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

Chapter 1211 The Tu Emperor

People of Wei can die in large numbers in the wilderness, but they cannot die in front of the capital city, otherwise the officials of the capital city will be infamous for eternity.

"Commander Gu, what did your uncle, Commander Gu, say?" Zeng Tongzhi passed the hot potato to Commander Gu.

That treacherous old scoundrel has no sense of martial ethics!

Gu Qianhu cursed him in his heart, pondered for a moment, and asked Ling Baihu, "Where is Su Qianhu? The Qin family has tied him up. Now that the villagers have arrived at the barricade, shouldn't we release Su Qianhu?"

However, Ling Baihu was even more of a bandit than the Qin family. He only said one sentence: "If a large number of Wei people are slaughtered in front of the capital city, I will take Su Qianhu back to the capital to meet the emperor. We must bring back a witness for His Majesty... This is also Su Qianhu's good fortune."

For a lowly commander in a remote border region with no major military achievements, to be able to meet the emperor in this lifetime is surely a blessing.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Tongzhi turned deathly pale and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Commander Ling, we will speed up the inspection and get Wei Min into the barricade camp as soon as possible."

Commander Ling sneered and retorted, "Is the main camp inside the capital city? Does it have thick walls to stop the enemy?"

The direct threat was: "Immediately send someone to inform General Chu, Imperial Envoy Qi, Gu Chengyong, Lord Yan, Prefect Fei, and Judge Zheng that if the city gates are not opened within two hours to allow the Wei people to escape the war, the first memorial will be sent to the capital!"

This?
Zeng Tongzhi and Gu Qianhu were in a dilemma... because Gu Chengyong's orders to them were to try their best to keep the remaining Wei people outside the city.

The reasons were twofold: first, the city was too crowded to accommodate everyone; second, there was a fear that the Wei people, especially the mountain dwellers, might be sick and spread the plague into the city, killing everyone.

Lord Yan of the Provincial Administration Commission did not object to this, but Prefect Fei was powerless to object.

"I'll immediately send a letter back to the city to inquire about the opinions of the three chief officials." After all, Commander Gu was a military man, and he showed considerable courage in times of crisis.

"Alright, as soon as possible." Commander Ling then made two more requests: "Have Elder Qiong and the eldest grandson of the Prince of Ye come out to meet them; their relatives have all arrived."

"Alright, wait in front of the barricades." Commander Gu agreed.

Ling Baihu then left with Xiao Tao Baihu to meet Grandpa Qin and Uncle Qin Er and tell them about the progress.

After hearing this, not to mention Uncle Qin, even Grandpa Qin thought they were being too slow: "With a formidable enemy at hand, such slow action will delay countless military plans and lives."

Uncle Qin was shocked: "Father, you're finally daring to speak?"

*Smack!* He was hit on the back of the head. Grandpa Qin glared at him and said, “Go and tell Madam Guan and Elder Xun to come and see Elder Qiong and Brother Nong.”

Uncle Qin was unconvinced, but he couldn't make a scene at the moment. So he went back to the caravan group of Qin Jiang Xu Qiao Guan's families with Grandpa Qin and told them about how they could meet across the barricades.

But Madam Guan shook her head: "You can go see them, we won't go... The child is too young, and Sister Shu is still in her postpartum period. I need to stay with them, so it's not appropriate for me to go to crowded places."

To prevent the spread of rat plague, they now try to stay within the group of vehicles belonging to a few different owners whenever possible.

However, Madam Guan and Aunt Qin wrote a letter and gave it to Grandpa Qin and Uncle Qin, asking them to take it to Clerk Guan.

Master Xun then went to see Master Qiong in person.

When Master Qiong saw Master Xun, he couldn't help but tear up: "Your disciple is unfilial, causing Master to suffer."

Old Xun had lost a lot of weight and looked like a bamboo pole. To conserve his strength, he was carried here by Miao Bo.

Old Man Xun was very disgusted by his behavior: "Stop with this useless stuff, save your brain for important things."

As for what the important matter was, it had already been discussed before Master Qiong brought the students to the Juma Formation camp.

However, the performance had to continue, so the two continued with one showing concern and the other scolding, simply because Fang Gui and his soldiers were watching them from the sidelines.

Fang Gui was both incompetent and shrewd. When Commander Su was kidnapped, he ran away. After Commander Su was taken away, he tearfully wrote a letter to the city, complaining that the Liang family was vicious and had used the Qin and Guan families to kidnap Commander Su.

After Commander Su returned, he reappeared with his troops, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

He has even greater ambitions. Now he looks down on the job of monitoring Qiong Lao and wants to monitor Guan Shuli, who is the grandson of the Prince of Ye and a member of the imperial family.

Unfortunately, Commander Shi, under Commander Gu's command, was not someone to be trifled with. He kept a close watch on the clerks, and he was prevented from speaking to them.

"Father-in-law, brother-in-law, I'm fine, don't worry." After reassuring them, Clerk Guan asked about his grandmother, wife, and children: "Are they alright? Is everything alright?"

Grandpa Qin: "They're doing well, eating and sleeping well, especially Da Bao'er. This child is truly here to repay a debt of gratitude. He doesn't cry at all. If he's awake or disturbed, he just looks at people without crying."

He only cries a few times when he has soiled himself or feels uncomfortable. I've never seen such a quiet child.

"That's good." Clerk Guan smiled upon hearing this, but due to the large number of people, he did not ask any further questions, and only urged Grandpa Qin and Uncle Qin to leave.

Grandpa Qin and Elder Xun did not stay long and soon took their leave.

Ling Baihu glanced at Fang Gui and said to Guan Shuli, "Don't worry, we will protect the Grand Madam, the Madam, and the young master. This is one of our missions."

Do you understand?
The Ye Prince's direct grandson's family is under His Majesty's protection. Anyone with a brain should behave themselves and not try to harm the Ye Prince's direct grandson's lineage!

Fang Gui was startled by Ling Baihu's sharp gaze, but having followed Su Qianhu and Gu Xuan for so long, he thought the Gu family were local tyrants and feared that they would just want to bully people after the fact.

"Everyone is fine," Grandpa Qin said before leaving with the others.

Fang Gui also urged Qiong Lao and the others: "Qiong Lao, students and young masters, there are many mountain people outside, and there may be infected people inside. Let's hurry back to the camp."

He then smiled at the clerk and said, "The same goes for the eldest grandson of the Prince of Ye; lest he be harmed by the plague."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder." Clerk Guan nodded to him, then turned and followed Commander Shi and the others back to Commander Gu's camp.

After Fang Gui brought Qiong Lao and the others back to the camp, he immediately wrote a letter and even used Su Qianhu's carrier pigeon to send a message to the capital city.

The letter was not sent to the Commander-in-Chief's Office, but to the Commander-in-Chief's Residence, which was Gu Chengyong's house.

Ever since Gu Xuan's illness could no longer be concealed, Gu Chengyong moved his office back home, and most of the troops in the city also withdrew to the main street where the commander-in-chief's residence was located.

Now the street is completely surrounded by soldiers.

The four nearby streets were filled with patrolling soldiers, making this large area a veritable military stronghold.

Why did they retreat to this mansion?
Because there are underground defensive chambers and secret passages built by Gu Chengyong here.

Gu Chengyong also used the pretext of protection to invite Lord Yan, Prefect Fei, Judge Zheng, and others to live and work at his residence.

Lord Yan did not acquiesce this time and explicitly refused. Seeing this, the other officials also refused... They did not want to die with Gu Chengyong.

Gu Chengyong was furious. He smashed the valuable ornaments in the study with a bang and sneered, "A bunch of shameless scholars."

"Husband, don't be angry. These scholars have always been timid. How can they compare to your courage? When you are of use, they will come begging with their families." Concubine Su was good at coaxing him, and every word she said touched his heart, making Gu Chengyong very happy.

"How is Xuan-ge'er doing? If Xuan-ge'er can handle it, then arrange for more fertile girls to go and serve him." Gu Chengyong asked about his beloved son, Gu Xuan.

Su Aiqie felt bitter inside, but smiled and said, "Xuan-ge'er is my husband's son, so his body can naturally handle it. He has been trying his best to carry on the family line these days. I think in another half month, there will be good news from the girls in Hongfu Courtyard."