"Great Khan, have we been tricked? Perhaps Zhuge Zhongshen has already betrayed us. My spies in Xiyancheng have sent word that all the people in Xiyancheng are packing their bags and fleeing. It was the prefect who ordered everyone to evacuate Xiyancheng. No one is allowed to stay. They can only return after some natural disaster has passed."
This man, who had spies in Xiyancheng, was Wanyan Xiong's most trusted man and the number one warrior on the grassland. He was brave, resourceful, and quite capable.
"What is Zhuge Zhongshen up to? Is he afraid that we will attack, burn, kill, and loot, so he ordered the people to evacuate in advance and took all their belongings, leaving me with an empty city?" Wanyan Xiong guessed this possibility and was furious. He overturned the low table in front of him.
"That Zhuge Zhongshen dared to deceive me! Muku, you write back to the spies over there and tell them to find an opportunity to strike. Kill Zhuge Zhongshen for me! No, kill his whole family! This bastard, I will not let him off easily!" In a fit of rage, Wanyan Xiong also killed the mother and daughter that Zhuge Zhongshen had given him.
Little did Wanyan Xiong know that Zhuge Zhongshen was still locked in the woodshed of a house, bound by ropes and gagged with a rag.
The two countries have already gone to war. Although Wanyan Xiong believed that Zhuge Zhongshen had deceived him, he was still unwilling to retreat. The people of the Great Jin Dynasty were already suffering and food was scarce. He did not believe that they could not be worn down.
Sooner or later, the Jin soldiers on the border would be unable to fight due to insufficient supplies. He firmly believed that as long as he held on a little longer, he would be able to take Xiyu Pass. Even without Zhuge Zhongshen's inside help, he could still win.
The facts were pretty much as Wanyan Xiong had guessed: the border supplies were indeed insufficient, not even enough to feed them when there was no fighting, and if a battle broke out suddenly, they probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
To make matters worse, all the people of Xiyancheng had to be relocated, and the imperial court currently did not have enough grain to supply the border, making the situation extremely difficult.
"How is the evacuation of the people from Xiyancheng going?" asked Luo Ling, the general guarding the border, to his adjutant.
"I just received news that, except for a few stubborn fellows who refuse to leave, everyone else has left the city. Prefect Wu is leading the people of the city on an urgent journey, but there are too many people, and they are all carrying their families and belongings, so they can't move very fast." The adjutant sighed heavily.
Thinking of the hardships the Great Jin Dynasty had endured over the years, and the increasingly difficult situation on the border, both generals were filled with gloom and despair.
Xingxing and Zhulin's research route was to first travel from Xiyancheng to Qingyang Prefecture, and then another ten days or so to reach a small county town, which was the highest point in the northwest.
There are forests there, and in the spring, wild vegetables and mushrooms can be picked. Moreover, the area is sparsely populated and rich in resources, making it a good place to settle the disaster-stricken people.
Qingyang Prefecture will likely also be affected by the floods, but as long as preventative measures are taken in advance, casualties can be avoided, and there is no need to evacuate the entire city.
Too many people are difficult to manage. Only 5,000 soldiers were spared from the entire Xiyan City to escort over 100,000 people. If they cause a riot and a stampede, it will be very difficult to control the situation.
Therefore, the evacuation was carried out in batches. The first batch departed in the morning, with each batch consisting of approximately 50,000 people. It was roughly divided into three batches.
Xingxing and Zhu Lin's group followed the second group, so that they could keep an eye on both sides and it would be easier for the people in both groups to report any problems that might arise.
The first ten days or so went smoothly, and none of the three teams encountered any problems. Everyone traveled during the day and rested at night. They saw poor families who had no livestock to pull their goods and had to carry them by hand. These families had many elderly people and children, and their pace was slow and they couldn't keep up with the progress.
Depending on the situation, Xingxing will let very young children and very old people who are unsteady on their feet ride in the carriage.
Some people were envious and went up to make a scene, wanting to ride in the carriage too, or else they would cry, make a scene, or even threaten to hang themselves.
Xingxing was furious. "You can walk by yourself, why did you fight with others for a seat in the carriage? You said you couldn't walk, but I see you're in great shape and have the energy to cause trouble. How dare you affect everyone's evacuation process? Guards, break this shrew's legs!"
Qingyan and Qingluo immediately came over and restrained the woman, holding a knife and about to cut off her feet. The woman was so frightened that her pupils dilated, and she managed to break free with all her might. Then she rushed out of the group and ran away like a madwoman.
Tsk, Xingxing was just trying to scare that woman as a warning, not to actually cut off her legs. Otherwise, would she really think it would be so easy for her to break free?
"Wife, wife, where are you going?" The woman's husband was an honest man, not tall and somewhat ugly. He carried two baskets, which contained all their family's belongings. The couple had a son, who kept a low profile, carrying a large cloth bag on his back, and walked along the road obediently, indifferent to his mother's departure.
"What a nuisance, always causing trouble," Zhang Xiantao clicked her tongue.
Looking in the direction the woman had left, Zhao Mingyue said calmly, "I can catch her; she can't outrun me."
Upon hearing this, Qingyan and Qingluo stopped in their tracks and looked at Zhao Mingyue.
"Mingyue, don't worry about that person. She brought this on herself, so she deserves it." Zhang Xiantao grabbed Zhao Mingyue's hand, not wanting him to get involved in these troublesome matters.
"It's alright, I'll be back soon." As soon as Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, she darted out, her speed indeed as fast as the wind, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
Fifteen minutes later, he brought the woman back, who was still wailing, as if she refused to come back.
“She had a lot of silver on her, and it looks like she ran away on purpose.” Zhao Mingyue threw the person in front of Zhu Lin.
Zhu Lin was too lazy to deal with such troublesome matters, so he handed the person over to Qing Yan and Qing Luo to interrogate. The woman was so frightened that Qing Luo had just picked up a knife to cut off the woman's little finger when the woman immediately confessed.
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