Qin Chuan and Song Lian discussed for a long time, but could not come up with a solution.
He had no choice but to let Song Lian go ahead and get busy, while he thought about it alone for a while.
This is truly a very troublesome matter.
Regardless of the dynasty, such matters are extremely difficult to resolve properly.
Even if these women's families are forced to accept them back home, what then? They will still suffer oppression from their families and be looked down upon by their neighbors. In such an environment, their ultimate fate will inevitably be to die of depression...
"Never mind, I'll go check it out tomorrow."
When Qin Chuan got up, he looked outside the tent and saw that it was almost dark.
Guan Yong had his personal guards bring him some food, but the food was crudely prepared and difficult to swallow.
Qin Chuan had no choice but to make himself a packet of instant noodles.
Unable to fall asleep in his tent at night, he went for a walk outside the command tent.
Unexpectedly, Li Qiuniang sat huddled outside the small tent, resting her chin on her hands, looking at the moon in the sky.
The moonlight was bright, and Qin Chuan sat down beside her.
"Are you homesick?"
Li Qiuniang hummed twice, then suddenly turned her head and saw that it was Qin Chuan. She was immediately a little flustered.
"master……"
"It's okay, don't be nervous. I couldn't sleep either, so I came out for a walk."
After Qin Chuan finished speaking, the two fell into a brief silence.
Li Qiuniang knew that her husband was approachable, down-to-earth, and very kind, so she wasn't nervous anymore. However, she felt rather awkward and didn't know whether she should take the initiative to say something.
Qin Chuan was trying to remember where in Shandong her family lived, but for a moment he couldn't recall...
Qin Chuan casually recited a line of poetry, "I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower it to think of my hometown..."
Li Qiuniang couldn't help but exclaim, "Master, you've truly composed a fine poem!"
Qin Chuan was taken aback.
Is this a compliment or an insult?
Li Qiuniang suddenly asked a question: "Master... tell me... how do those women who can't go home feel?"
Qin Chuan knew she was referring to the women who had been abducted and defiled by the Japanese pirates.
He couldn't answer her question.
Li Qiuniang whispered, "They must be heartbroken."
"What can we do..." Qin Chuan sighed helplessly. "We can't control people's hearts. There's nothing I can do about how the world thinks and discriminates against them..."
Li Qiuniang lowered her head and remained silent.
After a while, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Master, do you think... women can go to war and fight?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan suddenly understood and his mind cleared up!
How could I not have thought of that!
How did Li Qiuniang come up with this?!
"Qiu Niang, you've reminded me! I've come up with a great idea. Tell me what reward you want, and I'll give it to you right now," Qin Chuan said with great joy.
Li Qiuniang shook her head, unsure of her master's meaning, and said, "This servant has done nothing for you, sir, and doesn't want any reward. It's just that I'm entrusting my brother's matter to you..."
Qin Chuan laughed and said, "This is a small matter, leave it to me!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Li Qiuniang stood up and bowed.
...
The next day, Qin Chuan, along with Li Aniu and Guan Yong, arrived at Fengyang Town under the escort of over a hundred personal guards.
Japanese pirates once invaded Fengyang Town, but now that the main base of the anti-piracy army is close to Fengyang Town, the pirates no longer dare to come.
Qin Chuan first went to see Old Madam Song.
As expected, Old Madam Song was a kind and gentle old lady. Her hair was completely white and her face was deeply wrinkled, but she always had a smile on her face and was very kind and approachable.
Qin Chuan said to Old Madam Song, "Old Madam, you have done a great deed!"
However, it seemed that Old Madam Song's hearing was failing her; she couldn't hear what he was saying at all.
Qin Chuan didn't say anything more to her, and had someone bring in a box of silver for her family to accept.
Then we went to that mansion.
There were indeed many women here, two or three hundred in total, almost not enough room for everyone.
Upon seeing someone arrive, the women glanced at him cautiously, assuming it was just a routine visit from the military commander. None of them spoke or took any action.
"This is the Imperial Advisor. Why don't you kneel before him?"
Guan Yong neither liked nor disliked these women; he was simply displeased by their rudeness.
Upon hearing Guan Yong's words, a woman dressed in gray linen clothes, with a decent appearance, clean face, and relatively neat appearance, was the first to kneel on the ground and bow, saying, "Greetings, Grand Preceptor! Long live the Grand Preceptor!"
"You're quite clever," Guan Yong scoffed.
Qin Chuan took two steps forward, glanced at the woman, and asked, "What's your name?"
"The girl's surname is Zhu, and she is called A Zhu. She has no given name."
"You've been to school?"
"This humble woman secretly studied for two years."
"Hmm? What does 'secretly' mean?"
“I dare not deceive the Imperial Preceptor. When I was a child, after finishing my chores every day, I would secretly listen to the teacher’s lectures at the classroom door…” A’Zhu said, bowing her head.
"good."
Qin Chuan nodded, then said nothing.
At this moment, the women inside and outside the house also knelt down and shouted, "Greetings to the Imperial Preceptor! Long live the Imperial Preceptor!"
Qin Chuan felt a little embarrassed by their way of calling him that.
However, he did not forget the important matter.
First, he gave each of the women two taels of silver, then said, "For those of you who still want to go home, I will give you travel expenses; for those who really can't go back, I can give you another way..."
"Another way?" A Zhu's eyes flickered with doubt.
Many women share the same question as her.
Some women, however, seemed completely unconcerned and didn't care what the imperial advisor said at all.
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