind him,

Xiong Liqing and Liu Ruqing both bowed down,

and said in unison:

"Congratulations to my husband for being conferred the title of Marquis!"

"Congratulations to my husband for being conferred the title of Marquis!"

Zheng Boye didn't turn his head,

raised his hand,

waved it gently,

and continued to walk out.

The Blind Man was already waiting at the gate of the Earl's Mansion, and outside, the guards were also ready.

Zheng Fan walked to the gate of the Earl's Mansion,

stopped,

looked back,

looked up,

and smiled again.

The Blind Man said;

"My lord, after several years, you're finally being conferred the title of Marquis."

Zheng Fan nodded,

and said:

"Remember when we were in the inn in Tiger Head City, you asked me whether I wanted to live a peaceful and safe life as a wealthy man, or whether I wanted to do something."

The Blind Man's face showed a nostalgic smile, and he said with emotion;

"My lord, you have achieved it."

Zheng Fan waved his hand,

and said;

"No, I think it's just the beginning."

————

There's one more chapter, everyone can get up in the morning to read it again, don't wait, don't panic!