After all, they had traveled through mountains and rivers all the way, and although they were anxious, Ye Zhou and his party stayed in Changxiong Pass for two days.
Changxiong Pass is located at the intersection of two mountains. It has a very advantageous geographical location and is a good place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. One of the reasons why other countries did not take over the fat piece of meat of the State of Chen was Changxiong Pass.
We don't know how much manpower it will take to conquer the city. Why bother fighting when we can just reach out and get the food?
Instead of attacking the State of Chen, it is better to attack a city that is easier to capture.
However, once a country becomes truly powerful and unrivaled, the State of Chen will be the first piece of meat to be targeted.
Lord Chen has not been idle these days. He has finally shed the disguise of a benevolent gentleman and revealed his true inner self. He looks even more kingly than before.
To be on the safe side, Lord Chen left more than 200 of the original 2,000 soldiers at Changxiong Pass.
After all, it was not wartime, and changing generals at this time would not shake the morale of the army. Han Ran, as the left general, was temporarily left here by Chen Hou to replace Zhang Rong.
As for Zhang Rong, he was to be taken back to the royal capital Linzi.
Marquis Chen also told Ye Zhou that Zhang Rong must die, but not now. He had to weaken the influence of the aristocratic families before he could take action against Zhang Rong.
After listening to what Lord Chen said, Ye Zhou also felt that being a king here was not an easy thing.
If one just lives a life of idleness and waits for death, being a tyrant might not be so bad. After all, no matter what, the treatment and enjoyment of a monarch are always better than those of ordinary people.
But if you want to be a wise ruler, it would be extremely difficult, as you are surrounded by external enemies and there are a lot of royal families in the country that are holding you back.
At this time, the ministers could really commit suicide in front of the monarch in order to achieve their own reputation - as long as they thought the monarch's decision was wrong.
If one of them dies, the monarch will have no chance of carrying out his policies.
Because the loyal minister died, he must be right and the monarch must be wrong.
Of course, this is based on the assumption that the monarch's choice is correct. If the monarch is incompetent and has the will but not the ability to govern the country, then these ministers and aristocratic families will be able to hold him back when he acts recklessly.
There are pros and cons, but in an age of great contention, the cons generally outweigh the pros.
If a country cannot work together and starts to divide into left and right before things are done, it will be very difficult for this country to become strong.
After the rest, they set out again for Linzi.
Ye Zhou finally stopped torturing himself this time and prepared a carriage for himself.
"You can come up and sit when you're tired." Ye Zhou looked at the carriage parked in front of the general's mansion and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He whispered to Zou Ming, "I really can't afford it. The skin on my thigh was rubbed and finally healed, but it rubbed again, over and over again."
Ye Zhou: "Can you drive a car? A carriage?"
Zou Ming, who was "omnipotent" in Ye Zhou's mind, shook his head slightly: "No."
He can drive a car and ride a horse, but he can't drive a carriage.
Ye Zhou asked around, but none of his employees knew how to do it. Even Wu Yan could only drive an ox cart, not a horse carriage.
Although Ye Zhou felt that ox carts and horse carts should work in the same way, Wu Yan was not sure and did not dare to go into battle.
Ye Zhou could only ask Lord Chen.
Fortunately, Lord Chen has many people under his command who can drive a carriage.
What's more, driving a car is always easier than riding a horse. After all, no one is made of iron, we are all made of flesh and blood.
Lord Chen called a young general over. The young general had rough skin, but red lips and white teeth. He looked young, probably around seventeen years old. He was not tall, and when he stood up straight he just reached Ye Zhou's shoulders.
The young general probably didn't expect that he would be chosen. Although he tried hard not to show any expression, his eyes were burning as if they were filled with two flames.
Chen Hou said to Ye Zhou: "This kid may not look very strong, but he is a good driver. He can even drive a two-horse carriage."
The young general puffed out his chest.
Ye Zhou smiled at him and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."
The young general shouted: "I will definitely live up to your trust!"
The young general did not dare to look into Ye Zhou's eyes. He only looked at Ye Zhou's legs and said cautiously, "I am Zheng Shaoyu."
Ye Zhou: "What a nice name."
He just gave a polite compliment and saw the young general lowering his head and grinning foolishly.
Although he didn't interact much with the soldiers, they were in awe of him as an "immortal". Perhaps they were too in awe, so even after traveling such a long distance, Ye Zhou never spoke to the soldiers.
There is a lot of space inside the carriage, but unlike the children's carriage, there is no blanket in the carriage made by Ye Zhou. There are only a few pillows and a low table welded inside the carriage. Although it is not as big as an RV, its comfort is not much worse than that of an RV.
Ye Zhou really didn't want to stay in the same space with Chen Hou for a long time. To be precise, he needed his own personal space.
So even if Chen Hou looked at him with a look of hidden desire, he turned a blind eye and pretended that he didn't see it.
As soon as Ye Zhou got into the car, Sarah came in through the window.
She was holding a bag of fruit in her arms and even remembered to take off her shoes before getting into the car.
"Don't want to ride anymore?" Ye Zhou looked at Sarah sitting opposite him.
Sarah nodded: "Too tired."
Ye Zhou was a little surprised: "I thought you wouldn't feel tired."
Sarah said seriously: "Boss, although vampires are not human, they are not machines either. They will still get tired."
When Sarah is serious, she looks more like a child than when she pretends to be lively, like a child pretending to be an adult.
Ye Zhou leaned back with a pillow on his back, and the carriage began to move forward.
Because of the shock absorbers, even if the ground outside is bumpy, you won't feel it too much inside the car, it's just a little more shaking than riding in a sedan.
Ye Zhou didn't dare to open the curtains while walking, otherwise he would swallow a mouthful of yellow sand.
He ate a lot when he was riding before.
Sarah looked at Ye Zhou who was dozing with his eyes closed. She blinked and asked in a low voice, "Boss, who do you think is more useful, me or Zou Ming?"
Ye Zhou, who was not asleep, said: "..."
He refused to answer the question.
So he started pretending to sleep.
Sarah: “Boss?”
Sarah asked again: "Boss, did you fall asleep? You fell asleep so quickly?"
Ye Zhou closed his eyes tightly. No matter what, Sarah couldn't wake up someone who was pretending to be asleep.
Sarah whispered, “Anyway, boss, when you see me next time, remember that I was here first.”
Ye Zhou was a little confused. What did he mean by "see you later"?
Sarah stopped talking and took a nap with her pillow in her arms.
No one in the carriage was asleep, but both were pretending to be asleep.
They stopped three times throughout the day.
Although the State of Chen was small, it was even less populated. Every time they stopped, all they saw was wasteland.
Occasionally when passing through a village, you can see large tracts of farmland, but there are only a few farmers working in them.
The farmers were skinny and bony, and they would look up at the soldiers and convoys passing by the roadside, and immediately find a place to hide when they saw them.
Either lie down where you are or run behind a tree.
Cao'er was riding on the horse. Her riding skills were not very good, but because there were saddles and stirrups, she didn't think riding was difficult.
——Although I still got bruised and battered while learning.
"Mom." Cao'er rode to Li Gu's side. She looked at the farmers lying in the fields, feeling overwhelmed. She whispered, "We used to be like this, right?"
They were like this before, working day after day until their backs could hardly straighten, but they still couldn't fill their stomachs.
When they see people in fancy clothes, they retreat and wish they could crawl into the ground. They dare not go into any larger shops even though they have to go to the market in town.
Living like a mouse, always cautious, afraid that a hand would reach into your hole and take away your not-so-much things.
Aunt Li shook her head: "Better than them. If there hadn't been a natural disaster, your father and I would have been able to raise you all!"
Her eyes were somewhat distracted, as if she had really seen that scene: "When the time comes, you can marry into a good family, and find a wife for your brother. I have told your father before that if it is possible, you sisters cannot marry far away, otherwise what if you are bullied by your in-laws?"
"If your husband's family bullies you, your father and I will go to their house to fight. How can I let a girl I raised be wronged in another family?"
She smiled with difficulty: "I have thought about it all, all of it..."
But Aunt Li quickly said, "No need to say more. There's no point in saying this."
Aunt Li looked at Cao'er and said, "You are luckier than them."
Now they can fill their stomachs by working. Not only can they fill their stomachs, but they can also wear nice clothes. The immortal said this is called "labor pays off". Li Gu didn't understand it before, but now she understands.
She will get paid according to how much she works, and she will no longer be like her boss, working day and night without knowing where her next meal is coming from.
During the Daliang Dynasty, people could not always have meat even during festivals.
They are content with their current life, very content.
"Stop!" Chen Yan tightened the reins. It was almost dark and they happened to pass by a village. They planned to spend the night here and ask the villagers for some water. There was no river nearby and they could only rely on the well for water.
After Chen Yan stopped his horse, he called a few soldiers and told them to fetch water. He also said, "You are not allowed to take it for free. Give them some money. You are also not allowed to do anything to the young girls or the wives. If I find out, I will punish you by military law!"
Several soldiers nodded repeatedly: "We know, we know. Don't worry, General. We are not that kind of people."
Chen Yan sneered: "Go ahead."
Soldiers and bandits are actually no different. Bandits burn, kill and loot, and so do soldiers. How good the soldiers are depends on their generals.
If the general can manage the soldiers well, then the soldiers will be soldiers. If the general cannot manage the soldiers well, then the soldiers will be more terrifying than bandits.
Chen Yan dealt with many soldiers who broke into people's homes during their rest time to eat and drink, and raped women, but this kind of thing continued despite repeated bans. Why did soldiers serve in the army? To make achievements? They were not from wealthy families, so they could not get high positions even if they made military achievements.
For them, being a soldier is just a legitimate excuse to bully men and women.
If Chen, a small country that has not been at war for a long time, is like this, the soldiers of big countries will only become more unscrupulous.
When countries captured other countries' cities, there were not a few cases of massacres. When soldiers attacked the city, most generals would not stop them from breaking into civilians' homes to burn, kill and loot.
Chen Yan looked down upon this practice and thought it was against the gentleman's conduct, but his soldiers did not agree with his thoughts.
They risk their lives to fight on the battlefield, but aren't they allowed to enjoy themselves after winning?
So Chen Yan could only keep a close eye on them to prevent them from doing anything that would damage Lord Chen's reputation.
"Wait a minute." Chen Shu rode over. She stopped in front of several soldiers who were about to pass by, then dismounted and said to them, "I'll go with you."
The soldiers had never dealt with Chen Shu, but they knew that the woman in front of them was not easy to mess with.
After Chen Dan came back, he told them a lot, explaining how he was caught by this woman and how he was strangled by the neck.
Perhaps in order not to appear so weak, he described Chen Shu in an extremely exaggerated way.
In short, in the eyes of the soldiers, Chen Shu is now a walking she-demon, and killing people is as easy as killing a chicken.
Chen Shu was carrying a bag filled with tortillas from the supermarket.
Every time Ye Zhou went to a plane, he would always leave some souvenirs, and the ones he left at the Luoyang Base were tortillas.
Since there were quite a lot left, I took some out this time so that I could exchange them with the common people.
One tortilla is enough for a middle-aged man to eat for a whole day. These tortillas are made by the residents of Luoyang Base and sugar is added to them. They not only have the aroma of corn but also a very obvious sweetness. They are made very thick but not too dry.
Ye Zhou sometimes eats tortillas as his staple food.
Chen Shu: "Let's go."
Several soldiers responded timidly, and then followed Chen Shu towards the village.
After walking for a while, Chen Shu found that these soldiers kept a long distance from her. She felt a little strange, so she stopped and turned around, and sure enough, the soldiers had also stopped.
No matter whether she was fast or slow, walking or stopping, the soldiers kept the same distance from her.
Chen Shu didn't know whether to feel angry or amused. Was she some kind of monster? She didn't do anything to them, did she?
So she stopped where she was and shouted at them, "Hurry up! I won't eat you!"
The soldiers looked at her in panic. After a long while, someone brave enough walked towards Chen Shu.
These soldiers were not valued in the army. After they recovered, it could be seen that they were very young, perhaps not even fifteen years old. Chen Shu had experienced a lot, and although he did not really regard these soldiers as children, his attitude towards them was different from that towards adult men.
When they finally came to her reluctantly, she asked, "Why are you so afraid of me? I don't eat people."
The bravest one whispered, "The scout said you can break a man's neck with your bare hands."
Chen Shu: "... Although what he said is not wrong, I don't want to kill just anyone. Killing people is also a waste of energy. I don't work for nothing. For example, if you don't get food and wages, will you still go to the battlefield to fight?"
The soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads honestly.
They join the army just to make a living. They are not military households and cannot make any military achievements. They join the barracks so as not to add burden to their families. They can send their military pay back to their families every year. It would be even better if they could save some so that they can marry a wife after leaving the barracks.
Chen Shu: "That's the truth, then why are you afraid of me?"
But what she said was of no use. These soldiers were still afraid of her, but at least they were not walking a long distance away from her.
The village was not big, with only about a dozen households at best. The houses were all made of mud, and many of the roofs were covered with straw instead of tiles. There were not many chickens or ducks in the village. Occasionally you would see a chicken, but it was kept in a fence, and it was obviously a precious property.
Chen Shu knocked on the door of the house with a well in the courtyard. She raised her voice a little, but deliberately squeezed her voice to make it sound less fierce: "Is anyone there?! Is anyone there? I want to ask for a bowl of water."
After a while, a voice was heard from inside the door. It was a woman of advanced age. She said tremblingly, "Soldier... our family is poor and we really don't have much. My husband is working outside. Wait, wait for him to come back..."
In addition to the woman's voice, there was also the sound of a child crying from inside the door.
Chen Shu took a deep breath and said, "Auntie, we really just came here to ask for a bowl of water. How about letting me in alone? Ask them to wait outside? Don't worry, I won't take your water for nothing."
After a while, the door was finally opened slowly.
An old woman's face appeared in Chen Shu's sight.
It was a weather-beaten face, with cracked skin and full of gullies like a dry field. Her lips and eyebrows were drooping. Just by looking at her face, one could tell that she was a poor person, and her face was full of bitterness.
Chen Shu put on a smiling face and said, "Auntie, I'll go in with you."
The old woman lowered her head in fear, she turned aside and said carefully: "My dear sir, please come in. My humble home is so simple, I am sorry for not entertaining you well…"
Chen Shu turned around and glanced at a few soldiers, asked them to wait where they were, and then he and the old woman entered the room.
After entering the room, Chen Shu immediately smelled a musty odor. It was hard to tell what the smell was.
It smells like rotting and moldy wood, mixed with other smells. It's really not a pleasant smell.
On the "bed" which was only covered with a layer of straw, there were three children sitting. The oldest looked to be seven or eight years old, and the youngest was probably born not long ago. All the children had a big head and a strange big belly.
The children were still crying, so Chen Shu asked the old woman, "Auntie, what happened to the children? Did they have stomach upsets?"
The old woman shook her head: "They are hungry, their stomachs are full of water."
The old woman smiled with difficulty: "I'll go get the bucket. Please wait a moment, I'll fetch some water for you."
Chen Shu: "I see the crops you grow in your fields are good, how come you are so hungry? Didn't you have any food stored after last year's autumn harvest?"
The old woman shook her head awkwardly: "The grain officer came to collect grain twice, and there is no grain left at home."
Chen Shu was stunned: "No food stored? Then how are you going to survive this year?"
The old woman was also a little confused: "Dig some grass roots and deal with it one day at a time."
Chen Shu sighed. The old woman didn't seem to think this was strange or painful. They had been living like this every year. If they survived last year, they should be able to survive this year, right?
The children did not react when they saw strangers. They were like baby birds in a bird's nest, just stretching their necks to beg for food.
Like he was starving.
The old woman took out two buckets from the stove. The wooden boards were of different lengths and had holes in some places. She carried the two buckets on a shoulder pole, just wanting to send this noble man and the soldiers at the door away as soon as possible.
"Let me do it." Chen Shu snatched the carrying pole from the old woman. She always thought she was a hard-hearted person, but when she saw this situation, she couldn't help but soften her heart.
The old woman hurriedly said, "My lord, my lord, give me the pole, I'll carry it! I can do it!"
When she saw Chen Shu's appearance, she knew that she was definitely not a commoner. The soldiers outside might be here to escort her. What if they saw Chen Shu carrying the shoulder pole and beat her?
She definitely couldn't stand the beatings from the soldiers!
She was panicking and wanted to grab the pole from Chen Shu's hand, but she didn't dare to use too much force. She just cried with red eyes: "My lord, please have pity on me. I still have several children..."
Chen Shu felt bad. She handed the bag of corn cakes to the old woman and said, "I'm going out now. You don't have to follow me. I'll bring you the pole and barrel after I get the water. These are my payment for using your water."
"Don't worry, no one will bother you." Chen Shu didn't look at her. He walked out of the house while the old woman was holding the bag in confusion.
When the soldiers saw Chen Shu coming out, they hurriedly followed him to the well.
Chen Shu handed them the wooden bucket and watched them fetch water. Finally, he couldn't help asking, "What have you soldiers done to anger the heavens and the people? Why do the common people act like mice seeing cats when they see you?"
A few soldiers were afraid that Chen Shu would be angry, so they quickly said: "This has nothing to do with us. We just joined the army and followed the king to the battle. We have never harmed the common people. We were also common people before!"
Chen Shu: "When you were civilians, were you afraid of soldiers?"
The soldiers looked at each other and said as they drew water: "We are afraid! How can we not be afraid?"
"It's okay for the soldier to kill someone." The soldiers showed fear on their faces. "If the family is rich, it's easy to say. But if there is no money and a beautiful woman, it's hard to say."
Chen Shu: "Then no one cares?!"
The soldiers heard the anger in her voice and whispered, "Maybe someone is in charge."
"But the people are dead. If we kill the soldiers, it will be useless. We will also lose someone who can go to the battlefield."
Chen Shu rolled his eyes: "I'm a soldier too."
The soldiers were stunned. They had wondered what Chen Shu did, but they never thought that she was a soldier.
Chen Shu said unhappily, "I joined the army when I was fourteen. I didn't fight much there, but soldiers were no different from ordinary people. Not to mention bullying men and women, anyone who dared to take anything from ordinary people would be punished by military law. Not only would they be kicked out of the army, but they would also bear a stain on their lives."
Chen Shu: "You can't do this!"
"I want to have a good talk with your Lord about this matter! How can you manage the whole world if you can't even manage your own people?! How can you expect to strengthen your country if you can't even manage your own people?"
"Bullshit strong!"
The soldiers swallowed their saliva.
She is very fierce, but her fierceness is so attractive.
·
In the mud house, the old woman carefully opened the bag. She didn't know how the bag was made, but it felt different from all the fabrics she had ever seen - although she hadn't seen many kinds of fabrics before.
But compared to the bag, what made her busy was the things in the bag.
As soon as she opened the bag, she smelled a fragrance, which was the fragrance and sweetness of grain.
The old woman took the things out of the bag and looked at them in the dim light coming in from the window.
A dozen heavy, golden cakes.
Each piece was bigger than her face.
The old woman froze there. Instead of eating, she reached out and pulled her cheeks.
The pain made her believe that what she saw was real and not just a daydream.
She opened her mouth and let out a low whimper.
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