"Sir, why didn't you let me give the child something to eat?" The official couldn't help but turn around.
"Don't look back," Lord Fang's voice was still steady, "You can save him now, but you can't save him forever. What's more, didn't you see those refugees faintly gathering around us? If you save this one, what about the rest? "
"There aren't many people …"
"That's because you've only seen these people. Do you know why I told them to take the food and leave at night? It's because starving people don't have any rationality. They even eat people. Do you think you can leave this place safely if you take out the food?"
Lord Fang's unhurried voice caused the official to break out in a cold sweat.
Another official walked up and whispered: "I know you're soft-hearted, but being soft-hearted when you shouldn't be will only harm everyone."
"This official knows his mistake." The young official lowered his head in shame.
In fact, before they left, Lord Fang had told them to ignore people begging for food on the road. He saw that the child was young and thought of his younger brother. He couldn't bear it and almost made a big mistake.
Lord Fang sighed. He didn't have the heart to do that, but the goal of this trip was the entire Subei. He couldn't lose the big picture for the small.
He knew that this trip would be difficult before he left, but His Majesty sent him because he trusted him. No matter what, he couldn't betray this trust.
The small town in front of them was their second destination. Compared to the main city, the environment here was worse. But in the face of all this, none of the officials complained. They knew that just surviving was already the result of the people living here putting in the greatest effort.
The official who came to greet them wasn't very dignified. His cheeks were thin and his complexion wasn't good. When he saw them, his eyes lit up: "You must be the disaster relief official sent by the imperial court. I didn't expect you to come in person. Please come in, there aren't many things in the residence.
Please forgive me. "The official residence of this small town was much smaller than the main city. The decorations were also very old. Lord Fang looked around but couldn't find a single valuable item.
After a few simple greetings, Lord Fang went straight to the point: "How is the disaster situation here? I had people bring some supplies, but I don't know if it's enough."
The official clearly knew the situation here and gave a concise summary of the disaster situation.
Lord Fang's frown deepened as he listened.
Strictly speaking, the disaster began at the end of April. Until now, there had not been a single drop of rain. Later, when they could no longer hold on, the government sold everything that could be sold for money and bought a batch of food from outside. Only then were they barely able to hold on until now.
"Didn't you say that the Northern Jiangsu Army's pay and provisions were used for emergency purposes?"
"Most of the food is in the main city. For small towns and villages like ours, it's already a blessing to be able to get some. There's only so much food left, and it won't last long with so many people. Those who can leave have already left, but where can they escape to? It's the same situation in the entire Subei region."
"Didn't anyone escape to the northern part of Su?"
"This …" The minor official looked embarrassed. He gritted his teeth and continued, "It's impossible to escape outside. This official has a relative who wanted to leave Subei with his wife and daughter, but they disappeared before they could go far. They haven't been found yet."
"No wonder the Imperial Court didn't receive any news." Lord Fang pondered. It turned out that from the beginning, someone had deliberately prevented the people here from escaping. As long as there were disaster victims outside, they would be able to find out that something had happened in Subei.
After understanding the situation, Lord Fang asked the minor official to gather people to distribute porridge outside the official residence.
"Lord, there are many refugees outside the city gate." A gatekeeper came to report.
"They should have followed us here." Lord Fang remembered that it was a young man he had met on the way here.
"Should we let them into the city?" The county magistrate looked at the busy crowd. "Actually, it doesn't matter if they come in. There aren't many people in the city anyway. Some of these people might have originally come from the city."
"Let's check first. After making sure there's no problem, bring them here. You guys go and help."
Lord Fang pointed at a few guards behind him.
With the guards maintaining order, the people who came to get the porridge lined up in an orderly manner. The county magistrate's words were not wrong. There weren't many people left here.
The people distributing the porridge moved quickly. Before long, the long line could be seen.
"Are these the only people?" Lord Fang frowned as he looked at the people squatting at the side. Even though the city was not big, the number of people here was much less than he had expected.
"Lord, I have a bedridden mother at home. I wonder if you can give a bowl of porridge to my bedridden mother?"
"What are you thinking? Lord Fang is already kind enough to give porridge." The person beside him pulled him aside.
He had heard that the imperial court had sent an official to provide disaster relief. The philanthropist official had even personally come to this small town to distribute porridge. Those who could come had all come. There were still some who couldn't, especially the childless elderly, who could only resign themselves to fate.
"You, come here." Lord Fang called the official who had almost made a mistake on the way here. "Who is more familiar with this place? Bring him around and send some food to the bedridden elderly."
"You are really a philanthropist!" The people who were eating porridge at the side heard this and couldn't help but put down the porridge and kowtow.
"Since the imperial court has sent me here, I will save those who can be saved. Also, gather all the doctors here. I need some medicinal herbs."
After major disasters such as droughts and floods, they were often accompanied by plagues. Before he came, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital had given him some prescriptions to prevent plagues. He had to nip the problem in the bud.
"That's right, let the doctors come with us to check on the situation of these people. If they have symptoms such as fever, they need to be treated together. Also, let everyone in the city clean themselves."
Lord Fang gave out orders one by one. The people below followed and quickly acted. Knowing that the imperial court had sent enough food and wouldn't abandon them, the people also enthusiastically helped.
Originally, he was going to arrange things for them to do. Before he came, Shen Yu had specially told him that if possible, he should try his best to let the disaster victims use their own labor to exchange for food. Only in this way could the possibility of a riot be reduced.
The disaster victims who came with Lord Fang and his group were also properly settled.
After that, the youth found Lord Fang and kowtowed to him: "Lord Fang saved my life. I am willing to do anything for Lord Fang."
"That's not necessary. You were able to come here by yourself." Lord Fang patted the shoulder of the youth who had been cleaned. "What are your plans for the future?"
"I also want to be an official. I want to be a good official like Lord Fang!" The youth's eyes were firm.
Lord Fang's heart moved: "What about your family? Do you want to go find them? "
"I don't have a family." The light in the youth's eyes dimmed, "I don't know where they are."
"Can you read?" Lord Fang asked.
The youth nodded: "I can. I used to write letters for some people."
"Then are you willing to work for me?" Lord Fang asked again.
"Can I?" The youth was pleasantly surprised.
"As long as you want. However, it will be very tiring to work for me."
"I am willing!" The youth nodded heavily.
At night, Lord Fang wrote down the situation in Subei as usual and handed it to the black-clothed people hiding nearby.
A few days later, Shang Junlin received a report from Subei.
"The situation in Subei is really strange. When Fang Jun arrived outside the main city, he found that the situation there was completely different from the main city." Shang Junlin picked up the report written by Lord Fang and showed it to Shen Yu.
"So the soldiers' provisions are all in the hands of the main city's officials? Only a small part of it is actually used by the people? How deeply did the late emperor's people infiltrate Subei? "Shen Yu frowned.
He knew too little about Subei. In his previous life, Subei had never been in any trouble. His attention was focused on the south. Until his death, Subei's existence was not high.
"When I led the Subei Army to resist the Northern Desert, I was most seriously injured in Subei. At that time, the officials in Subei did not act, causing half of Subei's territory to be occupied by the Northern Desert. After I led the army to take back the territory, I fiercely attacked and separated the military and government in Subei. Now it seems that my purge was not thorough enough." Shang Junlin looked displeased.
Shen Yu: "Those people actually let Lord Fang go elsewhere?"
Shang Junlin: "Fang Jun can directly contact the Subei Army. For the time being, they did not dare to go too far."
Shen Yu: "According to the information we know, those people should not be able to control the Subei Army. Seeing that they only dared to kill people after they left Subei's territory, we know that they are afraid of the Subei Army."
As long as the Subei Army was not infiltrated, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Shang Junlin: "Gu Huai's side has also contacted the Subei Army. They will first investigate internally to find the problematic people. Once they have dealt with the people planted in the Subei Army and figured out their true purpose, they will take action to deal with them."
Shen Yu: "Your Majesty, did you find anything in King Yue's fief?"
"I found clues about him secretly recruiting soldiers and buying horses." Shang Junlin was even more displeased at the mention of King Yue. He stroked Shen Yu's hair, "A Yu, do you know why he approached you in the first place?"
When Shang Junlin suddenly mentioned this, Shen Yu was stunned, "Rope in Zhenbei Marquis's residence?"
"What's there to rope in Zhenbei Marquis's residence? A Yu, do you know what news I heard from Shang Junyue's fief? Shang Junyue raised a group of strategists, and the people in the group came from different places. One of the strategists who was good at divination once mentioned to Shang Junyue a maxim: whoever gets the son of Zhenbei Marquis will get the world. "
As long as he thought about how King Yue had coveted Shen Yu from the beginning, Shang Junlin could not suppress the murderous intent in his heart.
Shen Yu's mind suddenly shook. He seemed to have thought of something, but also seemed to have not thought of anything. There was a trace of confusion in his eyes, "So that's why he approached Shen Qingran while approaching me?"
How many secrets were hidden in the past life that was hidden under the timeline?
"It's just nonsense. Only people like King Yue would believe it. A Yu, don't think too much. I have already asked the Hidden Dragon Guards to find a way to find that person. No matter why that person said those words, I will make him pay the price!"
A Yu was deceived because of a sentence that he did not know was true or false. This time, A Yu was smart and did not fall for it. What if he was really deceived by King Yue?
Shang Junlin did not dare to imagine that possibility.
"I won't think too much. What King Yue thinks has nothing to do with me. I know that Your Majesty will protect me. Isn't that right, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu leaned on Shang Junlin's shoulder.
At this moment, he was even more confused about what happened in his previous life.
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