Chapter 42: Troubled Times! Troubled Times!
Ma Zhou's words were very impolite.
Xie Shufang was annoyed, and so were all the servants in the Prince Qi's mansion.
He is just an assistant teacher, whose official rank is not even as high as that of the officials in Prince Qi's Mansion, yet he dares to speak nonsense in front of His Royal Highness the Prince Qi.
"How dare you be so presumptuous, you idiot?!"
Xie Shufang shouted angrily and immediately ordered the arrest of the person.
All the servants in Prince Qi's mansion were eager to try.
Yin Qiao's followers were also eager to try.
Li Yuanji raised his hand to stop Xie Shufang from taking people away, staring at Ma Zhou with a half-smile, "Don't move yet, I want to hear how I saved and hurt people."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shufang and others could only grit their teeth and glare at Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou bowed to Li Yuanji and said solemnly: "Your Highness sent people to arrest a group of people and searched their houses and rooms. The food seized was used to help the refugees. It is indeed saving lives.
But Your Highness is clearly harming people by mobilizing troops and forcing local government offices to resettle refugees.
The government office, which is looked after by His Highness's troops, will naturally act in accordance with His Highness's orders.
However, in order to avoid being pressured by His Highness, the government offices without His Highness's troops would drive the refugees into the mountains or confine them when His Highness passed through their jurisdiction.
Worse still, they will drive the refugees back north of the river.
Your Highness, what do you think the refugees will have a chance of survival if they are put in the mountains, imprisoned, or driven back to the north of the river?"
The poisonous insects and ferocious beasts in the mountains and forests, the bandits and robbers, plus the cold weather, will definitely make the refugees' life worse than death.
Refugees who were imprisoned by local government offices would live a life worse than death.
Driving the refugees back to Hebei Province is tantamount to letting them die.
The local authorities are treating the refugees so badly that they have little chance of survival.
Li Yuanji knew the ins and outs of this, but he could only deal with these matters after he settled down.
We can't leave the army halfway to deal with things like this, right?
The military situation is urgent, so we naturally have to take care of it first.
Li Yuanji pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Is this true?"
Ma Zhou nodded seriously.
Li Yuanji narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I never thought that my kindness not only failed to save many people, but also harmed them."
At this point, Li Yuanji looked at Ma Zhou and said, "Since you can see the problems clearly, there must be ways to solve them."
Ma Zhou was stunned.
Li Yuanji gave the order without hesitation, "Then I will now recruit you as an official of the rear army general office to handle this matter specifically."
Ma Zhou was a little confused.
I just can't stand your reckless behavior and your harm to the people, so I just came out to correct you. I don't think of becoming your subordinate.
With your bad reputation, it would be difficult to reverse it even if you did a hundred good deeds, let alone just one.
"Xie Shufang, dispatch a school of soldiers to accompany this assistant to deal with the refugees in various places. Send people to tell all places that I have recruited this person as an official of the rear army general administration office to supervise the local people's sentiments. Officials from all places must cooperate, otherwise they will be punished according to the crime."
Li Yuanji didn't care about Ma Zhou's thoughts at all and decisively gave orders to Xie Shufang.
Xie Shufang was also a little confused.
Li Yuanji actually recruited this madman to serve in the Rear Army General Administration Office and gave him so much power.
Seeing that Xie Shufang was unmoved, Li Yuanji glared at Xie Shufang and said, "Can't you hear me clearly?"
“No…no.”
Xie Shufang bowed quickly, "I obey your command."
Ma Zhou also came to his senses at this moment, and hurriedly bowed and said: "I am a humble official with low status and low authority, and I am afraid I cannot take on such a great responsibility."
Li Yuanji stared at Ma Zhou and said bluntly: "Since you discovered the problem, you must solve it. If you can't solve the problem, then the soldiers who will accompany you to deal with the refugees in various places will be the ones to send you off."
Ma Zhou was stunned and stood there.
Li Yuanji did not say much to Ma Zhou. He ordered Xie Shufang to leave his troops behind and led the army to continue on their journey.
Li Yuanji wanted to recruit Ma Zhou, but there was no need to show too much enthusiasm.
Ma Zhou is now just a ninth-rank official, and no one is competing with him for the position.
As long as Ma Zhou entered the Rear Army General Administration Office, he would be his man.
He summoned Ma Zhou to solve the problems of refugees in various places, and threatened to send Ma Zhou to death if he could not solve the problem.
If the news got out, others would only think that he was blocked by Ma Zhou and was unhappy, so he wanted to find an excuse to kill Ma Zhou.
No one thinks much about anything else.
Qu Tutong felt that Li Yuanji's move was a bit hasty and that Li Yuanji was acting like his old self again. He could not help but ride his horse forward to advise him, "Your Highness, your decision is a bit hasty. Although Ma Zhou is a bit arrogant, he is also a rare upright person. Your Highness should give him a chance to live."
Qu Tutong didn't care about Ma Zhou's life or death. He simply didn't want Li Yuanji, who had already changed for the better, to become cruel and brutal again.
Li Yuanji looked at Qu Tutong and sighed, "I know my decision was a bit hasty, and I didn't think of taking his life. But you and I have seen clearly what the refugees around Luoyang are like along the way.
I don't have anyone who can solve this problem at the moment.
Since Ma Zhou could see some problems, he must have thought about how to solve them.
If he could solve any one of the three problems he mentioned, he could save countless lives.
As long as it can save countless lives, what does it matter if my decision is hasty? "
Qu Tutong looked at Li Yuanji in astonishment. He did not expect that Li Yuanji would think this way.
Qu Tutong said with emotion: "I am sorry for being rude. Your Highness cares about the people. I am ashamed of myself."
Li Yuanji sighed and smiled.
Do you care about the people?
It's hard to say.
He doesn't have such a broad mind, and he can't devote himself to the cause until his death.
He just couldn't stand seeing people selling humans like animals, and he also couldn't stand seeing his own kind falling on the roadside like grass.
…
The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
Light snow.
After traveling for more than half a month, Li Yuanji and his entourage finally arrived in Luoyang.
The scale of Luoyang City is not inferior to that of Chang'an City. From a distance, it is even more magnificent than Chang'an City.
It just looks very dilapidated.
After a war involving hundreds of thousands of troops in the middle of the year, the walls of Luoyang City were full of holes and traces of smoke and fire.
Although the gate tower on the top of the city has been repaired, it still looks dilapidated.
Only the brand new general's flag added some novelty to Luoyang.
There were many pedestrians on the official road, and even more people on both sides of the road.
Walking on the official road were soldiers and horses from all over the country who had gathered in Luoyang, as well as civilians who were escorting food and fodder. On both sides of the official road were refugees who had fled from Hebei.
The sheer number of refugees is enough to make one's scalp tingle.
The team escorting food and fodder had to send out heavy troops to defend when passing through places where refugees gathered.
Even so, when the team escorting food and fodder passed by the refugees, the refugees would still keep rushing forward.
When Li Yuanji led his team passing by, some people dragged their children to their knees and begged bitterly, while others strangled their children until they cried loudly, trying to arouse Li Ji's sympathy.
Li Yuanji rode a tall horse, with a group of iron cavalrymen following behind him.
As long as the refugees were not stupid, they could see that Li Yuanji was an important figure.
If only the big shots had a little compassion, their children would have survived.
Xie Shufang, the servants of the Prince of Qi's Palace, and Yin Qiao's followers guarded Li Yuanji like an iron wall.
Li Yuanji closed his eyes, unable to bear to see the miserable plight of the refugees on both sides of the official road.
He was afraid that he couldn't help himself and his sympathy was overflowing.
While guarding him, Xie Shufang made a rough count of the refugees on both sides of the official road, and the number was about 100,000.
There are 100,000 refugees. If he dares to make a breakthrough, he will be surrounded immediately.
"Go away! Go away!"
When the army was about to enter the Luoyang city gate, there was a slight commotion among .
Xie Shufang and others stared, drew their swords, and vigilantly drove away the refugees.
A refugee suddenly shouted.
"My dear sir, have you ever tasted a human being?"
Li Yuanji suddenly opened his eyes and looked carefully, he saw a pale and thin man, who was laughing as he bit off a piece of meat from his arm, stuffed it into his son's mouth mixed with blood, and laughed wildly at him.
"grass!"
Li Yuanji stared with wide eyes and shouted angrily.
When the man saw that Li Yuanji was angry, he laughed even louder and more arrogantly.
When others saw Li Yuanji’s reaction, they made up their minds to follow suit.
"Xie Shufang, go into the city and mobilize the troops! Keep an eye on the others. If anyone dares to bite me again, I will beat them to death!"
Li Yuanji was a little mad.
Xie Shufang looked at Li Yuanji in astonishment, and so did the others.
Qu Tutong saw that Li Yuanji was not in a good state, so he immediately rushed to Li Yuanji and reminded him loudly, "Your Highness, please calm down! Your Highness, please calm down!"
Li Yuanji's eyes turned red, and he glared at Qu Tutong and shouted angrily, "This is an order!"
Qu Tutong didn't dare to say another word.
Seeing that Xie Shufang did not move, Li Yuanji gritted his teeth and asked Xie Shufang, "Are you going to disobey military orders?!"
Xie Shufang said anxiously: "Your Highness, you are the commander-in-chief of the rear army. The only troops that can be mobilized for this expedition are from Shanzhou. All the troops from Shanzhou are here."
"Go to the city and get me the Bingzhou troops!"
Li Yuanji shouted.
Xie Shufang hurriedly rode into Luoyang to dispatch the Bingzhou troops that had already arrived in Luoyang.
If Li Yuanji dispatched troops from other places, it would be a bit of an overstepping of authority, but if he dispatched troops from Bingzhou, there would be no problem.
As soon as Xie Shufang left, Li Yuanji ordered Qu Tutong, "Send someone to find Luoyang Ling to come see me!"
“Yes!”
Qu Tutong did not dare to hesitate. He agreed and immediately sent someone to pass the message.
Seeing that Li Yuanji was moved with compassion, the refugees gathered around him.
Although they were very afraid of the offensive of Shanzhou, Guozhou, and the Qiwang Palace's cavalry, they hoped to find a way to survive by using Li Yuanji.
Those who were biting their own flesh, seeing that Li Yuanji had compassion, did not wait for the soldiers to take action, but slapped themselves in the mouth.
He knocked his own teeth out and laughed as he did so.
Li Yuanji was trembling all over as he watched.
"Catch them for me!"
The subordinates of Prince Qi's mansion gritted their teeth, rushed into the crowd, and took down those who slapped themselves in the face.
Xie Shufang soon led the Bingzhou troops and appeared outside the city, accompanied by Li Sixing, Luo Shixin and his Jiangzhou troops.
