Yan Liu reported, then calculated, "According to our current intelligence, they spent at least three million taels of silver just buying grain! Including rice, that's a minimum of six million taels, and this stockpiled grain is distributed across the country!"
Mu Cheng frowned, "Your ministers, what do you think Da Qian is doing? Stockpiling rice is understandable, but grain, which hasn't even been husked and is very troublesome, why stockpile it?"
The ministers exchanged views, but none could agree.
Mu Cheng grew impatient and looked at Qin Feng.
Qin Feng understood and stepped forward to report, "This minister believes that although grain is troublesome, it is more storable than rice. Should we unfortunately encounter a lean year, the grain can be used for disaster relief at any time. Even if the weather is good every year, the aged grain can be converted into food with little loss. This minister believes that even if our country's strength is inferior to Da Qian, the Ministry of Revenue should allocate funds to stockpile grain to prevent shortages and unrest in disaster years."
The officials suddenly understood and felt ashamed.
They had grown accustomed to a life of luxury and had not considered so much.
"With Liang Xiao's capabilities, it is indeed possible that he is planning ahead..." Yan Liu said unhappily, casting a glare at Qin Feng.
Qin Feng, as Minister of War, actually possessed the talent of a Prime Minister and could potentially seize his position at any time.
Mu Cheng immediately approved the request and added, "All ministers must prepare well to welcome the Marquis of An Guo of Da Qian when he visits."
Yan Liu and the others were extremely reluctant, but to avoid Mu Cheng's wrath, they could only agree with smiles.
Mu Cheng's status in the hearts of the people was unprecedented, far surpassing that of Da Liang's High Ancestor. With Su Wanqing's child poisoned, no one dared to offend Mu Cheng in his current state of anger.
The fact that the citizens of the capital had fully supported Mu Cheng, whose imperial power was being sidelined, had greatly surprised all the aristocratic families, and it remained a mystery.
It could only be linked to that Northern King...
But why would he willingly help the emperor clear obstacles, then retire unknown?
The aristocratic families, skilled in calculating interests, simply could not comprehend the Northern King's motives.
This was because the soldiers and civilians of Da Liang had never seen this Northern King, yet everyone knew that the Northern King had saved Da Liang.
If Mu Cheng were to find a personal guard to impersonate the Northern King, issue orders, and rally the people, it was still an unknown if he could gain their support.
After all, thirty years ago, Mu Cheng had gained the support of the people even without promoting the "tan ding ru mu" (a tax reform), land reclamation, and smallpox prevention. This was why they had always hesitated to confront Mu Cheng and could only pray for his early demise.
Su Wanqing was also qualified to attend the court session today, sitting silently beside Mu Cheng.
She understood the truth about the Northern King, which was why she was even more afraid of letting Mu Cheng know about her past.
It was said that Liang Xiao's father and uncle had stayed behind to cover for Lu Yi because there were traitors from the Spring Return Cult within the army who had betrayed them, leading them into an encirclement. They had completed their rear-guard mission and originally had a chance to break out.
Perhaps no one in the entire Da Liang nation hated the Spring Return Cult and the barbarians more than Mu Cheng.
Cold moon, cold wind, wilderness.
Two masked troop units were engaged in fierce combat.
A quarter of an hour later, the engagement ended with the complete annihilation of the western masked troop unit.
The leader of the masked group spoke, and it was indeed Yue Hongxiu, a senior of Zhuo Yun, "All Northern King Guards, return and inform His Majesty that the scattered soldiers of the Spring Return Cult within Da Liang have been relentless recently. Troops must be dispatched to guard the western and northwestern borders, and all passing pedestrians must be thoroughly investigated."
After a large portion of the Northern King Guards had left, Yue Hongxiu gazed north with a dazed expression, "Liar..."
His life-saving kindness had made her devoted to him.
The secret he left behind before departing had made her resolutely become the leader of the Northern King Guards, loyal to the Son of Heaven of Da Liang for over thirty years, without regret.
But he would never return.
Then, she would vent her resentment on his son!
At this time, Liang Xiao was inspecting the Imperial Guards in the capital.
The Shadow Guards were more reliable for Xiao Qing than Yue Qingtian was for him, so he didn't need to appease or review them.
However, the Imperial Guards were responsible for guarding the capital, which was equally crucial, and there could be no spies or traitors.
Yang Huan, the father-in-law of his cousin Liang Feng, had successfully been promoted to General of the Eastern Garrisons and concurrently held the position of Zhonglang General of the Imperial Guards. His loyalty to the imperial family was unquestionable, especially without the suppression of the aristocratic families.
However, many of the subordinate officers had previously served in the three major aristocratic families, and he had to personally weed them out. He had the authority to appoint and dismiss officers of the sixth rank and below, and also the authority to dismiss them.
In just half a day, one-tenth of the officers in the Imperial Guards were dismissed directly by Liang Xiao for having served the three major aristocratic families. However, they were given three years' worth of salary to allow them to return home and live peacefully while awaiting potential reinstatement.
These officers had once fawned over the three major aristocratic families.
Before Gongyang Qiu was excluded from the central government, they had also tried to curry favor with the Gongyang clan.
Now, knowing they were in the wrong, they could only accept Liang Xiao's dismissal and dared not object.
Yang Huan and others assisting in the tally opposite Liang Xiao were beaming.
It was said that a higher rank could crush a lower one. In fact, even he, the Zhonglang General of the Imperial Guards, had not dared to offend these officers before, as they were protected by the three major aristocratic families. As long as they did not commit any overt offenses, they were the best informants for the aristocratic families, and provoking them would have dire consequences.
Even after the three major aristocratic families had fled, these individuals remained and behaved properly, so he had no way to deal with them.
Yang Huan had originally thought that Liang Xiao would handle them like the soldiers of Xichuan, urging them to mend their ways, but he never expected Liang Xiao to dismiss them all directly.
"The Imperial Guards cannot tolerate any unstable factors. It is better to have too few than too many. Do you understand what this general means?" Liang Xiao suddenly said, while tallying the roster of officers.
"Your subordinate understands!" they all nodded with smiles, feeling relieved.
Not only did they understand, but they were also ecstatic!
The current salary and treatment of the Imperial Guards were on par with those of the Iron Guards of Da Qian, and slightly improved from before. Although their combat effectiveness was inferior to the Iron Guards of Da Qian, their performance in tasks such as patrolling the capital was stronger. Liang Xiao would not allow any substandard individuals.
One day later, after Liang Xiao reformed the military system, a quarter of the remaining ten thousand Imperial Guards, including officers, were dismissed by Liang Xiao, leaving only three-quarters who had previously been observed and assessed by the Ministry of Personnel.
Such a large-scale dismissal of troops in the capital would have originally caused a stir, but because Liang Xiao personally took charge, the military and the public not only had no objections but wholeheartedly supported it.
After all, the current national consensus was that no one understood military affairs better than their Marquis of An Guo.
Coupled with the newspaper propaganda about the Imperial Guards' past dealings with aristocratic families, the public understood even better.
This was also why Liang Xiao had envisioned running newspapers, even at a loss, to control public opinion, making many matters easier to handle.
Furthermore, the inexpensive books allowed the common people to read, making them more receptive to newspaper information, which complemented each other.
However, the Da Qian Daily News had now been separated from An Guo Bookstore and was personally handed over by Liang Xiao to the Shadow Guards, managed by Ding Wuyi, a move that Zhuo Zifang and others highly praised.
Liang Xiao, holding a high position, demonstrated an excellent example of avoiding suspicion with this action.
Now, Liang Xiao's only thought was to clear all unstable factors for the country, especially the capital, so that he could go on his mission to Da Liang without any worries.
Nie Yuan received news from Zhuo Zifang and temporarily handed over the defense of Yanzhou to Liang Zhan and others to manage before returning to the capital.
On the official road from Jiangbei to the capital, dozens of carriages moved slowly.
Seven princes of the Da Liang kingdom, all with bitter expressions, and Mu Xuan trembled uncontrollably.