Qin Shen pondered for a moment, “Zhang Qinan is a cautious and timid man. The reason why the general agreed to let you stay here was because of this. Today, he came to the door and took the initiative to hand over the seal and military power to manage Qinzhou. He must be afraid that the general will do something to him later.”
"If he was scared, why didn't he run away?" Jiang Qinyu asked curiously.
Normally, in this kind of situation, wouldn't the first thought be to abscond with the money? But this Lord Zhang is simply handing over his power to someone else? No matter how she looks at it, something seems wrong.
Qin Shen smiled and said, "Madam probably doesn't know that the situation outside has deteriorated to a serious degree. Zhang Qinan's actions are a reflection of his cautious nature."
At this point, Qin Shen told Jiang Qinyu the information he had gathered over the past few days.
It turns out that when the rainstorm hit last year, it rained all over Dai Viet. However, many places, like Yong Son district, experienced torrential rain, which caused countless flash floods and collapsed countless houses. Almost all the surviving people rushed to nearby towns.
The government dared not completely ignore these homeless and penniless refugees, so they reluctantly provided them with assistance for half a month before urging them to return to farming.
For Dai Viet, which had been suffering from drought for three years, a torrential rain destroyed countless homes, but it also brought new life to the parched land, and the seeds planted quickly grew.
The people thought good days were coming, but they had no say in what happened in the fields. The arrival of the severe cold weather caused a large area of crops to die, with less than one in ten surviving, and the harvest was clearly going to be bad.
Even at this point, the imperial court was still deceiving the people, telling them to find ways to grow their own crops, promising that the court would buy them at high prices without taxation.
It is said that a great reward will surely bring forth brave men, and that there are many hidden talents among the people. With this statement from the imperial court, the people naturally used their unique abilities to achieve their goals, and after the New Year, some people actually managed to grow grain.
However, when the man took the grain he had grown to the government office in hopes of exchanging it for some money to improve his family's life, the promises made by the imperial court instantly became invalid. They not only directly seized the people's grain, but also beat the man up and threw him out!
Once word of this behavior spread, the people were in uproar, and no one went to the government office to sell grain anymore.
“I understand,” Jiang Qinyu said immediately upon hearing this. “There is no food outside, and the people are becoming increasingly aggressive because of the court’s previous attitude. I’m afraid that if Lord Zhang goes out, he will have an even worse time.”
“That’s right, he’s just a coward. After weighing the options, he felt that our general had a better chance of winning against the court, so he chose the general. Madam, you don’t need to worry about this.” Qin Shen nodded.
He couldn't bear to tell his wife about the chaos in the outside world. He felt sorry for her just hearing about people eating grass roots and tree bark, using clay, and exchanging children to eat.
Originally, the four northwestern prefectures were among the most arduous prefectures in Da Yue, places that no one wanted to go unless there was something going on. Even the few people who took the imperial examinations each year were from the four northwestern prefectures.
But now things are reversed. Although the total population of the four northwestern prefectures is still not as large as that of the prosperous prefectures of Jinzhou, the people live much better lives than those in other prefectures.
It is said that some caravans from outside visited several northwestern states at the end of last year, and upon returning home, they were all considering whether to move their entire families here.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qinyu pondered for a moment and then asked, "Has the general mentioned any plans for the four northwestern prefectures?"
Next to Yukang Prefecture is Yunzhou, which in turn is adjacent to Qinzhou. Together with Qiongzhou, they are known as the Four Prefectures of the Northwest.
Now, it's as if Lu Yanzheng has control of three prefectures, leaving only Yunzhou.
"The general didn't say, but..." Qin Shen thought for a moment and then said, "When I came out, the general sent Eagle to lead troops to Yongshan County."
This was military business, and it shouldn't have been discussed outside, but he felt that his wife wasn't an outsider, and if she asked, the general wouldn't hide it from her, so he revealed a little bit.
In fact, anyone with a modicum of common sense could see that Eagle's march to Yongshan County was just a ruse. His real intention was to use Yongshan County as a route to Yukang Prefecture, seize control of Yukang Prefecture, and then continue eastward to take over Yunzhou.
With the power of three prefectures in their hands, they had no fear whatsoever when facing Qinzhou.
However, the situation has changed now. Qinzhou has surrendered without a fight. We need to send a letter to the general and Eagle as soon as possible.
Jiang Qinyu is such a shrewd person. As soon as she heard Qin Shen mention Lu Yanzheng's arrangements, she immediately understood what he would do.
"Then let's go back to Dingshui Village tomorrow!" Since there's nothing for her to worry about with Lu Yanzheng, she can take the child back to her hometown and try to fulfill her wish of lying down as soon as possible.
Qin Shen agreed and went out to send a letter to Lu Yanzheng and Lao Ying.
...
In Chengzhang Academy, the news that Lu Yanzheng had blown up the Marquis of Jingyang somehow got out.
Among the students at the academy, the oldest were in their thirties and the youngest were six or seven years old. The younger ones, needless to say, were at an age where they were ignorant and unaware of the situation, but the older ones understood the seriousness of the matter and its underlying meaning.
"Hey, do you guys know Jiang Shufan from Class A of Hundred Herbs Garden?"
"I know, I know. He also has a younger sister in Class C at the Girls' Academy. I heard she was personally accepted as a student by the headmaster."
"Oh dear, you don't know, his parents have probably gotten themselves into big trouble this time!"
"What terrible disaster? Tell me quickly!"
"I heard that Jiang Shufan's uncle, the former Grand General who was sent by the court to take over military power, blew up the Marquis of Jingyang!"
"What? A marquis died just like that?"
"Absolutely true..."
It was during the break between the first class in the afternoon. Shu Fan felt a bit stuffy in the classroom, so he went out to the bathroom to wash his face. But before he could go in, he heard someone mention his name inside.
He stopped and listened carefully, and Shu Fan's expression suddenly changed drastically.
"Then aren't Jiang Shufan's family rebels? His uncle-in-law rebelled?"
"Is there even a question? Marquis Jingyang is dead!"
"But I saw Jiang Shufan come to the academy this morning..."
"He probably doesn't know about this yet. Maybe tonight the imperial court will come and arrest his aunt and all his siblings!"
"You're making it sound so scary, I'd better stay away from Jiang Shufan and his sister..."
Judging from the voices, the people talking in the washroom were all teenagers around seventeen or eighteen years old, and Shu Fan didn't hear a single familiar voice.
But the implication of their words made him lose all interest in class, and the frustration in his heart turned into anxiety and worry.
He hurried back to the classroom and happened to run into the teacher who was coming to teach. He asked the teacher for leave, then ran to Pan'er's classroom to ask for leave for Pan'er, and then took her out of the academy.
Jiang Qinyu assigned two guards to the two of them, two in the open and two in the shadows. The two in the open were always guarding the main gate of the academy, while the shadow guards would not appear unless necessary, and no one knew where they usually hid.
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