A little further on, the main road was no longer paved with bluestone slabs; the road was simply leveled. The weather was dry, and the group of people walking on it soon had their shoes covered in a layer of dust.
After receiving Xie Changshi's permission, the guard raised his whip again, and the carriage carrying the snowy night quickly passed by them, kicking up clouds of dust, and headed towards the sparsely populated mountainous area.
Caught off guard, Gu Yuzhi felt his mouth filled with the taste of dirt. He spat several times, but the dirt taste didn't go away. He frowned and took a few gulps of water: "What a ton of dust!"
Xueye clung to the car window, watching Gu Yuzhi's disheveled appearance, grinning as if mocking his embarrassment.
Gu Yuzhi snorted angrily, raised her little fist and huffed, "You stinky Xueye, when you come back I'll beat you up and won't leave you any of the good food that Granny Xu makes!"
Chen Dianyi, with his hands behind his back, looked at Gu Yuzhi's energetic appearance, and his usually serious face softened a bit.
Even though it was just one more person, Chen Dianyi felt that the whole of Xinliang had become lively.
The carriage continued forward, and Gu Yuzhi's figure soon disappeared from the snowy night. It shrank back and circled around inside the carriage, its whole body filled with an air of impatience.
The carriage had just come to a stop, and before the guards could even open the carriage doors, Xueye let out a howl and darted out quickly, disappearing from sight in no time.
The guards were dumbfounded.
No, he hasn't said that yet. His Highness will be returning to Changzhou in a couple of days. If you don't come back in time on this snowy night, His Highness won't wait for you.
Returning to the snowy forest on a snowy night, the guards' thoughts could not be heard, but they ran forward with joy at the familiar scent.
While Gu Yuzhi and Xie Changshi were marveling at the rapid changes in Xinliang, Manager Li, after traveling day and night, finally arrived in Jiangzhou.
Before they even entered Jiangzhou City, Li Yanping sensed something was wrong. South of Jiangzhou, the sky was terribly gloomy with rolling thunderclouds, and even where they were, it was overcast and humid.
Li Yanping lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked out. Whether standing or sitting, the faces of the people on both sides of the official road were filled with numbness.
They were almost at Jiangzhou City. Compared to the bustling scene of Jiangzhou City with its gates wide open and people coming and going, long queues had formed outside the city, making it difficult for carriages to move.
In the past, Li Yanping's carriage could travel freely within Jiangzhou City as long as the flag of Li's Trading Company was displayed on the carriage.
But now it's different. The people are crowding the city gates, and the number of soldiers guarding the city gates is several times greater than before.
Without Li Yanping's instructions, the confidant quickly took the travel permit and went to negotiate with the city's garrison. When he returned, however, he frowned: "Manager, the garrison made us line up. I asked about the situation, and they said that south of Jiangzhou, especially in Yangzhou and Huizhou, it has been raining continuously since the beginning of spring, almost three months now."
Li Yanping's pupils dilated.
It's not even the rainy season yet, but these places have been experiencing three months of continuous rain?
He looked up at the sky, but there was no sign of the sky clearing up in the distance. He didn't know how long this gloomy, rainy weather would last!
The consequences of three months of rainy weather are unimaginable. Crops cannot be planted, people cannot make a living, and most frighteningly, these disaster-stricken people may choose to do extraordinary things when they have nowhere else to turn!
Li Yanping was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time. Only after the carriage moved forward with difficulty did he mutter a curse under his breath: "Damn it, so what you meant by pointing up there wasn't the emperor, but the heavens!"
The area south of Jiangzhou is experiencing continuous rain; how can Jiangzhou possibly be any better off?
No wonder the inspections in Jiangzhou are so strict. Wasn't Jiangzhou the first place that the displaced people who lost their homes due to natural disasters flocked to?
Li Yanping's hands gripped the table so tightly that the veins bulged. No wonder his family hadn't been to the northern desert since the New Year. It seemed that the master was being watched very closely by God!
Even though Manager Li was in a hurry, the journey into the city was extremely slow. The city guards were very strict in their inspections, turning everything inside out, from the travel permit to the belongings of anyone entering the city.
After losing his privileges, Manager Li was unable to enter the city that day, because once the hour of You (5-7 PM) arrived, the gates of Jiangzhou City were closed without mercy. To enter the city, one had to queue in line, otherwise one would have to start all over again at the end of the line the next day.
Surrounded by people who could potentially become refugees at any moment, and fearing they might suddenly cause trouble, the confidants and guards dared not leave for even a moment. Even so, the carriage was still surrounded by refugees in the middle of the night.
There was no way around it; the carriages of Li's Trading Company were simply too dazzling.
When they arrived in the afternoon, the surrounding refugees had already been watching them. They didn't want this to happen, but they were just too hungry.
The city gates south of Jiangzhou were tightly closed, and no one was allowed to enter the city. The city guards stood on the city walls with bows and arrows, and if any refugees approached, the guards would attack them without hesitation.
The refugees had no choice but to find a way to travel by boat, detouring to the north of Jiangzhou City, hoping to enter the city from there.
The people of Jiangnan all knew that Jiangzhou City was the fiefdom of the King of Chu, who had a very good reputation among the people. They believed that as long as they entered Jiangzhou City, the King of Chu would not let them starve to death.
But without any guides, the long queues, day after day, left the disaster victims physically and mentally exhausted, and they had long since lost their patience.
If it weren't for the fear of the city's garrison, the refugees would have wanted to enter the city long ago!
They wanted to eat and find a place to sleep, even if it meant becoming servants to a wealthy family, rather than waiting day and night outside the city.
The refugees' eyes lit up when they saw the luxurious carriage, like hungry wolves finally spotting their prey.
The vigilant guards, already awake, surrounded the carriage and drew their swords.
The figures seemed endless in the darkness, and the guards dared not make a move, fearing they might truly anger them.
Li Yanping was already a light sleeper, and the sound of the knife being slashed made him immediately open his eyes. As he sat up, he gently kicked his groin, silently saying, "Something's up."
The confidant woke up earlier than Li Yanping. Hearing Li Yanping's voice, he couldn't help but nod. Realizing that the other party couldn't see him in the dark, he opened the car window a crack and carefully looked out.
The moonlight was hazy, but the refugees looked like terrifying monsters.
His trusted aide's heart pounded. He silently clutched his chest, leaned forward, and whispered, "Manager, we're in trouble. It's those refugees!"
As if to confirm his confidant's words, a refugee outside the carriage finally spoke up: "Please have mercy and give me something to eat. I don't need much, just a grain pancake will do. The child is so hungry that he has no other choice."
The baby in his arms cried out, but due to long-term malnutrition, his cries were almost inaudible.
The guards felt a pang of pity, but they all knew that they absolutely could not be kind in this situation!
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