Chapter 740: Chapter 721: The Sudden Earthquake (Extra 1)

Guo Huaimu, who had not touched a drop of wine, suddenly realized something.

He had clearly agreed with the Eighth Prince that these 20,000 soldiers were to be borrowed for a single inspection; why had it suddenly been decided that these 20,000 soldiers would now guard Jiannan State and Lingnan State before the inspection had even started?

Of course, Guo Huaimu hoped that his Jiannan State could reclaim its own 10,000 soldiers.

In doing so, the military provisions allocated by the court would bring substantial emoluments.

But his agreement with the Eighth Prince was to return the 20,000 soldiers tonight; they couldn’t just be unreturned in confusion.

If the Eighth Prince were to blame them, that would indeed be a big trouble.

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Guo Huaimu quietly approached General Han and General Meng, whispering a reminder.

“Generals, wasn’t it agreed that tonight we must return with these 20,000 soldiers to report back to the Eighth Prince?”

However, General Han and General Meng, who were inebriated, did not take in Guo Huaimu’s words, instead tirelessly chanting, “Long live His Majesty, Long live His Majesty!”

The keen Ouyang Qian, aware of Guo Huaimu’s ill intent, quickly came over to send him away.

“Inspector Guo, are you perhaps jealous and envious that General Han and General Meng received fifty bottles of Glazed Glass Wine?”

“They are indeed meritorious men to the court, and they will be tasked with defending Jiannan State and Lingnan State in the future.”

“If Inspector Guo could join General Han in effectively managing Jiannan State, ensuring a great harvest and a prosperous populace, I, along with Inspector Zhong, will petition His Majesty next spring to reward you with 100 bottles of Glazed Glass Wine.”

After spending time with Lin Yi, Ouyang Qian, skilled in discerning moods and intentions, unwittingly learned Lin Yi’s tactic of offering enticing prospects.

Sure enough, upon hearing Ouyang Qian’s words, Guo Huaimu felt a bright career beckoning to him again.

“Thank you, Inspector, for the reminder.”

With this, Guo Huaimu left delightedly, completely forgetting his initial purpose of approaching General Han and General Meng.

Having persuaded Guo Huaimu, Ouyang Qian then went to persuade General Meng, as Lin Yi’s task for her was to convince General Meng to retain 10,000 soldiers in Lingnan State.

It must be said, alcohol really is a wondrous thing. Lin Yi and Ouyang Qian, taking advantage of the moment General Han and General Meng were blurred by drink, got them to sign the military orders.

The implication was that both generals would pledge their loyalty to the court and lead these 20,000 soldiers to properly defend Jiannan State and Lingnan State.

‘Hehe, with these military orders in hand, let’s see how they can deny it once they sober up.’

Lin Yi, treasuring the military orders like a priceless treasure, contentedly gazed upon the 20,000 soldiers before him.

In reality, Jiannan State and Lingnan State required only a force of 5,000 enemy soldiers.

However, under the instigation of the Eighth Prince, this force had artificially been doubled to 10,000.

Thus, the labor force of these states’ able-bodied men, which could have been employed in productive work, was diminished.

Originally, Lin Yi intended to disband half of the troop to return them to regular labor, but considering that Jade would soon arrive, and they would need a specific group to transport the Jade.

Now, the extra 10,000 soldiers could be put to use: half to transport jade, and half to stay and aid in local development.

Jiannan State was undoubtedly a land of geomantic treasure, and Lin Yi couldn’t allow this opportunity to slip by.

Just as Lin Yi was mentally depicting the grand future blueprint of Jiannan State, the ground beneath him suddenly shook violently.

“Earthquake! Earthquake! Everyone take cover!”

Sun Pingkai yelled out, quickly running to an open area and throwing himself down, shielding his head with both hands.

Lin Yi, too, was startled by this sudden earthquake; his first instinct was to run and find Ouyang Qian and then shield her tightly beneath him.

Feeling the warmth and strength of Lin Yi’s chest, Ouyang Qian’s eyes brimmed with tears; she knew she had chosen the right person in her life.

“Prince Consort—”

“Shush!”

Lin Yi knew that what would follow was Ouyang Qian’s passionate confession, but now was not the time for vows of eternal love.

“Qianqian, don’t move, otherwise, I might lose control.”

Ouyang had just been soaking in a crowd of soldiers, drinking wildly with General Meng, and still carried a faint scent of alcohol, which made Lin Yi quite intoxicated.

“Don’t rush to be moved, you are my woman, I must protect you.”

Thus, Ouyang Qian nestled in Lin Yi’s embrace for a few minutes until the ground finally stopped shaking.

When Guo Huaimu saw Ouyang Qian crawling out from Lin Yi’s embrace, his eyes sparkled with amazement as if discovering a new world.

“Two respected Inspectors, what is this?”

He could hardly believe it; how could two grown men be so intimately close? He couldn’t help but doubt Ouyang Qian’s gender.

Petite stature, slender figure, graceful walk…

Lin Yi did not care about these, naturally helping Ouyang Qian to pat off the dust on his body, seriously saying.

“Your Majesty had sent six of us Inspectors here, what if one of the Inspectors gets injured due to the earthquake in Jiannan State? Can you afford the responsibility?”

“As an Inspector of the state, you should be more concerned about disaster relief and reconstruction efforts after the earthquake, not focusing your attention on us Inspectors.”

“Of course, as Inspectors, this is also an opportunity for us to see how capable you are as an Inspector.”

Lin Yi used the reason of caring for his subordinates to effectively shut Guo Huaimu’s mouth.

Hearing this, Guo Huaimu wished he could slap himself twice; why had he talked so much earlier and invited trouble for himself?

Ah, speaking of post-disaster reconstruction, Guo Huaimu’s usual approach was to wait.

Wait for the court to allocate funds, wait for the complaints of the people to diminish by themselves.

But this earthquake really came at an inconvenient time. All six Inspectors of the court were here; trying to skimp or sneak through just wouldn’t work.

“Yes, yes, yes, this subordinate will surely attend to the disaster relief and reconstruction work well.” Guo Huaimu couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat, this time he was really in big trouble.

Yet, a hint of relief flashed across Sun Pingkai’s face.

“Inspector, our Jiannan State is prone to earthquakes, and I hope the court can take this issue seriously as earthquakes greatly affect our agricultural production.”

At this crucial moment, Sun Pingkai intentionally put pressure on Guo Huaimu, requesting the Inspectors to stay longer in Jiannan State.

Lin Yi certainly understood his intention; he wouldn’t leave before the jade had reached Jiannan State.

“General Han, General Meng, are you all alright?”

Lin Yi was of course asking rhetorically, for this was an open plain and the earthquake hadn’t been severe, at most causing minor house collapses.

Twenty thousand soldiers would certainly not be injured; the earthquake had merely shaken everyone to alertness.

“Inspector, we are all fine, may I ask for your instructions?”

Even after sobering up from alcohol, Generals Han and Meng remained quite respectful to the Inspector before them.

One should respect the Buddha even if not the monk; receiving fifty Glazed Glass bottles from the court, each valued at 800 taels, sums up to forty thousand taels of silver.

A minor General defending the border might never see forty thousand taels of silver in his lifetime.

…The end of this chapter…