Zheng Qiu came over and asked Su Tong, "How's it going? Are all the potatoes put on the carriage?"

"See, it seems that there's one load left." Su Tong pointed at the potatoes.

Zheng Qiu looked over and found that several sacks of potatoes were on the ground. Zhao Po and some others were carrying them to the carriage.

Seeing that, Zheng Qiu walked forward and said, "Mr. Zhao."

Hearing Zheng Qiu's voice, Zhao Po raised his head and said, "Well, you come here. Only these few sacks are left."

Zheng Qiu nodded and said, "We'll leave at once the moment you finish."

"At once? To Suizhou?" Hearing that, Zhao Po frowned slightly and asked Zheng Qiu.

Before Zheng Qiu could speak, Su Tong, standing beside him, walked to Zheng Qiu and looked at him passionately, "Mr. Zheng, are you serious? Do you mean that we should set off immediately?"

"Yes. That's right." Zheng Qiu looked at Su Tong and said with a smile.

Su Tong then asked, "Is it also the will of His Excellency?"

"Yes." Zheng Qiu nodded.

After confirmation, Su Tong frowned and spoke loudly, "What happened in the study just now? Did you say anything that offended His Excellency? Otherwise, how could His Excellency make us hurry to Suizhou without taking a rest?"

"Mr. Su, you worry too much. Nothing happened in the study just now, and I didn't offend His Excellency or say anything wrong. Moreover, we are not leaving for Suizhou." Zheng Qiu said to Su Tong.

That made Su Tong surprised. He then asked, "Not to Suizhou? Then where to go?"

"You'll know when you get there." Zheng Qiu made some puzzling remarks.

Then he asked someone to drive the carriage and walked to the gate.

Li Ming came over and said, "Is everything ready?"

"Yeah. I'm going to bid farewell to His Excellency." Zheng Qiu nodded and said. Then he asked Li Ming, "Did he ask you to come with us?"

Li Ming nodded and followed the carriage to the gate with Zheng Qiu.

Zhao Po and Su Tong looked at each other and then followed them.

The crowd at the gate had dispersed.

Seeing they came over here, Xu Qing walked up to them and asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. Everything gets ready." Zheng Qiu said, arching his hands.

Hearing that, Xu Qing nodded and continued, "Well, then you set out to the border after lunch. You all should be careful on your way there."

"Yes, Your Excellency." They replied with their hands arching.

Then Xu Qing walked in.

Su Tong hurriedly came up to Zheng Qiu and whispered, "Are these potatoes all for the border?"

"Yes." Zheng Qiu nodded to him.

Hearing that, Su Tong frowned slightly and said, "Are these potatoes going to be sold in the border? Still, a lot of people in Suizhou want to buy potatoes, and Suizhou is closer than the border. Why take them to the border? It is a waste of time, isn't it?"

Before Zheng Qiu could speak, Zhao Po walked up to Su Tong and said, "Didn't you hear Mr. Zheng said these are all given to the border area for free?"

Hearing what Zhao Po said, Su Tong suddenly comprehended and said, "These potatoes are for the soldiers on the border?"

"Well, it's getting late. Let's have lunch. Do not waste too much time." Zhao Po dragged Su Tong and said with a smile.

Zheng Qiu nodded, "Then please come in."

Then he walked in.

And others followed him.

Su Tong asked Zhao Po, "Why not allow me to ask for a clear answer just now?"

"Since Mr. Zheng's words couldn't be clearer, you still couldn’t understand. Just hurry up!" Then he strode into the mansion.

Only Su Tong stood there in confusion. He scratched his head and suddenly understood, "Don't the soldiers in the border have..."

Su Tong stopped speaking when he understood. He looked around and walked into the mansion hurriedly.

At the border

The news that the army was short of military provisions spread at once.

At first, no one believed that. However, daily rice for lunch had been changed into gruel and wild vegetables.

That caused people's suspicion.

Then they all came to the kitchen to find out what happened.

Old Ji, who worked in the kitchen, sat down on the stool after finishing feeding the soldiers. He sighed and said to Old Guan, "I heard from General Li that someone has gone to seek grains. But there's not even a grain of rice left. How should we deal with the dinner?"

"I am worried about that, too. General Li asked us to keep the news a secret. However, the meal became worse and worse, and I heard some people talking about that just now. I'm afraid we cannot hide it for too long." He said with a sad face.

General Li said it would be necessary to keep the news of the lack of grains under wraps.

At this time, some noises came from the kitchen door.

Someone said, "We could know about the grain by asking Uncle Guan."

"That's a good idea. Just ask him."

Then someone shouted, "Uncle Guan, are you here? There's something we want to ask you."

Hearing that, Old Guan frowned and said to Old Ji, "Be quick. Go and tell General Li. I'm afraid they may notice that we have no grains."

"Fine, I'll go right now. You gain some time for me." Old Ji nodded. Then, he quickly made a detour from the back and ran to General Li's tent.

However, General Li was in General Cheng's tent at that time.

General Cheng recovered pretty well as new granulation tissues had sprouted since the rotting flesh was removed last time.

"How do you feel now?" General Li walked to General Cheng's bed and asked.

General Cheng nodded, "I think I'll be all right in a couple of days. I was not well prepared for the fight with that freak last time. He almost killed me."

General Li continued, "I was so scared those days when you were in a coma. Fortunately, you are ok now. We can fight the enemy together again."

General Cheng nodded and asked, "How's everything going now? Is there any sign of Xiling's another attack?"

"Not yet. But we have a more deadly problem." General Li sighed and said to him.

Hearing that, General Cheng frowned slightly and asked, "We don't have any grain?"

"That's right. We do not have many grains now. It's hard to hold on." General Li put on a serious face.

General Cheng then asked, "Did you seek help from Jing City?"

"There's no response." General Li shook his head.

Zhao Po and Su Tong looked at each other and then followed them.

"Does it mean they want us to surrender without a fight?"

"His Majesty dispatched Marquis Shuo to help us." General Li said.

Then General Cheng asked, "How about the grains?"

"I don't know. I didn't hear any news." General Li sighed.

General Cheng felt angry, "What does His Majesty mean? Leave us alone? Doesn't he know the importance of the border? If the border falls to Xiling, they can go all the way eastward to Jing City!"

"It hasn't come to that serious yet. Marquis Shuo's subordinates went to look for grains in the surrounding areas. Hope they can find some." General Li sighed.

They had no choice but to gamble.

Old Ji ran to General Li's tent and was told that General Li was in General Cheng's tent. Then he hurried to General Cheng's tent.

General Li and General Cheng heard the sound of quick running outside the tent and the sound stopped at the door when they were talking.

"Who's that?" General Li asked.

Hearing that, Old Ji came into the tent quickly and said with his hands arching, "General Li, please go and have a look. Many soldiers are gathering at the kitchen door and asking about the grains. I'm afraid Old Guan cannot deal with them for too long."

"What? I'll go and see right now." Hearing that, General Li stood up and strode out.

Old Ji followed him closely to the kitchen.

General Cheng sat on the bed wearing a worried face. If the soldiers knew that they were lack of grains, the morale would get lower and lower. If Xiling invaded at that time, their troops would be easily defeated.

Thinking of this, General Cheng frowned.

In the kitchen

Old Guan came out after Old Ji ran out. Looking at the soldiers around the door, he pretended to be calm and asked, "What's wrong? Lunchtime has passed."

"Uncle Guan, we just want to ask if it is true that we do not have any grain now." Someone in the front asked.

Hearing that, Old Guan felt a little nervous in his heart, but it just last for a moment. Then he pretended to be calm and said, "Who said that we don't have grains? Where did you hear that?"

"Then why we only have gruel these days?" Another person asked.

Old Guan smiled and continued, "That's it. Many of our soldiers were wounded when the Xiling army raided. The military surgeon said that it's better for the wound to heal by drinking some gruel and having a bland diet."

"If so, why let us eat those bitter and astringent wild vegetables? Are they also good for our health?" Someone asked as Old Guan stopped speaking.

Old Guan frowned slightly and said, "Actually, as we all know, when winter comes, these vegetables will freeze to death. I saw lots of them outside the camp and felt pity for them. So, I brought them back and let you eat them."

"Uncle Guan, if so, could you let some people have a look at the grains? That could help remove our suspicions." Someone offered a suggestion.

Hearing that, Old Guan frowned, "You do not believe in me?"

"Uncle Guan, it's not that we don't believe in you. But if you let us have a look, it can remove our suspicions. And we don’t need to worry about that." Someone said.