Chapter 82: Yanzhou Disaster Relief in the Capital in August...
In August in Beijing, the chirping of cicadas accompanies wave after wave of heat waves.
At this time of year in previous years, the palace would have already begun preparations to retreat to the temporary palace to escape the summer heat, but this year, no action was taken. Someone, being too clever, suggested going to the temporary palace to escape the summer heat in the court, but the emperor rejected the suggestion and gave him a harsh scolding.
When the others saw the man's dusty appearance, no one mentioned the matter again.
The emperor only scolded him and did not dismiss him from office, which was already merciful. Now the people of Yanzhou are still suffering. As the ruler of a country, how can he live a carefree life alone when his people have not yet been saved?
Perhaps due to the hot weather and his irritable mood, the emperor became worried about getting a sore throat. His toothache caused half of his face to swell up, and several waves of imperial doctors came but none of them could help.
Now, Yan Zhuo has taken on the important task of going to Yanzhou to provide disaster relief. The emperor has solved one of his biggest worries. He immediately feels less irritated and his teeth don't hurt anymore. It's more effective than going to the palace ten times!
After accepting the task of disaster relief, Yan Zhuo was never idle for a moment. In addition to the time spent preparing food and fodder, he also studied the urgent reports sent from Yanzhou in recent days. Every time he read a book, his brows tightened.
Finally, after a careful examination, he discovered that there were many subtleties in it.
Jinghe Town and Shihua Town are two neighboring towns. They are similar in terms of land area and scale, but their disaster situations are very different, and the amount of grain they request from the court is also very different.
According to the local disaster report, a total of 15,000 people were affected in Jinghe County, while Shihua Town reported that 50,000 people were affected. The difference of 35,000 people alone made Yan Zhuo suspicious. As for what the exact situation was, he could only find out after an on-site investigation in Yanzhou.
After the first urgent report was delivered, the emperor ordered the local government to open the granaries and release grain. Half of the grain in the granaries was first distributed according to the number of registered households, and the remaining half was used to set up porridge stalls in the form of porridge every day.
However, the subsequent urgent reports indicated that the disaster was severe, and since the new emperor had been on the throne for less than three years, the granaries across the country were running low, and relying solely on the local government's grain reserves would be far from sufficient. The emperor immediately ordered the transfer of 30,000 dan of grain from the capital to Yanzhou.
Due to the urgency of the situation, Yan Zhuo assembled a thousand soldiers and set off within three days after receiving the order, carrying 30,000 stones of grain.
On the day of departure, the emperor and his court officials saw them off at the city gate.
In front of everyone, the emperor patted Yan Zhuo on the shoulder and said, "I know you will encounter many difficulties and obstacles on this journey. Do whatever you want. Keep this token. If necessary, you can act first and report later."
All the ministers watched this action silently, and each of them had his own thoughts.
How could he not be aware of the tricks going on in Yanzhou? It's time to clean up the court...
Yan Zhuo accepted the order and took the bronze token.
"I will definitely fulfill my mission!"
On the official road to Yanzhou, Yan Zhuo sat in a carriage, holding a map of the various counties in his hand and a thick stack of letters beside him. During the journey, he continued to receive urgent reports from Yanzhou. Except for Jinghe County, the reports from other counties and cities were all requesting grain from the court, stating that the grain in the treasury would not last for a few more days.
The speed at which food was consumed was beyond Yan Zhuo's expectations. The original plan was that half of the remaining food should be able to last for half a month, and they would just be able to reach Yanzhou after half a month, but from the current situation it is obvious that they can't hold on any longer.
Just as he was considering whether to abandon the official road and take a shorter path, Jingliu's voice was heard outside the carriage.
"Your Highness, the soldiers in charge of the survey have come to report that there is something unusual ahead."
Yan Zhuo raised his hand and lifted the curtain beside him: "What's wrong? Go and call the person who reported it and tell us what happened in detail."
A moment later, a man on horseback approached the carriage, and then a slightly low and young voice came from the window.
"Your Majesty, I suspect we are being targeted."
Yan Zhuo felt that the voice sounded familiar. He looked up and saw a familiar face through the car curtain that had not yet been lowered.
Immediately he was stunned.
"Cui Cen?"
He was quite surprised that the person he had just met not long ago reappeared in front of him in an unexpected identity.
Yan Zhuo took a closer look. Cui Cen's skin color had darkened, and his usual fancy clothes had been replaced with the uniform of an ordinary soldier. He looked somewhat like an ordinary soldier, but other than that, his appearance was no different from before, as if nothing had changed.
But his eyes were more lively than when we parted, as if he had some goal and was more determined.
His good nephew really gave him a surprise, which was more shocking than joyful.
Yan Zhuo stared at Cui Cen and asked, "Why are you here?"
"Your Highness, I naturally obey the orders of my superiors." Cui Cen said calmly.
Yan Zhuo: ...
He kept calling him "Prince" and Yan Zhuo couldn't help but touch the whip.
Seeing that Yan Zhuo looked really bad, Cui Cen didn't dare to joke with him anymore. After making sure that there was no one around, he called him uncle in a low voice, and then told him the whole story of how his grandmother allowed him to join the army.
Coincidentally, he had just been in the East Camp for a few days when he was ordered by his superiors to be sent to Yanzhou to provide disaster relief with Yan Zhuo. He was selected among the thousand people. His riding skills were pretty good, so he was selected as the first one to be checked.
"Since you are in the team, why didn't you come to find me?" Yan Zhuo asked with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"Why am I looking for you? Waiting for you to open a backdoor for me? That's a big no." Cui Cen waved his hand and said confidently, "I can still make it in this army without relying on you."
Since he had decided to come, he was ready to suffer. Thanks to his time at the Zhao family, he had changed a lot. Although the training during this period was hard, he would definitely be able to persevere.
The dust and tiredness of the past few days have obscured his face, which was originally as bright as the white moon. His face, which originally seemed a little childish, now has a bit more determination. He does not look relaxed, but there is a hint of determination in his eyes and brows.
After hearing what he said, Yan Zhuo realized that he really wanted to join the army. The stern expression on his face relaxed and he laughed softly.
He originally had a stern face because he was afraid. His nephew just wanted to come to the army to have some fun on a whim, but the army is not a place for people to have fun!
Now it seems that it is true that a tiger father will have a dog son!
In a trance, Yan Zhuo felt as if he saw some of the shadow of the former Marquis Cui in Cui Cen.
I think my sister and brother-in-law's spirits in heaven would be very pleased to see their children succeed like this...
"Not bad." Yan Zhuo rarely praised, then restrained his smile and said seriously:
"What did you mean by us being targeted?"
Cui Cen's expression also became serious:
"Do you remember the caravan we encountered on the second day of our departure?"
Yan Zhuo nodded. He had some impression of that caravan. They had about two hundred people, but several times more horses than the average caravan, almost one horse per person. They also transported a lot of cargo, with huge boxes tied to each cart. There were more than a dozen carts in total.
That day, the two teams only met briefly, and the caravan quickly passed them and moved on.
"See these marks?" Cui Cheng pointed to the traces in the mud under his feet.
Yan Zhuo glanced down. The messy hoof prints were mixed with wheel tracks, making it hard to tell what was wrong. "What's wrong with these tracks?"
"It rained a little on the second day after we set out, and the road was muddy, so the tracks were more obvious. When we passed the caravan, I accidentally caught a glimpse of their horse hoof prints. They looked different from ordinary cast iron horseshoes, but I didn't think much of it at the time."
Cui Cen paused, then lowered his voice and continued, "It rained again yesterday, and the hoof prints of horses that had walked along this road were left behind. I discovered that among these chaotic hoof prints, some were exactly the same as those of the caravan."
After hearing these words, Yan Zhuo's expression became more serious. He naturally heard something was wrong.
Now, three days have passed since that day. The thousand men led by Yan Zhuo were escorting 30,000 stones of grain, so their pace was naturally slower. With the speed of an ordinary caravan, they should have left them behind long ago, not to mention a light cavalry team where each member was equipped with a horse!
Their footprints were still there three days later, which meant they hadn't gone far at all!
This alone is very suspicious. I don't know if they deliberately slowed down to plan something, or if they had to slow down for some other reason. But no matter what the other party's purpose is, for safety's sake they should be careful and take early action.
So Cui Cen reported the matter to Yan Zhuo step by step.
"I suspect they have other purposes, but I don't know if my guess is right." After saying this, Cui Cen scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
"You guessed right," Yan Zhuo said gravely. "But there's another suspicious point you've overlooked. Seven or eight large boxes on a cart—if they were all filled with goods, they should be very heavy, but the ruts on the cart aren't deep..."
Cui Cen looked down at the depth of the ruts under his feet and estimated that it was less than two inches. An idea suddenly flashed through his mind and he blurted out:
"This means their boxes are actually empty. They're not a caravan at all, but disguised as one!"
Yan Zhuo bows his head.
If it were a normal caravan, they would have moved away long ago, instead of keeping such a distance from them, walking slowly. From Yan Zhuo's point of view, they seemed to be waiting, waiting for an opportunity...
Like a group of extremely hungry jackals, they quietly wait for the lion to fall into a deep sleep, and then take the opportunity to bite a piece of meat from it!
Yan Zhuo had learned about the roads in Yanzhou in advance. He knew that some sections were indeed infested with bandits. He had avoided these sections when planning his route, but he didn't expect to be targeted anyway.
Moreover, it was obvious that they had been targeted since the moment they set out...
Yan Zhuo's eyes were gloomy.
"Then what should we do now?!" Cui Cen said anxiously. These are the life-saving food of the people in Yanzhou. If something goes wrong, he will not be able to forgive himself until the emperor blames him!
The number of people in the capital who dared to focus on disaster relief food could be counted on one hand. The faces of those people flashed through Yan Zhuo's mind one by one, and he already had a guess in his mind.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be him..."
Thinking of this, he waved in the direction of Cui Cen, and when the man came over, he whispered something in his ear.
"Leave it to me!" Cui Cen raised his fist after receiving the instructions. If they really dared to put their dirty hands on the disaster relief food, don't blame him for being rude!
He glanced at the carts of food behind him and secretly clenched his fists. These were life-saving food for the people of Yanzhou, and there must not be any mistakes. He would definitely protect them!
The plan was implemented quietly.
This little episode did not interrupt the team's journey. The footsteps and horses' hooves did not stop, and the wheels were still turning in an orderly manner. At this speed, they could reach Yanzhou in seven days. Although everyone was very tired, when they thought that the people in Yanzhou were still suffering, their bodies were filled with strength again.
If nothing unexpected happens, we will reach Yanzhou in two days, and everyone is working hard.
Dusk fell quickly, and since there were no post stations nearby, all the soldiers set up camp on the spot.
In the messy grass, there was a pair of cloudy little eyes that saw all of this, and then quickly turned and left.
"Boss! Boss! They've set up camp!" A sharp voice came from not far away.
Inside the carriage, a sturdy figure was sleeping soundly on a pile of unknown animal fur. When he heard the excited shouting, his snoring suddenly stopped.
The big man opened his eyes and sat up with a somersault, his huge head just framed by the carriage window:
"Really? You better look carefully!"
As he spoke, he opened the curtain and stepped out of the carriage in two or three steps.
The thin figure took a few steps and came in front of the bearded man, and said excitedly:
"It's true. They're at the pass less than ten miles from us. I saw them setting up camp with my own eyes. They'll definitely be staying there tonight!"
"Good, good, good, the checkpoint is good!"
The big man said "good" three times in a row, then said viciously, "Finally, they've set up camp in the wild!"
The big man smiled sinisterly and rubbed his hands together, "Then let's do it tonight! Wait until everyone is asleep and then catch them off guard!"
"Wait!" A slightly polite voice came from another carriage, "There might be something fishy going on here."
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