Chapter 77: The Army's Transit (Part 1) Update
At least four months.
Why make such a big fuss, mobilize almost all the people in the country, and gather them at the border for half a year, just to fight against the Eight Tribes of the grassland, who wouldn't benefit much even if they won?
Thousands of soldiers and civilians will lose their lives or become displaced in this meaningless war.
Liu Ziye has never experienced it personally, but after these years, she has developed a full imagination.
What kind of devastating disaster are Fanyang County, the focus of everyone at this moment, and the ordinary people who have been conscripted from the thirty-six counties across the country, experiencing?
Liu Jian was simply courting death by automatically taking points from Crown Prince Liu Ziling and giving them to himself!
But to be honest, if these points were not forced upon her, she really would not have planned to take them!
Moreover, in a few months, a million-strong army would pass through Xiguan County, which would very likely mean a disaster for her that would be even more tragic than that for ordinary people.
Seeing that she remained silent after listening, Du Hui and Jin Jie also stopped for a while.
He believed that the young marquis must be thinking of the shocked people of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Infected by the young marquis's emotions, Du Hui couldn't help but sigh.
He said leisurely, "A ruler who is benevolent is unconditionally benevolent; a ruler who is righteous is unconditionally righteous; a ruler who is upright is unconditionally just. Under a righteous ruler, a nation is stable. However, if a ruler fails to practice benevolence, uphold righteousness, and maintain justice, then the people's sins begin."
Liu Ziye came back to his senses from his thoughts.
I don’t quite agree with Du Hui’s idea of an ancient benevolent monarch, but this is the reality happening in this era.
The king is the supreme ruler, so every thought and every flick of his fingertips affects countless lives.
She then asked, "Wang Yanpeng hasn't taken any action yet except closing his house, right?"
"good."
At this point, Du Hui bluntly stated, "In my opinion, Wang Yanpeng's so-called closed-office meeting is just a cover. Even if he is truly discussing something, it's probably not about how to design a road support system for the Great Zhou army, but how to save his own skin after concealing the situation at Xiguan for the past few years!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziye nodded in agreement.
"Behind the scenes, I don't believe he can come up with a fabricated explanation. He's now on the same boat with our Xiguan Marquisate. If he has any sense, he should come to the Marquisate and have a serious discussion with Mr. Du. That would be the right thing to do."
Du Hui heard this and smiled knowingly: "Young Marquis, I will see you soon."
In Fanyang County.
Several cities, whether they are markets or rural villages.
Teams of laborers, counted from every household, left their villages and streets under the whips and swords of the government soldiers. Before the troops were ready to move, the most important thing was the transportation of food and supplies.
Outside the Chengping warehouse in Fanyang, there are carts pulled by people, and it takes an unknown amount of effort to transport the goods out.
However, for an army of hundreds of thousands, even if it was just a garrison, the amount of food and fodder consumed every day would reach tens of thousands of liters.
The storage space in Chengping Warehouse in Fanyang was soon exhausted.
After the laborers left their homes, village heads across the country, at the behest of county officials, began collecting surplus grain from every household. Cries and shouts echoed in the futile attempts to defend the last rations, ultimately yielding to the heavily armed soldiers.
Orphans, the elderly and the weak had to guard the empty granaries and the bare fields that had just experienced the summer harvest and were waiting to be plowed and sown. They had no choice but to take the elderly and children with them and go out every day to beg for food from the rich.
Some of the wealthy families were familiar with the government and officials, and after symbolically collecting a portion of their stored grain, they still had a very wealthy fortune.
But which family would give away food for free? Even selling children would not be enough to buy enough food.
Those who stayed behind could only rely on luck for their livelihood, or wait for the servants at home to come back and bring them a good thing that no one could get.
But this battle has just begun. Once you leave the house, can you return home alive?
Outside the Buddhist temple.
As more and more households ran out of food, dozens of Buddhist temples in Fanyang County began to set up porridge stalls outside the temple gates.
Desperate people lined up in front of the porridge stall, each holding a broken bowl, waiting to receive their share of the porridge. In front of the huge stove, the young monk who was serving porridge was also pale and thin.
Even though the porridge was sparse, each person could only get one bowl per day.
But it has become the hope for many people to survive. People praise the Buddha's grace and live on this bowl of porridge.
Everyone who received the porridge bowed to the young monk with one hand out of gratitude.
Chant with utmost piety: "Buddha, have mercy on you."
The young monks who were distributing porridge had difficulty with their hands, but they would also respond with "Namo Amitabha" or "Buddha helps all sentient beings to relieve their suffering."
Yucheng.
When Liu Ziye heard the latest situation that Jin Ji's private guards had found out in Fanyang County, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"In just two months, Fanyang County has reached this state?"
Du Hui was also there. After listening to Jin Jie's story, he couldn't help but sigh, "This is just the beginning. The Emperor of Yanjing has mobilized the entire nation for the war, with four months of pre-war mobilization. It's unknown how long the war will last. If we can end the war within a year, and then rest for a few years, we will eventually be able to recover."
Liu Ziye asked at the right moment: "Mr. Du, can it be finished in a year?"
"this……"
Du Hui hesitated a little.
Liu Ziye spoke for him, "If the decision-makers and commanders had been able to decisively end this war within a year, this costly yet meaningless war would never have begun."
"What the young marquis said is quite true."
Yanyun Temple in Yucheng, Xiguan.
The newly renovated temple gate opened, and Abbot Du Yan walked down the steps and headed towards the Xiguan Houfu residence on the central street of Yucheng.
Liu Ziye and his companions, who were discussing matters in the study, heard Xiying say outside the door, "Young Marquis, someone at the front gate reported that Monk Du Yan from Yanyun Temple wants to see you."
"Yanyun Temple?"
Ever since Liu Ziye parted ways with the so-called Master Xuan Jing at Yanyun Temple three years ago, he had long forgotten the existence of this temple.
This three-year large-scale construction in Yucheng was initiated by Du Hui, who funded the renovation of Yanyun Temple because it was built by the King of Xiguan. The temple was built into a new building with a unified style throughout Yucheng.
A row of cement roofs and white brick walls, although every household still has a well, but the water source is from the well, and metal pipes are built to connect to the kitchen and bathroom indoors.
Although some people in the county would occasionally come to Yanyun Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, everyone had been busy with their lives for the past three years, studying practical knowledge in writing, mathematics, science and engineering.
The only difference is that the roof and architectural form of the temple still retain the original style of the temple.
During these three years, the great master named Xuan Jing really did what he said when he first arrived.
Even when faced with the cold stares from the young Marquis of Xiguan and his family, he didn't mind at all. He had transformed himself from a great Buddhist master, admired by the royal family and common people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, into an ordinary wandering monk.
For three years, he roamed the territory of Xiguan County, preaching Buddhism whenever he could, not caring whether anyone was listening or what their status was. If he came across a household in need of labor, he would immediately offer his assistance, even doing odd jobs for the young marquis of Xiguan, who was building cement roads, and in various workshops.
However, he never asked for any money for his short-term work. All he needed was food, drink and lodging. Once his work period was up, he would leave.
It can be said to be extremely casual.
After these peaceful years, today is the first time that I have taken the initiative to visit you again to restore contact with the young Marquis of Xiguan.
Of course, Liu Ziye also roughly knew the situation of the three monks in Yanyun Temple.
However, she was completely focused on using modern scientific and technological ideas to earn points in her fiefdom, and she completely disdained the influence of Buddhist temples and so-called Buddhist thoughts on the people in ancient society.
As long as modern materialistic science is implanted into people's minds, where will there be any place for Buddha?
Just like the thousand-mile Xiguan, in the past three years, Yanyun Temple is still the same Yanyun Temple, the monks are still the same three monks, and there is no new Buddhist believer.
However, when she heard the announcement of the visit of Du Yan, the abbot of Yanyun Temple, she suddenly remembered something.
She asked Jin Jie, "Did our private guards see Buddhist temples in various places in Fanyang County providing porridge to the people?"
Jin Jie nodded: "Exactly."
"Tell me more about the specific situation."
"Okay. Unlike our Xiguan Commandery, Fanyang Commandery is heavily populated by Han Chinese, and Buddhism is a strong religion. It governs eight cities and sixteen counties, each of which has at least one Buddhist temple. During the recent war between the Great Zhou and the Eight Tribes, hundreds of thousands of troops entered Fanyang. It's said that all the warehouses in and around Fanyang County have been emptied, even the Changping granaries, which were used for disaster relief. Naturally, the government was unable to provide relief, so the only place the people, left with no food and no men to rely on, had to go was the Buddhist temples."
Jin Jie said this, looking at Liu Ziye's thoughtful expression, and continued, "The private guards and spies we sent to Fanyang have reported that dozens of Buddhist temples in Fanyang County have set up porridge stalls in front of them, and there are long queues every day. However, the Buddhist temples' food reserves are limited and cannot sustain the supply for a long time."
After Jin Jie finished speaking, Liu Ziye had figured out some problems that she had not been able to understand before.
Why are Buddhists so popular?
It is not only because the Buddhist teachings have entered people's hearts, but also because Buddhist temples in ancient human society also assumed the social function of helping the weak and lonely!
If I were in a different place, I would probably also have the utmost respect and admiration for Buddhist temples.
She said to Xiying outside the study, "Please ask Du Yan to come to the main hall. I will go right away."
She then said to Du Hui and Jin Jie, "Come on, you two should go with me to see him."
Main hall.
Monk Du Yan sat restlessly in the guest seat. Even when the servants from the Waiting Mansion came up and poured him some hot tea, he did not dare to move at all.
He just lifted his monk's robe upright, made a Buddhist seal with one hand, held a Buddhist rosary with the other, closed his eyes and silently recited Buddhist scriptures to maintain his calm appearance.
Ever since the young Marquis of Xiguan left Yanyun Temple in anger, Du Yan came to the Marquis' Mansion in Xiguan today. From the moment he entered the front gate, he was worried that he would be kicked out of the mansion, so he was naturally extremely cautious.
Like now, he was invited politely to the main hall and served hot tea. Du Yan was even more at a loss.
After a while, voices were heard outside the hall.
Du Yan did not dare to delay any longer. He stood up from his chair respectfully, facing outside the hall, waiting for the head of Xiguan Hou Mansion to arrive.
However, when he saw who it was, his eyes widened in shock.
Du Yan never expected that the young marquis of Xiguan would come in person!
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