The imperial court naturally knew that Duke Cheng led his troops into Yizhou.

Huang Cheng would never conceal such a violation of the imperial order for Duke Cheng, so he reported it to the emperor with exaggeration, and the Jin envoys who came to negotiate peace also made a big fuss.

At first there was no news about Duke Cheng, and then there was news that he had been killed in battle and his entire army had been wiped out.

The whole country was in turmoil.

Although Duke Cheng had not been to Beijing for many years, the people were not unfamiliar with him. After all, he was the one who drove away the gold thieves and relieved the people of the north from danger, and then he guarded the border to save everyone from the suffering of gold thieves' invasion.

Although they had been accustomed to a stable and peaceful life in the past ten years, and sometimes felt that Duke Cheng had been forgotten, everyone panicked when they heard that Duke Cheng had died in battle.

What about the border?

We negotiated peace and stopped fighting.

If we don't fight, how can we trust the Jin people?

They had negotiated peace twenty years ago, and thirty years ago they were still vassal states of Daqi. But in the end, they destroyed Daqi, swept the north, and abducted the emperor of Zhou.

How can we trust what these barbarians say?

Moreover, after the cession of three counties, the Jin people were closer to the interior. In the past, it was difficult to cross the vast river between them, but now they are almost adjacent and can be entered in one step. It is not difficult to reach the capital with just a stretch of the hand.

The sorrow over Duke Cheng's death and the fear about the future made everyone who heard the news cry.

Adults cried, children cried too, and for a moment almost the whole world was mourning.

This scene shocked the court.

I didn't expect that the news of Duke Cheng's death in battle would cause such a big shock.

There were even rumors that Duke Cheng was killed by the imperial court because they wanted to negotiate peace and deliberately send him to death in order to please the Jin people.

Of course, different versions soon emerged, saying that Duke Cheng was too ambitious to return and ended up killing his best soldiers and horses. Some even said that Duke Cheng was not dead but had surrendered to the enemy.

This rumor quickly spread throughout the capital, overshadowing the previous rumors.

"Your Majesty has repeatedly ordered us to withdraw our troops, but Duke Cheng is the only one who refuses to do so. Why?"

It was a bright and sunny March, and a skinny man was talking with saliva splashing in a teahouse by the river.

There was a circle of people surrounding them, some sitting and some standing, with complicated expressions.

"Duke Cheng is concerned about the North..." a man answered.

Before she could finish her answer, the skinny man spat at her.

"What? That's for himself. If he withdraws his troops and negotiates peace, how can he, the Duke of Cheng, still show off his might in the North?" He snorted, "Let me tell you, the one who loves war the most in the world is the Duke of Cheng. He is not willing to negotiate peace. Otherwise, what reason would he have to show off his might in the North?"

This seemed to be the case, as low murmurs of discussion could be heard all around.

Chen Qi looked at the river and hugged his arms.

"It's really cold," he said.

The shopkeeper Liu across from him also had a complicated expression.

"Yeah, it's really cold." He said, "It's already March, why is it still chilling to the core?"

A man nearby saw that the people around him had listened, and he looked very proud and put his feet on the bench.

"So, Duke Cheng must have deliberately gone to Yizhou to disrupt the peace talks..." he said loudly.

But just as he said this, he heard someone outside shout "Ah!" and then something hit him.

The man only felt a foul smell attacking his face, which was almost nauseating, and then it was followed by severe pain.

He screamed and stepped back. He was about to lean against a table, but suddenly his foot tripped and he fell headfirst.

The people around were shocked.

"What happened? What happened?" Chen Qi jumped up and tried to support the man.

The man got up and kicked away the dirty shoe that hit his face.

"Thank you, brother." He said gratefully, then looked outside angrily, "Who?"

People around also looked outside and saw four or five beggars in tattered clothes, led by a skinny beggar with only one shoe left on his foot.

beggar?

The beggar is not begging for food now, is he going to rob people?

The beggars who lived in fear and begging for food in the capital now looked angry, even fierce.

"What are you doing?" the man walked over angrily.

"You, why are you cursing Duke Cheng!" the leading beggar shouted.

The tone was stiff and harsh, with a distinct northern accent.

The man chuckled.

"Duke Cheng has brought disaster to the country and the people..." he said.

This time, before he could finish his words, the beggars started shouting.

"You are not allowed to be disrespectful to Duke Cheng."

Not only did he shout, this time he also rushed over and hit the man on the face.

The man was caught off guard and knocked to the ground.

The teahouse was suddenly in chaos due to shouting and yelling.

"Don't hit anyone, don't hit anyone, let's talk it out nicely." Chen Qi shouted and jumped left and right, as if he wanted to stop the fight, but he inadvertently pushed away the people around him who wanted to stop the fight.

After all, this is the capital city, and the situation in the north is unstable, so the Five Cities Army strengthened its patrols and quickly rushed over to control both sides.

The man was beaten badly by several beggars and had several scratches on his face. He wiped the blood from his nose and angrily complained that they wanted them to arrest him.

If a beggar hits someone, of course the beggar must be arrested, and the soldiers from the Five Cities Military Department will step forward.

"Why are you beating people? Beggars are beating people at will." Chen Qi shouted from the side, "If you don't explain clearly, all the beggars in the city will be driven out."

"That's right, tell me clearly why you hit someone." A voice echoed behind him.

That's true. There are more and more beggars and refugees in the capital now. If something happens, everyone will be affected.

Then more voices rang out.

The shout stopped the soldiers' actions, and the beggars spoke with a bit of grievance and anger.

"Because he cursed Duke Cheng." A man said, his eyes red and his anger still lingering. "If it weren't for Duke Cheng, we wouldn't even be able to come to the capital to be beggars. We would have starved to death or been trapped in the north. But you say that Duke Cheng is a disaster for the country and the people. You are talking nonsense."

Is it because of this?

Everyone present was stunned. These beggars actually attacked and hurt others just because someone said something bad about Duke Cheng.

Is this stupidity or is the respect for Duke Cheng deep in his bones?

"You are talking nonsense. What does it have to do with you if I scold Chengguo's public relations?" The man jumped up in anger.

"Of course it's our business."

The beggars shouted together, looking sad and angry.

"You are not from the north, so what right do you have to say that the Duke of Cheng is not good?"

"We are from the north. Who of you knows what kind of life we ​​live?"

"If it weren't for Duke Cheng's protection, we would have died under the swords of the Jin soldiers. He stopped the Jin thieves and protected the people, but you said he was greedy for power and credit. This is called greed. Go ahead and greedy. Go ahead and see how easy it is."

"Now Duke Cheng is risking his life to stop the Jin soldiers. Lady Cheng and the Crown Prince are distributing porridge along the way in the north, and they won't allow any place to turn us away. They say he is showing off. Why don't you show off your power? Go and try, and see how easy it is."

"In order to ensure the safe evacuation of the people in the three counties, Duke Cheng sent his son and his wife with troops to help. You say he likes to fight. How can we not fight? If we don't fight, we will die."

As the beggars talked, several women even started crying.

"You live a good life, an easy life. It's really bullying to slander people like this." An old beggar said with sobs and anger.

These beggars were all refugees from the North, and their accounts of the affairs of the North and of Duke Cheng were indeed convincing.

These words brought a moment of silence around them.

Yes, Duke Cheng has done so many things, but he is still speculated to be a bit of a bully.

It seemed that something was wrong and the man felt a little embarrassed.

"Don't listen to their nonsense," he said, looking at the soldiers, "Catch them quickly."

Several soldiers looked at him coldly.

"Don't make trouble in the street." The leader said, "If you do it again, you will be thrown into jail."

As he said this, he looked at the beggars.

"Get lost now."

The beggars were stunned. Although they were indignant for the moment, they were still afraid in their hearts. They did not expect that the soldiers would not arrest them, so they hurriedly helped the elderly and children and left.

The man was stunned.

What does this mean? Who is this warning to? Why did you let the person go?

"Hey you guys..." He hurriedly shouted and tried to catch up, but someone rushed towards him from behind.

The man was caught off guard and fell forward, his legs caught on the corner of the table. He screamed in pain but was too busy to speak or ask questions.

"Excuse me, excuse me." Chen Qi shouted and hurried out, "It's getting late."

Shopkeeper Liu followed, trying not to laugh.

The soldiers looked at the people in the teahouse with cold faces.

"If there's nothing else, then go away." The leader said, "Don't spread rumors and confuse the people."

This was a serious crime. The people in the teahouse were shocked and immediately scattered.

In a blink of an eye, the man was left alone in the teahouse, hugging his legs with a bloody nose and a swollen eye, cursing in anger and shame.

In response to the curse from the man behind them, Chen Qi and Shopkeeper Liu turned around and smiled at each other.

They looked at the beggars slowly walking away on the street and sighed at the same time.

"After all, it's spring, and it won't always be that cold," said Shopkeeper Liu.

"People in the capital can't see what Duke Cheng has done, but people in the north can see it." Chen Qi said, "Heaven and earth are fair."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was the sound of horse hooves and a commotion in the street.

But everyone is familiar with this section of the capital, which has a lot of urgent news.

Chen Qi and Shopkeeper Liu stepped aside on the side of the road, looked back, and saw a soldier running towards them.

But unlike before, this time the soldier raised the silk flag that he had placed behind him in his hand.

"Urgent news." He shouted loudly, his voice excited, "Duke Cheng of Yizhou has returned with his troops."

Duke Cheng!

The shout brought a moment of silence to the street, and then there was an explosion.

Duke Cheng! Duke Cheng is not dead!

Chen Qi clenched his hands, looking a little surprised.

"I just said it casually. God is really fair," he said.