My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

"When Marshal Gu was alive, he would save 20% of the Gu Jiajun's military pay and food every year to prepare for emergencies. The same goes for our Tiger Army, but compared to the Gu Jiajun, the Tiger Army deserves more attention from His Majesty. Therefore, the distribution of military pay and grain is more timely, and sometimes about 30% can be saved, and they are all distributed when the people of Cezhou are affected by disasters."

After saying that, he handed the booklet to Du Jingyi, which was recorded very clearly.

Du Jingyi was always good at reading account books, so he was very fast, but the content was not lost at all.

Shang Ji didn't say much, but watched quietly.

When it comes to leading troops in war, he has ten thousand ways to defeat the enemy.

But if we look at the accounts, it would be better to let him train for half a month.

Therefore, although he was speechless, he admired his wife even more in his heart.

After reading the account book in silence, Du Jingyi got a rough idea.

To put it bluntly, the people in Cezhou basically rely on relief from the government, Gu Jiajun or the Huben Army.

Their own income is divided equally, and at most they can get half of it.

This is probably due to the perennial unrest in Youcezhou, so the people did not put much thought into farming.

After all, you have worked hard to serve the land for a year, but in the end you may have a meager income, or you may be trampled on by a golden horse and have no harvest at all.

No one may be able to treat them cruelly. This is far behind the four major granaries in Jiangnan.

Thinking of this, Du Jingyi felt that this matter was very difficult.

The people's morale is unstable, there is very little land, and there are many natural and man-made disasters. No matter how you look at it, it is an unsolvable situation.

Du Jingyi didn't reply immediately, only said one thing to Ni Yang.

"Thank you for your hard work, Vice General Ni. I understand all these situations. If there is anything I don't understand in the future, I will ask you again."

"Yes, young lady."

After hearing this, Luo Yuan took Ni Yang and left Xitang Courtyard.

Cherry also knew that his young lady had something to say, so she quietly withdrew and stayed outside.

Du Jingyi only showed his worries when there were only two people in the room.

"General, if Your Majesty finds out about the misappropriation of military pay, it will be a serious crime even if you use it on civilians."

Hearing Du Jingyi's concern, Shang Ji was stunned for a moment, and then answered with a smile.

"Don't worry, I have already reported this to Your Majesty, and every time military pay and food are distributed, it is in the name of the royal family. Therefore, the people of Cezhou are grateful for the royal family, not the Tiger Army."

Seeing this, Du Jingyi breathed a sigh of relief.

She had never experienced this dangerous matter, and she knew the dangers involved. Therefore, Du Jingyi did not want Shang Ji to take this path.

Originally, he was the most threatening person to the imperial power with a large number of soldiers. If he could win the hearts of the people again, wouldn't it mean that the entire Dongyuan people would have to live in fear.

Shang Ji knew that Du Jingyi was caring about him, so he was very relieved.

"What do you think should be done about Cezhou?"

"I am not good at stabilizing people's hearts, so the general or local officials have to take action. As for the barren land, we can open up wasteland, but the most important thing is that there are no good farmers in the area. The goods are used to attract caravans to trade, so it is unprofitable, which means that it cannot develop.”

Du Jingyi didn't hide it, but said it bluntly.

From the perspective of a businessman, Cezhou is like the broken bones on the roadside that no one wants.

With no meat and ashes, who would be willing to fight for it?

After hearing her words, Shang Ji frowned.

For him, Sui'an City is a place that is magnificent on the surface but treacherous and changeable on the surface, but Cezhou is his real "home".

Sooner or later, he will go back.

Therefore, I also hope that Cezhou can change its path and live a more peaceful and prosperous life. I don't say it must be compared with the counties and states in Jiangnan, but at least everyone will no longer shake their heads when mentioning it.

But now that he heard it, it seemed that there was no hope, and he still felt a little regretful.

Du Jingyi looked at his emotional changes and wanted to say a few words of comfort, but it was of no use.

For a while, she couldn't solve this dilemma.

Therefore, it is just a verbal comfort. For my husband, it is better not to say it at all.

So I just stayed with him quietly.

After a while, Shang Ji adjusted his mood and spoke.

"I will write to Shao Shengming later. He is the governor of Cezhou. Please make more preparations for disaster relief in advance."

"Um."

After having lunch with Du Jingyi, Shang Ji left the Duke's Mansion.

As for where he went, Du Jingyi didn't know.

She still had important things to do at the moment, which was to maintain the Du family's power in Jinling City as Yan Zhiqing.

If crops in the North are affected by the disaster, prices in the South will definitely rise.

The Du family will do some low-income transactions, so they must prepare for a rainy day.

Du Jingyi thought about it carefully and wrote a few lines on the list. These are the things that the shopkeeper of the Du family will collect next.

Therefore, after she finished writing it, she handed it to Li Zhu.

"Li Zhu, please send the news to the north. Tell them that they must have all their supplies and return to Jinling City in time for the winter moon."

"Yes, young lady."

Li Zhu had a close relationship with the Du family's escort agency, so she had always been the one to deliver the news.

However, there is a secret thread that she has arranged for many years in the escort agency. After seeing this news, she will naturally draw a line.

When the things were delivered to Jinling City, it was naturally the Du family who sold them and the Yan family who bought them. After they were sold, no one could find out.

After the news was sent away, Du Jingyi began to think about Cezhou's difficulties.

She had a half-baked idea in mind, but she wasn't going to take action until it worked.

Then he wrote a letter after careful consideration and gave it to Cherry.

"Go and send this letter to dad in person, and tell him that I will arrange something for him to do."

This has been a common saying between father and daughter for many years. Cherry has long been used to it, so she hurried out of the Duke's Mansion and went straight to the Du family.

After ordering everything to be arranged, Du Jingyi turned around and looked outside.

In the yard, at some point, winter snow fell again.

This time, it was much heavier than the first snow.

Considering the location of Sui'an City, with such heavy snowfall, the North Land would probably be completely desolate.

Although she looked calmly on the surface, she felt pity for the innocent victims in her heart.

The days go by so fast, and in a blink of an eye, it’s already been one month.

Since entering the winter moon, the entire city of Sui'an has been covered in silver.

The Du family's guess was right. This year's snow came quickly and heavily, and it lasted for three to five days each time.

If it were not for the sake of livelihood, few families on the street would be willing to open their doors.