sbdcsierra Chapter 169 Arrival at Gyeongju City
Chapter 169 Arrival at Gyeongju City
A small-scale volcanic eruption in Ningyuan County resulted in the deaths of some people who were queuing to buy water at the foot of the mountain.
This information was obtained by scouts sent by the convoy after they found a new place to stay.
In case of encountering a situation in the city, the new place of settlement was surrounded by endless plains with no hills or ridges.
Meng Fuqing heard from Niu Er that today's strange phenomenon was not a coincidence, but rather that there were unusual movements in various parts of the Great Yan, only the movements were different from one another.
Niu Er learned from a conversation with the people in the caravan behind them while queuing that, due to frequent natural disasters, some people in the Northeast were inciting refugees to expand their ranks under the pretext that the fate of the Great Yan Dynasty was sealed, in order to seize an opportunity to rebel.
"Have you inquired with anyone about the situation in Jing'an Prefecture?" Meng Fuqing asked.
"Why does the boss think those people are staying here? They're all heading south."
They say a good official came from the south; he handled disaster relief, resettled refugees, and prevented plagues—he didn't neglect any task. So many refugees flocked there that they even set up tents outside the city for them to stay in!
Niu Er sighed, "It's really not easy to encounter a good official along the way!"
Meng Fuqing put away the Great Yan Landscape Map in his hand, and couldn't help but be curious about this rare good official. Was he truly dedicated to serving the people or just seeking fame and fortune? He would have to go and see for himself to find out.
Before going to sleep that night, Meng Fuqing followed the instructions in the basic introductory mental cultivation manual and gradually found the legendary dantian.
She tried meditating all night and found herself in a strange and mysterious state, so much so that she didn't know whether she was dozing off or fully awake.
When I came out of meditation the next day, I felt light all over, but otherwise it was no different from before.
However, she was not in a hurry. As Xie Jin said, she would take it slow.
After a night's rest, the convoy continued its journey without stopping the next day.
They traveled for another seven or eight days on the Cangxia Plain, without encountering the same situation as on the day in Ningyuan County.
Even when they encountered counties and towns, the convoy did not stop. They only made brief stops occasionally in areas with a large number of corpses.
As we headed south, the wind blowing on our faces softened considerably.
The landscape was no longer a sea of withered yellow; occasionally, the green of evergreen trees would appear interspersed among the greenery. The road around the official road was no longer flat; it was now undulating.
Even with carriages and horses, everyone was exhausted from days of travel, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as disheveled and filthy.
As they approached Qingzhou City, the number of refugees began to increase again, and their appearance was much better than that of the other emaciated refugees.
Just after noon that day, the convoy came into view of the tall and magnificent city of Qingzhou in the distance.
Before they could proceed and get a clear view of the city gate, someone in the caravan cheered, "We're here! We've finally arrived at Qingzhou City! Jing'an Prefecture isn't far either! Not far..."
The voice rose and fell, eventually becoming somewhat choked up.
His shout shattered everyone's joy, and they almost burst into tears.
"Look at you all, so pathetic! Stop crying now, you'll have plenty of time to cry later. See that bamboo grove ahead? Let's settle down there first!"
Du Chongyi's words immediately swallowed back the bittersweet emotions and the excitement of surviving a calamity that had just been building up in everyone.
Just like the previous seven or eight days, after finding a place to stay, they fed the livestock and found water. There was order amidst the chaos, and everyone was busy with their own tasks.
Du Zhong wasn't saying this to be deliberately discouraging; he was genuinely worried.
The people of Mengjia Village are all law-abiding citizens. When they fled, they carried their household registration with them. With Meng Bochang, the village chief, around, if Jing'an Prefecture can truly resettle the refugees, the people of Mengjia Village would be much cheaper.
Unlike his men, who were all unregistered mountain bandits.
He had thought of this problem earlier and discussed it with Meng Bochang and Meng Fuqing. They kept an eye on the corpses that were everywhere and had their men check the corpses for household registrations. However, there were quite a few of them, and some had families, so finding suitable household registrations was not an easy task.
The problem has not been fully resolved to this day.
There's always a way out, and despite his worries, Du Zhong wasn't overly anxious.
The bamboo grove where they rested was slightly higher than the mountain path leading to the gate of Qingzhou City. Meng Fuqing released the white wolf and its henchmen to hunt deep in the bamboo grove, while he and Yan He walked towards the city gate and found a good spot to look out at the city gate.
The city wall of Qingzhou was about three zhang high. Outside the city gate, there were dense crowds of refugees. At noon, many sheds were set up in front of the city gate to distribute porridge.
What caught Meng Fuqing's attention most was that the moat surrounding the city walls had not dried up. The people coming and going at the city gate were also dressed cleanly and neatly, indicating that the situation in Qingzhou had indeed improved considerably.
Having endured so much hardship, Yan He longed to go to the best restaurant in the city and eat there. The more she thought about it, the more it tempted her, and she reached out her hand to Meng Fuqing.
"Give me the money, I want to go into Qingzhou City and have a good look around!"
Four hundred taels of silver was too heavy, so Yan He simply left it with Meng Fuqing.
Aside from raiding large cities, Meng Fuqing had never seen a normal, bustling scene. Now that he had the opportunity, he wanted to take a look.
"go together."
She planned to take her mother, younger brother, and sister-in-law into the city to rest for the night, and then meet up with the rest of the caravan outside the city the next day.
The two walked back together.
As a con artist with a serious reputation, Yan He always liked to present himself as a seasoned conman. He had never gone shopping with people his own age before, and the thought of it made him inexplicably excited.
"Hehe, I'll treat your whole family to a delicious meal!"
People who wanted to shop in the city also went into town with them.
Meng Fuqing spotted the shadows of Meng Linlang and Shen Lianxing's families among these people.
After a serious illness and a long journey, Meng Linlang's face still showed signs of illness. When she saw Meng Fuqing looking at her, Meng Linlang smiled and said, "Doctor Zheng asked my parents to take me to the city to find a doctor to take my pulse."
This smile made him appear more composed than before.
Meng Fuqing nodded without saying anything more.
As for Shen Lianxing's family, she didn't ask any more questions. Shen Yuan had the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), so he wouldn't be troubled by anyone no matter where he went.
If Shen Lianxing stays in Qingzhou, Meng Linlang will definitely stay by her side.
After a quick wash and changing into clean clothes, wiping away the dust and grime, Meng Fuqing's family only traveled in one horse-drawn carriage, leaving their own mule cart and Yan He's horse-drawn carriage to Niu Er and the others to watch over.
Shan Qiyu drove the carriage, which contained four people of different ages.
Just as we were about to set off, we suddenly heard a knock on the window.
Upon lifting the carriage curtain and taking a closer look, they saw Xie Jin in disguise, followed by Mu Sheng and Mu Feng, who were also in disguise.
Meng Fuqing asked, "Are you going too?"
She thought Xie Jin wouldn't enter the city, given his special status.
Xie Jin: "Going into town to buy supplies."
Meng Fuqing nodded without saying anything more.
Yan He stared intently at the three of them. She was also skilled in disguise and could naturally tell that they had all altered their faces.
I just can't help but be curious about the background of the person surnamed Xie; he's been mysterious all along.
On the way, she whispered to Meng Fuqing, who just smiled and said, "You wouldn't want to know."
Their group is quite remarkable, it includes con artists, bandits, and wanted criminals.
Taking this into consideration, Meng Fuqing decided not to hesitate any longer. Jing'an Prefecture was the territory of Xie Jin's maternal family, the Pei family, which meant they had connections there.
Judging from the current situation, these southern states simply cannot accommodate all the refugees, and without connections, finding a place to settle down is extremely difficult.