The night was cold.

Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Wolong walked side by side under the eaves corridor, wondering why Chu Hao suddenly summoned them at such a late hour.

The two cousins were gifted, and after coming to the palace tonight, they lived in the East Sixth Palace, in a courtyard with Fu Tianqiu's father and daughter.

The two hadn't seen each other for many years, so they didn't feel sleepy even if it was late at night.

Before, when they were sitting on the couch and sipping tea, while talking about the general trend of the world and the problems that Daqian is facing now, the Tong Emperor suddenly came to deliver the decree.

The two hurriedly put on their shoes and hurried towards the Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, he came to the front and back of the Qianqing Palace Gate, and bowed and saluted.

"Zhuge Liang, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, and Zhuge Wolong, the secretary of the Ministry of War, are ordered to see the emperor."

When their words fell, Chu Hao also walked out, and after helping the two of them up with a smile on his face, he said, "I summoned the two of you tonight, and I really want to discuss something with the two Qing families. ”

After seeing the smile on Chu Hao's face, Zhuge Wolong and Zhuge Liang were also a little more relaxed in their hearts.

Zhuge Liang's feather fan shook lightly, and asked with a smile: "The minister dares to ask the emperor, I don't know what a happy event?" ”

Chu Hao smiled: "Let's go, let's talk while walking." ”

After that, he walked towards the palace gate with the two of them, and said as he walked: "I have just been informed that the first emperor had ordered the imperial history Wu Qi to form an elite army, and Wu Qi had secretly trained for nine years, and now, these 50,000 elite troops are stationed outside the city. ”

Before Zhuge Liang could speak, Zhuge Wolong's eyes lit up.

"Fifty thousand troops?"

When he chatted with Zhuge Liang tonight, he also smiled bitterly and said that he, the secretary of the military department, may be the most 'poor' since ancient times, first, there are no officials to call, and second, there are no soldiers and horses to mobilize.

I never thought that Chu Hao would bring him such a big piece of good news so soon.

Chu Hao laughed a few times and said, "In fact, it should be 150,000, because 100,000 people are auxiliary troops." ”

After Zhuge Wolong heard this, the smile on his face became even bigger.

"150,000 people, for today's cadres, this is really a rain from heaven!"

Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "With all due respect, the 150,000 army is certainly Ganlin, but there is one thing that the emperor has to consider. ”

Chu Hao asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "Grain, grass, clothing, and silver!" ”

"It's a little summer soon, and although the decoction to cool off doesn't need to be prepared by the imperial court, the money needs to be allocated first. Based on a pot of soup and ten cents, one Wu (five people) needs one pot, 150,000 people is 30,000 pots, 1,000 wen is consistent, and two runs are one tael of silver, so one hundred and fifty taels of silver a day. ”

"Secondly, now that Lile has collapsed, demons are rampant, and the original fertile land in all parts of the south of the Yangtze River has been reduced to wasteland, and the price of a stone of rice on the market has been the highest in history, and the price is rising every day."

"A few decades ago, one tael of silver could buy two stones of rice, that is, three hundred and twenty catties."

"And now, ten taels of silver can buy one stone of rice!"

"Moreover, there is no market!"

"Since the emperor said that these people are elite soldiers, then two meals a day are indispensable, and normal elite soldiers, because they have to practice once a day, or once every two days, so each person can eat one to two catties of rice every day."

"50,000 elite soldiers, eat 50,000 to 100,000 catties a day, that is, 312.5 stone to 625 stone rice."

"It costs 3,125 taels to 6,250 taels of silver every day."

"Because the amount of training of 100,000 auxiliary soldiers is not as good as that of elite soldiers, it is calculated according to one meal a day and one catty for two days, which is 50,000 catties a day, that is, 312.5 stones, 3125 taels."

"This means that an army of 150,000 needs to consume nearly 10,000 taels of silver just to eat food every day!"

"Nearly a thousand stone meters!"

"There are also weapons, armor, clothing, and other items that may be worn out on a daily basis, as well as the silver consumed by the herbs purchased in response to sudden epidemics."

"In addition, there are also silver taels needed for the monthly salary."

"In this way, these 150,000 troops just stop outside the city, and they need to consume about 15,000 taels a day."

"And all this is just the basics, and it doesn't take into account the meat and vegetables they consume."

Chu Hao was silent when he heard this.

It's good to say that the silver taels he has now can afford another 150,000 people.

But the problem before him now is that even if he has money, there is nowhere to buy food.

Although Daqian has granaries everywhere. But now, he has almost zero control over other prefectures and counties.

The imperial power does not go to the countryside, which is the first problem he is currently facing.

Although there are more than 100 officials, as well as local officials who are not officials, it is not certain whether they will obey the order.

Chu Hao's brows furrowed deeply, and his pace slowed down.

Kong Ming's words were a timely reminder.

"In addition to the army outside the city, food will also be needed when the people are relocated later."

"There are seeds of grain and plants in the mall, but even if we send people to plant the land now, it will be too late."

While he was thinking about these issues, Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Wolong were both a few steps behind and discussing in a low voice.

Zhuge Wolong stroked his beard and said: "Your words reminded Brother Wei of one thing. ”

Zhuge Liang looked sideways at him and said in a low voice, "Brother, please speak." ”

Zhuge Wolong frowned and said, "When my brother was imprisoned in Jinhua County Prison before, I heard the jailer say something. ”

"About ten years ago, a knight passed by Jinhua and saw that a family was about to starve to death, so he went to the forest and grabbed a deer demon about a foot high, but not yet transformed."

"The knight slaughtered and roasted him, and gave it to the family."

"But as soon as that family ate the meat of the deer demon, they were burned alive at home by the magistrate."

Zhuge Liang's heart moved when he heard this, and he asked, "What does my brother mean...... Monsters are edible? ”

Zhuge Wolong first nodded, then shook his head, and said, "If the monster is not edible, then why did that chivalrous warrior slaughter the deer demon?" But if the monster is edible, why did the magistrate burn that family alive? ”

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan lightly and said: "Indeed, this matter must be clarified, if the monster is edible, the army's food and salary do not have to worry anymore." ”

"After all...... The monsters are larger than ordinary animals, and there are not a few of them. ”

When the words fell, he continued: "In addition, Liang also just thought that the area south of the Yangtze River is perched on the waterfront and thriving by the water, although the farmland is deserted, but in a short period of time, he can rely on fishing to relieve the pressure caused by the lack of food. ”

What they talked about, Chu Hao listened to it all in his heart.

"After going out of the city and seeing Wu Qitianwen, I have to ask Yan Chixia whether the monster can be eaten......

At the same time, Lu Bu, who had set off from Jinling City three days earlier, finally arrived at Shaoxingwei.

He visited the Zhejiang Health Center all the way, and only then did he know that everyone had gathered at the Shaoxing Health Center.

At this time, he was riding on a tall horse, tugging at the reins, and before he could get close, he heard the sound of fighting in the distance......