flstandardbreds Chapter 385 Luo He reports the accounts, and everyone understands the Yunzhou Army’s intentions!
Chapter 385 Luo He reports the accounts, and everyone understands the Yunzhou Army’s intentions!
City Lord's Pavilion, Main Hall.
The candle flame was as small as a bean, and it would jump once or twice from time to time due to the breathing of several people.
Wen Yanzhao leaned against the window pane, holding a wolf-hair brush in his hand, as if writing something.
Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng sat opposite each other, with a pair of waisted crescent tables in front of them. On the tables were a jar of wine and some braised seasonal vegetables to go with the wine.
Yin Luoxia sat below Baili Dongjun, a pair of ivory dice flying up and down in her hands, counting from one to six over and over again.
Feng Qiuyu sat beside Sikong Changfeng with great interest, listening intently to Luo He's report on the gains of this trip.
Luo He stood in front of the crescent table, holding a thin account book in his hand, and read out the treasures and prices that were liquidated one after another:
"Longan black pearls, 29 mesh, each priced at 9,500 taels, total price 270,000 taels."
"Three feet of jade coral, market value twenty-five thousand taels, actual price twenty-thousand taels."
"The phoenix-wing gold hairpin has a market value of two thousand two hundred taels, but the actual price is one thousand eight hundred taels."
"The Hotan white jade wall has a market value of 36,500 taels, and a real price of 32,000 taels."
"North Sea Feilian Giant Clam, market price 49,350 taels, actual price 45,000 taels."
"This... the black jade ring of Qing Wang Xiao Xie? Why did they sell it?! I wanted to keep it as a souvenir... This ring was exchanged for 4,500 taels of gold!"
"..."
Baili Dongjun saw that Luo He had finished reporting the account books, so he pulled him to the table and filled a large glass. Then he handed the glass to Luo He and said sincerely:
"This trip must have been incredibly tiring. As the City Lord, I, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in Xueyue City, would like to thank Brother Luo He. Please drink this cup to the full!"
Luo He put the account book on the table and smiled innocently:
"How dare I! My sister and brother-in-law have entrusted us brothers to run Xueyue City. How can we accept such a generous gift for such a small job?"
Sikong Changfeng followed suit, filling another glass of wine and bringing it to Luo He:
"Brother Luo He, you're welcome. Please drink this cup to the full!"
Luo He grew up under the protection of his sister Luo Shui and had never done anything independently. His sister always treated him like a child and never let him handle anything.
This time, the best person to exchange the gold and pearls looted from Tianqi City for money and food should have been Yin Luoxia, who was well versed in the ways of the world.
But Baili Dongjun insisted on giving this task to Luo He. The reason was simple. Luo He left his sister just as Baili Dongjun left his master. They were of similar age and were both young men who had just entered the world of martial arts. It was time for them to grow up.
During this trip, Luo He can be said to have completed the task assigned by Baili Dongjun excellently. Although the prices of some items were a bit low, the people in Xueyue City were in urgent need of money, so it didn't affect anything.
What's more, Baili Dongjun still has many amazing treasures in his hands, so these losses are just a drop in the bucket!
"Hehe, this... you two city lords are so generous, I'm really flattered!"
"Then I'll be disrespectful!"
“Dun, dun, dun…”
After two glasses of wine, Luo He's face instantly became a little drunk. He sat down on the other side of Baili Dongjun and asked:
"Dong Jun, these four hundred thousand taels of silver are no small sum. I have over a hundred thousand taels of silver in cash, and the rest are banknotes from various major banks."
"We left in a hurry this time, and only sent a dozen or so carriages. There were only a few small towns nearby, so we couldn't buy much food. Therefore, I only brought back less than 20,000 shi, which is only enough to sustain our city for four or five days. What are your plans for the next step?"
Baili Dongjun picked up the account book and threw it to Sikong Changfeng. He rubbed his head and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his head and saying:
"Don't ask me about this, ask our three city lords! I'm not good at accounting. Sikong Changfeng, you decide how to distribute the food. We'll set off at dawn. When I went out to patrol the city today, many villagers outside the city were already without rice!"
Sikong Changfeng took the account book, thought for a moment, and said, "I think it's better not to distribute the food directly. There are more and more refugees outside now. If we distribute it per head, not to mention that we don't have enough manpower, even if we distribute it, I'm afraid some people will bully the weak. Those guys will definitely rely on their strength to steal the food from the elderly, children, women and children!"
"How about this? I'll arrange for the servants under the City Lord's Pavilion to set up a few more porridge stalls outside the four gates, prepare bowls and chopsticks, and distribute porridge according to the number of people. This way, we won't be afraid of anyone doing those dirty things."
"Dongjun, Luohe, what do you think?"
Before Baili Dongjun could speak, Wen Yanzhao, who was leaning against the window pane, put away his writing brush and walked over to the crowd, holding the letter paper with wet ink.
"I think this is a good idea. I have another suggestion... but it requires the approval of both of you city lords!"
Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng exchanged glances and asked at the same time, "What's the proposal?"
Wen Yanzhao blew on the letter and smiled slyly: "Ask those old guys guarding Tongtian Tower to come out and help with some work. Whether it's maintaining order or adding firewood to cook porridge, they can do it!"
"We work so hard here, feeding and clothing the people of this city, and why should they just sit in the attic and eat and sleep like idiots all day long?"
"Right, right, right, my cousin is right. Now that no one is breaking into Tsutenkaku, it's time to let those old guys stretch their legs!"
Baili Dongjun readily agreed upon hearing this, and Sikong Changfeng and others also nodded in agreement.
After Wen Yanzhao finished speaking, he rolled up the letter paper with dried ink into a thin roll, then walked to the window and blew a loud whistle.
The whistle sounded very far away, and after a few breaths, a "fluttering" sound was heard. In the night, a nimble carrier pigeon landed lightly on Wen Yanzhao's outstretched finger.
"Cousin, who are you sending this letter to?" Baili Dongjun asked curiously.
"Of course it's sent to your grandfather, Marquis Zhenxi!" Wen Yanzhao said as he stuffed the paper roll into the copper tube on the pigeon's ankle, then held the pigeon and tossed it gently!
Baili Dongjun was puzzled. "Ah (O_o)? Why send a letter to Grandpa? Shouldn't they be confronting Lu Tingen in the southwest right now? Besides, why don't you just go through Astral Realm and talk to him in person instead of going through the trouble of sending a letter?"
Wen Yanzhao walked over to the crescent table and sat down. He gently patted Baili Dongjun's head and said with a pout, "Idiot! Wandering thousands of miles sounds cool, but don't you know that it consumes a lot of internal energy?"
After saying this, he looked around at everyone and said word by word, "Also... our Xueyue City must have been targeted by Lu Tingen!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Sikong Changfeng was the first to ask, "Cousin, if that's the case, could it be that the old marquis was defeated by Lu Tingen?"
Baili Dongjun rolled his eyes at Sikong Changfeng and said with a flat mouth: "What nonsense is Sikong Changfeng talking about!"
"Grandpa is the feared Marquis of Zhenxi, how could he possibly be defeated by Lu Tingen? What my cousin said makes sense. The night after we returned to Xiaguan City from Tianqi, my cousin discovered two spies from the Yunzhou Army in the city... So..."
Seeing Baili Dongjun frown, the clever Yin Luoxia took over and said, "So, the Yunzhou Army must have discovered our Xueyue City! Another possibility is that the old emperor has reported our looting of Tianqi City to Lu Tingen, asking him to find a way to kill us and take back these priceless treasures!"
After listening to Yin Luoxia's analysis, Wen Yanzhao couldn't help but clap his hands softly. "Fairy Luoxia, you are indeed very clever! My guess is similar to yours. This move is very big, and Xiao Chongjing won't let us go easily. I should have let you return first, and I would have stayed in Tianqi alone to kill him quickly, and then there wouldn't be all these troubles later!"
……