After rebirth, the Queen and I are on the run.

Chapter 1200 Elderly Transport Team
Yan Zongqi also received the imperial edict of investiture and became Yan Qianhu.

But there was no celebration, not even meat was eaten; only vegetarian dishes were used to worship heaven and earth, ancestors, and the Wei soldiers who died in battle.

Only General Yan and his men strictly adhered to the decree to mourn the soldiers and civilians who died in battle. The other wealthy families in the two rivers region, apart from hanging a white cloth at their gates, continued to drink, eat meat, listen to music, and dress in red after closing their doors.

However, such cases become less frequent the further north you go.

From Tai Zhou Prefecture onwards, to the northwest and northeast, every household was covered in white, and at the gate of every city, there were tents for roadside sacrifices.

If passing merchants are interested, they can burn paper money and incense to pay their respects.

However, due to the rat plague that ravaged the Northwest Prefecture, the number of merchants has plummeted. If it weren't for military orders, the supply convoys wouldn't dare to cross the Tai Zhou Prefecture.

However, supplies must pass through Tai Zhou Prefecture, otherwise the soldiers and civilians in the Northwest and Northeast will starve and freeze to death!

“General Guo, we’ve used all the porters, laborers, and convicts doing forced labor, but we still don’t have enough manpower… and it’s too dangerous. The porters don’t dare cross the boundary of the Tai Zhou Mansion, for fear that if they cross or get close to the boundary, they will inhale germ-laden air and get infected.”

"Many families in the city, as well as the teachers and students of Taizhou Academy, have sent people to plead with the authorities, urging that the porters who went to deliver goods must not be allowed to return to the territory of Taizhou Prefecture. Otherwise, if even one person contracts the disease, the entire population of Taizhou Prefecture will die!" said Deputy General Qi.

General Guo angrily retorted, "Tai Zhou Academy, the training ground for the pillars of the nation, is this the kind of nonsense you spout at a time like this?"

Deputy General Qi said, "General, this is not nonsense, it is the truth... We really need to do a good job in preventing and controlling the plague among the frontline porters, otherwise the rat plague will pass through Tai Zhou Prefecture and head towards the capital."

With His Majesty in the capital, General Guo calmed down a bit after hearing this, and finally said, "Go and visit Madam Cui and ask her for a plan."

"Should I go?" Deputy General Qi shook his head and refused: "You should go. If you go, we can have a private talk. Only by having a private talk can we get the really good ideas."

"You brat. Alright, I'm going into the city to see my aunt. You all keep a close watch on the city gates." General Guo descended from the city wall, led his troops on horseback, and headed towards the Cui family.

Madam Cui was also thinking about this matter. After General Guo finished speaking, she pointed at him and then at herself, and said directly, "Please ask the old man to take action."

General Guo: "Huh?"

Madam Cui said, "Nowadays everyone is afraid of the rat plague, but some people over fifty-five years old want to leave some money and reputation for their children and grandchildren."

“Post notices, offer money and fame, and ask the elderly to form a transport team... The elderly team will stay at the front of the transport line. If they get infected, they will die on the spot and will not bring the plague here.”

“It is indeed a good idea, but Aunt, the Great Wei governs the country with filial piety. If we let the elderly fight at this time, we may leave a bad name for future generations.” General Guo said in a low voice, “The historians will scold us to death.”

Madam Cui: "Then send the historian's entire family to the front lines!"

"It is right to govern the country with filial piety and respect the elderly, but old people like you and me also want to do our last bit of effort for the country."

"Go and post a notice. I'm going to Taizhou Academy to raise money for the old Wei people's pensions."

"...Yes." General Guo was a junior, and this was the best solution at the moment, so he had no choice but to do it.

Boom boom boom!
Madam Cui struck the large drum at the main gate of Taizhou Academy, startling many students, teachers, and their families out of the room.

Looking at his mother, who was standing with one hand on her hip and the other beating a drum, Cui Shanzhang felt a splitting headache. He hurriedly ran over, bowed, and said, "Mother, what are you going to do again? It's not that I don't want you to do it, but please tell me what's going on first so I can help you."

Madam Cui, old and rebellious, refused to speak, insisting, "I'll announce it after everyone arrives. You hurry and urge the people from Tai Zhou Academy. The enemy is about to reach our doorstep, and they're still hiding in the academy reciting poems!" Headmaster Cui whispered, "Mother, please keep your voice down. They weren't reciting poems; they were teaching the younger generation and donating supplies."

Madam Cui: "So what if you donate supplies? You don't fight on the front lines, and you expect me not to donate any supplies? Have you no shame?!"

Principal Cui: “…”

Got it, his mother's going to yell at him, so he should hide to the side and not make a sound, otherwise he'll be the one taking all the abuse.

"Vice Headmaster Que, Vice Headmaster Gu... Go and call the teachers and students of the academy to the main gate. The Princess of Xincheng of the Great Wei Dynasty has something to say!"

In the entire Tai Zhou Prefecture, Princess Xincheng has the highest rank and seniority; who would dare not come?

Vice Headmaster Que thought to himself: Why did you call me first? Couldn't you have called Vice Headmaster Gu first?
"Vice Headmaster Gu, let's go together and call for help for the Princess." Vice Headmaster Que pulled Vice Headmaster Gu along.

Vice Headmaster Gu tried to pull his hand away and run away halfway, but unfortunately he was no match for the old scoundrel Vice Headmaster Que. He could only be dragged along by him while he shouted, "Princess Xincheng has ordered all teachers, students and their families of Taizhou Academy to proceed to the main gate of the academy. Princess Xincheng has something to announce!"

The Ban, Luan, and Cui families arrived quite quickly; the other families, seeing this, could only rush over as well.

However, Tai Zhou Academy was larger than the Imperial Academy, and it took half an hour for the teachers and students to gather.

Madam Cui explained the current predicament to them: "You are all afraid of the rat plague and refuse to let the porters enter the territory of Tai Zhou Mansion, lest the rat plague pass through Tai Zhou Mansion and spread to the capital!"

"This concern is valid!"

"Therefore, in order to protect the territory of Taizhou Prefecture, General Guo organized a team of elderly people to transport supplies. The elderly people set up camp at the forefront of the supply transport. If they were infected with the epidemic, they would die on the spot and would never turn back!"

"The old man did his last bit of work for the country, and you, as beneficiaries, should give him a pension to honor his righteous act!"

Headmaster Cui was shocked: "..."

Cousin Guo actually came up with such an inhuman idea?
Deputy Headmaster Que secretly gave him a thumbs up: Your family is amazing, they can even come up with such an inhuman idea.

Vice Headmaster Gu angrily rebuked, "Princess Xincheng, what is your Guo family trying to do? The Great Wei governs the country with filial piety, yet General Guo wants to form a team to transport the elderly, sending them to the front lines of the plague. This is utterly immoral! I will write a memorial to impeach your Guo family!"

Madam Cui smiled and said only one sentence: "Vice Headmaster Gu is right. Why not let the young people transport the supplies to the front line and expose them to the air that may be carrying germs... Let your students, Vice Headmaster Gu, take the lead in doing this."

I beg you to have mercy and not agree!

The students of Vice Headmaster Gu were so frightened that their faces turned pale... If they weren't afraid of being labeled as cowards, they wouldn't even have stayed at Tai Zhou Mansion and would have fled south long ago.

"You! You!" Deputy Headmaster Gu could only utter this one word; he dared not say anything more.

Madam Cui said, “My fellow young people, I know that you are afraid to do or unable to do many things because of the rules and your own abilities. Now, I am taking advantage of my age to do this. I will bear the responsibility and the infamy. I only ask that you all generously give me some money for the relief.”

"If you are afraid that this action will go against the Great Wei's principle of governing the country with filial piety and disrupt the social order, then I will be the leader of this elderly people's transport team!"

This?
"No, Mother, you absolutely cannot! If you do this, how will your son and his peers ever have the face to live in this world?!" Elder Cui Shan cried, tears streaming down his face.

Vice Headmaster Que muttered to himself, "Old Cui is indeed worthy of being the headmaster; he knows how to talk. Look at what he's saying! He's insulted all the teachers, scholars, students, their families, Vice Headmaster Gu, and even the dog who's not as old as Madam Cui."