Chapter 137 Chapter 137 is the only genuine version...
"Forget it, you go too. The young master will definitely call you later anyway." Huai Jingzhi pulled Qin Chen and strode over.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Qin Chen's feet were numb from squatting, and he almost fell when he stood up, and he stumbled to catch up.
Xie Yingchen also heard what they said and turned to look at him. The reflection of Hsinchu enveloped him, with a faint bamboo fragrance.
He asked, "What happened?"
If it wasn't something very important, Huai Jingzhi wouldn't have come to disturb him at this time.
After receiving the greeting, Huai Jingzhi bowed and said, "I just received military news. Among the refugees scattered from Qingzhou, a group fled to Yanzhou and surrounded Yihe County."
Xie Yingchen frowned slightly.
Huai Jingzhi glanced at Gu Zhizhuo and said, "Those trapped in Yihe County include Prince Xie Qiyun of Jin and his entourage, as well as members of the Wang family."
"Wang family?"
Gu Zhizhuo's pupils shrank, and she blurted out, "Did my cousin and his family encounter refugees?" Her little finger was slightly bent due to nervousness, and it was as taut as a string.
Xie Yingchen squeezed her palm to comfort her.
"Go on."
"The refugees are starving. The county magistrate originally wanted to open the granaries and release food, but the Prince of Jin, returning from Xiliang, happened to be staying in Yihe. He refused to allow the release, saying that the refugees had abandoned their homes and were running around, which was a previous offense. If they could get food here, wouldn't more refugees come here? If the refugees gathered together and rebelled, I wonder if the county magistrate would be responsible for the consequences."
"The county magistrate hesitated."
"The refugees were starving and tried to rush into the county town to steal food, but were beaten out by the Prince of Jin's men."
"Later, refugees surrounded the county town. The Wang family was unlucky enough to be trapped inside."
"He's incapable of accomplishing anything, but always capable of causing trouble." Gu Zhizhuo was furious. She said of Prince Jin's son, Xie Qiyun, "He's just as annoying as the Prince of Jin."
Everyone knows that the main approach to dealing with refugees should be to comfort them.
Moreover, the young master had already issued strict orders to all prefectures and counties where the refugees would pass through, requiring local officials to provide porridge and food to the refugees from Qingzhou. He wanted Xie Qiyun to meddle in other people's affairs.
Now, my cousin Xing and the others have been implicated too!
What bad luck.
An unexpected disaster.
The more Gu Zhizhuo thought about it, the angrier he became. He said angrily, "Sir, I'll go."
She used the honorific form of official business and said, "You have given the order, and I am to do this errand."
Xie Yingchen was slightly surprised and thought about something.
He had originally intended to send the Imperial Guards on a mission, but they weren't under his control, and he didn't have the tiger talisman to mobilize them, so they were inevitably threatened. It was hard to say whether the Imperial Guards would do what he wanted if he sent them out.
Gu Zhizhuo stared at him intently. "Just let me go. I'll lead the Thousand Machine Battalion. I can handle it."
Huai Jingzhi opened his mouth, wanting to say that if things went wrong, the refugees would turn into bandits and Miss Gu would be in danger. But after thinking for a long time, he closed his mouth.
The young master knows these things better than him.
But the young master did not say "no" immediately, he was hesitating.
The next moment, Xie Yingchen nodded.
He had a thousand reasons in his mind and wanted her to stay by his side and not go anywhere.
So that he can see her all the time.
However, his Yaoyao was definitely not a girl who would be trapped in the inner house. The sky above her head was much wider and boundless.
She couldn't let his worry and reluctance tie her hands and feet.
From a rational point of view, it is most appropriate to go on this mission.
She understood his intentions and knew the right balance in treating refugees.
He can let go completely.
Gu Zhizhuo's eyes were filled with eagerness to try. She couldn't wait to say, "I'll go prepare now..."
Just as he was about to run away, Xie Yingchen grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.
"How many refugees are there?" Xie Yingchen asked.
"Over 3,000 people, men, women, young and old," Huai Jingzhi explained. "They all came from Qingzhou. One of these refugees is Zhang Zinan. His daughter is seriously ill, and he's desperate to get into the city to see a doctor. Now that he's been blocked outside, he's become increasingly frustrated and is inciting other refugees to try to break down the gates."
“There is no news on the others yet.”
After Huai Jingzhi finished speaking, he submitted the military report.
After Xie Yingchen finished reading it, he gave it to Gu Zhizhuo and said, "If the stalemate continues, I'm afraid there will be bloodshed and a fight."
"Yaoyao, it often takes only a moment for a refugee to become a bandit. The trigger often lies in whether someone has been killed or blood has been shed."
If they are refugees, they should be comforted.
If they are bandits, they must be suppressed with iron fist and must not be allowed to grow stronger, otherwise innocent people will suffer.
Xie Yingchen thought for a moment and said, "You should take a thousand men with you."
"Three hundred people are enough."
Xie Yingchen glared at her, and Gu Zhizhuo quickly said, "With a thousand people, it would take a day or two just to prepare the baggage, and the journey would be time-consuming and noisy. With three hundred people, I can leave tonight and arrive tomorrow."
Gu Zhizhuo deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Sir, you have never led an army, so you don't understand."
"You understand?"
"certainly."
Gu Zhizhuo raised his chin proudly, took his arm and shook it: "Alas, a general is not bound by the king's orders when he is away from home. Please trust me this time."
She spoke as if she had never believed in her. Xie Yingchen was almost at his wit's end after being pestered so much that he compromised and said, "Take Qin Chen and Chongjiu with you."
ah?
"What? You are not allowed to go without it." Xie Yingchen glared at her.
Gu Zhizhuo's shoulders slumped: "Okay."
Xie Yingchen lifted her hand with his warm palm, placed a black token in the palm of her hand, and pinched her five fingers.
"The closest to Yihe County are Longchuan Guard and Nanyang Guard. If necessary, you can use the token to mobilize troops from the guards."
"Okay." Gu Zhizhuo agreed readily.
so……
Can we go now? Gu Zhizhuo's eyes were filled with these words. Xie Yingchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Wait for Chongjiu to come."
He sent someone to call Chongjiu.
"Leaving tonight?" The capital city is not far from Yihe County. If we run overnight, we can arrive before dusk tomorrow.
"Uh-huh."
Seeing her impatient look, Xie Yingchen was even more reluctant to let her go: "Take a break and go tomorrow."
Gu Zhizhuo tilted his head, looked at him with eyes as bright as stars, and said with a smile: "If it were someone else, would you say to leave tonight, or rest for a night before going?"
The refugees in Yihe County are now like the taut strings of a pipa. If you are not careful, they will break with a bang and blood will be shed immediately.
Of course it is better to arrive early.
Gu Zhizhuo stood on tiptoe and pinched his cheek: "Care makes you confused."
Xie Yingchen's fingertips caressed her brow, full of tenderness. After putting his hand down, he ordered, "Let's leave tonight."
"yes!"
Gu Zhizhuo accepted the order with a military salute and said with a grin, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you come back safe and sound."
"Sir, I'll go make preparations first. When Chongjiu arrives, have him go directly to the military camp."
She started to run, but after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned back, saying, "Oh, Master, there's one more thing..."
Gu Zhizhuo recounted Xizi's story: "Please urge the Jingzhao Prefecture. If someone truly believes in this evil magic and wishes to change their fortune, I'm afraid other children besides Xizi will be in trouble."
She trusted Xie Yingchen the most. After giving him everything she needed to say, she walked away quickly, not forgetting to tell Qingmei, "Go tell my third uncle and cousin Danling. Also, go to Baijitang and tell the owner that if I don't come back in seven days, have Su Zhan take Xizi's pulse and prescribe medicine. Then, go directly to the military camp to find me."
Gradually fading away.
Xie Yingchen didn't look away until her figure disappeared outside the bamboo forest. He said, "Jingzhi, I remember that the Black Water Fort in Yongzhou was massacred in the 20th year of Taiyuan, and the entire city was killed."
At that time, in order to provide enough bargaining chips for the deal with Shen Xu, Xie Yingchen spent a lot of effort to check his background and read through the county annals of Yongzhou.
Huai Jingzhi accompanied Xie Yingchen in organizing the county chronicles, and later he also collected the used county chronicles in different categories.
Now when Xie Yingchen asked, his mind immediately reacted: "Yes, it is in Blackwater Fort City."
A group of horse bandits occupied the city of Blackwater Fort for more than a year. Later, the city was massacred and no one in the city survived.
It was common for horse bandits to kill and rob families in Yongzhou, but this was the only time they massacred the entire city. Xie Yingchen took it to heart after seeing it.
However, this happened a year after the Yin family was wiped out.
"I remember the county annals said that the walls and streets of the entire Blackwater Fort were covered with strange patterns painted in blood," Xie Yingchen pondered.
"Indeed." Huai Jingzhi asked, "Sir, do you think Blackwater Castle is related to this matter?"
"At that time, I was studying with my grandfather, learning to administer government affairs in his imperial study. The Imperial Preceptor was still alive, and he said something that I still can't forget."
Looking back, Xie Yingchen was only about eleven or twelve years old.
Emperor Taizu, aided by a virtuous Taoist priest, established the Great Qi Empire. After ascending the throne, he appointed a Grand Master, a position even higher than that of a first-rank official.
During the time of the previous emperor, the imperial teacher of the Great Qi Dynasty was named Yun Cheng Zhenren.
He was also in the imperial study. After hearing about this, he was not concerned about whether the bandits had been caught, but instead asked what the patterns painted all over the city looked like. His expression was even more nervous.
Unfortunately, it was not mentioned in the military newspaper at that time.
Xie Yingchen: "The Imperial Master said that this might be someone borrowing my luck."
"Borrow luck?" Huai Jingzhi was surprised.
Few things could make him shudder. Huai Jingzhi opened his eyes and said in disbelief, "Sir, is there really such a thing as borrowing luck?"
Huai Jingzhi hadn't taken it seriously at first. Having traveled extensively throughout Daqi in his early years, he'd heard countless rural rumors. He'd simply assumed someone had heard about "borrowing luck" and had had a fleeting ulterior motive. After all, the Marquis of Jing'an even believed that taking her granddaughter's heart blood with a needle could give her a grandson.
But if even the national teacher said so, does that mean that luck can indeed be borrowed in this world?
Borrowing the lives of an entire city for luck?!
What a great luck this is.
Just thinking about it, a chill seemed to creep up from Huai Jingzhi's tailbone, making him shiver in the hottest day of the year.
Xie Yingchen nodded and said, "The Imperial Master said that if we use the blood of a city as a guide and borrow its luck, we can defy fate and change our destiny."
Later, the Imperial Master planned to go to Blackwater Fort in person to take a look. However, before he set off, he suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away not long after.
After Yun Cheng Zhenren, the position of the Imperial Master of the Great Qi Dynasty became vacant.
Xie Yingchen once did not believe in the idea of borrowing luck. He even arrogantly thought that the blood all over the city was just a demonstration by horse bandits.
However, two years later, his father, who had been in power for twenty years, was suddenly deposed, and his parents committed suicide.
The Eastern Palace fell from the clouds into the quagmire overnight.
Everything is turned upside down.
Xie Yingchen sighed inwardly, and thought, "Jingzhi, go get all the county annals in Blackwater Fort. I'll take a look."
Huai Jingzhi bowed and agreed, then went down to look for the county annals, passing by Chongjiu who was rushing over. Xie Yingchen told Chongjiu to take the official documents and go directly to Qianjiying outside the city.
The thought of Gu Zhizhuo made Xie Yingchen's expression soften. He chuckled to himself. This girl had forgotten about the official documents. She must have gotten used to sneaking away without telling the man on the throne.
Xie Yingchen was right, Gu Zhizhuo had indeed forgotten that he had to bring the official documents.
After Chongjiu handed it over, she looked at it again and again with great satisfaction and put it in her sleeve pocket.
This time, she had a legitimate reason.
There is no need to be timid like the last time we went to Xiliang.
Gu Zhizhuo assembled three hundred cavalrymen from the Qianji Camp, brought Qi Fu and Qin Chen with him, and asked Jiang Zizhou to stay behind to look after the family. By the time they had prepared their rations and other provisions, it was almost completely dark.
Gu Zhizhuo left the camp overnight.
Yihe County is located at the junction of Yanzhou and Yizhou, and is actually two or three days' journey from the capital.
She estimated that if everything went well, she would be able to bring her cousin and the others back in three to five days.
The horse galloped at night for a whole day and night, and finally left Yizhou before dusk and set foot on the land of Yanzhou.
Further ahead is Yihe County. Gu Zhizhuo ordered them to rest for a while by the river and asked Qin Chen to go and investigate first.
They were in a hurry, and the only dry food they brought was biscuits, which were hard and chewy. It took Gu Zhizhuo a long time to eat just half a piece, and he choked so much that he had to drink water.
Qin Chen came and went in a hurry. Gu Zhizhuo threw him a water bottle. Qin Chen drank it in one gulp and replied, "Miss, it seems there is an epidemic."
What.
Gu Zhizhuo was still trying hard to bite the cake. He had just taken a small bite and was about to swallow it when he almost choked when he heard the words.
She coughed violently a few times and waved her hand, motioning him to continue.
"There are about 2,000 to 3,000 refugees outside the city, including men, women, young and old. They are blocking the county gate and not allowing anyone to leave unless they are allowed to enter the city and distribute grain. About 10% of the refugees are children between the ages of three and ten."
Cough cough. Finally coughed it out. Gu Zhizhuo said, "Are there about two or three hundred children?"
This means that almost every household has at least one child.
Qin Chen affirmed: "Most of these children should be sick."
He sat on the ground and drew a diagram on the ground with a branch.
To get to the riverbank where they were now, they had to climb over a small dirt slope to reach Yihe County below. Qin Chen was standing on the hillside looking down. The distance was less than a mile.
"Miss, do you know there are at least hundreds of children among the refugees? Yet, I've been standing there for a long time and haven't heard a single noise, not even laughter or crying. This is absolutely impossible!"
Gu Zhizhuo looked confused: "Is it impossible?"
Qin Chen thought about it and realized that the Gu family had few descendants. She was afraid that she had never been with so many children at the same time.
He said, "My dear, you know, my father has a lot of illegitimate children. Since I can remember, the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion has been filled with the screams and cries of children. There are five children my age, and eight or nine younger than me."
He seemed to have thought of something, scratched his head irritably, and said, "Anyway, if there are a lot of children together, it's impossible not to make any noise."
Qi Fu also agreed with this.
Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "In other words, all the children are sick. Or rather, more than half of the children are sick."
"That's my guess."
If so many children fall ill at the same time, it is most likely an epidemic.
The epidemic is not only contagious to children, but also to adults. The only difference is that children may show symptoms first while adults are still struggling.
"After a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic, which is beyond human control." Gu Zhizhuo sighed. After the earthquake, the young master recruited a group of doctors and imperial physicians to go to Qingzhou to prevent a major epidemic.
It's still unavoidable.
"If it's an epidemic, we can't let them into the city."
"I'll go there."
Gu Zhizhuo put the last bite of the biscuit in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it with force. Then he patted the crumbs on his hands and said, "Qin Chen, Chongjiu, Qingmei, you all come with me. Qi Fu, you and the others will stay for now."
When a general is away from the army, military orders are above all else.
Gu Zhizhuo's words are now military orders.
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