Prince Jin hurriedly left the backyard and entered the study.
Before anyone sat down, someone came in from outside to report.
The attendant knelt down and said, "Your Highness, several people in Qingzhou City have developed fever. According to statistics from patrolling soldiers, many elderly people have died from this..."
The King of Jin clutched the white jade beads in his hand, his aura cold and gloomy. "Send someone to immediately register those patients. Seal the city gates immediately and don't allow anyone to enter or leave!"
"If anyone resists, they will be taken to the mines to do hard labor."
At this time, it was Qingzhou City.
"Oh my God, are you going to let us live? We finally survived the cold and famine, and now the plague is here!"
"Let's escape now while King Jin hasn't sealed the city. If we don't escape, we'll all die here!"
"But even if we escape, we won't be able to survive without food or water. Right now, only in Qingzhou, where His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is, can we earn money and food through labor. If we were to go somewhere else, we wouldn't have anything to eat!"
"We've survived until now. Starving to death is better than dying of illness. I don't believe it. There's no food in other cities. We can go to Youzhou. I heard that after the King of Jin punished the Youzhou prefect, they provide porridge every day!"
"As long as I'm alive, I don't believe I can't survive!"
Thanks to the management of King Jin, people in Qingzhou are now living better and better, and have long forgotten the hunger and cold during the famine.
Little did people know that Qingzhou was just an oasis built in the desert, and other places were still deserts.
Strong young men, as well as middle-aged and elderly men, carried heavy bags on their shoulders and headed towards the city gate.
Someone shouted, "Hurry up! I heard that the King of Jin has ordered the city gates to be sealed today. If we don't leave now, no one will be able to leave."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone ran towards the city gate.
"Son, you can't leave. What will happen to your parents if you leave?" An elderly woman with gray hair pulled a young man and begged bitterly.
"Go away, am I going to stay here and die?" The man pushed the old woman away impatiently.
The old woman stumbled and fell to the ground. "How can you ignore your parents? You are their only son. What should we do if you don't care about us? If all else fails, take your father with you. We'll have to have more people in our family."
"No, you two old fools are slow and you'll need two more people's worth of rations along the way. It's such a hassle! You might as well stay in Qingzhou City."
"Get out of here now and don't delay me from leaving the city. If I get trapped in the city, I'll beat you to death, you old bastard." The man said fiercely.
As he said this, he tightened the big bag in his hand, turned around and walked towards the city gate.
The old woman prostrated herself on the ground, howling loudly, "You ungrateful bastard! You only care about your own survival and don't care about your parents' lives. Damn it! I raised you in vain, you heartless thing!"
"You bastard, you took all the food in the house. How are you and your father going to survive? We even sold several of your sisters to feed you. Who knew you were such a heartless person?"
Such scenes are not uncommon in the city.
"The child is sick, and you run away, leaving us orphans and widows. How are we supposed to survive?"
A woman was carrying a child of four or five years old on her back and grabbed her husband's hand to prevent him from leaving.
In return, her husband cursed at her and slapped her in the face.
There were several children standing behind the woman, and she was carrying a child in her arms. Her elderly parents were beside her, saying, "Master, please come back. If you leave, what will happen to me, the children, and my parents?"
The man cruelly walked away, leaving the skinny child choking and screaming.
"Dad, then don't leave..."
In another family, a man resolutely went out with his luggage on his back. The woman behind him came out holding her seven-year-old son who had a high fever. She knelt on the ground and pulled the man's hand, begging him not to abandon her and her son.
The man shook her hand off with disgust and quickly tightened the veil covering his mouth and nose.
"I told you to leave the child behind, but you insisted on staying. This is not my fault!"
The man kicked the woman, and she let go of him in pain. "Take this unlucky child away quickly, and don't pass it on to anyone else. If you want to die, go ahead and die, don't drag me down with you."
The child beside him had a high fever and looked at his father who was about to leave in silence.
The man glared at him out of guilt or resentment, saying coldly, "What are you looking at? If it weren't for you, how could our family be in this state? It's all because of you!"
"Don't blame me for being cruel. I've raised you for so many years in vain, and I've done my best to be fair to you."
"Get out of here! If you keep pulling and tugging, I'll beat you up." The man shook off her hand, picked up his bag and strode out.
On the other side, a man was grabbing a woman and holding her luggage, preventing her from returning to the house. "This is a plague. Once infected, there's no cure. The child will be ruined. Is it worth it for a child like this? Run away!"
"But if we just abandon the child like this, how will the child survive?" The woman was reluctant and tears were streaming down her face, unwilling to leave.
"Anyway, this disease can't be cured. We're going to die anyway. The city gate will be closed soon. We can still survive, otherwise no one will survive. If you want to blame someone, blame the child for his bad luck!" The man dragged the woman towards the city gate, ignoring her struggle.
The child in the house woke up and cried for his parents.
The three-year-old boy, his face flushed red, walked out the door wearing a pair of worn cotton shoes, only to find the house empty. "Wow... Mom and Dad, where are you?"
"Yang'er is scared... Mother, where are you?" He stumbled out of the yard, his chubby little face trembling, and his long eyelashes were still covered with water droplets, but no one in the house paid any attention to him.
"Damn this world! You people are so heartless! You abandon your wives and children, abandon your parents, and only care about your own life and death. Just wait, you heartless people will get your retribution sooner or later." The old lady looked at the groups of people leaving and cursed loudly.
At the gate of Qingzhou City, countless men rushed out.
Not long after, someone shouted, "Oh no! The soldiers sent by the King of Jin are coming! Everyone, hurry up and leave! It will be too late if we don't leave now."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone ran frantically towards the city gate. Some people ran so hard that their shoes and socks fell off, and even the bags in their hands disappeared, but they still did not forget to rush out.
The soldiers quickly lined up and came over, stopping everyone who was about to leave.
"General, let us out, or we will die!" The people in the city cried out in pain, while the people outside the city secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, General, please be kind and let us out of the city."
"No, the prince has ordered that the city gates be closed immediately and no one is allowed to leave the city!" The chief guard shouted.
"What's that? We're not even sick yet. If we stay with a bunch of sick people, we're bound to get sick sooner or later."
"Your Highness, are you planning to bury us along with the city of Qingzhou?" All the men who wanted to leave gathered at the city gate and tried to resist the soldiers.
"Let us out!"
"Yes, let us out. Since the prince wants to die, why should he let us die with him?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
