Chapter 673: Feelings

Chapter 673: Chapter 673: Feelings

First came the great victory at Jianchuan, then another sweeping win!

Cheng Jinhou, Pan Shigui, Shen Wanlin... many names once only known in the military are now heard everywhere, in every alley and street.

The common folk love it when their own soldiers win battles. First, it gives them face; second, the more victories, does it mean the war will end sooner?

But not everyone is just happy—many rejoice with heavy hearts. Their own children joined the army, eat the Dynasty’s grain, hoping for a future, but then war broke out. They’ve already been sent south, so who knows how they’re doing now? It’s deeply worrying.

Ever since fighting began in the south, even in the Imperial City you could feel there were far more funerals than usual—white-haired sending off black-haired, all symbolic tombs, carried to burial by Garrison soldiers. Merit Certificates would then be issued, along with some consolation payments.

Some wail to the heavens, others mourn in silence, but most of all, people’s hatred was fixed on the Barbarian Race, rather than the war itself.

"Kill! If all the barbarians are killed, there won’t be any more wars." That’s the plain logic many commoners have about this war. Like a rat invading the house—kill it, and it’s clean again.

Other than more funerals, people in the Imperial City also felt war encroaching on their everyday lives.

Prices of firewood, rice, oil, and salt all rose. Though the increase wasn’t huge, the Government Office supposedly forbade grain merchants from price gouging, but still it’s up by twenty percent. And you can’t buy freely. You have to take your household registration book and buy according to the number of people in your family. Adults and children have different quotas; the monthly grain is just enough to eat. Not going hungry, but can’t store any surplus either.

The well-off families are fine; storing food is a habit, so there’s no panic. Ordinary folk feel uneasy, hoping the Dynasty wins soon, so they don’t have to keep rationing.

Actually, it’s not just grain; meat, iron goods, cloth, and medicine are all strictly rationed. Not because the front line’s short, but to prepare ahead, building reserves in case the war drags on—should defeat come, at least they wouldn’t be caught empty-handed. It’s also a way to let everyone start getting used to "living tight."

Additionally, the Four Major Armies and all Garrison commands began a first round of conscription. These new recruits wouldn’t go straight to the front, but stay home for training and to swap out key domestic garrisons. If the front tightens, they’ll be dispatched south in batches according to training progress.

So, as news spread of nationwide rationing and massive military expansion, even the lowest folks in the Jingjiu Dynasty felt the tension of looming war.

The officials everywhere were even more sensitive than the common people. Their hearts heavy, they dreaded taking a wrong step and falling into a pit.

On one hand, war meant tight control of money and grain; every aspect fell under strict wartime management. The plan was crafted jointly by the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War, and executed mainly by Ministry of Revenue staff, but power over the whole thing lay with the Seventh Prince, Prince Ling, Yang Shu. No one dared offend him for fear of being "strangled" and tainting their reputation.

On another side, the Civil Servant faction led by the Left Minister was openly and covertly signaling all local officials to resist Prince Ling’s strategies on tightening money and grain.

Yet another current swirled underneath: the other six Princes besides Prince Ling. Their hints mirrored the Left Minister’s Mansion—simply, they didn’t want Ling Wang to have it easy.

But not many people were foolish enough to openly oppose Prince Ling. Those who did had already landed in Xuanqing Guard’s prison. Prince Ling said resisting rationing was akin to aiding the enemy, to be aggressively investigated by the Xuanqing Guard. As for the Ministry of Justice? Prince Ling didn’t care at all about them.

In Prince Ling’s presence, all those bureaucratic ranks and grades in Officialdom didn’t mean shit. No matter what rank you were, it held no weight before him. In the end, most local officials chose to comply, proactively cooperating—first, to placate the Knife Master Prince, and also to get the first phase’s grain quotas, calming the people’s nerves. Everything else could wait.

Besides, nowadays who would still dare to underestimate Prince Ling? Only a real moron would.

Earlier, rumors went around—the Left Minister had wanted to petition Your Majesty to return rationing authority to the Ministry of Revenue, but Minister Bai Changqing took the initiative to support Prince Ling instead, leaving the Left Minister humiliated and empty-handed. So the Left Minister tried to give Prince Ling a hard time by using the Song Family of the Imperial City. Yet within days, all businesses run by the Left Minister and the Minister of Justice, Ma Xuanlin, that were involved collapsed, thanks to the threatening shadow of control over rationing. Locally, no one dared speak for the Left Minister, either.

Isn’t this just a slap in the face right after getting hit?

Yang Shu, in the very center of this storm, saw it all clearly. He’d made countless enemies, but so far, all were cowed by the power in his hands. If he lost this "Major Examination," he could expect everyone to kick him while he’s down.

That’s why Yang Shu now either did nothing, or went all out—if he had no path of retreat, why care whether others did?

The more he inspected around the country, the more intoxicating this sense of holding great power felt. And if it were the position even higher up? Would it feel even better?

Yang Shu set down the documents, leaned back against his chair, and rubbed his sore, tired eyes.

Suddenly, there was noise outside, as if a crowd was shouting something. Faintly, he could make out words like "Jianchuan," "great victory"—words that instantly lift the spirit.

Before Yang Shu could rise, there was a knock at the study door. With permission, his Strategist came in.

"Prince! News from Jianchuan. Just now, a Red Feather Messenger galloped out of the Teleportation Array trumpeting the great victory—the Local Government Office should have already posted the good news at its door!"

"What?" Yang Shu sprang up, strode over, snatched the stamped battle report, and read through it rapidly.

"Hahaha! Excellent! Zuo Yuliang is truly a general for our age—every plan interlocks flawlessly. Now that Jianchuan’s deadlock is broken, the whole war has shifted from a stalemate into a full counterattack. This is much faster than any of your earlier predictions."

"Yes, Your Highness. Before, our simulations suggested it’d be the second half of Year 31 before we saw such a decisive victory. Who’d expect we’d break the deadlock already, and it’s only March. At this rate, things will only accelerate—perhaps..."

Yang Shu waved his hand to cut him off: "Don’t draw conclusions too soon. Let’s keep watching Zuo Yuliang’s performance—I have a lot of faith in him. It’s just, after this victory, I’m afraid tensions between my older brothers will get worse. After all, the ’Major Examination’ won’t let us take our time; it’s likely to end together with the southern campaign. No one can afford to slow down. In that case, some of my trouble may get shared around."