The princess did not refuse.
The centurion breathed a sigh of relief and arranged for his confidant to follow the princess. He went into the palace first to report to His Highness.
As soon as the other person left.
Madam Wei, standing by, ordered her guards, "Go, carry my box back first."
"Don't you see there are refugees outside? What if my things are lost?"
The guards didn't say anything, and Madam Wei pointed at them and scolded them.
"Why are you so stupid? Why don't you carry it to the post station first and let our people keep an eye on it?!"
The guard quickly nodded in agreement.
Except for Qin Shan, the other four soldiers hurriedly carried the boxes and went to find Mr. Chu.
The soldiers of the guard camp had already witnessed Madam Wei's rudeness and did not dare to provoke her. Anyway, the centurion only asked them to keep an eye on the princess and not let the people bump into her.
As for Madam Wei, they tried to stay as far away from her as possible to avoid being scolded for no reason.
Wei Xiyin caught a glimpse of their attitude and was very satisfied. She turned to the princess and said, "Princess, let's go take a look at the front."
Including Wei Li, the three of them walked towards the greenhouse in front.
Xiang Qi and other followers protected the princess and did not allow the guards to get close at all.
The temporary shed built with hay in front looked very simple. Inside the square shed, there was a wooden platform facing the street. On the wooden platform were several large pots filled with some cooked paste.
Soldiers with swords were on guard on all four sides.
The people were thin, with dull and empty eyes. They lined up with big bowls in their hands with numb expressions, moving slowly with the crowd in front of them.
Seeing the princess coming, the soldiers inside and outside the tent saluted hurriedly.
"Greetings, Princess."
When the people in front heard the word "princess", their empty eyes became slightly focused and they looked in the direction of the soldiers.
"What are they doing?" The princess pointed at the long queue and asked the soldier beside her in a low voice.
The soldier replied honestly, "My Lady, today is the day for distributing relief food. Your Highness has ordered that food be distributed to the people every five days."
Wei Xiyin's brows twitched slightly.
It was called food, but she saw out of the corner of her eye that the sticky, paste-like unknown food in the pot was not even as good as the pig feed used to feed the pigs in the fort.
The people cannot leave the city, and now they cannot farm. Food is only distributed once every five days, and it is only a small bowl. It is lucky that these people are not starving to death.
No wonder they didn't see a single person when they entered the city a few days ago. They didn't have the energy to go out, so of course they didn't see anyone. The county town looked dead, in stark contrast to the lively appearance of the fort every day.
Wei Xiyin thought again, even the soldiers fighting outside didn’t have enough to eat, so it seemed reasonable that these people didn’t have enough food.
Logically speaking, Zhongshan State had so many soldiers and enough stored food. As long as Yuan Sanlang managed it well, it would not have ended up in such a mess.
It was a really bad hand of cards played badly.
The princess was silent for a moment, then pointed at the food in the pot and asked again, "What are those things cooked in the pot?"
The next moment.
A voice came from the side.
"My lady, are you interested in this?"
The surrounding soldiers saw the newcomer and saluted immediately, "Greetings, Mr. Hu."
Hu Chengen stroked his beard and hummed lightly, then walked forward and saluted the princess.
The princess's attitude towards him was quite cold. "Why is Mr. Hu here?"
Hu Cheng'en didn't care at all and replied good-naturedly, "My Lady, today is the day for distributing grain. Your Highness ordered me to come out and take a look."
"Yuan...why don't you come out and take a look yourself?"
The princess looked at the Zhongshan people below, who were as haggard as zombies, and thought of the people in Wei's fortress who had enough food and drink, had jobs to do, were full of hope for the future every day, and were full of vitality. The contrast made her feel desolate.
Hu Chengen said calmly, "Your Highness has never left the palace since the disaster."
The old prince contracted a disease and turned into a monster when he went out of the city to inspect the disaster.
Once Yuan Saburo came to power, he was very sensitive to this. He was afraid that he would be infected with the disease and die in the same way, and would have to give up the fiefdom he had worked so hard to obtain. Therefore, he was very careful about his life, and even his daily meals had to be tasted by people around him before he dared to eat them.
He stayed in the palace all day and had never left the palace until now.
As for the situation in Zhongshan, it is reported to him every day by his confidants. It can be said that as long as you leave the palace, Mr. Hu is now in control of the outside world.
However, the composition of Zhongshan's army was complex, and each military camp was almost independent. Those commanders had soldiers under their command, and even Mr. Hu did not dare to give them orders or interfere in military affairs at will.
Take the two vanguard camps outside the city as an example. The two generals with miscellaneous titles are unyielding and come to make trouble every day to demand food, water and supplies from their soldiers. His Highness is concerned about the military power in their hands and does not dare to take action to rectify the situation easily.
I am afraid that it will backfire and force people to create rebellion.
Hu Chengen certainly understood the pros and cons, so he has been gradually winning back the hearts of the people.
Upon hearing this, the princess grasped the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, and the anger in her heart was almost uncontrollable.
She was rarely so angry. Yuan Mingxuan was so cowardly. How could she not be furious that Zhongshan Kingdom was controlled by such a person?
Look at the people queuing up for food.
The princess knew very well that those who were struggling in the quagmire and could not see the light would not like a wise leader who was fair and honest, loved the people like his own children, and had the ability to turn the tide.
Obviously, the people have lost confidence in what Yuan Saburo did, but they cannot resist. Perhaps they will comfort themselves in their hearts that at least they are hiding in the safe county town, which is already better than those people outside.
She needs to win back the people's hearts and minds.
The princess took a deep breath, tried to suppress her emotions, and asked, "The master hasn't answered yet, what's cooking in the pot?"
Hu Chengen couldn't understand why she was obsessed with insignificant things.
"My lady, it's a paste made by mixing soybeans with hay." Even this paste was fought for by several commanders for the people.
"What?!" The princess was shocked. "Can you eat food like this?"
Hu Cheng'en sighed. It was true that Her Highness the Princess was ignorant of the sufferings of the world. It was lucky enough that the common people had stutters. The Princess was making a fuss out of nothing.
He thought this, but kept his expression low. He replied respectfully, "My Lady, you may not know. Zhongshan is a land of limited land and a small population. There's hardly any unpolluted farmland left. Food is scarce, so we naturally have to be frugal."
Wei Xiyin nudged Wei Li beside her.
Wei Li nodded slightly and asked, "Mr. Hu, since we're short of food, I'm afraid hay won't be easy to find, right? Isn't cooking hay the same as feeding grain?"
Hearing the voice, Hu Chengen turned around and looked at him.
Seeing that it was Wei's husband, he lowered his eyes slightly, feeling a little disdainful in his heart.
After all, they are from aristocratic families, and they are all naive and stupid. What's the difference between asking this question and asking "Why don't you eat meat porridge"?
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