Princess Zhongshan opened the letter and read it.
This was an urgent military order issued by the governor Gong Changjun to the Yizhou army throughout Yizhou.
The letter said that Guangping had fallen, the governor's office was in trouble, and less than 20% of the Yizhou troops stationed in Guangping were left.
It also mentioned that the Gu family, one of the only three families in Yizhou that owned a fort, also suffered heavy casualties. The Gu family fort was breached in the winter, and many members of the clan fled the clan in the chaos. Most of them lost their trace and their whereabouts are unknown.
There are eight counties in Yizhou, and the power of the aristocratic families is intertwined, but there are only three families that own forts and camps.
They are the Qinghe Wei family, the Guangping Gu family, and the Hejian Zhao family.
Unlike the prosperous Qinghe Wei family, the Guangping Gu family has a very early origin, which can be traced back hundreds of years ago. It was at its peak during the previous dynasty and produced many important officials. It gradually declined after the change of dynasties.
But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and its foundation is still there. The fact that it was easily breached by zombies is also related to the geographical location of their clan. The Gu family fortress is located at the intersection of Guangping, Chizhang, and Quzhou counties, surrounded by three cities and densely populated.
Princess Zhongshan read the letter over and over again two or three times, but always felt that something was wrong. However, she couldn't find the problem after thinking about it for a long time, so she had to give up and planned to wait for the scout to wake up before asking him.
Cui Erniang, who was standing by, asked curiously, "My Lady, what does the letter say?"
Princess Zhongshan folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. She didn't intend to explain it to her in detail, but said softly, "It's for the military clerk who was originally stationed here."
Seeing this, Cui Erniang didn't ask any more questions.
It was already the beginning of spring, there was no shortage of food in the granary, and there were two wells, but there were no items that women could use.
Princess Zhongshan and Cui Erniang were still wearing the clothes they had worn when they escaped.
When they first arrived here, the attendants searched everywhere for a long time and only found a few men's clothes in the granary. The attendants washed the clothes, dried them over fire, and handed them to the two masters.
The princess was fine. She knew the current environment was difficult and she had no choice, so she forced herself to change her clothes despite the discomfort.
Her personal maid did not escape, and her followers were servants and men, so she had to do some personal matters herself.
Cui Erniang, however, was very disgusted and refused to wear it no matter what.
She ordered her attendants, "I won't wear it. Go wash the princess's clothes and bring them here."
The followers looked at each other but did not move.
Princess Zhongshan was a little displeased when she heard this, but she didn't get angry. She turned around and ordered, "If my cousin doesn't want to wear it, then forget it. You can go down first."
"yes."
After everyone left, Princess Zhongshan said softly, "In today's world, only the fittest survive. My followers are already struggling to protect me. Cousin, you must think carefully. If you offend a follower with great martial arts skills, they may only be able to choose one person to protect you if you encounter danger."
"Guess, who will they choose?"
The answer is self-evident.
That person can only be her, not Cui Er Niang.
Cui Erniang felt a little bit unbelievable. Her eyes were full of panic. She couldn't believe that the usually gentle and weak princess would say such words.
"Although attendants are servants, they are also servants of Zhongshan State and represent Zhongshan State." Princess Zhongshan softened her tone. "Cousin, it's time to change your temper. Whether you leave or stay, I will not abandon you. After all, you are my aunt's only legitimate daughter."
"But I am just a woman, I am powerless and I am afraid I can't protect my cousin." Princess Zhongshan and Cui Erniang were not actually familiar with each other.
She was born in Zhongshan State. This was the first time she had gone out in so many years, and it was the third time she had seen her cousin.
The two happened to be in the same place when the incident happened. They fled for their lives and protected her because her aunt had helped her mother's family before and she remembered the kindness they had shown her.
Her cousin was raised by her aunt and became arrogant and domineering. It's okay that she has her family to protect her in times of peace and prosperity, and no one would say anything wrong about her.
But if he continues to be stubborn, I'm afraid when the time comes I'll just have to leave him behind and let him fend for himself.
Cui Erniang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly admitted her mistake, "My lady is right. I know I was wrong."
For the entire winter after that, Cui Er Niang was very well-behaved. She ate whatever the princess ate and wore whatever the princess wore, and never dared to act arrogantly again.
The five followers understood what was happening when they saw the Second Lady suddenly change her attitude.
A few days later, the rescued man still couldn't hold on and died in the middle of the night.
The attendants dragged the body out, and the group waited patiently in the granary, hoping to see the surviving Yizhou army.
Who would have thought that instead of the Yizhou army arriving, they received a group of uninvited guests who coveted the granary.
………
At this time, Wei Xiyin and others were still wandering around Ling County.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s close to the foot of the mountain, but there are so many mutated animals nearby. Every time I go to a place, I’ll encounter various mutated animals besides zombies.
Not a single normal one was seen.
Wei Xiyin was very dissatisfied. At least they should be allowed to catch a few normal livestock and bring them back to the fort.
At first, she dissected different mutated animals to take a look, but later there were too many of them and she was too lazy to look at them anymore. She thought that after the research institute was established, she would just give them all to Chu Yu to study.
They wandered around Ling County for three days, and on the fourth day, they finally found survivors.
Those people hid in a cave halfway up the mountain. They were starving to the point of being skin and bones. Because of the cold weather, they were covered in all kinds of quilts that were covered in dirt. The group of people had disheveled hair and dirty faces, huddled together like wooden chickens, with no light in their eyes.
When they saw the stones blocking the front of the cave being removed and a group of officers and soldiers holding weapons standing outside, expressions finally appeared on their faces. Tears instantly welled up in their eyes and they burst into tears, holding their heads and crying.
Wei Xiyin immediately ordered someone to count the number of people.
Soon the guard came to report, "Miss, there are eighty-seven people in this group, most of them are middle-aged men."
Wei Xiyin nodded after hearing this, "Tell them to stay in the cave until we return to the Wei family fortress together."
"Or, go to the dock now."
If you walk quickly from here to the dock, you can reach it in one day.
The area along the way has been cleared. Even if we encounter a few zombies, with so many people, if we can't even deal with those few zombies, it wouldn't be a pity if we died.
When they heard that they were from the Qinghe Wei clan and were willing to take them in, the people all knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Wei Xiyin, repeating, "Thank you, young lady, for saving my life..."
They made a decision quickly. The girl took someone out, as if she had something important to do. They didn't dare to ask when she would be back. Instead of staying here and feeling anxious, it would be better for them to go to the fort by themselves.
Wei Xiyin immediately agreed and gave them a bag of food.
Going back now would be a good opportunity to help build the wall.
Zhang Yuanyan couldn't bear it and wanted to send soldiers to escort him, but Wei Xiyin refused.
"Master Zhang can protect them for a while, but can he protect them for the rest of their lives?"
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