After exhausting myself to death

In the memories of everyone in Yandu, the second half of the 23rd year of Ping Zhi passed by very fast, like the tail of a white horse passing by, fleeting and fleeting, leaving behind only unforgettable light and shadow.

Prince Shen encountered an assassination attempt when he entered the palace one time. The culprit was so audacious that he dared to commit the murder even in the majestic imperial city.

Prince Shen's carriage was given by Emperor Yan. Its specifications were the same as those of the crown prince of Yan State. It was extremely luxurious. When others saw it, they could only avoid it and salute, so there was no chance of accidental injury.

The nearby guards arrived quickly and Prince Shen was not injured, but he was already weak and fell seriously ill due to the fright.

Emperor Yan was furious and issued three edicts to order a thorough investigation. Finally, the fourth, fifth, and sixth princes were found.

The fourth prince is the mastermind, and he will die with a glass of dove wine. The fifth and sixth princes were deprived of their clan status and imprisoned in the mansion, unable to leave for life.

The whole court was as silent as a cicada.

You must know that the third prince poisoned the entire royal family including His Majesty. He plotted to murder the prince and intended to kill the king, but he was just demoted to a commoner.

Although Zhao Yuanduan had offended many people, and now that he had lost his status and sacred heart, he was bullied a bit miserably, but he still lived after all. The fourth prince just wanted to assassinate Shen Minghuan, but he was killed without success.

Emperor Yan's love for Shen Minghuan is evident.

The nobles did not dare to offend Shen Minghuan at first because of Emperor Yan's deep love for him.

later……

Later, they became close brothers who treated each other with sincerity. As an elder brother, it was too late to love his younger brother, so how could he bear to offend Shen Minghuan?

I wonder if more and more people are unable to survive, and there are more and more bandits in Yan State. They seem to have seen the direction of success from the victories of their compatriots in Mingshan and Hongshan, and have begun to learn from them. Excellent experience.

They are all skinny, underfed, old, weak, sick and disabled. If they really fight, they will definitely not be able to defeat the elite army, but they are good at harassment.

The lush mountain forests are their best hiding places. Grass roots, tree bark and dead leaves can be used as food. They can afford it, but the soldiers from various places cannot.

Things that can be solved with money are not problems.

When the nobles saw that Hongcheng could live in harmony with the bandits, they thought they could do the same.

Many people used to secretly laugh at Shen Minghuan for using a bunch of slaves to build a chamber of commerce, but now the benefits have become apparent. The bandits are very wary of the nobles and are only willing to communicate with Shen Minghuan's people.

In desperation, the nobles had to prepare heavy gifts to invite Shen Minghuan to come forward.

The kind-hearted Prince Shen only collected a nominal amount of travel expenses, and the rest was "transferred" to the bandits on his behalf.

And they kindly pointed out a clear path and asked them to register all the slaves in the family, so that the bandits would have a better impression of them.

The nobles readily agreed.

It doesn't matter whether you are a slave or not. They will still exploit you after registering as a civilian. Only these lowly civilians will feel how noble they are. In fact, to them, they are just inferior labor.

Although the slaves no longer have the title of slave, they have long been homeless.

In order to eat, to survive, or because they have long been accustomed to a life of being whipped and forced to work hard, they can't leave even if they don't have the contract of betrayal.

Sometimes they lay on the ground at night, unable to sleep, and stared at the everlasting bright moon in the sky. Suddenly, they suddenly realized that they were already civilians protected by the "Yan Code", and the nobles could no longer kill them casually like before. .

But legal justice has ceased to exist in name only and seems to be of no use.

The days passed by as if nothing had changed.

It seems that a lot has changed.

Mr. Zhou Yan still did not intend to become an official, but he finally relented and agreed to come to Yandu to give lectures.

At the last court meeting years ago, Emperor Yan finally decreed that the eldest prince should be crowned prince.

After the eldest prince was named crown prince, the first thing he did when he went to court was not to tell the queen, but to respectfully go to see Shen Minghuan with a gift.

The current emperor and the future emperor of Yan Kingdom, one treats Shen Minghuan more lovingly than his own son, and the other treats him with more respect than his biological mother.

The courtiers sighed, what could they do? He had no choice but to be more respectful to Shen Minghuan than to the emperor.

*

Before we knew it, it was New Year's Eve.

According to the rules of the Yan State, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is a small year. In the morning, the courtiers will finish the last court meeting of the year, enter the palace in the evening to participate in the annual banquet, and then begin their vacation.

There were no poor officials in the court of Yan State. The really poor people could not even afford to eat, let alone study and become officials. Therefore, no matter what the harvest is this year, it has nothing to do with these royal relatives and nobles. They are not hungry anyway.

Even if a tax is levied when the granary is empty, the tax will not fall on them.

But there are too many bells and tripods in Yandu, and the firecrackers they light can easily ring throughout the city.

Several houses were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and there was a patch of bright red silk in the city.

It is so easy to overlook some sufferings without looking carefully, such as the beggars huddled in a ball on the streets, the people celebrating the festival under a bowl of gruel in a dilapidated house, and the refugees hovering at the city gate and refusing to leave.

"Mr. Lu, if you hold on a little longer, we have arrived at Yandu and will see His Highness the Crown Prince soon."

Refugees come from all over the world, but they all "look" almost the same.

They were all disheveled, disheveled, in rags, and their faces were covered with gray-black mud. Standing together, there was almost no difference except for their height.

But one of the refugees was a little fatter.

In fact, his body shape is lean compared to ordinary people, but refugees cannot be considered human. Along the way, they ate grass roots, tree bark, and human flesh. People who were about to starve to death had no regard for morality and conscience.

Among a group of "skeletons" with skinny bones and protruding ribs, the one with a little bit of meat still attached to the skin is considered fat.

The desperate and numb eyes of the refugees glanced at this man with an empty and sad look, a little bitter, but more of a accustomed indifference.

He must have only been a refugee for a short time. If it had been longer, this little meat would have been gone.

The fat refugee was also supporting an old man, whose appearance was also indistinguishable. Only a few strands of silver that had not been completely covered in mud showed his age.

It was cold, so the old man didn't wear much, so he shivered when the cold wind blew.

The fat refugee had covered the old man with all the clothes he could take off, but it was just one more piece of cloth and one less piece of cloth, which was of little use.

At this time of year, the most vulnerable people to die are the elderly. Others look on indifferently, and the most kindness they can do is to surround them and use their bodies to block the wind.

Beyond that, they can't afford any more.

The old man whispered: "General Nie, it is the old man who has caused trouble for you."

There was a sound of teeth chattering due to the cold when he opened his mouth.

"Mr. Lu, don't say that. It's the fourth prince who is so bold. Don't worry, His Highness the Crown Prince is very powerful. He will definitely be able to help us." Nie Shiyun vowed, having 120,000 confidence in Shen Minghuan.

Lu Yu smiled bitterly in his heart, it was already difficult enough for His Highness the Crown Prince to protect himself alone in a foreign country, but how could he have the extra energy to protect them?

Refugees gathered at the base of the wall.

They went to the city to ask for money, but they had no money. They could only hope that the adults who lived in the city would pass by and give them a few coins for the sake of New Year's Eve today.

At least there are ruined temples in the city that can provide shelter from wind, rain and snow.

"Get out of the way, stay out of the way, get out of the way."

Suddenly a group of guards came to the city and pushed the refugees at the city gate.

The refugees did not dare to resist and retreated reluctantly. They were extremely uneasy. It was such a cold day and there was nothing to eat outside the city. They would starve to death or freeze to death.

The guard put his hands on his hips and shouted: "You are lucky, His Royal Highness is kind-hearted and will be here giving porridge for three days in a row."

Another group of servants arrived belatedly pushing a cart, carrying two large barrels of porridge. They found a good place and opened the lid, and the steaming heat rushed out instantly.

The guard looked at the pair of eyes that seemed to suddenly come to life, and sneered disdainfully: "Why don't you quickly thank His Highness the Crown Prince for your kindness?"

It's just a bowl of gruel mixed with bran, and it has no future like this.

"Thank you, His Royal Highness, for your kindness." The refugees didn't care about the ridicule of the guards. It was just a word. It was worth it in exchange for a bowl of porridge.

This porridge is still steaming, so your body will feel much warmer after drinking it.

The guard sneered again, "Everyone lines up, one bowl per person, no fighting over it. If you drink our Highness's porridge, you must remember how good our Highness is."

Zhao Yuancheng didn't want to give porridge at first, because he looked down upon the popular support of these people.

If Mr. Zhou Yan, whom his father had generously invited back, hadn't asked him to do this, and if he hadn't known that Shen Minghuan was kind-hearted and valued these worthless refugees, Zhao Yuancheng wouldn't have bothered to care about them.

He made it for Zhou Yan and Shen Minghuan to see.

Nie Shiyun came back with a bowl of porridge and handed it to Lu Yu.

After three months of escaping, the young general who was born into a wealthy family has been able to put down his figure naturally.

He did not wait in line for the second time, but sat on the floor next to Lu Yu, watching him sip the scalding hot porridge, dragging his chin and saying sadly: "Mr. Lu, there is actually a prince in the Yan Kingdom. I came last time Emperor Yan didn't have this plan at that time, when did they establish the prince? "

"It should be within the next three months." The porridge was very hot, but Lu Yu hadn't eaten for a long time, so he didn't drink it slowly.

After eating a bowl of hot porridge, he finally felt better.

Nie Shiyun took the bowl. This time there was not much porridge, so he only got half the bowl.

Nie Shiyun handed it to Lu Yu again, and then sighed sadly: "I don't know which prince this prince is."

He still had fresh memories of the third prince who beat people with a whip, but it must not be this third prince, otherwise His Highness would have had a hard time in the past six months.

Lu Yu pushed the porridge back and said, "I'm full now - you can ask the servants who serve the porridge later."

Nie Shiyun didn't doubt his presence, so he responded and finished the porridge in two mouthfuls.

He looked around with the empty bowl.

How should we think of a way to get into the city?

Is it feasible to shout that he knows Prince Shen of Yong Kingdom?