"The governor of Huizhou and the admiral of the Imperial Capital are considered important officials of the imperial court. How could they be easily assassinated by the White Lotus at this time? Even in places like Yuezhou in the south, the local officials that the White Lotus could assassinate were rarely those above the rank of county governor?" Yan Liqiang asked in surprise.
One of the reasons why Yan Liqiang came to the Imperial Capital alone this time was that he felt that the Imperial Capital at this time was like the eye of a storm, and he could come and go freely, which was convenient no matter what and would not attract attention. Just like when he came here, no one would have thought that the dignified Inspector Qi Yun would go on the road alone. If he brought too many people with him, it would be inconvenient if he encountered any problems.
Although he had been mentally prepared for the current situation in the Imperial Capital, the dire situation in the capital area was still far beyond Yan Liqiang's expectations.
"What's so strange about this? Even Prime Minister Lin Qingtian was assassinated!" An Shidao said this, looked around, and lowered his voice suddenly, with a serious tone, "Brother, you must be more careful when you go to the Imperial Capital this time. There are rumors in the martial arts world these days that even many masters of the White Lotus Sect who have been hiding for many years, such as the Left and Right Pure Lotus Envoys, the Four Dharma Protectors, and the Eight Vajra and other masters, have changed their appearances and gathered in the capital, wanting to take advantage of the chaos to do something big. It is said that the governor of Huizhou and the governor of the Imperial Capital were assassinated by the Pure Lotus Envoys of the White Lotus Sect..."
"Thank you for your reminder, Brother An. I will be careful!" Yan Liqiang clasped his fists to An Shidao with full sincerity, then frowned slightly, thinking of something, "By the way, Brother An, you often go to the capital to send escorts. Do you know how many people in the capital have been relocated? I heard that after the stone turtle appeared in the Imperial Capital, many people in the capital fled. Are those people who left well settled in the local area?"
"Many people from the Imperial Capital have left, but things are a bit difficult in the four suburbs..." An Shidao shook his head and sighed.
Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment, "Why, don't the people believe what the stone turtle said and are unwilling to leave?"
"Brother, you really don't know?"
"what do you know?"
"By the way, brother, you are in Ganzhou, which is an important border town, 108,000 miles away from the capital. Many things that happened here may not be published in the government gazettes, so it's not surprising that you don't know!" Seeing that Yan Liqiang looked like he didn't know, An Shidao explained, "At the beginning of the year when the stone turtle was born, many people in the capital did leave, but most of those who left were from the dignitaries and officials in the capital. They had a way out and money, so it was naturally very convenient for them to leave. They packed up their gold and silver, took the carriage and guards and left. But the ordinary people's businesses are all in the local area. It's not easy for them to leave their homes and businesses and take the elderly and children with them."
"That's better than staying here and waiting to die. Do they really have to wait until the catastrophe that the stone turtle said comes and the area within a thousand miles is turned into dust before they are willing to leave? Right now, the only way to survive is to break out..."
"It was not so easy to leave before. At least you had to prepare. But now, even if ordinary people want to leave, it is not so easy!"
"Why?"
"Before August, the people in the capital area could indeed leave freely, but not many people left at that time. Now, if the people in the capital area want to leave, they need to go to the government to get a pass. Without a pass issued by the government, they will be stuck at various checkpoints and arrested..."
Such news shocked Yan Liqiang. He was stunned for a long time before asking with some difficulty, "Road permit, why do you need a road permit suddenly?"
"I heard from my friends in the government that there were too many people leaving, forming a refugee population, which had a huge impact on various places. Wherever the refugees from the capital passed by, there were a lot of troubles. All places were as if they were facing a great enemy, fearing that something might happen. Therefore, they could only control the number of people who could leave the capital, and finally needed the government's travel permit..."
"I heard before that the court had already made a resettlement plan. Although there are many refugees in the capital, as long as all the states and counties work together and share some of the burden, these refugees can be resettled. Why is it like this now?"
"I've heard that, but for some reason, although the court didn't say anything about the resettlement plan, it has almost been stopped..."
"Stopped?" Yan Liqiang widened his eyes, and after a long while, he asked with some difficulty, "Then what about the people in the capital area now..."
"More people in the Imperial Capital have left, but in the Four Capitals, at least 90% of the ordinary people have not left yet!"
Yan Liqiang had been standing in the cold wind at the bow for a long time before and didn't feel cold. But now, after hearing what An Shidao said, Yan Liqiang felt as if his heart had frozen all of a sudden. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his hands and feet were cold, and his brain was almost numb...
How could this happen? It has been more than nine months since the stone turtle was born, nearly ten months. This period of time is the golden time for escape. If you don't leave now, it will be more difficult to leave in the future, and it will cause chaos. In another nine months, when the heavenly calamity comes, all the people in the capital will be turned into dust and powder in the heavenly calamity, and finally die miserably. At this time, the government has come up with a pass. What is this for? Letting the people in the capital stay here is to kill them...
The court stopped the resettlement of refugees in the capital area. The people here need a pass to leave. This is a big deal. Even if these changes were not mentioned in the court's official report, Fang Beidou should know about it. Why didn't he tell me the news...
Come to think of it, he and Fang Beidou haven't been in contact for four or five months. Yan Liqiang thought that Fang Beidou was doing fine in Dijing City. Could it be that something happened to Fang Beidou and he couldn't contact him
"Brother, are you okay?" Seeing that Yan Liqiang's face looked extremely bad, turning pale and blue, and he didn't speak for a while, An Shidao patted Yan Liqiang on the shoulder.
"I'm fine..." Yan Liqiang's complexion slowly returned to normal, and he let out a long breath, "Thank you, Brother An, for telling me this..."
"What's there to thank me for? If you really want to thank me, you can treat me to a good drink next time we meet. I know you have something important to do and I am escorting a caravan, so I will owe you this drink..."
"Okay, it's a deal then..." Yan Liqiang adjusted his mood and put a smile on his face.
"Look, brother. When the boat passes the mountain ahead, we will be able to see Huizhou City. Judging from the speed of the boat, we should be able to get there before dark..." An Shidao pointed to the front of the boat and said...
Half an hour later, Huizhou City, located in the western suburbs of Beijing, appeared on the distant horizon amidst a vast expanse of white snow...
Looking at this gateway city to the west of the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang had a bad feeling in his heart, and his heart slowly sank, no longer feeling the joy and ease he had when he came here...
(End of this chapter)