Seeing that Shangguan Wan Ning was a little confused, Qin Taiyi explained: "In the northwest area, there are two neighboring countries on the border not far away. One is Goshawk and the other is Wuxiong. On weekdays, when nothing happens, these two
A small country is relatively honest and will not act rashly."
"However, their own country's productivity is low and there is no land for planting. Therefore, they need to buy most of their rice and noodles from us. Sometimes they will rob us when they encounter a group of merchants."
"However, most of the time, they are afraid of the prosperity and power of the imperial court and do not dare to mess around. But now that there is a snowstorm in the pass, there is no extra food to sell to them. They can eat cattle, horses and sheep, and they can barely survive.
It’s passable.”
"It's just that...the imperial court must always be on guard against attacks by them. The grain in the imperial palace is used as military pay and fodder during wars. How can it be easily distributed? Using the grain in the palace without permission is tantamount to collaborating with the enemy and treason, and the entire family will be executed at any time.
How many officials dare to take such a risk?"
Shangguan Wan Ning suddenly realized.
From a war perspective, the food in the official warehouse cannot be used casually.
"So, what's the amount of grain in the official warehouse?" Shangguan Wanning is the daughter of the prime minister after all. Even if she doesn't ask about government affairs, she usually listens to her father a lot.
"If the food in the official warehouse is sufficient, Buddha can use some of it to temporarily provide disaster relief. The court will soon issue relief food, and it will be replenished when the time comes. I believe the emperor will understand."
"After all, the lives in front of us are all waiting to be saved. What's more, it is still unknown whether Goshawk and Wu Xiong will attack." Shangguan Wan Ning really couldn't bear to see those victims starve to death and freeze to death.
Doctor Qin still just shook his head.
"Miss, it is impossible for ordinary people to know how much food is in the imperial palace. Even if the food warehouses are fully prepared as you said... I am afraid that no official will take the risk of opening a warehouse to provide disaster relief."
Shangguan Wan Ning is completely able to understand the wise and self-protective way of life in the officialdom.
After all, it is not easy to get to this point after ten years of hard study, and no one wants to ruin their future.
"Physician Qin, please help me prepare a carriage. I want to go to the county town."
Doctor Qin's expression changed and he said worriedly: "Miss, there is a lot of chaos outside now, so you'd better stop running around. Just stay here and wait for Lord Shangguan to send someone to take you back."
Imperial Physician Qin was very nervous every day.
If something happens to the precious young lady of the Prime Minister's Palace, his whole family will suffer.
"Physician Qin, don't worry, I have my own sense of discretion."
Seeing that he could not defeat her, Imperial Physician Qin ordered his servants to prepare a carriage and sent two servants to follow him. Before leaving, he warned them many times that even if they could not come back, they must protect Shangguan Wan Ning's safety.
Shangguan Wan Ning galloped all the way, hoping to enter the county seat before dark to see the magistrate. Unexpectedly, heavy snow on the road blocked her journey, and she did not arrive until the afternoon of the next day.
She unexpectedly discovered that the gate of the county town was closed, and the victims were wailing outside the gate.
Some people tried to keep each other warm, but they were still shivering from the cold; some people hugged their dead relatives and cried heartbrokenly; some people were beaten to a bloody head just to grab a piece of cornmeal cake.
But no matter how tragic the situation outside the city was, the soldiers on the city wall just watched helplessly.
Shangguan Wan Ning's heart instantly turned cold and she fell to the bottom of the valley.
She hurriedly got off the carriage and wanted to open the city gate to see the magistrate. A group of victims quickly ran past her.
For a moment, everyone who had the strength to stand up ran towards the city gate.
"We are also citizens of the imperial court and we pay taxes to the imperial court. Why should we not care about our life or death?"
"We are here to avoid freezing to death. If you don't open the city gate, we will break it open and rush in."
"Open the door quickly, my child is going to freeze to death, open the door..."
The victims became more and more agitated, and the soldiers on the city wall shouted at the bottom: "This is the order of the magistrate, and we are also following orders. Anyone who dares to smash the city gate will be punished with treason, and will not be killed on the spot."
The soldiers' words made the victims even more excited.
Some victims who still had strength found some logs from somewhere and worked together to hit the city gate.
Their actions obviously angered the soldiers guarding the city.
A huge boulder fell from under the city wall, killing several victims on the spot.
Shangguan Wan Ning looked at the blood spilled on the ground, as if it would solidify into ice immediately, and she couldn't help but scream.
The soldiers guarding the city took serious action against the people. The already desperate victims became even more angry and rushed forward as if losing their minds.
For a moment, the scene was chaotic.
Shangguan Wan Ning saw the number of casualties increasing, and she rushed over in desperation.
The servants of the Qin family hurriedly chased after her and knelt in front of her.
"Miss, please don't go there. At this time, fists, feet, swords are useless. If anything happens to you, we won't survive."
"But I can't just watch so many innocent people die. What would you think if your relatives were among them?"
The two servants looked at each other. They were not hard-hearted people, and the scene in front of them also touched them.
While the two were hesitating, Shangguan Wan Ning pushed them away and rushed over.
She ran to the city wall and shouted loudly: "I am Shangguan Wan Ning from the Prime Minister's Mansion. I have something important to ask to see the magistrate."
Shangguan Wan Ning had tried her best, but her voice was still drowned by the shouts of killing.
She looked anxious and angry as victims continued to fall.
"ah!"
Someone pushed her behind her, and she was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Before she could recover, someone stepped on her hard again.
Shangguan Wan Ning gritted her teeth in pain and broke into a cold sweat.
She gritted her teeth and was about to get up when a child cried beside her.
She saw a three- or four-year-old child falling to the ground and crying.
Shangguan Wan Ning endured the pain and moved over, protecting the child in her arms.
"Don't be afraid...don't cry, it will be fine..."
Shangguan Wan Ning picked up the child and tried to escape from the encirclement. She only took two steps and tripped again. She subconsciously wanted to protect the child and landed on her elbow. The severe pain almost made her vision go dark.
Hesitation and helplessness welled up in her heart, and scenes of sunshine and warmth reappeared in her mind.
A huge boulder fell from the city wall. Shangguan Wanning felt the danger and wanted to dodge but it was too late.
She could only hold the child tightly and close her eyes resignedly.
A figure passed over her head, picked her up with one hand and jumped out of the encirclement.
"How are you?"
The familiar voice recalled in her ears, Shangguan Wan Ning raised her head and met a pair of dark eyes.