Leaving the east gate of Yuzhou and heading further east towards Xuzhou, the number of refugees is still increasing.
Only by seeing the tragic situation of these refugees can we more truly understand what Xuzhou has suffered. This is far more shocking than some of the news we heard in the capital.
Time is indeed pressing now, and there will be no rest for the rest of the journey.
With only two hours of sleep every day, the originally ten-day journey took only six days to arrive.
When we arrived in Xuzhou, we found that there were fewer refugees in Xuzhou than in Yuzhou. It was said that those who had the strength to flee had all left.
The people who are still staying in Xuzhou are either unable to run away, or they are reluctant to run away because they are guarding their ancestral property.
The team arrived at an unknown small village. From a distance, they could see a few scattered households in the village. However, when the team arrived at the village, every household closed their doors tightly and the scattered villagers disappeared.
The streets in the village were full of sand, and there was nothing edible in the courtyards of the houses. The yellow dogs encountered on the streets were all skin and bones from hunger. When they saw this team of thousands of people, they hid with their tails between their legs.
.
As for the fields near the village, all of them have been destroyed without exception. Xuzhou's crops this year may not be harvested at all.
Seeing this scene, Xia Shang's expression became a little heavy without realizing it. He looked at the prince in front of him, and his expression was not much different from Xia Shang's.
Suddenly, Li Xin looked back at Xia Shang: "I didn't seriously inquire about the news when I passed through Yuzhou. Now that I have arrived in Xuzhou, I think the information should be more accurate. How about going to find out the news?"
Xia Shang had no objection and dismounted his horse and went into the village alone.
Xia Shang looked at several yards in a row, but there was no one there. The house was in a mess, and it was obvious that he had left in a hurry.
Xia Shang came to the door of another courtyard. This courtyard looked cleaner and tidier than other courtyards. There might be someone inside.
"anyone there?"
There was no response from inside.
Xia Shang didn't shout anymore. He knew that even if there was someone inside, they wouldn't respond to him.
Fortunately, I just opened the courtyard door and walked straight inside.
There was only one room in the courtyard, and Xia Shang kicked open the door.
There was movement in the room, and at a glance I saw a woman crawling under the bed next to the bed on the left.
Obviously, he didn't expect Xia Shang to move so quickly. He was discovered by Xia Shang before he could hide himself.
When he saw the woman, Xia Shang felt a strong wind coming from the right side. Without thinking, Xia Shang grabbed the stick with his right hand and held it firmly in his hand.
This was a farmer with a fierce expression but a sallow complexion. When he saw that he could not succeed in the sneak attack, he was so frightened that he quickly knelt on the ground and shouted in succession: "Sir, please spare my life, please spare my life."
The woman beside the bed no longer crawled under the bed. She collapsed on the ground, leaning against the bed, her face pale, and she was holding a three or four-year-old child in her arms.
Xia Shang was very calm and said lightly: "Don't be nervous, I'm not a bad person. I just came here to inquire about information."
After saying that, he threw down a small bag of rice.
"If you have any information that I want to know, this grain will be your reward."
"food?!"
Upon hearing these two words, the woman on one side's eyes lit up, and she stared at the white cloth bag at Xia Shang's feet with a very greedy gaze.
The farmer looked at Xia Shang and then at the grain on the ground. The fear on his face softened: "I...I...we are just ordinary people..."
"My question is very simple. I just need you to tell me what you know."
"What do you want to know, sir?"
"Why did your village become like this? Where are the people in the village?"
When talking about this problem, the expression on the farmer's face was very complicated and he couldn't tell what he was feeling: "Originally, our village was very good. There were nearly two hundred households in total. Because of the pirates, people from the coast fled to us.
Wherever those people passed by, everything that could be eaten and robbed was taken away. Our villagers here really had no choice but to follow those refugees towards Yuzhou."
"Then why don't you leave?"
"Afraid! Who knows what we will encounter when we go to Yuzhou. I heard that many people starve to death on the way. Even if we die, we hope to die at home."
"How much do you know about this pirate incident?"
"This...I won't fill it out clearly. Anyway, I heard from others that three customs offices along the coast have been occupied, and many county towns have been robbed. Even the officials and generals of the imperial court were ineffective, and they were all killed.
. Countless people died. I heard that in Si
The dead people in Hai County were piled up into a mountain, and the corpses were burned for five days and five nights."
Xia Shang frowned: "Xuzhou City, is there any news from the Xuzhou prefect?"
"A fight has begun in Xuzhou City. The prefect of Xuzhou has already run away, and I don't know where he is hiding."
Xia Shang was shocked: "There is such a thing?!"
Xuzhou City is still quite far from the seaside, and there are many county towns in the way. Even if the customs is breached, it will not be easy for pirates to attack Xuzhou.
Unexpectedly, during the time they arrived from the capital, the situation in Xuzhou deteriorated further.
There is a war in Xuzhou City, and all the prefects have fled.
I don’t know if this news is accurate, but at least it is certain that the current situation in Xuzhou is quite serious.
"How old is this news?"
"Yesterday, yesterday I heard what people from Xuzhou said."
Xia Shang nodded, asked no more questions, left the food and turned to leave.
Xia Shang was a little anxious, so he quickly returned to the team and informed Li Xin of the news he had heard.
Li Xin's face also changed drastically after hearing this: "No wonder the frontline intelligence dispatch sent out has not received any news for a long time. I'm afraid something unexpected happened on the way to Xuzhou.
"It takes a day to get to Xuzhou City. If the news came yesterday, and if the news is accurate, Xuzhou has already been at war for three or four days. With the foundation of Xuzhou City, it should be still too late to insist on fighting for three or four days."
Without further words, the team set off again. The road was filled with dust, and the team no longer cared about their formation. The chaotic sound of horse hooves spread throughout Xuzhou.
The ancient city of Xuzhou has existed for thousands of years in this era and has gone through several dynasties, but it has never experienced any major wars.
Because the city of Xuzhou is remote and is the most remote location in Dahua territory, and political struggles are concentrated in the Central Plains, Xuzhou can always avoid the flames of war.
This time, however, it was the most severe test that Xuzhou had experienced in the past thousand years. Twenty thousand pirates landed, encroaching on the land of Dahua, and even reached the capital of Xuzhou in just two months.
The prefect of Xuzhou ran away and no one knew the news.
A city of civilians and a mere five thousand garrison were left behind.
Among the 5,000 defenders, more than 3,000 were the remnants of the Xuzhou navy that had been defeated by the pirates. They were now incorporated into the Xuzhou army to fight against the pirates again.