The Return of the Demon

The grain merchants present looked at each other.

As the saying goes, there is no businessman without treachery, and no one who can save tens of thousands of wealth is a fool. These people are smarter than monkeys if they stick to their hair.

Ning Chen said it nicely, it was all voluntary and never forced... But then he said that even if I didn't donate, I would remember you and take care of you as you should... As for how to take care of you, it's hard to say.

This is clearly a threat.

Shameless!

How shameless!

This is the first time I've seen someone make a threat so nicely.

The grain merchants are so angry.

I came to report to the official that I couldn’t find any food, so I had to donate some supplies.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, businessmen ranked last.

Who doesn’t want his heir to pursue an official career in the future?

But Ning Chen is the next examiner, and he has also registered their names in the register... Ning Chen has the final say whether their children can pursue an official career in the future.

The more lively thoughts were already muttering in their hearts. Their food was stolen last night, and the court's food happened to be shipped last night. Is there any connection between them?

Ning Chen said: "Everyone, whether Qingzhou can survive the great disaster depends on your generosity... I am here to replace the people of Qingzhou and thank you all."

The Ning'an Army has already begun operations and surrounded these grain merchants.

Then start registering and try not to miss anyone.

These grain merchants cursed Ning Chen for being shameless in their hearts, but they did not dare to show it.

The king of Daxuan Town was so famous that they couldn't afford to offend him and they didn't dare to offend him at all.

Ning Chen came back and went directly to Liang Anzhi's study.

Liang Anzhi and Jileshan were rescued last night.

Ning Chen had people put up notices and conduct a full search, offering a heavy reward for providing clues to the two men... because these two men were absconding with huge sums of money.

The food problem has been solved for the time being. Food will be shipped from Zhangzhou in the future, and it will not be a problem to support the people through this cold winter.

The most important issue at the moment is heating.

The wood inside and outside the city has been cut down and burned by the people, and even repairing the houses is a problem.

He had already given a note to Emperor Xuan, asking him to ask Gao Liguo for coal.

But it took a month to get from Qingzhou to the capital, and it took too long for the news to reach the capital of Gaoli Kingdom. By the time the coal arrived, the people of Qingzhou had long since frozen to death.

Moreover, it is still unclear whether the Congress will agree to provide coal?

Ning Chen stood up, took out a book of Qingzhou Chronicles from the bookshelf, and read it.

After looking through it for a while, he took the map off the wall and put it on the table to start studying.

Pan Yucheng came in carrying a brazier.

Seeing Ning Chen sitting at the desk, staring at the map on the table with his brows furrowed, motionless, he subconsciously looked at Tantai Qingyue.

Tantai Qingyue shook her head. She didn't know what Ning Chen was thinking.

Ning Chen suddenly tapped the map and said in a deep voice: "Hit."

Pan Yucheng was startled, "Who are you beating?"

Ning Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Fight Gao Liguo."

Pan Yucheng was shocked. The situation in Qingzhou was now in chaos. Ning Chen still wanted to fight against Gao Liguo?

"Gao Liguo and Daxuan have always been in harmony with each other. If they want to use weapons, do they need His Majesty's approval?"

Ning Chen shook his head, "It's too late. If we wait until His Majesty is informed before taking action, the people of Qingzhou will have frozen to death... The court can wait, but the people of Qingzhou cannot wait."

"Gaoliguo's Gao'an City borders Qingzhou. If we send troops, it can be reached in two days... I just looked through the Qingzhou Chronicles, and there are records about Gao'an City in it. Gao'an City is quite wealthy. The key is that it is rich in coal. The most important thing is Yes, Gao'an City is rich in cotton."

"Old Pan, by capturing Gao'an City, the people of Qingzhou can survive this severe winter."

Pan Yucheng nodded slightly, if capturing Gao'an City can save the people of Qingzhou, that would be great.

He had just been out on business, and when he came back, he saw the Southern Border Army transporting corpses. He inquired and found out that hundreds of people froze to death in the city last night.

Pan Yucheng said: "But Gao'an City borders Qingzhou, and there must be heavy troops stationed in the city... The Ning'an Army is in Xuanwu City, and we currently only have 30,000 southern border troops. It is not easy to capture Gao'an City."

Ning Chen nodded, this was also a headache for him.

Without artillery and hot air balloons, it would be difficult to capture Gao'an City.

The key is that all the southern border troops cannot be transferred yet, and they can only take away 20,000 people at most...10,000 troops must be left to guard Qingzhou to prevent the Tianshen Sect from taking the opportunity to cause chaos.

It is unclear how many followers the Celestial Religion currently has.

Once those believers go crazy, they behave like wild beasts and must be guarded against.

Ning Chen rubbed his eyebrows.

"Old Pan, go find Niu Anguo for me and see if he can get the topographic map of Gao'an City?"

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

Pan Yucheng turned around and left.

Ning Chen looked at Tantai Qingyue, "If it were you, what would you do?"

Tantai Qingyue was stunned for a moment and shook her head slightly, "I don't know!"

After getting along with Ning Chen for a long time, she could more and more clearly feel the gap between herself and Ning Chen.

In terms of martial arts talent, she is as good as anyone.

But in terms of leadership, she was far behind Ning Chen.

As an army leader, she might be able to lead an army of ten thousand in battle...but she could barely be a general, not a commander.

The general only needs to lead the troops and act according to the plan, but the commander needs to control the overall situation and strategize.

The current situation in Qingzhou is almost like fighting against God. Natural disasters and man-made disasters come together, and it is as difficult as climbing to the sky to solve it.

Ning Chen rolled his eyes.

After spending time with Yudie for a long time, he felt more and more that people who looked smart may not really be smart.

But people like Yudie, who look fragile and a bit silly, are truly wise and foolish.

Yudie can give effective suggestions on many issues, which enlightens him.

Ning Chen stood up and said, "Let's go, accompany me to the city."

Tantai Qingyue nodded!

The porridge sheds set up in the city have been set up, and the soldiers are busy making porridge... The porridge will be distributed in a while.

The people have already lined up in a long queue.

I hope the food from Zhangzhou can be transported as soon as possible.

There are still six counties under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou. When the people hear the news of the porridge distribution, they will definitely flock to it.

By then, there will be more and more disaster victims in Qingzhou, and the food looted last night will not last too long.

When the porridge shed was set up, Ning Chen was slightly relieved.

As long as there is a mouthful of hot porridge to drink and they are guaranteed not to starve to death, the people will see hope and work hard to survive.

Ning Chen walked around the city and found that most of the houses collapsed by the heavy snow were houses of the common people. The houses of the noble families and wealthy families were still standing, but the doors were closed... They were probably eating delicious food around the stove at home.

Ning Chen would not touch these people for the time being.

But when he conquered Gao'an City, he should touch these fat sheep.

He could not bear everything. After conquering Gao'an City, the cost of building houses for the common people in the later period would have to be paid by these people.

With these people's investment, they would recruit the common people to work and repair the collapsed houses... The money earned by the common people from working could be used to buy coal.

When the coal was transported back, Ning Chen would not distribute it to the common people for free, but would sell it to them. Of course, the price would be within the common people's affordability... They could not be allowed to develop the habit of freeloading.

Habits are easy to develop. If everything is free, people will become lazy and will wait for the court to help them in everything.