Chereads / After Being Kidnapped by the General / Chapter 20 - C19. Urgent: Find Yuan Li in Youzhou.

Chapter 20 - C19. Urgent: Find Yuan Li in Youzhou.

C19. Urgent: Find Yuanli in Youzhou

With the items Yuan Li brought out, the generals felt a lot of burden lifted off their shoulders. They no longer rushed on the road and had the mood to chat and laugh.

On the road, Chu Hechao occasionally glanced at Yuan Li with an inexplicable expression.

Yuan Li remained calm and leisurely on his horse, swaying slightly, exuding a sense of ease.

With a smile on his lips, there was a hint of cunning in his demeanor.

Guo Lin approached to report the arrival of some families from behind.

Liu Jixin's wife and children were in Luoyang, they quickly caught up, trailing behind the army.

Apart from Liu Jixin's family, other servants who wanted to bring their families along to Youzhou were allowed by Yuan Li, after ensuring their family members could endure the long journey.

Besides the three hundred soldiers, Yuan Li also took the artisans from the soap factory and the dried soap products, most of whom chose to leave with their families.

If possible, Yuan Li would have liked to bring his parents along.

But that was not realistic.

Not only was Yuan Song the magistrate of Ruyang County who couldn't leave without reason, but the health of Yuan Song and Mrs. Chen might not withstand the long journey. Besides, taking them to Youzhou wouldn't necessarily be safer than staying in Ruyang.

Ruyang County had land, provisions, soldiers, and city walls, was close to Luoyang, and was a place where one could safeguard oneself in turbulent times.

Yuan Li nodded, instructing Guo Lin to take good care of these family members.

After Guo Lin left, Wang Er hesitantly approached Yuan Li.

"Master," Wang Er glanced back at Wu Kai, looking hesitant, "Do you know that warrior?"

Yuan Li turned to look, seeing Wu Kai sitting on his horse, carrying bedding on himself and the horse, appearing as if fleeing.

He asked, "Do you know him?"

Wang Er whispered, "Master, when we robbed the official's goods, this warrior helped us."

Yuan Li looked at him, "He helped you?"

Wang Er affirmed, "That day, we ambushed in the mountains, we were outnumbered by the officials, and this warrior appeared with over twenty men, helping us defeat the officials. We thought they were also after the goods, but after the fight, this warrior quietly left with his men. Today is the second time I've seen him."

After listening to him, Yuan Li called Wu Kai over, asking him kindly, "Did you help them with the robbery before?"

Wu Kai glanced at Wang Er, feeling ashamed, he nodded, bowing his head.

Yuan Li said, "Did Chu Mingfeng send you?"

Wu Kai nodded silently.

Yuan Li let him go and then asked Wang Er a curious question, "Who told you to enter Santou Mountain when we met that day?"

It seemed that someone had mentioned this to Wang Er before.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Er remembered a passerby, "It was a hunter passing by, he told me that hunting was easy on Santou Mountain, with few wild animals in the mountains. I was intrigued and asked him the way into the mountains, then led my brothers in for hunting."

Understanding, Yuan Li smiled and let him go. After contemplating for a while, Yuan Li rode up to Chu Hechao's side, gazing ahead on the road where the sound of hoofbeats echoed.

After a moment, he said, "General, your brother truly has a knack for strategy."

Chu Hechao replied, "He is also your husband."

Yuan Li chuckled softly, sighed softly, "Chu Mingfeng..."

He said that how could Chu Mingfeng trust him so much, and so easily entrust him with the logistics and the Chu royal household. It turns out that even before he was tested with the responsibility of managing the stewardship of the Chu royal household, Yuan Li had been tested by Chu Mingfeng once before—testing how he would handle these refugees led by Wang Er.

The test was to see if he truly had the compassion to shelter refugees, and then to see if he had the capability to organize the refugees properly.

And before this, for a much longer period, Chu Mingfeng had been secretly observing Yuan Li for many years, which is why he came to test Yuan Li.

So Chu Mingfeng knew that Yuan Li would train generals, thus he knew that Yuan Li had great ambitions, and that's why the marriage proposal from the Chu royal household arrived the day after Yuan Li settled the refugees, and the conditions in the letter directly hit the sore spots of Yuan Li.

It turned out that the goods were taken with the assistance of Chu Mingfeng and then plundered by Wang Er and others, ending up under Yuan Li's name.

This means that Chu Mingfeng also knew that the corrupt official Qian Zhongsheng's goods from Hanzhong were taken by him, and perhaps the false rumors spread by Zhang Siban in Luoyang about Qian Zhongsheng, the Prefect of Hanzhong, concealing the disaster to accept bribes, might also be related to Chu Mingfeng.

Yuan Li leisurely asked, "General, what do you think your brother can still do?"

Chu Hechao turned to him, smiling, "What does my sister-in-law think?"

Yuan Li blinked, "Maybe the corrupt official Qian Zhongsheng's goods were also sent to Zhang Siban in Luoyang under his guidance."

This thought was quite elaborate.

If. What if.

If Zhang Siban had no idea that the Prefect of Hanzhong had sent a batch of gold and silver treasures to bribe him?

If the Prefect of Hanzhong, in the chaos of the disaster, was shown a clear path by someone in his panic, leading him to bribe the chief eunuch Zhang Siban with his family fortune. The Prefect of Hanzhong, like grabbing a lifeline, carried out the plan, but the ill-gotten gains were manipulated by this person to end up in Yuan Li's hands, indirectly set aside for the use in the remote northern Youzhou.

Later, this person used the reason of "the Prefect of Hanzhong bribing the eunuch" to spread rumors, directly accusing the eunuchs and corrupt officials, providing the scholars and the commoners with a perfect excuse for rebellion.

Internally, it was the scholars' ambition to suppress the eunuchs' power and usurp the emperor's authority, but on the surface, it appeared as if the commoners rose up due to the Prefect of Hanzhong's mishandling of the disaster, discontent with the eunuch's rule and the corruption of the court officials.

When you think about it, how logical it seems?

Chu Hechao gestured, turning his head back lazily, "Who knows?"

Indeed, who knows. Chu Mingfeng is already dead, no one can question him anymore to get the answers.

Yuan Li closed his eyes, feeling the breeze brushing against his face.

But if it was really like this, Chu Mingfeng... he is truly frightening.

"General," Yuan Li spoke softly, his voice carrying away with the wind, "How many peaceful days do you think are left?"

Chu Hechao tightened the reins, speaking calmly.

"Half a month."

Within half a month, the rumors among the people intensified, the people became more incensed. This situation should have been quickly noticed by the court, but the court seemed oblivious, as if blinded to it.

Finally, on the 20th of May in the thirty-ninth year of Jianyuan, the soldiers Du Nie, Liang Zhou, and Wang Jie from Hanzhong couldn't bear to see the Prefect of Hanzhong oppressing the people, and they killed the Prefect Qian Zhongsheng.

Du, Liang, and Wang Jian, due to the collusion of the Prefect of Hanzhong with the eunuchs and the court ignoring the disaster in Hanzhong, led the uprising with the people in anger.

Due to the corruption of the court, the ridiculous behavior of the eunuchs, and the situation of widespread drought and heavy taxation with no relief, the desperate commoners responded to the call and rose up in rebellion, causing riots.

The rebel forces spread throughout the country with a fierce momentum. Urgent reports from various places kept coming in, landing on the Emperor Jianyuan's desk.

The Emperor Jianyuan was greatly alarmed, his face turning pale with fear.

He was extremely scared and overwhelmed by the rebellion of the righteous army. At the advice of his counselors, he reluctantly began to re-hire scholars and allowed for the gathering of troops from various regions to attack the rebels.

In an attempt to soothe the public anger, he issued an order to decapitate Zhang Siban, hanging his head in front of the gates of Luoyang to quell the people's fury.

Not stopping there, the Emperor Jianyuan also ordered the execution of the entire family of the Chief Justice of Jingzhao, Jian Qibo.

According to the Emperor Jianyuan, he had instructed the Cabinet to allocate funds to the Chief Justice of Jingzhao for the proper resettlement of refugees outside the city. However, to everyone's surprise, the Chief Justice of Jingzhao had misappropriated the relief funds for himself.

Instead of properly settling the refugees, he tarnished the reputation of the Emperor.

When this news reached Yuan Li's ears days later, along with it came the news of Zhan Shaoning, son of the Chief Justice of Jingzhao, along with his followers, fleeing from Luoyang.

Yuan Li suddenly stood up, "Jian Shaoning has escaped?!"

Zhao Ying replied, "Yes. Jian Shaoning, along with two hundred followers, managed to break through the encirclement on the day of the executions and fled from Luoyang."

Yuan Li was shaken by these two pieces of news, unable to collect his thoughts for a long time.

He hadn't interacted much with Jian Qibo, having only seen him once at the residence of the Grand Marshal Zhang Liangdong. Although Ouyang Ting had a good relationship with Jian Qibo, even entrusting Yuan Li to seek help from Jian Qibo if needed before leaving Luoyang.

Someone trusted by Ouyang Ting should not behave in such a manner; judging from Jian Qibo's character, he didn't seem like someone who would misappropriate relief funds.

And Yuan Li even considered Zhan Shaoning a friend...

Recalling Jian Shaoning's protective behavior towards him at the Imperial College, Yuan Li felt a pang in his heart.

Chu Hechao let out a cold laugh, his tone eerie, "The Emperor really has the nerve to say such things."

Yuan Li quickly turned to him, "What do you mean, General?"

"The Cabinet allocated a batch of funds for disaster relief," Chu Hechao smirked, "but the funds were handled by the Imperial Household Department, with half of it ending up in the Emperor's private treasury. How much actually reached Jian Qibo's hands, nobody knows. Since Jian Qibo kept the gates of Luoyang closed and ignored the Hanzhong refugees, the orders he received might not have been for relief."

For instance, it seemed like a relief effort on the surface, but in reality, it was a directive from the Imperial Household Department. To avoid detection for embezzling the remaining funds, the Imperial Household Department instructed Jian Qibo to drive the refugees out of Luoyang, not allowing them to stay outside the city, creating the illusion that the refugees had been resettled.

Chu Hechao left the rest unsaid, but Yuan Li immediately understood. A surge of anger seemed to rise straight to his heart, unable to find the words to express his feelings, he eventually laughed in frustration, "The mighty Emperor, actually—"

Chu Hechao joined in the laughter.

Outside the post station, the sky slowly darkened.

The darkness spread like an immense cloth from top to bottom, covering the people inside the room, with the dim candlelight casting a faint yellow glow.

Yuan Li watched the flame, its reflection flickering in his eyes.

A breeze blew in through the doorway, causing the flame to sway.

But after the wind passed, the flame suddenly soared higher.

*

By the riverside in the mountains.

Jian Shaoning knelt by the water, tightly holding a swaddled bundle. Tears streaming down his face, which was covered in dust and blood.

He clenched his teeth, his back bent, emitting intermittent sounds of pain and sorrow as he tried to suppress his sobs and cries.

His body trembled continuously.

The strategist Xiao Ce approached him, handing him a piece of bread. When he saw the swaddled bundle, his tired face revealed a mix of sadness and compassion, "Sir, the child has passed away, please bury him. We only have a brief moment to rest, and we must continue our journey after that, to ensure that we are not caught by the imperial troops."

As Jian Shaoning's tears fell drop by drop onto the swaddled bundle, he trembled as he carefully opened it to reveal a five to six-month-old boy, pale and lifeless.

Facing the sentence of execution for his entire family, at the last moment, his father and brothers sacrificed their only chance of survival for Jian Shaoning. Desperately taking his five-month-old nephew along, he carried him closely on his chest throughout his flight.

It was only after dismounting to rest that Jian Shaoning realized, to his horror, that he had unintentionally suffocated his nephew to death.

He had inadvertently taken the life of his eldest brother's only heir.

Jian Shaoning let out a mournful cry from his throat, "Uncle Xiao..."

Xiao Ce's eyes welled up with tears, "Sir, the Jian family now only has you left. No matter what, you must pull yourself together. Only then can we have a chance for revenge."

Jian Shaoning's fingers dug into his palm, blood on his lips, but the physical pain paled in comparison to the agony in his heart.

"You are right," he said, wiping away tears, lifting the swaddled bundle, "Uncle Xiao, I must seek vengeance for my family!"

With gritted teeth, he yearned to devour the Emperor's flesh.

Xiao Ce sighed, "Sir, let's lay the child to rest."

Jian Shaoning's hands, covered in mud and blood, gently touched the nephew's cheek, his eyes welling up with tears again as he buried the child by the waterside. He then returned to sit on a nearby stone by the horse, as Xiao Ce handed him a piece of bread which he forced himself to eat.

Xiao Ce softly explained the current state of affairs in the world, words that Jian Qibo had repeated countless times to Jian Shaoning. Tears streamed down as Jian Shaoning ate, each tear falling on the bread, making it increasingly salty.

After finishing the bread, Xiao Ce asked, "Sir, where do you think we should seek refuge now?"

Jian Shaoning clenched his fist, pondering for a moment before declaring, "To Youzhou."

"Youzhou?" Xiao Ce questioned.

Jian Shaoning's expression turned resolute, nodding firmly, "To Youzhou, to find my good friend, Yuan Li."

Jian Shaoning was aware of Yuan Li's forced abduction from Luoyang, feeling unsure in the chaos of the world. Despite the recent turn of events, Jian Shaoning had experienced the complexities and ups and downs of life.

His former friends shunned him, treating him like a despicable insect. Even his father's friends dared not speak up for him, leading the Grand Marshal, who was the only one to defend his father, to be dismissed from his position.

Amidst the uncertain future and with troops on his tail, Jian Shaoning felt there was nowhere for him to go.

In this moment of desperation, he thought of Yuan Li.

Though Jian Shaoning had only known Yuan Li for a short time, barely a month, he somehow felt that Yuan Li would not reject him and might even extend a helping hand. Yuan Li was not like the hypocritical scholars; his character was honest and loyal, instilling trust in others.

Jian Shaoning believed he could rely on Yuan Li, trusting his instincts.

Furthermore, amidst the chaos, Youzhou lay in the far northeast, remote and desolate, away from the turmoil of the central plains, making it an ideal choice for refuge.

Xiao Ce pondered, "Sir, can we trust Yuan Li?"

Jian Shaoning remained silent for a while, forcing a bitter smile, "Besides him, I can't think of anyone else who would help me."

After all, in the eyes of the common people and scholars alike, Jian Shaoning was the son of a corrupt official- a tainted figure with a tarnished reputation.

Being associated with him or giving him refuge would only bring trouble, outweighing any benefits.

Jian Shaoning had lost any value that could be exploited.

Seeing his steadfast determination, Xiao Ce helplessly smiled, "Then we will follow your words, let's head to Youzhou."