It's really unstoppable!

Standing on the city wall of Dongning, feeling the biting north wind like ice knives scraping against his face, Li Xin felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

After leaving the Prince Xin's residence, we had already circled around Dongning City in about half an hour.

The houses were low and dilapidated, with fences and turf haphazardly piled up, which served as their dwellings.

In the southern part of the city, most areas were still dugouts!

A dugout, as the name suggests, is an area dug out underground, about the height of a person, with a roof covered by trees and grass.

In winter, this is the most economical and practical way for poor families to stay in their homes!

Apart from a handful of wealthy families in Dongning City, most other residents were in the same situation.

Even more unusually, some refugees who had fled from the north huddled together in twos and threes in the corners of the walls.

The knee-deep snow added to the chilly atmosphere.

The refugees were starving and suffering from the freezing cold. Some even froze to death, their appearances pitiful!

The entire city of Dongning showed no signs of being the capital of a province; it was nothing more than a dilapidated and dangerous city!

What chilled Li Xin the most was that, apart from the hundred or so guards of the Prince's Palace who were considered elite, the guards in the entire city of Dongning were all ragged and snotty-nosed, looking at most a little better than the refugees.

Is this still the army defending the city?

Even so, the garrison of Dongning City numbered only about two hundred.

His weapons were extremely rudimentary: a broadsword, a spear, a bow and arrows, and simple animal hide armor.

How could such an army possibly withstand a thousand bandits on the northern grasslands?

Only now does Li Xin realize that he had been boasting!

Given the current situation in Dongning Province, it is truly impossible for a single province to withstand the battle-hardened grassland bandits!

well!

Is there really no way to overcome this hellish start?

Prince Xin, Li Xin, sighed repeatedly.

I came down from the city wall and wandered aimlessly around the city.

Along the way, the vagrants on the street remained unmoved when they saw Prince Xin.

It's as if they didn't see it!

They were so hungry they had no strength left.

"Your Highness,"

Zhang Dayuan, the prefect of Dongning, hesitated for a moment before saying, "The only option for us now is to temporarily evacuate Dongning City."

Several large ships remained in the harbor, temporarily evacuating before the sea froze solid.

"We'll come back next spring after the bandits have retreated from the grasslands."

"Um?"

Hearing Zhang Dayuan's words, Li Xin frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "Withdraw from Dongning City?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Prefect Zhang Dayuan of Dongning clasped his hands and said, "This is also the usual practice in Dongning City in previous years."

I've heard that the Zhao and Qian families in the city are packing up their belongings.

Presumably, they will be evacuating Dongning City in the next couple of days!

Your Highness, the grassland bandits are coming with great force; perhaps we should avoid a direct confrontation…

"Stop your bastard!"

Li Xin immediately started cursing and said, "Yes, we have boats to evacuate!"

If we leave, what will happen to the people in the city?

Look at the vagrants and commoners on the street, they are all my subjects!

Do you expect me to abandon these people and leave them to their fate?

"I cannot do it!"

Prince Xin Li Xin's words drew the attention of the vagrants on the streets and alleys, who all glanced at Li Xin a few more times.

However, it was only for a few more glances.

These refugees knew that it was normal for high-ranking officials and nobles to flee this place when they encountered difficulties.

And they aren't even human!

"Your Highness, please keep your voice down!"

Prefect Chen Dayuan of Dongning looked around and said in a low voice, "At present, there is no other way!"

Besides, they're just a bunch of refugees...

There are more refugees than wild deer in Dong Ninh province.

"Without them, there will be other subjects next year..."

"Bullshit!"

Hearing such outrageous words, Li Xin's eyes widened in anger. He stared at Zhang Dayuan and questioned him sharply, "Zhang Dayuan, is this how you govern the region as the prefect of Dongning?"

As a government official, how could you disregard the lives and deaths of the people of a city? Are you even human?

Today, you don't care about these people.

What will happen tomorrow if there are no people left in my Dongning Province?

Are you suggesting I become a commander without any troops?

Let me tell you, what you did before is none of my business!

But now, this is my fiefdom, and I must take charge of it!

We must protect the safety of all the people in the city!

Li Xin's passionate words ultimately moved the surrounding refugees.

Some of the refugees looked at Li Xin with tears in their eyes, and knelt down one after another, calling out, "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Looking at these simple and honest people, Li Xin felt a warmth in his heart.

They are all living, breathing human beings. If someone shelters them from the wind and rain, they will risk their lives for that person!

These are the simple and kind-hearted people!

Oh, right!

Ordinary people are human beings too!

With so many refugees, if we can organize them to defend the city together, how can we not hold Dongning City?

Thinking of this, Prince Xin, Li Xin, stood on a high platform, looked at the people kneeling on the ground around him, their eyes filled with tears, and took a deep breath.

"Fellow villagers, people, rise up!"

Li Xin concentrated his energy and said loudly, "I am Li Xin, the Prince of Xin, the vassal king of Dongning!"

Dongning is not just my domain!

It is also the place where all the common people can live and make a living!

The land beneath our feet is the land of the people of Dongning!

The city we live in is also the city of Dongning people!

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