The refugees were in tattered clothes, skinny, with numb eyes, and walked step by step with difficulty.
My hometown was hit by a locust swarm. In a moment, all the food was gone. Countless people cried in the fields, blaming God for being blind.
With their food supplies gone and the government offering no relief, they had no choice but to flee.
They experienced countless hardships along the way, which made everyone exhausted and numb.
A strong man in the crowd shouted, "Everyone hold on, Liangcheng is just ahead. Liangcheng is the capital of Xiliang, extremely rich, with countless delicious foods. There is also General Du who loves the people like his own children. He will definitely take us in."
His name is Ayong, he is a kind-hearted man with a strong sense of justice. He has a few loyal brothers around him and has become the leader of the team.
A refugee licked his tongue, eyes full of desire, "Brother Yong, will you really take us in?"
He had been hungry for two days, his whole body was weak and he could hardly hold on any longer.
Brother Yong spoke without hesitation, "Of course, that's General Du. How can the officials of the towns along the way compare with the famous General Du?"
His brother Ah Ren nodded vigorously, "Yes, Commander Du is different from those dog officials. He will not watch us die."
"The Du family is the hope for all of us, and the only hope."
If Liangcheng refuses to take them in, the consequences of their hopes being dashed...
After hearing these words, the refugees felt a glimmer of hope and their heavy footsteps became lighter.
"Ah." The crowd screamed. An old lady who was dizzy and hungry fell down. She struggled to get up, but found that her ankle was sprained and she could not walk.
Her sons were carrying the luggage and had a child on their chests and backs, so they had no hands free.
The daughters-in-law held their children with trembling hands, their faces were pale and they were exhausted and could hardly walk.
The old lady looked at her children and grandchildren who were surrounding her, feeling sad. She closed her eyes and said, "Go away. Don't worry about me. I'm old and I've lived enough."
How could her children and grandchildren bear to leave her behind to die? However, everyone's physical strength had reached its limit and they were unable to carry the old lady.
Suddenly, there was a loud cry.
Brother Yong came over and squatted in front of the old lady, "Auntie, I'll carry you."
The old lady shook her head desperately, "No, no, no, Yongzi, I can't hold you back."
Brother Yong waved his hands and said proudly, "Look at what you said. At home, we rely on our parents, and when we go out, we rely on our friends. A-Dong is my friend, and his mother is my mother. How can I abandon my own mother and escape alone? Is that still a human being? Auntie, hurry up, or we will be dragged down if we are late."
The old lady was so moved that she cried, "Yongzi, from now on you are my biological son."
The old lady's sons all said, "Brother Yong, you are our big brother, your business is our business."
Brother Yong smiled brightly. "That's great. I have a few more family members. That's great."
People around praised Brother Yong for his loyalty and said he was a rare good man.
Brother Yong carried the old lady on his back and walked forward, his eyelids lowered to hide the gleam in his eyes.
More than 20,000 people walked and walked. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a surprised voice came from the crowd, "Look, the city gate, we have finally reached Liangcheng."
Cheers rang out one after another. The refugees were overjoyed. Ahhhh, they had a way out.
But when I got closer, I found that the city gate was closed and there was a group of guards standing on the city wall.
The refugees were anxious. What did this mean? They were not allowed to enter?
People who are extremely hungry have no rationality at all and are somewhat riotous.
Brother Yong's eyes flashed, and he said loudly, "Don't be anxious, let's talk properly first."
He looked at the guards on the city wall. They all came from the Du family army and were all good soldiers.
"Brothers from Liangcheng, we are the people from Liangzhou. Our hometown was in trouble and we had to leave our homeland to beg for food. We heard that Liangcheng is rich, so we came here after going through untold hardships. Please save us."
As soon as he opened his mouth, the others began to cry and beg, "We are all good citizens, not bandits. Master Du is in the city, right? Please show some mercy, Master Du."
A guard responded quickly, "Everyone stay still and don't move. I'll report it right away."
As time passed, the refugees' stomachs growled with hunger and their eyes turned green with hunger.
"Why haven't you come back yet? Are you kidding us? I know that officials are not good people. They eat meat and drink wine with big mouthfuls, but our children can't even eat a bite of wild vegetable dumplings. They are starving to death."
Brother Yong kept comforting them, "Don't worry, Du Shuai is not that kind of person."
However, General Du has become a useless man now. Liangcheng is leaderless and no one is in charge. There is also a war going on at the front line. Du's army has come out in full force, and the space in the rear is the best time.
Ah Ren snorted coldly, "I don't trust officials. None of them are good people. No, we can't just wait to die."
This statement resonated strongly with the refugees, “Yes, we adults can do whatever we want, but the children are still so young, they can’t die.”
Everyone became more and more excited and the atmosphere became tense.
"Since court officials don't treat us as human beings, we will rebel..." A refugee raised his arms and shouted, rebellion is justified!
Everyone else was extremely excited. There was no way out. They just rebelled!
At this moment, a long arrow flew from nowhere and hit the refugee in the chest. He fell down before he could even speak.
It was like a bucket of cold water poured over them, sobering up the refugees' heated minds a little.
"Ah, someone's dead."
The bloody sight made the refugees terrified and they retreated one after another.
Brother Yong and his companions followed the crowd and retreated, exchanging glances.
A clear voice suddenly rang out, "Anyone who dares to incite civil unrest will be killed without mercy."
Everyone looked towards the city wall at the same time, and saw a group of officials surrounding a girl in yellow standing on it.
The person who spoke was the girl in yellow in the middle, with a pair of clear eyes, beautiful and majestic, which was very impressive.
One refugee couldn't help but ask, "Who... who are you?"
Jiang Tongzhi, who was standing behind her, was dressed in military uniform and had a serious face. "I am the deputy commander of Xiliang Dusi Mansion, Princess Qingping, and I am responsible for the daily operation of Dusi Mansion."
There was a sound of gasps from the audience, and Brother Yong and his friends rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Who hasn't heard of the name of Princess Qingping? They all know that she lives in Liangcheng, but isn't she a mascot?
Who can tell him how Princess Qingping became the person in charge of Xiliang?
Where is Du Shuai? There are no men left in Liangcheng? What's going on?
The common people, however, have a natural liking for her. "Is this the Princess of Qingping County? So she looks like this, so pretty."
"She looks just like a fairy, a kind-hearted fairy."
Most civilians like Mu Wanqing just because she created the windmill.
Of course, she is not money, so it is impossible for everyone to love her.
"No, the point is that the Princess of Qingping County is the deputy commander. Did I hear that correctly?"
"When did it become a woman's turn to be in charge? The court cannot issue such an appointment."
Brother Ren and his friends were sandwiched in the crowd, talking wildly and inciting others. "I don't believe it either, but why did Liangcheng make up such a lie? Why didn't Du Shuai show up? Do they not want us to enter the city? Do they want us to die?"
Another person shouted, "Princess Qingping, do you have the imperial appointment letter?"
"Not yet." Mu Wanqing was so frank when she said this, it was natural and reasonable.
Ren Ge's eyes lit up as if he had found something wrong. "That's the crime of deceiving the emperor..."
Mu Wanqing glanced over, and a faint look made Ren Ge feel cold in his heart, and he subconsciously took two steps back.
Only then did he realize that he had lost his composure and his face turned red. He was actually frightened by a look. Is this normal?
He didn't know what was wrong with him. He just felt like she knew everything. Everything was transparent and there were no secrets in front of her. This feeling was so scary.
Mu Wanqing didn't give them a chance to respond. She raised her hand and said, "Fellow villagers, would you like some warm mung bean porridge? Those who want to drink it, please line up over here."
As soon as these words came out, there was a commotion below, and everyone ran in the direction she pointed.
The most important thing in the world is eating. In front of food, everything else is nothing.
Some people were so anxious that they almost fell down, and some pushed away those who were blocking the way. For a moment, the scene was a little chaotic.
This made the people on the city wall very anxious, and they were trying to prevent a stampede.
Seeing a middle-aged man kicking the child in front of him to the ground, Mu Wanqing's eyes flashed with anger and she waved her right hand.
The long arrow shot over again, bringing endless murderous intent, fast and accurate, hitting the middle-aged man's chest, causing blood to spurt out.
Mu Wanqing shouted loudly, "No one is allowed to fight over it. Walk carefully. Everyone has a share, including children and the elderly. Everyone has a bowl. If anyone dares to fight over it or trample on it, this will be their fate."
The sight of the corpse lying on the spot shocked everyone and made them calmer.
Mu Wanqing spoke at the right time, "We need one hundred stewards to maintain order, each in charge of two hundred people, and one extra steamed bun. Those who are willing to come over here, first come first served. Those who don't follow the rules and make trouble will automatically give up. One, two, three, start."
This time, everyone was more well-behaved. They ran, but they were very careful about the limits.
It was full in an instant. Mu Wanqing said clearly, "Okay, it's full now. These people will be the managers. Each of you will get a badge representing your status. Only with this badge can you get the steamed buns. I only have one request for you, do your job well and don't oppress the people."
She made clear arrangements for everyone. This is called refugee autonomy and internal management.
She looked down at the crowd of people below, raised her eyebrows and said, "Come on, let's have a royal bomb."
"Who is Xu Yong? Who is Wu Ren? Stand out."
It was like a bolt from the blue. Xu Yong and the other man lost all color in their faces and were terrified. How did Princess Qingping... know their names?
These two people were very famous among the refugees and were highly respected, so everyone looked over at them.
Mu Wanqing followed the crowd's line of sight and found the two men. They were tall and strong, with dirty faces, and their appearance could not be seen clearly. At a glance, they were no different from other refugees.
But, Mu Wanqing, who was standing on a high place, could see the difference at a glance. The spirits were different, and the eyes of the well-fed people and the refugees were different.
The old lady lying on Xu Yong couldn't help but get anxious, "County Lady, Ayong and Aren are both good people."
Others chimed in and gave sincere praises.
A cold light flashed in Mu Wanqing's eyes. "Xu Yong, I appoint you as the temporary chief steward and Wu Ren as the deputy steward to manage these refugees. If anything happens, you two will be killed. The operatives are watching your every move in secret."
She didn't play by the rules, and everyone was confused.
Xu Yong: ...Can he refuse?
Wu Ren: ...I have a bad feeling!
Mu Wanqing changed the subject and softened her tone. "Of course, if nothing happens, each person will be rewarded with 20 eggs, 20 meat buns, and 10 taels of silver. There will be a generous reward afterwards. Do you understand?"
Everyone's eyes were red with envy. These two people are so lucky.
Princess Qingping is so generous, beautiful and kind-hearted.
But Xu Yong and Wu Ren looked at each other and saw surprise and uneasiness in each other's eyes.
Others only saw the magnanimity and benevolence of the Princess Qingping, but they saw that her methods were so frightening that she used both soft and hard tactics, and used both kindness and force, fighting poison with poison. She controlled them with just a few words, and was decisive, ruthless and cruel.
The most important thing is, she didn't know when she was being watched. When did they enter her sight? !
How much does she know?
It's ridiculous. They thought they were smart and had everything under control. Who knew...
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