However, after the beginning of spring this year, as more and more refugees headed to Youdu, and after the Zhenbei Army captured the two major cities of Ji and Zhuojun, the situation changed again.
This motley crew managed to take over all three cities, and they even seem to have some resources left over. Keep in mind that there are at least 200,000 refugees who have already arrived there...
The imperial court panicked.
There was no other way. With no money and no food, the Ding'an army was already struggling to fight in the southwest, and they couldn't manage the east as well. The army needed money and food to fight, especially food. The fact that they could hold out was already a result of the country's efforts. If they could drag it out any longer, they would not be able to fight. Without food, they dared not fight.
Despite this situation, Emperor Yongping remained immersed in a life of debauchery, indulging in pleasure day after day, completely disregarding everything else.
The princes still had some desire to do something practical, but seeing that Emperor Yongping's health had been deteriorating over the past two years, they could not leave the capital at this time.
The Ninth Prince is thirteen years old this year and is already preparing to enter the court to work next year. He is well-educated and no one will care if he is a little younger than the other.
As for the Seventh Prince... judging from the plot, he should be leading troops into battle next year.
Qi Qi wasn't idle either. Three years ago, he discussed it with Qi Defu and took out a thousand taels of silver from him to support Chen Dianji and his old friend in building the education industry.
This was quite remarkable. Qi Qi only learned by chance that Chen Dianji's friend was named Yuan Buqu. This name had appeared a few times in Qi Laibao's memory. After thinking hard for several times, Qi Qi remembered that this person was a great philanthropist. He had opened the Luoyang Academy with his mentor and classmates on a mountain in Luoyang, which was dedicated to taking in unfortunate scholars who had nowhere else to go. The court was corrupt, and scholars had studied for years but could not enter the court. With natural disasters and wars, almost all of them were dying. The appearance of such a good place, where people who did not care about worldly affairs and did not participate in politics and were all like-minded, was like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
Ah, scholars! In times of chaos, war is of utmost importance, but after the founding of a nation, scholars have become useful. Moreover, no matter what dynasty it is, even if the emperor is incompetent, he can't possibly kill all the scholars, right? That would be recorded in history books and condemned behind one's back!
Qi Qi immediately changed his original plan to hide from the male lead outside the pass to go to Luoyang Academy. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. He could disguise himself and Qi Defu and live a peaceful life in seclusion. Even if they were accidentally discovered, Chen Dianji and the others would not abandon them to their deaths, right?
When he pulled out a thousand taels of silver, even Yuan Buqu, who had initially disapproved of Chen Dianji's connection with Qi Qi, was stunned. He was so poor! A thousand taels of silver could buy over a thousand people.
Slaves...slaves are worthless! Now, go to any city and you'll find countless beggars and refugees. As long as they're given food, they'll do anything for you. That's what chaotic times are like.
Qi Qi wrote to the letter: "Teacher, you don't know, my godfather has been a great admirer of literature since childhood. Who knew that fate would be so cruel? His family suffered a great calamity when he was young, and he was forced to enter the palace..."
"...The dangers of the palace are something you must have experienced firsthand, teacher. To survive, he really... Despite his infamous reputation, my godfather has always remained loyal to his country even while serving Cao Cao..."
He wrote a full five pages of grievances, recounting almost everything about Qi Defu's early life. Qi Qi didn't try to clear his name, but everyone knew about these things, so there was nothing he could do. Now, Qi Defu was showing signs of wanting to clear his name. He didn't deny his mistakes, but he genuinely wanted to be a good person...
As we all know, this kind of whitewashing plot is popular with the people. From the perspective of the victim, Qi Qi cannot accept it. From the perspective of the relatives and mission members, as long as they can live, who cares about shame?
"...My godfather doesn't seek forgiveness from the world. Upon hearing of the teacher's good deeds, he wept for many days for the sake of his past life. Now, he only wants to do his bit and hope that there will be thousands of mansions to provide for the poor and needy, so that they may all be happy and that the mansions may stand firm against wind and rain... He also wants to forgive himself for the wrongdoings he has done."
Qi Qi racked his brains and even wrote down the few lines of poetry he could remember.
Chen Dianji and Yuan Buqu were deeply moved, thinking to themselves that there were good people among the eunuchs. They never expected that Qi Defu, who seemed incompetent on the surface, was actually so righteous!
Look! Look! If only I had ten thousand mansions! I could open up a world of poverty and make all the poor scholars rejoice! What kind of thoughts and spirit could produce such a poem?! Even an old eunuch with limited literacy could write such a poem, which shows his sincerity. The sea of sin is boundless, and only those with high moral character can turn back to the right path!
They immediately sent a thank-you letter, expressing their sincere gratitude to the students.
Over three years, Qi Qi sent nearly five thousand taels of silver intermittently, ostensibly from corrupt officials. Meanwhile, the Luoyang Academy sent Qi Defu an honorary title...
So Qi Qi sent another two thousand taels, ostensibly as a donation, but also to get one for himself.
Actually, this amount of silver is only a small portion...
Qi Qi spent most of his money in Jiangnan. Under the guise of supporting his hometown, Qi Qi had Qi Defu secretly raise fifty private soldiers and stockpile some grain. He didn't dare raise too many, as it would be too conspicuous. He only fed them well and trained them to be extremely strong, with several of them capable of taking on five opponents. He also secretly bought and sold armor and weapons. The training cost a lot, and he even secretly copied several training methods taught by martial arts instructors in the palace.
Qi Defu had no idea what he was up to, taking privacy and security to the extreme. He secretly sighed as he clutched the money box, letting his son squander money, and squandering it more and more, because Qi Qi forbade him from embezzling money from the kitchen under his command...
After finishing all these things, Qi Qi sighed, clutching his last thousand yuan of savings and a pile of jewelry.
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