"The paperwork won't arrive tonight; the earliest would be tomorrow morning."
After a moment of thought, Zhe Yourong said directly.
"That's not urgent. However, please confirm the matter of the garrison commander for me! Also, have him prepare for the possibility of someone burning down the Changping granary in Jun County!"
"Burning the Changping granary!"
Upon hearing this news, Zhe Yourong, who had been sitting in her chair, immediately shot up.
"This is just my guess for now. Whether this will actually happen is still unknown. Everything will probably have to wait until tonight!"
"Is this information accurate? This is no laughing matter!"
Even as a woman of the household, she understood that the purpose of the imperial court establishing the Changping granary was to stabilize grain prices and prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
If something were to happen to the Changping granary in Jun County, grain prices in the surrounding counties would undoubtedly skyrocket.
For the wealthy, their own household grain reserves were more than enough to handle almost any situation.
However, it would be much more difficult for ordinary commoners.
Soaring grain prices would likely plunge many back into destitution overnight.
"Although I really wish I could say this information is unreliable, judging by the current signs, it's probably true, and I can't even warn them..."
At this point, even Han Mo felt a headache coming on.
He became even more curious about who was behind this operation. Their methods were so ruthless!
It was as if they didn't consider the common people as human beings, determined to drive them all to their deaths.
"But, can we just stand by and watch?"
Zhe Yourong widened her eyes, unwilling.
"Even if it's not burned down, this grain will soon be allocated as military rations!"
Seeing her anxious look, Han Mo reached out and gently pushed her back into the nearby chair.
"If the grain from the Changping granary is used as military rations, what about when there's a famine?"
Since the establishment of the Changping granary, its grain had almost never been used as military rations.
Moreover, to ensure this situation wouldn't occur, ever since the establishment of the Transport Commissioner system, Emperor Taizong had laid down a rule: anyone who misappropriated more than thirty percent of the surplus would be exiled three thousand li!
This meant that, apart from the fixed portion supplied to the central court, even if the local Transport Commissioner borrowed more than thirty percent of the grain and other supplies collected in various prefectural treasuries, they would be directly sentenced to three thousand li of exile.
And now, the imperial court was actually allocating all the grain in the Changping granary as military rations. This was truly discarding any pretense of propriety.
What if a famine or an earthquake occurred in the meantime? Would the court have no grain for disaster relief, forcing the people of this province to starve to death?
"Alright, this is not something we should be worrying about. Let's worry about the problems we face ourselves!"
Looking at her indignant expression, Han Mo could only offer a bitter smile.
"I'll send out the message now!"
Despite her immense reluctance, Zhe Yourong stood up and walked towards the door.
As a few carrier pigeons took flight, Han Mo had done everything he could. Everything had returned to square one.
With the agreed-upon time approaching and Jiang Yan still nowhere to be seen, Yue Fei felt extremely uneasy.
"It looks like horses are coming our way!"
The inn was bustling with people. The exceptionally tall knights were already preparing themselves.
"It looks like the boss is back!"
Just as Yue Fei was hesitating whether to follow, someone finally shouted from behind.
Only when Jiang Yan's face reappeared before Yue Fei did the stone that had been hanging in his heart finally fall completely.
"What did the master say?"
Yue Fei quickly asked.
"The master's intention is for us to slaughter them freely. If there are any problems, just put the blame on the master. He will handle the aftermath. This is the document the master gave us!"
As Jiang Yan spoke, he pulled a document from his sleeve and handed it to Yue Fei.
Although it was just an insignificant little gesture, it made Yue Fei's heart feel suddenly at ease.
"Since the master has given the order, we will act according to his command!"
After a moment of hesitation, Yue Fei still did not reach out to take the order.
"How is it over here? Any movement?"
Seeing that Yue Fei had no intention of taking the order, Jiang Yan didn't force it, instead tucking it away and asking naturally.
"Those people haven't come out of the inn yet. I took a look inside just now. I always feel a familiar scent about these people..."
As Yue Fei spoke, even he, who was usually confident, sounded uncertain.
"A familiar scent, what do you mean?"
Jiang Yan was taken aback.
"Don't you think their height and appearance seem very strange, especially their accents when they speak..."
After hesitating, Yue Fei tentatively spoke again.
"Height, appearance, and accents when they speak?"
Upon being reminded, Jiang Yan also became hesitant.
Although he had felt that these people were a bit off before, he hadn't thought carefully about what was wrong.
Now, when Yue Fei brought up these details, Jiang Yan suddenly realized that it seemed to be the case.
Throughout the Great Song Dynasty, adult males from Hebei, Northwest, and Hedong typically stood between 6 feet 5 inches and 7 feet tall.
However, the shortest among these later individuals were all over 7 feet 2 inches.
Furthermore, their gait was particularly strange, with their bow legs being too eye-catching.
"Their accents are all uniformly Central Plains Mandarin. Every word they utter is pronounced very clearly. They don't sound like native Central Plains people, but rather like foreigners who have specifically learned Central Plains dialect!"
Yue Fei also hesitated as he voiced his conjecture.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan shivered all over.
It truly was a case of not seeing Mount Lu for being within its very mountains!
"Damn it, how could I have forgotten this!"