Mechanical sounds echoed over the quiet village. Qin Qin saw the old woman's body trembling slightly, and he quickly supported her.
The old woman was obviously shocked, with fear in her eyes.
The old lady reacted slowly, held Qin Qin's hand and said, "It's time for you to go. It will take two days. I'll get you some food."
The old lady's words were like words of experience, as if she had experienced the second secret realm countless times, as if this small courtyard had received thousands of participants like them.
Where did those participants go?
Did he never come back alive?
How did the old lady’s family leave this world? Why is there only this lonely old man left?
Countless mysteries surrounded Qin Qin's eyes. He looked at the back of the old woman staggering to pack food for them, and her lowered hands gradually clenched into a fist.
The three of them walked out of the small courtyard and met Qin Fengnan, whom they hadn't seen for a few days.
Qin Fengnan lives in the small house opposite the old lady. The owner of the house is the girl who also invited Qin Qin and the others.
Qin Fengnan greeted them with a smile: "General Qin, what a coincidence."
Qin Qin smiled and gave her a gift in return.
Gu Beilin put away his vigilant and piercing eyes, lowered his head and cupped his hands towards Qin Fengnan.
Qin Fengnan said curiously: "I haven't seen you for a few days, the prince has changed a lot."
With this look in his eyes and this air of aura, if Qin Fengnan hadn't seen this kid covered in thorns, he would have thought he was some kind of promising young man who was as gentle as jade.
"Excessive praise." Gu Beilin said calmly.
Li Shuo was dissatisfied and murmured in a low voice: "What has changed? It's obviously still...ah!"
Li Shuo quickly shrank behind Qin Qin: "Master Qin, he pinched me!"
Qin Qin shook his head helplessly, and the four of them walked together and entered the center of the village.
In the Jiuchong City of the Yu Clan, Gu Ming was reading the secret reports coming from the border and listening to the judicial report on the situation of the refugees from the inspection station. He rubbed his eyebrows, obviously a little anxious.
"...That's it. The land in Xuzhou is not fertile to begin with. Even in good years and good rains, we can't grow much food. Not to mention that when the war started, the fields became even more deserted. When the war started, prices began to soar, and even more There are some crazy people who take advantage of the country's difficult financial situation and resell coarse grains at high prices."
"The people in Xuzhou had no choice but to flee in large numbers and became refugees. What's more, they directly occupied the mountain and became kings, becoming bandits. The refugees who fled were all crowded to the south. Below Xuzhou is Kuizhou. Although Kuizhou is located in the south of Xuzhou and has more fertile water and soil, after all, the land belongs to the north of my Yu clan, and it is definitely not as rich as the south."
"The food in Kuizhou cannot withstand the consumption of refugees from Xuzhou. If Jiuchong City does not provide assistance, famine in Kuizhou will inevitably break out, and such a vicious cycle will occur."
The judicial officer of the inspection station said anxiously: "Your Majesty, the situation is serious. Governors from many places in the north have written to the inspection station to report the urgent situation. The inspection station received no less than 20 letters today plus yesterday. I hope your majesty will do it as soon as possible. Make a decision, send disaster relief ministers and generals to quell banditry, and calm the hearts of the people!"
Gu Ming rubbed his brows. Yu An was pressing his temples. Gu Ming raised his hand and waved him away. He stood up and asked the judge at the inspection station: "How many refugees are there estimated to be in total?"
Judiciary handed over: "According to reports from counties in Kuizhou, the number of refugees who came to Kuizhou in two days has exceeded 20,000, and the number is still increasing. There is no way to count those on the road, including those who fled to other places. , but it is estimated to be no less than that in Kuizhou now."
"Two days." Gu Ming sighed heavily.
In just two days, the northern defense line has completely collapsed, people have been displaced, prices have fluctuated, food is scarce, all kinds of lawlessness have flourished, and there is chaos.
He did have a candidate for the generals he wanted to send to quell the banditry, but even the civil servants, after thinking about it again and again, didn't know what to do.
The old civil servants are loyal, dignified and experienced, but how can their old bones withstand the hardships of such high mountains and rivers? But if we look at the newcomers, there are many newcomers who are outstanding in academics and abilities, but they have never left the city to comfort the people. experience.
Over the years, we have often said that God bless the Yu Clan, and that is indeed God's good move.
The Yu tribe has been in Anshun for more than ten years, and there has never been a drought or flood. Naturally, the ministers in this city have no experience in going out to provide disaster relief.
Now it seems that this God's blessing cannot be said to be good or bad.
Gu Ming said to Yu'an: "Go and summon the wise men."
"Yes." Yu'an bowed his head and went out.
The judge at the inspection station raised his beard and tried to speak, but could not.
Gu Ming noticed his actions: "Aiqing, just say what you want. In the current national crisis, your inspection station has been working very hard these days, but what trouble have you encountered?"
The inspection desk has always been easy to hit a wall. They are the most direct bridge between the lower class and the king. Such a bridge breaks down the hierarchy, skipping countless officials in the middle, and directly speaks to the emperor.
Sometimes, some things touch the cheese of many people. It is common for them to be embarrassed or even threatened.
Gu Ming knew very well how important the people were in the country, and listening to their words and sufferings was the key to governing the country. So after Gu Ming came to power, he vigorously supported the inspection station and issued imperial orders. Meeting the governor was like meeting a holy emperor. It is to clear away the stubborn rocks in their path.
The judicial officer of the inspection station handed over: "Thanks to your majesty's kindness, no one has jumped on the road of our inspection station. I was about to speak just now, but I just wanted to go over my shoulder and introduce a civil servant to your majesty to go to Kuizhou to pacify the refugees."
Gu Ming's eyes lit up. He knew that this inspector's judicial eyes were as high as his head and he was usually serious about words. Anyone who could catch his eye must be extraordinary.
Gu Ming became interested: "Let's talk and listen."
"Your Majesty, it's just..." the inspector of the inspection station paused: "It's just that this person is a minor official who just entered the court this year. His background is not high. He passed the literary test and entered the court last year. The minister and He has been in contact with him several times, and I deeply feel that his conversational skills are extraordinary, and in time, he will become a great person. However, he has achieved nothing now, so I recommend him rashly, and I hope your majesty will forgive me."
"Just entered officialdom?" Gu Ming was surprised, but shook his head.
"Your Excellency, you know that the officialdom is dangerous. To gain a foothold in it, you can only rely on experience. He just entered the court. I'm afraid he hasn't even laid the foundation yet. Are you sure you didn't tell the wrong person?" ?”
"I know." Judiciary handed over his hand: "It's just that this person made me feel extraordinary and deeply impressed in my heart."
Gu Ming asked: "Where is he? What is his name?"
"This person's surname is Shen Yi'an, and he is currently one of the notebooks of the Jishi Hall."
"Since you said so, then I will meet him." Gu Ming said to Yu'an who had just invited the scholar in: "Send someone to the Records Hall to find a recordkeeper named Shen Yi'an and ask him to Pack up and go into the palace to meet the Holy Spirit."
Yu'an's feet hadn't even set yet, but he didn't dare to complain at all, so he bowed and went out quickly.
After he went out, Gu Ming asked the scholar to open the official book, and began to tell him in detail about the civil servants who had gone to Kuizhou to provide disaster relief. The inspector of the inspection station and the judicial department stood aside, silently listening to their discussion without saying a word.
After Yu'an came out, Jinyi quickly came forward to listen to his orders.
Yu'an walked for a while, then suddenly turned to Jinyi and said to himself: "I have never heard of Shen Yi'an..."
After a while, he said: "When you return home later, you go to Liu Feng and ask him to check this person."
Yu'an narrowed his eyes. He would never allow any variables to occur in this game of chess that he had carefully prepared, even if the chance of this person making it out of Kuizhou was extremely small.
The north wind blew the hunting flag, and Qin Qin rode a horse at the front of the dark army, his sharp eyes scanning the gray edges ahead.
Meng Yu handed over a bottle of water. Qin Qin took it and took a sip. He turned his head and asked Meng Yu, "Where did the Chaoyang Army go?"
"We are still more than twenty miles away. Our feather soldiers in the air have already seen their signal soldiers in the air. We have decided to meet at Xiangyun County in Kuizhou."
Qin Qin thought for a moment and asked, "Did they follow the official path of Beizuo?"
"Yes, General Tang Ming, the commander-in-chief of the Chaoyang Army, led them upward from the south. There is a waterway that must be passed along the official road to the north and right. It would be too far to bypass this waterway, so General Tang led them to the north. Left line official way.”
Qin Qin said: "Only let the second army of the upper three armies come over. The other two armies do not need to merge and go directly to Xuzhou. Tell the second army that we will wait for them in the north of Xiangyun County. Don't enter the city, just outside the city." , try not to disturb the people, and if you need anything, let the soldiers from the Baggage and Heavy Department purchase it. Our army is the same, all camped outside the city, and are not allowed to enter the city."
When Meng Yu went to deliver the order, Mu Feng rode over and walked side by side with Qin Qin. He asked, "Are you afraid that the refugees will panic when they see the army?"
Qin Qin frowned and nodded: "His Majesty's orders on relieving the refugees and suppressing bandits have not yet been issued. If we show up now, we will inevitably be entangled, or cause panic and misunderstanding among the people."
"The war in Xuzhou is urgent and we must go immediately. We cannot delay here."
"Yes." Mu Feng said: "I saw the feather soldiers who came back from the north. There were not many feathers left on their wings, and they couldn't even retract their wings into their bodies. When I saw them, I remembered ten years. That battle before."
Mu Feng also experienced that dark and dark battle, and he was Qin Qin's subordinate at that time.
In a flash, the prosperous age has been peaceful for ten years.
"It must be extremely bleak over there in Xuzhou," Qin Qin said.
"With the soldiers defeated, all the land in the state was trampled by the Miao people. Judging from the refugees we saw along the way, the fall of Xuzhou was more serious than we imagined." Mu Feng said.
"The terrain in Xuzhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If we want to get back the lost land, we can't do it without a food supply station and a base camp. Where do you plan to set up camp, Commander?"
Qin Qin said: "The original plan was to use Kuizhou as the granary and Xuzhou as the base camp. Now that Xuzhou is seriously lost, we can only attack first."
"Start a war rashly?" Mu Feng was shocked, this was not Qin Qin's style.
"No." Qin Qin shook his head, with a secretive look in his eyes: "The Miao people have occupied Xuzhou, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We have more people than them. They must not dare to leave the city. In this case, they can only use inducements and force They came out of the city to fight.”
"Lure them with benefits and treat them with death." Mu Feng nodded in agreement: "Then we have to cut off their supply lines in Xuzhou."
"Yes, leave this matter to Zhou Kaiqing. When he comes back from exploring the road, you can inform him to come see me."
"yes!"
