A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

To be honest, Li Rui was somewhat wary of this stunningly beautiful woman he had encountered twice.

As analyzed before, this woman is definitely a lady in a high position.

However, from beginning to end, no key information about her identity was seen.

Li Rui could only reply indifferently.

"Just wandering around."

"General, you came from Dingzhou. Did you pass through Anxi County? That's my hometown."

"Oh? You're from Dingzhou?"

"Yes, my ancestral home is Dingzhou. My father once served as an imperial envoy in Dingzhou."

"So we're from the same hometown. We didn't pass through Anxi County on our way to the capital to receive the reward, but we did stay there for a while before setting off on our campaign."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yao's eyes lit up!

"So you're also from Dingzhou. How is Anxi County doing now? Although I'm far away in Bianliang, I still care about my hometown."

Li Rui's expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice.

"Dingzhou is already in ruins, and even though Anxi County is a large county, only one-fifth of its population remains."

In other small counties and villages, which were constantly harassed by the Khitan, nine out of ten houses were deserted, and countless people starved to death or were killed.

Feng Yao was stunned.

She had originally thought that since they were both from Dingzhou, she could ask about the situation in their hometown and try to build a closer relationship.

But unexpectedly.

Li Rui spoke the absolute truth as soon as he opened his mouth, and the truth was rather harsh.

Before Feng Yao could speak, the palace maid Yunlian frowned and said.

"Don't make up lies to scare my lady. The imperial court has now won a great victory over the Khitan, demonstrating national power abroad and enriching the people at home!"

The people live in peace and contentment; it's not as miserable as you describe.

This time it was Li Rui's turn to be surprised.

"Don't the people of Bianliang know anything about the situation in the border towns?"

Seeing that Feng Yao and Yun Lian both looked blank, Li Rui finally understood.

No wonder when I inspected the defenses of Bianliang, everything I could see was extremely loose!

It turns out that the people of Bianliang only knew they had won the battle, but had no idea how dire the situation was!

The Khitan were defeated, but all things considered, they only lost a little over ten thousand cavalrymen.

They returned to the grasslands, searched again, and recruited soldiers.

When we march south next year, we will have 80,000, or even 100,000 iron cavalry!

At that point, do you expect God to send down another sandstorm?

Li Rui scoffed at this.

The sneer seemed to offend Yunlian, and her face immediately turned red as she cried out.

"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?"

Li Rui raised his riding whip and pointed north.

"I have no intention of arguing with you. If you want to know the answer, go north and see for yourself. You don't need to go far, thirty miles is enough."

Yunlian stared blankly at Feng Yao, a hint of doubt creeping into her heart about the supposedly peaceful and prosperous Jin Dynasty.

The same applies to Feng Yao.

She saw things more clearly than Yunlian, so she knew that governing a country was not so easy.

But she never expected it.

The situation is actually as serious as Li Rui described!

Feng Yao gritted her teeth and said to Li Rui.

"General, may I accompany you?"

Li Rui was naturally unwilling.

However, Feng Yao's sincerity moved him.

As payment, an extremely exquisite gold hairpin was offered, worth at least one hundred strings of cash!

This small gold hairpin, if sold, could be exchanged for enough grain to feed 30 adult men for a whole year!

That woman is fucking rich!

Li Rui clicked his tongue twice and put the gold hairpin into his pocket.

"I'll only give directions; security is your responsibility."

As he spoke, Li Rui pointed to the city gate.

Two hundred imperial guards were waiting there.

Feng Yao pursed her lips and nodded in agreement.

Li Rui rode ahead on horseback, already having a guess about Feng Yao's identity.

She is extremely beautiful and very generous, and her ancestral home is Dingzhou.

Moreover, the guards around him were imperial guards!

who can that be?

It's so hard to guess...

Before making his guess, Li Rui kept his distance from Feng Yao, fearing he might get into trouble.

Now that I've guessed the general idea, I'm itching to go back, and I keep turning around.

If I remember correctly, after the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Empress Feng and Shi Chonggui were captured by the Khitans.

Heading north, the journey was fraught with bitter cold for thousands of miles.

Because of her beauty, the Khitans tried to humiliate her several times, but she threatened to kill herself each time.

I don't know if I was insulted afterward.

All we know from historical records is that she searched for poison several times, intending to take it with Shi Chonggui to commit suicide.

But he couldn't get what he wanted and could only endure the humiliation and misery.

She eventually arrived in Jianzhou, half-dead, and became a prisoner peasant woman; her fate remains unknown.

It was truly tragic.

At this time, Feng Yao had no idea that a year later, she would become a prisoner of the Khitans and suffer endless humiliation.

Li Rui kept turning back, also out of regret for the woman's fate.

of course.

I don't know if they have any other ideas.

However, it is truly unjust that such a beautiful woman ended up as a prisoner of the Khitan barbarians!

……

They walked until the sun was high in the sky, and they were already quite far from Bianliang.

On the official road, there were only their carriages and horses; there was no trace of anyone else.

Feng Yao stared blankly at the empty official road, puzzled.

"Why is it so desolate? When I first came to the capital, this place was bustling with carriages and markets. How could it be so desolate in just a few years...?"

Yunlian was also frightened by the eerie silence and huddled in the carriage, not daring to make a sound.

Li Rui glanced at the Imperial Guards following behind and found that they were equally surprised!

This shows that these pampered soldiers raised in the capital have never seen real cruelty.

How could such soldiers possibly withstand the Khitan?

After walking for more than 20 miles, we stopped to rest in a village.

Feng Yao ordered several imperial guards to buy some food in the village to stave off hunger.

however.

The imperial guards had barely crossed the ridge in front of them when they suddenly let out a strange cry!

"ah!!"

The terrified cries sent chills down the spines of the entire convoy!

Feng Yao was extremely flustered, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"What happened?"

Li Rui frowned slightly and stepped forward, his hand on the knife.

As soon as I got close, a foul stench hit me.

Anyone who has been in a war knows this; it's the smell of a corpse.

Ignoring the trembling Imperial Guards, Li Rui glanced into the field and sighed silently.

Just as Feng Yao was about to step forward, Li Rui reminded her.

"Stop looking, let's go back."

But Feng Yao's purpose in making this trip was to see with her own eyes what the real situation was like in the seemingly peaceful and prosperous Jin Dynasty.

She certainly wouldn't back down.

Seeing this, Li Rui stepped aside.

Feng Yao took a look and her pupils instantly contracted!

His face turned deathly pale in an instant!

My stomach was churning violently!

Feng Yao turned around almost instantly, grabbed Yun Lian's arm tightly, and bent over to vomit violently!

Yunlian trembled with fright, but mustered her courage and glanced over as well.

The number of people vomiting suddenly increased to two.

Li Rui stared indifferently.

He explained after the two had finished vomiting.

"The country has been fighting one war after another, and the food and military expenses all come from the mouths of the people."

The people were burdened with heavy taxes, and after paying taxes on their annual harvest, they couldn't even feed themselves.

If a woman in the family becomes pregnant, even if she gives birth, she will have no breast milk to nourish the child and will likely drown in the ditch.

A foul stench emanated from the ditch along the edge of the field.

It was none other than a dozen drowned, rotting infants!

Feng Yao had already vomited so badly that she was dizzy and disoriented.

How could such a tragedy still occur in this world!

This drove a mother to drown the child she had carried for ten months!

Does this world truly offer people a way to survive?

Just as Feng Yao was questioning the meaning of life.

Li Rui added fuel to the fire.

"This place is relatively good; it's less than thirty li from Bianliang. Further north, past Huazhou, you'll see people eating each other, exchanging children to eat, and killing wives to sell their flesh..."

"Stop talking!!"

Feng Yao screamed, her face already deathly pale.

Seeing that she was on the verge of collapse, Li Rui said no more.

Empress Feng was just an empress; no matter how much you talked to her, you couldn't wake up the emperor and his ministers in Bianliang who were indulging in comfort and pleasure.

At that very moment.

Some of the Imperial Guard soldiers cried out in terror.

"People are coming! They're refugees, lots of refugees!"

Li Rui was startled and immediately mounted his horse.

"Quickly, get out of here!"

Seeing that Feng Yao hadn't recovered yet, Li Rui said seriously.

"The refugees have no concept of an empress; to them, you are nothing more than a piece of meat to fill their stomachs!"

Aren't you getting on the bus?!