Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 489 Relying on Favor (34)

"Let the merchant caravans spread the word that Tingzhou has cotton-padded clothes and quilts that can keep you warm beyond the Great Wall. At the earliest next year, and at the latest the year after, merchants from beyond the Great Wall will come to us to do cotton business," Yan Zhen said. "Now that we've solved the food problem, it's time to solve the money problem."

The quickest way to solve the problem of money is to do business.

Zhao Yuan's eyes lit up at her words.

He pulled Yan Zhen into his arms and kissed her hard on the cheek: "Meeting you is like finding a treasure."

Yan Zhen pushed him away in disgust: "Get away, you've got my face covered in saliva."

Zhao Yuan: "..."

-

The second crop of potatoes was harvested in mid-October.

Zhao Yuan mobilized half of his soldiers, along with more than two thousand refugees he had received over the past three months. After working for more than half a month, they harvested over six million catties of potatoes from more than a thousand acres of land.

Baskets of potatoes were transported from the fields back to the city and placed into the large dug cellars, filling them to the brim.

This winter, neither the city's original inhabitants nor refugees will have to worry about going hungry anymore.

Outside the city, things were bustling with activity. Yan Zhen stayed in the kitchen of the Prince Zhao's mansion, instructing the cooks on how to make sizzling potatoes.

In recent days, under Yan Zhen's instruction, the cook has learned various ways to cook potatoes, including roasted potatoes, hot and sour shredded potatoes, braised potato chunks, dry-fried potato slices, sweet and sour potatoes, "wolf tooth" potatoes, French fries and potato pancakes...

After the potatoes were cooked, Yan Zhen took a bite. They were soft and glutinous, but the taste wasn't as good as he had expected, even though the seasonings were limited.

But to this extent is already quite good.

She nodded: "It's not bad. We'll have this tonight, and make one for the Lord as well."

"Yes."

After leaving the kitchen, Yan Zhen went to the small vegetable garden.

There were more than ten chickens there, pecking at the grass in the garden.

Yan Zhen scattered a handful of millet into the cob, and several chickens rushed over to peck at it.

Looking at the chickens, Yan Zhen fell into deep thought, not even noticing Zhao Yuan walking up from behind.

Until Zhao Yuan hugged her from behind, his calloused hands caressing her slender waist: "What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed."

He was wearing stiff armor, which made Yan Zhen uncomfortable. She struggled for a moment and said, "Let go."

Zhao Yuan refused to let go, instead holding her even tighter, resting his chin on her shoulder and taking a deep breath of her scent.

In broad daylight, his appearance was truly unseemly. Unable to break free, Yan Zhen said, "I was thinking of Xie Ying."

Zhao Yuan paused in his rubbing motion, then released her, turning her face to face: "What did you say?"

"Can't you hear me?" Yan Zhen teased. "You pretended to be deaf when I told you to let go."

Zhao Yuan then realized he had been tricked. He feigned anger, pulled her into his arms, and lowered his head to bite her neck.

Yan Zhen didn't struggle and let him make a fuss.

Zhao Yuan teased her for a while, but seeing that she didn't care and instead looked at him like an adult watching a child play, he lost interest and stopped teasing her.

The two returned to their dormitory, and Zhao Yuan went to take a shower in the bathroom next door, which was separated by a wall.

Previously, the Prince's Mansion had no mistress, and in the cold winter, Zhao Yuan would only take a bath once every few weeks.

Since Yan Zhen arrived, Zhao Yuan has paid extra attention to personal hygiene. Whenever he sweats during training, he takes a bath afterward.

After bathing, Zhao Yuan used the copper basin filled with water as a mirror to shave his beard before returning to his bedroom.

When he stepped into the bedroom, still damp from the rain, Yan Zhen was carefully comparing the map spread out on his desk, muttering something to himself.

Zhao Yuan sat down next to her, pulled her into his arms, and habitually touched her feet.

He only put her down after making sure she was wearing socks and that her hands and feet weren't cold: "What are you looking at?"

Yan Zhen sat on Zhao Yuan's lap, not answering his question immediately.

She pondered for a moment, then asked Zhao Yuan, "How is the battle going outside?"

She would inquire about the battle situation outside every now and then, and Zhao Yuan had long been used to reporting to her.

"Qingzhou has surrendered. Yunzhou and Jingzhou originally planned to cooperate, but for some reason the talks broke down and they even fought a battle the day before yesterday."

At this point, Zhao Yuan remembered something and said with great amusement, "Tan Xuanmo should go and dig up the imperial tombs."

"Ok?"

"The news of the imperial tomb being robbed has spread. Tan Xuanmo is furious and has issued a reward notice, saying that anyone who can provide information about the tomb robbers who robbed the imperial tomb will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold."

Yan Zhen raised an eyebrow: "He's so poor he's resorting to digging up imperial tombs, can he afford a reward of a thousand taels of gold?"

"No."

After gossiping about the news, Yan Zhen frowned slightly.

In their previous lives, Xie Ying and Tan Xuanmo excavated the imperial tomb two years later and used the gold and silver treasures left by their ancestors as military pay.

In this life, because he refused to go to the marriage alliance, the Northern Jurchens blamed the Queen's death on the Great Liang. The two sides fought for several months until they were exhausted, and Tan Xuanmo had no choice but to excavate the imperial tomb ahead of schedule.

With such a significant change in the war situation, it seems that Tingzhou's plan for "rest and recuperation" will have to end ahead of schedule.

It was a dangerous thing for Tingzhou to carry a full bowl of food when surrounded by hungry, wicked people.

It's hard to say whether Daliang will survive. Jingzhou and Yunzhou won't cooperate when they're desperate for food. They'll just divide up Tingzhou after they've conquered it.

Tingzhou had just solved its food problem, and its military strength was still weak, so it could not withstand such a siege.

It seems they not only need to prepare, but also need to take the initiative.

Thinking of this, Yan Zhen said, "Next year..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, she noticed that Zhao Yuan subconsciously sat up straight and looked at her with a serious and earnest expression.

Yan Zhen was amused by his childlike manner of listening to the teacher: "Why are you so serious?"

Zhao Yuan said, "You have something to tell me."

"Have you seen all this?"

“Your tone is different every time you’re about to get down to business.”

Yan Zhen was surprised that he would do this, and was also somewhat taken aback that Zhao Yuan, who usually seemed carefree, would notice these details.

She softened her tone and said, "I do have something to tell you, but you don't need to be so nervous."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan relaxed his straight back and hugged her, saying, "Go on, I'm listening."

"Let's start recruiting this winter, there might be a war next year."

“I’ve thought about these things too.” Zhao Yuan wasn’t surprised. “It’s too chaotic outside; it’s hard for us to remain unaffected.”

"No need to worry, just do our best and leave the rest to fate. We'll prepare in advance," Yan Zhen said. "Once the first crop of potatoes is planted next year and we have enough food, we can consider cooperating with Jingzhou."

"Jingzhou?" Zhao Yuan asked, puzzled. "Why not Yunzhou?"

Yunzhou is close to Tingzhou, while Jingzhou is separated from Tingzhou by Yunzhou.

“Because the cooperative representatives split the profits equally, and I want to take over Yunzhou.” Yan Zhen pointed to a mountain on the map. “If we take over this mountain in Yunzhou, there will be a lot of iron ore inside. Once we mine it, we won’t have to worry about not having weapons.”