Not all the soldiers in the garrison were incompetent; Luo Baihu's hidden one in his inner room was quite good.
He has a high, straight nose, deep-set eyes, and thick, dark eyebrows.
Because of his youth, the "handsome young soldier" may not have a burly physique, but he exudes masculinity in every gesture.
Tsk tsk tsk!
It's a pity, a pity. I don't know if it's because I've been stationed on the wall for a long time, but I haven't seen it again these days.
Song Zhenping was a little dazed at this moment. He thought that if he told his sister not to rush into marriage, she would get angry and have a big fight with him.
I had thought of a lot to say, but Yun'er just casually said she didn't want to get married and that was the end of it!
Although Old Ma walked slowly, he was incredibly stamina-filled. Along the way, the three siblings stopped frequently to eat and drink, and finally arrived outside Pingyang Prefecture at dusk.
As expected of a prefectural city.
Although there was no moat outside the city, the city walls were tall and sturdy, heavily guarded, and patrolling soldiers could be seen from time to time.
Unlike Qili County, there was no toll at the city gate, but personal belongings and travel permits were checked.
There was a separate building outside the city gate, where two clerks were working.
Song Zhenping handed over the travel permit issued by the garrison, which stated that he was seeking medical treatment, to the city defense troops.
They were then shown the only basket in the carriage, which contained water and food.
That's all!
A clerk came out of the room and looked Song Zhenping and the carriage over.
Speaking with a thick Pingyang accent, he asked, "Are you military households from Suijin Town?"
Song Zhenping bowed and said, "We only joined the military household last year. We came to the city this time to seek medical treatment for my younger brother."
The clerk nodded and compared the description on the travel permit with the people in the carriage.
There was a child who looked about six or seven years old on the bus, and a girl who was looking after him.
This is the ten-year-old child mentioned on the road sign.
The three siblings wore cotton jackets, and although they were dusty from their journey, they were still dressed appropriately.
The clerk thought to himself: Broken Gold Town is a place inhabited by the living dead, yet some people there are doing just fine.
Then he thought of the words "military household" and suddenly felt relieved.
I heard a while ago that some barbarian tribesmen tried to break into Suijin Town, but they were all slaughtered, giving the Zhenbei Army free heads. Surely the military households also benefited from it.
He looked the three of them over with a strange gaze, until Song Zhenping broke out in a cold sweat, before finally handing over the travel permit and saying, "Pass!"
With the garrison's travel permit, Song Liyun and the other two were allowed to enter the city.
The group following closely behind them was stopped: "No travel permits, no entry into the city!"
Sitting in the carriage, Song Liyun looked back and saw those people wrapped in bedding, their faces covered in dust, looking disheveled and helpless, standing outside the city.
These are the refugees.
Without an official travel permit, one cannot find lodging or enter the city. Even if one has silver, one can only sleep in the open and become prey for bandits and wild animals.
If he hadn't first legitimately obtained a quota to leave the village from Song Lizheng, and then changed his household registration to military household registration, he might have become a refugee with his two brothers.
Even as refugees, they could still survive without worrying about food and drink.
There will certainly never be another opportunity like today, to swagger into the city to seek medical treatment, medicine, and shop.
Song Zhenping's expression was also not good. He had just seen a lot of refugees who were unable to enter the city gathered in the woods outside the city.
Although it is springtime now, it is still far from warm, and we still need to wear thick clothes. The nights are especially chilly.
But the refugees could only tear a piece of cloth between the trees to shield themselves from the cold wind, and that's how they got through the night.
Food was even simpler; people would beg for food by the roadside or set up stoves in the open air.
He was about to give these refugees some cakes, but Song Liyun stopped him.
Now that they were in the city, Song Zhenping asked, "Yun'er, why didn't you let me give them food earlier? They looked very hungry."
Song Liyun said in a low voice, "Didn't you see the city defense troops driving people away?"
They do not allow refugees to linger outside the city; if you try to deliver food to them in person, they might not even let you into the city.
If we feel sorry for those people, we can buy more cornbread and other grains when we leave the city.
Song Zhenping then realized that the city defense soldiers had treated these refugees very badly, beating them with sticks as soon as they approached the city gate.
If you were to deliver the food in person, you might actually anger the soldiers.
It was almost dark, and there were only a few people coming and going in the city, and they all seemed to be in a hurry.
Remembering the various rules that Steward Wan had mentioned, Song Liyun dared not delay and found a quiet-looking inn to stay in before dark.
Pingyang Prefecture City is different from Qili County.
Qili County is accessible to anyone who pays money, and the town itself is also quite chaotic.
Here, you not only need to check your travel permit, but there's also a curfew.
An hour after nightfall, the rule against idlers wandering around the streets and alleys will begin.
Upon finding the inn, Song Zhenping, who had never stayed in a hotel before, was astonished by the room rate quoted, his face contorting in disbelief.
It's just sleeping in one night, right?
Back in Xiaoshi Village, he and Xiao An couldn't heat the kang (a traditional heated bed) anymore once February arrived.
The winter nights were long, and the blankets were thin, so the two brothers could only huddle together for warmth.
The refugees outside still live in the open air.
Now that I have my own house to live in, I don't need to spend so much money.
A superior room costs two hundred coins per night, while a dormitory room only costs twenty coins.
According to his idea, Song Liyun should stay in the superior room by herself, while he and Xiao An could stay in the shared dormitory.
During the apocalypse, Song Liyun was keen on hoarding supplies but disliked saving money.
If you eat one meal, you might not eat the next; saving money is the dumbest thing you can do.
Not wanting to suffer any more grievances, she simply said, "You've been riding in a carriage all day, aren't you tired? You're going to see a doctor tomorrow, and if the doctor finds out it's a backache from being chilled, you'll end up spending more than just two hundred coins!"
Song Zhenping: "...Okay!"
The two superior rooms cost four hundred coins.
The inn has a dedicated stable, but no food is served. Song Liyun and the other staff brought hot water, so they asked them to order another table of food and wine.
It was rare for the inn to have such generous guests. They served soup and water with great care, and even when the three siblings were eating, the waiter stood by their side.
Song Liyun didn't keep the shopkeeper waiting in vain. She tossed him a handful of copper coins and began asking him about things in Pingyang Prefecture.
The first group consists of refugees from outside the city.
The man's face contorted with disgust at the mention of refugees, and his words were equally malicious.
"Those cowardly cowards who only know how to beg for money deserve to starve to death!"
Pingyang Prefecture is even farther from the border than Suijin Town, so the people here rarely have the chance to see the Di people.
In the hearts of the locals, although the Di people were hateful and fearful, they were always seen as a foreign scourge that would only stay for a few days before leaving.
Migrants are different.
These refugees were farmers from the surrounding prefectural cities. They appeared pitiful, but given the opportunity, they would turn into bandits to rob and steal.
They started gathering and moving around in early winter last year, and it's been going on for three or four months now.
With spring planting season fast approaching, more and more of these people are unwilling to return to their hometowns.
Where did these refugees come from?
Thinking that his own family had almost become refugees, Song Zhenping scoffed inwardly.
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