Chapter 194 There is salvation!
After a long while, Jiang Yuzhu replied slowly: "You have a wound on your hand. Although the blood is dripping slowly, it won't last for a few hours. You will die in despair due to bleeding. Before that, you have a chance to explain."
Sanniang probably suffers from claustrophobia and won't be able to hold on for long.
After Xie Zhao took Jiang Yuzhu to eat and checked the spoils of war in Mount Longhu, about an hour later, his subordinates came back and reported: "Madam, you still have a way. Sanniang has given instructions!"
In the woodshed, Sanniang's psychological defenses were breached, and she collapsed and shouted, "The master never shows his face, I don't know his identity!"
"The master is in the capital, holding the handle of the officials in the capital, so as to achieve the purpose of control."
At present, her master is in contact with Prime Minister Wei.
Sanniang's task is to purchase food and fodder and secretly support the barbarians.
As for the people under the master, Sanniang knew nothing about them except for the secret business contacts.
Let his men finish the job, and before sunset, the large group of people will leave the city.
Mr. Mi agreed to transport the food and fodder. Xie Zhao discussed with Jiang Yuzhu and used part of the silver to buy cotton and other items, and then shipped the goods to the north via a caravan.
In a blink of an eye, more than a month had passed since they left Beijing, and by the end of September, the group had only completed half of the journey.
The further north you go, the deeper the autumn becomes.
The mountains on both sides of the official road were covered with fallen leaves and yellow branches, which fell into the clear springs in the mountains.
"We'll be passing through town tomorrow, so it's time to change into thicker bedding."
The sun at noon is not too glaring, and there are cool breezes in the mountains.
The carriage windows were opened for ventilation, and Xie Zhao covered Jiang Yuzhu with a thin blanket.
Leaning against the car wall, Jiang Yuzhu could see the fiery red maple leaves in the mountains through the window, and her heart suddenly became clear.
She smiled and said, "We're camping in the wilderness tonight, why don't we have some hot and sour noodles to warm ourselves up?"
After taking a sip of the spicy and sour soup, Jiang Yuzhu broke out in a slight sweat. She missed that refreshing feeling.
Xie Zhao flipped through the booklet and said, "Okay."
After a few days, the group will pass through the no-man's land and reach Lingcheng.
A large group of people pulled the stones to Lingcheng, exchanged them for silver, and used them to purchase military supplies to take to the north.
"Once we pass Lingcheng, the obstacles will be much smaller."
Although things have been calm recently, Xie Zhao has become more cautious, as there are often undercurrents beneath the calm.
When passing through a city during this period, you not only need to prepare thick bedding, but also make a jacket in advance.
The situation in the north was difficult, and refugees appeared in groups of two or three on the official roads.
Unable to bear the war, the refugees brought their families to the south to look for their relatives.
Some refugees would rather starve than seek help.
Jiang Yuzhu passed by and saw that the little kid was starving, so she couldn't help but give him some food.
"Adults go hungry for a few meals and rely on wild vegetables to fill their stomachs, but children cannot go hungry."
The people were not homeless, but went out on their own initiative, and there was no robbery.
Even if you are very hungry, you still maintain your rationality.
From the conversations with the refugees, Jiang Yuzhu couldn't help but worry: "No wonder the beacon fires were lit several times. I didn't expect the military supplies in the north camp to be so short."
When the common people left their homes, they could not take any heavy items with them, so most of their bedding, jackets, and even food were donated to the soldiers.
The court had not received any food or fodder yet, and the city had to rely entirely on the people in the city to donate food.
The North City Camp was unable to pay out pensions, so the Mo family had to struggle to support the expenses.
"Madam, rest assured. The first batch of food and fodder has been delivered."
Xie Zhao took this into consideration and chose to delay the journey.
The caravan he had sent out in advance had already met up in the north, transporting food and fodder to the camp in the north of the city to meet the urgent needs.
"In winter, there is a shortage of food and grass, so we have to rely on them for support."
Jiang Yuzhu couldn't help but look worried. Since she left Beijing, she hadn't received any letters from her second brother Jiang Huaiqing on the way.
Given my second brother's temper, he will definitely go to the battlefield.
Are you injured?
Whenever Jiang Yuzhu thought about it, she became so irritated that she couldn't sleep, and she wanted to go to the north immediately to find out what was going on.
For the sake of her second brother, she had to use her ill-gotten gains to fill the gap in military supplies.
The couple chatted casually. Hongli stood under the carriage and said, "Madam, a group of villagers have appeared on the official road ahead. They said they want to ask the imperial envoy to make a decision!"
About a hundred people came onto the official road and directly blocked the way of the large group of people.
Xie Zhao took Jiang Yuzhu to the front to check, and saw that the leader was a white-haired old man.
The old man was over sixty years old and still needed the support of strong laborers in the village to walk. When he saw Xie Zhao appear, his cloudy eyes brightened.
"Is that Master Xie in front?"
The old man trembled slightly, somewhat incredulous.
When the villagers heard that the imperial envoy was going to the north and passing by the official road, they had been waiting for him day and night for more than ten days.
Tomorrow is the day when the government issues the ultimatum.
Sir Xie, you must be the savior of all the villagers!
The old man was about to kneel down respectfully, but was lifted up by Xie Zhao: "Uncle, I am the imperial envoy who passed by."
"Great, thank you for coming, we are saved!"
The villagers cheered, their excitement evident on their faces.
Jiang Yuzhu stopped and saw joy, excitement and trust on those simple faces, and her mood couldn't help but be lifted.
In the book, Xie Zhao never remarried after the original owner's death. He had no interest in romance and instead devoted himself to government affairs.
In the past, Jiang Yuzhu didn’t quite understand, but now, among the villagers, she has a deeper understanding of the value of Xie Zhao’s existence.
Nowadays, people are born unequal. In the eyes of poor people, upright officials are their saviors.
Xie Zhao spoke calmly to the old man in the lead, "Old man, as long as I can do it, I will definitely make the decision for you."
For Xie Zhao, it was just a piece of cake. He spoke sincerely without any excuses.
The old man put his mind at ease and explained his purpose: "Thank you, sir. The villagers in the surrounding villages have all relied on this piece of land for their livelihoods."
After saying this, the old man's lips trembled and he kept wiping away tears.
"Old man, please speak slowly."
Xie Zhao listened patiently and did not rush him.
After a long while, the old man calmed down, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and told the truth: "Some time ago, the government sent someone to inform us that the small hill ahead was redundant and they wanted to blast it to open the road."
After the mountain was blasted open, the surrounding roads became unobstructed, and the flat and straight roads led directly to the neighboring city.
The government did not come to negotiate, but to issue an ultimatum.
Not only that, the fields and villagers' houses near the official road had to be occupied and demolished to pave the way for road construction.
"My son went to the government office to ask the county magistrate about compensation, but he was beaten with 20 sticks and almost became disabled."
After the old man finished speaking, his eyes became even redder.
His son is the village chief and he should stand up for the villagers.
They wanted to send someone to discuss the matter, but the government officials did not treat the villagers as human beings at all and just beat them up.
"There are several clans' ancestral tombs on that hill. The government blew up the hill and didn't give us time to move the tombs. If they really blew it up, how would I, an old man, have the face to see my ancestors?"
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