Doctor Qin saw that Shangguan Wan Ning was a little confused, so he explained: "There are two border neighboring countries not far from this northwest area. One is Goshawk and the other is Wuxiong. On weekdays, when there is nothing going on, these two small countries are relatively honest and will not act rashly."
"However, their own country has low productivity and there is not much land for cultivation. Therefore, they need to buy most of their rice and flour from us. Sometimes when they encounter merchant groups, they will also rob them."
"However, most of the time, they are afraid of the prosperity and strength of the imperial court and dare not act recklessly. But now there is a snowstorm in the interior, and there is no extra food to sell to them. They can eat cattle, horses and sheep, and they may be able to survive by just trying to hold on."
"But... the court must always be on guard against their attacks. The grain in the court's official warehouse is used as military pay and fodder during wars, how can it be easily distributed? Using the official warehouse's grain privately is equivalent to treason and the whole family may be executed at any time. How many officials dare to take such a risk?"
Shangguan Wanning suddenly realized.
From a war perspective, the grain in government warehouses cannot be used at will.
"So, what about the amount of grain in the government warehouse?" Shangguan Wanning was the prime minister's daughter after all. Even if she didn't ask about state affairs, she heard a lot from her father on a daily basis.
"If there is enough food in the government warehouse, we can take out some of it for temporary disaster relief. The court will be able to distribute disaster relief food soon, and we can make up for it when the time comes. I believe the emperor will understand."
"After all, the lives in front of us are waiting to be saved. What's more, it is still unknown whether the Goshawk and Wu Xiong will attack." Shangguan Wanning really couldn't bear to see those victims starve to death or freeze to death.
Doctor Qin just shook his head.
"My lady, ordinary people have no way of knowing how much grain is in the imperial granaries. Even if the granaries are well stocked as you said... I'm afraid no official would be willing to take the risk of opening the granaries to provide disaster relief."
Shangguan Wanning fully understood the way to protect oneself in officialdom.
After all, it’s not easy to get to this point after ten years of hard study, and no one wants to ruin their future.
"Doctor Qin, please prepare a carriage for me. I need to go to the county town."
Doctor Qin's face changed, and he said worriedly, "Miss, it's very chaotic outside now, you'd better not run around. Just stay here and wait for Lord Shangguan to send someone to pick you up."
Doctor Qin was trembling with fear every day.
If anything happens to the precious young lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion, his whole family will suffer.
"Doctor Qin, don't worry, I know what to do."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Doctor Qin had to order his servants to prepare a carriage and sent two servants to follow. Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded them that even if they could not come back, they must protect Shangguan Wanning's safety.
Shangguan Wanning whipped the horse and galloped all the way, hoping to get to the county town before dark to meet the county magistrate. However, heavy snow on the road prevented her from making her plan, and she did not arrive until the next afternoon.
She unexpectedly discovered that the county town gates were closed and outside the gates were flooded with wailing victims.
Some people tried to keep each other warm, but were still shivering with cold; some people hugged their dead relatives and cried heartbrokenly; some people fought for a piece of cornmeal cake and were even bleeding.
But no matter how tragic the situation outside the city was, the soldiers on the city wall just watched.
Shangguan Wanning's heart instantly turned cold and she fell to the bottom.
She hurriedly got off the carriage and wanted to ask for the city gate to be opened to see the magistrate, but a group of disaster victims ran past her quickly.
For a moment, everyone who had the strength to stand up ran to the city gate.
"We are also citizens of the imperial court and we pay taxes to the imperial court. Why don't you care about our lives?"
"We are here to freeze to death. If you don't open the city gate, we will break it open and rush in."
"Open the door quickly, my child is going to freeze to death, open the door..."
The victims were getting more and more agitated. The soldiers on the city wall shouted to those below: "This is the order of the county magistrate. We are following his orders. Anyone who dares to smash the city gate will be charged with treason and killed on the spot."
The soldiers' words made the victims even more excited.
Some victims who still had strength enough found some logs from somewhere and worked together to knock over the city gate.
Their actions obviously angered the soldiers guarding the city.
Huge rocks fell from the city wall, killing several victims on the spot.
Shangguan Wanning looked at the blood spilling on the ground, as if it would freeze into ice immediately, and she couldn't help but scream.
The soldiers defending the city attacked the civilians in earnest. The already desperate victims became even more furious and rushed forward like they had lost their minds.
For a moment, the scene was in chaos.
Shangguan Wanning watched the number of casualties increase and was about to rush over in desperation.
The Qin family's servant hurriedly chased after her and knelt in front of her.
"Miss, please don't go over there. At this time, fists, feet, swords and knives are useless. If something happens to you, we will not be able to survive."
"But I can't just watch so many innocent people die. What would you think if your relatives were among them?"
The two servants looked at each other. They were not heartless people, and the scene before them also touched them.
While the two were hesitating, Shangguan Wanning pushed them aside and rushed over.
She ran to the city wall and shouted, "I am Shangguan Wanning from the Prime Minister's Mansion. I have something important to discuss with the county magistrate."
Shangguan Wanning had tried her best, but her voice was still drowned out by the shouts of killing.
She watched the victims falling one after another, feeling anxious and angry.
"ah!"
Someone pushed her from behind, and she fell to the ground unexpectedly. Before she could come to her senses, someone stepped on her hard.
Shangguan Wan Ning grimaced in pain and broke out in a cold sweat.
She gritted her teeth and was about to get up when she heard a child crying beside her.
She saw a child of three or four years old fall to the ground and cry loudly.
Shangguan Wanning endured the pain and moved over, holding the child in her arms.
"Don't be afraid... don't cry, it will be okay..."
Shangguan Wanning picked up the child and tried to escape the encirclement, but she tripped after running only two steps. She subconsciously tried to protect the child, but her elbow hit the ground, and the severe pain almost made her eyes go black.
Confusion and helplessness surged in her heart, and scenes of sunshine, warmth and splendor reappeared in her mind.
A huge rock fell from the city wall. Shangguan Wanning felt the danger and wanted to dodge but it was too late.
She could only hold the child tightly and close her eyes resigned to her fate.
A figure passed overhead, picked her up with one hand and jumped out of the encirclement.
"How are you?"
A familiar voice sounded in her ears, and Shangguan Wanning looked up and met a pair of dark eyes.
Is this... an illusion?
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