jdhmnovel Chapter 116 Jinyang City
Chapter 116 Jinyang City
According to Su He's previous speed, he could reach Jinyang City in two hours, but now he had to take care of those who were walking and pushing wheelbarrows, so it took him four hours to get there.
Shunzi stopped not far from the city gate, and the people behind him followed suit.
Su He drove the mule forward himself, "Uncle, what's wrong?"
"Lotus, there are a lot of people blocking the city gate, it's different from last time."
Su He looked carefully into the distance and saw civilians with their families in front of him. The original entrance was blocked and there was no sign of the crowd moving forward for a long time.
According to Su He's experience of queuing in modern times, either someone cuts in line, or everyone lines up in advance before the bus arrives.
Either way means delay.
"Uncle, wait for me. I'll go get someone and we'll go ask together."
Su He drove the carriage to Su Bingyi's house in the back, "Village Chief, is Brother Yu Wen here? It seems that I can't get in through the city gate. I want to find someone to go with me."
"I'm here, Sister Lotus."
Su Yuwen is the third son of Su Bingyi and the most studious of the three sons. Last year, he finally passed the imperial examination and became a student. He is the only person from the three villages who has taken the imperial examination.
Su He looked at the young man in front of him who was wearing a long gown and had gentle manners, and smiled and invited him.
"Brother Yu Wen, you are the only scholar in our team, please accompany me."
Su Yuwen nodded gently, "Sister Hehua, you are too polite. Let's go now."
Su Yuren was not shy either. He got on Su He's cart. When Su He passed by his own carriage, he thought for a moment and called Mu Tou out. The three of them set off together. The more than 700 people who stayed behind rested on the spot and ate dry food.
The gate of Jinyang City looked close, but it took Su He and his two companions 5 minutes to arrive there.
"Brother Yu Wen, you will..."
Su Yuwen walked in front holding the envelope given by Su He.
The city gate was closed at this time, and a small door was opened next to it. A group of gatekeepers were blocking the door and scolding the old man in front of them.
"Old man, are you deaf? No refugees are allowed to enter the city. Get out of here now."
Su He's mood hit rock bottom. The surrounding villages had no water. They didn't let them in. Were they waiting to die? They didn't even give them the right to flee from famine.
"Sir, I am Su Yuwen, and I am here to lead the relocation team to Su'an County under the order of the embroidered official Chen. I wonder if you can open the city gate?"
The leading gatekeeper looked carefully at the person who was speaking, and seeing that he was wearing a long gown, he judged that he was a scholar, so he spoke a little more politely.
"Are you talking about the embroidered official Chen?"
"Yes, Master Chen is now temporarily in charge of Huaihe County. Because of the drought in the surrounding area, Master Chen is afraid that it will affect the spring ploughing next year, so he asked us to move to Su'an County to farm. Look, Master, this is a letter to the county magistrate of Su'an County, and it is stamped with Master Chen's seal."
Su Yuwen took out the envelope from his sleeve and showed it to the doorman.
Unexpectedly, the doorman did not take it, but started chatting with Su Yuwen at the door.
"Sir, I see something has fallen from your sleeve, let me pick it up for you."
Mu Tou came closer and took out a piece of gold.
The leading gatekeeper immediately put it in his arms, covered it with his sleeve and took a bite. After confirming that it was real gold, his attitude immediately changed.
"Hahaha, good boy, you have good eyesight, it was indeed me who lost it."
Su He looked at the man coldly, continued to chat and laugh but refused to open the door. He walked forward and pretended to ask.
"Brother, Lord Chen asked us to hurry up. We can't leave Jinyang City today. Otherwise, should we go back to Huaihe County to ask Lord Chen for advice? I'm afraid that Lord Chen will say that we are delaying important matters and chop off our heads."
Su Yuwen was worried that the doorman would not open the door after receiving the silver. When he heard what Su He said, he immediately agreed.
"Okay, let's go back quickly."
"Hey, wait a minute, you little bitch, you have no right to speak! Isn't the city gate open? Are you blind?"
Mu Tou stood in front of his sister and pushed Su He back. Su Yuwen also quickly stopped the doorman.
"Sir, my sister didn't mean that. It was getting late, and she was just worried that she couldn't complete the task given by Master Chen."
Su He suppressed her anger and let Mu Tou push her backwards.
"Sister, let's go back and ask the adults for help."
Su He hugged Mu Tou tightly and was about to speak when he heard the sound of horse hooves behind his ears.
She turned around suddenly and heard that familiar voice.
"Master Chen!"
Mu Tou shouted loudly, and everyone around him fell silent.
Chen Shi had just returned from the border and was in a good mood. This time he had exceeded the task, with a total of 13 kilograms of grain, more than half of which was free. He also left several thousand kilograms at the county government as a reserve. Once all the people in the surrounding villages and the county town had been evacuated, he could return to Yunhe.
"Why you? Why don't you go into the city?"
Chen Shi looked at the closed city gate, a little surprised, "Why is the city gate closed?"
"Sir, the gatekeepers will not allow people fleeing famine to enter."
Mu Tou spoke first. Compared with the greasy and greedy gatekeeper, the proud and upright Chen Shi was simply the righteous man in the world.
"Not allowed?"
Chen Shi rode closer on his horse, bent down slightly, and the murderous aura in his body turned into a sharp sword and shot towards the gatekeepers.
"I told them they could come in, and you dared to stop them? What kind of official are you?"
The leading gatekeeper took two steps back. He looked at Chen Shi, who was dressed in black and looked murderous, and replied with gritted teeth.
"There are too many of them. It is our duty to interrogate them carefully."
"Sir, he is lying! He just wants us to give him silver. It is not enough to take a piece of gold. He stops us and won't open the door. He is greedy."
Mu Tou rushed to the doorman and snatched the gold back. The doorman was caught off guard and was snatched away by Mu Tou.
This boy was reckless but also smart, and he handed the gold directly to Chen Shi.
"Sir, this is the gold you lost. I got it back for you."
Chen Shi raised his eyebrows, looked at the boy who was trying hard to stand on tiptoe, and took it without hesitation.
"Okay, you have good eyesight. It's getting late, let's go into the city quickly."
"It's an adult."
Su He and the other two felt relieved and quickly got back on the cart to go back and tell their tribesmen.
Now the gatekeepers were not happy with this, especially the leading gatekeeper, who looked at Mu Tou with murderous eyes. The gold that was about to reach their mouths just flew away, and they were still asked to open the city gate for them. These people were used to being brutal and cruel, so they were not willing to do that.
"Sir! I..."
"what!!!!"
Su He and his companions turned around suddenly, only to see that the gatekeeper who was standing just now had fallen to the ground and was screaming. Chen Shi was whipping the man on the ground, and even though the gatekeeper rolled around, his whip never missed a single time.
Su He looked at Chen Shi's profile. He returned to his initial indifference, but this time, Su He felt that he was not as scary as before.
By the time Su He and everyone else rushed back to the city gate, the gate had already been wide open and the gatekeepers were standing far away, none of them dared to step forward.
Chen Shi also disappeared.