Chapter 799 What kind of people do you think we are?
Only when you are at the bottom of society can you best understand the thoughts of people at the bottom.
The officials of Yunzhou were thinking: Is it necessary to save Jingdu? How much will it cost? What can they gain?
The thinking of the common people at the bottom is very simple: you looked down on us back then, and I am out of your reach today.
They still remember that when they were most isolated and helpless and Yunzhou was on the verge of collapse, many people in Kyoto spoke coldly and looked down on the excitement in Yunzhou.
When Aunt Geng chatted with the people of Yunzhou, she often sensed a hint of hostility towards Kyoto from their words.
Of course, in everyone's eyes, Aunt Geng's family is not from Kyoto, but from Yunzhou.
Aunt Geng understood this too well, so she didn't have any expectations of Duke Yun sending troops.
The main middle and high-level military officers of Yunzhou are almost all from Yunzhou and grassland herdsmen.
They won't be willing to go.
Even for the sake of Duke Yun's great cause, they would only choose the option with the least sacrifice, that is, to reap the benefits while sitting back!
The yard was silent except for Aunt Geng's suppressed sobs.
Several men of the Geng family sat on the ground weakly, holding their heads.
They have experienced war and fleeing from famine, and they know too well what a group of refugees will do to a city after they capture it.
Old Man Geng is not at home. He has been attending meetings frequently recently, and he has been staying by Duke Yun's side.
The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door.
Aunt Geng wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, took a few deep breaths, and opened the door: "Aunt Chen? Why are you here?"
Aunt Chen was a five-guarantee household in Changpingfang. Her husband, three sons and two daughters were all soldiers from Yunzhou who died in the war. They left her with two grandsons.
Now, her grandsons have also joined the Yunzhou Army, one is assigned to the artillery and the other is assigned to the firearms battalion.
The pain of losing her loved ones made her look much older, with thin cheeks, upturned eyes and a gloomy look.
"Here, sign it."
Aunt Chen spoke in a stern tone and handed Aunt Geng a piece of paper.
"What the hell..." Aunt Geng lowered her head to look at the contents on the paper, her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and the tears that she had held back with great difficulty fell again.
It's a petition! A petition for sending troops!
Aunt Chen glanced at her with disdain and said unhappily, "Why are you crying? You are so useless. Hurry up and sign. Everyone in the neighborhood has signed, except your family."
Aunt Geng signed her name tremblingly under blurred vision, and kept saying, "Thank you, Aunt Chen, and thank you, neighbors."
"Hmph." Aunt Chen took back the paper and raised her chin slightly, saying, "Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you, but for my good grandson. How can we achieve success without fighting?"
If troops are dispatched, the artillery battalion and the firearms battalion must go with Duke Yun.
Aunt Geng cried and laughed at the same time: "You have a sharp tongue but a soft heart! Who is it that sighs all day long and doesn't want his grandson to join the army?"
The two children of the Chen family were strong and smart, and were spotted by the instructors of the military academy at first sight.
They themselves were willing to join the army, but Aunt Chen was reluctant to let them go.
Finally, the neighbors had to persuade Aunt Chen that she would do this reluctantly.
However, she required the two children to get married as soon as possible to leave some bloodline for the Chen family.
This matchmaking was done by Aunt Geng.
Thinking of this, Aunt Geng felt guilty. She had once blamed Aunt Chen for her low ideological awareness.
Aunt Chen was exposed and became angry and said with her hands on her hips, "How dare you say that to me? Everyone knows who you are! In the past, you were the one who loved to stand out and take charge of everything. It's been such a long time since we sent out the troops, and everyone is still waiting for you to take the lead, but you just retreated home like a quail playing dead!"
Aunt Chen's mouth is like a sharp knife: "Don't think we don't know what you are thinking! Don't you just think we won't agree? Humph, do you think everyone is as petty as you?! We adults are generous and won't bother with those chattering people. Besides, besides those ignorant people, aren't there many people who come to help us in Yunzhou?"
"We are not the kind of people who don't know how to repay kindness. If someone gives us a drop of water, we can give back a spring of water."
Aunt Geng was scolded so much that she couldn't get a word in. When she heard the last sentence, she burst out laughing: "Aunt Chen, you still have to continue to attend the literacy class. As the saying goes, a drop of water should be repaid with a spring of water."
"Oh, I see. It's enough that you know that's what it means." Aunt Chen said impatiently.
I'm already old, but I'm still forced to attend literacy classes every day. It's so annoying!
Humph, my dear grandson is going to save Kyoto. If the old man knew about this, he would definitely be very happy.
We Yunzhou people are so capable and awesome!
Aunt Chen slapped the paper into Aunt Geng's hand and said, "Go and deliver the petition. It costs five copper coins to take a bus from here to the governor's mansion! You can't let me provide both people and money."
"Okay, okay, I'll go." Aunt Geng agreed kindly and sent Aunt Chen home.
Zhuge Yu, who watched the whole process, closed the gate.
He sat on a stone bench, the sunlight shining on him through the gaps between the leaves, but it could not resolve the confusion between his brows.
The masses are ignorant and easily incited.
No regime can be swayed by public opinion.
Throughout the dynasties, some people believed that to govern the people, one must keep them ignorant, while others believed that the people's will can carry them or overturn them.
But everyone agrees that the people are naturally ignorant and greedy.
Today, he saw the bright spots in these little people, just like a pearl opened from a clam shell.
Zhuge Yu smiled. Everything wasn’t so bad, was it?
…
After seeing off Aunt Chen, Aunt Geng rushed to the governor's mansion without stopping.
At the door, she also met several acquaintances, all of whom were the owners of various neighborhoods.
"Come to deliver a petition?"
"The same to you?"
"That's Kyoto! Super rich, super prosperous Kyoto. In order to protect Kyoto, our Duke Yun was reluctant to use cannons to bombard it! How could we let that group of chaotic troops destroy it?"
"Of course not. I heard that the population of Kyoto is over a million, and Duke Yun is worried about the lack of manpower. If these millions of people were all killed, wouldn't Duke Yun be heartbroken?"
"That's exactly the point. Does Kyoto belong to the Great Zhou Emperor? No, it's clearly our Yunzhou that has it deposited there. When the rebel army attacks Kyoto, isn't that just the city of our Yunzhou?"
Everyone was chattering away, but the doorman told them that Duke Yun was not there.
Aunt Geng asked: "What about my old man?"
“Not here either.”
All right. Everyone handed the petition to the doorman and asked him to pass it on to Duke Yun before leaving.
…
Kyoto, Grand Master Tong's Mansion.
Master Tong raised his eyebrows and asked Su Xuanming who came to visit again, "Have you thought it through and decided to leave Kyoto?"
Su Xuanming smiled and said, "No, I'm not leaving. I came to visit the Grand Master to ask for a small favor."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com