Long live Emperor Wu!

Wu King Li Ke, wearing a navy round-neck winter coat, a Hu-style fur hat, and a cloak, led his own group of private soldiers, turned into private traders, and rushed all the way, first to Yangzhou.

At that time, the governor of Yangzhou had just received the imperial edict and was mobilizing troops to prepare for the war.

He entered Yangzhou City and met many young people along the way, carrying swords and guns on their backs and preparing to leave home, and their families came out to see them off.

Whether rich or poor, wearing silk and satin.They were all wearing thin clothes, and they were all crying, with tears in their eyes, as if they were going to die.

Li Ke looked at this scene and felt somewhat strange.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty had been warlike and martial. Emperor Taizong even bulldozed the country he conquered. He also fought with foreign countries all the year round, winning more and losing less. The spirit of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty was unparalleled in the world. I can't even find a second one.

When he was in the fiefdom, even if it was remote, there were legendary stories among the people about the victory of various generals in the court.

The stories of people like Li Jing, Yuchi Jingde and others are even more well-known.

Some people even used their portraits as door gods.

Under such a trend, many people regard war as an opportunity to make contributions and obtain high-ranking officials and generous salaries.

I can’t say that there are people who don’t want to go or are afraid of death, but the whole atmosphere is definitely high-spirited and positive.

Looking at it like this now, everyone has wilted heads and slumped heads, as if they are about to lose. It is really rare.

The accompanying guards saw King Wu staring aside, so they pulled the reins forward and whispered:
"Your Majesty, would you like to dismount and rest?"

Li Ke came to his senses and saw a teahouse not far away. He responded, got off his horse, threw the reins to the guard, and went to the teahouse.

The city of Yangzhou is prosperous, and there is a teahouse on the roadside. It doesn't look much worse than the one in Chang'an, but the carvings on the door plaques and pillars are too complicated and delicate, and it doesn't have the atmosphere of Chang'an.

King Wu Li Ke went upstairs and saw that there were men and women upstairs, but most of them were in their thirties or forties. Many of them were sitting on the edge of the building, looking down at the street. The atmosphere was a bit solemn.

Even the sound of the music slave playing and singing next to him could not be suppressed.

Li Ke came out just to understand what was going on. He deliberately found a place by the window and sat down, and asked aloud:
"What are you looking at?"

The person drinking tea next to him glanced at him and saw that he had an extraordinary bearing, a strong figure, heroic features, and that he was leading many people, so he politely held his hand and asked cautiously:
"Is this an official? Going to fight?"

Li Ke was stunned, raised his arm, put his elbow on the table, and said with a smile:
"No, just a businessman."

The man glanced at the strong man who had sat two tables with him, all looking proud and disbelieving, so he curled his lips and said:
"Not like."

But the people in the teahouse were obviously very curious about them, and they all looked at them with inquisitive expressions on their faces.

The person who said it was unlikeable was the most curious. Seeing Li Ke's kind smile, he turned around, sat facing them, stretched his neck and asked:
"I dare to ask, do you think we can win against the rebels this time?"

Li Ke's eyes turned, revealing a little snowy light. He felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but asked with a smile on his face:
"Why do you ask that? In your heart, is Datang already this bad?"

The man could tell that he was unhappy, but he didn't realize how big an official he was. He just thought he was a leader, so he quickly explained:
"It's not what I think. Emperor Wenjia, I heard that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady descended to earth, and those who followed her were protected by immortal magic. Otherwise, why would so many people follow her, even if she was a woman? city?"

Li Ke sneered and said:

"The traitorous female bandit is a bandit, what a bullshit 'Emperor Wenjia'! I thought it was because of what, people on the road were dejected. Is this the reason? Extremely stupid!" When the man heard the scolding, he turned over He rolled his eyes and didn't dare to curse back, so he turned around and sat down angrily.

At this time, the waiter came up and served tea.

The Chinese New Year had just ended, and as soon as the tea was poured into the tea cup, the heat came out, and it looked very warm.

An old man with a white beard sitting in the far corner suddenly sighed and said:

"It's not all because they have listened to the slander. Most of them still don't want to fight and can't bear it."

Li Ke looked over and saw that although the old man was not dressed in expensive clothes, he was clean and decent, with a kind face and a sad face. So he stood up, stretched out his hand in a gesture of invitation, and said:
"If you don't mind me, old man, please come over and have a drink with us and have a casual chat. I'm new to Yangzhou and I'm really curious."

The old man looked at Li Ke very seriously for a while, perhaps because he wanted to let the officials and his family know the suffering of the people.

He hesitated for a while, then stood up and sat down.

The two sat across from each other. The old man politely held his hands in greeting and said directly:
"His accent sounds like he's from Chang'an. I heard that Chang'an is full of nobles and nobles. Maybe the officials can know the situation here. I'll just say a few words..."

He paused and then began to talk about the situation in Muzhou.

In fact, at the beginning, the impact of the flood was not great.

That year, the rain was heavier than in previous years. It rained heavily for three days and three nights, submerging most of the crops and halving the harvest of the people in Muzhou.

In fact, the halving will not have much impact. After all, Muzhou is similar to Yangzhou, rich and prosperous. The weather has been good in the past few years, and every household has a surplus of food. Even if the situation is bad, they can save some money and just buy food.

After this year, as long as the next year is good, nothing will happen.

Unfortunately, the governor of Muzhou had already sold all the grain in Changpingcang to make wine.

He's been doing this for several years.Because he has to stock up every year and cannot use it every year, the money he sells goes into his own pocket, and no one will know.

That year, grain prices in several states near Muzhou skyrocketed due to weather effects. Muzhou was guarding Changpingcang, which should have been selling grain to stabilize grain prices.

But because they were empty, they could only sit back and watch the price of food rise. Seeing the profits, the surrounding food merchants raised the prices one after another. In a short time, food and clothing prices increased a lot.

Not to mention, the governor of Muzhou was afraid that the court would know that he had sold the grain in Changpingcang, so he did not dare to report it to the court.

Because it was difficult for him to explain why the flood was not serious but he needed relief and couldn't even pay taxes.

As a result, the harvest was halved, prices rose, and taxes were still collected, which completely emptied the people of Muzhou.

The old man with the white beard sighed and said:

"...I have a niece in Muzhou. It only took two months for the family to go from being rich to being hungry. Later, the couple had no choice but to sell their sons and daughters like others.

So, they entrusted their two young children to me on their knees, and the couple went around the world begging for food, waiting to survive the winter and go back next year. (End of chapter)