At the end of January and the beginning of February, the spring breeze becomes gentler.

The vast land of North China is finally covered with green.

In this green space, countless people are staggering.

These people, with their families, were ragged and unkempt, but they were in good spirits and their eyes were full of hope.

A woman holding a little girl was mixed in the crowd. Although her face looked tired, her steps were still strong.

"Mom, I'm hungry." The little girl murmured while lying on the woman's shoulder.

The woman patted her.

"We're almost there. Once we pass Junzi Pass, we can eat and rest, and we can settle down." she said.

The girl nodded instead of making a fuss.

"Mrs. Chengguo said that it would be fine once we pass the gentleman's test," she said.

When she thought of Mrs. Chengguo, she thought of that bowl of hot porridge. It was this hot porridge that supported the mother and daughter to walk such a long way. The woman felt warm in her heart.

"Yes, Mrs. Chengguo doesn't lie," she said.

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard cheers coming from the front. The woman looked forward and saw that the people who were originally staggering suddenly started to run, and a city was faintly visible in front of her.

arrive!

arrive!

The woman couldn't help but run with the child in her arms.

Everyone in the wilderness was shouting and running, and the gates of the city over there were opened wide, with teams of soldiers rushing out.

Seeing these soldiers, some of the refugees stopped in fear.

Will they not be allowed into the city?

While they were in doubt, the leading officer pointed behind them and spoke.

"Turn right as you enter the city, there is a porridge factory," he shouted.

The people were immediately delighted. Some knelt down and kowtowed, while more people quickened their pace and rushed inside.

These officers and soldiers kept moving forward until they saw a horse-drawn carriage escorted by more than a dozen officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers dismounted one after another, and Tian Yao quickly stepped forward to salute.

"Mrs. Chengguo," he said.

Mrs. Yu lifted the car curtain and nodded to him.

"That's great, you're finally here." Lord Tian said happily, choking up a bit, "I'm glad you're safe, Madam."

Mrs. Yu smiled.

"Almost all the people in Bazhou have come." She said, "Have you counted their number?"

Tian Yao nodded quickly and took out the booklet he was carrying with him.

"As of yesterday, a total of 300,000 people have entered Hejian Prefecture," he said, looking at the people who were still staggering behind him, "The exact number will be revealed tomorrow."

Mrs. Yu nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work in Hejian. With so many people pouring in, the burden is heavy," she said.

Tian Yao shook his head with a sincere look on his face.

"Our hardship is nothing," he said. "Besides, many people did not stay and many continued to move south. We can still bear it here."

Mrs. Yu nodded.

"That's good," she said.

"Madam, please come into the city quickly." Tian Yao said, "There is good news. The prince from Shenzhou has also escorted back nearly 100,000 civilians, and the number is still increasing. The prince is also taking people to Xiongzhou."

This is really good news, Mrs. Yu nodded with a smile.

Tian Yao hesitated for a moment and stopped talking.

"What about the bad news?" Mrs. Yu asked directly after seeing his expression.

Tian Yao lowered his head.

"There is still no news about Duke Cheng." He said with his head down.

Liang Chengdong couldn't help but clench his hands.

To be exact, there has been no news about Duke Cheng for more than half a month.

Since the news that Duke Cheng led his troops to bypass the Juma River and attack Yizhou, there has been no new news.

"The Jin soldiers still haven't entered the country, which shows that the threat from Duke Cheng has not been lifted. That means the people and the army are still there," said Madam Yu.

So what? The key point is that the Jin soldiers are besieging Duke Cheng, but Duke Cheng has no reinforcements...

Tian Yao raised his head with a serious expression.

"We have already requested the imperial court to send the three armies and reinforcements from Daming Prefecture to the north," he said.

Liang Chengdong looked somewhat sarcastic.

That's impossible. Peace has already been negotiated. Moreover, the troops in Daming Prefecture are all under the control of the Earl of Qinghe.

Qinghebo, you would rather see Chengguogong die.

Mrs. Yu looked calm, without any sadness, grievance or noise.

"Thank you, Master Tian," she said, sincerely and gracefully.

…

In Xiongzhou, the river water surged after several spring rains, but this did not stop people from crossing the river.

The water splashed and a group of people walked across the river fearlessly.

Carrying their children on their backs, leaning on crutches, they supported each other, letting their pants be soaked by the river water.

A group of people crossed the river in a hurry, and behind them, teams of soldiers stood still on horseback until the last person crossed the river.

The people who had crossed the river did not run away immediately, but turned around and looked at the troops here.

"Hurry up and go," a general shouted, waving his hand at them, "Just ahead is the Su Ning Village. You will be safe there."

Suddenly an old man knelt down.

"Thank you, Master Bing." He kowtowed and shouted.

All of a sudden, a group of people knelt down.

"Thank you, Mr. Bing."

"Thank you, Prince."

"Thank you, Duke Cheng."

A noisy sound came from the other side of the river.

Looking at these people, Zhu Zan, who was standing among the soldiers with his head down in deep thought, looked over.

"Okay, what are you talking about?" He said impatiently and turned his horse around.

All the soldiers and horses immediately followed him and turned their horses around.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves and seeing the soldiers heading north, the people here got up.

"The soldiers still won't cross the river with us." Some people murmured, tears in their eyes, "We still have to rescue more people."

Although he had been trying to stop Zhu Zan's actions, Xin Bing still followed him until now.

At this time he urged his horse forward again.

"My Lord, you can go back now. Most of the people have left. This place no longer belongs to us," he said.

Zhu Zan laughed out loud.

"How ridiculous," he said.

What's funny?

The place I had guarded for ten years suddenly became someone else's place.

The messenger was silent for a moment.

"What I mean is that the Jin soldiers are increasing in number," he said. "You have done enough, my Lord. You can leave now."

Zhu Zan laughed again.

"Yes, I have done enough. It is not shameful anymore." He said, looking forward, "I can go see my father now."

To meet his father? Duke Cheng?

The soldier was stunned for a moment, and then was shocked again.

"My Lord, you want Yizhou?" he shouted. "How is this possible?"

That was the real Jin territory, with tens of thousands of troops on the left and right wings, and Zhu Zan and his men...

The messenger looked back and saw that there were no more than a thousand men and horses.

This is a suicide mission.

"My Lord, why don't you go back and ask for reinforcements?" The messenger said hastily, "My Lord, you have saved so many people, the superiors will surely reward you for your merit."

Zhu Zan laughed again.

"Reinforcements," he said. "If reinforcements had come earlier, would this have happened?"

After saying this, he urged his horse to gallop faster.

The messenger was thrown away, and felt a little sad looking at the figure running ahead.

"My Lord..." He was about to say something when suddenly a beacon fire rose in front of him.

Seeing the beacon fire, the messenger's face suddenly changed, and the running soldiers stopped in shock.

"My Lord..." the messenger muttered, "The front is already full of Jin soldiers. We can't go through."

If it had been a few days earlier, it might have been possible.

Now...it's too late.

The horse neighed and Zhu Zan reined in his horse and turned sharply on the spot. He looked forward and saw veins bulging on his hand holding the reins.

It can’t be saved. Is it impossible to save it?

…

"Stop."

Mrs. Yu suddenly spoke and lifted the curtain.

The carriage stopped as it approached the city gate, and Liang Chengdong hurried forward to inquire.

"Why haven't Miss Jun and the others followed us yet?" asked Mrs. Yu.

Miss Jun led the army to garrison at the border of Bazhou to block the Jin soldiers from heading south so that the people could evacuate safely. Just three days ago, all the people in Bazhou had completed the evacuation.

"We are retreating and sweeping the territory again to see if there is anything we have missed," said Liang Chengdong.

Mrs. Yu said "oh" and looked at Tian Yao.

"That's true." Tian Yao said, "The army said they have withdrawn."

In addition to the initial 3,000 Changfeng troops, the Shun'an Army stationed in Hejian sent another 5,000 into Bazhou.

Of course these troops must obey the orders of Hejian Prefecture.

Mrs. Yu nodded, but she still looked a little inexplicably uneasy.

"But aren't they too slow?" she said. "They should be back by now."

Raise your head and look back.

Why are you walking so slowly?