Chapter 543

Chen Wang hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency, please rest assured; the edict has already arrived, and the officials in Xibei must have finished handling it by now."

He beamed with a smile, "Your Excellency's mind is ever agile; this plan is excellent, they could never have imagined it."

The Masked Man nodded, "A force of fifty thousand troops with provisions for several months—this truly baffles me."

"They receive no supplies from the Imperial Court, only able to purchase on their own—where could they get so much silver?"

"But Xibei is inherently barren, not comparable to Jiangnan Region."

"Even if they had ample silver, they could hardly hope to buy grain now."

Chen Wang beamed, "Your Excellency is wise."

The Masked Man looked at Chen Hao's letter on the desk, "Since ancient times, provisions are paramount in war; without grain, morale will collapse—this good news will soon become a death knell."

Chen Wang deeply agreed, "Your Excellency is right."

At the same moment, the Xibei market.

Heads crowded together, bustling extraordinarily, with vendors' cries rising and falling.

The roasted mutton's charred aroma mixed with the wheat scent of flatbread, drifting straight into people's noses.

Tuan Tuan wore indigo-dyed short jacket and trousers of a boy, standing before the stall selling lamb shank bones, gazing up with her little head, eyes unblinking.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi both wore gray cloth short outfits, standing left and right beside her, smiling as they watched their young lady, their peripheral vision subtly scanning the surroundings.

Daoba squatted beside the stall, picked up a lamb shank bone, weighed it in his hand, and asked, "How much for this?"

The vendor held up three fingers: "Three wen."

Daoba heartily said, "Give me three! My little ancestor loves them!"

"All right!" The vendor quickly nodded, glanced at Tuan Tuan, and said, "Sir, your child is truly handsome, like a porcelain doll."

Daoba puffed his neck, "Of course! Could my little ancestor not be handsome?"

Tuan Tuan's brows relaxed into a smile, and she winked at Xiao Er.

Xiao Er's lips curled, "Our young lady is simply lovely! Dressing her as a boy is truly a pity."

Lu Qi spat out a blade of grass with a "puff," rolled his eyes at Daoba, and said, "That's our young lady!"

Daoba shoved the lamb shank bone into Tuan Tuan's hand, "Little ancestor, hold it well; I'll teach you how to play with it when we get back."

Tuan Tuan took it, her eyes and brows curved, voice soft: "Thank you, Uncle Daoba!"

Hearing that, Daoba's heart melted, he waved his big hand: "Come on! Let's go get some mutton skewers!"

"The mutton skewers in this market are the most fragrant in all of Xibei! How about it—bringing you here was the right choice, wasn't it?"

"Mm-hmm!" Tuan Tuan looked left and right, "It's really lively! So fun!"

The three escorted Tuan Tuan as they headed deeper into the market.

They found a stall selling grilled mutton skewers and sat down; Daoba waved his big hand: "Boss, fifty skewers! Make them fatty!"

The vendor replied, nimbly turning the skewers in his hand; the charcoal fire made the mutton sizzle and drip oil, the aroma assailing the nose.

Soon, the skewers were brought up.

Tuan Tuan sat between Xiao Er and Lu Qi, nibbling the skewers bit by bit, eating until oil dripped from her mouth: "So delicious!"

Xiao Er produced the clean handkerchief he had brought especially for this, occasionally wiping her mouth.

As they ate, an old woman carrying a basket walked past the stall.

The vendor looked up and greeted, "Auntie, off to buy grain?"

The old woman stopped, sighed, "Indeed, I only bought three days' worth again! Having to buy every three days is wearing me out to the bone."

The vendor chuckled, "Being able to buy at all is already good; these days, everyone's doing the same."

The old woman waved her hand and slowly walked away.

"Is the grain insufficient?"

Xiao Er felt a stir in his heart, looked at the vendor, and said, "Sir, why did that auntie just now buy grain only for three days? Why not buy more for several days?"

Upon hearing this, the vendor stopped his hand.

He glanced left and right, lowered his voice: "Sir, you may not know, but these grain shops have posted notices—each person is allowed to buy only three days' rations; they won't sell even a single extra grain."

Tuan Tuan blinked: "Why is that?"

The vendor sighed, "Who knows! Lately, many merchant convoys have suddenly appeared, buying up grain on sight, offering prices far above market rates!"

"The grain stores' stock is cleared out in three to five days. Nowadays, even with silver you can't buy grain."

Lu Qi's brows furrowed, and he set down his skewer.

Xiao Er asked quietly, "Daoba, do you know about this?"

Daoba wiped his mouth, "I know! Recently, the price of purchased grain has risen more than thirty percent; sometimes even with silver you can't buy any."

"Not only grain, but even the cheese and dried meat in the hands of the Hu people have been bought up by them."

He looked around, "These past few days, the grain sent to the Main Camp has all been transported by the Canal Gang's brothers from Jiangnan Region."

"But feeding fifty thousand troops relies entirely on that single route from Jiangnan Region, which is really difficult; over time, it's no solution."

"Yet when people buy grain with silver, it's only natural—how could those grain shops refuse to sell?"

Xiao Er pondered, "What kind of person is stockpiling grain on such a scale in Xibei? What are they planning?"

Lu Qi looked at Tuan Tuan, "Miss, why not finish eating, then go to Yun Ke Lai to ask? Our Tianji Pavilion's information is the most well-informed."

Tuan Tuan nodded, "Sure! I haven't been there in ages!"

Xiao Er smiled, "Take your time eating, no rush; we'll leave after we finish."

The fifty skewers vanished like wind sweeping away clouds; Daoba paid the silver, and the group rose and headed toward Yun Ke Lai.

Upon reaching the entrance, they saw that Yun Ke Lai's business looked even better than last time, with people coming and going in an endless stream.

As they just stepped inside, the proprietor spotted Tuan Tuan, hurried forward with a beaming smile, and said, "Gentlemen, please follow me to the private room upstairs!"

Up to the third floor, the proprietor pushed open the innermost room; after they entered, he closed the door behind them, turned, and bowed, "Your subordinate greets the Lord Master!"

Tuan Tuan climbed onto the chair: "Shopkeeper Uncle, how are you?"

The shopkeeper rose, a full smile on his face: "Good! Thanks to the Lord Master's blessing, our business has been getting better and better."

Everyone sat down, and Lu Qi got straight to the point: "Shopkeeper, the northwest has recently been suffering a grain shortage; do you know what's going on?"

The shopkeeper's expression turned serious, and he nodded: "Not long ago, dozens of merchant caravans suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

"As soon as the grain shops stock up, they buy it all at high prices, and within a few days there's hardly any grain left on the market."

Xiao Er frowned: "Caravans? Can you find out where they're from?"

The shopkeeper nodded: "We sensed something odd and once tailed one of them."

"We never expected they'd loop around the city gate, change wagons, and then come back."

Daoba's eyes widened: "Take it out and bring it back? What's the point of all this trouble?"

Lu Qi pressed further: "Could you see clearly where they finally took it?"