247. I Am a Good Emperor (8) (1/2)

The nobles' children were attacked at this juncture, which can be said to have angered most of the officials in the court. Even those officials who were not so high-ranking and whose families had no Xiongnu intruders were a little scared.

If their children and grandchildren were in trouble, what would be the use of them sitting in a high position.

The officials who were a little afraid of the Xiongnu before no longer mentioned peace at this moment. They had come to Kyoto with knives. Today, the young men practiced martial arts and escaped. What if those people broke into their houses another day?

Even if the emperor was furious and started a war with the Xiongnu, they would lose their lives and everything.

The wind direction in the court had never been as consistent as in the past few days. Everything was going on in full swing.

The people in the capital had no idea what happened that night. They were just a little surprised that the neighbors or tenants who had moved in some time ago had disappeared.

February has officially arrived, and the real cold winter has arrived. In such weather, people dare not even go out to solve physiological problems. If they freeze, they will have to spend money to see a doctor and be ridiculed.

Even the young men who always went to the martial arts field to practice in the past were afraid to go out because of the cold weather. Although their bodies are better than before, they were raised in luxury. How can their delicate skin and tender flesh withstand such cold wind?

Fortunately, many guards with strong martial arts were hired at home. They were also busy learning martial arts and did not like to go out to get together.

Naturally, no one noticed that the two young men who were locked up in the mansion to practice martial arts by the order of His Majesty never appeared again.

Without these playful young men in the capital, everything was quieter. This winter was too cold. The peddlers did not like to go out. Walking on the street, it seemed that their breath would be frozen into ice.

Fortunately, although it is colder this year, the people's lives are better than in previous years. The officials' houses have discarded kapok quilts, which are all spread in Huang'en Courtyard. People who have nowhere to hide from the snow just need to rush to Huang'en Courtyard. On snowy days, they only need to shrink in the house and wait quietly for this winter to pass. Although it is still cold, at least it is better than wandering outside.

It is said that such Huang'en Courtyards have been built in various places, in order to provide accommodation for those wandering people who have nowhere to go and can only freeze to death outside in the past. The emperor's grace is great, so it is named Huang'en Courtyard.

In the distance, in Rongcheng, where it is also snowing heavily, the people born in Liuguo can't even get a bed or a kapok quilt, let alone the emperor's grace.

Everyone has the same expression on their faces, numb and stiff, and is driven to squeeze in the ventilated wooden house. Even if they are squeezed together, the cold wind that keeps blowing in still makes them feel no warmth.

Their hands, feet and even faces were covered with frostbite. The clothes they wore were smelly and thin and did not keep them warm at all. They had lived under the Huns for more than ten years, and no winter had been as cold as this year.

Some elderly people looked at the heavy snow falling outside the gap with wooden eyes, and there was a trace of despair in their hearts.

They were afraid that they could not survive this winter.

Originally, the Huns still counted on them to work, but since the Huns began to frequently capture civilians from outside for some reason some time ago, these elderly people knew that their death was coming.

Imprisoned here, without access to news from the outside, doing hard work day after day, the only way to infer the situation outside was the attitude of the Huns towards them.

And now, they can clearly feel the eyes of those Huns looking at them as if they were dead.

They are not afraid of death. In the past ten years, every day is worse than death. The terrible thing is that even if they die, they can't return to their roots.

The land under their feet is no longer the Liu Kingdom. Even if they die, they don't want to die here.

But now, it seems that they can't fulfill their wish.

The people who are crowded together don't keep warm. They have been frozen stiff for a long time. Even if they warm up, they will soon be cold all over. It's better to freeze like this. No one speaks, as if saying one more word can take away the vitality of the whole body.

In the corner, there is a ragged boy with messy hair and black face. He is curled up and shivering slightly. Next to him, an old woman anxiously holds him in her arms, trying to make him less cold.

He has been sick for a long time. If he continues like this, he may not even survive this night.

The wooden house is obviously crowded with people, but there is not even a trace of sound. In the huge house, there is only dead silence.

Suddenly, the sound of the Huns cursing came from outside, and there was a little more panic in the eyes of these people. They had been enslaved and whipped by these Huns for a long time, so they couldn't help trembling and shrinking back when they heard the Huns' language.

After staying for such a long time, they also understood some Huns' language and knew that the two Huns outside were scolding the people they brought with them for walking too slowly.

The eyes of the Liu people, which had already dimmed, darkened again. It seemed that new Liu people were captured.

With the cursing, the chains outside were opened, and the light shone in. A young man wearing patched clothes and straw sandals was pushed and thrown in. He seemed to be trembling with fear and fell to the ground without even daring to raise his head.

The two Hun soldiers seemed to be amused by his appearance. They laughed and mocked a few times, and then went out to lock the door from the outside.

The young man from Liu Kingdom shuddered at the cold wind that drifted in when the door was opened just now, but other people who had long been used to it were numb and did not move.

Now that we are short of food and clothing, it seems that as long as we do nothing, we can prolong our lives.

The young man raised his head, and his eyes covered by his messy hair calmly scanned the scenes of Liu Guoren who looked numb in front of him. When he saw clearly, he lowered his head again, moved his steps, and reached the corner. He looked out through the gaps between the logs at the vast expanse of snow.

***

"The soldiers enter the enemy's belly first."

In the room with the fire pot burning, two figures, one tall and one short, sat face to face on their knees at the table. Wei Mingyan picked up a chess piece with small characters on it and followed the narrow path to the middle of the black chess pieces on the opposite side.

"But the soldier is so small, any enemy soldier can spot him."

Zhao Shujiu was still wearing a white winter coat today. In addition to the original jewelry, there were two small white balls pinned to her black hair. They swayed left and right as her head shook, making her even more agile.

"Although the soldiers are small, the enemy country is too arrogant to take precautions at all. What's more, here..."

The emperor stretched out his white finger and gently tapped the soldier with the word "big" written not far away from the small soldier. "The inside should be coordinated with the outside. As long as the army is brought in, the rest will be easy."

Although Zhao Shujiu had been smart since she was a child, she was born a girl and had never been exposed to the art of war. After hearing this, she felt that the man sitting across from him was amazing and could come up with such a solution.

When Zhao Shuqing came back from the outside, he saw that his good sister had moved the pawn into the black chess piece he was obsessed with. This was plausibly called the internal response and the external cooperation.

Zhao Shuqing held the chess piece and was silent for a moment, "Jiu'er, that's not the rule."

"Brother Shuqing, why do you have to stick to the rules? Aren't these rules also set by you and me? If you want to win, you still need to be flexible."

Looking at the emperor who was laughing and joking across from him, Zhao Shuqing stared at him quietly for a few seconds. When his smile gradually fell in embarrassment, he threw the persistent black pawn in his hand directly in front of Wang Qi surrounded by white chess pieces.

"Then I will make a change and let the soldiers assassinate the enemy king."

Watching the white king chess piece on his side being swallowed up by the black chess piece, Wei Mingyan did not make any fuss, but smiled even more cheerfully, "You are a swindler. There are so many masters around the king. How can it be so easy?"

Zhao Shuqing asked calmly, "If a soldier is of low rank, how can he be able to coordinate internally and externally?"

"Hey, Brother Shuqing, why don't you think more about it, what if this little soldier is very skilled in martial arts?"

Ah.

Anyway, no matter what, the shameless emperor opposite can find a reason.

Zhao Shuqing took back his hand and decided to read a book by himself.

"You don't want to play anymore? Come on, Jiu'er, let's play together."

Watching his little sister obediently start collecting the chess pieces, Zhao Shuqing sat back silently.

At worst, he would just read here and never give the two of them a chance to be alone.

Rongcheng

Lang Su had been sitting silently in this corner for a long time. He kept scanning the snow outside, looking at the Huns patrolling back and forth. His body seemed to be curled up with his back to the many people behind him, his hands But it kept moving on the wood.

Fortunately, although the wooden house was large enough, it was also in disrepair. Lang Su's hands were very strong. After going back and forth a few times, he used his knife to cut open the piece of wood.

Everyone around them closed their eyes numbly, and no one noticed Lang Su's movements.

As long as it's night, he can escape from here smoothly and open the city gate to let the soldiers hidden outside enter.

While he was working hard, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He stopped and turned around to look, only to see a young man with a dirty face staring at him silently. He was thin and small, but his eyes were bright and dark.

Lang Su was shocked. According to the information, most young people as old as Rongcheng were driven as slaves when they were young. Compared with the Liu people who were imprisoned here as adults, these children who lived here since childhood did not He felt so much longing for his hometown, and if he saw what he was doing, and if he shouted it out, everything would be in vain.

He was afraid that the young man would scream, so he quickly took it out from his arms, and he actually took out a candy bar from his tattered clothes.

Carefully handing the candy bar to the young man's hand, Lang Su made a silent gesture. I don't know if he understood it or not. He always held the candy bar and looked at Lang Su to make a move, but never made any move. Make some noise.

It wasn't until the sky got dark that Lang Su finally finished everything. His hands, which had never endured hardship, were so cold that he quickly and carefully put them in his arms, silently waiting for the night to come.

Unexpectedly, before it was night, there was the sound of chains being opened outside. The two Huns who came in looked at the Liu people who looked like dead people in this place, laughed a few words, and then focused on Lang Su. , walked towards him with a clear purpose.

Lang Su had learned the language of the Huns in the mansion, so he just listened to what they meant, as if he wanted to catch a Liuguo man for fun.

It was said to be fun, but in fact it was just to whip the Liu people and watch them scream and struggle for mercy.

As a newcomer to the Liu Kingdom, Lang Su naturally became the target of this whipping.

If he is taken out, there is a risk of the knife hidden on his body being discovered. Even if he goes out at night to spread the news, he will also be delayed.

But if he turns against him now, how can he alone resist the Huns who are both awake now?

He was startled, and clenched his fists behind his back, lowered his head tightly, and kept his cold eyes from showing.

The two Huns approached this side while talking and laughing, and kicked the others who had been sitting on the ground and frozen for a long time with disgust from time to time.

Just as they were about to reach this side, a dirty-faced boy suddenly fell to the ground, twitching all over and rolling on the ground.

The old woman beside him was startled, and hurriedly stepped forward to hold the boy down, while kowtowing to the two Huns and begging for forgiveness.

"My lord, my son is sick, please don't bother with him, please don't bother with him..."

The two Huns looked at the boy who was rolling on the ground and trembling all over, and then looked at Lang Su, but saw that he also looked half dead, and immediately lost interest, cursed a few words, and walked out with disgust on their faces.

The door was locked from the outside again. The boy, who was still twitching violently and seemed to be dying in the next second, silently got up from the ground and curled up in the corner again, never looking at Lang Su who was staring at him in amazement.

The old woman looked at Lang Su a few times, but did not say anything. She just held the boy in her arms and patted his back gently to comfort him as if he was afraid of being frightened.

That night, Lang Su quietly slipped out of the hole he dug. When he left, he suddenly wanted to look behind him, but saw a pair of black eyes looking at him quietly under the dim moonlight.

Thinking that he might have been forced to become a slave of the Huns in his cradle, Lang Su hesitated for a second, turned around and whispered, "You stay quiet, I will pick you up soon."

The boy who had not spoken nodded and watched Lang Su's light and quick steps leave silently.

That night, Rongcheng was lit up.

Wearing cotton clothes, armor, and holding long swords, the soldiers rushed in with resolute expressions.

The Huns had long been accustomed to the Liu people who dared not resist even though they were robbed and extorted by them. Even if Liu sent a document, they did not take it to heart.

Will the Liu people attack? How is it possible?

The king of Liu had been scared by them for a long time. How could he fight with them? Wasn't he afraid that they would directly enter Kyoto and take off his head?

Until the last second before death, the eyes of these Huns were full of disbelief.

In the firelight, the originally numb people of Liu stood up one after another, looking frantically through the cracks in the wood at the people fighting outside.

There was expectation in their eyes, and there was disbelief, and more of it was a dreamlike fantasy.

Until the shouting outside subsided, the sound of chains being chopped off by knives came from outside.

——Clang!

The heart of every Liu person was banging with the sound of the lock falling to the ground.

The door opened, and outside, someone held a torch and shouted, "But the people of Liu Country?"

Boom--

Almost immediately after hearing Liu Guo's words, the people in the house broke down and cried, and the old man with white hair who was still struggling to hold on until now fell to the ground and cried sadly and relieved.

They can finally go home--

The people of Liu Country walked out of the house one by one, their hair was messy and tangled, their clothes were all ragged, everyone was skinny, but everyone's eyes were full of gratitude and hope.

Even if they had no blood relationship with them, the Liu **s who were responsible for registering their names all showed pity and sympathy in their eyes.

"Those who come out, line up over there first, tell him your name and place of origin, and rest in the room over there after it's recorded."

The soldiers who had been arranged long ago were afraid that they couldn't hear clearly, so they shouted several times, "Those who are hungry, go over there first to get food, and come back to line up after eating!"

"If you have children, bring your children to my side to get cotton-padded clothes first!"

Several soldiers were preparing a big pot, and there was fragrant porridge in it, which was a smell they hadn't smelled for a long time. Everyone was hungry, but no one went to eat the porridge, but carefully lined up in front of the table where their identities were recorded.

The thin and small boy followed the old woman, and he didn't know how long he lined up before he got to the front. He looked at the person who registered his name. He was dressed like others, with a cotton-padded coat inside and armor outside. He looked handsome, although a little round, but his expression was extremely serious.

He dipped his ink and asked skillfully, "Name, where are you from?"

After the people in the queue of Liu State answered, he quickly wrote it down. He wrote two copies in total, one was put aside, and one was given to the people. His voice was a little hoarse, but he still reminded them gently, "Take this paper and go to the house over there to rest. If you are hungry, there are porridge here. Don't run around."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir."

The people were a white-haired old man. He wiped his tears and carefully took the paper he handed over. He was very hungry, but he didn't go to eat porridge, but ran quickly to the house.

Because there were soldiers standing there, soldiers of Liu State wearing Liu State armor.

Fan Yuancai took a look at the paper he had just written, and saw the name of Xucheng on it, and sighed with regret.

Rongcheng was so prosperous in the past, and there were countless people coming and going to work, but now only these people are left, and even among these people, there are not many local people in Rongcheng.

Based on what he just recorded, most of them were from other cities.

Come to think of it, if there were no blood relatives in other cities, how could they have supported themselves for so many years.

Two more were recorded, and an old woman stood in front. She carefully protected the thin boy behind her and couldn't wait to say, "We are from Rongcheng. This is my young master, surnamed Qiu, called Qiu Jiuniang."

Qiu?

Fan Yuancai was stunned, looked at the girl dressed as a boy in front of him, and asked softly, "Is the prefect of Rongcheng related to you?"

The girl who had been silent all the time opened her mouth and said in a crisp voice, "It's my father."

Fan Yuancai's hand holding the pen trembled, and his eyes almost immediately turned red. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Then, is there anyone else alive in your family?"

The girl shook her head and answered calmly, "When the thieves entered the city, my father was killed at the city gate to resist, and my mother committed suicide because she couldn't bear the humiliation. The rest of my brothers and sisters didn't save their lives. Only my nanny took me out."

Fan Yuancai's hand holding the pen could no longer support it. The prefect of Rongcheng was his own grandfather.

He died defending against foreign enemies, but his grandson only knew of his existence after more than ten years.

Lang Su was patrolling and found something wrong here, so he hurried over, "Fan Yuancai, what's wrong with you?"

He said, looking at the old man and the young man standing in front of the table, and paused for a moment on Qiu Jiuniang.

Fan Yuancai wiped his tears and handed over the pen in his hand, "Lang Su, please write it down for me, I will take me first..."

He paused, and almost couldn't hold back his tears, "Take my aunt to settle down."

Lang Su was shocked. It was only on the way that he knew why Fan Yuancai was so desperate to learn martial arts. He just took on the task of recording the names of the people in Liu State in order to find his family, but he didn't expect that he would really find them so quickly.

He quickly bowed to the old woman and said, "This is my aunt, right? I am here to pay my respects."

"No, no."

Fan Yuancai quickly pulled him back and pointed at Qiu Jiuniang and said, "This is my aunt."

Lang Su met Qiu Jiuniang, who was a little shorter than him and looked like a man.

Very good, another elder younger than him.

He paused for several seconds before bowing again, "...Lang Su greets my aunt."

When will he be able to be bowed to as an elder by others...

***

The people of Liu State, who had lived in hell for more than ten years, gathered in the house. A warm brazier was lit here. They were wearing clothes distributed by Liu**. They didn't look very thick, but they were warm from head to toe.

They even wore shoes called cotton shoes, and their feet with frostbite finally felt the heat. Perhaps because no one dared to eat porridge, the soldier in armor pushed a pot of porridge directly on a flat cart and urged the people in the house to eat.

When the warm, fragrant and soft porridge entered their stomachs, some people started to cry softly while holding their bowls and chopsticks, but this time, they were crying for joy.

Their country did not give up on them, and finally rescued them.

It can be seen that these rescued people are still very reserved, and eloquent soldiers are sent to take care of them.

These soldiers are not very old, and they can make people relax more than the serious old soldiers. They also like to talk. They sit in the brazier, fill a bowl of porridge, and start talking while eating.

"You don't have to be so careful. These quilts won't get hardened by sitting. They are called cotton quilts. They are made by our Majesty from the cotton grown in the palace greenhouse. Even if they are deflated now, they will be fine when the sun comes out."

"You see, the cotton clothes we wear are made of cotton. These are rare items. Your Majesty is reluctant to use them and specially transported them to us to wear."

He then sighed, "You don't have to worry about the Xiongnu people in the future. They can't beat us at all. We Liu people don't have to worry about being treated as slaves anymore."

Wearing warm clothes, with a comfortable brazier underneath, and tasting the taste of fullness for the first time in such a long time, all the rescued people were grateful.

Just as the soldier was talking, a cry of surprise suddenly came from outside.

"Red sun, it's actually a red sun!!"

The curtain was opened, and the red sun in the sky was revealed from the edge.

Lang Su just yawned, turned around and saw a room full of terrified faces.

It's just that the sun is a little red, why are you so scared?

He rolled his eyes, knelt down facing the red sun, and shouted, "God bless my Liu Kingdom! Long live His Majesty!!"

In an instant, all the soldiers and the people in the house were moved and knelt down.

Especially the white-haired old man, his lips trembled and tears flowed:

"God bless my Liu Kingdom!!!"

"Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long live!!"

The author has something to say: The first ten little angels sent red envelopes, good night everyone