Although the Japanese pirates have left, the Xuzhou problem has not yet been solved.
When Xia Shang left Xuzhou City, he saw from a distance the team escorting the prince back to the capital. The long team held long white flags and white flowers were scattered along the way. The people of Xuzhou spontaneously organized a long team, holding a
Watching the prince leave with tears.
Perhaps no one would have ever imagined that when the feared prince died, people would shed tears for him.
Xia Shang watched all this from a distance, thinking about Li Xin's decisiveness in raising five thousand troops for Xuzhou without hesitation, and his plea when he invited Xia Shang to come to Xuzhou with him...
Xia Shang opened the water bag, raised his fist into the distance, sprinkled the water on the ground, and said, "Let's go."
After gathering his mood, Xia Shang quickly reached the front of the team returning to Beijing on horseback.
Along the way, Xia Shang still saw some bandits robbing people, and the boundaries of Xuzhou were not yet safe.
After three days of galloping, Xia Shang arrived at Yuzhou City.
This is still the place with the largest number of hungry people. Many refugees have set up tents outside the city, and the number of refugees has not changed much from when they arrived.
However, there are many people giving porridge and food outside the city. Basically, the refugees who arrive here will not starve to death. It is rare to see a few people holding steamed buns in their hands and smiling.
It seems that the refugee situation in Yuzhou has been well controlled.
Xia Shang's food rations were all eaten up a day ago, and he didn't have anything to eat all the way here, so Xia Shang is now considered a semi-refugee.
Xia Shang arrived at the city gate, but failed to enter.
Because Yuzhou City is still in a very cautious stage and will not let people in or out at will.
Even though Xia Shang doesn't dress like a refugee, his Jianghu aura clearly indicates that he has an unknown origin.
If you can't get into the city, you won't have anything to eat.
Seeing that there was a long queue in front of him, and not knowing which family was giving alms, Xia Shang simply stood in the queue.
Xia Shang was leading the horse in the procession, and stood out among a group of ragged refugees.
Within a minute, someone was pointing at Xia Shang.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Look at this outfit, he actually came to grab food from us, it's really shameless."
Xia Shang ignored him and continued to line up silently.
But the people around were just talking, no one dared to approach Xia Shang and say anything, probably in the hearts of the people
People in the world are hard to mess with.
The queue in front is very long, and I probably won't be able to wait in line for a while.
Xia Shang's stomach growled, he was really hungry.
He also thought about going elsewhere directly, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.
Not long after, a man dressed as a servant came to Xia Shang and looked him up and down: "Hey, where did you come from?"
"Xuzhou."
"Look at the way you are dressed, you don't look like a refugee."
"There are no supplies along the way, and I have already finished all the dry food I brought with me. Yuzhou City is not allowed to enter..."
"Oh, then I understand, you come with me."
The boy waved to Xia Shang.
Xia Shang didn't know what the other party meant, so he led his horse and followed him.
The boy led Xia Shang all the way in and squeezed through the queue. Only then did he see a large shed in the center of the crowd. Under the shed were countless ladder cages and several large stoves. On the surrounding tables
It is filled with steaming steamed buns, porridge and the like.
Xia Shang was only one of the queues. There were eight teams queuing at this soup kitchen.
"You tie up your horse, go inside, and I'll find you something to eat."
The boy was very quick and pointed to a place to signal Xia Shang to tie his horse, and then pushed the table under the shed to let Xia Shang in.
Xia Shang jumped into the queue and went straight to the end, which attracted a lot of attention, but the surrounding situation was very stable. Although there were whispers, the team was still in order.
It seems that the refugees here already know the rules very well.
Xia Shang took a look inside the shed. There were ladder cages still steaming all around, smoke was everywhere, and all he could see were about twenty busy people, and the tempting smell of steamed buns was everywhere.
Xia Shang stood there for less than a minute when the boy from before came back and gave Xia Shang a bowl of water, three steamed buns, and a steamed bun.
"Carry it over and eat it. Don't let anyone see the buns. Just leave after eating."
After saying that, the boy was ready to leave.
"Wait a minute." Xia Shang shouted.
"What else?"
"Why are you giving me these?"
"Hey, look at your clothes. You came back from Xuzhou again. You must be a hero lurking in Xuzhou to kill Japanese pirates. You are not the first one. Many people who came back from Xuzhou had no food rations when they arrived in Yuzhou. Our wife said, if you encounter
arrive
For a hero like you, just invite him in. As long as you are willing to eat, it’s fine if you don’t have enough.”
"Thank you very much."
Xia Shang was not polite and ate heartily.
After a while, Xia Shang finished eating the steamed buns, took a sip of water, silently walked out of the shed, led his horse and prepared to leave.
At this moment, a female voice came from behind: "Hero, take this with you."
Xia Shang turned around and saw a woman with a white cloth covering her head, a square scarf on her shoulders, and a floral cotton-padded jacket.
This woman's armbands were rolled up, her face, hands, and clothes were all covered in flour, she was sweating profusely, and she looked indescribably embarrassed. She was also holding a small package in her hand, which was still steaming.
, at this time, he lowered his head and packed the package and said: "Bring more food with you. Yuzhou is better outside Yuzhou City, but there is still famine in other places."
The woman was still talking, but Xia Shang's vision was blurred.
Seeing that there was no movement, the woman raised her head and prepared to hand the collected package to Xia Shang. It didn't matter if she raised her head, her whole body froze in place.
Seeing that the flowers that should have been held in his hands were now standing in front of him like an ordinary civilian woman, covered in flour and sweating profusely, Xia Shang's heart was broken and he burst into tears.
It surged down like a mountain torrent bursting its banks.
"Madam, you are suffering!"
Xia Shang threw away the horse rope, his eyes turned red, his hands trembled, fists clasped on his chest, and he bowed deeply to the woman in front of him.
After bowing his head, Xia Shang could not get up again. He felt that no matter what he did, he could not express even one ten thousandth of the apology in his heart.
Back in the small courtyard in Yulin County, Mr. Xia Shang said something.
"I am responsible for making money to support the family, and you are responsible for looking beautiful."
Now the flowers are still delicate and beautiful, but they are covered with a layer of white powder.
Thinking of his confident oath, Xia Shang only felt ashamed.
"Ms....Ms. Gong...you...you...raise your head...I...I, I..."
The woman had already thrown away the small package, clutching Xia Shang's sleeve tightly, holding back the trembling and tears all over her body.
"Look up at me, I...I am your Huairou!"
After she finished speaking, the woman in front of her couldn't bear it any longer. Along with Xia Shang's tears, her own tears also rolled down.