Chapter 74: Chapter 74 The Grain Supply Was Cut Off_1
Aside from the Feng Wentai faction of the King of Huai Shui.
In Huai Shui County, the major grain merchant Tang Family and the established Chen Family.
These two powers have gradually started paying attention to the Luo Family of Qingshi Town.
In the past, the Luo Family remained within their own confined territory.
No matter what the Luo Family did, they ultimately could not impact the struggle between the Tang Family, Chen Family, and the King of Huai Shui.
But now, as the strength of the Luo Family in Qingshi Town grew increasingly strong.
Even to the extent of directly taking over the entirety of Huangqu Town.
The threat posed by the Luo Family to everyone was gradually laid out on the table.
Neither the faction of the King of Huai Shui, the grain merchant Tang Family, nor the established Chen Family could ignore the Luo Family of Qingshi Town any longer.
After all, the size of Huai Shui County was fixed.
There was only so much of the cake to go around in Huai Shui County.
If it had already been somewhat insufficient for the three powers to divide among themselves.
If the Luo Family of Qingshi Town were to emerge at this point…
The profits that could be divided among the three powers.
would inevitably become fewer and fewer.
This was something they could not accept.
…
“Prince, regarding the Luo Family of Qingshi Town…”
Within the palace estate of the King of Huai Shui.
A rather unique courtyard.
An old servant was slightly hunched over, inquiring softly.
“No need to bother with the Luo Family for now,”
“Just slightly increase our watchfulness towards them.”
“I do want to see what else the Luo Family can do next.”
Having said this, Feng Wentai once again closed his eyes.
He placed the book he was holding back over his face.
Following the rise in strength of the Luo Family in Qingshi Town.
The political situation within Huai Shui County had gradually become more chaotic.
The grain merchant Tang Family, the established Chen Family.
These two family forces had already been a severe headache for Feng Wentai, the King of Huai Shui.
And now, there was an additional Luo Family, which was extremely troublesome and not easy to deal with.
A headache, such a headache…
“Yes, Your Highness,”
Seeing that his master, the Prince, did not seem inclined to take hasty action against the Luo Family,
the old servant slightly nodded his head in acknowledgment.
He turned and silently left the uniquely styled courtyard.
…
Because in the ancestral land of the Luo Family, there sat a Viscera Refinement Realm patriarch,
And also due to some unique aspects of the Luo Family.
Consequently, after taking over Huangqu Town,
The Luo Family still hadn’t suffered much harassment.
The King of Huai Shui and the Chen Family.
Apart from increasing their attention towards the Luo Family of Qingshi Town, they did not make any rash moves against them.
On the contrary, the grain merchant Tang Family, which possessed countless food supplies,
has taken a series of actions against the Luo Family of Qingshi Town in recent days.
The grain merchant Tang Family directly cut off all food supplies that were originally heading to Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town.
Such actions might not affect the Luo Family much in the short run,
But as time passes,
And as the number of refugees in Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town gradually increases,
The actions taken by the grain merchant Tang Family against the Luo Family of Qingshi Town
will ultimately become the most effective means of containing the Luo Family’s growth.
…
Qingshi Town, Luo Family Ancestral Land.
In a courtyard exuding an ancient simplicity.
The Ancestor of the Luo Family, Luo Changfeng.
At this moment, he was sitting upright under a Stone Pavilion.
In his hands, he held a book titled “Introduction to Talismans,” which he was slowly flipping through.
Beside him, the quietly standing young lad, Luo Chuan.
Was silent, not uttering a single word as he stood by Luo Changfeng’s side.
“You lad, suddenly coming over here, could there be a matter?”
“Surely you are not just idle with nothing better to do, coming to see this old man, right?”
Luo Changfeng glanced at Luo Chuan, who still had a somewhat childish look.
He calmly put down the book in his hand.
Then, he straightened his collar.
And said to Luo Chuan in a low voice.
“Patriarch Changfeng, Huangqu Town was taken down a few days ago.”
“Within Huangqu Town, among the three great families, the Wu Family and the Bai Family were completely exterminated for obstructing our Luo Family’s actions.”
After contemplating for a moment, Luo Changfeng nodded and asked, “Then… what about the Huang Family?”
“The Huang Family was wise and did not participate in the actions of the Wu and Bai Families from the beginning.”
“Thus, the Huang Family managed to survive quite smoothly.”
Luo Chuan said in a low voice.
“The Huang Family survived smoothly, huh?” Luo Changfeng nodded silently, as if he had thought of something, and then spoke again, “You lad, just for this matter, you came to find me?”
“It should not be just for this…”
Facing the inquiry from Ancestor Changfeng, Luo Chuan sighed slightly, and then he revealed his true purpose, “Patriarch Changfeng, it is precisely because our Luo Family has taken down Huangqu Town.”
“It is because our Luo Family has now come into the sights of the three forces in Huai Shui County.”
“The Tang Family, which possesses countless fertile fields and controls immense stores of food, has already started to cut off the food supply to our Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town.”
“For the short term, it’s not a problem.”
“But if this goes on for a long time, I fear issues will arise…”
Luo Changfeng asked, “So, is this what you want to say?”
Luo Chuan silently nodded, then fell into a silence.
“How much food remains in the family granaries?”
“How long can it provide for Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town?”
After a moment of silence in the courtyard, Luo Changfeng was the first to break the brief quiet.
“The remaining food in the clan, if provided for the current population of Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town, could last for about half a year.”
“But if, the populations of Qingshi Town and Huangqu Town continue to increase at the current rate,”
“Our clan’s food storage might only last for three months of expenses…”
“Three months, huh???” Luo Changfeng nodded silently.
The expression on his face became a bit more somber at that moment.
If things really were as Luo Chuan, the lad, said,
It would indeed be difficult for their Luo Family’s Qingshi Town and the newly conquered Huangqu Town to continue growing and prospering.
And, those three months of expenses,
were probably calculated under the best-case scenario.
If the chaos in the Da Feng Dynasty continued, and if the major forces continued their relentless struggles and wars escalated,
The number of refugees would increase daily.
Looking at the Luo Family Clan’s food storage, it was likely that it wouldn’t even last three months.
“This matter is indeed somewhat troublesome…”
“For now, the only solution is to spread around gold and silver as much as possible and collect all the food that can be gathered from the market.”
“Matters of the future, we will consider slowly later on.”
“Also, regarding the cultivation of land and the planting of food crops.”
“In the days to come, we must also move this up the agenda.”
“If all goes well, our Qingshi Town Luo Family might manage to complete the first round of harvest before the stockpiled food is exhausted.”
“And if we really reach that point, we might be able to alleviate some of the pressure regarding food.”