Chapter 543: Two-Handed Preparation

Under this encouragement and guidance from Baifeng, the emotions of the majority of the people, who had never experienced a disaster before, were basically stabilized. All they could do was face it calmly. Subsequently, Baifeng also received an application from the Ministry of Revenue, stating that many families who had lost their entire harvest and were not very wealthy wanted to go out of the city to forage.

Baifeng naturally would not stop them. It had only been a few years since Huaxia gave up foraging; in fact, in another two months, it would be time to pick various nuts. Now was also the ripening season for various wild fruits. Ever since Huaxia started planting its own fruit trees, it had not paid as much attention to wild fruits, mainly because there was no way to preserve them; the process of making canned goods was too cumbersome, and there was not that much honey either.

Given everyone's desire for food, Baifeng directly began drafting an order and then handed it to Geng, saying: "Everyone can now go out of the city at will to collect and forage for anything edible. However, you must go in groups of several dozen people so that it is safer. All the garrison soldiers can prepare to set off for hunting. It is best to go to the road where we built Xiaozhao Town; it just so happens that we can also clear out those wild beasts that threaten us."

Geng took the document and then went to find Xiong. This matter also required Xiong's cooperation. Geng himself only controlled some professional hunters; if he wanted to form large-scale hunting teams, he had to let those who had become Soldiers or garrison soldiers return to hunting, and the Weapons were all in the Ministry of War.

Xiong was also very happy to see this order. He patted Geng on the shoulder and said: "No problem. You go organize your people first. I will issue the order at the Ministry of War. At the same time, I will also send Soldiers to protect your foraging teams."

Geng nodded and then headed to the office of the details. Everyone was quite anxious; although it was said that the National Treasury had sufficient grain, it was definitely not as reassuring as having grain in one's own home.

Originally, Baifeng had planned to hold the wedding for Yulong this year, but given the current situation, that was nothing short of nonsense. It would be no problem for Yulong to delay it for another year or two. In any case, Zhu had already stated that his daughter could only be Yulong's.

Although Huaxia was in such difficulty now, some scheduled things still had to be done. Baifeng summoned Zisheng and asked: "How is the hydrological situation of the Dahe now? Is there any problem if the Large Ships go down the river?"

Zisheng patted his chest to guarantee: "King, there is no problem at all. The water of the Dahe has gradually become clear, and the water depth and flow rate have stabilized. We have gone into the water to check the riverbanks ourselves; although they were severely washed away, the Large Ships can be launched smoothly."

Only then did Baifeng set his mind at ease. He trusted Zisheng's ability completely; there was no one in Huaxia stronger than him in the perception of and familiarity with water.

"That will do. Go prepare to launch the Boats again. I intend to have you go to the Sulfur Land to fetch a shipment of Sulfur, and it also happens to be a chance to scout the movements of the Sixia Tribe and the Suiren Clan."

Zisheng was somewhat worried: "King, but isn't our grain running low? If we give it to the Sixia Tribe, what will we do if we don't have enough? Why don't we, the Navy, continue to go fishing? Our catch volume is definitely no problem; it is enough to supply Huaxia City."

Baifeng waved his hand to tell him not to worry about this: "The grain in our National Treasury is sufficient; this is absolute. After all, the transaction with the Suiren Clan at the end of last year allowed us to recover a huge amount of grain, which has basically remained untouched until now. You will certainly go fishing, but only after you return. The main task now is to go fetch the Sulfur; otherwise, the connection I worked so hard to establish cannot be broken just like that."

Besides, what is given to the Sixia Tribe is all Bean Dregs. This year, we just need to reduce the feed for those livestock a little and let them eat more Grass. At worst, they will lose some fat; in any case, it is impossible for them to starve. You don't need to worry too much about this."

Zisheng scratched his head: "Alright, I understand. I will go prepare now."

Zisheng only understood water and Boats; he was almost completely ignorant of other things. However, he also had good intentions, wanting to save some grain for Huaxia. He felt that Huaxia's rations were much more important than Sulfur.

Now, not only were the tenant farmers of Huaxia worried, fearing that they would have no source of food because they had no work to do, but the Sixia Tribe was the same. Although they still had quite a bit of grain left, Huaxia had not come for a long time, and it had been a long time past the agreed time; they were afraid that Huaxia had forgotten or abandoned them.

Every day, Sixia struggled between continuing to pick Sulfur and leaving this place to find a better place to hunt. However, he really did not have such great courage. Leaving the Suiren Clan to become independent—if it weren't for the fact that many people had already done so, he really might not have had the guts.

Many tribesmen now had snot hanging on their faces every day. They did not know the reason, but it was not cold here, and the food was sufficient. If it were one or two people, it would be fine, but this number seemed a bit too high.

Huaxia's Large Ships were once again loaded with bag after bag of Bean Dregs, as well as boxes of Bombs mixed with fakes, and began to head toward the Sixia Tribe. Because Liangji was busy with other things and could not get away, and there was nothing much to say to the Rixia Tribe, other people from the Ministry of Revenue went. Yishang still needed to go along this time because there were very important Bombs inside, and not a single mistake could be tolerated.

In the current Huaxia, it could be said that Baifeng was very empty, because many people had already left the city. They did not come back at noon and only returned in the afternoon. Every time they returned, they brought back many edible things. Although they could not be stored for a long time, eating them directly now could save them more grain.

Hunters could also bring back a considerable amount of game every day. The professional hunters, who were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, still turned in the majority of the game they brought back. However, in order to put the public at ease and let everyone get the dividends brought by hunting, regardless of what kind of meat it was, they only collected a symbolic amount of grain in exchange. However, the amount of meat each household could exchange was limited, and the price was so low that even tenant farmers with a little savings could exchange for a little to go back and satisfy their cravings.

As for the others who organized spontaneously, as well as the garrison soldiers, the game they caught was subject to tax, but it was not high. After all, it was not that easy to hit a sufficiently large piece of game; they might not even hit one in several days.

The collected game would be replenished to the shops for sale. As for what they had left personally, whether they ate it themselves or exchanged it with others, Baifeng did not care at all; this was what they deserved.

The hunters had now taken Lema City as a transit station. After all, it was close, and the products in that piece of mountain forest that had never been developed were extremely rich. Hunting there was not as difficult as it was around Huaxia City.