141: Chapter 141 Dragon Spirit and Tiger Might, Activate!

"How much grain and grass is left in the account?"

Ma Lie wiped his sweat, his eyes darting away, and stammered, "At most… at most until the end of the month, and that's only if we ration it."

Su Bai's heart sank.

We're only halfway through the month; if we run out of grain, these soldiers will definitely riot.

"Go, take the silver, find the three big Grain Merchants in the city, and buy as much as they have."

"No matter the price, we must get through this month first."

Ma Lie took the order, brought two carts of silver, and rushed into the city in a flurry.

Su Bai stood on the commander's platform, watching the men sweating profusely on the drill ground, and calculated how to start some side businesses.

Two hours later, Ma Lie returned with a dark face.

The two carriages were untouched, and the wheels creaked heart-wrenchingly as they rolled over the bluestone pavement.

"Where is the rice?"

Su Bai was stunned and asked in confusion.

Ma Lie was so angry that he slammed his saber onto the ground and cursed, "Those bastards won't sell a single grain of rice!"

"Grain Merchant, Grain Merchant, and Grain Merchant all gave the same excuse, saying their stocks were empty and had all been moved to the front-line government troops."

"Bullshit!"

Su Bai cursed directly.

Where would there be a large-scale troop mobilization in Yunzhou City right now?

This is clearly an attempt to strangle him, Su Bai.

He was fighting on the front lines, protecting the assets of these merchants, only to be bitten back by them.

"Did that old dog Chang Feng do this?"

Su Bai sneered.

Ma Lie said in a muffled voice, "At the entrance of the Grain Merchant, I saw the steward of the Chang residence drinking tea there, acting all Divine Qi."

It's confirmed.

This is targeted harassment.

Su Bai grabbed the sword on the table, and his Foundation Establishment Realm Aura exploded without reservation, shaking the tent until it fluttered loudly.

"Let's go, take the men, and go to the Grain Merchant."

"I want to see if Tang Cai's bones are harder than my sword."

At the entrance of the Grain Merchant's grain shop, it had become chaotic.

Dozens of disheveled commoners crowded under the steps; some held a few copper coins, others clutched empty sacks.

"Master Tang, have mercy! My child hasn't seen rice soup for three days!"

"I beg you, even half a dou will do, we can negotiate the price."

Pleas for help rose and fell, but they were like stones sinking into the sea.

The grain shop's doors were tightly closed, with only a wooden window on the second floor pushed open a crack.

Tang Cai stuck out his large belly, playing with two round jade walnuts in his hands.

Looking down at the ants below, there was no warmth in his eyes, only greed.

"What are you making noise for? If you disturb my distinguished guests, can you afford the compensation?"

Tang Cai's voice was huge, and this shout actually drowned out all the pleading people below: "The government is currently requisitioning grain, and this grain shop's inventory is tight."

"If you must buy, fine. For the sake of our fellow countrymen, today's rice… is ten times the price!"

The crowd fell deathly silent, followed by an earth-shattering cry.

Ten times?

That's not buying rice, that's taking lives.

Even if they spent all the money they had, they probably couldn't buy a single meal's worth of rice.

"Ten times? You might as well rob us!"

"Tang Cai, you are trying to force us to death!"

A thin, gaunt woman clutched a dying child in her arms, rushed forward, and knelt on the steps.

Clutching tightly to the trouser leg of Tang Cai's servant, she cried heart-rendingly and begged loudly:

"Master, I beg you, give us a mouthful of old rice. My husband works for Lord Su and just received his reward money, but we can't buy any rice…"

When Tang Cai heard the words "Lord Su", his expression instantly darkened.

He snorted coldly and slowly walked down from upstairs.

One kick.

He kicked the woman heavily in the chest.

"Get lost! If you don't have money to buy rice, then go die. What's the use of mentioning Su Bai?"

The woman flew backward like a kite with a broken string, hitting the stone lion, and the child in her arms fell and cried loudly.

Tang Cai brushed the dust off his brocade robe and said with a face full of disgust:

"Poor wretch, if you don't have money, get out. Don't dirty my place."

The surrounding servants burst into laughter, waving their sticks and driving the onlookers away.

Just then, the sound of dense hoofbeats came from the end of the street.

Amidst the clashing of iron armor, there was a Killing Intent.

Su Bai rode a black horse and arrived in front of the crowd in an instant, his eyes fixed firmly on Tang Cai.

"Tang Cai."

Su Bai enunciated these two words heavily.

The originally noisy entrance instantly quieted down, and the commoners moved aside one after another.

Su Bai dismounted and glanced at the woman vomiting blood on the ground and the crying child.

He didn't speak, but Ma Lie knew that his general was truly furious.

Tang Cai leaned against the doorpost, eyeing Su Bai askance, and said with a sarcastic tone:

"Oh, isn't this the newly married, high-spirited General Su?"

"What's wrong? Did the camp run out of food? Did you come to beg me for rice?"

Tang Cai deliberately emphasized the word "beg".

Su Bai walked up to the woman, reached out, picked up the child, and handed him to Ma Lie.

He turned around, looked straight at Tang Cai, and said slowly:

"Beg?"

A curve appeared at the corner of Su Bai's mouth.

"Boss Tang, have you forgotten who sets the rules in Yunzhou City now?"

Tang Cai sneered, took out a contract with a red seal from his bosom, and waved it in front of Su Bai.

"Rules? Commander Su, business is about mutual consent."

"Deputy General Chang has ordered that for the sake of military supplies, all surplus grain in the city is to be uniformly dispatched."

"You want to buy rice? Fine, bring me Deputy General Chang's approval."

"Or…"

He leaned close to Su Bai, lowered his voice, and said provocatively: "Ten times the price, pay it with the settlement fees of the soldiers under your command."

"Otherwise, even if you are a general of the Yunzhou Army, you can't rob private property in public, can you?"

Su Bai looked at Tang Cai's face, which was covered in fat.

He suddenly realized that some logic in this world is really strange.

These people hide in deep courtyards, using rules to toy with those who bleed on the front lines.

They think contracts and official authority are life-saving talismans.

"Robbing private property?"

Su Bai repeated softly.

He raised his hand, his fingertips moving slightly, a faint burst of Qi shimmering in his palm, and said:

"I am killing Bandits on the front lines; that is called protecting the territory and the people."

"You are here hoarding goods and forcing military families to death; what do you call this?"

Su Bai suddenly stepped forward, moving so fast that even Tang Cai's guards didn't react.

He grabbed Tang Cai by the collar, like lifting a fat duck.

"This is called colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, deliberately undermining military morale."

Tang Cai was stunned.

He didn't expect Su Bai to skip the pleasantries and directly label him.

"You… you dare! Deputy General Chang is right nea—"

"Shut up."

Su Bai backhanded him with a slap, knocking out half of Tang Cai's teeth.

Then he turned his head and roared at Ma Lie:

"Ma Lie!"

"Here!"

"The Grain Merchant's grain shop is suspected of aiding the enemy, with conclusive evidence, seal it for me!"

"The grain inside is all stolen goods; transport it all back to the military camp to be sealed and investigated!"

The commoners were stunned.

The servants were also stunned.

Su Bai's move was clearly something even they hadn't expected.