After watching King Heng leave Yancheng, Zhao Bin led everyone back to the palace. Zhao Bin always had a vague feeling of uneasiness. It was hard to say where this feeling came from. If it was brought to him by King Heng, King Heng did not feel this way when he was in Yancheng. The moment King Heng left, this feeling This feeling appeared in my heart inexplicably.
On the third day after King Heng left, Zhao Bin was sitting on a chair, while Cao Li and others were sitting in their own offices and immersed in their own affairs. Ling'er came over with a cup of hot tea, and when he was about to reach Zhao Bin, he stumbled inexplicably and suddenly fell forward. Fortunately, Zhao Bin reacted quickly and immediately reached out to hold Ling'er up, but the tea spilled all over Zhao Bin. , the tea cup fell to the ground with a clatter and broke into pieces.
Ling'er exclaimed: "Ah! Your Majesty, you didn't burn it, right? Ling'er deserves to die. It's all Ling'er's clumsy fault."
Several people working nearby also hurried forward to ask.
"It's okay. I wore thick clothes and didn't burn my flesh."
"It's all Ling'er's fault..." Ling'er wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Zhao Bin.
"Okay, it's okay, just bring some clothes to change into." Zhao Bin patted Ling'er on the shoulder and said.
Ling'er responded and immediately ran towards the backyard.
"Slow down," Zhao Bin reminded hurriedly as he looked at Ling'er in a hurry.
Zhao Bin squatted on the ground and looked at the broken tea bowl. Wang Wu on the side also squatted down: "My lord, what are you looking at?"
"Lao Wu, you said the floor is so flat, how could Ling'er fall?"
"Maybe I sprained my foot."
"But do you think Ling'er looked like he had a sprained foot when he ran out just now?"
Wang Wu raised his head and looked at the direction Ling'er ran away and said, "It doesn't look like that, but it looks like a rabbit."
"Do you still understand idioms?" Zhao Bin looked at Wang Wu in surprise and asked.
"My lord, you are joking, who understands that stuff?"
"Forget it! Just clean it up."
Wang Wu responded and carefully picked up the broken pieces of the tea bowl one by one.
"Go get the broom."
"Okay, Your Majesty." Wang Wu threw the stuff he just picked up back to the ground and turned around to find the broom.
Zhao Bin: "..."
After cleaning up the debris on the floor, they returned to their seats.
Zhao Bin asked: "Master He, how are you preparing for the lumber?"
He Miao was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Back to the prince, I have recruited two thousand people to cut wood. The selected wood is all hardwood, and some of the wood has been transported back to the city."
"Can we send in more people?"
"How many more do you want, Your Majesty?"
"double"
"The humble post will be arranged immediately." In fact, there are very few young men left in Yancheng. There are 5,000 coal diggers in the west mountain, 5,000 iron ore mines in the north, and those who were taken to the beach to practice salt by Xu Ling. There were more than a thousand people before and after, of which almost four to five thousand Yancheng defenders were locals. Some were recruited to guard Xijing Pass, and the rest were mostly old, weak, women and children.
After He Miao left, Cao Li saw Zhao Bin sitting in a chair in a daze, so he asked, "What is on your mind, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Bin looked up at Cao Li and said, "It's nothing, I'm just a little uneasy. I've had a bad feeling since yesterday."
"Your Majesty, you may have worked too hard recently and haven't had a good rest. Our fine salt is very popular in the capital market right now. This time, Prince Heng brought a full 30,000 guan to buy salt. This can equal our three-year income in Yancheng." That’s it.” Cao Li looked at Zhao Bin and said.
When he said this, Ling'er, who had gone back to get his clothes, happened to walk in. When he heard Cao Li's words, his face suddenly turned red with embarrassment. Zhao Bin didn't notice Ling'er's application and just murmured: "The more we make, the more the three major families will hate us. Will they just watch us make money like this?"
Cao Li: "What does the prince mean?"
"They're definitely going to get in the way."
Cao Li thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The capital is the royal sphere of influence. No matter how unwilling the three major families are, they will not run wild in the capital."
"You won't run wild in the capital? What if you're not in the capital?" Zhao Bin asked with a gloomy look.
Naturally, Cao Li didn't understand what Zhao Bin meant. He wouldn't do it in the capital, so he could only do it halfway. Thinking of this, Cao Li couldn't help but feel a chill running down his back.
"Call Xiao Chu and Lu Biao." Zhao Bin said to Wang Wu on the side.
"It's the prince, I'll call them now." After Wang Wu finished speaking, he walked out of the hall, and then heard Wang Wu shouting for Xiao Chu and Lu Biao in the yard. After a while, the two followed Wang Wu into the hall.
"Your Majesty?"
"Xiao Chu, you take fifty brothers from the palace to ride fast horses to chase Prince Heng. You must escort Prince Heng to cross the Yellow River safely. I'm worried that something unexpected will happen to Prince Heng on the way. Lu Biao, you take the fifty transport team members My brother is going to pick up the supplies. Although the time agreed with Tian Qi is still two days away, in order to prevent unexpected events, it is better to set off early to pick up the supplies." Zhao Bin ordered the two of them.
Xiao Chu hesitated: "Your Majesty, if I take people away, there won't be many people around you. I'm worried..."
Before Xiao Chu could finish speaking, Zhao Bin interrupted: "It doesn't matter, there will be nothing in the city for the time being."
Lu Biao said: "Your Majesty, why don't I take the people from the transport team and let the commander stay to protect you."
"Most of the people in the transport team can't ride horses, and they will be delayed on the road. This matter is settled. You can set off immediately."
Seeing that Zhao Bin had made up his mind, the two said nothing more, got up and left. Soon after, more than fifty fast horses left the city,
In Mozhou County, two hundred miles south of Yancheng, the city walls have collapsed and the city is in ruins. It is obvious that this place has become an abandoned city, and the people in the city have long since disappeared, or they may have become bones under the soil. There are still many empty cities like this in Hebei Province. Although the Jie people have been expelled for more than ten years, the sharp decline in the population of Hebei Province cannot be made up for in just a dozen years.
Wang Dayong, who had come all the way north, entered the city with five hundred slaves. Although the city was dilapidated, it was better to have a place to block the wind than to camp in the wild. The ropes and shackles on these slaves have long been removed. Wang Dayong only said one sentence to them along the way: I won't stop those who want to run away, they can leave at any time, and those who are willing to stay will have a meal for everyone.
In order to eat, no one left, in order to live, everyone chose to stay.
While Wang Dayong and his party were making pots of rice, a motorcade entered the city from the north gate. It was King Heng's motorcade. Looking at the smoke rising from the other side not far from the county seat, King Heng showed a surprised expression: "Go and see what's going on." King Heng ordered to the bodyguard beside him.
The guard clamped the horse's belly with his legs, and the horse ran forward slowly.
