Sometimes people thought today or tomorrow would always be like yesterday and that life would go on smoothly. There would always be streets thronged with people and carriages; stores packed with people who talked and laughed while eating; lanes occupied by barking dogs and crowing chickens; mothers punishing their naughty children with canes; children escaping onto streets with naked butts before grimacing at their mothers…
Ye Xiaoxian also went out to buy flour as usual. However, she noticed that people’s expressions had changed. Written on their faces was horror, panic and confusion about their futures.
“It’s said that Hongyan country is attacking Hexin county and will soon arrive here.”
“Ah! How are the people there?”
“What else could it be? Once a place is captured, all the people there will be killed. They’re facing the same situation.”
“Will we be safe here?”
“It’s hard to tell. I’m going to leave. You’d better do the same.”
Fear had almost engulfed the entire county. Anywhere Ye Xiaoxian went, all the conversations were about the war. Hongyan was a small country on a southern island. It had been causing disturbances from time to time but had never launched a real attack. Hexin was a county near the southern border in the country of Daqi. If it was captured, Qinghe county would be the next target.
The forces in Xinhe county were only enough to handle some small riots, not a real attack. It was anticipated that it couldn’t hold on for long. Until then, there had been quite a few people escaping from Xinhe county to Qinghe county. The people in Qinghe, therefore, went into a panic. They found it hard to give up their businesses and the peaceful life here. Escaping away from here was just like a nightmare. If one’s homeland was destroyed, he or she would feel like nobody.
Around half of the people had left, and the rest were hesitating out of fear. They would ask anybody they met, “Do you plan to escape? And when?”
Ye Xiaoxian was also rather perturbed and feeling sad about leaving this place. For one thing, she had a house and had been living a good life. For another, life could prove to be tough if she chose to leave. However, the war forced her to make the right decision as soon as possible.
…
The imperial court at the palace.
In front of the old emperor was a mountain of reports about Hongyan’s sudden attack, pressing him to give an effective order.
The ministers were also urging him. “Your Majesty, please dispatch troops as soon as possible, or the southern cities will be captured and people there will suffer for it.”
“Your Majesty, we can dispatch the troops near Hexin county and set up a strong defense.”
The entire palace was inundated with urgent admonitions.
Just then, the third prince cast a glance at the state preceptor who noticed this.
Then, the state preceptor voiced his opinion, “Your Majesty, we’d better dispatch the nearby forces to defend against Hongyan first. After that, let a reliable general or prince lead the troops to annihilate all enemies.”
After he had said this, all the other ministers fell into silence.
At this sensitive moment, dispatching a prince was equivalent to selecting the crown prince. After all, the chosen one would get a military token which represented the lifeblood of Daqi.
Cunningly, he continued, “Your Majesty, it’s up to you who shall lead the troops. However, he should have experience in war and know military strategies and tactics.”
All the people held their breath as they waited for the response. Some of them were considering the interests of their own parties, but none of them dared to voice their opinions.
However, the emperor did not say a word. His eyes were partially closed, as if he had fallen asleep.
…
After leaving the palace, the third prince and the state preceptor met again at the secluded house. The third prince kept his own counsel as usual. After taking a sip of tea, he said calmly, “Do you think my father was feigning deafness or not?”
“Yes, I suppose so. After all, he needs time to consider all this,” the state preceptor replied.
He continued, “Your Highness, do not worry. No matter who leads the troops, the situation is under our control. If it’s you, you can get the imperial power directly. If not, it could only be General Peng or General Qian, who are also our people.”
The third prince took another sip and said, “Then how should we handle the war against Hongyan?”
The state preceptor smiled and said, “Hongyan has no choices. If it surrenders, we can keep its island intact just as we’ve promised. If not, we can only annihilate it.”
The third prince agreed with silence.
…
Qinghe county.
Apart from flour, Ye Xiaoxian had bought plenty of rice and bacon.
Li Hongmei asked in surprise, “Little Ye, why did you buy so much food? Many people are leaving. The butcher has taken his whole family to seek refuge in his relative’s house in Wucheng. What about us? Should we leave or not?”
Without hesitation, Ye Xiaoxian said, “Yes! The food is for our journey. Mom, please inform our relatives to pack up only food and money.”
“Ah? Are we really leaving?” Li Hongmei was rather reluctant to go. She looked around the yard and then the house, which had a fine roof made of black tiles. The spacious rooms, especially, were warm in winter and cool in summer.
“Little Ye, can’t we wait for a few days?” Li Hongmei hesitated.
“I’m afraid it’ll be too late by then. There are many refugees on the streets now. Even if we are not killed by enemy troops, we’ll be robbed and harmed by refugees. It’ll be even harder to stay alive then.”
Once many people had become desperate refugees, they wouldn’t remain sober anymore. As long as they could fill their bellies, they wouldn’t care about morality.
Ye Xiaoxian had watched quite a few disaster films, so she knew a little about being prepared to flee home. Instead of escaping alone, it was better to join as large a group as possible, or robbery would be much more likely. For this reason, Ye Xiaoxian knew she must flee with her relatives in the village.
Persuaded by Ye Xiaoxian, Li Hongmei hurried back to the village and warned all the people to escape, including her family members.
At the same time, Ye Xiaoxian went with haste to the Wong family. She was worried about Xiao Baozhu, for one thing, and she also wanted to buy two horses from the stud farm there. She planned to make two horse-drawn carriages so that they could move faster and take more food supplies.
Since she was early, there were a dozen horses for her to choose from on the stud farm. She bought two of them and let a man harness them to two carriages. Then, she headed for Scholar Wong’s place and asked him whether he planned to leave or not.
However, he answered her affirmatively, “We’re not leaving.”
“Why not?” she asked in surprise.
He said, “We can’t go far. Perhaps we can go to Zhengwu county where our relatives are, but we are a big family here and if we leave, the county will cease to exist. Besides, we have a large fortune and a wide network of friends here. If we go elsewhere, we’ll become nobodies.”
“Better than death,” she said.
He let out a sigh. “My dad is too old to leave. He said he belongs to Qinghe county and would rather die in his homeland. Besides, Qingqing is pregnant. If we run about, my wife and my baby may die on the journey. I don’t want to see that happen.”
She asked, “What about Baozhu? I want to take her away.”
He said casually, “Of course you can. She belongs to your family and should go with you.”
Hearing this, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for Xiao Baozhu. At such a critical moment, this man only cared about his wife. After doing so much for the Wong family, Xiao Baozhu was still thought of as an outsider.
