Yuzhou is located between Kyoto and Xuzhou and belongs to the hinterland of China. It has always been relatively stable, but it has also lacked development.
Although it is a large continent, the Xia and Shang Dynasties knew very little about remote states and counties such as Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Liangzhou, etc.
When you enter Yuzhou City, your first impression is of desolation and dilapidation.
This did not leave a good impression on Xia Shang.
Moreover, there were scattered refugees along the way. Seeing them like this, the cavalry stayed far away, so no useful news was heard along the way.
However, after passing through several villages, all of them showed traces of being looted by the refugees, especially the crops in the fields. Almost everything edible had been eaten by people, and not much bark, grass, roots were left.
Xia and Shang met refugees on their way to Bashu and passed through barren states.
But what I saw today was even more shocking than the deserted state.
As we get closer and closer to Yuzhou City, there are more tents, huts, and even many thin blankets spread on the ground on the wilderness official road outside the city.
The frost on the ground is condensed on those blankets, and I wonder how the people sleeping on them feel.
Soon, Xia Shang saw people freezing to death on the ground with no one to care about them, including children under one year old.
The scene along the way was very unpleasant. Not only Xia Shang, but also everyone in the accompanying team looked heavy.
When we arrived at the city gate, countless refugees outside the city gathered outside. While the city gate below the city was closed, there were several sheds with white cloths holding out food.
The whole scene was extremely chaotic, with shouts and cries everywhere.
The thousand-man cavalry team was particularly eye-catching. The officers and soldiers on Yuzhou City noticed such a group of people from a distance of a hundred meters, and then quickly opened a door and ran out of the city with a team of ten people.
Arrive in front of Li Xin's team.
"Who is coming?"
"This is His Highness the Crown Prince's team. Return to the city quickly and ask the prefect to come out to greet them."
"His Royal Highness?!" After hearing the news, the Yuzhou soldiers took a deep breath, then lowered their voices and asked in a low voice: "Do you have any proof?"
After the soldiers saw the prince's token, they hurriedly returned the same way.
Next, the prince's team arrived at the city gate and waited.
I don’t know how the people knew the identity of the prince’s team. While waiting at the city gate, refugees gathered around them one after another and began to tell their stories.
Their respective experiences.
Because there were so many people around, the scene was chaotic, and no one could hear what these people were talking about. They could only hear crying and shouting, and occasionally asking the emperor or prince to administer justice.
Seeing that there were more and more people around, the soldiers guarding the city saw that something was not going well, so they invited the prince's team to advance into the city before the prefect arrived.
The city gate opened, and the refugees outside rushed towards the city as if they had seen a life-saving straw.
The horses were frightened and neighed in all directions. The riders could not control themselves at all. The situation was so chaotic that words cannot describe it.
The prince's team was scattered by the refugees. Although the soldiers in the city and the people brought by the prince tried their best to fight against the onrushing refugees, they could not stop the enthusiasm of the refugees from pouring into the city.
Not a few of the prince's men entered the city, but a large number of refugees rushed in.
"Your Highness, what should we do now? Should we kill a few people to shock them?"
Li Xin remained calm in the chaos, held the horse's rope, and whispered: "We don't need to interfere. This is the matter of the Yuzhou magistrate. If it is not handled well, he will be held accountable."
As he spoke, Li Xin flicked the reins, knocked over the refugees in front of him, and rushed in on horseback.
Xia Shang had been following Li Xin, taking advantage of the gap when Li Xin rushed in, and finally entered the city.
After Li Xin entered the city, he had no intention of staying and galloped straight towards the city.
I don’t know what Li Xin was thinking. Anyway, Li Xin told Xia Shang to follow him at all times, so he ignored the chaos at the city gate and chased Li Xin with his riding whip.
Yuzhou City is a different scene. Although you can occasionally see a small number of refugees begging, compared with the chaos outside the city, the city can be regarded as a paradise on earth.
It seems that there has not been much influence from the outside world. Merchants, people, and officials all perform their duties and live a life as usual. Even the flower houses in the city are crowded with people. You can see all the guests at the door smiling and hugging each other.
beautiful girl.
Xia Shang couldn't tell what was wrong with this scene, but he always felt it was a bit strange.
There was only a small group of people following Li Xin. Li Xin rushed ahead alone and found an inn, then stopped at the door.
The enthusiastic waiter thought that a customer was coming and greeted him repeatedly: "Is it better to be objective or stay in the hotel?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but be startled when he saw the team chasing after Li Xin, and then took several steps back in fear.
"Stay in the hotel." Li Xin said lightly, "Please ask everyone inside to leave."
The waiter didn't say much. Just because the other party was able to ride a horse in the city, he knew that his identity was very important. And with such a large team of horses following behind him, how could he have the slightest doubt.
While the waiter was cleaning up the customers in the store, Prince Li Xin had already been helped off his horse by his servants and sat on the simple wheelchair that was carried along the way.
Afterwards, the negotiation with the store was left to Li Xin's personal servant, and Li Xin walked in nicely and temporarily stayed in the upper room on the second floor.
After seven days of traveling day and night, everyone was very tired. When we arrived at Yuzhou City and saw the scene of Yuzhou, it was necessary to stop for a day or two and take a rest.
Xia Shang was in Li Xin's room. Li Xin asked Xia Shang to close the doors and windows, and then told Xia Shang: "Soon, the prefect here will come over, and you will have full authority to talk to the prefect on my behalf about the next matter."
."
"Why?"
Li Xin was silent for a while and whispered: "Not everyone needs to be received by the prince in person."
Xia Shang knew that the other party was not telling the truth. After thinking for a while, he looked at Li Xin's current state and suddenly understood.
Regarding the current situation of the prince, I believe not many people outside the world know about it.
Even the fact that Li Xin became a cripple was not known to many people in the capital.
Not to mention other places outside the capital.
Li Xin didn't want to see anyone, probably because he didn't want others to see that the dignified prince had become a cripple.
Not only does this cause loss of face, but it will also cause a lot of trouble if word spreads.
After thinking about it, Xia Shang nodded.
Li Xin continued: "Stay here overnight to solve the refugee problem here to the greatest extent. After one night, we will continue to set off."
As soon as Li Xin finished speaking, an announcement came from outside: "His Royal Highness, the prefect of Yuzhou wants to see you."
Li Xin winked at Xia Shang, and Xia Shang opened the door and went out.
There were many people gathered downstairs, all wearing local official uniforms. It seemed that all the officials from Yuzhou City, big and small, were here. They all knelt on the ground and looked up like grandchildren.
As soon as they saw Xia Shang appearing, they all shouted in unison: "I see you, Your Highness the Crown Prince..."