This morning, the West Street of Tianjing New City was very busy. A team consisting of thousands of people and many horse and ox carts entered the city gate under the escort of Sergeant Yan Yun. Countless people crowded on both sides of the street to watch. , the windows of restaurants and teahouses on both sides were also crowded with people.
"Huh? Who are these people?" A drinker on the second floor of a restaurant asked curiously after seeing the scene on the street. The drinker next to him said angrily: "You are so ignorant that you don't know that today is the day when Xixia prisoners are brought to Tianjing New City. The government has already informed you, but you don't know!" The drinker who spoke before heard this. , his eyes lit up, and he asked hurriedly: "I heard that the emperor of Xixia, the queen mother, the generals and so on were all captured. Is it true?" Another drinker laughed loudly: "Of course it is true! It's not just that The emperor, the queen mother, and even the grandson of the eighteenth generation of Xixia were captured!" The restaurant burst into laughter.
However, an extremely handsome scholar frowned and sighed. Seeing hundreds of Xixia prisoners being escorted past, he couldn't help but feel extremely sad. It turned out that the scholar was not a scholar, but Li Qingxia pretending to be a scholar, and the scholar who followed her was pretended to be by two personal palace ladies. Although Li Qingxia is a prisoner, she can move freely within Tianjing New City.
Li Qingxia felt depressed, turned around and whispered: "Let's go back." After saying that, she walked downstairs, and the two palace maids quickly followed.
The three people came out of the restaurant, avoided the crowded and noisy streets, and entered a branch street from the left. The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and the hustle and bustle was left behind, as if they were in another world.
Li Qingxia felt a little better and breathed out. At this moment, a burst of cheers suddenly came from the front. The three maids raised their heads and followed the sound, and saw a ring set up in a small square not far away. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the ring. On the ring, two naked and muscular men covered in oil and sweat were standing. Fighting with bare hands, one punched and kicked, the other grabbed his hands and feet, the fight was very enjoyable.
Li Qingxia was not interested in this and led the two maids towards the front. When the three people passed by the ring, the audience suddenly burst into excited shouts. The three of them couldn't help but stop and looked towards the ring. They were shocked to see that one of the big men had carried another big man on his shoulders, screaming and spinning around. The man being carried was struggling but nowhere. Struggling to get off! Li Qingxia and the other three were frightened. Suddenly, the big man roared like thunder, and at the same time he threw the big man on his shoulders towards the ring. The big man's huge body flew down the ring, and fell heavily under the ring with a bang. I couldn't get up for a long time because of all the meat and vegetables. The crowd burst into laughter and cheers.
The victorious big man on the ring raised his hands, roared excitedly, and shouted: "Who else?! Who else!?"
The attention of everyone in the audience immediately turned away from the loser and returned to the stage. Many people's eyes showed eagerness to try. Suddenly, a young man who was not very strong but very capable shouted: "I'll do it!" Then he jumped onto the ring, ripped off his shirt, and threw it far away from the ring. The people under the ring immediately burst into cheers, and everyone looked extremely excited. The two people on the ring opened up their stances and saw that a fight between dragons and tigers was about to begin again.
Li Qingxia, the master and the maidservant did not stay here longer and left. At this time, the sound of fierce fighting and the cheers and shouts of the audience came from behind. Li Qingxia has been living in Tianjing New City for a while, and has long been accustomed to the martial arts competitions all over Tianjing New City. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart: 'Once upon a time, the sound of reading aloud in Han Chinese society had long since disappeared without a trace, and turned into the sound of fighting like a beast! Confucianism turned the Central Plains into a polite and weak society, but the King of Yan completely changed all this and restored all Han people to their bloodthirsty nature! This is a terrifying beast that has been released from its cage! The whole world will tremble under its claws! '
Li Qingxia stopped and turned to look at the sky to the west. She couldn't help but feel confused in her heart, and murmured: "Daxia is no longer here, where should I go?" Her eyes suddenly blurred, and two drops of tears slid down her cheeks. Smooth cheeks, dripping down. …
Yang Peng and others rushed to Yanjing. Yang Jiumei and others who suddenly received the news hurried out to greet him. They saw Yang Peng walked into the door accompanied by Ye Qi Guanyin and others, and quickly stepped forward to salute: "Greetings to King Yan! "
Yang Peng and others stopped. Yang Peng glanced at Yang Jiumei and said, "No need to be polite." Yang Jiumei and others straightened up. Jiumei looked at Yang Peng, who happened to be looking at her as well, and there was an inexplicable charm in their eyes at the same time. Yang Peng glanced at the hall and felt that sitting in the hall was too boring, so he walked towards the arch next to the hall, and everyone quickly followed him.
A group of people entered the arch and walked onto a corridor. The two sides of the corridor were surrounded by rockeries and green trees, and the atmosphere was very peaceful.
Yang Peng unknowingly slowed down, remembering what he saw near Yanjing, he frowned, stopped, turned around, and said: "I was near Yanjing and found that the earthquake disaster was very serious, and many houses collapsed. , the number of casualties is not small!" Yang Jiumei frowned and said: "The disaster near Yanjing is relatively light, the disaster in Shunzhou and Tanzhou in the north is more serious, especially in Gubeiguan, the Gubeiguan fortress is completely It was destroyed, and more than half of the ten thousand defenders suffered casualties. This is not the most serious thing. The most serious thing is that the terrain of the Gubei Pavilion has completely changed. The original high mountains have become flat rivers. I am worried..."
Yang Peng said: "I want to go to the north to have a look!" Yang Jiumei nodded and said: "My subordinates will accompany King Yan to inspect!" Yang Peng shook his head and said: "It would be better for you to stay in Yanjing."
Yang Jiumei knew that what Yang Peng said made sense, and bowed her head and agreed: "Yes!" Then she suggested: "King Yan is tired from coming far, so why not rest in Tianjing New City for one night, and it will not be too late to go to the north for inspection tomorrow." Yang Peng thought for a while. , shook his head and said: "No, time is urgent now, and one night is also very precious. I want to go to the north for inspection immediately!"...
Soon after, hundreds of knights left the north gate of Bianjing and headed north. It was Yang Peng, Ye Qian Guanyin and his party, accompanied by hundreds of secret guards and Feifeng female guards, and several local bureaucrats sent by Yang Jiumei to accompany them. .
The group of people traveled north. The further north they found, the more serious the damage caused by the earthquake. Mountains collapsed, rivers changed their courses, and the earth was cracked. Yang Peng was shocked. He did not know that such a strong earthquake would occur in this area of Yanjing. !
After nightfall that day, the group arrived in Shunzhou. It was getting late at this time and the light was dim, but you could still see the crumbling city wall, and even the entire west city gate tower completely collapsed, which shows the huge damage caused by the earthquake at that time! Camps one after another can be seen on the flat ground outside the city, with longing figures and noisy voices. It seems that the residents in the city had their homes destroyed and had no choice but to move to the refugee camps outside the city. There are so many refugee camps and so many refugees, but fortunately the scene is relatively orderly and not chaotic.
When Yang Peng and others arrived at the government office, they found that except for a few old government officials who stayed behind, there was no one in the Shunzhou government office.
Several old government officials suddenly saw many soldiers and horses entering the gate and rushed to greet them. They thought they were soldiers and horses sent by the left-behind adults to support disaster relief. Several old government officials stepped forward and bowed, and the leader asked: "Is the general sent by Mr. Yang?" A staff member of the left-behind government who came with him immediately shouted: "Don't be rude, this is the thousand-year-old King of Yan! "A few old government officials were startled, and after realizing it, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Little man, I didn't know that it was King Yan who came with great force, and I was disappointed to welcome you from afar. I hope King Yan will forgive me!"
Yang Peng said: "That's all, those who don't know are not guilty!" Several old government officials were relieved, kowtowed, stood up, and stood with their heads bowed. Yang Peng looked at the almost empty government office in front of him and asked, "Where are you adults, and where are the others?"
The old yamen officer in charge said quickly: "To tell you what King Yan is saying, after the earthquake, your lord led the yamen officers and subordinate officials to go to the disaster relief. Now everyone should still be in the refugee camp outside the city."
Yang Peng nodded, turned around and walked outside. Ye Qi Guanyin and others immediately followed him out. Seeing this, several old government officials quickly bowed and said, "Farewell to King Yan!" After a while, Yang Peng and others disappeared at the gate, and several old government officials straightened up. One of them said excitedly: "I actually saw King Yan!? It's really like a dream!" Several others also felt the same way.
Yang Peng and others came outside the city and inspected the refugee camp. They found that the situation in the refugee camp was much better than expected. The victims did not have to worry about being hungry or cold for the time being. All the people on hand had been treated, and Those who died were also buried.
While Yang Peng was chatting with several elderly victims, Duan Wei, the prefect of Shunzhou, hurried over with several staff and the supervisory envoy of Shunzhou. He worshiped with a look of panic: "I didn't know that King Yan was coming, so he was far away. Welcome, please punish me, King Yan!" After saying that, he knelt down and worshiped.
Yang Peng stood up and helped a few people up. He saw Duan Wei, the inspector and all the staff with thin cheeks and bloodshot eyes. Knowing that they must have been very busy during this period, he couldn't help but feel moved and took the photo. He patted Duan Wei and the inspector on the shoulders, nodded and said: "Very good! You did a good job!" Everyone couldn't help but get excited, feeling that all the hard work during this period was worth it.
At this time, the old men who were chatting with Yang Peng just stared at Yang Peng stupidly. They couldn't believe that the person they were chatting with just now was actually King Yan? !
Several old men reacted, hurriedly stood up, knelt down towards Yang Peng, and said in a trembling voice: "Little people, little people didn't know that King Yan was coming, and they didn't understand the etiquette. It's really a crime worthy of death!" Yang Peng helped a few people up, He smiled and said, "You don't know my identity. It's not rude." Several old men were so moved that they didn't know what to say.
At this moment, the surrounding victims also knew that King Yan was coming, and they all kowtowed down. Some were very excited, some were very sad, and some looked very longing. Yang Peng said loudly: "Such a disaster happened, and I feel as sad as everyone else!" Many people couldn't help crying when they heard this. Yang Peng continued: "But we Yanyun people are the strongest. No matter how big the disaster is, we will not be able to scare us. We will definitely be able to rebuild our home and live the happy life of the past! You will not be alone. I, Yang Peng, and Thousands of soldiers and civilians throughout Yanyun are with you!" The victims were moved to tears. They felt that most of the gloom in their hearts had dissipated in an instant. In excitement, they kowtowed again. . …
Yang Peng and Ye Qi Guanyin returned to the government office lobby accompanied by Duan Wei and the supervisory envoy. After everyone sat down, Yang Peng asked Duan Wei and the supervisor: "Are you lacking anything here?"
Duan Wei said: "There is no shortage of anything else. After the disaster, Master Yelu immediately allocated enough disaster relief funds and medicinal materials, but the food was not enough. As far as our current situation in Shunzhou is concerned, the food is only enough to support ten days. , the lower official has sent people to ask for help from Lord Yang, but the lower official estimates that the food in the hands of Lord Yang is also very limited and it is very difficult. Therefore, the lower official has ordered some government servants and some strong people to hunt and dig wild vegetables in the mountains, and some The harvest, plus the income from hunting and digging wild vegetables, can support us for about half a month before there is a food crisis."
Yang Peng nodded and praised: "You did a good job! It can be said to be very commendable that you can achieve this level in such a difficult situation!" Duan Wei quickly stood up and said: "Thank you, King Yan. Congratulations, I just want to do my job well!" Yang Peng nodded and said: "If you think so, you are a good official!" Then he smiled and said: "Who would have thought that such a What a good official, he actually worked under the Khitan back then!"
Duan Wei couldn't help but sigh: "In the past, my subordinates helped the tyrants to commit crimes, but now it feels like a big dream. Every time I think about it, I feel extremely ashamed!" Yang Peng said: "A hero does not care about his origin, as long as you can make some achievements. , you will be worthy of your ancestors and yourself!" Duan Wei bowed and said: "I will keep in mind King Yan's teachings!"
Yang Peng signaled Duan Wei to sit down, and Duan Wei sat down. Yang Peng thought: "There is no need to distribute enough food to everyone every day. The elderly, weak, women and children are guaranteed to be supplied, and the rest are halved. This should be able to support more than twenty days, right?"
Duan Wei nodded and said: "King Yan is wise, if this is the case, it can indeed last for more than twenty days. But, but..." Yang Peng saw that he was hesitant to speak, and smiled and said: "Don't worry. What, just say it if you have something to say!" Duan Wei responded and said: "In this way, although we can persist for a lot longer, we are afraid that it will cause instability among the people!" Yang Peng nodded and said: "You Your concerns are very reasonable!" He smiled and said, "You just need to tell everyone that the food support is on the way, and I believe everyone will not complain!"
Duan Wei and the supervisor were overjoyed when they heard this. Duan Wei hurriedly asked: "Is the food on its way?"
Yang Peng nodded with a smile and said: "The first batch of grain should arrive in twenty days." Duan Wei and the inspector exchanged a look of joy, and Duan Wei said excitedly: "In this way, then There are no more problems!" Then he added: "There are still medicinal materials! The number of people injured in this earthquake is very large. The medicinal materials currently stored in the treasury have been exhausted, and even the medicinal materials in various drug stores have been consumed. It’s eighty-eight, and in a few more days, I’m afraid there won’t be any medicine available!”
Yang Peng nodded and asked: "Is there anything else?" Duan Wei thought for a while, shook his head and said: "The main problem is food and medicinal materials. Other difficulties can be overcome!"
Yang Peng said: "The medicinal materials supported by various places are on their way. The past half month or so has been the most difficult. As long as you stick to it, things will be easier to handle!" Duan Wei nodded. Suddenly remembering something, he clasped his fists towards Yang Peng and said: "There is something that should be reported to King Yan. After the earthquake, many local scholars spread rumors and made disrespectful remarks. Now those scholars have been imprisoned in prison. What? Please let King Yan show you how to deal with it."
Yang Peng asked: "What rumors did they spread and what disrespectful words did they say?" Duan Wei looked embarrassed. Yang Peng said: "You don't have to be scrupulous, it's okay to speak out!" Duan Wei responded and said: "They said that the reason for this earthquake was all because the King of Yan fell, fell..."
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Reverse behavior?"
Duan Wei's heart trembled, and he quickly left his seat and knelt down, fearfully saying: "My subordinates would never dare to say such treasonous words!" Yang Peng said calmly: "Let's talk about it, it's not really treasonous." After looking at it. He glanced at Duan Wei who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Sit down and talk." Duan Wei responded, stood up and sat back down. Yang Peng said: "You go on, don't worry about anything. You can just say what they said. The speaker is not guilty." Duan Wei responded and said: "They also said that King Yan was apostate and contrary to the teachings of the saints. He deviated from the way of the saints, so heaven and man sent this disaster to punish King Yan and the people who supported King Yan!"
Ye Qi Guanyin said angrily: "How outrageous! I think they are just going to rebel!" Duan Wei was trembling and did not dare to say any more. Yang Peng said with a smile: "These Confucian scholars have long hated me to the core. Now that they have caught such an opportunity, how can they not try their best to use the topic?"
Duan Wei bowed and said: "When the disaster relief is over, my subordinates will deal with them immediately!" Yang Peng asked: "How do you plan to deal with them?"
Duan Wei took a peek at Yang Peng and saw that Yang Peng was smiling and not showing any signs of anger. He was not sure what Yang Peng meant for a moment and said cautiously: "You can confuse people with evil words and utter rebellious words. This is not the case in any society." Those crimes were heinous crimes committed by the dynasty. According to past traditions, at least three clans should be killed! However, King Yan is benevolent and his subordinates adhere to King Yan’s intentions and feel that it is enough to execute the perpetrators! "
Yang Peng smiled and shook his head. Duan Wei's heart trembled, and he quickly said: "My subordinate is wrong. The crime of treason should be to punish the three tribes!" Yang Peng asked: "Have you read our Yanyun's criminal code?" Duan Wei said quickly: "My subordinate I've seen it." "Then what should be the sentence for spreading rumors and causing trouble?" Duan Wei said, "The code says that those who spread rumors and cause trouble without causing serious consequences shall be sentenced to one to three years in prison. Those who cause serious consequences will be sentenced to one to three months in prison, and those who cause serious consequences will be sentenced to more than three years in prison, popularized, or even beheaded."
Yang Peng then asked: "With regard to the case in front of me, which situation do you agree with?" Duan Wei thought: "Although these Confucian students spread rumors and caused trouble, they did not cause any consequences. Therefore, according to the provisions of the code, they can only Sentenced to one to three months in prison..." Suddenly his heart moved, and he understood what Yang Peng meant. He quickly raised his head and looked at Yang Peng in disbelief, and said: "This, is this too easy for them?"
Yang Peng shook his head and said sarcastically: "If you are afraid of even a few words spoken by others and want to impose capital punishment, that is just the behavior of a coward, and you are not a king who rules the world!" Duan Wei and the supervisor couldn't help but feel in their hearts. With infinite admiration, he couldn't help but say: "The King of Yan is wise!"
Yang Peng said: "Not only this case, but all other cases in the future will be handled in accordance with the legal provisions of the code. There is no need to think wildly!" The two men bowed and agreed. Yang Peng sneered and said: "How disrespectful, that's just a thing the weak came up with to protect their dominance!"...
A government official ran in panting, knelt down on one knee, and said urgently: "Beacon, beacon fire, beacon fire...!" At this point, he couldn't lift it up in one breath and got stuck. Yang Peng frowned and asked: "You mean beacon fire? Is the beacon lighted?" The Yamen servant swallowed hard and nodded, with a look of panic on his face. The people of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures were living a good life in peace. It's been a long time since I saw the beacon fire.
Yang Peng and others immediately stood up and walked out of the hall quickly. Turning around and looking towards a hill outside the city on the left, a beacon tower was set up on that hill to convey urgent military information from the north. At this time, a huge flame on the hill was burning fiercely, illuminating the entire hill! Duan Wei and the supervisor became nervous, and Duan Wei stammered: "Really, it's really Fenghuo! What, what's going on?"
Yang Peng immediately said to Wang Kai: "Wang Kai, immediately send people to the north to investigate. What is going on?" Wang Kai responded and ran down. Yang Peng said to Duan Wei and the supervisory envoy again: "Something is wrong. You should immediately organize the local people to retreat to Yanjing." Duan Wei and the supervisory envoy responded and hurried down.
Yang Peng turned his head and looked to the north, with a deep look of worry in his eyes. Almost at the same time, in Tanzhou, more than 5,000 Yanyun troops were surrounded by 200,000 Liao cavalry. Due to the earthquake that completely destroyed the city wall of Tanzhou, Liao cavalry rushed into the city from all directions. The soldiers and people in the city resisted desperately. There was blood flying everywhere and crazy roars everywhere. At this moment, Yang Xiong, the commander-in-chief, ordered his men to give up resistance and flee in a panic to the south. A small part of the Yanyun army followed Yang Xiong and fled, but the vast majority of the Yanyun army refused to carry out this order and still stayed to fight the Liao army to the end.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
