Chapter 490: Chapter 474: National Defense Reserves
Lin Yi, who did not use a warming pan, was not idle either.
He exchanged 3 million taels of silver for 3 billion Heavenly Bead Coins. Plus the daily sign-in to receive Heavenly Bead Coins, he directly purchased the 80 million production house he had his eye on last time.
‘Hehe, this Jade Pendant Eavesdropper disguised as a decoration isn’t bad, I’ll let the little Emperor reward Su Rui with it tomorrow.’
‘As for the old eunuch, let’s give him two pinhole cameras.’
With everything arranged, Lin Yi had a good night’s sleep.
He dreamt that You Country suddenly suffered a once-in-a-century flood, leaving the people homeless, granaries submerged, the Moat breached, and public resentment rising, putting the little Emperor in great danger.
Lin Yi woke up from the nightmare, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, grateful that it was just a dream.
Yet the dream felt so real.
That night, Lin Yi stayed awake the whole night.
The secret of the Bureau of Wardrobe sounded the alarm for him; their opponents involved more than just the visible Fourth Prince, Sixth Prince, and the Eighth Prince far away at the Border, there were others lurking in the shadows, ready to move.
To avoid startling the snake, Lin Yi still overslept in the Bureau.
But today, another eunuch came to collect the booklet.
Lin Yi seized the opportunity to switch the account book while the eunuch wasn’t looking and immediately rushed back to the Imperial Study Room.
Here, the little Emperor and Ying Yi were already waiting with candles lit.
“Hurry and let Us see what secrets it contains?”
Clearly, the little Emperor couldn’t wait any longer, the stress of the past few days affecting his sleep, and anyone would be extremely excited to learn more.
Ying Yi skillfully roasted the booklet evenly over the flame until one by one, black characters slowly emerged.
Linked together, they formed “National defense reserves have transferred 100 bolts of satin and 30 bolts of silk out of the city.”
“Out of the city? How were these items transferred out?”
“National defense reserves? How come I’ve never heard of this before?”
Lin Yi was quite curious; he knew about You Country’s granaries, but what was this about national defense reserves?
When he tried to get an answer from the little Emperor, he found that the little Emperor’s face had turned pale with fright.
“My goodness, don’t scare me, Ying Yi, Ying Yi, what’s happened to my little Emperor?”
Lin Yi nervously embraced the little Emperor; he had never seen the little Emperor so tense before.
Consider that the little Emperor had faced all kinds of challenges, with a very strong ability to withstand pressure, but this time, he seemed wilted like frostbitten eggplant.
Out of Ying Yi’s eyes sprang a murderous aura, and he coldly said, “The national defense reserves are the military secrets of our great You Country; even Your Majesty can’t move things inside casually.”
“What? Even my Queen can’t interfere, then who in You Country possibly holds more power than her?”
Lin Yi was utterly confused.
A moment later, the little Emperor finally recovered.
“The national defense reserves were established by the late Emperor. At that time, it was to anticipate our great You Country encountering major disasters or foreign enemies invading the Capital City, and only activated when the National Treasury was depleted.”
“According to the late Emperor’s decree, plans must be followed daily, monthly, and annually to collect and store items for the national defense reserves.”
“Of course, this must be done in secret; for instance, our familiar granaries are not included in this.”
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully; he roughly understood it as akin to modern Central Reserves. In modern times, facing the international grain wars, you never know how much grain or meat Central Reserves might have on hand.
That is to say, the granaries could resolve half a year’s worth of food for the citizens of You Country, ensuring they won’t starve to death.
However, the National Defense Reserve can guarantee half a year’s supply of food for the people and a full year without affecting the military, showing the vast quantity stored, and the fabric from the Imperial Wardrobe Department is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Tampering with the supplies in the National Defense Reserve is tantamount to rebellion!” The young Emperor gritted his teeth.
Realizing the severity of the problem, a chill ran down Lin Yi’s back.
‘The voices supporting the young Emperor on the city walls are visibly increasing, but the forces in the shadows have never ceased their actions, which is truly terrifying.’
“Where is the National Defense Reserve located? I will investigate it tomorrow?”
The Emperor’s life-saving stash has been secretly moved, how could Lin Yi not be anxious?
“There are three National Defense Reserve sites in the great You Country, and the closest one to the Capital City is Yuquan Mountain.”
“But because it’s the National Defense Reserve, the late Emperor mentioned that we should not discuss it on the court. Should war arise, there may be traitors among the court.”
The young Emperor looked out the window worriedly, as if an unprecedented pressure was sweeping towards her.
“No wonder I’ve never heard it being mentioned, that does make things a bit tricky.”
Lin Yi stared at the booklet, his expression growing dark.
But the young Emperor’s next words made him feel even more uncomfortable.
“The guards of the National Defense Reserve are descendants of the founding Soldiers who followed the Imperial Ancestor to establish the country. They hold a total of ten Death Exemption Tokens, vowing to protect the country to the death.”
“And during the late Emperor’s reign, he only summoned them twice, but he never activated the National Defense Reserve.”
Now, the difficulty for Lin Yi to investigate the National Defense Reserve at Yuquan Mountain had increased.
With Lin Yi’s identity, going to Yuquan Mountain would definitely disturb the snake in the grass.
Right now, without solid evidence that the Eighth Prince was secretly emptying the National Defense Reserve, any slight movements within the court would spread.
Since he can’t go in openly, then he’ll have to sneak in.
And so, the three of them formulated a new plan.
Ying Yi explained the situation of the ten guards with Death Exemption Tokens who were watching over Yuquan Mountain,
Lin Yi found a Soldier whose physique matched his own and decided to don a Human Skin Mask to infiltrate and find out the truth.
“I originally thought the old eunuch was the Sixth Prince’s man, always performing a play of suppressing the Fourth Prince for me, both openly and secretly, but now it seems he’s hidden deep.”
Thinking about how the old eunuch had followed him for over a decade, the young Emperor felt a chill down his spine.
Keep in mind, the old eunuch had been loyally serving the young Emperor day in and day out for ten years, but it was only after Lin Yi arrived that the situation changed.
Though Lin Yi’s status now is something the old eunuch could not have achieved in several lifetimes, he still diligently took care of everything in the palace.
“That damned old man, just setting up cameras is too lenient for you, Eavesdroppers will also be arranged!”
Lin Yi bit his teeth fiercely.
‘I refuse to believe that with high-tech, you can still hide!’
“What is this Eavesdropper, and why does it sound not like a very clever tactic?”
The young Emperor was somewhat curious.
Lin Yi explained that an Eavesdropper was like placing an ear by someone’s side, able to secretly listen to all their conversations.
“Then arrange a few more for me, as the saying goes, in war there is no deceit too great. I want to see what little schemes the Fourth and Sixth Imperial Uncles still have.”
To the young Emperor’s small request, Lin Yi immediately bought 20 different styles of Jade Pendant Eavesdroppers from the Nine-Eyed Mall, ready to be “bestowed” to the courtiers needing attention tomorrow.
Just then, the old eunuch came to request an audience, saying that the Empress had prepared a banquet tonight and invited His Majesty to dine. Of course, there were also 50 selected new ladies awaiting Your Majesty’s conferment.
Lin Yi swallowed hard, 50 newcomers, are they trying to drain me dry?
“Let the Empress wait with ease; I will be there shortly.”