Chapter 1,156: One Bad Thing After Another!

ustard with shrimp. Let's see if the young miss likes it."The Lord nodded, just about to speak, when the old lady led Jiayin in from outside. He immediately turned cold.The steward was astonished. He...As expected, the Crown Prince took a deep breath and said, "Father, this is an urgent dispatch from Li Jiaren, the magistrate of Fengshan County near the southwest border. A group calling themselves the Mi Le sect suddenly appeared near Fengshan. They are inciting the people to attack the county seat, claiming they will open granaries and distribute grain, intending to seize and plunder the city."

The county magistrate of Fengshan led the city defense camp to repel the mob and captured a hall master from the Mi Le sect. After interrogation, it was learned that a large number of Mi Le sect followers would follow the refugees all the way to Xindu.

The magistrate of Fengshan County suggested intercepting and destroying the Miaofa Sect early on. Otherwise, its influence would grow stronger, and it would be more difficult to deal with.

Mob

What is the Mahayana Buddhism

The emperor and the officials were all astonished. The emperor immediately took the imperial edict.

An official beside him, for some unknown reason, whispered, "The county magistrate of Fengshan is truly derelict in his duty. Why didn't he stop the followers of the Miaole religion and instead let them enter the capital"

The Crown Prince glanced at the man dismissively and replied, "A county town's garrison is only a few hundred men. How can it possibly protect both the citizens and the city while also stopping tens of thousands of rioters and zealots If this distinguished gentleman has a good solution, he could write to the magistrate of Fengshan County and offer his advice."

Then the officials immediately shrunk their necks and dared not speak another word.

Soon, the Emperor and several important ministers had all read the imperial edict.

The Emperor pondered for a moment and said, “The magistrate of Fengshan County acted promptly by opening the granary and appeasing the populace. He gathered the people into the city to prevent them from being swayed by the Mi Le Sect and causing chaos. This is a very good way to handle the situation.”

But treating the symptoms without addressing the root cause, if this continues unchecked, the Miaolei teachings will not even reach Xin Du, and will inevitably cause immense damage to all regions.

"My lords, do any of you have a good idea"

Several high officials looked at each other, their minds blank.

But they remained silent, and the Emperor grew enraged.

With no other choice, everyone could only stick to safe and sound statements.

"Your Majesty, logically speaking, a mob is insignificant. But with their large numbers and coinciding natural disasters, they must be handled carefully. Otherwise, true chaos could erupt within the celestial martial state."

"Indeed, Your Majesty, the defenses of the prefectures and counties are likely insufficient. Perhaps we should dispatch more soldiers to intercept them."

The Northern Expeditionary Army is still in the north of the river, deep into thousands of miles, it's not easy to dispatch.

The riverside pier only houses tens of thousands of people. If they were moved, what if the barbarians counterattacked Wouldn't that threaten the safety of the new capital

"Moreover, the new capital was a thousand miles away to the southwest. Even if troops were dispatched, it would take half a month. By then, the followers of Maitreya might have more people, making it difficult to control."

People were all talking at once, and everyone had a point, but it didn't get them anywhere.

The Emperor's face grew increasingly grim as he listened. The officials gradually fell silent, casting pitiful glances at the Crown Prince.

Though filled with contempt, the Crown Prince still opened his mouth to offer consolation.

"Father, this matter is of great consequence and cannot be decided in a moment. Let's have lunch first and then think of a way slowly."

"Indeed, Your Majesty's health is paramount."

The Emperor's health is paramount.

All the court officials echoed in agreement, feigning deep concern for the Emperor.

The Emperor rose to his feet, let out a cold snort, and strode away with his sleeves flapping towards the inner court.

The prince smiled at the crowd and then followed after them.

The rest of the officials all let out a sigh of relief, and when they gathered together, they secretly whispered amongst themselves.

"What's going on with the several prefectures in the south Why didn't they intercept them and stop the refugees from reaching outside Xindu"

"Yes, not a single piece of news, they didn't even give us any time to prepare."

"Could it be because they're all passing the buck Each one thinks the next state government will take care of these refugees, but in the end, no one takes responsibility! They just ended up all in Xin Du!"

"These damn things, they're killing me!"

"Let's just send someone out to the city gates right away. Otherwise, when the Emperor inquires this afternoon, we won't know how to respond."

After a brief discussion among themselves, everyone quickly arranged for their family members and servants to go out and investigate.

Actually, outside, things were in quite a mess right now.

In half a day, the number of refugees outside the city had doubled, and the roads were sparsely populated, like ants moving house, and there were still many people arriving in Xindu.

While provincial capitals and counties may be left to their own devices, the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, the head of Tianwu. He absolutely cannot stand by and watch his people starve!

This is the voice of all refugees, and also the belief that supports them walking hundreds or even thousands of miles!

Now that they have reached their destination, the refugees are in no hurry to leave.

Denied entry to the city gates, they emulated their predecessors, gathering beneath the walls to erect makeshift shelters.

On either side stood the summer, without a drop of rain. Just any place offering shade could accommodate an entire family.

As for meals, begging is naturally the first choice.

But whether they were nobles riding in carriages, commoners carrying burdens on foot, or even soldiers patrolling with swords at their hips, everyone passing through the city gates became their target for begging.

In the face of hunger and death, what scolding, contempt, even beatings amount to nothing!

Soon, outside the city became increasingly lively, with cries and shouts of anger rising from time to time.

People in the city were also curious and often went to the city gate to have a look, then ran back to tell others about the novelty.

"Do you know, there are five or six thousand people gathered outside the city, the city gate is blocked and it's hard to get out!"

Of course, I went to see it with my own eyes. Those refugees were too pitiful, their clothes couldn't even cover their skin, they were sun-baked down to just a skeleton.

"I heard they walked almost a thousand li! That's frightening, it's even farther than when we moved the capital!"

"How could things turn out like this all of a sudden! Those people are so hungry, their heads are small and their necks are thin. They're pitiful, it's truly a sin!"

“I was also thinking of steaming some jianbing to give out to these people, but the boy who delivers vegetables from next door said that his cart had been forcefully taken halfway, and he could barely get in. I'm afraid too, so forget it, let's just see what the imperial court does.”

"That's right, we have the imperial court, and even if the court fails, there are those wealthy households distributing porridge. We don't need to worry about it."

As they spoke, the two half-grown boys pushed a wooden barrel to a nearby marketplace on their unicycles.

"Cool and sweet fruit juice, eh! With ice! One bowl guarantees you won't get heat stroke for half a month! Two cents a bowl, cheap and affordable!"

Everyone's mouth was parched from talking, hearing this they couldn't bear it any longer. So they called for a rickshaw, and we each took turns drinking to quench our thirst.

And the two little boys were not exaggerating, a bowl of sweet and sour refreshing juice, everyone who drank it felt refreshed!

So, the second bowl was quickly arranged, and some were also brought home to be given to his wife and children.

For a time, the small unicycle shop was bustling with business.

And such unicycles, in the new capital city, one could almost find over a hundred.

All the people from the Relief Office, as well as all the workers under Li's businesses, including tricycle owners...

Without mentioning the hustle and bustle among the common people, let's just say that every wealthy household is also in a state of panic right now.

Yesterday, the Liu family and Jia family and other households were busy tidying things up and returning home, making quite a commotion, of course, which was noticed by everyone.

Some people don't understand, some people guessed it but were reluctant to let go, and some people think these companies are timid.

As a result, they all regretted it today.

Even though the refugees haven't started looting yet, the red-eyed "wolves" surrounding the estate are truly terrifying.

Almost every household immediately decided to rush in and harvest!

Two updates today ~~in unison.Two people stretched out their hands to protect their younger sister, afraid that Dr. Zhang would come closer.Zhang Shenyi's new house, built north of the village, was dedicated solely to hi...