As the pages of paper were turned over, Qin Ming's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
Cheng Yaojin, who was talking to someone next to him, quickly noticed the change in Qin Ming's expression.
So he coughed dryly, pointed in the direction of Qin Ming, and said:
"Everyone, be quiet for a moment. We will discuss all matters after Qin Shenjun has settled the accounts."
As soon as these words came out, both the civil officials headed by Li Wenjin and the military generals headed by Cheng Yaojin all stopped talking.
Everyone looked at the figure in white.
The scene suddenly became quiet, and for a while, the only sound left in the main hall of the government office was the rustling of books.
Time passed bit by bit, just when Li Wenjin couldn't hold back anymore and wanted to say something to break the tranquility.
Qin Ming, who had been flipping through the book, suddenly put down the book, lowered his head and sighed.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Yaojin stood up quickly and said anxiously:
"My dear nephew, how long can our food and grass last?"
Qin Ming raised his head when he heard this and replied solemnly:
"Uncle Cheng, my nephew has just made a rough calculation. The number of people in the city who are currently without food totals more than 4,745 households."
"Among them are more than 12,300 adult men and women."
"More than 35,700 elderly people and children."
"The daily rations for the elderly and children are about one catty, and the daily rations for adults are almost two catties."
"The 17,000 stones of food and grass existing in the city are only enough to sustain the 30,000 defenders and these people for fifteen days."
When Qin Ming reported this string of numbers, all the civil and military officials present were stunned.
Three questions of the soul instantly appear in most people’s minds!
Li Wenjin, who had previously questioned Qin Ming's ability, was immediately shocked when he heard Qin Ming's long list of numbers.
Because just last night, he asked the government accountant to calculate the total number of people in the city who were without food.
The reason why I didn't say anything just now was because I wanted to see Qin Ming's joke.
At this time, the number of people counted by Qin Ming in a short period of time was actually almost the same as the number counted by several accountants in the government office overnight.
At this time, the Lanzhou governor felt his face burning.
While Li Wenjin felt ashamed in her heart, she also sighed in her heart.
[There are such great talents in the world! The saint allowed him to join the army, which was really a humiliation of his talent! ]
[When this matter comes to an end, I will definitely write to Your Majesty, strongly recommending Qin join the army to serve in our Lanzhou! ]
The only ones present who could remain calm were Niu Jinda and Cheng Yaojin.
Because as early as the first time they went to the shop to collect their dividends, they had already witnessed the almost abnormal arithmetic skills of the accounting girls in Qin Mansion.
Cheng Yaojin stood there, thought for a while, frowned and asked:
"If I give the order to change the original two meals a day for the defenders to one meal a day, will this ration problem be solved?"
Qin Ming shook his head and said:
"This is inappropriate. Riots may occur anytime and anywhere in Lanzhou City. And if we want to suppress the riots quickly, the defenders must maintain sufficient combat effectiveness."
In fact, there is one thing Qin Ming did not mention, that is, if the rations of the defenders are reduced, the defenders in the city are likely to mutiny.
"The general has something unclear, so I would like to ask Qin Shenjun to give me some advice."
At this moment, Su Dingfang, who was wearing fish scale armor, suddenly asked.
"It is stated in the epidemic prevention manual that when the whole city is locked down, as long as no one in a household becomes sick within fifteen days, it can be moved outside the city."
"In that case, isn't there just enough food and grass in the city?"
Qin Ming nodded slightly and explained:
"What General Su said is true. But you have overlooked one thing, that is, the longer the city is closed, more and more people will be without food."
"In even ten days, more than half of the people in the city may be out of food."
"At that time, I'm afraid thousands of dan of food will be consumed a day."
"And once we can't get this food, Lanzhou City will be in chaos. At that time, there will either be chaos in the city, causing smallpox to spread; or the people will be suppressed by us, and corpses will litter the fields."
As soon as Qin Ming said these words, everyone present turned pale.
Niu Jinda on the side trembled, and the scene of people exchanging their children for food appeared in his mind.
He quickly walked to Qin Ming, grabbed Qin Ming's hand, and asked with red eyes:
"My dear nephew, do you have any way to solve this problem?"
Before Qin Ming could speak, Cheng Yaojin suddenly tugged on Niu Jinda's sleeves and said:
"Jinda, my nephew is not a god, he can't change food."
Having said this, Cheng Yaojin leaned against Niu Jinda's ear and lowered his voice and said:
"I heard that there is a Jiangnan grain merchant named Xu in the east of Lanzhou City. He has a rich family. You will mobilize troops later, and we will borrow some grain from the Xu family."
Niu Jinda's mouth twitched when he heard this, turned to look at Cheng Yaojin, and said hesitantly:
"Zhijie, I'm afraid this is inappropriate, right? What if this matter is reported back to Chang'an?"
Cheng Yaojin glanced sideways at Niu Jinda and said displeasedly:
"Do you have any other ideas?"
Niu Jinda opened his mouth but couldn't hold back a word.
Cheng Yaojin patted Niu Jinda on the shoulder and comforted him:
"Okay, don't hesitate. It's not the first time you've done this anyway. Even if the news goes back to Chang'an, can your majesty still kill me?"
Seeing that Cheng Yaojin was determined to rob the house, Niu Jinda had no choice but to sigh.
"You have to promise me not to hurt anyone's life."
Cheng Yaojin nodded heavily and laughed loudly:
"I know all the rules on the road, Cheng Men'er. Don't worry, I only seek wealth, not life."
Xu Shi suddenly realized that his voice was a little too loud. Cheng Yaojin coughed dryly, turned to everyone, and said with a straight face:
"Don't think too much about it. I was just a simple General Wagyu. I recalled the prosperous years in Wagang."
Those who could be called into the room were either generals in the army or important officials in Lanzhou, and no one was a fool.
A few days ago, Cheng Yaojing led his men to ransack the granaries of several wealthy gentry in the city.
At this moment, even with their toes, they could guess what Cheng Yaojin was going to do.
But having said that, although this method is crude, it is also the best way to solve the problem at the moment.
Therefore, everyone in the government office looked at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, pretending to be deaf-mute.
Of course, except for one person, that is Qin Ming.
"Uncle Cheng, since we are borrowing food, how about my nephew accompany you? Maybe my nephew can be of some help."
.......
Biquge
