Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 135 You came from Dandong, and in return, you gave me a city of snow-white.

"Add a little of this, and these bamboo shoots are so fresh, add a little too. Oh! These mushrooms are good too, add a little!"

"I have two cigarette butts left, do you want me to put them in?"

Lin Zhou, who was cooking, turned around and scolded the troublemaking Eagle Brother: "If you're not going to help, get out!"

Just then, Lu You hurriedly returned, rushed into the kitchen, and beckoned to Ying Ge. Ying Ge obediently ran out. When only he and Lin Zhou remained in the kitchen, he spoke up: "Prince Rui has taken action. They have arrested all the Jin people who were selling grain and fodder. After verification, they have sent a total of 800,000 shi of high-quality military rations."

"Eight hundred thousand?"

Lin Zhou felt a chill run down his spine at that moment. Although the Jin Kingdom occupied the main grain-producing areas of the Central Plains, they had a larger population, consumed more grain, and had a wider territory. Therefore, they had been the Song Dynasty's main grain exporter for the past few years.

This amount of 800,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) would normally be almost two-thirds of their military granary.

This tactic is all too familiar; it's Qin Hui's trick. He used the same method when Yue Fei launched his Northern Expedition.

Its most critical issue is not that there is not enough food for the front lines, but that grain from the Changping Granary must be transferred while prioritizing the needs of the front lines.

But what was the grain stored in the Ever-Normal Granary used for? It was used to "open the granary and release grain" during disasters, to "stabilize grain prices" during famine periods, and to ensure the survival of hundreds of thousands of people in a city.

Once this grain is taken, and the people go hungry, then they will have to find a target to blame. Who will that target be? Naturally, it will be Yue Fei, who led the Northern Expedition—or Wuzhu, who led the Northern Expedition.

If someone in the government stands up again to "speak out for the people" and says that the situation on the front lines is getting worse and the people are suffering, the people won't care about that. People who haven't been to school are always scary, but what's even scarier than people who haven't been to school is people who haven't been to school and still can't get enough to eat.

Once public opinion takes hold, regardless of whether you've recovered lost territory or not, the worst thing you can do is let us starve and we'll all die!

Originally, it wasn't so simple to target Yue Fei, but this move actually cut off Yue Fei's lifeline. At the time, there was a lot of anti-Yue Fei sentiment among the people, which gave Qin Hui and his gang an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

However, after Yue Fei died, they were bullied by the Jin people, and only then did they remember how good Yue Fei was. Therefore, Lin Zhou never sympathized with the Song Dynasty. Their virtue and actions truly deserved their suffering. He sympathized with those who could not even speak, those who were swept away and buried by the quagmire of the times.

Now the Jin Dynasty has embarked on the same path as the Song Dynasty. They are going to deal with the person who made great contributions to their country, just like Yue Fei, and even their methods are exactly the same.

Hahahaha — If we meet again someday, my old rivals on the battlefield, I probably won't say much. I'll probably just raise my glass and drink it all down without a word.

This explains why it was Wanqi Gao and Qin Hui kneeling at the entrance of Yue Fei Temple, rather than members of the Wanyan family. Enemies are certainly hateful, but they are still enemies. Whoever wins gets to speak.

"That old thief is probably secretly supporting Wanyan Liang."

"Who cares?" Lin Zhou ladled out the food. "I don't understand politics, but I do understand one thing—"

"What the enemy supports, we oppose," Lu You continued. "What the enemy opposes, we support."

"Hey~~~" Lin Zhou patted him on the shoulder: "You've really learned something."

"Hehe, the art of slaying dragons, huh?" Lu You stepped forward and took the plate. "Since I started spending time with my brother, I feel like my future is clear. I have a direction for what I want to do, and I feel very happy."

"But I'm not very bright, not as smart as you guys, and I can never concentrate on my studies." Lin Zhou turned around, picked up a kitchen knife, and started chopping bamboo shoots. "I'll just cook for you guys; you can do the thinking stuff yourselves."

"Brother, don't belittle yourself. Do you know what Wan'er said about you?"

"What good things could she possibly say about me?

Lu You chuckled and said, "Wan'er said that brother is like the blazing sun, making people feel at ease even if he does nothing."

"Cong Cheng!" Lin Zhou suddenly shouted, then realized something was wrong: "No, no, that's from the south. It's gratitude, yes, it has to be gratitude!"

Just then, Tang Wan's voice rang out from outside: "Husband, brother. Young Master Zhao has arrived."

"Go ahead," Lin Zhou said, gesturing with his chin towards the dishes on the stove. "Tell him I'm cooking."

"Um.

""

Before Lu You could even leave, Zhao Ji strode in. He looked up and examined the dilapidated kitchen, then gazed at Lin Zhou with interest: "Brother Lin, you have this skill? Why didn't you have a maid make it?"

"Her?" Lin Zhou immediately grinned, "She really did put two cigarette butts in there for you."

Lu You smiled and bowed to Zhao Ji, saying, "Your Highness."

"Brother Wu Guan, don't be so polite. You're a year older, just call me Yuan Yong."

2

Lin Zhou turned his head and took out a bottle of cooking wine from the side and poured it into the pot. The flames shot up immediately, and Zhao Ji watched this scene with great interest.

"Yesterday I read my brother's book, and it was like a sudden enlightenment."

"That's not my book, and I don't even deserve to know it!" Lin Zhou glanced back at him. "Go talk to Youzi about the book. We can have dinner together later. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"Yes—" Zhao Ji leaned over and whispered, "Do you have beef? My sister said—you gave her beef, and I haven't had any yet. I want to try it."

"Ah, that's illegal." Lin Zhou walked into the cabinet, took out a large piece of braised beef, and then chopped it up quickly before arranging it on a plate: "I only have donkey meat here."

"But this—"

"Donkey!" Lin Zhou emphasized, "I'm a law-abiding citizen!"

After saying that, he poured out a large bowl of salt and pepper peanuts from the jar, then cut up a braised pig's ear, and pushed the three plates in front of them: "Let's have some drinks together later."

When the dignified Young Master Zhao walked out with a forced smile, it was as if he had never had a good life before. However, this also showed that Ninth Sister was truly teaching him like her own son. Generally, only someone like him is worthy of being the heir to an empire.

"I'm not afraid to tell you, Brother Wu Guan, but although I grew up in the palace, the best I've ever eaten was roast lamb." He looked at the dishes on the table, then smiled helplessly: "My daily meals consist of no more than three meals a day, with no more than two dishes per meal, and still—"

There's not much meat.

"The name of Young Master Zhao is indeed excellent." Lu You sat at the table and bowed to Zhao, saying, "The foremost of the Four Young Masters of Lin'an should have such a celestial appearance."

"You flatter me, you flatter me. I'm just an ordinary mortal." Zhao Fen quickly declined. "On the contrary, Brother Lin seems like a god to me."

Just then, Xiao'e came downstairs and rolled her eyes at Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji quickly stood up and bowed to her.

"What are you doing here again?" Xiao'e said coldly. "Isn't my family's money money?"

"No—that's not what I meant. I have something important to discuss with Brother Lin today."

Xiao'e turned around with a sullen face and went to the kitchen to help, while Zhao Ji just shook his head resentfully as he watched her back.

However, Xiao'e soon came over carrying a pot of wine and slammed it on the table: "Don't come if you don't have to."

Zhao Ji's previously enthusiastic expression suddenly turned aggrieved. He looked at Lu You with some helplessness, while Lu You simply spread his hands slightly.

Just then, Lin Zhou came out carrying four plates in both hands. As soon as he entered the hall, he went up to Eagle, who was squatting there playing with a stray cat that had appeared out of nowhere, and kicked him: "Wash your hands after playing with the dog!"

Eagle stood up and lifted her skirt: "That's a cat!"

"There's also a soup." Lin Zhou placed the dishes on the table. "You guys eat first."

Zhao Ji quickly stood up and bowed to Lin Zhou, who simply nodded and then pointed to the dishes on the table: "If that's not enough, get a whole leg of lamb from a restaurant outside."

After watching him return to the kitchen, Zhao Ji sat down again and continued chatting with Lu You: "Yesterday I told the Emperor about this matter, but he didn't seem to care. He said it was a matter of state for the Jin Kingdom and told me not to interfere."

Since the emperor was involved, Lu You naturally couldn't say much; he simply listened quietly.

"I feel a little resentful right now—" Zhao sighed, stood up, took out a slip of paper from his pocket, handed it to Lu You, and whispered, "I found this at the foot of the Emperor's house yesterday—"

Lu You's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "This—is utterly disrespectful!"

Zhao Ji lowered his eyelids and remained silent, while Lu You looked at the note and his pupils dilated in shock. The note must have been sent by carrier pigeon; there were very few words, but the fewer the words in such a message, the bigger the matter.

The inscription contained only eight characters: "The grasslands have changed, and the Yuan technique has not progressed."

The four words "ally with the Mongols to resist the Jin" suddenly popped into Lu You's mind.

Then came a quote from Lin Zhou: "The only lesson people learn from history is that they never learn from it." Previously, when allying with Jin against Liao, they piled everything onto Jin, and in the end, Liao was indeed destroyed, but Song did not gain any benefit.

It's only been a few years—why are they starting this trick again? They never want to lift a finger, hoping to use a tiger to devour a wolf, but the problem is, the tiger they're trying to drive away is the tiger.

Lu You tilted his head back and clenched his back teeth tightly.

"Brother Wu Guan," Zhao Fen said with a wry smile, "can you see right now what the chronic problems of the Song Dynasty are?"

Lu You nodded slightly, a rather helpless bitter smile on his face: "Unrepentant, little do they know that this is like a weak person wearing fine clothes in the dark."

"Yes, but the Emperor—the Emperor seems to want to take another gamble."

As the two sat there sighing, Lin Zhou came out carrying a large bowl of fish head tofu soup. He put the soup on the table and said, "Are you two dating? Why are you acting like this?"

Lu You tilted his head back and handed the slip of paper to Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou glanced at it; the two of them were waiting for Lin Zhou to offer his insightful opinion. After reading it for a while, he tilted his head and asked, "Why isn't this protruding tree moving forward?"