The process of admitting and treating the refugees proceeded in an orderly manner, and within half a month, all the refugees outside the city had been properly settled in the city.

Shen Chu vanished from Pingnan City as if he had evaporated into thin air, and never reappeared.

Zhang Shengmin sent people to his house, but the door was locked and even his elderly mother was nowhere to be found.

Rumors circulated in the government offices that Master Shen had heard rumors of war and fled Yingzhou to save his life.

"Manager Sun, I brought more than thirty brothers with me. Do you think that's enough?"

After accepting the government's offer of amnesty, Tu Zhenshan was completely transformed, and his mental state was completely different from before. Behind him stood three rows of young and strong men, each with an upright posture and an extraordinary aura.

Sun Miao'er glanced at them briefly and nodded in satisfaction, "They all seem to be skilled practitioners."

"Since Brother Tu brought them here, I should not treat you all unfairly."

She rented a shop at the city gate and temporarily opened a security escort agency. With the outside world in turmoil and the end of the year approaching, many security escort agencies in the city had temporarily closed down. After all, escorting goods was a dangerous job, and the outside world was very chaotic with rampant bandits. Ordinary people were unwilling to take risks.

The men Tu Zhenshan brought were different. They were originally bandits, so why would they care about such things? As long as they could have a hot meal and earn some money, they would rush to do any kind of work.

The escort agency could close down, but the merchants couldn't wait.

As soon as Sun Miao'er's escort agency sign was put up, people started coming to inquire.

"Shopkeeper, my master has a shipment of goods that will be sent from Yingzhou to Kezhou on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Do you have any suitable people to escort my master?"

The 23rd is the Little New Year. I had planned to go back to Fushui Village to have a meal with my grandma.

Whenever Kezhou is mentioned, her thoughts always drift to her master. Is her master doing well in Kezhou?

Sun Miao'er led Tu Zhenshan and his group out directly, "Take a look, are you satisfied with these few?"

The old steward nodded hurriedly, "Manager Sun's business is really big. I've been to several escort agencies but no one was willing to work for me. With these brothers protecting the goods, my master can rest assured."

It's the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, more than 20 days away. Planning the route and making preparations in advance shouldn't be a problem.

Unexpectedly, on the very first day of business, we received a fairly large order. Escorting goods is different from running a small business; it is riskier and requires more caution.

“Brother Tu, you came from Kezhou, so you should know the way to Kezhou best. I’ll leave the planning of the route to you.”

Sun Miao'er respected Tu Zhenshan as a real man and addressed him respectfully as "Big Brother".

Tu Zhenshan patted his chest and assured him, "Manager Sun, leave this to me. You can't go wrong if you hire us."

In the evening, someone arrived at the entrance of the escort agency.

It was none other than the Wang couple.

"Master Wang, Madam Wang, what brings you here?"

Madam Wang looked tired, and her makeup was no longer as exquisite as before, making her look somewhat haggard. "Miao'er, we would like to ask you for a favor."

"Xue Ru is currently trapped in Licheng. Only maids and servants from our household went with her. We would like to ask you to take some people to bring Xue Ru back. We will pay you silver; here are five hundred taels of silver notes. If that's not enough, I can..."

Even if Madam Wang hadn't said anything, Sun Miao'er had already planned to bring Wang Xueru back safely. After all, staying in Licheng indefinitely wasn't a solution, and it was still unknown whether the refugee uprising in Licheng had subsided.

If the governor fails to suppress the unrest, and the refugees break into the city, it will be much more difficult for them to enter the city again.

“Madam Wang, please don’t worry. Xue Ru is my good friend. She is in trouble right now, and no matter how difficult the road ahead may be, I will go to help her,” Sun Miao’er reassured Madam Wang.

"We'll set off for Licheng early tomorrow morning, and we'll be able to bring Xue Ru back in a few days."

According to Tu Zhenshan, the riots by displaced people in Licheng have not ended.

A few days ago, the imperial reinforcements arrived in Licheng, and Licheng finally turned the tide from its disadvantage. At the same time, more refugees poured in, and the reinforcements lost their numerical advantage. For now, the city gates can be held.

The fact that the refugees were able to fight against the government's soldiers was certainly not as simple as it seemed. Without food and herbs, the refugees could not have survived for so long unless they had someone secretly supporting them.

Besides the King of Wei, Sun Miao'er couldn't think of anyone else who most wanted the people to fight against the court. Behind the King of Wei was her master. But would her master really do something that would result in mutual destruction and harm others without benefiting himself?

Moreover, the common people are utterly innocent.

Normally it would only take two days to travel from Pingnan City to Licheng, but because of the situation outside Licheng, Sun Miao'er specifically added an extra day to the journey.

Sun Miao'er noticed something was wrong as soon as the carriage reached the outskirts of Licheng.

At first, there were only scattered refugees around, some begging by the roadside, and others lying under the trees. Sun Miao'er couldn't tell whether the people lying there were alive or dead.

Sun Miao'er was well-prepared; whenever someone came to beg, she would have someone give them some food to prevent them from being harassed by the refugees.

The actual sighting of the large army of refugees was two or three miles outside Licheng.

They were less like refugees and more like a well-trained army, even wearing neat armor.

Since Sun Miao'er and her group came from the outer city, the refugees did not make things difficult for them. They simply checked the luggage in the carriage and let them pass.

After observing them along the way, she suddenly realized that these refugees did not intend to rush into the city. They did not seem to lack food or drink, and instead appeared unhurried.

They seem to be planning a protracted war with Licheng. If Licheng is forced to call for reinforcements from the imperial court, then the imperial court's forces will be dispersed. If other cities are also entangled with refugees like Licheng, the difficulty of attacking Shangjing will be greatly reduced.

Licheng was heavily guarded, with soldiers holding the city gates. Outside the city, Sun Miao'er presented a letter from the Wang family bearing Jia Huan's private seal before the soldiers agreed to help her get in and report the incident.

Upon entering the city, the desolation and loneliness on the streets were even more unexpected.

Walking down the main street, you could count the number of pedestrians on one hand; the whole city had practically become a ghost town.

After a long and bumpy journey, we finally arrived at the prefect's residence, by which time it was already dark.

The servants of the prefect's mansion led them into a side courtyard. Sun Miao'er told Tu Zhenshan and the others to rest first, as it was inconvenient to bring such a large group.

"Miao'er!"

When Wang Xueru saw Sun Miao'er arrive, she was overjoyed. She didn't know what was going on outside, only that the Wang family had sent someone to pick her up. She wondered why her parents had chosen this critical moment to come. The journey was dangerous, which made her feel apprehensive.

"Miao'er, it's you! Where are the Wang family members? Did you come with them?" Wang Xueru excitedly took her sister's hand. In the prefect's mansion, where she had no relatives or friends, her sister had finally come.

Time was of the essence, so Sun Miao'er decided to keep things brief and said, "Uncle Wang asked me to bring people to pick you up and take you home."

"You? You brought people with you?" Wang Xueru looked surprised; her memory of Sun Miao'er was still from the small cloth shop they had visited.