Chapter 91 Refusal to Accept Refugees

Author: Emei Swordsman

After the Spring Festival, Gu Yunji and Cheng Yan got on the carriage back to Luxi Academy to continue their study journey in the new year.

Along the way, Gu Yunji saw many refugees, either in groups of two or three kneeling on the roadside begging, or in groups trying to move south. All of them were in ragged clothes, with sallow faces and thin skin, as if they would exhaust their strength and fall down at any moment, which was very disturbing.

Can't bear to see more.

The further south you go, the more refugees there are. The refugees gather in droves and rush towards the cities. However, the gates of the major state capitals are heavily guarded. The refugees are not allowed to enter the city and can only set up shacks outside the city.

Settled down for now.

The terrain outside the city gate of Hangzhou Fucheng is open, and there are at least thousands of refugees gathered there. The ground is covered with darkness. If it weren't for the officers and soldiers clearing the road, Gu Yunji and Cheng Yan's carriage might not even be able to get in.

Gu Yunji looked far ahead and found that there were at least five times more officers and soldiers at the city gate than usual. They were all armored and solemn, staring eagerly at the refugees who came to test and see. Just looking at it made people feel sad.

Frightened.

The carriage was moving slowly in the queue waiting for inspection. Gu Yunji was a little impatient in waiting. He raised the curtain of the carriage and asked a soldier standing guard by the road: "Brother! Why is it so slow to enter the city? I have never seen such strict inspection before?"

Seeing that he was dressed unusually, thinking that he was a young master from a wealthy family, the soldier's attitude was relatively gentle: "Master, please be considerate. If the inspection at this city gate is not slowed down and guarded more strictly, the refugees will take the opportunity to sneak in.

The magistrate has issued a death order, and no refugee is allowed in."

Gu Yunji frowned: "If we don't let the refugees enter the city, do we just ignore everything and let them stay outside the city and slowly starve to death? What kind of truth is this!"

If there are too many refugees, it is easy to cause chaos. Under normal circumstances, local officials will not easily let the refugees into the city. But that does not mean that they do not care about anything. At least the government will come forward to provide porridge, build tents, provide food and clothing, and allow the refugees to settle down.

But looking at the refugees outside the city, they are disorderly and messy, and there is clearly no government management. Not to mention porridge, even the few shabby shacks are built by the refugees themselves. At this moment, many people are gathering

He picked up bark and grass roots and prepared to use these things to satisfy his hunger.

Hearing this, the soldier gave a wry smile: "The young one is just a big-headed soldier. He only knows how to do things as he is told, and I can't care about anything else. These refugees are not completely without food. Occasionally, some rich households will come to give porridge, and they can barely do it."

You can still survive.”

The spontaneous act of donating porridge by wealthy households cannot guarantee the time or the amount. Even if the refugees fill their stomachs today, what will they do tomorrow? There will be a day when the bark and grass roots are finished. By then, they will not even be able to survive.

Will the refugees still stay outside the city obediently, waiting for the occasional charity?

Thinking of this, Gu Yunji sighed and sat back in the car helplessly.

In the distance, the steward of a wealthy family in the city was selecting maids and servants among the refugees. He easily bought several half-year-old children at very low prices. Listening to the children's reluctant sobbing and whimpering when they were separated from their families,

Cheng Yan couldn't bear it, so he simply lowered the car curtain and refused to listen or watch.

Closing his eyes, the faint cry still reached his ears clearly. Gu Yunji buried his head and whispered: "Even if you can't enter the city, why don't you give porridge and build tents? It's still the first month, and many refugees are still wearing single clothes. I'm afraid

A lot of people can be frozen to death by just freezing, so Lu Xianzhi knows that they are really cruel."

Cheng Yan sighed and said: "The regulations for accepting the refugees have not been published in the newspaper. Mr. Lu and the others probably haven't received the order from above, so they don't want to take the risk and use the treasury to appease the refugees without permission. In this case, we have to delay

Take it one day at a time and wait until the imperial court allocates the money and food for the people."

"But how many more people will die every day? Don't they know?" Gu Yunji's eyes were red and his voice was a little astringent, "These officials, living in mud every day, think that as long as they keep their black hats

As long as it's all over, they don't care how many people die!"

Gu Yunji didn't think there was anything wrong with Mingzhe protecting his body, but that was also in the context of fighting with each other in the officialdom, and he would rather watch the refugees die in front of him than take the risk to do something outside the jurisdiction.

Hearing what he said, Cheng Yan's expression darkened, but he didn't answer any more.

After a long wait, the carriage finally moved to the city gate. After a few people checked it, they asked the driver to take the carriage back to the carriage house, while Gu Yunji and Cheng Yan prepared to walk into the city.

Just as the two got off the car, they suddenly heard an anxious voice coming from next to them:

"Master Jun, please let me in! My daughter has a high fever and we can't delay it any longer. I promise that we will come out as soon as we see the doctor and we will never stay in the city!"

Gu Yunji followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man who looked like a refugee holding a child in his arms. He was speaking in poor Mandarin with a strong local accent and kept begging the officers and soldiers to let him in. He was dirty and wearing

A pair of tattered straw sandals, he was so anxious that he almost knelt down in front of the officers and soldiers in front of him.

The officers and soldiers were impatient by his begging, so they flashed their shining blades with a swish sound, which frightened the man so much that he took a few steps back and scolded him in a cold voice: "No, it's no! If you keep pestering me, I won't be polite!"

Seeing that the man was trembling with fear but still refused to give up, Gu Yunji's heart moved and he stepped forward and asked, "What's going on?"

The officers and soldiers put away their swords and spoke softly to him: "It's nothing, it's just that there was a refugee who didn't obey the rules and insisted on progressing, so he asked me to stop him. Did he not disturb the young master?"

Gu Yunji shook his head and looked at the thin child in the man's arms whose face was red with fever. He frowned and asked with some reluctance: "Is it true that he can't be allowed to go in and take the child to see a doctor?"

The officers and soldiers had a look of embarrassment on their faces: "This... really can't be done. The prefect has said that not even a single refugee can be put in."

Gu Yunji pointed to a few stewards who were buying the children of refugees in the distance and asked, "Then why can they?"

The officers and soldiers forced a smile and explained: "This is different again. They are buying servants. With a wealthy family as a guarantee, they can naturally bring them into the city."

"Okay, then I will vouch for them and let them enter the city." Gu Yunji's eyes were firm and his tone was unquestionable, "I am a student of Luxi Academy. Although I am not as good as the big families in the city, I can lead dozens of people."

The refugees are going in, but it’s okay to take the father and daughter with them, right?”

Hearing this, the officers and soldiers' expressions froze: "Sir, this is inappropriate..."

Gu Yunji took out a piece of silver from his arms and put it in his hand, raised his eyebrows and asked: "Now, is it appropriate?"
Chapter completed!