The evil mother-in-law does not whitewash, she only abuses her children

Chapter 583: Three Families Twisted into One

Tong Huaqiong heard the news from Shengjing that some people supported going to war with Mobei, while others supported making peace.

Tong Huaqiong, a modern soul, loves peace, but countless powerful historical books tell her that it is not possible to make peace in the face of enemy aggression, and only a fight to the death can win lasting peace.

The great man said: Strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows from coming.

Mobei should be defeated, and Dasheng will enter a period of lasting peace.

After all, you can’t expect to get something at the negotiating table if you can’t get it on the battlefield.

Tong Huaqiong learned from Gu Jingzhe that Mobei has been sticking to the border like a dog-skin plaster since the founding of Dasheng. In order to stabilize the border, Dasheng implemented mutual trade with Mobei, and every year it would exchange grain, salt and cloth for Mobei's cattle and sheep at prices higher than the market price.

Mobei was still not satisfied and would harass the border from time to time.

Therefore, small-scale wars continued between the two countries, but they had never launched a war against the entire northern desert.

When the country was founded, there was a lot of work to be done, and going to war with Mobei was indeed not conducive to the stability of the regime.

After four generations of emperors, Da Sheng now has food, money and soldiers to fight in Mobei. In the past few years, it has still tolerated some invasions from Mobei because most court officials believe that problems that can be solved with food, salt, and cloth do not need to be solved by war.

However, this approach only encouraged Mobei's arrogance, and they thought that Dasheng would not dare to start a war, so their intrusions on the border escalated this year.

Merchants who came to Yanguan Town from the border to do business said that many villages were massacred by Mobei.

So this war must be fought for Dasheng.

Just now, Mr. Lu also implicitly expressed that Lu Zhaoyang belongs to the pro-war faction.

Some people support peace talks, and these people will more or less create obstacles for the Ministry of Revenue.

Then, such a difficult and life-threatening task as mobilizing food and grass could only fall on the shoulders of Lu Zhaoyang, the new leader and the main proponent of war.

According to Tong Huaqiong, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

When Mr. Lu was reminded by Tong Huaqiong, he naturally wanted to pave the way for his grandson.

Tong Huaqiong could think of using the extreme cold weather to accumulate political capital for Lu Zhaoyang, so naturally, as a grandfather, he would be even more concerned.

Anyone who stands in the way of his grandson should die, especially those who tamper with the food and fodder are not allowed.

Mr. Lu immediately decided to take the food and military supplies. He had not thought of intervening before. After all, his grandson was in the Ministry of Revenue, and he had to avoid suspicion.

Now he still has to avoid suspicion, but he can mediate secretly and let Tong Huaqiong stand in the open.

Anyway, Governor Yao gave the cotton-padded clothes for the border soldiers to Tong Huaqiong, so it would be natural for Tong Huaqiong to take on more other military supplies.

Tong Huaqiong thought so too.

Mr. Lu wanted to pave the way for Lu Zhaoyang, and Tong Huaqiong wanted to make money, and the two hit it off.

Moreover, Mr. Lu not only used his connections in Shengjing and the border, he was also willing to pay money.

"I'll also contribute part of this money."

Since it concerns his own son-in-law, Mr. Huang cannot stay out of it.

Huang rubbed his fists and said to Mr. Lu, "We must win this battle and force Mobei to ask for peace. Then you can inform Zhaoyang and suggest sending that useless princess to marry."

Tong Huaqiong exclaimed after hearing this, saying that Mr. Huang's suggestion was very feasible.

After all, it is normal for the two dynasties to negotiate peace and marry each other. Sacrificing a princess in exchange for decades of peace on the border, any dynasty would choose to sacrifice the princess.

However, this princess stood above the power and wanted to kill Huang Jingshan at any time. Tong Huaqiong had no sympathy at all for this princess who treated human life as a joke and wanted her to go to Mobei to marry.

The three of them discussed and decided on the military supplies for the border. Mr. Lu would use his connections to pay, the grain merchant Mr. Huang would pay for the grain, and Tong Huaqiong would be in charge of displaying the supplies in public to attract firepower and sew cotton-padded clothes.

"By the way, you asked me to stockpile charcoal last time. I thought that since the weather is extremely cold, not only charcoal needs to be stockpiled, but I also stockpiled 200,000 kilograms of cotton. This batch of cotton is just enough to fill cotton-padded clothes." said Mr. Lu.

Tong Huaqiong admired Mr. Lu's foresight.

Mr. Huang was confused when he heard this.

Tong Huaqiong had not originally intended to tell Mr. Huang about the arrival of the extreme cold weather, but now that Mr. Huang knows about it, there is no way to hide it.

So he told the news to Mr. Huang. Like Mr. Lu, Mr. Huang was one of those people who blindly trusted Tong Huaqiong. When he learned that extreme cold weather was coming, he immediately stockpiled charcoal and cotton.

Even Mr. Huang has taken the initiative to link this matter with Lu Zhaoyang's career.

"If there is extremely cold weather in Ningcheng, Shengjing will probably have it as well. After all, Shengjing is colder than Ningcheng. Relatives, should we use the resources in the capital to stockpile charcoal and warm clothing? The emperor will be furious if someone dies due to the extremely cold weather, and it will be the Ministry of Revenue's business. Zhaoyang advocates war, what if someone uses this to trip him up? So we must be prepared and ensure the price of charcoal in Shengjing." Mr. Huang talked to Mr. Lu.

He finally got a son-in-law who was the top scholar in the imperial examination, and he was hoping that his son-in-law would be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister. Any possibility that might affect his son-in-law's career would be strangled in the cradle.

That’s what Mr. Lu meant.

Tong Huaqiong said to Mr. Huang: "I can't guarantee that there will be extreme cold weather. If the charcoal and cotton you have stored are thrown away, don't take your anger out on me."

Tong Huaqiong had no idea whether Shengjing was extremely cold this winter. After all, Tong Dajiao in her previous life was still staying in Qinghe Bay and was completely unfamiliar with Shengjing.

Mr. Huang said quickly, "Of course I won't blame you. Besides, charcoal and cotton won't go bad. Even if we can't sell them this year, we can sell them in the future."

What Mr. Huang didn't say was that he could afford the money.

"This news was revealed by Shopkeeper Tong. Twenty percent of Shengjing's charcoal profits this year will be given to you." Mr. Lu said.

Tong Huaqiong wanted to refuse, but they were all on the same boat, and it would seem fake to refuse, so she accepted it with a smile.

"Grandpa, why do you think Prefect Yao gave the military cotton-padded jacket to me?" Tong Huaqiong asked Grandpa Lu as soon as the matter was settled.

Mr. Lu said, "Ningcheng has always been rich, so it is natural that it has to bear part of the military supplies. It doesn't matter who he gives it to. Why? In my opinion, you don't have to accept his favor. If you do your job well, it will also be beneficial to him."

Tong Huaqiong said, "If Prefect Yao spreads the news that he needs supplies, not only the merchants in Ningcheng, but also in Shengjing will come to him. I am just a small country merchant, but he gave it to me. Old man, Prefect Yao knows that Zhaoyang has taken over a difficult job, and as a senior brother, he wants to pave the way for his junior brother."

Tong Huaqiong also discussed it with Mr. Lu and Mr. Huang before she suddenly realized it.

Prefect Yao wanted the three families to work together to support Lu Zhaoyang. Since Mr. Lu always had a prejudice against him, he did not approach Mr. Lu directly, but used Tong Huaqiong to bring the three of them together.

After hearing this, Mr. Lu couldn't help but ponder, and his impression of Prefect Yao improved.