Shangguan Zhan felt a sudden sting in his nose, and his throat tightened.
“Leave your rear to your lord.”
The words seemed simple enough, yet for soldiers stationed on the frontier like them, they had once been nothing more than an unattainable dream.
Now, the Princess Jinyang they had not even met had given them such a promise.
At that moment, he felt a sense of belonging—to Princess Jinyang and to the Jinyang Army.
This plea for help was completely different from their previous, arduous attempt to meet the First Prince.
There was no longer any dismissive response such as, “I am only a prince and can do nothing,” or, “You are on your own.”
After learning of Wenlong City’s situation, Her Highness had not only agreed to help without even meeting them—she had allocated a vast amount of military supplies to them within a single day.
The treatment left him both flattered and at a loss.
Even before the Kingdom of Yan was destroyed, they had never received such treatment.
Life had been difficult back then as well, but at least the soldiers had been able to eat until they were half full. After the kingdom fell, however, countless soldiers had literally starved to death.
Now, Princess Jinyang seemed to place great importance on her territory. Even though they were merely a small county, she still cherished them—the soldiers guarding the city.
After a long while, Shangguan Zhan finally composed himself. “Our lord’s great kindness is something we shall repay with our lives. We will guard Wenlong City to the death and never yield a single step.”
Qingming patted him on the shoulder. “Well said. Our lord treats her own people very well. Starting this month, your military pay will be issued as well—and in full.”
Shangguan Zhan’s lips trembled. For a moment, he did not know what to say. The treatment was so good that he almost thought he was dreaming.
Only after a long while did he manage to voice the question troubling him. “Is our lord very wealthy?”
Qingming was rendered speechless by the question. “Of course not. Our lord is terribly poor.”
Shangguan Zhan was completely dumbfounded.
Terribly poor?
How could someone who was terribly poor provide grain and pay their soldiers in full?
Ever since he could remember, he had never seen soldiers receive their full pay. Getting half of it had already been considered fortunate.
Especially in these chaotic times, whether they were commoners or soldiers, all they asked for was one full meal a day.
Qingming had no idea what was going through his mind and continued, “Commander Lu and the supplies will probably take a few days to arrive. For now, just stay here and put your minds at ease.”
After hesitating for a moment, Shangguan Zhan said, “I want to send someone back to tell my father this good news. And Magistrate Yu—if he learns about it, perhaps he’ll be able to recover more quickly.”
Qingming nodded. “That was precisely what I had in mind. I’ll send a few people back with you. Take two messenger pigeons as well; they’ll make communication more convenient.”
Shangguan Zhan was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful.”
With messenger pigeons, they would no longer be an isolated city. They could contact Qingming, their liaison point, at any time, or communicate with Wenxia City. At that moment, the sky seemed brighter than ever to him.
Unlike Shangguan Zhan, who was in high spirits, Jiang Chun of Jiu’an wore a gloomy expression as he stared at the document in his hands.
“Traveling to Sizhou to provide disaster relief? What does this mean?” His voice seemed to scrape out from between clenched teeth.
Jiang Jin suddenly wanted to come to Sizhou to provide disaster relief. Was she mocking him for his incompetence?
Wen Zixin frowned. “Disaster relief? Is Princess Jinyang trying to win over the people?”
Dong Cheng snorted coldly. “Instead of properly managing Fengzhou, she’s come to Sizhou to win over the people. What does she mean by that? Could it be that she intends to establish a foothold in Sizhou?”
Wen Zixin sneered. “Even if His Majesty agreed to let her settle here, the aristocratic clans and influential families of Sizhou would never consent. What a pipe dream.”
Jiang Chun’s eyes flickered. “The other commanderies of Sizhou would not matter, but Ta commandery and Shankang commandery have indeed suffered severe flooding. They truly need aid from our imperial sister.”
Dong Cheng looked up at Jiang Chun and quickly understood what he meant.
The flooding in those two commanderies was severe. An epidemic was bound to break out afterward. Did he intend to make the Jinyang Army suffer heavy losses?
Jiang Chun swept his gaze across the room. “What do you all think?”
Hua Yuanyi pressed his lips together. “Ta commandery and Shankang commandery are now little more than dead lands—ruined walls, corpses strewn everywhere, and refugees hanging by a thread. If Fengzhou is willing to provide grain and medicine, allowing them to handle the disaster relief would benefit us. I believe it is feasible.”
After a moment of hesitation, Qiu Dao voiced his agreement. “There are many commoners in those two commanderies. They are all potential laborers and recruits. If they can be saved without us having to provide grain, why wouldn’t we agree?”
Dong Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Now that the rain has stopped, Ta commandery and Shankang commandery must be filled with corpses and refugees. In that case, let the Jinyang Army deal with them as well.”
Qiu Dao’s brow furrowed. “That would be inappropriate. No matter what, the princess cannot possibly send enough troops here. We can have our own soldiers handle the corpses.”
Wen Zixin shook his head. “Several days have already passed since the flooding. The epidemic may well have begun spreading. It would be unwise to send our soldiers there.”
Dong Cheng nodded. “Exactly. Doesn’t Princess Jinyang have a prescription? They must not fear disease. Let them take full responsibility.”
Qiu Dao shook his head. “Even if the prescription from Feng Gexuan truly came from Princess Jinyang, there’s no guarantee it will work against every epidemic. After all, there are many different kinds of diseases.”
Dong Cheng snorted. “Since Princess Jinyang wants to come to Sizhou to provide disaster relief, then where she goes and how she handles it will be up to us.”
The chill in Jiang Chun’s expression eased. “Do any of you have any other objections?”
Hua Yuanyi lowered his eyes. “I have none, Your Majesty.”
Qi Pingwei frowned. After a moment, he asked, “What about reconstruction after the disaster? We’ll have to allocate some money so the people can rebuild their collapsed homes, won’t we? And winter is coming soon. We should at least provide them with some grain.”
Dong Cheng shot him a sidelong glance. “Our great army in Sizhou is under tremendous pressure facing the Jiao army. Since the Sixth Princess is providing disaster relief, she might as well see it through to the end. Let them take care of everything.”
Wen Zixin stroked his beard. “Fengzhou has high-yield grain varieties, so they should not be short of food. That would be ideal.”
Qi Pingwei’s mouth fell slightly open. It was a long while before he managed to speak. “No matter how much grain Princess Jinyang has, she cannot possibly supply nearly a year’s worth of food for the people of two commanderies. And then there’s reconstruction as well. This… this…”
It was already the end of August, and winter would arrive soon. That meant there would be no time to plant crops this year.
If they waited until spring next year to sow the fields, the first harvest would not come until around June. That was a full nine months during which the people would have no food to eat.
No matter how high-yielding Fengzhou’s grain varieties were, it was impossible for them to feed a million disaster victims from the two commanderies for nine months.
Moreover, this was Sizhou. Why should Fengzhou provide free food to sustain the people of Sizhou for nine months?
There was also the matter of reconstruction. No matter how wealthy Princess Jinyang was, she could not possibly spend money, grain, and manpower rebuilding a territory that did not belong to her.
Did they really take her for a fool?
Dong Cheng sneered. “Since Princess Jinyang has chosen to come to Sizhou to provide disaster relief, that proves she is a person of great compassion. We are all citizens of the Kingdom of Yan. As one of its people, helping disaster victims overcome this crisis is simply her duty.”
Wen Zixin nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”
Qi Pingwei was speechless.
They truly had no shame.
The corners of Jiang Chun’s lips curved upward, and his mood brightened. “Excellent. Then who will go and assist Fengzhou’s disaster-relief forces?”
Every one of them lowered their heads.
That was Ta commandery and Shankang commandery. No one yet knew what conditions they would find there. What if the epidemic had truly broken out?
