Chapter 261: Omen Of War
“General!”
Everyone looked at Xie Chong excitedly.
Although Xie Chong appeared calm now, he was inwardly turbulent.
He had known that this wheat would yield at least a thousand catties per mu, but seeing the data laid out before him, how could he not be excited.
“Weigh the others.”
This time, five mu of wheat were randomly selected for separate drying.
Hearing this, everyone eagerly went to weigh the wheat from the other four mu.
The lowest yield obtained was still a thousand catties per mu.
Some even yielded around thirteen hundred catties per mu.
When this data came out, everyone present gasped for breath, followed by waves of cheers.
“Excellent, excellent hahaha…”
Some people even cried as they laughed.
“Wuwuwu… If we had such high yields back then, my mother wouldn’t have starved to death.”
Joining the army was not a popular profession in ancient times.
Many were conscripted, as it was a job where one could die at any moment.
A large portion of them joined because their families had no food and no money, forcing them to risk their lives.
Most families were in dire straits, unable to eat or dress warmly, so they placed great importance on grain.
Xie Chong showed a smile on his face.
“Alright, store all the grain in the granary!”
“General, these many grains might not fit.”
Everyone was in high spirits. This was their border army’s own grain, and they didn’t have to hand it over to the imperial court, so how could they not be happy.
With so much grain, they wouldn’t have to fear the imperial city withholding their military rations this year.
Xie Chong waved his hand: “Build another granary!”
The joy of the wheat harvest continued for several days.
For these few days, Qin Wanwan noticed her Daddy seemed to walk with a spring in his step.
He even held her and doted on her for several days.
“It’s all thanks to Wanwan, Wanwan is truly Daddy’s, no, the entire border pass’s lucky star!”
Not only wheat, but also soybeans and potatoes.
The soybean harvest this year would surely not be bad either.
Although fighting locusts was tiring, everyone was very satisfied with the results.
And because of the medicine Yu Wuyou developed to deal with locusts, they wouldn’t have to worry about promoting these wheat seeds in the future.
Qin Wanwan was held and had her face nuzzled by her Daddy, and was praised, her little tail was practically wagging with joy.
However, the excitement of the border pass people did not last long, as the Tartars caused trouble again.
The wheat harvest could not be hidden at all.
Xie Chong not only had to write memorials to send to the imperial city himself, but the spies at the border pass also became active.
Moreover, the Tartars would get the news even earlier.
Both the grain output of the border pass this year and the high-yield wheat made the Tartars envious.
The Tartars were bloodthirsty. On the grasslands, they considered themselves noble and disdained productive labor, preferring to plunder the fruits of others’ labor.
This was because such a harvest was easier and also demonstrated their might.
In fact, not only Tianqi, but other small tribes on the grasslands were also deeply harmed.
The Tartars liked to plunder the cattle, sheep, and herds of other small and medium-sized tribes on the grasslands, but that was not enough to sustain them, so they set their sights on the fertile land of Tianqi.
Humans are greedy, especially those in high positions; having their own is not enough, they always covet what others have.
Therefore, after learning this news, the greedy Tartars began to stir again.
“General, two sneaky people were caught near the granary.”
Inside Xie Chong’s tent, two people tied up with ropes were thrown to the ground.
Xie Chong looked down at the two: “Take them for interrogation.”
It concerned the grain, so Xie Chong personally went to interrogate them.
As the sun set, Xie Chong emerged from the prison covered in blood.
“Prepare a basin of water, I need to bathe.”
He was covered in blood from head to toe, and returning like this would scare Wanwan.
He clasped his hands behind his back and looked towards the grasslands, thinking about the letter he received today: the Emperor was gravely ill, and the borderland bandits were restless.
He feared it would become turbulent again. This time, it wasn’t just the Tartars causing trouble, but also the Xianbei, and the two tribes were likely to cooperate.
After showering and changing into clean clothes, Xie Chong returned to the General’s Mansion.
“Daddy~”
Qin Wanwan and Yu Wuyou were picking grapes. Three full baskets of grapes were already placed under the grape arbor.
Seeing Xie Chong return, she immediately slid down from Little Red’s back.
Xie Chong picked up the little milk bun who ran over.
“Are they all ripe?”
Qin Wanwan nodded like a pecking chick: “Mmhmm, Daddy, we can make grape wine now, and you can earn a lot of money then.”
Xie Chong’s eyes were full of the little one’s happy appearance.
After the sun had completely set, the three of them sat under the grape arbor eating fruit salad.
“Does Wanwan want to go to Shangjing?”
Xie Chong suddenly asked.
Qin Wanwan tilted her head, thinking of the two daddies still in Shangjing, she nodded: “Wanwan of course wants to.”
“Daddy, when can you return to Shangjing? Wanwan will go with Daddy.”
Xie Chong lowered his gaze and said: “It won’t be long.”
“Since you want to go to Shangjing, you should go to Shangjing to spend the winter this year. The environment there is better and it’s more fun.”
The little qilin cub suddenly sensed something was off in his Daddy’s tone.
“Daddy, what’s wrong? Do you not like Wanwan anymore?”
Her expression was pitiful.
Xie Chong patted her little head: “I like you.”
“The border pass might be in trouble.”
He placed Qin Wanwan on his lap.
“Daddy has to lead troops to defend against the enemy and cannot look after you. If there’s danger, I will always worry if you are not under my watch, but the battlefield is dangerous, and Daddy dares not take you there.”
Qin Wanwan nervously clutched his collar, her clear black and white eyes filled with tension and worry.
“But, but I still have Daddy Yu Wuyou.”
Yu Wuyou guaranteed: “I can protect her.”
“This is another thing I wanted to tell you.”
“The current Son of Heaven is gravely ill, and the Imperial City might be in turmoil. The Crown Prince has been sent to handle disaster relief, and the remaining princes will not be content.”
Qin Wanwan’s eyes widened: “Brother Yuanli was sent to handle disaster relief?!”
Xie Chong nodded: “Therefore, I want to ask you to help the Emperor see a doctor. The Crown Prince is too young now and is not in Shangjing. If the Emperor were to pass away at this time, the other princes, vying for power, would inevitably cause internal strife. At that time, Tianqi might fall into great chaos with internal and external troubles.”
Although Xie Chong was a military general and often stayed at the border pass, he was not entirely ignorant of the current situation of the Tianqi imperial family.
Because of Wanwan, he had a bad impression of the First Prince and the Third Prince.
He had met the Crown Prince; he was well-trained, and treated him and the border army well. If other princes took the throne, they might try to settle scores with him, a Great General holding significant military power.
Only the Crown Prince…
The Crown Prince, being the legitimate son, was officially declared the rightful heir by the Emperor and the Imperial Advisor. He also had some connections with the border army. Naturally, he supported the Crown Prince ascending to the throne.
It was a pity that the Crown Prince was too young now. Therefore, no matter how incapable the current Emperor was, he hoped the Emperor would live until the Crown Prince could stand on his own.
