Such a large group of people appeared at the gate of Shanzhou City, and naturally they were quickly noticed. The gates were all closed, and the gatekeepers stood on the city wall and asked the people below.
"Who are you, and what brings you to Shanzhou City?"
Mu Yexiao took out a pass and said, "We are the Gu family's grain collection team, and we have just arrived at Shanzhou City. I wonder why Shanzhou City doesn't open the city gates?"
A grain-collecting team? The soldier guarding the gate saw the carts and carriages behind them, and they must be loaded with grain. When the guard thought of the grain, he felt his mouth water.
"Wait a moment, something happened in our city, and now the city is sealed off. I need to ask the adults whether I can let you in."
So he sent a guard to ask the prefect of Shanzhou City. The prefect of Shanzhou City was named Zheng Yiju, a fat man with a big brain and a big intestine: "Sir, there is a grain collection team outside the city, bringing a lot of grain, should we let them in?"
When Zheng Yiju heard the word "food", his eyes lit up. What is the most lacking thing in Shanzhou City now? Isn't it food
He immediately stood up excitedly and said, "Let them in. We must let them in just for the sake of the food."
After receiving the reply, the soldier quickly ran towards the city gate, said something in front of the leading soldier, and then quickly opened the city gate.
"Come in, our master wants you to come over!"
Qian Jiujiu and Mu Yexiao looked at each other. It seemed that this so-called adult had lost his mind when he heard about food.
But their purpose was to enter the city, so they went straight in. A large group of people entered the city gate. When they entered, there was still no one on either side.
Mu Yexiao pretended to be curious and asked, "Sir, why is there no one on the street? Don't people in Shanzhou City go out?"
The soldier looked a little strange. "That's not the case. It's just that it's not time for them to go out yet. When they go out, it will be quite lively."
It's not time to go out yet? What does this mean? When Mu Yexiao and Qian Jiujiu came to investigate together before, the place was large and the time was short. They didn't stay in one place for long, so they didn't know these things.
But now that they have entered the city, they are not in a hurry anymore: "I wonder if this officer knows where there are large warehouses for rent here? I need to store the grain I have collected, and I also plan to collect more grain in Shanzhou City."
The hope of collecting food in Shanzhou City was likely to fail. After all, there was no food in this place.
A strange smile appeared on his face: "Then I wish you success. Our master invites you to come over!"
Mu Yexiao was the head of the family, so when he went to see the master, he naturally had to bring his wife and children with him. So Qian Jiujiu took Beibei by the hand and followed Mu Yexiao to see this master Zheng.
In fact, the two of them were just curious about what this so-called Lord Zheng looked like. How could he be so bold as to make such a big decision and treat human life as nothing.
Zheng Yi Ju received Mu Yexiao and his family of three in the hall of the mansion. Looking at the people coming in, when he saw Qian Jiujiu and Bei Bei, Zheng Yi Ju's eyes were shining.
Mu Yexiao was really angry at this bold bastard. He would forget about getting this bastard's eyes.
"Greetings, Lord Zheng. I am the eldest son of the Gu family. I have come to Shanzhou City to collect grain. I wonder which wealthy family in this city has the most grain?"
Collecting grain, Zheng Yiju's face changed: "Master Gu, I'm afraid this won't work. You don't know, our Shanzhou City is unlucky this year. There is no grain for you to collect."
Mu Yexiao pretended to be confused: "I don't know what Mr. Zheng means by this?"
Zheng Yiju smiled: "What do you mean? I guess you saw it when you came in. There is no one walking around in the entire Shanzhou City. That's because everyone has nothing to eat and is saving food!"
What kind of a mess is this? Seeing that Mu Yexiao still didn't understand, Zheng Yiju suddenly smiled: "Well, you don't know, anyway, the time is up, you guys come with me."
Mu Yexiao and Qian Jiujiu looked at each other, and Beibei couldn't help but spit: "Look at his fat head and big ears, it doesn't look like he has no food to eat."
That's true. After I came in, I saw that everyone in the prefectural government had a rosy face. They didn't look like they had no food to eat at all.
Curiously, he followed Lord Zheng to the door of a restaurant in the city. He went up to the third floor, and on the attic balcony, he could see below: "Mr. Gu, look, what do you see below?"
Mu Yexiao, Qian Jiujiu and others looked downstairs and saw those pale and thin people. At this time, they lined up one by one and walked out of their homes.
They lined up in front of the restaurant, and then the door opened. A pair of soldiers rushed over, carrying some food behind them, and distributed the food to people.
Zheng Yiju sighed, "You don't know, Shanzhou City has bad luck this year. It was hit by an insect plague, and the harvest in the fields was nothing. But there are so many people, I can't just ignore it, so there is nothing I can do."
"We can only do this. We give these people one pound of food every day so that they can survive. At the same time, I have also informed the court. Unfortunately, the court seems to have not received any news and has ignored us."
Mu Yexiao and Qian Jiujiu looked at each other and instantly realized that Fatty Zheng was planning to take their food. Liuzi said that the dead man said that Zheng Yiju did not report the news to the court and did not allow the people to leave the city.
Now this Fat Zheng actually said that he had sent a message to the court, but the court ignored it. It is impossible for the emperor to ignore such news, but it is not impossible that someone hid the news from the emperor and intercepted it.
But this is obviously not credible. After all, those refugees were indeed stopped here.
"Oh? Then I wonder when did you report this to the court? It's impossible for the court to ignore such a big thing. Besides, if things go on like this, I'm afraid the government's food won't be enough. Besides, one pound of food is not enough for a family."
Zheng Yiju laughed, "Don't tell me, at this time, these people still want to eat their fill? One pound of food is enough to ensure that they won't starve to death. Then, we can continue to farm next spring. Don't you think so, Master Gu?"
Want to continue until next spring? Is this person a pig? How is that possible? One pound a day is for the whole family, not just one person. I don't know how many people in the family will starve to death.
"Well, I'm not sure. Since there's no food to harvest here, we're going to leave."
When Zheng Yiju heard that someone was actually leaving, he couldn't help but frowned: "Master Gu, to be honest, our court warehouse is running low on food. And you happened to bring food here. Look how pitiful those people down there are. How about you donate the food, Master Gu?"
Mu Yexiao had never met such a shameless person before: "If I say no, will I die and leave this city?"
Zheng Yiju smiled: "No, no, no, if you agree, I can still keep you alive and give you something to eat for the sake of your wife. If you don't agree, I'm afraid you'll really lose your life."
Mu Yexiao smiled: "Oh, so what you mean is that even if I agree, you have no intention of letting me go, right? Then you told me this so openly, aren't you afraid that I will resist?"
Zheng Yiju laughed wildly this time: "Haha, are you kidding me? You know, the entire Shanzhou City army belongs to me. Do you think you can escape? If you ask me, you are not as good as Madam. How about being my thirty-sixth concubine?"
Qian Jiujiu blinked her eyes. She had never thought that someone would say such a thing to her in her life. Thirty-six concubines? This person must have been cuckolded quite a few times.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. Mu Yexiao and Beibei both looked at their mother, not knowing what her mother's laughter meant.
Qian Jiujiu had already spoken in advance: "You have thirty-six concubines? Then you must have a lot of hats on your head. It's really pitiful."
Zheng Yiju didn't understand what Qian Jiujiu was saying, nor did he hear any hint of ridicule. Instead, he explained to himself, "Although you are the 36th room, you are beautiful. Come home with me, and I will love you the most."
"If you don't obey, your husband and your daughter and son may not be able to survive. Think about it carefully."
The people below were his own soldiers, all his own people, so Zheng Yiju was very courageous. As he spoke, he even stretched out his hand towards Qian Jiujiu, apparently wanting to touch Qian Jiujiu's cheek.
Qian Jiujiu raised her eyebrows and stabbed Zheng Yi Ju's hand with a silver needle. Zheng Yi Ju felt the pain and pulled his hand back, looking at them angrily.
"Well, you don't want to accept my toast, so you have to drink a forfeit, right? Come here, arrest them. After entering the city, you still dare to disobey me. Wait until I arrest you and see how I deal with you."
The guards who followed him immediately started to attack after hearing their master's words. Qian Jiujiu and Mu Yexiao looked at each other. These people were all citizens of the Great Zhou, so they didn't intend to kill them.
Originally, I planned to settle down in the city first and then make plans, but I didn't expect Zheng Yi Ju to be so barbaric and start fighting as soon as he entered the city.
The two had no choice but to leave here temporarily. The people they brought were all good fighters, so it shouldn't be difficult to leave here. After all, without their instructions, the food must not have been put down.