Hu Xiaotian said, "I was forced into a corner and fought back in self-defense. In truth, my situation is harder than it has ever been. Outsiders only see the glory on the surface. Who knows how much hardship I actually face?"
Fan Zongxi chuckled. "Lord Hu, you have already captured the Eastern Luo Granary, one of Great Yong's seven major granaries." His unspoken meaning was clear: stop pleading poverty with me; we both know better.
Hu Xiaotian sensed that Fan Zongxi had more to say. Smiling, he replied, "Brother Zongxi, you don't understand the situation here. Everyone thinks I captured the Eastern Luo Granary and swept up every last bit of grain and fodder inside. But during the siege, the Great Yong forces set the storehouses ablaze. Most of the provisions were burned. Though we did everything we could to save them, what we recovered was no more than a hair from nine oxen, a single grain in the vast sea." Suspecting that Fan Zongxi might demand grain on behalf of the Imperial Court, Hu Xiaotian blocked him before he could even speak.
Fan Zongxi drew a sharp breath, his expression tinged with regret. "How could that happen? Lord Hu, to be frank, there is another matter I have come to convey. Grain supplies in the Kang Capital are running short. His Majesty wishes Lord Hu to send one hundred thousand shi of grain to the Capital City for emergency relief."
Hu Xiaotian cursed inwardly. *Long Xuan'en, oh, Long Xuan'en, you bastard! You really do open your mouth as wide as a lion. One word from you, and it's a hundred thousand shi! One shi is a hundred and twenty jin, so a hundred thousand shi is twelve million jin. Where the hell am I supposed to find that much