Chapter 870 Chapter 870, Not a Big Deal
Xiao Yeyang returned on the afternoon of the fifth day after Daohua and his group arrived in Ganzhou City.
Daohua, wearing a fox fur coat, sat on the kang by the window and read the county annals of Ganzhou Wei. There was no glass in Xiliang, and the windows were all pasted with oil paper, which meant that the room was very dark even during the day.
In the whole house, the light is best from the window.
So, even though the cold wind was blowing through the window, Daohua had no choice but to sit here.
Daohua was watching intently when suddenly a pair of strong arms stretched out from behind her and hugged her tightly.
Smelling the familiar scent, Daohua put down the book, turned around and hugged the man back: "Xiao Yeyang, you're back." There was undisguised joy in her eyes.
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua with a smile and rubbed his face against her face and neck: "Miss me?"
He was planning to get intimate with her to ease his longing for her, but Daohua pushed him away with a look of disgust: "How long has it been since you last shaved your beard? It's rubbing my face so hard it hurts."
Seeing the red marks on Daohua's face, Xiao Yeyang reached out and rubbed her face: "I was in a hurry to inspect the defense area of Ganzhouwei, so I didn't have time to clean up."
Daohua held his hand, put her nose close to him and sniffed him, then the disgust on her face became more intense. She quickly called Guyu and Lixia and asked them to prepare hot water.
"You need to wash up."
Xiao Yeyang hugged Daohua tightly and refused to let go: "Then you have to help me."
Daohua glanced at him unhappily: "Have you met the master?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "The old man went out with Doctor Ge."
Daohua nodded, and when she saw Guyu and Lixia fetching hot water, she quickly got off the kang and said, "Go to the bathroom first. I'll get you some clothes."
Xiao Yeyang smiled and walked into the clean room.
Quarter of an hour later, Xiao Yeyang, who had just finished taking a bath, lay on the kang with a relaxed expression, his head resting on Daohua's legs, while Daohua was concentrating on shaving Xiao Yeyang.
Looking at Xiao Yeyang's frostbitten face, Daohua felt very distressed. After shaving, she found the ointment and carefully applied it to him.
"I'll make you a mask later. Remember to wear it when you go out."
Xiao Yeyang nodded with a smile: "Okay."
After wiping his face, Daohua checked Xiao Yeyang's body and applied medicine to some bruises and abrasions.
The charcoal fire in the room was burning brightly, and he was lying on a warm kang. His nose was filled with the fragrance of his wife. Xiao Yeyang, completely relaxed, slowly closed his eyes.
When they finished applying the pesticide to the rice flowers, they found that Xiao Yeyang had fallen into a deep sleep.
For more than a month after arriving in Xiliang, Xiao Yeyang has been busy every day. Even though he has been practicing martial arts for many years, his body can no longer bear it.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang sleeping with his brows furrowed, Daohua showed pity on her face and reached out to smooth his frown.
During dinner, Daohua saw that Xiao Yeyang was sleeping soundly, so she didn't call him and went to Gu Jian's yard alone.
"Master, Xiao Yeyang came back this afternoon. He's not injured and is doing well. Don't worry."
Gu Jian nodded and said, "He must be exhausted during this period. Let him have a good rest. Oh, and make some more medicinal food to nourish him."
Daohua smiled and agreed: "I will."
Xiao Yeyang slept until noon the next day. As soon as he woke up, he heard Daohua asking about his longevity in the outer room.
"Didn't we just allocate a batch of food for porridge distribution a few days ago? How come it's gone so quickly?"
Deshou replied with a bitter face, "I don't know what's going on, but the refugees outside the city have been gathering more and more these days. The food that should have lasted us half a month has been gone in just a few days."
Daohua frowned: "There are so many people, no one will cause trouble, right?"
Deshou shook his head: "No, everyone depends on the porridge distribution to survive, and they dare not cause trouble at this time."
At this time, Xiao Yeyang came out.
Daohua quickly stood up and walked over: "Are you awake?"
Xiao Yeyang nodded, pulled Daohua to sit down, and looked at Deshou: "What's going on with the refugees?"
Deshou quickly told him about the sharp increase in the number of refugees in the past two days.
Xiao Yeyang frowned. "When I first arrived, there were only about five or six thousand refugees outside the city. In less than a month, the number has increased to tens of thousands. It seems someone doesn't want me to have an easy life."
Daohua looked surprised. "Are you saying someone is driving the refugees towards Ganzhou City? Who is it? Why are they doing this? We just arrived and haven't offended anyone."
Xiao Yeyang sneered: "We haven't offended anyone, but our arrival may disrupt the situation in Xiliang. For some people, it will hinder their path."
Even though Xiliang is cold and poor, in the eyes of some people, it is their sphere of influence, and they will not tolerate outside interference, let alone change.
Because the imperial court neglected the management of Xiliang, the rulers here may have had the illusion that this land was theirs.
Daohua frowned: "What if we can't provide food to appease the refugees outside the city?"
Xiao Yeyang took over the conversation: "If the refugees cause trouble, someone will definitely submit a petition to the court and use it as an excuse to drive me out of Xiliang."
Daohua listened, pondered for a moment, and looked at Deshou: "You go with Guyu to get another batch of food. Make sure to appease the refugees outside the city and don't let them cause trouble."
Deshou glanced at Xiao Yeyang, and seeing that he had no objection, he followed Guyu and retreated.
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua: "There shouldn't be much of the supplies we brought left, right?"
Daohua nodded, then asked Lixia to bring the warehouse list and handed it to Xiao Yeyang for him to look at.
"Don't worry too much. I've already written to Qin Xiaoliu, but the capital is too far from Xiliang. It will probably take until around February for the food to be delivered."
"With the number of refugees outside the city right now, we simply can't hold out until that time. But as long as we can hold out during this period, we'll definitely have a sufficient food supply in the future."
Having said that, he paused.
"The refugees outside the city are not our sole concern. Shouldn't the city's officials and merchants also contribute?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head. "Xiliang is no different from other places, and Ganzhouwei is the poorest garrison. Even officials and merchants don't have much surplus food at home. Asking them to give up their food would be like asking for their lives."
If there is no commotion outside the city by then, they might just quit.
Daohua asked again, "What about the garrisons? Aren't the military households usually farming? There must be some food stored in the garrisons, right?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head again: "Military households will hand over grain, but the grain production here is too low. Ganzhouwei is closest to Western Liao, and usually has to support a border army stationed here."
"The previous commander died because he owed the border troops food and wages. He was summoned by the border army generals and accidentally shot by the Western Liao people."
Daohua was a little speechless: "Didn't they say that the previous commander was killed while on patrol?"
Xiao Yeyang sneered, "That's just to make it sound good. The people of Xiliang live such a hard life. Besides the geography and climate, and the Xiliao people, it's also largely due to the incompetence of the officials here."
Daohua looked at Xiao Yeyang and said, "Now that you have taken over the Ganzhou Guard, doesn't that mean you have to support the border troops stationed here as well?"
Xiao Yeyang nodded with a headache.
If the border troops had not been concerned about his identity this time, and if he had not led his men to annihilate a group of Western Liao cavalry, the border troops would have come to Ganzhou City to cause trouble long ago.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang's brows knotted again, Daohua sat over and smoothed them down for him: "This is not a big deal. I may not be able to help you with other things, but when it comes to food, how could I, a major grain producer, be short of it? Leave the food matter to me."
Xiao Yeyang smiled and looked at Daohua: "Didn't you say that the food won't arrive until February?"
Daohua smiled and said, "The capital is far away, there's nothing we can do about it, but we can find somewhere closer to borrow grain, or even buy grain."
Xiao Yeyang didn't want to discourage Daohua, so he didn't tell her that she might not be able to buy food in Xiliang at all.
Almost all of the Nine Guards of Xiliang are under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, and the person who most wants him to leave Xiliang is probably the Commander-in-Chief Wei Hongcai.
However, everyone has weaknesses, and not all commanders can be bribed.
Thinking of the news sent back by Jinlingwei, Xiao Yeyang decided to go out tomorrow to meet the most unpopular commander of Lanwuwei.
As long as we subdue him, we should be able to get a batch of food.
(End of this chapter)
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