Chapter 96

Despite the massive Turkic army's advance, they were unable to breach the fortress immediately. They bypassed the Jinshan Mountains and launched a surprise attack from the northeast. A large-scale massacre occurred in the villages of Luoyun Town, killing and injuring nearly 700 innocent villagers. The Luntai reinforcements ultimately failed to reach the Libei Town fortress in time, and the Turkic forces encountered in Luoyun Town engaged in a surprise attack.

At the same time, a wave of Turkic soldiers bypassed the Tianshan Mountains and rushed into Suiye Town.

Upon receiving news of his third son's death, the Turkic king marched his troops south, dividing them into three groups. From Libei Town in the northwest, Suiye Town in the west, and Luoyun Town in the northeast, they launched a siege against Dayan. By now, the entire Beiting Protectorate, with the exception of the eastern cities of Luntai and Tingzhou, was unaffected by the fighting. The people were fleeing, and panic was raging.

The situation in the entire northwest was chaotic, wars broke out frequently, and military preparations were tense everywhere.

Zhou Jingchen, stationed in the fortress, fought bloody battles for nearly half a month, holding off the first wave of Turkic troops outside Libei Town. However, Luoyun Town and Suiye Town fared less well, especially Suiye. Due to its remote location, thousands of miles from Luntai, support from above was slow to arrive. The original Suiye commander, Ye Qingshan, had been transferred, and the remaining commander was not even half as capable. He was simply unable to withstand the Turkic forces.

Countless casualties were reported in Suiye Town, where the Turks burned, murdered, and looted, plundering the area and plundering. Those civilians who failed to escape were slaughtered. Despite a desperate resistance from the garrison, the 3,000 soldiers were killed and over a thousand captured.

Suiye Town and Dongxiang Town weren't particularly close, but if Suiye Town and Luoyun Town to the east were to encounter trouble together, Dongxiang Town would be vulnerable from both sides. Especially since Bazatu, the garrison commander of Dongxiang Town, had been withdrawn, the people of Dongxiang Town were in a state of panic.

The prices of rice, grain, and oil have skyrocketed, tripling in value. Even so, the grain stores are still being sold out. Every day, Yu Shi listens to the noise outside, clutching her chest and thanking herself: "Thank goodness Jia Niang had the foresight to stockpile enough food beforehand. Otherwise, if the war drags on like this, we'll probably have to flee."

Xishi's shop has been closed for a while now. The main reason is that with the chaos in the country, fewer people are setting up shop. Even if Xishi wanted to open the shop, there wouldn't be enough meat to sell. Many of the timid people in town have closed their shops and fled to the countryside for refuge.

However, as long as they stay within the territory of Beiting, they will not be absolutely safe no matter where they hide.

Ye Jia was thankful for the convenient location of Dongxiang Town, as it wouldn't be the first to be affected if something happened. While some shops had closed, most of those still operated. This was largely due to the frequent wars in the northwest in recent years, and merchants had long since grown accustomed to the turmoil and were eager to capitalize on the opportunity. The fabric Ye Jia had ordered Old Man Sun to purchase had arrived, and he had found a way to properly distribute it and find people to make the garments.

I just said that Tongsheng Ye might interfere, but before Tongsheng Ye could say anything, Ye Sushi spoke first.

When Ye Su heard that Ye Jia had given away his fine cotton and had the women in the countryside make clothes from it, she felt he was incompetent. She considered herself Ye Jia's biological mother, someone who had eaten more salt than Ye Jia had eaten rice. She angrily pointed at Ye Jia and accused him of not knowing how to live: "Why are you making clothes for such good things instead of selling them? Who has the spare money to buy clothes from a shop these days?"

Ye Su said, putting herself in their shoes, "Besides, what good crafts can a country woman have? They're ruining your good things. Not to mention whether you can make decent clothes to sell, aren't you afraid that these old women will secretly deprive you of your precious white folds?"

Ye Jia was initially upset, but the last sentence moved him.

Indeed, if you send the finest cotton and fabric to a country woman, you can't tell how much cotton is actually in the clothes she collects. In difficult times, people are naturally greedy for that little bit of stuff. If you really withhold the cotton and stuff it with scraps of other fabric, unless you cut open each piece of clothing and check it, it's impossible to detect if there's too much stuff.

"Why not hire someone to work in the workshop and ask Qiuyue to look after it?" Yu had also worked in the embroidery room. The embroiderer from Wangjiazhuang was a thief. Even when she worked in the embroidery room, she would secretly take some scraps of cloth back home.

Qiuyue was a fiery-tempered woman, not only sharp-tongued but also with a sharp eye. With her watching over her, no one could possibly get away with anything. Indeed, ever since Qiuyue took over the Xishi shop, the business and accounts had been kept in perfect order. Ye Jia pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's fine. It just so happens that the workshop has stopped making pancreas these days, so the warehouse is free."

The main reason was that pig pancreas was difficult to obtain. Ye Jia figured that after this battle was over, she could start raising pigs and sheep.

After all the calculations, there weren't many people like Qiuyue who were available. She had so many things to do all by herself. Ye Jia felt a little disappointed. She wished Zhou Jingchen could get her a few more people like Yuan Chunsheng.

Although Ye Su's nagging accusations had given Ye Jia a heads-up, Ye Jia, with his personality, still had no intention of keeping him. This was because they didn't yet know the Zhou family's wealth, nor did they know how many businesses Ye Jia had on his hands. Harvesting cotton alone had already attracted Ye Su's attention. If she knew about the other businesses, wouldn't she be subject to interference in everything?

These two were the original owner's biological parents, so even if Ye Jia had no feelings for them, he still had to consider his reputation. In ancient times, filial piety was paramount, and being labeled unfilial would have repercussions even if Ye Jia didn't care.

Ye Jia would not challenge the authority of parents in this era, nor did he want to be told what to do. He just wanted to send the person away as soon as possible.

Yu knew about this matter, as Ye Jia had mentioned it to Ye Tongsheng and his wife when they came.

When Ye Jia mentioned it, she understood. It wasn't difficult to get Yu to play the villain. She could give Ye Jia a few cold looks and say some pointed things in front of the old couple. Ye Tongsheng's old face was a little embarrassed. He was always the most concerned about his reputation, the kind of person who would disregard his daughter's life for the sake of his family's reputation. Yu Shi's impolite words a few times would poke the old man in the lungs.

He was so angry that he called Ye Jia aside and angrily asked Ye Jia to arrange for their family to move out.

Even if he felt humiliated, the old man, Ye Tongsheng, was too weak to confront Yu directly. Although he boasted that his son, a lieutenant, was an official, he felt a little insecure, having never met Ye Qingshan in person. Yu was, in fact, the wife of an official, and she exuded the aura of a princess who had lived for decades. She was quite intimidating, so how could he dare offend her?

"It must be done!" Ye Tongsheng didn't dare to say it in front of Yu, but he was not polite at all to Ye Jia, "I can't live in this house for even a day!"

Ye Jia pretended to be embarrassed and glanced at Ye Sushi. Ye Sushi was not as sensitive as Ye Tongsheng. Yu Shi's words were very elegant, and Ye Sushi didn't really understand them. But she always regarded her husband as her most important thing, so she took Ye Tongsheng's words as her own.

"Dad and Mom really don't plan to stay a few more days?"

"Why are you staying here? You're so angry!" Ye Tong was very stiff and angry, staring at Ye Jia as if Ye Jia had provoked them.

Ye Jia's face showed reluctance. He thought for a long time before speaking, "There's nothing good to stay here in Dongxiang Town. But my eldest brother has a mansion in Luntai. I haven't been there myself, but I heard from my eldest brother that his mansion is very large and can accommodate quite a few people. The situation in Beiting is so chaotic now. I'm worried about you, Mom and Dad, wherever you go. If you don't mind the travel, why not go to Luntai to avoid the disaster?"

When this was mentioned, Maggie Cheung frowned.

Ye Su, who was standing by, also straightened her back unconsciously, with pride written all over her face.

"...your eldest brother is so busy, can we go there?" To be honest, Ye Tongsheng wanted to go. Ever since he heard that Ye Qingshan had climbed to the rank of captain, he had been full of hope of becoming an official. If his ancestral home wasn't in Yejia Village and the journey wasn't long, he would have moved there with his family long ago.

"Why not?" Ye Jia blinked. "Big brother is alone in Luntai, without parents to take care of him. He might have been waiting for you to come over."

After hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Ye Tongsheng smiled.

Ye Tongsheng touched the gray hair at his temples and carefully smoothed it, agreeing with a cheerful heart. "Isn't it? All my children are filial, and my eldest son is both filial and promising. If they were to go and take care of him, wouldn't Qingshan have been looking forward to it?" Although Ye Sushi didn't say anything, her expression of pleasure was evident.

Ye Jia glanced at the old couple's faces and spoke carefully: "If Dad and Mom want to leave, I'm afraid they have to make a decision as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the Turkic soldiers from Libei Town attack, it will be too late to leave..."

The two men's expressions changed after hearing these words. They had just escaped from that side and knew the situation better than Ye Jia.

Maggie Cheung immediately made the decision: Let’s go! Let’s go as soon as possible!

Once the decision is made, there will be no further delay. Ye Tongsheng was unwilling to wait even a moment to find his eldest son to live the life of an official. Thinking of Yu's style, he secretly vowed to live an even more glorious life than Yu in the future!

"Come on, let's go back to the house and pack up today. Don't delay any longer." Ye Tongsheng felt uncomfortable as soon as he moved into the Shen Mansion. He didn't even feel confident when he spoke because it wasn't his own home. "It's too late. If something happens, you'll regret it. Jia Niang, go arrange guards and carriages. We can't walk all the way to Luntai without someone to protect us."

"Of course." Mentioning Ye Qingshan and the officials in Luntai was more effective than anything else. "Don't worry, Dad and Mom, I will definitely arrange everything for you."

Ye Qingjiang was unhappy to be leaving after only living there for half a month. In his opinion, it would be better to stay at his sister's house than to have to obey his elder brother. Firstly, his brother-in-law was away, and as a younger sister, Ye Jia couldn't tell her brother what to do. Secondly, he was weak and couldn't endure hardship. It wasn't worth the tiring journey. He had been controlled by his elder brother since he was a child, and even when he grew up, he still had a deep fear of Ye Qingshan. If he moved in under his elder brother's nose, he would probably be scolded by him every day.

Ye Qingjiang was unwilling to move, so naturally Ye Qingjiang's family revolved around him.

It had to be said that Ye Tongsheng was furious at the actions of Ye Qingjiang's family. He wasn't even dead yet, so how could Ye Laoer be the boss? If he wanted to leave, he had to leave! The old man didn't care whether he was at the Zhou residence or not, he just grabbed a stick from the kitchen and beat Ye Qingjiang up.

After two or three days of struggle, the family finally got on the carriage to Luntai.

Ye Jia had hired a dozen or so skilled escorts to escort them all the way. But before they left, Ye Su pulled Ye Jia aside, wiping tears from her red eyes for a moment before asking, "Your youngest brother is in Suiye Town, and we don't know whether he's dead or alive. I heard fighting has broken out in Suiye Town to the west, too. Jia Niang, could you please send a message to your son-in-law, asking him to go check on him?"

...This request cannot be said to be excessive, but it is also a bit unreasonable.

Ye Jia couldn't tell her that Zhou Jingchen was the commander-in-chief and couldn't leave easily. He just nodded and said, "I will find a way to find out about my younger brother and write to Luntai when the time comes. I will tell you and Dad not to worry."

Only then did Ye Su wipe her tears and return to the carriage.

After they left, Ye Jia and Zhang Changli harvested the rice from over fifty acres of land. For some reason, Ye Jia felt a sense of urgency that if he didn't harvest the rice, it would be wasted sooner or later.

Although the Wu family has not made any moves recently, wherever they are there they are a hidden danger that cannot be ignored, so she always has to be careful and cautious in her actions.

Time flew by, and it was October. After over a month of war, food prices had skyrocketed to levels so high that even the poorest could barely survive. Not only were the people from other villages who had fled to Dongxiang Town, but even within the villages under Dongxiang Town, many couldn't afford to eat. Ye Jia's workshop now employed no fewer than 300 people, some making clothing, some making scented soap, and some making pear blossom paste.

Most of them are refugees who work hard and dare not ask for too much wages, just to make a living.

In addition to employing refugees, Yejia also offered barter services, exchanging food at stable prices for their livestock.

During the famine… even though this famine was not a natural disaster but a man-made one, meat was still not as filling as grain. The rural families who raised pigs were reluctant to eat them, so they traded them for food with the Zhou family.

Ye Jia absorbed a lot of pigs, and made the pork into food, and all the pig pancreas into fragrant pancreas.

With the goods, Xishi's shop was opened. However, this shop was not limited to Dongxiang Town. Ye Jia also opened this shop in Luntai and even Yongzhou.

It's actually not difficult to make a delicious food shop. There are special marinade recipes that even someone like Yu can learn. Opening a shop is also simple. All you need to do is find a trustworthy owner and a chef with good knife skills, and you can make a successful business.

After the grain was harvested, many people at the bottom of the valley were left idle, except for some who continued to plant a second crop with Mr. Zhang Changli. Ye Jia sent them out as laborers. The reason Zhou Jingchen had kept these people was naturally because they were all talented. Literacy and accounting were basic skills; for some, being a shopkeeper was a waste of their talent.

Ye Jia later learned this from Zhou Jingchen, who mentioned it in a letter to him. This man never spent any energy keeping useless people, and among the fifty or so people he had secretly brought out from the West Field, there wasn't a single incompetent one.

Since he spoke so boldly, Ye Jia felt bold enough to hire him.

Ye Jia didn't have to personally inspect each of the shops he later set up. Zhou Jingchen, holding the indentures in his hands, dispatched these individuals to complete their tasks with impeccable precision. A food shop was a simple matter; procurement and purchasing channels were all securely secured. As the demand for meat increased, Xishi opened a dozen more shops, two in Luntai, two in Yongzhou, and several more in the Anxi Protectorate.

Due to limited availability of medicinal materials, Qingxuexuan couldn't supply pear blossom paste in large quantities, so they only had two branches. There was no need to change their marketing model; they could simply spread the same pitch in a different way in the local area, and it would have another miraculous effect.

It had to be said that once the shop was up and running well, money flowed in like water. Before Ye Jia could even lament the drain on his family's savings, he had already earned back nearly all the money he had spent.

Looking at the money box, which had not only not emptied but had actually quadrupled in value, Ye Jia couldn't help but sigh in emotion. Across the Jiayu Pass, the lives of the common people were a world apart. While the war in the northwest had displaced people, most people were starving, the people inside the pass continued to live in peace and prosperity, carefree and carefree. Furthermore, the people inside the pass were truly wealthy.

Regardless of whether he had money or not, as long as he had income, Ye Jia never stopped asking Yuan Chunsheng to purchase grain.

…

This war had indeed lasted a long time, erupting in early August and raging until early October, with no clear outcome. More and more people were now flocking to Dongxiang Town daily. Most had fled from Suiye Town, where support from Luntai had been slow to arrive, leaving the people unable to make ends meet and forced to flee. The gatherings in the relatively peaceful Dongxiang Town had become a common sight on the streets.

The weather is not very cold yet. Once the temperature drops sharply and heavy snow falls, these people will freeze to death.

Although Suiye Town is not under the jurisdiction of Kashgar, we cannot ignore the people who have flocked here.

Guo Huai urgently ordered the construction of numerous shelters and requested funding from the imperial court. However, the journey was long and arduous. It would take at least three months, and at best a year, for news from Beiting to reach the Yan Emperor's imperial study after undergoing numerous rounds of screening. If there were any instances of foul play, it was highly likely that no information would even reach the imperial study. The situation in Kashgar couldn't wait that long, so Guo Huai had no choice but to seek an audience with Suletu.

However, Suletu was too busy with official duties to see him. Guo Huai had no other choice but to spread the word and borrow grain from a local wealthy merchant in the name of the county magistrate.

Guo Huai was known for his flamboyant ways, and this trip was done with great fanfare. However, the local wealthy merchants, deeply resentful of Guo Huai due to a previous government decree, naturally played dumb and said nothing.

Not to mention the people who cursed the local wealthy merchants for their greed and wept tears of gratitude for Guo Huai's fruitless efforts. It was at this time that Ye Jia stepped forward. Under the guise of the captain's wife, she teamed up with the government officials to open soup kitchens in the town and village.

Two meals a day, porridge in the morning and evening.

It must be said that those ten or so acres of sweet potatoes played a significant role. Perhaps due to the good soil, these ten or so acres of land unexpectedly yielded several thousand kilograms. Pulling out a vine would reveal dozens of large sweet potatoes hanging from it, and one large sweet potato, chopped up, could make a whole pot of porridge. Add to that the corn, and it could feed quite a few people. Of course, Ye Jia wasn't entirely selfless in doing this; doing good deeds without leaving a name wasn't one of Ye Jia's principles.

Ye Jia did not open the porridge stall without any preparation. He ordered people to find a storyteller to tell the story of the Zhou family's poverty and hard work. He made it known to everyone how many difficulties the Zhou family had gone through to get to where they are today.

Against the backdrop of suffering, the Zhou family, which had only just begun to recover, exchanged all its savings for food to aid the people... In this way, Ye Jia's actions appear to be a noble character and a love for the people. Of course, some of the words are indeed exaggerated after being embellished, but the Zhou family is not a wealthy family with a deep foundation. It is also true that they rose from humble beginnings. Ye Jia's statement is not a lie.

After all, doing good deeds and gaining public support and prestige do not conflict with each other nowadays.

Not to mention how much fame and admiration Ye Jia had gained from this operation, the fact that the Turkic troops hadn't advanced was the result of Zhou Jingchen's careful assessment of the situation and meticulous planning.

The reinforcements sent by Luntai were delayed, and the situation was getting worse. Zhou Jingchen had no choice but to divide his men into two groups.

A group of soldiers defended Libei Town and routed the main force of the Turkic army. Using offense as defense, they actively pursued the enemy, forcing the Turkic forces to mobilize reinforcements from all directions. This slowed their concentrated firepower from the west. They also employed guerrilla warfare, cooperating with the local population, to harass the enemy. However, the Turkic soldiers were extremely powerful, and the disparity in numbers made resistance extremely difficult.

To ensure safety, Zhou Jingchen, using Yang Chenglie's personal seal, dispatched a cavalry unit from his garrison and, along with Sun Yushan, headed for Suiye. Sun Yushan served as commander-in-chief, while Chen Shiqing spearheaded the surprise attack. After over a month of bloody fighting, they finally forced the Turks to run out of ammunition and food.

With Zhou Jingchen in charge of Libei Town, he managed to defend it with the help of 30,000 troops and the local people.

By making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, they waited for the enemy to tire. After three months, with fewer than 3,000 casualties, they drove the Turkic forces deep into the grasslands. The Cheng family's escorts and Ajiu's men contributed significantly to this effort. These rough and tumble men were illiterate, yet their fighting prowess was immense. Each one was a skilled fighter, capable of fighting ten, if not one against a hundred. Together with Zhou Jingchen, they defended the Libei Town fortress.

When everything was over, the northwest, west and northeast regions finally breathed a sigh of relief, and support from Luntai finally arrived with 30,000 troops.

The person who came was Suletu's deputy general Hu Yong. He arrived at the Libei Town fortress in mid-November.

Heavy snow has fallen and the temperature has plummeted.

The first thing Hu Yong did when he arrived at the commander-in-chief's tent was to reprimand Zhou Jingchen for seizing the commander-in-chief's power without authorization, not listening to orders, not knowing the hierarchy, and acting recklessly. He then took credit for the victory without any concealment, claiming that he was the commander-in-chief of this battle.

Not to mention the public outrage this incident sparked, Bazatu's explosive temper led him to charge into Hu Yong's tent with his sword drawn, nearly slashing him to death on the spot. Had Zhou Jingchen not intervened, Hu Yong and his men would have been slaughtered in Libei Town by the border guards, who were now furious. Zhou Jingchen himself, however, showed no resentment towards Hu Yong's actions.

Not only did he not show anger, he admitted his mistake and said he had no complaints about anything.

Hu Yong probably felt guilty, as he'd taken so long to arrive, a sign of negligence. If this matter got brought to the attention of the Grand Protector, he'd be in big trouble. This time, he was simply taking the initiative, trying to intimidate the young man, warning him not to get carried away by his one or two victories and get into trouble. Seeing Zhou Jingchen's tact, he thought he had him under control. He offered him a share of the spoils, in recognition of his tenacity in resisting the Turkic invaders.

Zhou Jingchen naturally expressed his gratitude, his attitude humble and receptive, his docility flawless. Furthermore, his appearance was naturally gentle, like jade, and when he didn't deliberately show it, he seemed to have no edge, more like a young man from a noble family who didn't know the consequences.

Hu Yong had a flaw he couldn't change: he was headstrong and self-righteous, and he judged people by appearances. As soon as he saw Zhou Jingchen's handsome face and young age, he secretly thought he was a pretty boy who could be easily fooled. Seeing Zhou Jingchen's soft tricks, he even thought he didn't live up to his reputation.

Zhou Jingchen saw his contempt and invited Hu Yong and a group of his generals to have a drink in Lihua Lane, Dongxiang Town, in the name of welcoming them and cleaning the city.

That night, all these people were poisoned to death in the land of gentleness.