“I don’t want to eat it raw.”
Hu Zi put the eggs back into the basket.
Jiang Wu felt very guilty, but he knew his sister's secret could not be told to anyone else, not even his brother Hu Zi.
He glanced at his sister, feeling very conflicted.
Yingbao took out a few pieces of Fuling cake from her bag and placed them in Huzi's palm: "Then you can eat this."
Hu Zi didn't hesitate and ate it all in one breath.
They stayed in the reeds for the whole day. At dusk, while they could still see the surroundings clearly, Yingbao took her brother to the riverside and released a gourd boat.
This is a boat made up of four large gourds and a bamboo raft, which is fixed with kudzu vines and gourd vine hemp ropes.
At first glance, it looks like a square box with four large gourds hanging on the sides.
Jiang Wu opened his eyes wide and asked in disbelief: "Sister, are you a fairy? How can you conjure up so many things?"
"I'll tell you later." Yingbao took out two long bamboo poles and placed them on the gourd boat, then took her brother back to find Zhang Min,
"I found a boat made of gourd. Let's go now." Ying Bao said to Zhang Min and Hu Zi without changing her expression.
Zhang Min was curious: "What gourd boat?"
Jiang Wu: "You'll know when you go and see." Then he ran to the river first.
When Zhang Min and Hu Zi saw the gourd boat in front of them, they were so shocked that they were speechless.
"Why does this gourd look like the kind we have?" Hu Zi climbed onto the boat and touched the gourd in disbelief.
Yingbao and her brother also got on the boat and stepped on the bamboo raft.
After everyone stood on it, the bamboo sank slightly and the river water reached their feet.
Fortunately, there were four large gourds supporting the raft on all sides, so it did not sink.
Zhang Min and Hu Zi each took a long bamboo pole to paddle the boat, slowly moved out of the reed field and headed towards the middle of the river.
Yingbao and Jiang Wu looked around vigilantly to prevent bandits from shooting arrows on the shore.
It was getting dark and several bonfires were lit near the river.
"Those are the barbarians!" Jiang Wu pointed at the bonfires on the shore and said, "There are quite a few of them."
Yingbao nodded: "Let's be careful and don't let them find us."
Zhang Min and Hu Zi tried their best to be careful, but some bandits still discovered the gourd boat on the river.
They ran to the riverside howling and drew their bows to shoot at the gourd boat.
"Hurry and get down!" Yingbao asked them to sit behind the big gourd and quietly pushed the boat forward.
Several arrows whizzed and hit the gourd, scaring Yingbao.
These people's arm strength is incredible, they can shoot from such a long distance.
The gourd boat finally got rid of the bandits, and when it was about to enter the city waters, someone shot arrows at them again.
Yingbao carefully identified them and saw that they were soldiers on the top of the city wall. She shouted quickly, "We are relatives of Governor Zhang!"
The defending soldiers recognized the voices of children and stopped shooting arrows immediately.
"Pull the boat to the side, we need to check!" the soldier ordered sternly.
Zhang Min and Hu Zi rowed the gourd boat over. As soon as they reached the shore, several soldiers came running over. They had swords and spears in their hands, and they pointed the blades at them.
When the four little devils came ashore, the soldiers relaxed a little when they saw that they had no weapons.
When they learned that Zhang Min was the young master of Magistrate Zhang's family, their tone became even more polite.
One of them even volunteered to escort a few people to the prefectural government.
Yingbao was walking on the street with her brother and Zhang Minhuzi, and she could clearly feel the tension and depression of the people in the city.
From this guard, he learned that the total number of guards guarding the city of Jingzhou was less than 500. Even if the prisoners in the prison were released, they would still not be enough to compete with the thousands of enemy soldiers outside.
However, several military settlements dozens of miles away should be able to muster more than a thousand soldiers. Together with the soldiers from Lin County, they should be able to gather at least two to three thousand people.
It’s a pity that the power to dispatch the soldiers of Daqian is not in the hands of the general.
Even if foreign armies approach the border, no one is allowed to step out of line without the emperor's order.
After returning to the prefect's mansion, Zhang Min immediately ran to see his parents and brothers and sisters.
When Mrs. Zhang saw her son rushing back, she couldn't help crying and scolding, "Are you stupid? Why are you coming back now?"
Her husband was the prefect, and even if he had the chance to send his wife and children out of the city, he could not do so, otherwise he would be despised by the world and criticized by the court.
Previously, Mrs. Zhang was glad that her youngest son was not around. Even if the whole family could not survive in the future, she still had Zhang Min as her helper. But then this little fool actually ran back.
"Mom, your son is back to help you fight the enemy!" Zhang Min knelt down and kowtowed to his parents.
Magistrate Zhang put his hands behind his back, looked at his son, sighed, and asked, "When did you know the news?"
"Ten days ago." Zhang Min answered truthfully, "There are rumors outside that the Jurchens have already captured Taiyuan Prefecture and are heading to Tokyo."
Governor Zhang was surprised: "Has Taiyuan really been taken?" His place was too isolated from the outside world, and some news took a long time to reach here.
"Yes, people from Tokyo and Yuzhou are fleeing south, and Jiankang is their first choice."
Zhang Min said worriedly, "Dad, when we came in from outside, we saw that there were quite a lot of bandits. There were hundreds of them gathered by the river alone. I'm afraid they will attack from the river mouth."
Governor Zhang frowned.
In the past, when there were bandit incidents, Jiangkouzi was always a breakthrough point, and we had to send a lot of people to guard it every time, and we could only hold it back with difficulty.
But those outside the city now are not ordinary bandits, they are the most ferocious foreign soldiers. If they really find ships to attack, the number of their own men will not be enough.
"Okay, I got it. You guys should go to bed early. I still have things to deal with." Governor Zhang took a look at Yingbao and the others. Seeing that they were all children, he asked his wife to take good care of them.
He then went to the study and discussed strategies to repel the enemy with several of his staff.
When Mrs. Zhang saw that her son not only came back by himself but also brought back three children, she couldn't help but blame her son for being ignorant.
If anything happens to these children, their parents will be heartbroken.
Mrs. Zhang asked a few questions casually and then asked the maid to take Yingbao and the others to the guest room to rest.
He also told the maid to prepare some food and send it over.
Yingbao and her younger brother Huzi each ate a bowl of vegetable noodles before returning to their rooms.
Now that the city gates are closed, vegetables and grain from outside the city cannot be transported in. Tens of thousands of people in the city have to eat meals and vegetables every day. If this continues, every household will soon run out of food.
Judging from today's food, famine may have begun to hit the prefectural government.
It’s only been a few days
Is this the case in the city
After washing up, Yingbao fell asleep immediately. When she woke up the next day, it was already dawn.
Jiang Wu ran over, knocked on his sister's door, and shouted, "Sister! Get up quickly! Those barbarians have begun to attack the city!"
Yingbao got up, put on her clothes and shoes, and hurriedly opened the door. "What did you say just now?"
Jiang Wu grabbed his sister's wrist and walked out, saying as he walked, "Brother Zhang Min went to guard the city wall, and Brother Hu Zi followed him. Those barbarians got several fishing boats from somewhere, and they all rushed to the river mouth."