Chapter 65 It Hurts Us So Much

"Commander, why are we dressed so shabbily?"

"You don't understand, Wan Jin. When we get to Fengyang to provide relief, tell all the brothers that if they can cry, they should cry; if they can't cry, they should howl as loudly as possible."

Wan Jin looked at his comrades dressed in tattered old robes, completely bewildered.

No one knows what the centurion was thinking. After gathering 2,300 dan of grain, the officials came to collect the grain. The centurion told the commander that there might be bandits robbing the grain on the way, so he volunteered to escort the grain to Fengyang. Before coming, he even asked his brothers to find old clothes to wear. It was really hard to understand what he was up to.

Lin Changning rode the Moyun and looked at the city wall not far away. The flood had receded, but the road was muddy all along the way. The midday sun made the stench unbearable. Looking around, the once bustling villages and towns were now deserted. Yellow mud had solidified on the collapsed walls, and the thick silt almost submerged half of the wheels. In the most difficult places, the brothers had to push the cart to get out.

Outside the city, amidst the ruins, groups of refugees huddled together, their faces filled with numbness and despair.

Lin Changning suddenly understood the confusion he felt when he commanded that night. Losing two thousand dan of grain would only make life a little harder, but if those two thousand shi of grain were here, they could save many lives. The person above was wary of the prince, but he really shouldn't have dragged the common people into it. Behind the factional strife were countless lives lost.

The flood took away these people's families, destroyed their homes, flooded farmland, and caused a complete crop failure. The people of Fengyang had almost no hope, but the person in charge was still trying to weaken the vassal king under some pretext. How cunning!

If the garrison does not take grain, it is considered disobeying the imperial decree and disrespecting the emperor. This would be an opportunity to weaken the power of the vassal king. If the emperor agrees, the garrison will face a shortage of grain. The vassal king will either have to pay for the grain himself or let his soldiers fight on an empty stomach. If something goes wrong, the court will have a reason to punish him.

This inevitably chills the hearts of the soldiers on the border. The imperial court's single order forced them to give up their own rations for disaster relief, which is utterly disgusting! Now that the grain has been distributed, it is only right that these people know where all this grain came from.

Upon entering the city, a group of refugees, including many emaciated children, immediately surrounded the grain carts with their broken bowls in hand.

Lin Changning's eyes stung with tears. He dismounted, pounded his chest, and wailed, "Heavens above! What have the people done to deserve this calamity? We are heartbroken!!!"

The refugees were stunned, and dozens of soldiers instantly burst into tears, crying out to the heavens, "We are in so much pain!! Heavens!! How could you be so blind!!"

"So pitiful!!"

"Waaaaah~ Little Flag, look how badly I'm crying!"

"Go away, go away, shout louder!"

Lin Changning helped the stunned old man kneeling before her to his feet: "Grandpa, please get up, please get up."

The elderly man leading the group looked at Lin Changning's tattered military uniform and asked, "Sir? And who are you?"

Lin Changning wiped away his tears with his sleeve and waved his hand. Wan Jin and the men beside the grain cart immediately tied up the general's flag.

Surrounded and completely blocked, Lin Changning had no choice but to climb onto the grain cart, grab the military flag, and proclaim: "I am the centurion of Daxing, and I have been ordered by the commander to escort grain here. We, the soldiers of Daxing, are deeply saddened by the plight of Fengyang! Although the border is not rich in grain, we are all citizens of Daxuan. Therefore, we are escorting two thousand dan of grain from Daxing to relieve the worries of the people of Fengyang. The soldiers have heard that the people of Fengyang are displaced and starving. The commander and we soldiers have contributed three hundred shi of grain to join the grain convoy. We hope that the people of Fengyang will overcome this hardship as soon as possible."

"The commander's righteousness! The centurion's righteousness!"

"My esteemed warriors, please accept my deepest bow. On behalf of the people of Fengyang, I thank you all of Daxingwei for your noble deeds!"

Upon hearing this, the leading elderly people burst into tears, touching Lin Changning's tattered coat: "The noble righteousness of Daxingwei will be remembered by the people of Fengyang."

Seeing the growing crowd, Lin Changning announced again, "Don't worry, everyone. The food has been delivered. After the evening granary is filled with food, we will cook porridge and distribute it to everyone. Please don't crowd. You can line up for dinner at the North Gate in an hour!"

The car still had to leave. The accompanying officials frowned instantly at the scene, looking at Lin Changning with displeasure, but ultimately suppressed their displeasure and remained silent when they saw the dense crowd of refugees.

The group of men cooperated more silently after Lin Changning's impassioned speech. When distributing porridge, they helped people up and set up tents. They also lent a hand to the elderly and weak who had difficulty moving around.

The other garrisons also arrived at the scene. Upon hearing about Daxingwei's actions, they all cursed them for being cunning. Whenever a garrison transported grain into the city, they would always expose their own homes.

Lin Changning stayed with his team for three days. Of course, he didn't rest during those three days. He led dozens of men to help set up shelters and tents, clean up the resettlement area, and distribute food and supplies. At night, Lin Changning often led his men to patrol the resettlement area and caught many thieves who took advantage of the chaos to snatch food and steal things.

The people of Fengyang were all moved to tears when they spoke of the soldiers of Daxingwei. In Fengyang, the reputation of these kind and valiant soldiers once surpassed that of the officials.

Thanks to Lin Changning's good example, the other soldiers from the garrison who were escorting the grain saw that the reputation of Daxingwei was soaring and also joined in the work.

"Damn it, they're just blaming their thieves! Let's go get to work! That Qi kid is so disloyal, he didn't even say a word for the rest of us!"

"What did those bastards in Daxing do today?"

"Reporting to the centurion, they rode out of the city this morning back to Daxing."

"What? You went back?"

"Commander, it's time for us to go."

"Go, go, go! What are you going to do? You haven't finished your work yet!"

The young soldier looked speechlessly at the burly, unshaven man in front of him: "Commander, if we don't go back soon, time will be up. If we miss the morning drill, the commander will punish us with a beating."

The burly man slapped his forehead: "Why didn't you remind me sooner?"

The soldier, on the verge of tears, said, "I reminded you a few days ago, but you said that we can't let Daxingwei take all the benefits. You insisted on following suit, which is why I stayed for four more days. If I don't go back now, I really won't be able to make it back in time, Hundred-Household Commander."

"...Daxingwei ruined me!!!"

Imperial Palace in the Capital —

"Your Majesty, several garrisons have transported grain to Fengyang. The soldiers of Daxing Garrison raised an extra 300 shi (a unit of dry measure) to go there. On the day they entered the city, the soldiers said that they could not bear to see the people suffering and spontaneously donated grain to help Fengyang overcome its difficulties."

"Isn't this a good thing? It can save the Ministry of Revenue a lot of grain."

"Your Majesty, the people of other prefectures are enthusiastically discussing the large-scale grain donation drive, saying that the unity between the army and the people is extremely valuable, but..."

"Whatever it is, just say it."

"But now the people are spreading rumors that His Majesty is mistreating the soldiers on the border. The grain that was just delivered was taken back immediately, and several generals are even wearing clothes that are five or six years old..."

The emperor, dressed in bright yellow, slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Insolence! Investigate! Investigate where these rumors came from!"

Lin Changning and his group, who were spreading rumors, had already arrived in Daxing.

Morning——

After performing a grand salute, a group of officials dressed in scarlet court robes straightened up, exchanged glances, and then one of them stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."