Chapter 160
Songhua Mansion, Camellia Village
In front of a small and dilapidated mud house, a family of seven was packing their luggage. The two adults and the two older children were busy, while the old lady was sitting on a wooden block nearby, watching over the two youngest children.
"Let's not use that jar anymore. It might get bumped and scratched along the way," said the man.
The woman hesitated. A broken house was worth a fortune. She wanted to pack everything and take it with her, so she wouldn't have to spend money buying things again in Yichun. But she had limited manpower. The man was right. If anything got bumped or damaged along the way, it would be a waste of effort. Besides, she and her husband had to carry all the luggage. She was lucky her mother-in-law could help look after the two younger children. The two older ones could take care of themselves, so she didn't dare to think about anything else.
Their family was so poor, with no permanent property, that they would have loved a beast of burden. A horse wasn't an option, but a cow or a donkey would have made the journey from Songhua Prefecture to Yichun much easier. Unfortunately, the couple toiled diligently from the beginning of the year to the end, barely enough to keep the family fed and clothed. There was no way they could have saved enough to buy a cow or a donkey.
Just as they were cleaning up, the neighbor came over.
"Aunt Yu, are you really leaving?"
The woman had no time to chat, so the old lady at home chatted with the neighbors, "Yes, I'm going to Yichun to seek refuge with my old sister."
"Do you really believe what your eldest sister said in the letter?"
Aunt Yu nodded. "Of course I did. Why would they lie to us?" With such a long distance between them, she considered it a good thing for her to exchange one or two letters with her elder sister throughout the year. This time, even though it wasn't a festival, her elder sister had written specifically. It certainly wasn't to tease her.
The busy man, after hearing his mother's words, also thought to himself, "Believe it, why not? They have nothing, what could anyone else gain from them?" Besides, they are all relatives, and they are telling them about Yichun's situation out of kindness, hoping that they can live a better life after moving. How can they make malicious assumptions about his aunt?
In her letter, their aunt told them that Yichun was doing well now, with many areas facing a labor shortage. Anyone willing to work and diligent would have no worries about starving in Yichun. Most importantly, her aunt revealed that Yichun Public School was now recruiting students from Yichun, and eligible children only needed to pay one-third of the tuition fees. Her aunt hoped that their entire family would move to Yichun, and if they decided to move, she would help them find a rental house and cover six months' rent. Once they were established in Yichun, they could then cover their own rent.
Ever since he received the letter from his aunt, the man couldn't sleep for whole nights.
He thought, let's go to Yichun! No matter how bad it is, it won't be worse than it is now. Working every year and paying the rent to the landlord is just barely enough to feed the family. He decided to fight. But what if it is true? What if what his aunt said is true? He and his wife worked hard in Yichun, took root, and sent their children to Yichun Public School. Just thinking about this picture made him drunk. So, he decided that he had to go to Yichun no matter what! After he made this decision, his mother and wife didn't say anything against it and both supported his decision.
The neighbor disapproved and said, "You are too reckless. What if Yichun is not as good as your sister said? How can you come back?" When the villagers learned that the Yu family decided to move to Yichun because of a letter from a distant relative, they did not agree.
The Yu family just smiled at the disapproval of the neighbors and villagers across the street.
Songhua Prefecture, County Magistrate's Mansion
When all knowledgeable people saw the importance of Songhua Prefecture to Xing Changfeng, Meng Yan, as the prefect of Songhua Prefecture, naturally saw it as well.
After Jiang Xin surrendered in Huining, he began to worry about this problem. He had placed his hopes on the rebel forces arriving in Yichun to quell the rebellion, hoping the imperial court would capture Xiangchun in one fell swoop. But he waited and waited, until Marshal Zhu had already surrendered to Xing Changfeng, before Gan Huacheng and the rebel forces finally arrived. That night, he berated Gan Huacheng and Marshal Zhu, saying it was these two scoundrels who had put him in this dilemma.
Those outside the city speculated that he must be panicking, and he was indeed panicking. Songhua Prefecture bordered Xing Changfeng's forces in three directions: east, south, west, and north. The only unconnected direction was the east. But eastward, it was a barren land, a barren land where even foreigners were sparsely populated!
Songhua Prefecture was now like a turtle in a jar, and Meng Yan was also desperate. Even more depressing was that all communication channels had been cut off. There was no other way. If the capital wanted to send a letter, it had to pass through Yichun or Huining. It was Xing Changfeng's territory, so it would be strange if the communication was not cut off. The prince had previously sent a letter, asking them to be cautious. They were slightly stronger than Huining County, with nearly 30,000 soldiers, but they could not defeat Xing Changfeng's hundreds of thousands of troops, right?
The more Meng Yan thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He couldn't help but call his long-time attendant and asked him to go to the residences of the prefect, the county lieutenant, and others to call them over to discuss the matter!
Li Yang is the prefect of Songhua Prefecture. In recent days, the county magistrate has been frowning, and they have been having a hard time as well.
That day, after finishing his shift, he dragged his exhausted body back home. Seeing his wife sitting in the living room with a frown on her face, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Li's wife said, "It's all about my two farms. When the manager went to collect rent this year, many tenants clearly stated that they would not rent land on the farms next year. I'm afraid we'll have to lower the rent to recruit more people next year."
When Li Yang heard this, he knew he was talking about the dowry that his wife had brought with her, "Those tenants aren't renting your land anymore, they're renting someone else's?"
"If that's the case, they are just dissatisfied with the rent. If I take the initiative to lower the rent, they will come back. But that's not the reason. The reason is that these people have fled to Yichun." In other words, she was going to lose these tenants forever.
Li Yang looked serious. "You said all those tenants fled to Yichun. How many are there?"
"I don't know about other families, but five of my tenant families have said they want to move from Songhua Prefecture to Yichun."
After hearing this, Li Yang thought about it and sent someone to the city gate to inquire about some things.
Not long after, someone came from the gatehouse and said that the county magistrate had summoned everyone to discuss matters. Li Yang went there with the answer he had obtained.
After everyone gathered, Meng Yan pinched his brows and directly threw out the question, "Tell me, what should we do in Songhua Mansion?"
"Why should the county magistrate worry so much? Now Xing Changfeng is fighting Di Luo in the north and suppressing the rebel army in the south. Even if he has an army of hundreds of thousands, he would not dare to start a war on three fronts, right? Besides, the outcome is unpredictable, and Xing Changfeng may not be the final winner. Why worry too much?" This is the idea of the optimists led by Chen Shenghe.
Meng Yan could no longer tolerate Chen Sheng's optimistic ideas. "The war between Xing Changfeng and the Northern Di will soon come to an end." As for the court's suppression of the rebels, haha.
Chen Shenghe exclaimed in disbelief, "So fast?!"
They were adjacent to Jiayin County to the north, and although they knew the current war situation very well, they were well-informed about the number of victories and defeats they had suffered.
After the Xing family army and the Yichun camp joined forces, morale was high, their momentum unleashed, and their soldiers fought tooth and nail. Meanwhile, the Xing family army seemed to no longer conceal its strength, employing a myriad of tactics. The Northern Di attacked the city during the day and were harassed at night, leaving their morale low. They had never been dealt such a heavy blow in any of their southward advances. If this continued, the Northern Di would soon retreat.
"So Xing Changfeng will definitely attack Songhua Prefecture, it's just a matter of sooner or later."
Now the optimists were speechless.
Li Yang said, "Sir, we now have only three choices. The first is to defend Songhua Prefecture to the death, fight Xing Changfeng to the bitter end, and ultimately die in the city."
Chen Shenghe said unwillingly, "Why did they die for the city? Can't we defeat Xing Changfeng and achieve the final victory?"
Li Yang replied, "There is a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, and most importantly, we have no reinforcements." Seeing how hard the rebel suppression troops sent by the imperial court to Yichun came, how could they still expect to achieve the final victory?
"And even if we want to fight Xing Changfeng to the death, what about the people in the city? Will they be willing?"
"What does this mean? Why are the people unwilling?"
Li Yang rolled his eyes. "You don't know how many people have left Songhua Prefecture for Yichun recently. The people of Yichun live a good life, which has aroused the envy of the surrounding people. Yichun and Songhua Prefecture are right next to each other, too close. If there is something new, outsiders don't know about it yet, but some people in Songhua Prefecture must know about it. If Xing Changfeng's army is at the gates of the city, believe it or not, the people themselves will secretly provide assistance to the Yichun army." It is meaningless and impossible to succeed if we cannot defend the city with unity.
Chen Shenghe was speechless.
Meng Yan asked, "You mentioned three choices. What are the second and third?"
"The second option is to abandon the city and flee."
Meng Yan's brows knitted together. As a county governor, he had a duty to defend his territory. If he lost Songhua Prefecture, he would have a good reputation after his death unless he died in the city. Otherwise, if he lost Songhua Prefecture, he would have no good fate if he returned to the capital.
The others thought, abandon the city and flee? Where could they flee to? Return to the capital? They still had some power in the local area, so what would they have if they returned to the capital? Not to mention that they returned in disgrace after losing the city, so it was lucky that the prince didn't kill them. In short, the end would not be good.
Li Yang said the third choice, "The third choice is to surrender, surrender to Xing Changfeng!" It is also the most difficult choice to talk about.
As soon as Li Yang finished speaking, the other people in the County Magistrate's Mansion started talking.
"I heard that when Xing Changfeng's troops arrived at Huining City, Jiang Xin surrendered without much resistance."
"Master Li, are you saying that when Xing Zhangfeng's troops really come to the city, we should also follow Jiang Xin's example?"
With Jiang Xin's outstanding example, everyone present was very tempted, especially after considering the previous two options. Jiang Xin and her entire staff moved to Yichun. I heard they've adapted well there and, if given the opportunity, they'd still be able to pursue official positions. Jiang Xin's failure to defend her territory was a truly remarkable outcome.
Li Yang shook his head. "No, there's no future in picking up people at year-end parties."
Meng Yan saw that he had something to say, so he asked, "What do you think?"
Li Yang said, "Mr. County Magistrate, I suggest that we surrender the city as soon as possible without waiting for Chief Justice's troops to arrive at the city." The sooner they surrender the city, the more sincere they will appear.
Everyone present was shocked. Offering Songhua Mansion to Xing Changfeng when the situation was still uncertain? Too risky, wasn't it?
Chen Sheng was the first to jump out and shout, "I disagree! If you do this, you're traitors! How can you be worthy of the court and the crown prince? Don't forget, you've been receiving salaries from the court for so many years!"
Li Yang narrowed his eyes, "Come here, take Chen Shenghe and the others down!" He had already stated his stance, which was completely opposed to Chen Shenghe's. In other words, today, either he died or Chen Shenghe died! Everything depended on the choice of County Magistrate Meng Yan!
He looked at Meng Yan and said, "Your Excellency, we are now nothing more than dead bones in a grave. I am not sure how far Xing Changfeng can go, but I am sure of this. If we do not know what is good for us and continue to occupy Songhua Mansion and refuse to give it to him, he will definitely deal with us. Your Excellency, a man who knows the current situation is a hero."
Meng Yan knew he couldn't die for the city, and abandoning it would be even more dangerous. Even if Xing Changfeng didn't kill them after taking Songhua Prefecture, they wouldn't have a good time returning to the capital. Comparing these two options, surrender became the best option. And Li Yang's proposal was even better.
Someone whispered, "If we do this, the court will scold us to death, right? And the crown prince will definitely hate us to death."
Li Yang looked at the man. "First of all, this land doesn't belong to Daliang! This vast territory was inherited by Li Tai and his ancestors from the previous dynasty. Secondly, the court itself failed to suppress the rebellion, and now the pressure is on us to make a choice. What's wrong with our choice? Even if we don't surrender, will Xing Changfeng be unable to take Songhua Prefecture? I can't say anything else, but if we surrender, at least the people of Songhua Prefecture will definitely not object."
Meng Yan asked the county lieutenant Huan Ziru, who had been silent the entire time, "Ziru, what do you mean?"
"Okay." Huan Ziru just said one simple word.
This surprised Meng Yan.
Huan Ziru smiled but said nothing more. The women at home kept raving about how good life was in Yichun. His sister-in-law had lived a rather ordinary life in the past few years after marrying into the city, needing their help every time she visited her parents' home. Later, the main city of Yichun changed hands, and a number of workshops opened. Both he and his wife went to work in them, and their lives visibly improved. A while ago, they received a letter saying that Yichun would be turning into a public school, and they planned to send their two older children there. The people in the Yichun City Lord's Mansion were quite capable, and he didn't want to end up like the two previous choices, so he decided to surrender.
Huan Ziru nodded, and Li Yang was overjoyed. He had made the right bet!
Meng Yan ordered, "Come here, arrest Chen Sheng and the others and put them under guard!"
"No, no, Lord Meng, you can't do this! Um--" Chen Shenghe struggled and was dragged away.
Next, the remaining people discussed surrender.
They were kept in the dark about the news and had no idea that the Crown Prince had already taken action. Their act of surrendering the city was a slap in the face to the imperial court and the Crown Prince.
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