Yuan Chong said, "This … I know."
Cheng Jing asked again, "Do you think Wolong County is closer to Maode County or Wanzhou?"
Wolong County and Maode County were neighbors, but to get to Wanzhou, one had to cross a third of the state. It would take one to two months on foot.
Yuan Chong said naturally, "Of course Maode County is closer."
Cheng Jing smiled bitterly and asked, "Since Maode County is closer, why did the refugees come to Wanzhou?"
If the refugees went to Maode County, they would be leaving their homes, but they would still be in the same state. A few.
But they went to Wanzhou, which was near Haozhou. This was thought-provoking.
Yuan Chong finally realized something was wrong, and his expression changed.
He said, "Someone is playing tricks?"
Damn it, how could this be!
The governor of Maode County was Yuan Chong's lord, Huang Song. At the same time, Huang Song was Yuan Chong's cousin.
Huang Song's ancestors had been prominent for a while, but because of poor management by his descendants, they slowly withered.
Huang Song's surname was "Yuan." His grandfather died when he was young. Because the family was poor, the clan could not take care of Huang Song's grandmother, who was young and widowed. In order to survive, Huang Song's grandmother could only remarry her ex-husband's son to the emperor's favorite — Secretary Huang, Huang Tan.
Huang Tan was a eunuch, but Huang Song's father was very sweet and gradually won Huang Tan's favor. He changed his surname and adopted him as a stepson, continuing the Huang family line. Later, with Huang Tan's help, Huang Song's father gradually became successful. He married and had children, and even helped the family.
By Huang Song's generation, the Yuan family's situation had improved. Coincidentally, Huang Song was short of people, so he reached out to help the younger generation of the family.
This was why Yuan Chong came to serve Huang Song.
Huang Song was Yuan Chong's idol, and Yuan Chong was Huang Song's die-hard fan.
How could a die-hard fan tolerate hearing that his idol had been schemed against?
Cheng Jing saw through Yuan Chong's honest thoughts and said in amusement, "Playing tricks? Not really. "
This was a normal confrontation. Cheng Jing could only say that he was not as skilled as Wei Ci and could not blame his opponent for being treacherous.
Today, Cheng Jing still did not know that in terms of playing with people's hearts and public opinion, which strategist in the world could beat Wei Ci?
Cheng Jing asked about it in detail. The refugees had all come to Wanzhou because they had heard about how great Wanzhou was from their relatives. As for how these relatives knew about this … well, in reality, they had only heard about it through hearsay. There was no way to find out the source of the rumors.
Wei Ci had not only set a trap for Huang Song, he had cast a wide net and spread the news everywhere, subtly influencing the people to brainwash and promote his lord.
Do you still remember that Wei Ci's pen name is Zai Chi?
Wei Ci had suffered a loss in his previous life. In this life, he naturally had to control the steering wheel of public opinion early on and become an experienced driver.
Gossiping was originally a means of public opinion. Luring children to sing nursery rhymes, hiring hooligans to spread the word, and letting wandering knights who traveled from the south to the north sell their products everywhere … These were all means of public opinion. It seemed inconspicuous, but it would play a huge role in crucial times.
Wolong County was neither near nor far from Wanzhou.
The people had been uprooted by the flames of war. When they thought about where it would be safer to turn to, the first thing that came to mind was "Wanzhou."
One or two refugees were nothing, but when the surrounding people all leaned toward "Wanzhou," the "blind obedience" in people's bones would come into play. One group of refugees led another group of refugees, and like a rolling snowball, the refugee group grew larger and larger until it developed to the scale it was today.
Out of 100 refugees, at least 60% were willing to give up what was close at hand and seek what was far away, choosing Wanzhou.
To be honest, Cheng Jing should be the scapegoat.
As Huang Song's strategist, he could not plan everything for his lord. Instead, he let people take advantage of a loophole. He really should not have done that.
What was even more frustrating was that Huang Song now had a favor to ask of Wanzhou, so he could not flare up at all. He could only pinch his nose and accept it.
The refugees had legs, and no one else could decide for them where they wanted to go except for the refugees themselves.
Being unable to attract the refugees was Huang Song's failure, and even more so, it was the failure of Cheng Jing's subordinates.
Yuan Chong did not understand, but he saw that Cheng Jing's complexion was much better. He should be fine, right?
He asked someone to fetch a waterskin from the carriage, then fetched a clean handkerchief and handed it to Cheng Jing.
"Sir, wipe your sweat and drink some water to cool off. Judging by the weather, I'm afraid it'll be hot for a while."
Cheng Jing took the handkerchief and was about to wipe away the sweat on his forehead when he heard a clamor for help coming from outside.
"What happened?"
Yuan Chong took advantage of his height to stand on tiptoe and take a look. "It seems like there's a conflict between refugees."
It was not accurate to say that there was a conflict between refugees. To be precise, there were a few male refugees who were impatient and wanted to take advantage of a woman who was alone.
Naturally, the woman would not let it go. If she was caught by these people, even a fool would know what would happen to her.
She bit someone and took advantage of the pain to run away. As she ran, she tried to find help.
Seeing that there were many people on Cheng Jing's side and that there were dozens of strong guards in uniform standing guard, she mustered up her courage and ran over.
"Stop!"
Two guards drew their swords and stopped the madly running woman. The woman's face was covered in tears as she knelt in a sorry state and begged the guards. Behind her, several madmen were still shouting and cursing.
Cheng Jing was not far away. When he saw this scene, he frowned and looked rather displeased.
Yuan Chong read Cheng Jing's mind and snorted, "What's with the ruckus?"
The guards half-knelt and begged for forgiveness. The woman was stunned. She took a few steps forward and tried to grab Yuan Chong's trousers.
"Save, save this little woman —"
Yuan Chong gestured for the guards to arrest the madmen and said to the woman, "Madam, you're safe now."
The woman wiped her face with her sleeve, revealing a disheveled but beautiful face.
"Thank you, general, for saving me."
The madmen were still shouting and cursing. Their mouths were not clean, so the guards secretly kicked them a few times.
Yuan Chong was also angry. How could they dirty his master's ears with their filthy words?
He was just about to send someone to kill these evil madmen when Cheng Jing said, "Forget it. Huan Shu, let them go."
Yuan Chong did not understand. Cheng Jing was someone who could not tolerate sand in his eyes. How could he allow a few perverted people to live?
Cheng Jing glanced at the miserable woman kneeling on the ground and sighed. "It's fine if you beat them up. They don't deserve death."
The woman's tears, which had just stopped, streamed down her cheeks.
Who wouldn't be sad?
If these madmen were alive, she would definitely be targeted once they left Cheng Jing and the others.
Cheng Jing lowered his eyes and said, "Heng Shu, let's go."
Yuan Chong did not dare to disobey Cheng Jing's orders. He ordered his men to take the madmen to the side and beat them up before letting them go.
"Bah!" The guards spat disdainfully as they looked at the madmen who were wailing like pigs being slaughtered. "Animals!"
Cheng Jing entered the carriage. The caravan moved forward slowly again. This time, they had an extra tail.
Yuan Chong wanted to chase her away, but the woman was afraid of running into the madmen and refused to leave.
"Master … That woman is still following us."
At this moment, Cheng Jing's cold voice came from the carriage.
"Send someone to keep an eye on them!"
Yuan Chong was surprised. He looked back in disbelief and said in a low voice, "Master, that woman …"
Cheng Jing said concisely, "If there's a problem, don't make it public. See what she wants to do."
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