RWNEFE -Chapter 248 Opening New Sources of Revenue! Seizing the Salt Fields!

Wei Dongzhu said with a worried expression, “General, will Abu Kuan really call in reinforcements?”

Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and said, “He’s bluffing. If he were truly going to call for help, he wouldn’t come over in advance to give us a warning.”

Qian Feng said, “He just wants to scare us.”

Cheng Zheng wrote: “What’s the purpose of scaring us?”

Shen Yuanxu said, “To make us afraid!” Once they were afraid, they would compromise with the Turks and let them take whatever they wanted.

Liu Yanhui raised a more practical concern: “Many of the civilians in the city don’t have food to eat anymore. Today, some people knelt at the gates.”

Shen Lanxi pondered briefly and said, “Handle it the same way we did in Dongchuan—relief through labor.”

Liu Yanhui added, “General Sun Zhong came to see me today and, beating around the bush, tried to find out how much grain we have.”

Wei Dongzhu said, “Their provisions are running low. They’re eating porridge twice a day at most. They can last ten more days at best.”

Shen Lanxi looked at Liu Yanhui. “Just wait. They’ve been here nearly three years—there must be some stockpiles.”

“Grain is precious to us as well. If he can’t offer sincerity of equal value in exchange, our grain will only last ten days or half a month too!”

So what if they cried poverty? It wasn’t as if whoever was poor deserved sympathy or was automatically in the right!

Shen Lanxi tapped the table, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We can’t just sit around consuming our reserves. We have to find ways to increase revenue!”

None of them knew anything about running enterprises.

Everyone responded with silence.

Shen Lanxi said, “The three Turkic tribes are arrogant and overbearing. Negotiations with our Zhenbei Army have failed, so they’ve gone so far as to seize our northwestern salt fields. Our Zhenbei Army fought back bravely, but with limited manpower, we suffered heavy losses!”

Two rows of subordinates: “…”

That tone sounded all too familiar.

“Wei Dongzhu, you know the local terrain well. You’ll muster troops and lead them to reinforce the area.”

Wei Dongzhu replied, “Yes!”

Shen Lanxi continued, “Salt, tea, sugar, silk—these are all things beloved by the foreign tribes. Salt—we’ll never lack it again in the future.”

Everyone suddenly understood. So that was the plan.

“Liu Yanhui, once we recover our salt fields, you and Madam Song will be in charge of selling the salt.”

“Yes!”

Shen Lanxi then thought of something else. “I’ve heard there’s a former dynasty prince’s tomb in Guangping Prefecture?”

Wei Dongzhu looked at her in confusion—there was indeed one. He had even been the one to tell her about it.

Shen Lanxi sighed faintly and said, “When living people can’t even get enough to eat, the dead ancestors will have to be set aside. In life, they enjoyed the fruits of the people’s labor. Now it’s time for them to make a contribution!”

Everyone stared at her in shock, dumbfounded.

Shen Lanxi said solemnly, “Amitabha—consider it accumulating merit for their next life!”

Everyone: “…”

Only their general could talk about grave-robbing so openly and righteously.

“Leave this matter to Xiao Fang.”

“Yes!”

Shen Lanxi added, “Quickly find some capable local talent. Leave that to Sang Guo.”

“And from now on, have the soldiers conduct drills at the city gates!”

She assigned tasks one by one. Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, another ten days went by.

On the eleventh day, Baru sent someone to ask for help.

“General, two days ago the three Turkic tribes launched a surprise attack on the Oirat. They looted countless cattle and sheep and captured many Oirat people as slaves. Many Oirat civilians are now displaced and being hunted down by the tribes!”

Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and said, “Qian Feng, take more men and disguise yourselves as Oirat people traveling with the Turks. Bring Baru and his people back to Huangtu City.”

“Yes!”

“If you encounter a large Turkic force, abandon the Oirat people.”

Qian Feng understood—the general wanted them to protect themselves first.

One by one, people around her were sent out, and Shen Lanxi finally had a rare moment of quiet.

Shen Yuanxu and the others had gone with Wei Dongzhu to seize the salt fields. Before leaving, they specifically informed Shen Yuanjing.

“Yuanjing, we’re off. Take good care of yourself. When we come back, we’ll bring you some salt-baked chicken!” After all, salt-baked chicken should be the local specialty of the salt fields.

Shen Yuanjing tossed and turned all night, then got up the next day with dark circles under his eyes.

He was mostly recovered now. Even if he wasn’t fully healed, he could at least go listen in on his elder sister’s discussions.

How could he let Zhou Yunyue frighten him? A dignified man like him had actually been scared out of his wits by Zhou Yunyue.

Once he figured that out, Shen Yuanjing changed into plain clothes and went to report to Shen Lanxi.

“Elder sister…” he called cautiously.

Shen Lanxi asked, “Feeling better?”

“Mostly. I can’t stay cooped up in the room anymore.”

Shen Lanxi chuckled. “Learned your lesson?”

Shen Yuanjing nodded quickly. “I have, I have—this time I really did.”

The fact that he could say that meant he hadn’t learned very much at all.

“Go help Cheng Zheng look for books on agronomy,” Shen Lanxi said.

Hearing he had been given an assignment, Shen Yuanjing’s face immediately lit up with joy.

“Yes, General!”

Watching her younger brother, who looked like he might jump onto the roof in excitement, Shen Lanxi smiled faintly.

Soon it was the year’s end. Sun Zhong was the last group to leave. Looking at the walls of Huangtu City, the past three years felt like a dream.

“I, Shen Lanxi, am here today to see General Sun off!” she called out loudly.

This was the seventh time she had sent off Great Zhou soldiers. Going to Dongchuan meant no dealings with foreign tribes—it was equivalent to returning home.

Sun Zhong was filled with emotion but didn’t know what to say. He could only bow and clasp his fists.

“Many thanks to General Shen for seeing us off. Though one may escort a friend for a thousand miles, parting is inevitable. Please, General Shen, stop here.”

The supply carts creaked as Sun Zhong and his men departed from the northwest they had guarded for three years.

Shen Lanxi stood there, watching until they disappeared from sight.

Then she turned and said, “Have the villagers come to sign up.”

“Yes!”

An hour later, cart after cart of people lined up and entered Huangtu City!

…

Baru agonized over the decision for three days, wavering endlessly. Staying cooped up in his residence made him feel stifled.

He wanted to go out and catch some air, to imagine himself once more riding horses and cracking whips on the training grounds of the Oirat tribes.

“Why are there so many people? What’s going on?” Seeing so many people appear in Huangtu City at once, Baru was startled.

It reminded him of the time before the war, when foreign merchants could freely enter nearby cities—back then it had been even livelier.

“They’re enlisting,” someone said. “First time I’ve seen people come to enlist with their whole families—there’s even a big black cooking pot tied onto the cart!”

“Why look at the pot? Look at the women! Don’t tell me you can’t tell they’re women just because they’re wearing men’s clothes.”

Baru looked at cart after cart of women, along with old men and children, and even some refined-looking people who seemed like scholars.

These people looked more like they were coming to settle down than to enlist.

Without realizing it, Baru followed them, soon arriving at the camp.

There, in the military camp, squads of women holding spears patrolled the area. Elderly people and children helped wash vegetables and tend fires, while a few older women moved through the crowd, guiding newcomers to their tents.

This was nothing like the military camp he had imagined!

Baru dared not get too close and turned back the way he had come.

After the carts of women, elders, and children, groups of men entered the city in formation.

At a glance, these men were clearly battle-hardened, with a murderous aura about them.

“Chief,” someone whispered, “their cotton clothes are so thick!”