Chapter 262
Chapter 262
After tasting the watermelon, some people immediately shouted that they wanted to buy one.
A whole melon cost around one hundred copper coins. They were all similar in size, so their prices did not vary much.
Wealthy families bought several at once.
Comfortable households could afford half a melon.
Only the truly poor could do nothing but stare longingly.
Jiang Yunsui took all this in. After some thought, she decided that tomorrow they would also cut watermelons into even pieces, each as thick as her palm, and sell them for four copper coins apiece.
That way, more people could afford some.
She had to wait until tomorrow because she needed to make plenty of ice. The cut fruit could be placed on top, making it even more refreshing and keeping it from spoiling as quickly.
Business at her watermelon shop was brisk. By the afternoon, everything had sold out.
When Jiang Yunsui returned home, she began counting the copper coins.
They formed a small mountain. She could count until tomorrow and still not finish alone.
So she dragged Nanshu and her two maids over to help.
They were in Ji Yan’an’s study.
Jiang Yunsui counted coins while pricking up her ears to listen to Ji Yan’an and the others.
“The emperor has urged us three times now to send one hundred thousand men to join Li Yunjing and destroy the Prince of Nanyang.”
Mobei had originally been governed by the Ji Family. It was not that the emperor had never wanted to send his own men to take control of the army. He had even tried before Ji Yan’an arrived in Mobei.
But the man he sent died on the battlefield in less than two years.
An outsider parachuted into command could hardly expect to control the Ji Family Army. If the emperor wanted to pluck a ripe peach, he first needed the ability to take it.
In the end, he could only suppress his ambition to directly absorb the Ji Family Army and promote senior officers who had once served as General Ji’s trusted subordinates.
Some of those officers remained completely loyal. Others were turned and bought off.
After Ji Yan’an came to Mobei, he eliminated the disloyal men he could. Those he could not yet kill were stripped of real authority.
Now the Ji Family Army was back in the hands of Ji Family Members.
Officially, however, Mobei’s forces were still commanded by Old General Tang and another veteran named Old General Shen Yan.
In the emperor’s eyes, Ji Yan’an remained poisoned and sickly, barely clinging to life and certain to die sooner or later.
This time, the emperor ordered Old General Shen Yan to lead troops to join the Imperial Guards and suppress the Prince of Nanyang.
They had evaded the first two demands by citing unrest among the Barbarians in Mobei. But the emperor appeared to have lost patience. He had directly sent an army supervisor and a trusted eunuch to “invite” them.
Song Jin said, “It seems we can’t put him off again.”
But they were unwilling to send one hundred thousand troops to help the emperor suppress the Prince of Nanyang.
They would much rather see the prince and emperor maul each other until both sides suffered.
Song Jin continued, “The emperor is probably hoping we’ll wear ourselves out fighting the Prince of Nanyang while he sits back and reaps the rewards.”
Everyone present understood. Besides the Prince of Nanyang, the emperor’s greatest enemies were military commanders with powerful armies.
Apart from the Ji Family, he had already purged two generals who guarded the north and south and commanded large forces.
“Since he wants us to go, we’ll go,” Ji Yan’an finally said.
Jiang Yunsui almost laughed.
In truth, his voice no longer sounded so awful. It was already improving.
“However, Old General Shen, submit a memorial pleading poverty first. How can we fight without proper equipment?”
Old General Shen Yan’s eyes lit up. In his rough voice, he said, “Understood. This old man will write it as soon as I return!”
“Once you arrive, demand food, supplies, and lodging from the Imperial Court. If they refuse, find somewhere to lie down weakly and tell them you’re too hungry to move.”
“I’ll draft a letter to the Prince of Nanyang in your voice. Song Jin, deliver it personally and reach an agreement with him. Make certain his troops remain on the defensive and do not attack.”
Ji Yan’an wanted to see how long that miserly dog of an emperor could endure.
“Also, send the emperor news of the Japanese pirates along the coast. Spread word that he purged the Hong Family and sent a useless fool to the coastal region. Now the pirates have invaded, two cities have fallen, and tens of thousands are dead.”
Ji Yan’an possessed Yinyuan Pavilion, an organization dedicated to gathering intelligence. It had been left to him by his cousin, the Late Crown Prince.
As a result, Ji Yan’an knew more than the emperor did.
The emperor cared only for pleasure now. The useless official he had sent to the coast had suppressed the reports about the pirates.
After losing two cities and allowing so many people to die, the man feared punishment and dared not tell the emperor.
So even now, that dog knew nothing about the Japanese pirates attacking the coast.
Useless!
Ji Yan’an cursed the emperor several more times in his heart.
He would never send his own people to die for that dog of an emperor. His only choice was to temporarily cooperate with the Prince of Nanyang and avoid battle if possible.
At the same time, he intended to drain the emperor’s treasury.
Jiang Yunsui counted for a while, then gave up.
There were far too many copper coins.
She ran to Ji Yan’an’s side and took some refreshments to eat first.
She nibbled while listening to them plot against the dog emperor.
Goodness. The dog emperor was so pitiful.
Because the emperor wanted to sit back and reap the rewards, Ji Yan’an became busy again.
Jiang Yunsui now had her own enterprise. She no longer clung to him as much and instead spent time at her watermelon shop every day.
Her watermelons became famous throughout Mobei.
Hers was the only shop that sold this variety, so a long line formed every day.
Some wealthy merchants even tried to buy out her entire stock. She refused and imposed a purchase limit instead.
Each customer could buy no more than five watermelons.
She did not need the money. She simply wanted more people to taste the fruit she had grown.
Inside the shop, tiny Jiang Yunsui lounged on a reclining chair with one leg crossed over the other and slowly leafed through a picture book.
From time to time, she looked outside. Today, she noticed many men in matching uniforms among the people waiting to buy watermelons.
They wore the everyday uniform of the Ji Family Army.
“I want five watermelons.”
“Five for me too.”
The men stared at the chilled watermelon slices nearby and swallowed, yet unhesitatingly ordered the maximum quantity.
“Hey, Gouzi. Did your centurion send you to buy watermelons too?”
“That’s right. These are the same kind the generals ate before. I bought one of those little pieces earlier. Watermelon tastes even better chilled!”
“Then we’ll chill ours when we get back.”
Making ice with saltpeter was no longer much of a secret within the Ji Family Army.
After all, so many soldiers had to train and patrol even beneath the blazing sun. Some wore heavy armor that burdened them with both weight and suffocating heat.
One moment of carelessness could lead to heatstroke. A severe case could even be fatal.
Ji Yan’an had wanted to buy Jiang Yunsui’s method of making ice with saltpeter.
But Jiang Yunsui gave it to him for free.
She even earned a measure of virtuous merit because of it.
Jiang Yunsui did not dare imagine how enormous she would be now if she were still in mushroom form.