176: Chapter 0176 A Talent!

Warehouse?

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao suddenly noticed that the officials below, including Chief Clerk Xu Zheng, looked extremely uneasy.

These people included the Logistics Officer, the Expenditure Commissioner, and others who were essentially all connected to the provincial warehouse.

"Chief Clerk Xu, and you few, come along with me."

Lin Xiao left a squad of soldiers to assist Chang Youkui in investigating the officials, while he himself led men to the provincial government warehouse.

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Arriving at the largest underground granary, Lin Xiao walked in and had only one feeling—emptiness!

Forget humans; even a rat would starve to death if it came here!

"General, we have searched everywhere. All the granaries are empty. Weapons, farming tools—there's nothing!"

Chen Chuan said with a grim expression, "In order to save time during this raid, we didn't bring much in the way of rations. The soldiers can't go hungry."

Lin Xiao naturally realized the severity of the situation.

He had established military regulations for the Zhenbei Army; they could not be like other armies that pillaged the commoners and abducted women after capturing a city.

But this also meant they had to solve their own food and clothing problems.

"Where did the grain go?" Lin Xiao asked.

Xu Zheng and the others flopped to their knees, not daring to raise their heads.

"Reporting to the General, before winter set in, Inspector General Jiang presented all the provincial government's grain, salt, weapons, armor, and ironware to the White Kings Army!"

"The warehouses in all of Yangquan have been empty for dozens of days..."

Lin Xiao frowned. "Then what about Yangquan's own citizens and army?"

"Inspector General Jiang said... let the army find their own way, and if the citizens have nothing to eat, they should just go buy it at the grain shops themselves."

Xu Zheng's voice was trembling as he spoke.

Chen Chuan and the group of Zhenbei Army soldiers were so furious that their eyes brimmed with murderous intent!

"Outrageous! Isn't this forcing the army to bully the citizens and forcing the citizens to buy grain at high prices!?"

"In the end, isn't it just making the people of Yangquan support the White Kings Army so that Jiang Shengyuan can claim credit before Prince Bai!?"

Lin Xiao sneered. "No wonder the soldiers defending your city were so easily defeated. From top to bottom, you're all rotten to the core."

Xu Zheng sighed. "General... Jiang Shengyuan has been the Inspector General in Cang Province for over a decade, covering the sky with one hand. We were also angry but didn't dare to speak out!"

Lin Xiao's face was as dark as water. "Whether you are guilty or not isn't for you to decide!"

"Men, take these people away and have Chang Youkui interrogate them one by one, ruthlessly!!"

Xu Zheng and the others begged for mercy repeatedly, but they were still dragged away by the Zhenbei Army.

"General, what do we do now? At the latest, we'll be out of grain by tomorrow!"

Chen Chuan frowned. "We also have to send food to the prisoners, so we'll have even less."

"What else can we do? If there's no grain, we buy it!" Lin Xiao said.

"But we didn't bring that much silver."

Lin Xiao smiled. "Who said we have to pay for it ourselves? First, seize Jiang Shengyuan's estate!"

Chen Chuan's eyes lit up. Right, how could he have forgotten this move!

"Additionally, send a message to my wife immediately to transfer a batch of grain from Qin Water first."

Transporting it from Qin Water to Yangquan would only take two or three days; it shouldn't be a major issue.

After leaving the warehouse, Lin Xiao planned to personally patrol the city.

His main goal was to use his perception to look for any hidden experts and eliminate potential threats.

If there was a nest of assassins right under his nose, especially ones hostile to him, he definitely had to clear them out as soon as possible.

Ever since he reached the Dao Entry realm, he had experienced the wonderful uses of this perception ability.

But after riding around for a bit, Lin Xiao discovered that Yangquan was very different from Qin Water and Lincang.

Every household had its doors and windows tightly shut; the citizens didn't even dare to steal a glance.

Even though the population was more than double that of Qin Water or Lincang, even the brothels were closed. Calling it a ghost town wouldn't be an exaggeration!

"Are the men below following discipline? They haven't disturbed the citizens, have they?" Lin Xiao asked with a frown.

Chen Chuan immediately guaranteed, "General, we've taken your words to heart. Not a single brother has harassed the people!"

Lin Xiao was puzzled. Then what was the situation?

Even if it was their first time seeing the Zhenbei Army and they were nervous or afraid, it shouldn't be like this for every single household, right?

Sweeping his senses, Lin Xiao discovered a stable where a few beggars were hiding.

These beggars had nowhere to go, so they huddled together for warmth, leaving their lives to fate.

Lin Xiao had someone bring a few flatbreads to the beggars, prompting them to shout, "Thank you, Master Soldier!"

"Old man, let me ask you something. Why are the people of Yangquan so afraid of our Zhenbei Army?"

Lin Xiao asked, picking one of the older men.

"Ah? You... you are the Zhenbei Army!?"

Upon hearing this, the beggars all trembled and shrank away.

Lin Xiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had more food sent and asked kindly before finally learning the truth.

It turned out that since the Northern Trade Alliance was established and honeycomb coal entered the homes of many commoners, the people of Baishui, Wu Mountain, and Lincang had begun to sing Lin Xiao's praises.

Seeing this, Jiang Shengyuan began spreading smear campaigns against Lin Xiao and the Zhenbei Army from Yangquan.

He said Lin Xiao was bloodthirsty, and every time the Zhenbei Army won a battle, they would massacre the citizens and prey on men and women.

He said the men and women of Wushan Commandery were all sent to mine coal, where many died of exhaustion every day, and that half of the honeycomb coal was "human blood coal."

He said the Northern Trade Alliance's soap was made from the grease of corpses, which was why it felt so smooth after washing.

In short, every few days, the demonic image of Lin Xiao and the Zhenbei Army was promoted in the streets and alleys.

After all, Yangquan was quite far from places like Lincang, and the commoners rarely traveled between them.

Even if merchants, coachmen, and the like knew this news wasn't true, they didn't dare to cross Jiang Shengyuan.

"Holy crap... there's public opinion warfare in this world too?"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but complain, "Inspector General Jiang, what a talent!"

Of course, he reckoned that in many of the provinces ruled by Prince Bai, such propaganda was being spread.

The goal was to ensure that when the Zhenbei Army took over the Northern Territory, they would face massive civilian resistance, preventing the Northern Trade Alliance from expanding rapidly.

After all, once their reputation was ruined, nobles and wealthy merchants would have to think twice before cooperating with the Northern Trade Alliance.

Lin Xiao knew there was no use in rushing; reversing a negative image could only be done step by step.

"Chen Chuan, go find the heads of the Northern Trade Alliance here in Yangquan and bring them to me."

"Yes!"

One hour later.

At the Inspectors Office, Lin Xiao waited for several men and women.

The leading woman had skin as white as snow and exceptional beauty. Although her clothes weren't magnificent, she was clearly meticulously dressed.

"I, Ning Junzhu, the Chief Manager of the Northern Trade Alliance in Yangquan Commandery, along with the managers of various branch stores, pay my respects to the Great General Lin."

After Xie Juner finished speaking, she raised her head to carefully observe the man sitting nearby drinking tea.

Lin Xiao had taken off his armor and was wearing black casual clothes. His sharp aura was restrained, and his wit was hidden; he didn't look like a god of slaughter from the battlefield at all.

She only felt that this elegant young gentleman had a mysterious temperament, and his whole being exuded a hint of being detached from the mundane world.

Xie Juner's heart skipped a beat. Before coming, she could never have imagined that a "martial man" from the army would be like this.