Chapter 116: Endless Merit?
As soon as Murong Yan finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
Murong Yan calmed herself down as she looked at Su Wen who was blus.h.i.+ng like a pure young man.
She thought that she had to be overthinking.
However, her hand had come into contact with Su Wen"s pouch.
Su Wen gripped his wallet tightly as he felt Murong Yan"s slightly cold hand.
"Sister Yan…"
"Little brother Qiang…."
Murong Yan tried to pull the money bag over but Su Wen refused to let go.
"Leave some for me! When I go to Li Prefecture, I will try to get more money!" Su Wen reasoned.
"Little Brother Qiang, from now on, we"re brother and sister. When we get to Li Prefecture, you can come find me if you need anything. You can go to Big Sister"s house to eat and live. Why do you need money? You"re still young, so you"ll be easily deceived by others." Murong Yan tried to appeal to his emotions.
Four hands were clenched onto a money pouch, moving all about, pulling it in all directions.
You touch me, I touch you.
Finally… The money bag fell into Murong Yan"s hands.
She put away the money bag with a face full of smiles.
Thus, Su Wen joined the team.
However, he soon realized that this team was very strange.
Although Murong Yan was the leader, there was another force in the group.
And what they were escorting was food.
"Sister Yan, transporting grain to Li Prefecture at this time is quite profitable, right?" Su Wen asked curiously during the meal.
Murong Yan smiled. She gently stroked his hair and said, "What money? These are all for our own use."
Su Wen raised his brows. What was the meaning of this? Did the caravan transport their own rations?
However, when Su Wen continued to inquire about Murong Yan"s background, it was very difficult for him to get anything out of her.
Murong Yan merely smiled and said, "You"ll know when you get to Li Prefecture."
Su Wen was not surprised. He did not tell the truth as well, so it was normal for others to also take precautions.
The caravan set off towards the Li Province. It was a long journey, and Su Wen gradually became familiar with the people in the caravan.
The leader of the other team was Ma Wu. Everyone called him Fifth Brother.
In the entire team, only he and Murong Yan were Star ranks. The others were all below Star rank.
Most of them were around 5th or 6th Grade Common Rank, and their cultivation was not high.
The team"s strength was not very strong either.
Even if Su Wen had concealed his cultivation, he could still be considered an expert in the team.
However, the closer they got to the Li Prefecture, the more refugees Su Wen noticed.
He also gradually understood that this team was actually not weak. Compared to the refugees and bandits, two Star Rank experts and a group of martial artists were already considered pretty good.
However, Su Wen was in the capital all year round and had interacted with the high-ranking officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In fact, the guards around him were all experts of status. This was why he felt that there were experts everywhere and that this team was weak.
As the convoy advanced, more and more refugees came to ask for food. Most of these refugees were the elderly, the weak, women, and children.
"Can you take pity on us, give us something to eat."
"This lady, please give me something to eat. I beg of you, just give my child something to eat."
"Sire, give me something to eat."
This type of noise continuously sounded.
In front of him were people with withered faces and thin bodies.
The child curled up in her mother"s arms.
Because his skinny eyes were especially large, he looked at the people in the group with expectation.
"Uncle… Can you give me something to eat…?"
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
"Get lost! I"ll kill you if you keep nagging!"
"F*ck off if you don"t want to die!"
"Scram!"
The team was filled with such berating voices.
The refugees were chased away.
Even Murong Yan ruthlessly chased them away.
After she chased them away, Murong Yan seemed to feel that her actions had affected her image. She said to Su Wen, "We can"t control these people. If you soften your heart and speak gently, they will stick to you like glue. When that time comes, we won"t be able to escape."
Su Wen couldn"t help but ask, "Are these people the victims of the disaster in Li Prefecture? I heard that His Majesty has already sent Wu Kunhu to the prefecture to quell the chaos."
Murong Yan smiled and said, "It"s naturally true that General Wu entered Li Prefecture to quell the chaos. However, this General Wu is fighting the rebel army, so he doesn"t care about disaster relief. Right now, the citizens of the Li Prefecture don"t even have the seeds for spring plowing. In other words, the seeds to sow the farms need to come from the harvest of the Royal Court themselves from the previous years. Do you think the Court will still care about their lives at this moment?"
Su Wen fell into deep thought.
Indeed, with the current situation in Li Province, the Court would have to provide for these people for at least half a year!
How much money and grains would it cost?
If they could not survive, they had to run. If they had to escape, they had to create chaos!
However, if they fled, ran, and wreaked havoc, who was going to plow the land of Li Prefecture?
Moreover, these people didn"t have any food. Even if they survived until autumn, they still wouldn"t obtain any harvest. It was a vicious cycle.
There was only one outcome!
Death!
As the team marched forward again, Su Wen felt a little down.
He could not forget the gaunt faces and the hungry eyes.
Although he had seen such a scene in movies in his previous life, Su Wen still felt his heart tremble when he saw the lives that were about to be lost.
Slowly, they arrived at the boundary of the Li Province.
They came to Jiashan City, the first city after entering the Li Prefecture territory.
It was also the only way out of the Li Prefecture towards the west.
At this moment, the city gate was wide open, and the guards were leaning against the wall. Under the warm sunlight, they felt extremely comfortable.
They would not starve.
Seeing that the caravan was approaching, the youngest guard stood up and staggered to the city gate to stop Su Wen and the others.
"Search! Are there goods? The county magistrate has ordered that since the disaster is imminent, the goods will be taxed ten times and by 100%!" His tone was bold and his tax rate was much higher than usual.
Murong Yan didn"t move. Fifth Ma rode forward and casually threw down a token!
"This is the Ma Family"s goods!" He said coldly.
The guard hurriedly picked up the command token on the ground and inspected it carefully before wiping it clean with his clothes and handing it back to Ma Wu. He smiled apologetically and said, "Then everyone, quickly enter the city."
There was no more talk of taxation.
To Su Wen"s surprise, a peaceful scene greeted him after entering the city.
Although there were some beggars in ragged clothes lying on the street, they looked better than refugees.
There was no sign of the refugees either.
The shops on the streets were all open and there were many pedestrians and commoners.
They seemed to be leading good lives!
Su Wen was a little confused. "There are so many refugees outside, so why is the city so scenic?"
Murong Yan smiled and said, "Of course it"s the county magistrate"s credit. Ever since the disaster broke out, the county magistrate prohibited refugees from entering the city from outside. Meanwhile, inside the city, he opened the granary to release grain to help the people, so the lives of the people in the city are still pa.s.sable."
Su Wen said in surprise, "Then his merits are endless! He managed to control the city so well during the disaster."
Murong Yan glanced at him and smiled helplessly. "My good brother, you"re really naive. There"s more than one city in the entire Jiashan County! This county has seven towns and thirteen villages under its jurisdiction. The people living in the city can obtain aid, but the people in the towns don"t have anyone to care about them! Do you think this is a great merit?"
Su Wen"s heart tightened. He understood!
The commoners in the city were doing well because the county magistrate favored the commoners in the city with all the resources. The seven towns and thirteen villages outside the city were basically abandoned!