Holding a cup of warm tea, Master Mao Shun sat at the gate of the square, watching hundreds of refugees outside the gate, lining up in the snow, coming to receive Hu cakes and millet porridge one by one.
Uncle Shen, the chief steward of the Jin family, walked up to Master Mao Shun at some unknown time, followed the latter's gaze, and said, "Two groups of refugees entered the city yesterday."
Mao Shun: "There are now more than 3,000 refugees in Liangzhou City, and they are all Yinglong believers. They say they are going to the west for pilgrimage. This is very interesting."
Uncle Shen glanced at Mao Shun: "Guanzhong, Hedong has suffered from floods and droughts, and the people have no food to eat. They believe in Protestantism and choose to live here. Is this strange?"
Mao Shun: "Since February last year, Yinglong religious groups have been arriving from the south, coming to Liangzhou to rest and recuperate, and then heading to the west. For these people, the Jin family not only provided precious food and medicine to help the refugees, but also sent guides
, leading the way for him, it can be said that he responds to his requests. Isn’t this interesting? "
Uncle Shen and Mao Shun looked at each other, understanding each other and both smiled.
Mao Shun turned his head and continued to look at the refugees in the ice and snow, and said: "Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. No matter who it is, and no matter what the purpose is, as long as they can save this group of victims, they will always be successful."
It is good."
Uncle Shen took the tea cup from the stove, poured himself a cup of scalding tea, took a sip and said, "The master sent a letter from Hai Dongqing."
Mao Shun: "What did Erlang say?"
Uncle Shen: "Everyone in the inner workshop, as well as equipment, materials, drawings, etc., all loaded into the truck and set off for Anxi."
Mao Shun: "Everyone? Including those children who are still in elementary school?"
Uncle Shen: "Yes."
Mao Shun was silent for a moment and replied: "I understand."
Uncle Shen was a little surprised: "The Maojiang is not going to ask why?"
Mao Shun: "Erlang acted with foresight, so why should I dig into the details?"
After hearing this, Uncle Shen nodded slightly and said: "It's a long way from Liangzhou to Anxi, and it passes through Daqi. I have already told Li Guangbi, the leader of the Guiyi Army, that he will lead the escort and be responsible for your safety.
"
Mao Shun did not continue this topic. Instead, he got up from the folding bed, tightened his thick robe, raised his head to look at the sky, and whispered to himself: "Dark clouds are pressing down, and the rain is about to come.
Things are going to change..."
Dunhuang City, the governor's residence.
Liu Zai stood still in the hall, looked at the officials in front of him coldly, and said: "A certain person was entrusted by Zhou's consort to guard Dunhuang. Whatever he did, one was to ensure the stability of Shazhou, and the other was to ensure that the Daqi trade route was safe.
The court's tribute and taxes will not be affected."
The official in the hall, wearing a scarlet robe, sneered: "The Prince Consort of Zhou has long ceased to be the deposed envoy of Longyou. Now the person in charge of Daqi Commercial Road is Dr. Cui, who is under the new faction of the DPRK. If only Liu Shi knew the current affairs.
, I will issue the document as ordered, otherwise..."
Liu Zai suppressed the anger in his heart and said to the official: "Previously, when Wang Shi was in charge of Daqi Trading Road, he issued exorbitant taxes and arbitrarily exploited the local wealthy families and people, causing the officials and people to become alienated, which gave the Tubo people an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Dr. Cui has just taken office and will raise tariffs and abolish government-run businesses and turn them into private businesses. Aren't you worried about following in the footsteps of Wang Xian?!"
The official shook his head and said: "Doctor Cui is a Qingliu elder in Chang'an City. How can he be compared with the king? Besides, has the government ever won the hearts and minds of the people by being tolerant to the locals? The local powerful formed gangs and excluded them.
Foreign merchants also set up private bureaus to support warriors, how is this any different from causing chaos?!"
Liu Zai: "The situation in Shazhou is complex and not as complex as that in the Central Plains. If you insist on using force, it will only be counterproductive. The only long-term solution is to use soft power to divide, win over some locals first, and then use them to restrict another group of locals..."
The official interrupted Liu Zai's words: "That's nice to say, but it's just excuses. Before Dr. Cui took office, he had already read the records of Liu Zai's official department. He refused to obey the superior officials and did not follow the ritual system. It can be said that he had bad records.
.I wanted to give you a chance to reform, but Governor Liu still acted arbitrarily."
Hearing this, Liu Zai was very angry and said in a deep voice: "If the administration only knows how to stick to the old ways and follow the script, it will only hurt the people's hearts and miss the direction of the government in the end... Just talking and abandoning the actual affairs will ultimately harm the country.
!”
"you!"
When the official heard this, his face showed anger, and he wanted to say something to save his face. After thinking for a long time, he could only snort and leave.
After watching the official leave, Liu Zai sat down, picked up a letter from the desk, opened it and read it over.
After reading, Liu Zai let out a long sigh and said to himself: "Zui Lang, you wrote to ask me to stabilize the situation in Shazhou and then assist the refugees to go to the Western Regions... Now, I don't know what else I can do in my position as governor.
How long will it take, in order to fulfill the original agreement, I can only do it with all my strength..."
Shicheng Town, the garrison.
Kang Randi, the guardian of Shicheng Town, stood on the city tower, facing the cold wind and looking at the distant land.
A servant came from below the tower, and the chief inspector said: "Your Majesty, I have a letter from Xiao Lang from Qiuci Town."
Kang Randi: "Oh? Ke Jing wrote a letter? Show it to me."
After opening the letter, Kang Randi glanced at the running script, nodded and secretly thought that his son's handwriting had finally improved.
Then, Kang Randi read it carefully from beginning to end.
At the beginning of the letter, Kang Kejing said hello to her father, and then said that her wife Danqing was pregnant and would give birth in early summer.
When Kang Randi saw this, he was filled with relief and kept nodding.
Then, Kang Kejing wrote in the letter that Zhou Jun led the Anxi Army to defeat the Khorasan Army, and sent an envoy to Dashi to exchange prisoners of the Tang Dynasty. Also, the deputy envoy Feng Changqing, with Duan Xiushi as his deputy general, defeated the
Dabolu returned in triumph.
Kang Kejing explained these two things in detail, using two pages.
After Kang Randi read it, he took a long breath and sighed in his heart about the strength of the Anxi army, and secretly said that Zhou Jun used his troops like a god.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Next, Kang Kejing talked about the changes in Yanqi Town and Qiuci Town in his letter.
Since Zhou Jun became the governor of Anxi, Yanqi Town has absorbed residents of the Twelve Dragon Tribes, the Dashi Cult and the Yinmen Branch. The permanent population has not only doubled, but also a huge city has been built that has never been seen in the Western Regions.
The city not only has residences, workshops, and businesses, but also an inner city and a university.
Coupled with the fact that Yinglong Cave is not far away, the religious atmosphere in Yanqi Town has become increasingly intense, the number of believers has increased greatly, and it has become the largest religious town in the Western Regions.
Let’s talk about Kucha Town.
As the seat of the Anxi Protectorate, Qiuci Town is located on a choke point, with transportation, water conservancy, agriculture, and commerce already very developed.
Nowadays, a large number of refugees have poured into Anxi. Since a large number of residential houses were built in Kucha Town in advance, the number of residents has skyrocketed and the level of prosperity is extraordinary.
Kang Kejing specially added a sentence in the letter.
"I once visited Chang'an and also passed through Luoyang... Now I work in the Anxi Protectorate. When I look at the two important towns of Qiuci Town and Yanqi Town, the more I look at them, the more they look like the eastern and western capitals of the Central Plains... Anxi
The future development will certainly be limitless, and Shicheng Town, under the rule of the Protectorate, will surely reap all the benefits and no harm."
Kang Randi carefully collected the letter, remained silent for a moment, and asked the servant beside him: "Are there any shortages of tents, charcoal, and food?"
The servant replied: "Yesterday, Yanqi Town sent another batch of tents for emergency use, and the charcoal reserves in the mansion are sufficient. As for food, you don't need to worry. Before winter, the Anxi Protectorate delivered a large amount of food. Now,
More than half of it is stored in granaries."
Kang Randi nodded and looked below the tower.
Below the city tower, there are hundreds of temporary tents standing in the open space near the city gate.
Looking left and right, it is scattered and spread out, with no edges visible.
Countless refugees shuttled between the tents, lighting fires, talking, and worshiping. There was a lot of people's voices and smoke curling up.
While looking at the refugees below the city, Kang Randi said to his servants: "The Anxi Protectorate has specially requested that Shicheng City take careful care of these refugees from the east. Regardless of food, medicine, tents or clothes, all must be distributed as much as possible.
Do you know that you will not miss anyone?"
The servant bowed and replied: "Yes, your Majesty."