Hunger was a serious topic, more serious than anything else at the moment.
There was no other reason than it concerned their lives, and their lives at that moment.
They could think of countermeasures for other things, but if they didn't fill their stomachs in time, they wouldn't even be able to think, let alone think about other things. So filling their stomachs was the most important thing right now.
Everyone spread out to look for food, but because the palace wasn't rich, there wasn't much food. Houyang Cheng had to leave the palace last night, so he didn't leave anything for the palace after plundering. Now, other than a few belongings in his carriage, there was really nothing else.
Not to mention food.
Food was the most important thing that many people would neglect in times of crisis.
But their luck wasn't that bad. At least they managed to get some dry rations and simple rice cakes from the rooms of some palace servants. These were the palace servants' daily rations. They tasted rough, but at least they could fill their stomachs.
But when Houyang Cheng, his Empress, and Maeda Toshinaga saw the food, they couldn't help but frown.
He was the Emperor after all. No matter how down and out he was, Houyang Cheng didn't think that he would be reduced to eating the food of these lowly people. Even if the royal family didn't have much funds, there was still enough food for him. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had served him well for more than ten years, so his appetite wasn't small.
Even his Empress was the same.
Maeda Toshinaga, on the other hand, simply ate good food every day. He was particular about not getting tired of eating fine food. Faced with such coarse food, how could he eat it?
In fact, his retainers were also high-ranking officials who received special treatment. They usually ate meat and drank wine. Now that they suddenly had to eat these things, it was more or less difficult for them to swallow. But they were martial arts practitioners, so they could endure hardship and were particular about this. When it was the turn of the real upper-class people, they found it difficult to put the food in their mouths.
Their stomachs were clearly growling, but they still couldn't eat it.
The smart retainers immediately saw the problem and immediately knelt on the ground.
"My Lord, Your Majesty, this is a special time, and special times call for special things. Right now, we can't get any good food to offer to my Lord and Your Majesty, but this is only temporary. Once the chaos outside subsides, we can rush out.
At that time, we will focus on finding good food to provide enough food for my Lord and Your Majesty. For now, my Lord and Your Majesty, please bear with it for the time being in such a dangerous situation! "
The other retainers also realized the problem and knelt on the ground to beg Maeda Toshinaga and the imperial couple to eat.
Yes, to put it bluntly, it wasn't that they couldn't eat. As long as they were hungry, they could even eat raw vegetables from the fields. However, the key was face.
Upper-Class people eating low-class food was a very shameful thing. Since ancient times, there weren't many upper-class people who could eat low-class food calmly. Even if they wanted to put on a show, they couldn't do it. This issue of face was really very troublesome.
However, after being persuaded like this, they pretended to sigh with emotion and hurriedly sent the food into their stomachs. They ate very quickly.
As they ate, the group of retainers discussed what to do next. In the end, they decided to send a small group of highly skilled martial artists with weapons to search for food and gather information. The coarse food in the palace was enough to feed more than three hundred people, so they had to go out and search for food.
Of course, information was also very important. The current situation in the city, when the outcome of the chaos would be decided, or whether there were still nobles alive outside the palace, and so on. These were all important pieces of information.
They had to go out.
After asking for instructions from Maeda Toshinaga, the group of retainers chose ten highly skilled warriors to go out and find information and food.
Leaving aside the action here, Li Rusong had arrived at the suburbs of Jingdu with the vanguard troops. It was the morning of April 20, the second year of Longwu.
Li Rusong asked the troops to take a break and eat some dry food for the time being. He took a small team to see the situation in Jingdu. At first glance, he knew that the information he got about Black Water was not from his family. Black Water spies really instigated a large-scale riot inside and outside the city, and they had successfully locked down Jingdu.
Now the people inside couldn't get out, and the people outside couldn't get in. The two sides were still in a stalemate. And it was certain that none of the imperial family and important figures in Jingdu had run out. They were all inside.
Li Rusong's heart was pounding, and he realized that a great credit was about to fall on his head.
Once he got the credit, it would directly reverse the Li family's embarrassing situation in Daqin, and even bring a new life to the Li family.
Although Li Rusong got this opportunity, he also knew very well that the Li family's situation in Daqin was not so relaxed and friendly.
At least compared with the Ma family, the Li family's situation was not as good as it seemed on the surface. Because the whole family turned to Xiao Ruxun and worked for him, they got huge benefits. Now the prestige of the Ma family was far above that of the Li family.
Back then, the Li Clan of the East and the Ma Clan of the West were two great clans of generals. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that although the Li Clan still had a front, a title of nobility, and a general leading an army, their prestige was far inferior to the Ma Clan which was closer to Xiao Ruxun. The Ma Clan's prestige was greater, and there were more people with titles of nobility and generals leading an army.
The Ma family followed Xiao Ruxun to launch an expedition to the north to suppress the rebellion, while the Li family played a dishonorable role of being on both sides.
To put it bluntly, the Li family could get today's status purely because of a brave retreat. They handed over the family foundation of Liaodong to Xiao Ruxun, so that they could survive.
Otherwise, there was no need to wait for the great purge in the first year of Longwu. After Xiao Ruxun ascended the throne, his first order was to attack Liaodong with the army, and the elite Zhennan Army would directly rush to Liaodong to bury the Li family group in Liaodong.
Li Chengliang knew this very well, so after surrendering, he didn't go out and directly regarded himself as a retired old man. He didn't ask about anything, so that Xiao Ruxun felt that there was no such person as Li Chengliang, so as to avoid suspicion.
During the great purge, except for a few children of the Li family who were in the army, all the people of the tribe were called by Li Chengliang to stay at home with him. They didn't go out and did whatever Xiao Ruxun said immediately without any discount.
The Li family had put on a show of surrender, expressing their loyalty and innocence to Xiao Ruxun. Only then did they luckily survive the great purge. As for the two families of the original Liaodong Group, because they had some involvement with the capital camp and Zhu Yinghuai, they were exterminated.
Even so, Madam Li didn't say a word. She had a posture of being captured without putting up a fight. Finally, she managed to escape the calamity and waited for Xiao Ruxun to appoint Li Rusong to go on a punitive expedition.
On the same day, Li Chengliang held a family banquet and drank with his family to celebrate that he had finally survived the disaster.
But the crisis of the Li family was not completely resolved. If it was to be completely resolved, it needed a lot of credit.
Xiao Ruxun's meaning couldn't be more obvious — I want to believe you and not doubt you, but you lack credit. I need you to provide a credit to Daqin as a proof of allegiance. In this way, I will believe you.
Li Chengliang immediately understood Xiao Ruxun's intention. He asked Li Rusong to do a good job and must not disobey the emperor's orders. He must beat him as the emperor asked him to, kill him as the emperor asked him to, and burn, kill, and loot as the emperor asked him to.
He couldn't have the slightest disobedience.
There were countless informants and loyal followers of Xiao Ruxun in the army he led. Any misbehavior of his would be recorded, and he might even be taken down and executed on the spot.
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