Seeing this scene, Yan Xiao's doubts deepened.
She turned to look at Zhao Qian and asked in confusion:
"With so few people, can they really keep things stable?"
Zhao Qian was also somewhat confused. He beckoned to a soldier and asked in front of Yan Xiao:
"What is the current situation, General? Have you made any arrangements?"
Zhao Qian was a close associate of Shen Muzhi, and most people here knew him. Hearing the question, they dared not hide anything and quickly replied:
"Before these refugees even appeared, we received orders from above to guard the city gates and not to make any rash moves as long as the refugees did not move."
If anyone dared to force their way in, we shot them dead with arrows. When these refugees first arrived, they tried to force their way into the city, and we shot and killed several of the ringleaders in accordance with military orders.
Now they seemed frightened; they stopped trying to force their way in, but they also showed no intention of backing down, and so the situation remained at a stalemate.
This answer surprised both Yan Xiao and Zhao Qian.
Zhao Qian thought for a moment, then waved for the man to leave, and then looked at Yan Xiao and advised:
"Madam, this is rather strange. Perhaps the General received advance notice and made some arrangements. Should we return first?"
Yan Xiao also had this guess, but she didn't know what Shen Muzhi was really up to.
Just as she was hesitating whether to leave, the refugee group downstairs started making some noise again and began a new round of shouting.
"Bring General Shen out to meet us and give us an explanation, or we'll fight you to the death."
"Yes, bring General Shen out. Why are you treating us like this?"
Yan Xiao squinted and looked carefully. As these shouts rang out, the refugee group, which had been somewhat dispirited, perked up again.
It is obvious that there are troublemakers among the refugees, and this incident was probably deliberately instigated by these people.
But what is their purpose?
If, as they claim, they had no other way to survive and wanted to enter the city, then the few people at the city gate at this moment were their opportunity, and they should have rushed towards the city gate without any hesitation.
The show was quite grand, and at first glance it was rather intimidating, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't like that at all.
Looking closely at the refugees, their shifty eyes clearly showed their fear of death. They dared not approach the roadblocks set up by the city's defenders, obviously just there to make up the numbers and see if they could take advantage of the situation.
And those who were hiding in the crowd and leading the shouting, sneaking around and not daring to show their faces, clearly didn't have anything good in mind.
Rather than saying that these instigators wanted to attack the city, Yan Xiao felt that their actions were more likely aimed at using these refugees to create panic within the city.
As for her purpose, she hasn't thought of it yet.
Since Yan Xiao had nothing better to do, and after confirming that there was no danger here, she decided to stay and watch the excitement, and also see what Shen Muzhi was up to.
"Bandai, go find me a chair. I want to enjoy the view here before I go back."
"Uh~"
Qianqiu Wandai glanced at the so-called "scenery" below and was so frightened that they just wanted to return to the mansion as soon as possible. However, their mistress was bold and wouldn't listen to advice, so they had no choice but to hold their hearts and risk their lives to accompany her.
Zhao Qian was afraid that Yan Xiao's presence would ruin Shen Muzhi's plans, and he originally wanted to say a few more words of advice, but then he heard some noise coming from the city.
They turned to look into the city and saw a majestic cavalry unit suddenly appear, with a string of ashen-faced people tied behind them.
At the very front of the cavalry sat Shen Muzhi.
Beside Shen Muzhi was a young man wearing a silver mask. Just by looking at the young man's figure, Yan Xiao recognized him at a glance as Lou Guyu, who had only recently parted ways with her.
"Hey, this kid's officially a permanent employee now!"
As Yan Xiao was watching, Shen Muzhi seemed to sense something and looked up in her direction.
When his gaze fell on Yan Xiao, who was wearing a cap, he frowned slightly, but quickly looked away. With the consent of the onlookers, he arrived at the city gate.
The appearance of Shen Muzhi caused a stir. The tense expressions of the onlookers immediately subsided, and they became more interested in watching the spectacle.
"So General Shen has been in the city all along?"
"I don't know, but in any case, with General Shen here, those refugees won't be able to cause any trouble."
"Yes, but who are those people who are tied up?"
"I don't know, but the person General Shen arrested must not be a good person."
These remarks alone demonstrate Shen Muzhi's current standing among the people of Jiangbei.
Shen Muzhi ignored the discussions and led his men on horseback to the city gate, directly signaling the guards to open it.
The soldiers guarding the city were momentarily stunned, but quickly reacted and opened the city gate.
As soon as the city gates opened, the refugees who had been shouting outside all fell silent. After confirming that the city gates were open, some of the refugees showed obvious excitement on their faces.
They thought that their threats had worked, and that Jiangbei City had given in and was willing to accept them.
But no city would dare to set such a precedent.
Putting aside how to settle so many refugees and how to ensure the safety of the people in the city, just the fact that once this is done, there will be a continuous stream of refugees coming to threaten and shout in the same way, so no one will dare to accept them. This is an unavoidable fact.
They were only thinking about surviving at that moment and couldn't think about such profound issues.
After the city gates were fully opened, the refugees were clearly agitated. It wasn't until Shen Muzhi led a group of menacing cavalrymen out of the city gates that they belatedly realized the pressure and the strange atmosphere.
Upon seeing the string of people bound by cavalry, the refugees' expressions clearly showed more bewilderment.
Shen Muzhi had no habit of talking nonsense, and under the puzzled gazes of the refugees, he slightly raised his hand.
The next moment, archers at the city gate and on the city tower raised their crossbows and aimed them at the gathered refugees.
Not only that, the cavalry brought by Shen Muzhi also surrounded the refugees at the fastest speed, and they all took out their weapons and stood ready. Their imposing killing intent made the refugees tremble with fear.
The slight joy that had just appeared on his face was now completely replaced by fear.
Yan Xiao looked at the scene with a puzzled expression, not understanding what Shen Muzhi was trying to do.
Throughout history, refugees from chaotic times have been the most difficult to deal with. They cannot be accepted nor killed, unless they are ruthless people who are determined to become tyrants and do not care about their reputation.
Shen Muzhi is a legend in the book, clearly not that kind of person!
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