My brother Ying Zheng, who dares to kill me?.

Chapter 1033: Are you really worthy of your position? I use my soldiers like mud because I love them like my own sons!

On August 22, the 16th year of King Zheng of Qin, Ying Chengjiao set out on the journey westward back to Xianyang, carrying more than a thousand candidates who passed the preliminary examination, nearly 100,000 common people and dignitaries who were bound by shackles, and carrying more than 40,000 heads.

As for what great scholars like Kong Yu would do next, Ying Chengjiao didn't care.

Not to mention that the rebellion of the scholars failed in three years, the possibility of great scholars such as Kong Yu taking the initiative to stir up unrest was extremely small.

Ying Chengjiao came here just to cut off the source of the unrest in Gu Qi in advance, not to really make Gu Qi follow the lead of Da Qin. You know he doesn't have that ability!

This job is something that Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei should worry about.

More importantly, Ying Chengjiao has already sown the seeds of hope. With the combination of Chang'an Bookstore, teaching methods, and extra points for the imperial examination, the thriving seedlings will surely challenge great scholars like Kong Yu and others!
So Ying Chengjiao was very happy on the journey, and he returned home with a great load not only of fish!

At the same time, Li Mu also left Jicheng and headed west.

But Li Mu's mood was completely opposite to Ying Chengjiao's.

The warhorse slowed down its pace, carefully avoiding the bones on the ground, but Li Mu's eyes could not avoid the tragic scene under his feet.

"This bone is the remains of a child."

As Li Mu uttered this sentence, his lips were trembling, and his voice no longer had the firmness and forcefulness as when he gave orders in the army.

Ma Fudui said in a gentle voice, "This is a tragic situation that no one wants to see."

"However, Wu Anjun has been doing his best to deal with the situation and keep the people safe. He is worthy of his era!"

When he first saw the tragic situation in Dai, Ma Fudui felt very uncomfortable.

But along the way, it has truly been a situation where bones are exposed in the wild and no roosters crow for thousands of miles!

Not to mention the bones of a child of about eight years old, even the bones of a child of three or four years old, or thousands of skeletons piled together, Ma Fudui had seen more than one such case.

As he walked and looked around, Ma Fudui had gotten used to it, or perhaps he was no longer able to feel sad.

Li Mu closed his eyes slightly and murmured softly: "My lord, am I worthy of my generation?"

In order to avoid having their feet pricked by bone fragments, the warhorses' steps were not only slow but also twisted. The warhorses that had fought hard against the enemy and roamed the battlefields now walked in a charming cat-like manner.

But Li Mu had no intention of blaming the horse under him. He just asked himself the same question again and again in his heart.

Sir, are you truly worthy of your generation?

The main force continued to move forward. Li Hong led the scout and ran back, saying casually: "Ah, there are rocks blocking the southwest fork. We can continue to move forward along the northwest road."

Li Mu finally opened his eyes, looked at Li Hong intently and said, "Do you think I am old?"

Li Hong quickly laughed and said, "How can that be possible!"

"My grandfather is in his prime, healthy, able to ride a fierce horse and draw a strong bow. How could I think that he is old?"

"Even if there are rocks ahead, Aung can still jump over them."

"But my army has many carriages and horses. We can't move all of them over the pile of rocks, right?"

"It is better to proceed in a northwest direction."

Li Mu looked at Li Hong with complicated eyes. After a few breaths, he sighed, "Hong'er."

Li Hong quickly responded obediently: "My son is here!"

Li Mu warned in a tired voice: "Remember to say less when you lie next time."

Li Hong: …

Li Mu did not ask Li Hong why he lied to him. After all, this was his son, and Li Mu believed that Li Hong would not harm him.

Urging his horse to continue moving southwest, Li Mu soon saw curling smoke.

Suddenly, Li Mu was shocked: "It's cooking smoke!"

Cooking smoke should be the most common smoke, but for Li Mu today it seems like a rare auspicious sign.

Because the last time Li Mu saw smoke from someone else’s cooking was several days ago!

But just as the feeling of joy surged into his heart, Li Mu's heart tightened again. He suddenly turned around to look at Li Hong, and saw Li Hong following behind him with his lips pursed and his head lowered, his face seemed to be reluctant but also secretly happy that his little trick had succeeded.

In an instant, Li Mu felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave, and his heart was chilled.

But, would Li Mu be someone who is afraid of knowing the truth?

Li Mu unconsciously tightened the reins and continued to move forward without saying a word. He finally saw hundreds of disaster victims.

Everyone's clothes here are dirty, smelly and ragged, and there is filth on their bodies and faces. Although there are hundreds of people gathered, they are clearly divided into more than a dozen settlements. Not only that, the people in each settlement also keep a distance from others that is enough for them to draw their swords and fight back.

Internally, everyone was wary of everyone else, and externally, all the victims looked at Li Mu's troops with hostility and vigilance, ready to fight side by side at any time.

Li Mu, who had seen the miserable conditions of the disaster victims, knew very well why they behaved this way. It was just a self-protection behavior when trust and rules had completely collapsed, and they needed to use the collective strength to protect themselves but were afraid of being hurt by others in the group.

Li Mu sighed softly and turned his gaze to the center of a settlement. The crackling firewood was one of the sources of the smoke. Li Hong softly advised: "Aunt, take a detour."

At this point, how could Li Mu not know why Li Hong advised him to take a detour?

But Li Mu ignored Li Hong's persuasion and continued to ride forward, which made the victims more nervous and hostile.

"There are people! Be careful! There are at least two thousand people coming, all wearing armor, and there are horse-drawn carriages transporting supplies in the rear!"

"It's the army! We can't defeat them! Run!"

"What's the point of running?! The enemies are all on horseback, we'll die anyway, let's fight them!"

"Wait! That seems to be... Wu Anjun? It's Wu Anjun! It's really Wu Anjun!"

It’s not that the disaster victims didn’t notice Li Hong’s scout troops, and they also discovered Li Mu’s large army early on.

But they had been hungry for a long time and had families to support. Their physical strength and endurance were not enough to support them to outrun people who could eat normally, let alone horses.

During the long struggle with stragglers, deserters, bandits and other victims, the victims knew that their only chance to survive in this situation was to show their bravery and their determination to break a few of the enemy's teeth even if they were killed. Only in this way could they scare off the enemy and allow them to survive!

But when one person called out the name "Wu'an Jun", the weapons in the hands of the victims all dropped slightly unconsciously.

Li Mu's eyes were slightly red as he continued to drive his horse forward. When he was about seventy feet in front of the victims, Li Mu took off his helmet and spoke in a gentle but hoarse voice: "I am Wu Anjun."

Li Mu originally wanted to recite his title aloud.

However, the blocked throat and the shame in his heart made Li Mu's voice just like a normal speech.

It seems that the title of Wu'an Jun is not an honor but a crime for Li Mu at this moment!

But when the victims heard this name, they cried with joy, and some even cried with their heads in their hands!

"Wu Anjun is back! We have a way to survive! We can live!"

"Oh my! Oh my! If you just hold on for two more days, you will be able to wait for Wu Anjun!"

"Mr. Wu'an! Those foreign nobles don't treat us as human beings at all. Not only did they not save us, they also robbed us of our money and food after the earth dragon turned over. They want to force us to death! Mr. Wu'an, you have to make a decision for us!"

The victims were like children who had been beaten to death and oppressed by the powerful and had no one to turn to, and suddenly saw their parents. They rushed to Li Mu, crying and telling him about their misery and pain.

Several young and strong men, relying on their still strong bodies, ran in the front, shouting: "Mr. Wu'an! Please give me some food and a chance to live! I am willing to be your slave, and I will do whatever you want with my life!"

"I am a birdman! In the Battle of Fukouxing, I was one of the five hundred commanders under the commander. Commander, do you still remember me?"

Li Mu forced himself not to listen to the cries for food and turned his gaze towards Niaofu. After searching his mind for a long time, he finally recalled a figure and exclaimed in astonishment: "You are Niaofu?!"

During the Battle of Fukouxing, Niaofu's bravery in charging forward and fighting courageously left some impression on Li Mu. Li Mu had wanted to promote Niaofu after the war, but due to many misfortunes such as the replacement of generals before the battle and the demise of the State of Zhao, he no longer had the heart to think about it.

Li Mu never expected that he would see this brave general again in such a situation!

Looking at the skinny, dirty, weak and destitute man in front of him with a broken left hand, Li Mu felt sad and blamed himself.

Li Mu's military tactics were very poor, but the reason why the soldiers were willing to be driven at will by Li Mu was that Li Mu loved his soldiers like his own sons!
This is his soldier! This is his old comrade!

The bird husband cried with joy: "Master, I am the bird husband! I am the Five Hundred Lords of Bird! You still remember me!"

Knowing that Li Mu still remembered him, Niaofu couldn't hold back his tears and cried, "Commander! Please help me!"

"Because my left hand was lost in the battle of Fukouxing, I avoided the imperial court's conscription and stayed at home as a village head."

"Who would have thought that we would be overthrown by the earth dragon! Afterwards, I went to the county to ask for help, but the county magistrate not only refused to help us, but also recruited all the young and strong men and searched for food and grass!"

"If I hadn't seen the opportunity and quickly led the villagers to escape with food, we would have all died long ago!"

Li Mu's voice trembled as he spoke: "By now, the court should have sent officials to rectify Dai..."

Before Li Mu could finish, Niaofu started to cry even harder: "The court did send officials, but they didn't bring any food or fodder. It would be better for them not to come!"

"Coach, it's not like Earth Dragon hasn't made a comeback before."

"But after the earth dragon turned over this time, how come our land has become like this!"

What disaster victims need is coordination and management?
What the disaster victims need is resources! Food! Food!!!

Even if the most outstanding official goes to work without food, he will be powerless. What's more, many officials transferred to Dai do not take the lives of the people seriously!

Li Mu clenched the reins in pain. He couldn't answer the bird husband's question, and he also asked himself the question.

It’s not that there have never been land dragons turning over in Daidi, but the land dragons turning over in Daidi have never caused such heavy losses.

Dai Di, how did it become like this!
The victims had no idea of ​​the pain in Li Mu's heart; they just kept talking about their grievances.

But Li Hong rode forward at this moment, blocking Li Mu's left front with his body, looking at the pile of firewood and the stone helmets on top of it, and asked calmly: "You said you can't eat enough."

"What's cooking on the fire?"

(End of this chapter)