spend time

Chapter 359: Delivering Food (I)

Ten days later, Yu Chong led a thousand elite soldiers of the Nanyang Army and escorted an endless stream of grain transport convoys.

Delivering food was not a hard job, but it was not something to be taken lightly. Jingzhou was relatively peaceful, and the small bandits saw the strong Nanyang army and ran away very fast, not daring to show their tracks. Once outside Jingzhou, the number of refugees and hungry people increased visibly.

"General, the refugees from yesterday are still following us." The personal soldier came to report with a solemn expression: "There are about 200 refugees, no women, children, or elderly people, all of them are men in their twenties to forties."

Such refugees were actually bandits. There were no women, children or the elderly. Perhaps they were all left behind somewhere to be settled, or more likely they all died for various reasons.

Yu Chong gave a cold order: "Pass on my order to drive these two hundred refugees away. If they refuse to leave, kill some of them to scare them away."

Righteousness does not control money, and kindness does not control soldiers. Delivering grain is a major event for the court and Nanyang County, and there must be no negligence. We must harden our hearts.

At Yu Chong's command, the Nanyang army immediately took action.

The more than 200 refugees stared at the grain team covetously, but they had no sharp weapons in their hands, only sticks and shovels, and they were all pale and thin, with weak limbs. The elite soldiers of the Nanyang Army were tall and strong, wearing soft armor and holding long spears, riding their horses and driving the refugees away like driving cattle and sheep.

Some refugees refused to run away and became victims of the sword, falling in a pool of blood and becoming wandering ghosts.

Death is death. The refugees who managed to escape have long been numb to death. They have been fleeing all the way, starving as soon as they open their eyes. Death is not scary, it is even a relief.

The further north we went, the more common it was for refugees to attack the grain delivery teams. Initially, they attacked once every few days, but later, they attacked several times a day.

The Nanyang Army also began to suffer casualties. Fortunately, they did not encounter a large number of refugees and finally arrived at Yan County safely.

That’s right, the location for delivering grain this time is Yan County.

The first place to be hit by the locust plague was Yan County. The court sent three groups of imperial envoys, and Zheng Chen came to Yan County. Counting the time, this group of imperial envoys had been in Yan County for four months.

What is the current situation in Yan County?
Yu Chong led the grain delivery team and moved slowly along the official road. Wherever he looked, he saw almost nothing but desolation. Large tracts of land were uncultivated, and bones could be seen from time to time on the roadside.

No matter how hard-hearted one is, one would feel pity when seeing this hellish scene.

In this natural disaster, nearly half of the people in Yan County starved to death. Some people fled and died on the way. Today, nine out of ten houses in Yan County are empty.

It was not until we got close to the gate of Yan County that we saw farmers working in the fields. The crops that had been replanted were drooping under the bright sun, but at least they were growing.

"General Yu, what's planted here is corn."

“And sweet potatoes.”

"This is all our Nanyang County's new grain."

The elite soldiers from Nanyang who were delivering the food suddenly became excited when they saw the two new grains, as if they were seeing their own children.

Yu Chongshu's brows relaxed as he said, "On my way here, I've seen some places growing our new crops. The crops that Yan County is replanting are all from Nanyang County, of course, corn and sweet potatoes."

These two new grains are drought-resistant and have a very high yield. The method of cultivation is also being gradually promoted. I think that within a few years, the new grains from Nanyang County will be planted everywhere in Daliang.

Crops growing in the fields meant that there would be a harvest and people could live. With the hope of survival, Yan County had some vitality. Seeing this scene, the soldiers of the Nanyang Army felt proud.

When Yan County opened the city gates and those pale, skinny and powerless soldiers defending the city appeared before their eyes, their pride reached its peak.

The soldiers defending Yan County were shocked to see this column of elite soldiers who had come from afar with high morale and could not close their mouths for a long time.

The imperial court's military pay was being paid later and less, and everyone was tightening their belts and living a half-full, half-starved life. Why was the Nanyang Army so majestic and powerful that it looked like it had never suffered any hardship?
It is rumored that Nanyang County is the pearl of the north, prosperous and wealthy with plenty of food. It seems to be true!

Under the envious gazes of the soldiers guarding the city, Yu Chong calmly led his troops and the grain team into the city gate. The people who came to watch the excitement on the street were sparse, and their eyes were full of hope and eagerness.

There is food coming.

They can continue to live.

I don’t know who knelt down first, crying and kowtowing, not knowing who to thank for a moment.

Yu Chong glanced at them and suddenly said in a loud voice: "This is the food that Princess Nanyang presented to the court. It was sent to Yan County. Don't be afraid, you won't be hungry anymore."

It turned out that this was the food sent by Princess Nanyang again!

The people's eyes were red as they shouted "Long live the princess".

For the people who were struggling on the brink of life and death, every bite of food was precious and saved their lives. They didn't care whether the princess was a man or a woman, and they didn't know what the princess of Nanyang looked like. They only knew that it was the princess of Nanyang's food that saved them.

Yu Chong was very satisfied when he saw the people enthusiastically calling out for the princess.

The princess donated so much food, it is only right that she spread her good name.

An hour later, the grain delivery team finally arrived outside the Yan County Governor's Mansion.

Several people were already waiting outside the county governor's mansion.

The leader was a handsome teenager with sharp eyes and extraordinary bearing. He was Zheng Chen, the young master of the Anguo Mansion, who was appointed by the imperial court to serve as the emperor's attendant.

On the left of Young Master Zheng is Doctor Jiao from the Ministry of War, also a deputy imperial commissioner. On the other side, the haggard-looking man in his fifties is the governor of Yan Prefecture, Liu.

Yu Chong dismounted and stepped forward, bowing and saying, "I am Yu Chong, the commander of the Nanyang Army. I am here to deliver food on the orders of the princess."

What a good order from the princess.

Zheng Chen didn't say anything. Doctor Jiao couldn't help but say, "The Nanyang Army is the imperial garrison, and General Yu is a military commander of the imperial court. It's not that Princess Nanyang is privately visiting the river. Even if she was ordered to deliver food, it was an order from the imperial court. General Yu, please don't make a mistake."

Yu Chong replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Doctor Jiao is far away in Yan County, so he may not know. A few days ago, the emperor issued an imperial decree stating that the Nanyang garrison will obey the orders of the Nanyang Princess in the future."

Doctor Jiao was startled and looked at Zheng Chen quickly.

Of course, Zheng Chen was more informed than Doctor Jiao and knew about this matter five days ago.

So what if you know?

Nanyang County provided food and labor, solving the urgent food shortage of the court. Taking the opportunity to make one or two requests that were not too excessive, how could Emperor Taihe not agree?

The Nanyang Guard Battalion belonged to Jiang Shaohua, and the Nanyang garrison had also become Jiang Shaohua's possession since three years ago. Now it was just a matter of time.

Prime Minister Wang said nothing and the Ministry of War did not object, so the matter was accomplished smoothly.

Liu Jun Shou didn't care about these things and said hurriedly: "Let's talk about it later, let's receive the grain first!"

……