Chapter 107 Why is it so hard to get a full meal?
Lin Changning's eyes were red from the smoke and dust, and his messy hair was stuck to his dark cheeks with sweat. Several of the ends of his black hair were also singed by the flames.
His bright eyes were now filled with regret, and his bloodshot eyes looked at Qi Rong as he pursed his lips: "Commander, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect the granary."
After saying that, he lowered his head. The largest granary in the nearby granary was still burning, but the fire had been reduced considerably. Qi Rong followed Lin Changning's gaze to the granary, then looked at Lin Changning's blackened face and the scorched coat stuck to his shoulder: "It has nothing to do with you, don't blame yourself. Where is the army doctor?"
As he spoke, Qi Rong turned to look behind him. He had brought all the physicians from the army with him when he came, but he hadn't seen them yet.
Qi Ming, who was behind, turned around and said, "Commander, the people are over there. The granary manager and the guards on duty have all been burned."
Lin Changning moved her arm slightly and found that her shoulder was stinging, but the person on the other side was obviously in much worse condition than her: "I'm fine, just go home and let Shilang bandage me up, no need to worry."
Qi Rong looked at Lin Changning with disapproval, but seeing that many soldiers behind him were indeed more seriously injured, he remained silent. Lin Changning looked at the slowly shrinking fire with a gloomy expression: "When I first arrived, I smelled kerosene. Commander, it was arson."
Qi Rong responded but didn't say anything. It would be strange if such a large fire could start in such a short time in winter and not be caused by someone.
Lin Changning looked at the personal guards the commander had brought and suddenly noticed that Wen Zhi and Zhi Qi, who were usually by the commander's side almost all the time, were not there, which made him a little strange.
Qi Rong, seemingly able to read Lin Changning's mind, spoke up: "They've gone to arrest people."
"Who are we arresting?" Lin Changning asked, puzzled.
"My dad"
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow: "The Duke? Wasn't he injured and receiving treatment at the clinic?"
Qi Rong gritted his teeth: "They led their men out of the city last night. I heard they went out to arrest people."
Lin Changning suddenly realized: "Commander, you mean this fire is related to the Duke?"
Qi Rong remained silent, only tightening his grip on the knife. Lin Changning lowered his eyes, his tone helpless: "Even if we capture the Duke, the Commander can't do anything about it. Just finding evidence will take a lot of time, and after all, he's nominally the Commander's father, and he holds a title..." Lin Changning's voice trailed off as he instantly understood the Duke Qi's sinister intentions. Yes, even with concrete evidence, what could they do? In the Great Xuan Dynasty, filial piety alone would be enough to make the Commander a target of criticism.
Qi Rong looked at the collapsed granary, leaned forward to check, and raised his sleeve to shield Lin Changning from the oncoming dust. Seeing Lin Changning's dejected expression, he said, "It's not about arresting people, it's about killing them on the spot."
"???" Lin Changning suddenly looked up at Qi Rong in disbelief, then glanced around at the people beside her, afraid that someone with ulterior motives might have overheard.
Looking around, Lin Changning breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everyone turning and running towards an open area, choked by the smoke and dust. He glanced at the calm commander again and silently thought to himself, "This father and son are just unbelievable. The father is determined to kill his son and strip him of his power, while the son sets traps for the father to fall into. The commander is truly a master of filial piety."
As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Lin Changning waved his sleeve and looked at the still-burning flames before him, which began to slump: "Commander, the provisions..."
Qi Rong didn't speak, and his expression revealed nothing.
The sky was already beginning to lighten. Scattered around were groups of soldiers dressed in tattered, burnt-out coats. The faces of these grown men were streaked with soot, their skin was red from the heat, and many had blisters on their hands. They were all panting heavily with cracked lips, accompanied by a chorus of coughs.
The fire was extinguished, and some of the grain had been salvaged and was being piled up in the open space in front of the granary. Much of the grain was scattered on the ground. Lin Changning looked at the ruins and then at the grain scattered on the ground that had been trampled into the mud. He felt a pang of sadness. Why was it so difficult? They had finally managed to save the grain, and the imperial court had finally managed to distribute it properly, but a single fire had wiped it all out.
Lin Changning bent over, picking up the rice grains from the ground one by one. These were the lives of the soldiers of Daxing. In the struggle for power and for the party and government, they had tormented these soldiers like this. The people of Fengyang hadn't even had enough to eat themselves. How many households had saved up so much grain to send over? They hadn't even eaten it yet, and now it was all gone. There was nowhere to complain. Even if the commander killed his own father, what difference would it make? The grain would still be gone.
The thin boy, with red eyes, had spent the whole night putting out the fire. His hair was singed, his face was blackened, and he had a small burn on his shoulder. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he picked up the grains of rice covered in dust from the ground one by one, carefully gathering the grains in his hands with a pinch of dirt and ash.
Seeing this, the soldiers next to him bent down and picked up the rice grains on the ground. Wan Jin's eyes reddened, and he squatted down to pick them up with Lin Changning. Lin Changning picked up the grains one by one and put them in his palm. As he picked them up, his eyes reddened, and tears fell uncontrollably. His shoulders also began to tremble.
Wan Jin tried to help Lin Changning up, but Lin Changning pushed him away. Lin Changning wiped his face with his sleeve, a sob escaping his throat. He sniffled, buried his head, and squatted on the ground, hugging his knees in grievance.
"Thousand households".
Lin Changning didn't look up. Everyone looked at this youngest commander in Daxing's history, who hugged his knees and choked up: "Tell me, why is it so hard for us to eat, to have enough to eat?"
No one answered Lin Changning, but many soldiers had tears in their eyes. In order to ensure that these soldiers were well-fed, the commander had repeatedly challenged the Ministry of Revenue. Almost all the money and silver they brought with them had been converted into food. Commander Lin would go hunting for two days a week to give them extra meals, and the other commanders would also occasionally give them extra food. These men risked their lives for the court, but the higher-ups didn't even want to give them a full meal. What were they after?
Soldiers and civilians alike spontaneously began picking up the scattered grains around them. After Lin Changning sobbed and vented his frustration, he wiped the tears from his face and was about to look up and continue working when suddenly several childish voices came from in front of him.
Several young children, each holding a small handful of grain in their hands, presented it to Lin Changning like a precious treasure, their voices childish: "Little General, don't cry, we've retrieved the grain, none of it was wasted."
Lin Changning took the food from the children, patted the little ones on the head, and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."
Qi Rong wanted to pat Lin Changning on the shoulder to comfort her, but when she saw Lin Changning's wound, she lowered her raised hand and said in a cold voice, "Changping, I will make the person behind this pay the price!"
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