Xing Xiuyan had been following Chen Xi for some time and knew a little about the general situation of the world, but she never expected it to be so chaotic.
"When Mayor Zheng fled from his hometown to Bian'ai County, he could have passed through the capital, so why didn't he settle down in the capital first?"
"After all, there were several other people and their families who fled with him. Even if they weren't in the capital, Yizhou Prefecture wasn't that chaotic. There were other places like Muyuan Prefecture and Jingchuan Prefecture to choose from. It's impossible for him to bring everyone all the way to Jianming Prefecture just to find his childhood sweetheart, right?"
Shenxi nodded with satisfaction: "My Xiuyan can think now! Not bad."
"Chief—" Xing Xiuyan couldn't help but feel ashamed. She had always served the chief as his maid and out of gratitude, rarely thinking about the bigger picture.
Shenxi stopped teasing her and patiently explained, "If you look at the previous official gazettes and what the common people are saying, you will know why we fled all the way north to Bian'ai County."
Xing Xiuyan listened attentively. She wanted to learn more about these situations in the future, as the best way to repay her superiors would be to help them.
Shenxi continued, "To see if a region is in chaos, you can't just look at whether there's a full-scale war. Muyuan Prefecture and Liangzhou Prefecture are besieging Qiliang Prefecture, but they're each serving their own masters. Muyuan Prefecture is actually the Third Prince's power. And the prefect of Liangzhou Prefecture, Lü Hongfang, sigh, how come he has the same name as your brother Zheng?"
Xing Xiuyan was listening attentively when suddenly the commander started to "play around" again, directly changing the subject: "Commander, there are many people in the world with the same name, but their character is worlds apart. Commander, please explain to me why you fled all the way north!"
Shenxi nodded: "Indeed. Although the names are the same, Lü Hongfang is a real bad person. He is morally corrupt, embezzles and accepts bribes, harms the people, and has done all kinds of bad things. He even collects treasures for the Eighth Prince, plunders the people's food and money, and enriches himself."
"The two places each served their own masters, and attacked Qiliang Prefecture, causing chaos in Qiliang Prefecture and displacing its people."
"Whether it's Liangzhou Prefecture or Muyuan Prefecture, war requires a large number of soldiers and food. Where do they come from? Naturally, they are intercepted from the common people."
"People from Qiliang Prefecture would not dare to go to those two places when they fled; most went to Yizhou Prefecture and Jingchuan Prefecture."
"On the surface, Yizhou Prefecture and Jingchuan Prefecture had abundant harvests and plenty of grain at that time, but they were occupied by high-ranking officials and wealthy families. The power dynamics in these two prefectures were complex, including those of the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and the Eighth Prince, as well as a small number of those of the Third Prince."
"On the surface, the Emperor's power is aligned with the Crown Prince, but some people, due to the Emperor's ambiguous attitude, also collude with the Eighth Prince's people."
"It is precisely because the power dynamics of the surrounding prefectures are so complex that the lives of ordinary people are even more difficult, land annexation is more severe, and if people want to survive, they either have to join the army or sell themselves into slavery. The number of free people has already dropped to less than 20%."
Xing Xiuyan was startled. "Good citizens" refers to ordinary people who own land and can live in peace. If the number of good citizens is less than 20%, can people still stay in that place?
"After the migrants from other places entered, the local government actually allowed its soldiers to rob them, forcing the migrants to flee to the capital. However, the capital did not allow the migrants to stay, lest some scheming ministers impeach them to the emperor."
"Most of the refugees had no choice but to enter Nanning Prefecture, but then fighting broke out there as well, making things even more chaotic."
Only then did Xing Xiuyan understand why Zheng Hongfang and his group had fled to Bian'ai County; there was nothing they could do about it!
"Of course, some people detour through Yuzhang Prefecture, but Yuzhang Prefecture is also mostly suffering from drought. Although it is not as severe as the North, the people are still having a hard time. In addition, the local government levies taxes and levies arbitrarily, and wealthy families take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble. Sometimes, ordinary people occupy the mountains and become bandits."
Xing Xiuyan suddenly realized: "The rebellions in Xiahe County and Shanghe County of Yuzhang Prefecture must have originated from this, right?"
Shenxi nodded: "Later, the locust plague ate up all the grain that was about to be harvested in autumn, and the spread of the plague led to riots in these two places."
"Sir, what about the other counties in Yuzhang Prefecture? There have been no riots."
Shenxi praised, "Xiuyan is indeed qualified to be my subordinate."
Xing Xiuyan blushed slightly: "I'm still far from ready. When I'm ready to stand on my own, I'll become your subordinate and serve you."
"Okay, starting tomorrow, you and I will handle government affairs together."
It would be best if someone could share the burden; without Qi Xiuwen, Chen Xi felt exhausted.
The main problem is that official documents from various places are brought to her every day. Previously, Qi Xiuwen handled these matters, and unless it was a major issue, Shen Xi didn't need to worry about it.
With Qi Xiuwen away for the past two days, Shen Xi has been processing the important documents and leaving the less important ones aside.
With Xing Xiuyan's help, those minor matters can be gradually handed over to her to handle.
Xing Xiuyan felt relieved at this moment. She had indeed felt somewhat inferior before. Could a woman like her, who rarely left her home, help the leader handle matters?
Having gained the leader's approval, he thought he would work hard in the future to become a qualified subordinate.
Shenxi patiently explained to her: "It is clearly stated in the document that the locust plague only reached Xiahe County, and the area south of Xiahe County suffered less damage."
“If other counties had taken in the disaster victims from these two counties, there would have been no riots. But you must know that the plague has swept through the northern part of Yuzhang Prefecture. The governor of Yuzhang Prefecture has ordered that people from the four counties in the north with the plague should not travel to other counties or the prefectural city.”
“Even in these four counties, layers of checkpoints were set up. In one village, when more than 60% of the people were infected, they were all surrounded and burned to death.”
Xing Xiuyan gasped. Burned alive?
She hadn't expected such a cold-blooded order.
"Local officials were afraid that the plague would spread to them, so they even ordered villages with less than 60% infection rate to be burned down."
"That's what caused the complete upheaval. Just you wait, there's still chaos in Yuzhang Prefecture."
Xing Xiuyan did not realize how terrible and severe the plague was. She only saw healthy people around her, but she knew that some people had died from fever when she was in Wang Datong's team. She just did not expect it to be the plague.
"Commander, is the plague still so severe outside?"
Shenxi sighed: "The plague in the north is coming to an end. Although it is still contagious, there are far fewer deaths. In the south, past Nanning Prefecture and Yuzhang Prefecture, there are still some areas affected, but not many. The policy implemented is basically to burn down villages if there are a large number of people."
"Judging from the current situation, the plague will probably disappear in another month when the weather gets colder."
Xing Xiuyan never imagined that so many things had happened in the world. She only knew that Bian'ai County had been in chaos, but she didn't expect that everything was in chaos.
Shenxi then told Xing Xiuyan about the infighting among the princes in the court, and Xing Xiuyan listened attentively and took notes.
The two talked for a long time, and it was already very late at night. Chenxi said, "Starting tomorrow, you should read more documents and the court's gazettes to grasp the situation as soon as possible. You should gradually be able to take charge on your own."
Xing Xiuyan agreed.
Just as the two were thinking of falling asleep, they heard a commotion outside, which startled Shenxi.
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