Chapter 16

With Yan Wushi there, naturally there is no need to take those safer official roads. In order to take a shortcut, Yan Wushi did not pass through Chang'an, but went directly south to Luozhou, and then went through Luozhou and Suizhou from Luozhou.

This road has shortened a lot of distance, but again, because these places are close to the surrounding area of ​​Qi, it is not very peaceful, especially after the disaster at the end of last year, when thousands of miles of dry land and displaced people flock to the surrounding states and counties with more food and grass, resulting in Today, Shen Qiao and the others can still see many refugees along the way.

In terms of martial arts, there are few people in the world today who can match Yan Wushi, but he is obviously not a good traveling companion. Shen Qiao's old injury has not healed, and his eyes are sometimes good and sometimes bad, but he can't return to normal. I didn't need to take a car, so I didn't even hire a carriage. I walked ahead unhurriedly, with a posture of "follow if you can keep up, or follow if you can't".

After walking in this way for several days, when they were about to enter Xiangzhou City, they encountered a group of refugees outside the city.

These people originally came from Gwangju. Because of the famine there, they had to travel thousands of miles to the more prosperous Xiangzhou. Who knew that the governor of Xiangzhou refused to open the gate for them, and ordered the soldiers to guard them strictly, and not a single refugee could be released. Enter.

The refugees do not have the strength to go to the next place to try their luck, so they can only stay on the spot, in fact, they are waiting to die slowly.

From the point of view of local governance, it is understandable for the governor of Xiangzhou to do so, because the food of a city is limited, and if the refugees are let in, they have to be responsible for arranging them. In fact, these people should belong to the people under the rule of other places. This is equivalent to adding pressure to Xiangzhou itself. At that time, the food in Xiangzhou will not be enough, and the local people will be implicated. Now Emperor Qi Gao Wei is busy looking for fun, and he has no intention to govern the government at all, and the food allocated by the court is still Before reaching the place, they were already exhausted in layers of exploitation. Even if the governor of Xiangzhou took all these refugees into the city, he would not receive the award from the court.

Xiangzhou is already very close to Xuandu Mountain. As long as you go southwest for a few days, you can reach Xuandu Mountain next to Mianzhou.

The closer to Xuandu Mountain, the better Yan Wushi's mood seems to be.

He even slowed down and waited for Shen Qiao to catch up, and at the same time he was very interested in pointing him to the local scenery and culture. If he didn't know the relationship between the two, at first glance, he might think that they were old friends for many years.

He said to Shen Qiao: "Xiangzhou and the Warring States period belong to Chu, so the Chu style is very strong, and it can be considered a rich place. Unfortunately, Gao Wei has no intention of running it. The efforts of several generations of Gao's family are afraid that they will fall into his hands."

Yan Wushi obviously didn't have any respect for Emperor Qi, so he opened his mouth and called him by his first name.

Shen Qiao narrowed his eyes and vaguely saw a lot of people gathered outside the city. Most of them were old and young, women and children. The good thing was that the weather wasn't too hot right now. With a sigh, "people's livelihood is so difficult!"

Yan Wushi said lightly: "Actually, this kind of scene also exists in other countries. Since the late Western Jin Dynasty, when all parties fought for power and profits, countless blood and lives have been filled in. Such famines happen every year, especially on the borders. In order to shirk their responsibilities and transfer pressure, all countries are eager to push the refugees to other countries. When the year is good, they often launch wars to annex neighboring cities, and internal mutinies are frequent. Who would put their minds on governing the country, and Northern Qi would only make things worse."

Shen Qiao: "But I heard that Sect Master Yan had a high-ranking official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and he was very reliant on the Zhou Emperor. You must think that the Northern Zhou Dynasty is more likely to dominate the world?"

Yan Wushi put his hands behind his back and said leisurely: "Emperor, no matter if you are a monarch, you have always been half a catty. The only difference is that some can restrain their desires, and some can't restrain or don't want to restrain themselves. Although Yu Wenyong is fond of fighting and killing, he forbids the Buddha. Forbidden Taoism, he does not like Confucianism, and does not approach any party, so he has very little choice. I want to unify the three schools, and I also need his help. The Yuwen family has been in the Central Plains for many years, although their ancestors were from Xianbei, However, it has already been sinicized, and the system of the Zhou Dynasty is no different from that of the Han Dynasty, and if you are an emperor, it is not necessarily worse than the Chen Dynasty in the south.”

For so many days, Dao Ting Tu said that Shen Qiao had a general understanding of the forces in the world.

That night, Zen Master Xueting, who stopped Yan Wushi at Izumo Temple, originally supported Beizhou, but he supported Yuwenhu, the former regent of Beizhou, not Yuwenyong, the current emperor.

Zen Master Xueting came out of Tiantai Sect, and he and the current suzerain of Tiantai Sect, Fa Yi, are brothers.

After Yu Wenyong regained the power that should belong to him, in order to eliminate the influence left by Yu Wenhu, it is naturally impossible to continue to reuse Buddhism, so now the Xueting lineage is in Beizhou, and it is actually in a somewhat embarrassing position, although it will not completely lose its position, However, as long as Yu Wenyong was on the throne, Zen Master Xueting would not be able to restore his former honor.

For Yu Wenyong, the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism each have their own demands. Once they are involved, his governance will inevitably take on the color of one of them. Happy to see. In contrast, although the Huanyue Sect also has its own purpose, they are obviously more suitable for cooperation than other sects, and they will not ask Yu Wenyong to promote a certain sect's theory and influence his thoughts.

The two talked as they walked, walking towards the city gate.

Ordinary people or business travelers enter the city, in order to prevent the harassment of the refugees, they often need to travel with them. It is best to have a male guard, because the refugees may become robbers when they are extremely hungry. When they find that begging does not work, they will definitely rob them. When they are in a desperate situation, beautiful women and children fall into the hands of refugees, not only will their chastity be lost, but they may even be boiled into meat soup in the end.

In this case, Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao became a rather strange and eye-catching combination.

One had empty hands and nothing, while the other leaned on a bamboo stick and looked weak and recovered from a serious illness. No matter how he looked, he didn't look like an ordinary traveler.

There are homeless people on the roadside from time to time showing their begging look to them. Yan Wushi looks like a difficult character, and the homeless people don't dare to go forward to ask for it, so they can only turn to Shen Qiao, who looks weak and easy to talk.

Among them, there is a couple, dragging three or four children on the road. They are skinny and can't see the slightest human appearance. They look like puppet zombies, and even their expressions are numb. The eldest child is only six or seven years old, and the youngest is only two or three years old. , walking staggeringly, and her parents didn't have the strength to hold her, so she grabbed the corner of her mother's clothes and followed behind, staggering away.

If this situation continues, in the end, the youngest child should be sent to be exchanged with other children's children to increase the rations for the parents, or he will be cooked and eaten by the parents directly. In this situation, in order to survive, the kinship of flesh and blood can also be put aside.

Seeing Shen Qiao passing by, the couple knelt down and begged him for food. Shen Qiao thought about it, took out a pancake wrapped in oil paper from his arms and handed it to the youngest child.

The husband and wife were ecstatic, and they repeatedly kowtowed and thanked them. The husband took the pancake directly from the child's hand and took a big bite. Seeing that his wife and child were looking at him eagerly, he hesitated for a long time before he reluctantly broke off a small piece for his wife.

The wife took the small piece of cake, but she did not eat it herself, but she was careful, cherishing it and breaking it into several portions, which were then distributed to several children.

The pancakes were not big, they devoured them in a few mouthfuls, and the refugees on the side were staring at Shen Qiao with their eyes hot.

The husband begged to Shen Qiao: "The children have been hungry for several days, and I asked the noble to give them an extra piece of bread, so that they can go to the city!"

But Shen Qiao refused: "I'm not rich either. I only have two pieces with me. I'll give you one piece, and I'll keep one piece for myself."

The husband heard that Shen Qiao still had food on his body, and his expression changed immediately. Seeing that his eyes were dull and he had to rely on a bamboo stick to support him, he couldn't help but rush towards Shen Qiao.

Unexpectedly, before touching the sleeves of others, the body flew out in the opposite direction, and fell heavily on the ground, screaming.

Looking at Shen Qiao again, he still looked sick and weak, and he couldn't see that he just beat people out.

He obviously didn't expect that his momentary kindness would lead to such an outcome, and when he looked at the man's wife and children, they were all terrified.

Seeing this scene, the other refugees who were just about to move, naturally did not dare to move rashly.

The man struggled to get up without begging for mercy, but instead cursed: "If you have the ability, you can kill me! People like you are the most hypocritical, don't you just want to rely on charity in exchange for our kowtow and thank you, why don't you save people to the end? , obviously there is still a cake, why don't you take it out! If you don't want to take it, don't take it at all, let us taste the sweetness but not enough to eat, what's the difference between you and murder!"

Shen Qiao sighed, shook his head, said nothing, turned around and left.

Yan Wushi always stood not far or near, standing with his hands behind his back, watching with cold eyes, neither intervening nor leaving, as if waiting for him, but with a half-smile expression on his face.

The hand that has just been revealed is that he knows that he has food on him, and the others can only watch him go.

When he approached, Yan Wushi said: "Dou Mien, bear Mi Chou. Have you heard this sentence?"

Shen Qiao sighed: "I'm reckless. There are many people who suffer. It is impossible for me to save them all by myself."

Yan Wushi sneered: "People's fathers don't care about the life and death of their children, but you help others to take care of their children. Zhangjiao Shen really has a great love, but it's a pity that human nature and desires are hard to fill, and I can't understand your kindness. Bao, maybe it has been reduced to meat soup now."

Shen Qiao thought about it seriously: "If I can't protect myself today, I won't choose to take this road. I'd rather go a little farther and avoid places where there are refugees. Human nature seeks benefits and avoids harm. I am not a saint, nor am I a saint. The exception is that I can't bear to see someone suffer."

He chooses good and stubborn, but Yan Wushi believes that human nature is inherently evil. The two cannot talk about the root cause. Although Yan Wushi can kill Shen Qiao by force, even if he is strangling Shen Qiao's neck , and couldn't change Shen Qiao's thoughts.

With this little episode, the atmosphere between the two of them that had finally been eased down was gone.

"Lang Jun!"

The voice was small and weak, coming from behind.

Shen Qiao turned around, only to see a vague figure, thin and short, it should be a child.

The child ran up to him, knelt down, and kowtowed to him three times seriously: "Thank you, Langjun, for giving us the cake. Dad was rude to you. I, I can only kowtow to you, please. There are a lot of adults, don't care about him!"

Why does he care about a child? Shen Qiao sighed and stepped forward to help him up: "I didn't take it to heart, I heard that the Buddha's birthday will be in a few days. The people of Xiangzhou City worship Buddha. Appropriately let some refugees into the city, you still have a chance."

The child's eyes glowed, and he repeatedly thanked him: "Thank you Langjun for telling me, dare to ask Langjun Gao's name, if there is a chance in the future, the villain will definitely repay you and give you a tablet of longevity!"

Shen Qiao patted his head and said warmly, "There's no need for this. You take care of your mother and younger siblings."

The child nodded vigorously and whispered, "Don't worry, in fact, I didn't eat the piece of cake that my mother gave me, and I secretly stuffed it with my sister!"

Shen Qiao felt sad when he heard it, and sighed at his sensibleness. After thinking about it, he took out the remaining piece of cake from his arms and handed it to him: "Take it back to eat, and don't let your father find out."

The boy was so hungry that his face was yellow and his muscles were thin, but he didn't know where the strength came from, and he refused to accept it. In the end, Shen Qiao forced it into his hands: "If you push it again, others will see it and cause trouble again."

Then he could only accept it, knelt down and kowtowed to Shen Qiao, and insisted: "Please tell me your name!"

Shen Qiao: "My name is Shen Qiao."

"Shen Qiao..." The child chewed it several times, wondering if he understood the word Qiao as another meaning, and Shen Qiao didn't specifically emphasize correction.

The boy turned his head three steps and walked away.

Yan Wushi: "It's getting late, enter the city early."

Seeing that he didn't say anything sarcastic this time, Shen Qiao was rather strange, and said with a smile, "Why don't you say something?"

Yan Wushi said lightly: "Some people like to do stupid things, and they don't listen to what they say. Why should I waste my words?"

Shen Qiao touched her nose, smiled and said nothing.

Although there are many malicious intentions in this world, he does not want to deny the existence of kindness and benevolence because of these malicious intentions.

It was for this little goodwill that he also felt that this pancake was worth it.