Chapter 137 [VIP]

"Never mind, you come too. The young master will definitely call you later anyway." Huai Jingzhi pulled Qin Chen and strode over.

"Hey, wait a minute."

Qin Chen's legs went numb from squatting, and he almost fell when he stood up. He stumbled and followed.

Xie Yingchen also heard their conversation and turned to look at him. The reflection of the bamboo enveloped him, carrying a faint bamboo fragrance.

He asked, "What happened?"

Huai Jingzhi wouldn't bother him at this time unless it was something very important.

After exchanging greetings, Huai Jingzhi cupped his hands and reported, "I just received a military report that a group of refugees scattered from Qingzhou have fled to Yanzhou and have surrounded Yihe County."

Xie Yingchen lowered his eyebrows slightly.

Huai Jingzhi glanced at Gu Zhizhuo and said, "Those trapped in Yihe County include Xie Qiyun, the heir of the Prince of Jin, and his entourage, as well as members of the Wang family."

"The Wang family?"

Gu Zhizhuo's pupils contracted, and she blurted out, "My cousin and the others encountered refugees?" Her little finger curled slightly with tension, as taut as a string.

Xie Yingchen squeezed her palm to comfort her.

"Go on."

"The refugees are starving. The county magistrate was going to open the granaries and distribute grain, but the Prince of Jin's heir is returning from Xiliang and is temporarily resting in Yihe. He forbids the distribution of grain, saying that the refugees have abandoned their homes and wandered around, which is a mistake. If they can get grain here, wouldn't even more refugees come? If the refugees gather together and rebel, I ask the county magistrate if he can bear the punishment."

The magistrate hesitated.

"The refugees were starving and tried to rush into the county town to seize grain, but they were driven out by the Prince of Jin's men."

"Later, the refugees surrounded the county town. The Wang family was unlucky enough to be trapped inside."

"A good-for-nothing who's more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything." Gu Zhizhuo was furious. She said that Xie Qiyun, the heir of the Prince of Jin, was "just as annoying as the Prince of Jin."

Everyone knows that the primary approach to dealing with displaced people should be to appease them.

Moreover, the young master had already issued strict orders to all the prefectures and counties along the route the refugees would pass through, requiring local officials to provide porridge and food to the refugees from Qingzhou. He didn't want Xie Qiyun meddling in his affairs.

Now look what's happened, we've even dragged Cousin Xing and the others into this mess!

This is really bad luck.

An unexpected disaster.

Gu Zhizhuo grew angrier the more he thought about it, and said angrily, "Young Master, I'll go."

In official matters, she used polite language, saying, "Your order is for me to handle this task."

Xie Yingchen was slightly surprised and pondered for a moment.

He had originally planned to send the Imperial Guards on the mission, but since they weren't under his control and he didn't have the tiger tally to mobilize them, he was inevitably at a disadvantage. Whether the Imperial Guards would actually go as he intended was hard to say.

Gu Zhizhuo stared intently at him: "Please let me go. I'll take the Thousand Machine Battalion. I can handle it."

Huai Jingzhi opened his mouth, wanting to say that if things went wrong, the refugees might turn into bandits, and Miss Gu would be in danger. After thinking for a long time, he kept his mouth shut.

The young master knew these things better than he did.

But the young master did not immediately say "no"; he hesitated.

The next moment, Xie Yingchen nodded.

He had a million reasons in his heart to want her to stay by his side and not go anywhere else.

That way he can see her all the time.

However, his Yaoyao was by no means a girl who would be confined to the inner quarters; the sky above her was much wider and boundless.

We cannot let his worries and reluctance bind her hands and feet.

Logically speaking, Yaoyao is indeed the most suitable person to go on this mission.

She understood his feelings; she knew the proper measure when dealing with refugees.

He can let go completely.

Gu Zhizhuo's phoenix eyes were brimming with eagerness, and she said impatiently, "I'll go prepare right now..."

Just as he was about to run away, Xie Yingchen grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.

"How many refugees are there?" Xie Yingchen asked.

"There are over three thousand people, including men, women, and children," Huai Jingzhi said, recounting the information he had received. "They all came from Qingzhou. Among these refugees is a man named Zhang Zinan. His daughter is seriously ill and he is in a hurry to enter the city to find a doctor. Now that he is being blocked outside the city, he is getting desperate and is inciting other refugees to try to break down the gates."

There's no news about the others yet.

After Huai Jing finished speaking, he presented the military report.

After reading it, Xie Yingchen gave it to Gu Zhizhuo and said, "If this stalemate continues, I'm afraid it will escalate into bloodshed and a brawl."

“Yaoyao, the difference between a refugee and a bandit is often just a thought away, and the trigger often lies in whether or not someone has been killed or blood has been shed.”

If they are refugees, they should be comforted.

If they are bandits, they must be suppressed with iron fist and must not be allowed to grow stronger, otherwise innocent people will suffer.

Xie Yingchen pondered for a moment and said, "Take a thousand men with you."

"Three hundred people will be enough."

Xie Yingchen glared at her, and Gu Zhizhuo quickly said, "For a thousand people, it would take a day or two just to prepare the supplies. The journey would be arduous and time-consuming, and it would also cause a lot of noise. With three hundred people, I can leave overnight and arrive tomorrow."

Gu Zhizhuo deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Young master, you have never led troops before, you don't understand."

"You understand?"

"certainly."

Gu Zhizhuo raised her chin triumphantly, took his arm and shook it: "Oh dear, a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. Trust me this time."

It was as if he had never believed her. Xie Yingchen was almost at his wit's end from being pestered, so he compromised and said, "Bring Qin Chen and Chong Jiu with you."

ah?

"What do you mean 'ah'? You're not allowed to go if you don't bring her." Xie Yingchen sternly retorted.

Gu Zhizhuo slumped his shoulders: "Okay."

Xie Yingchen took her hand with his warm palm, placed a black token in her palm, and then pinched her five fingers.

“The closest guards to Yihe County are Longchuan Guard and Nanyang Guard. If needed, you can use your token to call in troops from these guard posts.”

"Okay, okay." Gu Zhizhuo readily agreed.

so……

Can we go now? Gu Zhizhuo's eyes were practically screaming these words. Xie Yingchen was both amused and exasperated: "Wait for Chongjiu to come."

He sent someone to summon Chongjiu.

"Leave tonight?" The capital is not far from Yihe County. If we travel overnight, we can arrive before dusk tomorrow.

"Uh-huh."

Seeing her eagerness, Xie Yingchen felt even more reluctant to let her go: "Take a rest and go tomorrow."

Gu Zhizhu tilted his head, looking at him with eyes as bright as stars, and smiled, "If it were someone else, would you suggest setting off tonight, or resting for one night before going?"

The refugees in Yihe County are now like taut pipa strings; if they are not careful, they will snap and draw blood immediately.

It's definitely better to get there as early as possible.

Gu Zhizhuo stood on tiptoe and pinched his cheek: "Concern makes you lose your composure."

Xie Yingchen's fingertips traced her brow with tenderness. After lowering his hand, he commanded, "Let's set off tonight."

"yes!"

After accepting the order with a military salute and clasped hands, Gu Zhizhuo said with a grin, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you come back safe and sound."

"Young Master, I'll go make preparations first. When Chongjiu arrives, I'll have him go directly to the military camp."

She took off running, but after a few steps she suddenly stopped and turned back, saying, "Oh, right, young master, there's one more thing..."

Gu Zhizhuo recounted Xizi's situation: "You should urge the Jingzhao Prefecture. If someone truly believes in this kind of evil magic and harbors thoughts of changing their luck, I fear that besides Xizi, other children might also encounter misfortune."

She trusted Xie Yingchen the most. After giving him all the instructions, she left quickly, not forgetting to tell Qingmei, "Go tell your third uncle and cousin Danling. Also, go to Baijitang again and tell the manager that if I don't return in seven days, have Su Zhan examine Xizi and prescribe medicine. Then, go directly to the military camp to find me."

Gradually fading into the distance.

Xie Yingchen only looked away when her figure disappeared beyond the bamboo forest. He said, "Jingzhi, I remember that Blackwater Fortress in Yongzhou was massacred in the twentieth year of Taiyuan, and the entire city died."

At the time, in order to offer enough bargaining chips in his deal with Shen Xu, Xie Yingchen spent a lot of effort investigating his background, even going through the county annals of Yongzhou.

Huai Jingzhi helped Xie Yingchen organize the documents, and later, he also carefully collected all the county gazetteers that had been used, categorizing them neatly.

When Xie Yingchen asked, he immediately had an answer: "Yes, it was in Blackwater Fortress."

A band of bandits occupied Blackwater Fort for over a year. Later, the city was massacred, and no one survived.

Bandits often committed murder, robbery, and massacres in Yongzhou, but this was the only time they had ever massacred an entire city. Xie Yingchen remembered this incident after seeing it.

However, this happened a year after the Yin family was wiped out.

"I remember the county annals saying that the walls of the houses and the streets of the entire Blackwater Fortress were covered with strange patterns drawn in blood," Xie Yingchen pondered.

“Indeed, there is.” Huai Jingzhi asked, “Young Master, do you think Blackwater Fortress is related to this matter?”

"At that time, I was studying with my grandfather, learning to listen to government affairs in his study. The Grand Preceptor was still alive. He said something that I still remember to this day."

Looking back, Xie Yingchen was only about eleven or twelve years old.

Emperor Taizu was aided by a virtuous and enlightened master, who helped him establish the Great Qi dynasty. After ascending the throne, he appointed a Grand Preceptor for the Great Qi dynasty, whose status was even higher than that of a first-rank official.

During the reign of the late emperor, the Grand Preceptor of the Great Qi Dynasty was named Yuncheng Zhenren.

He was also in the imperial study. Upon hearing the news, he wasn't concerned about whether the bandits had been caught, but rather asked what the patterns painted throughout the city looked like. He appeared quite tense.

Unfortunately, it wasn't mentioned in the military reports at the time.

Xie Yingchen: "The Imperial Advisor said that this may be someone trying to steal my luck."

"Borrowing transport?" Huai Jingzhi was astonished.

Few things could make him turn pale. Huai Jingzhi opened his mouth wide and asked incredulously, "Young master, is there really such a thing as borrowing luck in this world?"

Huai Jingzhi hadn't taken it seriously before. In his early years, he had traveled all over Daqi and heard countless rumors from the countryside. He simply assumed that someone had heard about the possibility of "borrowing luck" and had a momentary wicked thought. After all, even the Lady of Jing'an believed that one could have a grandson by taking her granddaughter's heart's blood with a needle.

But if even the Imperial Advisor says so, does that mean that it is indeed possible to borrow luck in this world?

Borrowing fortune by risking the lives of an entire city?!

It must have taken a lot of luck to borrow that.

Just thinking about it made Huai Jingzhi feel a chill creep up from his tailbone, making him shiver even in the sweltering heat.

Xie Yingchen nodded and said, "The Imperial Advisor said that by using the blood of a city as a catalyst and borrowing its fortune, one can defy fate and change destiny."

Later, the Imperial Advisor planned to visit Blackwater Fortress in person, but before he could set off, he suddenly fell seriously ill and soon passed away.

After Yuncheng Zhenren's death, the position of Grand Preceptor of the Great Qi Dynasty became vacant.

Xie Yingchen once did not believe in the idea of ​​borrowing luck. He even arrogantly thought that the bloodstains all over the city were just bandits showing off.

However, two years later, the father, who had held the position of Crown Prince for twenty years, was suddenly deposed, and his parents committed suicide.

Overnight, the Crown Prince's palace plummeted from its zenith into the mire.

The world has been turned upside down.

Xie Yingchen sighed inwardly and thought to himself, "Jingzhi, go and find all the county records of Blackwater Fort. I'll take a look."

Huai Jingzhi bowed in agreement and went down to find the county annals, brushing past Chongjiu who was hurrying over. Xie Yingchen instructed Chongjiu to take the official documents directly to the Qianji Camp outside the city.

Thinking of Gu Zhizhuo, Xie Yingchen's expression softened even more. He chuckled inwardly; this girl had even forgotten about official documents, she must be used to sneaking off without the emperor's knowledge.

Xie Yingchen was right; Gu Zhizhuo had indeed forgotten that she needed to bring the official documents. After Chongjiu delivered them, she looked at them with delight before carefully putting them into her sleeve pocket.

This time, she had a legitimate reason to act.

There's no need to be as timid and hesitant as when we went to Xiliang last time.

Gu Zhizhuo selected three hundred cavalrymen from the Thousand Machine Camp, along with Qi Fu and Qin Chen, and left Jiang Zizhou to guard the house. By the time they had prepared the rations and other provisions, it was almost completely dark.

Gu Zhizhuo left the camp overnight.

Yihe County is located at the border of Yanzhou and Yizhou, and is actually only two or three days' journey from the capital.

She estimated that if all went well, she could bring her cousin and the others back in three to five days.

The horse galloped through the night, running for a day and a night, and finally made it out of Yizhou before dusk, setting foot on the land of Yanzhou.

Further ahead lies Yihe County. Gu Zhizhuo ordered them to rest for a while on the riverbank and sent Qin Chen to scout ahead.

They left in a hurry, and the dry food they brought was flatbread, which was hard and chewy. Gu Zhizhuo took a long time to eat even a small piece, and he choked and had to drink water.

Qin Chen came and went in a hurry. Gu Zhizhuo tossed him a water bottle, which Qin Chen drank in one gulp. He then reported, "Miss, it seems there's an outbreak of plague."

What.

Gu Zhizhuo was still trying to bite into the pancake, and just as she was about to swallow a small bite, she almost choked when she heard this.

She coughed a few times and waved her hand, signaling him to continue.

“There are about two to three thousand refugees outside the city, including men, women, and children. They are blocking the gate of the county town and not allowing anyone to come out unless they are allowed to enter the town and receive grain. About 10% of the refugees are children aged three to ten.”

Cough cough. Finally coughed it up. Gu Zhizhuo said, "There were two or three hundred children?"

So it seems that almost every household has at least one child.

Qin Chen affirmed, "Most of these children are probably sick."

He sat down on the ground and drew a diagram on the ground with a twig.

From where they were on the riverbank, they needed to cross a small earthen slope to reach Yihe County below. Qin Chen was standing on the hillside looking down, and the distance was less than a mile.

“Young lady, do you know that there are at least several hundred children among the refugees? But I’ve been standing here for a long time and haven’t heard a single sound of noise, not even laughter or crying. That’s absolutely impossible!”

Gu Zhizhuo looked bewildered: "Is that impossible?"

Qin Chen thought about it and realized that the Gu family had few children, so she probably had never been with so many children at the same time.

He said, “Young lady, you know that my father has a lot of illegitimate sons and daughters. Since I can remember, the Jing’an Marquis’s mansion has been full of children’s screams and cries. There are five children my age and eight or nine younger than me.”

He seemed to have thought of something, scratched his head in frustration, and said, "In short, if there are a lot of children together, it's impossible not to make any noise."

Qi Fu also deeply agreed.

Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "In other words, all the children are sick. Or rather, more than half of the children are sick."

"That's my guess."

If so many children get sick at the same time, it is most likely an epidemic.

The epidemic can infect not only children, but also adults. It's just that children may show symptoms first, while adults are still enduring the illness.

“After a major disaster comes a major epidemic, which is beyond human control,” Gu Zhizhuo sighed. After the earthquake, the young master recruited a group of doctors and imperial physicians to go to Qingzhou to prevent a major epidemic.

It's unavoidable.

“If it’s an epidemic, then we can’t let them into the city.”

"I'll go there."

Gu Zhizhuo put the last bite of the pancake in his mouth, chewed it thoroughly, swallowed it forcefully, and then patted the crumbs off his hands, saying, "Qin Chen, Chong Jiu, Qing Mei, you come with me. Qi Fu, you and the others stay here for now."

When a general is in the field, military orders supersede everything else.

Gu Zhizhuo's words are now military orders.

A note from the author: