After hearing what Yu Niang said, Wen and Ning Jie'er immediately went back and packed two sets of clothes with Zhu, and put some gold leaves in their bags just in case.
Fortunately, all the money Yu Niang earned was deposited in the money shop, and only some small change and gold leaves for self-defense were left in the house. He put all these in a bag and went to Yu Niang's room to help her pack two sets of clothes.
Xu Qinyu was currently whistling in the lookout tower, calling Baiyu and Moyu back.
Although the two often ran to the mountains on weekdays, as long as she whistled, Baiyu and Moyu could hear her even in the mountains and would come back from the mountains.
Xu Qinyu had just blew the whistle twice when she heard the voices of Baiyu and Moyu in the distance. They must have heard the noise from the military camp and were worried that something might have happened to Xu's Restaurant, so they ran back from the mountains.
When Xu Qinyu took the two back, Wen and Ning Jie'er had already packed up their things.
Seeing Baiyu, Wen Shi also felt a little worried. "Yu Niang, will bringing Baiyu with you scare everyone?"
It has been almost two years since the restaurant was built, and Bai Yu has never been seen in the restaurant. The waiters in the restaurant didn't know that the owner had raised such a big white python.
Xu Qinyu said, "Don't worry, mother. This is a special time. Just tell the guys later. Although Baiyu looks huge and strong, and a little intimidating, if we really meet an enemy, it will be enough to scare them. So it's safer to take Baiyu with you."
Wen nodded, and the family carried their luggage to the restaurant.
By now, the waiters in the restaurant had all dressed and come out, all a little worried about what was going on in the military camp. As they were looking towards the camp, they saw the boss coming from the house. Following him, besides his family, there was also...
All the guys gasped as they saw behind their boss a huge white python that was at least three meters long and as thick as a man's waist.
Everyone just felt their scalps tingling and their whole bodies going weak.
There was a leopard following the boss. They recognized the leopard as one of the boss's pets. Its name was Moyu. They could occasionally see it in the restaurant, but most of the time it would avoid people.
Seeing that everyone wanted to run, Xu Qinyu waved at them. Out of trust in the boss, all the guys stood still, but their legs were a little weak.
Xu Qinyu turned around and signaled Baiyu not to follow her. She walked over to the Xu family's staff and said, "Don't be afraid, everyone. This is Baiyu. I've raised her since she was little. She's quite psychic and won't hurt anyone. We don't know what's going on in the military camp yet, so it's best for everyone to come with me and hide in the mountains. With Baiyu and Moyu, other beasts won't dare approach us even if they encounter us."
Something happened in the military camp, and they were the closest to the camp and could not go into the city. They had to find a place to hide and could not stay in the restaurant.
Everyone felt relieved and couldn't help but look at the white jade in the distance.
It just lay there straight and motionless. If its owner didn't let it come forward, it really wouldn't come.
I didn't know it, but I suddenly felt that this big white snake looked a bit honest.
Everyone was interrupted by Bai Yu, and they suddenly felt less anxious.
There are almost two hundred people left in Xu's restaurant, including waiters, cooks, guards, other managers and guests. Xu Qinyu asked Gongger and Tao Qi to take them to the mountains first, and she would follow.
After waiting for everyone to enter the mountain one after another, Xu Qinyu went to see Huo Jiang and Lianhua and said to them, "Please go to the military camp and see what's going on. If it's really an enemy attack, we should make plans early."
Huo Jiang and Lianhua certainly knew what was happening in the military camp. It should be His Highness who led his men to attack, but there would definitely not be any casualties. These soldiers guarding the border town were all good soldiers. His Highness should be confident that he could capture Raozhou City.
If nothing unexpected happens, the governor's mansion and military camp in Raozhou City will submit to Your Highness tomorrow.
Lianhua didn't even dare to look at Xu Qinyu, and just pretended to look at the flames rising from the military camp.
Huo Jiang said, "Master, don't worry. Lotus and I will go check it out right away. Master, please go into the mountains first and don't wait for us. After we get the news, Lotus and I will go into the mountains to look for you immediately."
Xu Qinyu nodded and watched Huo Jiang and Lianhua leave.
She also took Mo Yu and Bai Yu up the mountain.
Everyone hid in the mountains, and it was already dark.
After waiting for almost two hours, Huo Jiang and Lianhua finally returned. Huo Jiang told Xu Qinyu, "Master, don't worry. This isn't an attack from a neighboring country, nor are they some kind of bandits. It seems like these are rebels from somewhere. They're probably dissatisfied with the court's actions, so they've revolted."
Xu Qinyu was relieved. Over the past six months, there had been some uprisings in other states, but none of them had achieved much.
This is the first time I have seen rebels daring to attack military camps and the state capital. It seems that this wave of rebels should be very powerful.
However, if these rebels really captured the military camp and suffered heavy casualties, they would not be able to hide it from the neighboring countries, and they would be able to take advantage of the situation.
So no matter what the cause of the war is, it is the ordinary people who suffer.
Huo Jiang added, "Master, don't worry. Lianhua and I took a look over there, and it seems there weren't any casualties. The rebels didn't intend to hurt anyone. They just subdued the generals in the camp and took the tiger talisman."
Xu Qinyu was a little stunned. To catch a thief, one must catch the leader first, but the leader of this military camp was captured too quickly. Was even the tiger talisman taken away so easily?
Even Mrs. Wen found it a bit strange. Her eldest son had led soldiers in the southwestern border town before. She once said that the soldiers were brave and very brave. How come they were easily subdued by the rebels this time?
But as long as no one is injured, it's fine.
It seems that these rebels are also unwilling to harm innocent people.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Do we still have to stay in the mountains?"
Huo Jiang said, "From what Lianhua and I have seen, those rebels are very strict and law-abiding. Unlike ordinary rebels, they haven't harmed anyone. So I think they won't harm ordinary people like us either. Master, why don't you take your men back and rest? I'll go get more details tomorrow."
Since Huo Jiang said that the rebels were not bad people, Xu Qinyu took everyone back to the restaurant to rest.
But that night, the people in the restaurant must have been uneasy and could not sleep well. Xu Qinyu also had nightmares. She kept dreaming that the enemy attacked the restaurant, captured everyone, and asked her to cook for them.
When she woke up in the morning, Xu Qinyu was still a little confused.
There were other guests in the restaurant, so breakfast had to be prepared. Xu Qinyu didn't want to stay in the house any longer, so she went to the restaurant to make breakfast.
Wen's Ning Jie'er, Zhu's, and their two children also went there together. With more people around, they felt more at ease.
Most of Xu Ji's customers were from Raozhou City. Because the military camp was captured, the diners knew that even if the rebels would not kill innocent people, they were still panicked. After breakfast, they set off back to the city. As a result, half an hour later, they all returned the same way. Because the gates of Raozhou City were not open at all, they still didn't know the situation inside.
So they could only go back to Xu Ji and stay there first.
Xu Qinyu waived all room fees for the diners and only charged half the price for breakfast and dinner.
As a result, the diners were in a panic and sent people to Raozhou City every day to see if the city gates were open.
Most of the families of these diners were still in the city, and since the city gates had not been opened, they were naturally very anxious. Even if Xu Ji's food tasted good, it still tasted like chewing wax.
On the third day, the gates of Raozhou City finally opened.
Huo Jiang escorted the guests into the city, then went inside to investigate. He came back and told Xu Qinyu, "All the shops in the city are closed. They must have sent people from the city to capture the governor's residence and government offices on the day of the attack on the military camp. They've probably been handling miscellaneous matters in the city these past few days."
Zhu, who was standing nearby, asked worriedly, "Are all the shops closed? Are there any casualties in the city? How is the prefectural governor's residence? How is the prefect's family?"
In the city, the person that Zhu cares about the most is naturally her younger brother, Governor Zhu.
Huo Jiang shook his head. "There are no casualties. I also secretly went to the prefectural governor's mansion to check. The prefectural governor's family is still in the mansion. Their movements are restricted. Everything else is fine."
Zhu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as people are alive, it's fine.
Huo Jiang really couldn't tell the princess and the others that the prefect's mansion had indeed been captured, but the prefect was not imprisoned and was still handling official business in the mansion. However, the prefect and his family were not allowed to go out.
I'm afraid the governor has already known about your highness's actions.
Now Huo Jiang couldn't tell the princess and the others directly that the rebels were his highness, otherwise the princess and the others would have to worry about his highness's comfort all day long, and they were also afraid that his highness's identity would be accidentally exposed, and then the princess and the others would be in danger. So he simply continued to hide it and wait until he really attacked the capital.
From the moment His Highness led the troops, he never revealed his true identity to anyone, simply because he was worried that the new emperor and the empress dowager in the capital would find out.
You must know that even though only His Highness and the Seventh Prince are left in the Pei family, there are still some relatives in the capital, and the princess's family is all in the capital. In addition, there are still some courtiers in the court who previously supported the eldest prince. The implications are very serious. If the Queen Mother and the new Emperor knew that His Highness was the one who rebelled, they would definitely arrest all these people and threaten His Highness, so he could only hide his identity.
Xu Qinyu was relieved to know that the prefect was fine.
In the following days, Xu Ji had few customers, so she divided Xu Ji's employees into two groups and gave them a long vacation to go home and visit their families.
For the entire month, there were almost no customers coming to Xu Ji, but Xu Qinyu still paid half of the wages to Xu Ji's waiters.
In fact, during this month, some shops in Raozhou City opened one after another, but there were still not many people on the streets. It was not until the busy farming season began that everyone was willing to go out and busy themselves with farm work, and then more people started to walk on the streets.
It seemed that the entire Raozhou City was no different from before, except that the security in front of the prefectural government office and the government office was more strict, and the officers and soldiers patrolling the streets also looked a little unfamiliar.
Until the busy farming season began, notices were posted in front of the government offices and the prefectural government offices, stating that only one-thirtieth of the grain tax in the villages and towns under the jurisdiction of Raozhou City was to be levied as tax. The commercial tax was a little more complicated, but basically it was also around one-thirtieth. The commercial tax standards were also different. In other words, if you earn less, you don't even have to pay one-thirtieth of the commercial tax. If you pay relatively little tax, and earn more, the maximum commercial tax is only one-thirtieth. Compared with the previous 20% and then 50%, this commercial tax is already very little.
The people could not believe it even more. The grain tax was only one in thirty, which meant that if one acre of land produced 3,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes and potatoes, they only had to pay 100 kilograms. If they had followed the new emperor's previous tax system, they would have to pay 1,500 kilograms. Now the tax rate was only one in thirty, which had never happened before when the previous emperor was alive.
The common people didn't care and immediately became friendly with the rebels. They felt that if these people were in power, it would be much better than the emperor in the capital. The emperor in the capital forced the common people to have no way to survive. These rebels were from the common people and knew the sufferings of the common people and would consider the common people.
What's more, they captured Raozhou City without harming anyone. These rebels were well-disciplined and never harassed the people.
Most of the people have begun to feel friendly towards the rebels.
But at present, only the villages and towns under the jurisdiction of Raozhou City have changed their taxes, after all, other southwestern city capitals have yet to be conquered.
By the second month, Xu Ji had some diners coming in gradually, but it was still much less than before.
By the end of spring, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor indeed dispatched troops from other prefectures to attack Raozhou City. If a real fight broke out, innocent people would surely be harmed, or the people in the city would be hurt. Huo Jiang first asked Xu Qinyu to lock up Xu Ji and stay in the city for a few days, and the guys also went home first.
Xu Qinyu brought her family into the city.
She had not bought a house in Raozhou City, but there was a yard behind the shop rented by Ning Jie'er, so the family lived behind the shop first. Although the shop was small, it had everything, including a kitchen. Xu Qinyu bought some rice, flour, grain, oil and vegetables to store, and she and Mu Shi cooked breakfast every day.
With the help of Wen's Ning Jie'er and Zhu, she just cooked the dishes, and they did the rest of the washing, cutting, sweeping and cleaning.
It is a rare period of free time these days. It is the most leisurely period since Xu Qinyu came to this place.
A few days later, other generals really came with their soldiers to attack, but the Black Armored Army stationed in Raozhou City simply closed the city gates and refused to fight with these soldiers.
After living in the city for a few days, Xu Qinyu learned that these rebel forces were called the Black Armor Army and had strict discipline.
The generals from the other two state cities could not attack by force because there were still civilians in the city.
However, a secret letter was sent from the capital, asking them to launch a violent attack.
The generals of both armies were hesitant. The civilians inside were innocent. If they attacked directly, the civilians would be implicated and countless would be killed or injured. They could not bring themselves to do that.
But before they could make a decision, spies from the rear came to report that the Black Armored Army had attacked their state capital.
Now there is no need to attack by force. The house has been robbed, so why fight?
There are only three state capitals in the southwest, and now all three state capitals have surrendered to the Black Armor Army. In other words, the entire southwest is under the command of the Black Armor Army.
It went so smoothly that it was a bit unexpected.
Because the southwest had already fallen, the empress dowager was extremely angry and the court officials also began to panic. After all, a new emperor means new ministers. If the rebels really attacked, they, the officials and the meritorious families, would not know what their fate would be. The southwest had the most sufficient military force among the border cities, which meant that the strongest military force of the Great Sheng Dynasty had been subdued by the Black Armor Army. It was only a matter of time before they attacked the capital.
It has only been three months since the Hei family army conquered the southwest.
Everyone in the capital was in a panic, but in the southwest, people's lives had returned to normal, and they even had more smiles on their faces than before.
The crops have been planted, and this year looks like another bumper year. The people will be taxed at one in thirty during the autumn harvest. With so much grain in stock, they won't have to worry about going hungry even if there are some natural disasters or man-made disasters next year.
Xu Qinyu stayed in Raozhou City for half a month until the other two cities were captured by the Black Armor Army. A few days later, the generals of the two cities also led their officers and soldiers to surrender to the Black Armor Army and returned to their original cities. Xu Qinyu also left the city and returned to Xu Ji.
By the summer, Xu Ji's business had improved a lot.
Life in the southwest has returned to normal, but Xu Qinyu is very worried. Her fourth brother has not returned since he left in the first month of the year. Only in early summer did he send a letter home, saying that because of the war, he would be delayed for a long time on the road and it is unlikely that he would return home this year. He asked Yu Niang to take good care of herself and not to worry too much about him.
But how could Xu Qinyu not be worried? Although the southwest was calm as usual, the world outside was still very chaotic.
She only hoped that her fourth brother could be safe and sound. As for other things, she also hoped that the leader of the Black Armor Army would be a wise ruler who would be diligent in governing the country and love the people, and not be blinded by his position for so long and only pursue pleasure. She could see that the leader of the Black Armor Army was a capable person, otherwise he would not have captured another provincial capital in just one month and was approaching the capital.
She didn't know who the leader of the Black Armor Army was. She only heard that the leader of the Black Armor Army was a man with a very ordinary appearance.
As the days passed, Xu Ji's business got better and better.
As for the Hei Family Army, Xu Qinyu only heard some things about it from Huo Jiang.
Huo Jiang helped her find out a lot of things. Every time he talked about the Black Armor Army, Huo Jiang was beaming with joy. When he mentioned the leader of the Black Armor Army, his eyes lit up even brighter, and it was obvious that he admired the leader of the Black Armor Army.
The people in the southwest had similar expressions to Huo Jiang when they mentioned the Black Armor Army, because when the autumn harvest came, the people really only paid one in thirty taxes, and they could take baskets and bags of grain back to their homes. With the stored food, the people could also eat their fill.
These potatoes and sweet potatoes are delicious when cooked.
But these two cannot be used as staple food alone, so not all land in the southwest is planted with potatoes and sweet potatoes. Each family still uses half of the land to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes, and the other land is used to plant other crops.
At the end of autumn, Xu Qinyu received another letter from her fourth brother, who said that he might be able to go home by the end of the year.
Xu Qinyu also thought that Fourth Brother was talking about the fact that Fourth Brother would be able to return to Raozhou City by the end of the year.
In three months, it will be a year since Fourth Brother left. Wen and the others are very worried about Pei Weixuan, wondering how he is doing outside. In troubled times, although caravans can make more money, they are also more dangerous.
Later, the weather became colder day by day, and Huo Jiang would report the movements of the Black Armor Army to Xu Qinyu almost every ten days or half a month.
The Black Armored Army reached Tongzhou, which was very close to the capital.
By mid-winter, Xu Qinyu heard that the Black Armored Army had reached the capital.
She didn't know the situation in the capital, but her original father, mother, brother, and uncle's family were all in the capital. Xu Qinyu had lost her appetite these days, worried that they would be harmed. She was not worried that the Black Armored Army would hurt anyone, but she was worried that the Queen Mother and Emperor Sheng Yuan would use the people to threaten the Black Armored Army, which was something the Queen Mother and Emperor Sheng Yuan could do.
After all, these black-armored soldiers attacked all the way with almost no casualties, and none of the civilians were killed or injured.
Because of this, several state capitals surrendered without even fighting.
Xu Qinyu was also worried about the situation in the capital, but she also had a faint hope. If the Black Armor Army really captured the capital, broke into the palace, subdued the Queen Mother and Emperor Shengyuan, and the people were free from worry, the dynasty would change. If the dynasty changed, would she be able to return to the capital? She wanted to go back and see her original body's parents. In the years since she became her original body, she had inherited her original body's feelings and felt affection for her original body's relatives. She wanted to go back and see them.
However, she had no idea what happened after the Hei family army arrived in the capital.
It would take seven or eight days for Huo Jiang to get some information back, and at least several more days to know the situation in the capital.
Xu Qinyu knew that she couldn't be impatient. Now it was the twelfth lunar month again, so she started to pickle hams. She planned to pickle about 5,000 hams this year.
Throughout this year, due to the chaotic world, Xu Ji's business has not been very good. There are still some hams pickled from the year before last, and the hams pickled last year can only be eaten this year, so there are still quite a few. However, Xu Qinyu still plans to pickle more. After this world is over, the excess hams can be transported to other states by caravans for sale. The ham can be stored for a few years. The raw ham will taste more mellow and rich, and taste better. It will taste better if it is stored for a while, so it is okay to pickle more.
For the next half month, Xu Qinyu was busy pickling ham.
The Chinese New Year is just half a month away, and she doesn't know what's going on in the capital. Twice, she asked Huo Jiang if he knew what was going on in the capital, but Huo Jiang just hesitated and said he didn't know.
Xu Qinyu had no one else or any other channels to find out the news from the capital. If no one delivered the message quickly, according to the communication distance in that era, it would take at least a month for the developments in the capital to reach the southwest. She could only calm down and focus on her own business.
Two days later, after the restaurant finished preparing dinner, Xu Qinyu returned home.
There is still half a year left until the end of the year, and it is a bit busy at the end of the year. Xu Qinyu has to look at a lot of account books, the accounts of the fields, and the bills of Xu's Restaurant and inn. The business in the second half of the year was good, so they have to be checked again.
Ning Jie'er's shop is doing very well now, and the accounts will be checked at the end of the year. The two of them stayed in Xu Qinyu's room to calculate the account books.
There was still silver frost charcoal in the room. Although it was warm, it was a bit stuffy. Wen opened the window and took a look. Then she turned to her daughter-in-law and daughter and said, "The snow seems to be getting lighter. I wonder if it will stop tomorrow."
Fortunately, the snow in the southwest is not heavy. Even if it falls for a few days, it only reaches the ankles and it falls intermittently.
After reading this, Mrs. Wen left a small gap in the window for ventilation and accompanied her daughter and daughter-in-law to settle accounts.
After settling the bill, the three of them went back to their room to rest.
The next morning, Xu Qinyu got up early because she had to go to the restaurant to make breakfast.
Xu Ji has more and more chefs, so she basically doesn't have to worry about anything anymore, but she still goes there every day to help prepare breakfast and dinner.
Xu Qinyu also planned to write a few cookbooks in the future. With so many delicious foods passed down over five thousand years, it would take an unknown amount of time to teach even if she were to teach her disciples. It would be better to write them down as recipes, including some home-cooked recipes, some menus, various snacks, etc., so that people can read them and pass them on better.
Xu Qinyu was thinking about it when she asked the maid to bring hot water into the house for her to wash up and prepare to go to the restaurant in a while.
The restaurant is still open this year and has started to take reservations for diners for this year's New Year's dinner. Xu Qinyu will have to go there and take a look later.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but think of her fourth brother again. She hadn't seen him for a whole year.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but sigh. She had just put on her clothes when the maid brought in some hot water. After washing up, Xu Qinyu took the water outside and poured it in the courtyard. Then she saw another little maid running in hurriedly, her face pale. Seeing this, Xu Qinyu hurriedly asked, "Chun Tao, why are you running? Run slower. Did something happen at the restaurant?"
The only thing she could think of was that something had happened at the restaurant, but the restaurant hadn't even started serving breakfast yet and the doors were still closed, so what could have happened? Could something have happened to one of the guests staying in the garden?
Xu Qinyu's heart skipped a beat and she became a little worried.
Chun Tao just shook her head and ran to stand in front of Xu Qinyu. She said breathlessly with a pale face, "Madam, there are many guards outside. They have surrounded our house."
Chuntao has been guarding the gatehouse. Whenever someone knocks on the door, she is the one who goes in and out to help pass on the message.
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