Hahaha!
Seeing the girl's distressed expression, Lin Yi couldn't help but burst into laughter. This girl was a bit of a money-grubber too.
He laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm his only son. My father won't mistreat me. As for what I need, I'll naturally ask him for it."
As an only child, and knowing that the things of Northern Liang would eventually belong to him anyway, Lin Yi wasn't stingy.
Offering two million strings of cash to acquire more resources is definitely a worthwhile deal.
oh oh!
Hearing what the young master said, Haitang breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he hadn't given it away for nothing; otherwise, the young master would have suffered a great loss.
At this moment, Chen Qun spoke.
"My lord, I believe we can allocate a portion of the funds to allow the people to participate in labor relief efforts to help you rebuild Xiliang Commandery. This would both compensate the people and strengthen the defenses of Xiliang Commandery, achieving two goals at once."
He knew that if he swallowed all the money, he would inevitably leave his lord with a reputation for being ruthless and greedy, which would surely leave behind hidden dangers.
Our lord's large-scale purge of Xiliang Commandery is bound to cause a huge uproar. These forces may have been wiped out, but the people behind them are not all dead and will certainly not be satisfied.
Rather than being questioned later, it's better to proactively distribute the money.
"That's interesting."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi's eyes lit up; this was indeed a good idea.
He hadn't originally intended to keep all the money; he planned to use a portion to help the people. Now, Chen Qun's idea was indeed excellent—a win-win situation.
Thinking this through, he said in a deep voice, "That makes sense. I'll leave this matter to you. It'll also be a good opportunity for you to get to know the people of Xiliang Commandery and let them get to know you as their Prefect."
"Your subordinate obeys!" Chen Qun said excitedly.
The fact that the lord adopted his first suggestion undoubtedly pleased him; the lord truly is a wise leader.
Lin Yi nodded and looked at Chen Qun, saying, "It's not quite right to leave this money here. You and Jia Xu should sort it out and put it in the warehouse, and also distribute the grain and other supplies."
Walking in and being greeted by a mountain of money? This is utterly disrespectful!
Chen Qun nodded, acknowledging that this was indeed inappropriate, and quickly dispatched people to help tidy it up.
After handing over all the details, Lin Yi stretched. His first small goal was finally achieved. Now, all that was left was to focus on developing Xiliang Commandery and actively expanding its territory.
Just as I was about to go back inside, a guard hurried over.
"What's up?"
"Your Highness, General Ma Chao has returned, saying he has important intelligence to report!" the guard whispered.
Important intelligence?
Lin Yi, back in reality, was slightly taken aback. Now that Ma Chao had just defeated Zhuo Feifan, what other important intelligence could there be?
He calmed down and walked out of the study, wondering. "What important information does this guy have? No one in Xiliang County can cause trouble for me now, right?"
In the front courtyard, Ma Chao stood respectfully in the hall, his clothes still wet with blood, clearly having rushed back.
Seeing this, Lin Yi asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Forehead!
Ma Chao glanced at Haitang beside him, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.
"Your Highness, Haitang has already gone out!"
Seeing this, Haitang instantly understood that it must be a confidential matter, so she left the hall immediately.
Only when he and Lin Yi were left alone in the hall did Ma Chao explain, "My lord, Zhuo Feifan left a message before he died, saying that the Northern Region Barbarians would avenge him. I'm worried that he has colluded with the barbarians, and if they send an army of 100,000, my lord must be on guard!"
Although he was not afraid of the so-called Northern Region Barbarians, the 100,000-strong army could not be underestimated. If they were to attack, he would have to go all out.
Therefore, this matter must be known to our lord.
He had expected his lord to be furious, but he found that his lord simply nodded and showed no sign of anger, which left Ma Chao somewhat bewildered.
That's an army of 100,000! Why isn't my lord surprised at all?
"My lord, that's an army of 100,000! We need to prepare as soon as possible..."
"Hahaha, so what if there are 100,000 troops!"
Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh and nodded, saying, "I know about this, Mengqi, don't worry, everything is under control."
"Does the lord know?"
Ma Chao's pupils contracted. The lord actually knew about this?
No wonder our lord was so calm; he already knew that Zhuo Feifan was planning to collude with the barbarians.
But thinking about it, it's quite normal. The lord had already sent the Net to Xiliang Commandery. As one of the three major powerful clans, Zhuo Feifan was naturally under close surveillance, so his every move was under the lord's watchful eye.
So the question is, why didn't the lord stop it?
"Hahaha, Ma Chao, you don't understand! Our lord already knew!"
Just then, a laugh suddenly rang out from behind Ma Chao. It was Jia Xu, who had just finished dealing with Chen Qun. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Ma Chao was completely bewildered. If even Jia Xu knew, then their lord must know too. What was going on?
What did I miss?
Jia Xu chuckled, his face full of disdain, and said, "Our lord's Net has long been locked onto them. Their every move is under your control. What trouble do you think they can cause?"
"My lord, are we just going to ignore Zhuo Feifan's collusion with the barbarians?"
Ma Chao was slightly taken aback. What he said did make some sense. However, Zhuo Feifan's collusion with the Northern Region Barbarians was no small matter.
If they really attack, that would be a big problem.
Lin Yi glanced at him and smiled, "The three-way power struggle at Dayu Pass is basically settled now. To break this deadlock, one side needs to step forward. Who do you think should step forward?"
Forehead!
Ma Chao instinctively prepared to say that his lord would certainly do it, but he stopped himself from speaking.
He thought of a problem: if his lord stood up, the Northern Region Barbarians and the Great Ning Dynasty would probably not stand by and watch their lord cause trouble; they would all target their lord.
So, my lord...
"Invite the enemy into the trap!" Jia Xu chuckled smugly.
"Inviting the enemy into the trap?"
"Good!"
Jia Xu nodded and smiled, "If our lord takes the lead, he will naturally be caught in the middle and become the target of everyone's attacks. But if the barbarians strike first, it will be different."
At that moment, Ma Chao suddenly realized the truth.
So that's how it is. No wonder it's called "luring the enemy into a trap." As long as our lord drags the barbarians into this mess, even for the sake of righteousness, Great Ning will stand on our lord's side.
After all, no matter how independent Northern Liang becomes, it still belongs to the Great Ning Dynasty. If Li Anlan doesn't take care of it, what will the All Under Heaven think?
He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "What a brilliant move to lure the enemy into a trap! This way, we've turned the tables and are now in control. I doubt the Prince of Beining Commandery would dare to All Under Heaven if he wanted to deal with us!"
Given the invasion of the Northern Region Barbarians, even if the Emperor of Great Ning was wary of his lord, he wouldn't dare to openly deal with him.