Chapter 60 Grain, Twenty-Second Time!
Chapter 60
Before entering the prison, Ye Xiren heard the night watchman's drum and knew it was already the sixth day of the third month, a night destined to be anything but peaceful.
Chi Zhanlan Ce is only relying on the fact that he can't be killed right now, isn't he?
Why can't we?!
Ye Xiren was determined to kill him, even if it was useless, it would at least quell her resentment, incite a peasant riot, and make him act recklessly. He deserved this torment!
Are they confident they won't dare kill him?
That's just wishful thinking. Who told her to cycle with Yan Danqing? Why not use the advantage she has? She should take advantage of the opportunity given by God and make sure the enemy's schemes fail.
Inside the prison, Chi Zhanlan Ce was dead, and Mo Le died on the spot after vomiting blood. Two of the three Northern Yan people were dead, and the remaining one could only cry and roar in despair.
Hearing the painful cries, Ye Xiren felt a sense of satisfaction. With a smile on her face, she stuck her head out, closed her eyes, and said, "Let's get started, let's restart."
Yan Danqing paused.
He wanted to say that since Chi Zhanlan Ce couldn't die, he shouldn't kill him and start over just for a moment of pleasure. The cycle might never end, and he shouldn't waste any opportunity...
He had so much to say, but when he touched Ye Xiren's jade-like face, all those words vanished. He thought of the anger and hatred he had felt just moments before, and the exhilarating feeling of Ye Xiren holding his hand and stabbing him repeatedly…
Ye Xiren shook her head and interrupted: "I don't feel any pain if you hit me. Hurry up. Chi Zhan Lan Ce is already dead. The refugees are rioting. Today is destined to be a tragic day. Even if you die, I still have to get through this day... I don't want to hear that old man Jiang You angrily muttering that we have harmed the Great Liang. Let's restart quickly."
She paused, then added:
"Are you still angry? If you are, let's restart and beat him up again. This time, we'll use every kind of torture imaginable to make him cry for his parents!"
As she spoke, Ye Xiren's eyes sparkled, she rubbed her hands together, and even seemed somewhat expectant.
or……
Should we open it again?
Yan Danqing's smile deepened upon seeing this, and he shook his head: "No need, we need to resolve this trouble as soon as possible."
More importantly, he was always uneasy. It had already been twenty-one cycles, and it was about to be the twenty-second. Could they really continue to cycle indefinitely?
Ye Xiren nodded.
Then, before she could even notice Yan Danqing's actions, everything went black. When she opened her eyes again, the two of them were on their way to the imperial prison.
Ye Xiren: "!!"
General Yan was incredibly quick; she was back in the blink of an eye, without even feeling a thing.
The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the third watchman's drumbeat sounds.
Ye Xiren was startled.
Yan Danqing immediately looked at her and nodded: "In the past, each cycle started at Yin time. Last time, the death occurred at Zi time, and it returned to the beginning of the sixth day of the third month."
It's not yet the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), so naturally they won't wake up at that time. This cyclical pattern isn't hard to figure out; however, they still haven't found a way out.
Ye Xiren scratched her head and asked again:
"So what do we do now?"
After the previous round of killing, both of them were able to calm down and face the current predicament. However, whenever she thought of Northern Yan, the refugees, and the food, she couldn't stop having a headache and had no idea what to do.
Yan Danqing slowly sorted out his thoughts and led her towards the city gate. In the distance, there were constant firelight and noise. Ye Xiren asked nervously, "Should we go take a look?"
Yan Danqing shook his head: "It's no use. Only food is useful now."
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of wheels came from behind her, especially noticeable in the quiet night. Ye Xiren looked up and saw that it was the Imperial Guards pushing wheelbarrows toward the city gate.
The trucks were piled high with bags of grain, and they lined up in a long queue. No other means were needed; this was the best way to reassure the people!
Ye Xiren let out a breath, her eyes filled with complex emotions, "Jiang You was actually able to move out the grain so quickly..."
She knew all too well how food was scarce in Nandu, yet Jiang You had already brought out grain in just one hour since leaving the Prime Minister's residence!
Not a moment wasted.
“Jiang You…” Yan Danqing paused, his voice soft, “He is the most suitable prime minister. He is right. If he had become prime minister a few years earlier, Daliang would not be in this state today.”
It's a pity, it's just a matter of timing and fate.
Jiang You walked briskly alongside the convoy, wearing the official robes of a prime minister, which were wrinkled and dirty from not having had time to change. His hair was gray, and he carried a tattered lantern he had somehow acquired, directing the procession forward. He looked even less like the prime minister of the current dynasty.
They walked to the city gate, and someone opened it.
Upon seeing the two, Jiang You paused slightly, wiped the sweat from his brow, and hurried towards them. He lowered his voice and spoke in a tone only the two of them could hear:
"There isn't enough food, so we have to set up soup kitchens and distribute soup."
He diverted grain from the Southern Capital and the Imperial Guards, but this meant that the Southern Capital's grain supply wouldn't last long, and he had to get new grain as soon as possible.
Jiang You had no choice but to focus on the immediate situation.
"Providing porridge is enough. The Imperial Guards are also outside the city. The refugees are all innocent people. As long as they see hope for survival, they won't do anything foolish again." Yan Danqing shook his head.
Once the grain is distributed, the refugees will be able to settle down temporarily. However, how long this stability will last depends on how long the grain can last. The best solution is to drive out the Northern Yan, take back the northern lands, and let the refugees return to their original homes to start spring farming... This is the long-term solution.
Jiang You nodded and asked, "Do you want to come along?"
Yan Danqing is skilled at gathering refugees; if we could take him along, it would surely be easier to appease them.
However, he shook his head and refused: "It's not appropriate for me to go. If I'm recognized, the riots will be hard to quell."
Jiang You was stunned for a moment before he suddenly remembered.
Although Yan Danqing has been exonerated, he has not yet had the chance to announce it to the world. Moreover, there were rumors that he had "massacred refugees" because of the military rations issue...
Jiang You felt ashamed and clenched his fists. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.
Yan Danqing reminded him, "Minister Jiang, go quickly."
Upon hearing this, Jiang You took a deep breath, turned around, and hurriedly led the grain convoy out of the city. The convoy quickly disappeared into the distance, heading towards the commotion and the firelight.
Ye Xiren watched Captain Liang walk away and suddenly said:
"Is reform feasible during the spring day?"
"I don't know." Yan Danqing shook his head, his voice drifting in the wind, "But the Great Liang has already fallen to such a state that only a complete change can bring it back to life."
The once mighty Liang was the most powerful nation on this land, with Northern Yan and Yunlai bowing down to it. But generation after generation, it has become corrupted.
Ye Xiren remained silent for a while.
In the past, she thought that the emperor and Jiang You were cowards who were only interested in peace talks. But even though she didn't understand politics very well, she knew the power of the word "reform"—it was about challenging the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues and changing the ancestral system.
Ye Changming once said that if the Great Liang wanted to achieve clean governance, it must undergo a major overhaul from the inside out, abolishing the deep-seated problems left by Emperor Xianzong and revising all the previously established rules and regulations...
He only mentioned it, but Ye Pei frowned and told him not to talk nonsense and not to make wild remarks outside, lest he cause trouble. This shows just how daring the path of "reform and restructuring" really is.
How could such a person be considered cowardly or afraid of death?
Yan Danqing followed her gaze and saw the bright moon hanging high, clearly illuminating the old man directing the troops and the orderly grain convoy. Under the control of the Emperor and Jiang You, even though the country was on the verge of collapse, the court and the Southern Capital remained orderly and everything seemed normal.
“Xixi, do you know? When I was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, confessing my crimes and undergoing water torture, I never dared to think deeply about the future of the Great Liang.”
His voice was a mixture of sorrow and joy: "Daliang is like a flower that has withered and rotted, beyond saving. Even if I return to Huai'an Canal, I can only hold off Beiyan for now, but what about the future? My battle with Chizhan Lance is a contest of the power of the great powers behind us. Beiyan is united, but what does Daliang have?"
He couldn't suppress the despair in his heart.
However, he could not back down. If he did, he would lose even the most temporary hope. He would live one day at a time and hold on to it. As for the future, he dared not think about it.
"The Northern Yan is eyeing us covetously, the refugees are rioting, and the Great Liang is desperately short of food. Although I still don't have a way to break the deadlock, I am no longer as desperate as before, because I know that I am not the only one who wants to save the Great Liang."
Yan Danqing took a deep breath, and his brows relaxed:
"As long as we can weather the current crisis, drive out the Northern Yan, and then cure the withered flower of Daliang from the root, if we can succeed, when spring comes, a new budding flower will grow on this land, continuing the future."
A temporary solution is not hope; the key to long-term sustainability lies in a strategy that ensures continued growth.
Ye Xiren's brows relaxed, but she quickly became somewhat deflated, muttering, "I originally considered Jiang You my enemy. He caused my whole family to be beheaded multiple times, but now... it seems like there's nothing I can do to him."
As if she had thought of something, she smiled again:
"Fortunately, I killed him more than once in the previous cycles, so it wasn't too much of a loss!"
She had killed all her enemies more than once. Thinking about it made her feel much better. If she was still unhappy, she would find an opportunity to kill them a few more times.
As if knowing what she was thinking, Yan Danqing couldn't help but smile. Then, recalling the scene of Ye Xiren killing Chi Zhanlan Ce, he tilted his head and asked her:
"If you still want revenge, I'll help you catch Jiang You when he comes back, and you can have him torn to pieces, whatever you want?"
"Let's forget about it for now." Ye Xiren quickly waved her hand. "Let's not argue with the old man for now. It's fine to annoy or scare him a little. If we really kill him, it will be a real problem."
Besides, things are already chaotic enough. How can we let something happen to the prime minister at this time? The refugees outside still need to be settled. The Great Liang has long been in complete disarray. It is Yan Danqing and the others who have been patching things up and barely keeping it afloat. If we kill our own people now, wouldn't that just make Chi Zhan Lan Ce gloat?
With Bei Yan by her side, she knew who her real enemy was.
Yan Danqing twitched the corner of his mouth.
Then he said softly, "I'll have Yan Shuang take you home. Don't think about anything, just get some sleep. I have to go out for a bit."
"What are you going to do?" Ye Xiren asked, puzzled. Wasn't he supposed to stay away from the refugees?
Yan Danqing lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "I can disguise myself and go there, but I need to see the refugees with my own eyes to feel at ease. I still don't know how Chizhan Lance was able to incite a riot among the refugees while imprisoned in the imperial prison..."
This is indeed very important. Ye Xiren's expression turned serious. She nodded and whispered, "Be careful. Chi Zhanlan Ce makes no attempt to hide his desire to kill you. Your life is of utmost importance."
Their lives were tied together; if one died, the other would not survive.
Yan Danqing couldn't help but reach out and pat her head before quickly disappearing from the spot. Yan Shuang silently emerged from the darkness and stood beside Ye Xiren.
She stood there for a while, then turned back:
"Yan Shuang, let's go."
Yan Shuang followed her, protecting her safety, and headed towards the Ye residence.
"Yan Shuang, the Great Liang is in such chaos, how is the Northern Yan?" Ye Xiren suddenly asked, "Do you know anything about the situation in the Northern Yan?"
Yan Shuang nodded: "It has been investigated. General Yan sent people to investigate immediately after he came out. There was neither natural disaster nor man-made disaster in Northern Yan. In March, when food was scarce, Northern Yan was also short of supplies, but Chi Zhanlan had already made arrangements. The supplies from the north were all taken to their army, and now everything in the Northern Yan army is normal."
Not only were they investigating, but the Emperor and Jiang You had also investigated and found nothing unusual. When General Yan ordered the killing of the Northern Yan people, he specifically sent Ma Shan to interrogate them, and there were no problems there either.
At least those Northern Yan people knew nothing. It can be said that the situation in Northern Yan matches what Chi Zhanlan Ce said.
Ye Xiren frowned.
That shouldn't be the case. Northern Yan is not facing natural disasters or man-made calamities, unlike the dire situation of Great Liang. Chi Zhan Lan Ce knew that Great Liang was short of food, so why didn't he keep Yan Danqing at the Huai'an Canal and instead enter Great Liang under the guise of peace talks?
This is a chance to risk your life and fight Yan Danqing to the death!
In his eyes, is General Yan really that important?
You should know that in the many cycles of the past, Chizhan Lance has died quite a few times. After Yan Danqing died for the first time, she still clearly remembered... the people of Northern Yan said that Chizhan Lance had also died.
Ye Xiren couldn't understand it.
Yan Shuang asked in confusion, "Is there a problem?"
After thinking for a moment, Ye Xiren nodded and instructed, "I think there must be something wrong with Northern Yan. Can you send someone to investigate again? It would be best if Yan's army went there in person. Don't miss any information."
Yan Shuang's expression hardened, and she nodded emphatically:
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
She had just escorted Ye Xiren back to the Ye residence when the lanterns hanging at the gate illuminated the entrance. However, the gate was closed and there was no sound from inside, indicating that the Ye family members were already asleep.
Ye Xiren was taken aback.
What's going on?
She hadn't even gone home yet, and her parents were already asleep?
It wasn't that she wanted to keep the Ye family from sleeping, but based on her understanding of them, she knew they wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until she returned; they would be worried and anxious. They should be waiting at the door for her to come back...
She stepped forward and knocked on the Ye family's door.
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Author's note: There are only a few more cycles left before it ends.
The plot of the previous chapter has been revised. Please go back and check it!
This chapter is from yesterday; see you tonight.
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