Terrified, the landlords and wealthy people had no choice but to abandon their homes and businesses and flee the city. Some fled towards the capital, but most fled to the prosperous south, hoping to buy new houses and continue their comfortable lives with a large retinue of servants.
In their eyes, the North was already a land of tigers and wolves, and they could no longer stay there. If they stayed any longer, they would lose not only the wealth their families had accumulated over generations, but also their lives.
However, these people did not know how to keep a low profile when they fled. They were reluctant to part with their family wealth and only thought about taking as much as possible with them. They often traveled in large entourages with many carriages and horses, making quite a spectacle. They attracted a lot of attention, and it is unknown how many families were robbed by refugees and bandits along the way.
Faced with natural disasters, the court, which was in financial crisis, was passive and ineffective, but it had to brace itself to deal with the various uprising armies that sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
However, the regular troops sent out suffered repeated defeats against the makeshift rebel army of refugees, failing to teach them a lesson and instead emboldening them.
That's not surprising.
In the later stages of each dynasty, the problem of corruption in the army was quite serious.
Even if the reigning emperor is determined to promote benefits and eliminate abuses and reform the army, he often has no choice but to give up because of deeply entrenched problems, obstruction from various stakeholders, and concerns that prevent him from making a firm decision.
The imperial court was short of money, the emperor was powerless to control his rebellious ministers and reverse the corrupt government, and naturally, he could not raise a capable army.
Moreover, the current emperor is already old and incompetent, allowing treacherous officials to hold power, forming cliques and eliminating dissidents in the court, while he himself is preoccupied with indulging in pleasure in the harem, only wanting to happily spend the rest of his days.
After witnessing the true strength of the imperial army, the regional governors and vassal kings were overjoyed, and each of them excitedly jumped out to cause trouble:
They either won over the leaders of the rebel army to their own side, or recruited soldiers and horses in their respective territories, levied additional taxes, and secretly accumulated strength to prepare for future struggles for the world.
Sensing an impending change in the political landscape, the old foxes ignored the imperial decree to suppress the rebels and became increasingly perfunctory in their attitude towards the court, obeying orders but not orders.
Those who used the guise of serving the imperial court to do private work were the most enthusiastic.
...
A storm is brewing, the wind is howling, and dark clouds are pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it.
Lin Momo and Shi Guang were acutely aware that the chaos in the world was escalating, and that endless wars might indeed be brewing for a long time to come.
It's worth mentioning that their eighteenth birthday promise is also approaching.
Shi Guang seemed especially happy, finally able to be a real husband and wife with his wife.
He doesn't know how he got through these past two years. Sigh, it's all tears when I talk about it!
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