In the early morning of the next day, Mei Bei was stunned when she opened the window again and looked at Jinlan River.
It was as if the silver waves rushing under the moon last night were all an illusion.
Now it seems that the river water has returned to what it was yesterday afternoon.
She put on her clothes and went directly to the backyard to look closer at the river below the mountain. This time, Meiberry couldn't help but take a breath.
The width of the river can no longer be described by the so-called "jade belt holding beads". To put it bluntly, the current Yunzhou capital city is now restrained by a big pile of rags.
There was water all around, so much so that even the Yanzhou grassland opposite was flooded.
"I'm going to die, there's so much water!"
Mei Mei looked ugly and turned around to go to the front yard, where Wei Meili was drying her clothes.
"Mom, where is my dad?"
"He went out. Early in the morning, he heard the neighbors at the door talking about things outside the city. He didn't know what was going on. She went out to inquire."
After hearing this, Mei Berry's mood sank.
"Breakfast is warmed on the stove for you, go and eat it quickly."
Even Wei Meili, who had always been calm and composed, was a little grumpy when she was drying her clothes today. She was obviously worried about the changes that happened outside this morning.
Sitting under the eaves with the bean porridge cooked by her mother, Mei Berry had just swallowed a mouthful of warm bean porridge when she heard her father's voice coming from the entrance.
"Oh, Detective Wang, thank you very much this time, it's not easy for you either.
Suddenly, so many people came here...one at three steps or a group at five steps. It looked scary~ here behind..."
Listening to Mei Youqian's words getting smaller and smaller, Mei Qiang drank the bean porridge in one gulp and then she and her mother approached the entrance in tacit agreement.
But as soon as they got closer, there was a sound of closing the courtyard door, and their father came back with a look of sorrow on his face.
There was also a fish in his hand that he didn’t know where it came from.
"Soldiers from Jinghu Pass entered the city yesterday. It is said that more than half of Jinghu Pass was flooded. The soldiers near here could only enter the city, and many went directly into the mountains."
"Going into the mountains? It's raining now. How dangerous is it in the mountains?"
Hearing his mother's exclamation, Mei Bei quickly remembered that he had seen on the map that soldiers from Jinghu Pass had a camp stationed in the mountains.
It is not impossible to enter the mountains.
"I don't know about that, but I don't think the soldiers who came into the city are easy to deal with."
Mei Youqian and his wife suddenly heard noise coming from the alley this morning, so he went out to take a look.
As a result, a good guy on this street can see a soldier just two steps away.
After further inquiry, it turned out that the neighbors went out on the street early in the morning and ran into this group of soldiers, and they got into a quarrel.
The soldiers quarreled for a few words and immediately drew their swords.
When he walked out of the alley in the morning, there was a pool of blood on the ground.
"Previously...had the new magistrate and tongpan not yet taken office?"
Mayberry suddenly reminded me of such a thing.
Now that the soldiers from Jinghu Pass are entering the city, it is obvious that all the power in the city is likely to be in the hands of the general soldiers guarding Jinghu Pass.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many soldiers on the street, and it's not like these people are relying on others.
Mei Bei still remembered that there was a secret passage connecting Fucheng and Jinghu Pass on the previous map, but the secret passage was narrow and it was impossible to expect so many people to suddenly transmit.
Still coming from the avenue outside.
"By the way, where did your fish come from?"
Wei Meili took the fish from Mei Youqian's hand and was surprised to see the fish still jumping around.
"It's quite fresh."
Mayberry also saw it.
"Someone couldn't wait to go outside the city. Yesterday, they went to see where the rising river water was. Seeing that there were still many fish in the water, they cast a net along the way and caught it this morning... Hey!"
When he went to the market this morning, the market had been deserted these days because of the rain. The fish stall was probably not doing the best business today.
Not many people ate fish in Jinshui Village, but there were quite a few in Jinbai County and Yunzhou Fucheng.
"It's a pity that in the end, when there was a lot left, the soldiers took them all away without giving them any cents."
Mei Youqian even lowered his voice when he finally said this:
"The fish boss was almost crying at the time, but luckily others comforted him that the fish was just an unexpected addition, so there was no need to be so sad."
"That's true. Although the water has risen, catching fish still requires strength and skill. Besides, you have to bring the fish back so early in the morning that it's just for free? What are you thinking?"
Wei Meili didn't agree with Mei Youqian's and others' comforting words at all.
If she were the fish seller, she would cry to death!
Mayberry couldn't help but frown when she heard this.
"I want to go to Jiubaoxuan..."
"Oh, don't do it. The way it is outside now means we are not allowed to go out casually. You still want to go to Jiubaoxuan. What do you think?"
Mei Youqian has been outside.
"Well, it's almost impossible to see unmarried young ladies walking around outside now. Those soldiers are not very serious. What if they scare you?
If I hadn't met Mr. Wang on my way back just now, the fish would have been taken away at the entrance of the alley. "
Mei Youqian was not at all worried about Mei Pei going out alone, ah, not even with his wife, so he was not at ease either.
But when she heard that these people were snatching things from ordinary people's hands, Mei Berry couldn't help but feel her heart beat violently.
"No, I have to go to Jiubaoxuan to ask about the situation!"
Mei Bei insisted and even called Mei You, and Mei You also insisted on staying with Mei Bei. Mei Youqian had no choice but to go out again and send the two girls to Jiubaoxuan.
Along the way, Mei Mei and Mei You were stopped and interrogated several times while wearing silk hats. Fortunately, Mei Youqian was there to help block them.
While Mei Mei and Mei You breathed a sigh of relief, they felt increasingly disgusted with people like Jing Hu Guan in their hearts.
When they arrived at Jiubaoxuan, shopkeeper Ma was also surprised by the arrival of Mei Pei and others, and his eyes fell on Mei Youqian with disapproval.
Why do you want two young ladies to come here at this time?
"How much do you know about the soldiers at Jinghu Pass outside?"
Mei You got straight to the point, and shopkeeper Ma led the three of them into the store. Jiubaoxuan had been closed for a long time these days.
"The people who entered the city last night were very commotion. There were about 20,000 people. I was awakened."
"Twenty thousand."
Let’s not talk about how shopkeeper Ma calculated it. At least it was quite a lot. After all, her father had heard that there were many camps in the mountains near Jinghu Pass.
Shopkeeper Ma smiled and nodded, but Mei Bei looked around and asked, "Where are Wang Beigu and the others? Aren't they resting here?"
"There is a house built above, and they are all there. Do you want to see the boss and the others?"
"Ah, that's not the case. If you knew everything, shopkeeper, I wouldn't ask. The same goes for you."
Mei Mei had no intention of meeting Wang Beigu, as long as she could get the information she wanted.
After hearing this, Shopkeeper Ma shook his head and said: "For the rest, you two ladies should not go to the market. There are many soldiers here. There are far fewer officers and soldiers in the area where the second and third levels are higher, which is a lot more convenient."
When he mentioned some soldiers outside, Shopkeeper Ma's eyes showed a little disgust.
Obviously, it's not just non-indigenous people like Mei Berry who hate being soldiers here. Even the indigenous people don't like these people.
"These people went into the city last night in a hurry and didn't bring anything else with them."
Shopkeeper Ma added this last sentence, and one can deduce a lot of things from these words.
"They didn't even bring any food or grass, is that what you mean?"
Mei Berry immediately understood what Shopkeeper Ma meant, and when she nodded, Mei Berry's face turned ugly.
"Shopkeeper Ma, do you know how much food is in the official warehouse in Yunzhou Fucheng?"
When Mei Bei asked, Mei You also looked at Shopkeeper Ma.
This made Shopkeeper Ma himself, who had originally provided Meiberry with ideas in this regard, laugh at himself:
"This...I don't know." Shopkeeper Ma shook his head, "But it should be much less than what is in the account..."
With this flood, anyone who is familiar with farming can't help but frown when they look at the flood at the foot of the mountain.
This year, the autumn harvest is over.
Everyone seems to be counting on Guancang, including the soldiers who went up the mountain overnight.
Now when they heard Shopkeeper Ma's answer, everyone felt as if a huge boulder had been pressed against their hearts...
Thanks to T Qifang T for casting 2 monthly votes~
This wave, first out of the wolf's den and then into the tiger's mouth~
