The army settled down in a temporary hotel in Bincheng, mainly to adapt to the climate of Qianzhou.
The common people did not have much aversion to the soldiers of the Dashun Army to begin with, and after hearing what Feng Yuheng had said, the people of Bincheng were now very supportive of the Dashun Army. From time to time, they would send some game to Feng Yuheng, and some medical practitioners even took the initiative to ask to join Feng Yuheng's medical team to learn more advanced medical techniques.
Xuan Tianming separated a small group of soldiers, led by Qian Li, to continue advancing towards the second city in the north, mainly to test the weather and not to participate in the battle.
In this way, the army stayed in Bincheng for ten days.
Feng Yuheng got up early this day. She had made an appointment with Xuan Tianming to meet the Lord of Bin City who had been left out by them for ten days.
Because Xuan Tianming advocated the recovery of Qianzhou, not plunder, so except for the clinic set up in the City Lord's Mansion on the first day of entering the city, they stayed in an inn in the city for the rest of the days. It is said that the inn is provided for the Qianzhou officials who are on patrol, and there are special people to serve them, which is a bit like an inn. The City Lord's Mansion is still occupied by the Bincheng City Lord Wu Junxian and his family.
When Xuan Tianming and his party arrived, the City Lord Wu had already been standing outside the mansion to greet them. A group of female relatives were also kneeling in the yard, each with their heads lowered, looking extremely terrified.
"I am Wu Junxian, the mayor of Bincheng. I am here to pay my respects to His Highness the Ninth Prince." The mayor bowed his head to the ground, just like the army did on the first day they entered the city, extremely respectful.
Xuan Tianming nodded, motioned Bai Ze to help the man up, and then said: "You don't have to call yourself a subordinate. Qianzhou is not yet the territory of Dashun. You are still an official of Qianzhou."
The Lord of Wu City shuddered and shook his head repeatedly: "The city has been broken, Bin City now belongs to Dashun."
Hearing him say this, Xuan Tianming no longer hesitated and walked into the City Lord's Mansion.
Feng Yuheng and Bai Ze followed behind them, and when they passed the yard, they deliberately glanced at a woman kneeling in the front. The woman was a bit bloated, wearing a peony-colored winter robe and a fox fur collar. Her phoenix eyes occasionally glanced at them, and it was not difficult to see her arrogant thoughts, which were somewhat similar to Shen Shi at the beginning.
The City Lord of Wu City was also a little fatter, with a noticeable big belly, but his face looked much more decent. At this moment, he was kneeling on the blue brick floor of the hall, facing Xuan Tianming, bowing his head and saying nothing.
A city lord who has lost his city should, in theory, be killed.
Feng Yuheng came in a little slower, and as soon as he stepped over the threshold, he said, "I asked all the women in the courtyard to go back to the backyard. It's so cold, and it's not right to kneel all the time."
City Lord Wu's body trembled noticeably, and he quickly turned around and kowtowed to Feng Yuheng, saying gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your sympathy."
Feng Yuheng smiled and said, "No need to thank me, this is all the intention of His Highness the Ninth Prince. This is a strategic siege, not a massacre. There is no need to vent your anger on the people and women."
As she spoke, she walked to Xuan Tianming's side and sat down, a faint smile on her face, and stopped talking.
The City Lord of Wu looked at Feng Yuheng and sighed in his heart. They were all women, but some wore heavy makeup and acted arrogantly all day long, while others were elegant and beautiful, but could use acupuncture to save people and fight in battles. Such women could only be matched with people like the Ninth Prince of Dashun.
Xuan Tianming was unaware of his sigh in his heart, and just said to him calmly: "Stand up and talk. This is not a punishment hall, and you are not a prisoner to be tried. The reason why I haven't seen you in recent days is, firstly, because of the busy military affairs, and secondly, I also want you to see whether it is good or bad for the people to have Dashun take over Bin City."
City Lord Wu was startled and did not dare to stand up, but asked in return: "Your Highness, there have been many rumors among the people recently, saying that after Dashun takes over Bin City, he will take them to live in a warm place?" He looked at Xuan Tianming, his eyes revealing undisguised expectation.
Xuan Tianming nodded, "Yes, there have been such statements, but the actual implementation is not something that can be completed in one or two years."
City Lord Wu let out a long sigh and said repeatedly, "It's good that it's true. No matter how soon or late it is, it's good that Dashun has this idea."
Xuan Tianming understood something, and he signaled Bai Ze, "Help the city lord to stand up and take a seat."
Bai Ze quickly stepped forward to help the man up, and then helped the trembling City Lord Wu to sit down on the chair. City Lord Wu just leaned on the chair, still looking at Xuan Tianming expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
Xuan Tianming asked him: "Does the city lord take this matter very seriously? Do you know what it means for the people of Bincheng to go to Dashun?"
The Lord of Wu City nodded immediately, "I understand. Dashun will not leave a city for us alone. They will definitely disperse the people of Bincheng and settle them in various cities. This means that I, the Lord of the City, will be of no use." He smiled honestly, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether I am the Lord of the City or not. What matters is that the people can live in a warm and safe place without worrying about their livelihoods all day long. What's more..." He paused, his face a little gloomy, "What's more, even if Dashun didn't break in, I'm afraid Bincheng would not have a few days of peace."
"Oh?" Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng looked at each other, and they both saw inquiry in each other's eyes. He asked the city lord: "Why do you say that?"
The city lord sighed heavily, looked outside the door, and saw no suspicious people, so he said solemnly: "Your Highness, you don't know that in the past ten years, Qianzhou has been getting colder and colder. Not to mention going deeper north, just in Bincheng, the first city behind the North Gate, livestock have been freezing to death for several years. It is said that the poultry and livestock raised in the north are very adaptable to this kind of weather. Unless they are infected with diseases, they will not be frozen to death easily. However, in recent years, more and more livestock have been frozen to death. When I went to the capital to report on my work last year, I heard that except for the wolf horses raised by the royal family, the cities further north could no longer support any livestock, and even people would freeze to death overnight. And..." His face became even darker, "and this year's annual report has been cancelled by the court. I went to the north for three cities and was notified to return the same way."
"The report was cancelled?" Xuan Tianming frowned. Qianzhou, he always felt that something important had happened in the Qianzhou royal family or in the capital of Qianzhou, but what exactly was it? He and Feng Yuheng had guessed it many times, but they never got to the point. Now, it seemed that perhaps the answer could be obtained from the city lord.
Wu Junxian was also desperate. He wanted to escape from Qianzhou and let Xuan Tianming rescue the people of Bincheng. He told the other party everything he knew about Qianzhou. Without waiting for the other party to ask again, he took the initiative to say: "The court means that Dashun will launch an attack this year, and we must fight with all our strength. But in my opinion, it is not just because of this. In fact, the war only accounts for less than 30%. The reason why officials from other provinces are not allowed to enter the capital is all because of something big happening in the capital!"
He took a deep breath, "To be honest, I have been hiding this suspicion in my heart for a long time, but I never dared to speak it out, and I don't know who to tell. Regardless of whether this is true or not, it will cause panic among the people and chaos throughout the country. But today is different. Your Highness and the Princess have entered the city, and Bincheng is under the jurisdiction of Dashun. I can bring the people to live in Dashun, and I can put down the burden in my heart." He looked at Xuan Tianming and finally said, "I suspect that the capital is about to collapse."
"The sky is collapsing?" Feng Yuheng was stunned. "What do you mean by the sky is collapsing?"
City Lord Wu told her, "In Qianzhou, ice and snow are the heavens. The so-called collapse of the sky is actually an avalanche. But it doesn't mean that there is an avalanche in the capital right now. It's just that more and more people from the north are running to our outskirts. They say it's too cold inside, so cold that people will be frozen into ice cubes as soon as they leave their homes. There are also people from the Qianzhou royal family who have fled outside. If they are all fleeing, it means that the north is about to be lost. Everyone knows that in Qianzhou, ice and snow are the heavens and earth. Although ice and snow have been as solid as rocks for hundreds of years, they are not real rocks after all. Once the sky collapses, Qianzhou will no longer exist."
The words of City Lord Wu finally cleared up the confusion in Xuan Tianming and the others' minds. They finally understood why the Qianzhou royal family was so anxious to dig the dragon veins and go to war with Dashun, no longer caring about the consequences of being defeated. This was already a desperate move!
The Lord of Wu City continued to speak. He said, "I do not ask for anything else. I only ask Your Highness to give the people of Bin City a way out, so that they can live in a warm place and escape the catastrophe of Qian Zhou. Qian Zhou is about to end. The silver vaults of all cities have been emptied by the court. The attack of Dashun is actually a good thing for us."
Xuan Tianming stood up, his face gloomy. If Qian Zhou really encountered a natural disaster, their plan would have to be changed. At least they could no longer rush north to the capital, and they no longer had to consider changing the dynasty and letting Feng Yuheng take over this land.
There is danger here, and he can't let this girl be in any danger.
The City Lord Wu personally escorted the two of them out of the hall and walked all the way to the front yard, repeatedly begging Xuan Tianming to settle the people of Bin City. Feng Yuheng glanced and saw the woman wearing a fox collar standing on the path connecting to the backyard, stomping her feet hard, with an expression of disappointment on her face.
She found it interesting and was about to stop to ask a few questions, when she saw a procession of carriages and sedans stop in front of the gate that was already within sight. It was a grand and imposing procession.
When City Lord Wu saw the sedan chair, his face suddenly turned ugly, and he stopped seeing them off. He simply said to Xuan Tianming, "Your Highness, why don't you come sit in the guest hall? I will order someone to prepare wine and food. It's our turn to welcome your Highness and the princess."
Xuan Tianming smiled and pointed out: "But the person from outside doesn't want to be seen by me? Who is he?"
City Lord Wu looked embarrassed, "It's not sacred, it's just..."
I was just struggling over how to introduce them, when I saw the curtain of the sedan chair being gently opened by a maid, and a woman in a bright red wedding dress walked out. She wore a phoenix crown on her head, had heavy make-up on her face, and her chin was slightly raised, looking quite arrogant.
The maid who helped her get off the sedan chair gritted her teeth and shouted, "Princess Lian, come back!"
Feng Yuheng almost choked to death with a mouthful of saliva...
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