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

Chapter 863: Only hot soup and rice can comfort people! You call this the second treacherous minister of the Qin Dynasty?
Since the fifth day after the earthquake, red flags have been gathering towards Zheng County from all directions.

By the seventh day after the earthquake, nineteen red flags were fluttering in the wind over Zheng County.

After overcoming many hardships and dangers, the twentieth red flag finally arrived near Zheng County.

"Look!"

Looking at the dazzling flags in the distance, Su Jiao shouted loudly: "Zheng County is just ahead!"

"Fathers! Try harder!"

"Once we get to Zheng County, everything will be fine!"

After a day and a half of sleepless migration, all the victims and rescue workers were exhausted.

When they heard Su Jiao's words, they subconsciously raised their heads, and then they saw the red flags.

The eye-catching red color and the vigorous word "Chang'an" on it are like a stimulant, injected into everyone's limbs and bones.

Gathering their last bit of strength, the elderly, the weak, the women and the children continued to move forward with trembling legs but with unwavering determination.

At the same time, a black flag with the word "Chang'an" inscribed on it was also rapidly approaching them.

Under the general's banner, Ying Chengjiao strode towards Su Jiao and shouted excitedly: "Minister Su!"

Looking at Ying Chengjiao's figure from afar, Su Jiao almost ran towards Ying Chengjiao.

It was a pity that the stretcher in his hand restricted Su Jiao's movements, so he could only shout happily: "Lord Chang'an! I am here!"

"Fathers! Look! It's Lord Chang'an! Lord Chang'an has come to pick us up in person!"

The victims curiously followed Su Jiao's gaze and looked into the distance.

Then they saw a young man wearing a noble crown, a coarse cloth shirt, and covered in dust. He looked handsome only vaguely from his eyebrows and facial curves. He was walking towards them quickly with a carrying pole on his shoulder.

"Is this Shangguan the Lord of Chang'an? I thought that Lord Chang'an would be a man of ten feet in height, twenty feet in waist, with arms big enough for horses to run on, fists as big as pots, eyes like copper bells, and beard like iron needles! A general who can lead our Qin soldiers to destroy four countries in a row should look like that!"

"I have heard that Chang'an Jun has a head as big as a measuring bucket, a forehead as protruding as a horn, eyes as narrow as willow leaves, and each of his fingers is several feet long and extremely dexterous!"

"But no matter how I look at it, I feel that Chang'an Jun is just an ordinary person, someone who is similar to you and me!"

"But it was such an ordinary person who did something that no noble person would do and saved all of our lives! Children, remember, he is our benefactor! The benefactor that Dong Xiaoli would rather sacrifice the lives of everyone in the village to protect!"

Ying Chengjiao's appearance did not conform to the aesthetic standards of that era for a heroic leader.

Ying Chengjiao was indeed exceptionally handsome, but there was no part of his body that was noticeably different from that of an ordinary person.

He did not have double pupils, his wrists could not reach his knees, he did not have a chest like a bird of prey, he did not have legs with seventy-two black moles, he did not have a forehead as full as if he had horns, and he did not have a purple beard. He did not have any physical conditions that could be identified as a male lord. He was just an ordinary person.

This ordinary appearance and figure made all the disaster victims in Dongxiaoli feel a little closer to Ying Chengjiao.

But the extraordinary things he did made all the victims feel more grateful and respectful towards Ying Chengjiao!
Under the eager gazes, Ying Chengjiao strode up to Su Jiao.

He bent his legs and tilted his shoulders to unload the shoulder pole carrying two large buckets of corn rice to the ground, and then gave Su Jiao a big hug.

"It's good to be back! It's good to be back!"

After pinching Su Jiao's arm and carefully observing all the parts of his body, Ying Chengjiao smiled with satisfaction: "Good!"

"Very good!"

Feeling Ying Chengjiao's warm and powerful hug and facing Ying Chengjiao's worried gaze, Su Jiao, who had not cried during the entire disaster relief process, now had red eyes.

Putting down the stretcher, Su Jiao bowed loudly and shouted proudly: "On August 17, the 15th year of Qin Wangzheng, I followed Chang'an Jun to Zheng County to rescue the victims."

"On August 18, I followed the order of Lord Chang'an and led four assistant ministers, 200 guards, and 500 able-bodied men to rescue the victims in Dongxiaoli, Houfang Township."

"On August 19, I led my troops to Dongxiaoli and provided relief to the people on the spot."

"Today, on August 23, I led four assistant ministers, 198 guards, 485 able-bodied men, and 911 disaster victims from Dongxiaoli back to Zheng County."

"I am humble and have done my duty!"

Without any organization or prior rehearsal, nearly a thousand Dongxiaoli disaster victims shouted in a hoarse voice: "Thank you, Lord Chang'an! Thank you, superiors!"

Ying Chengjiao bowed solemnly in return: "Minister Su Jiao, you have returned with all the orders, and you deserve a great achievement!"

"I will report all the contributions of all my comrades to the king, and ask the king to reward them generously!"

Feng Jie and the others immediately bowed their hands and said, "Thank you, Lord Chang'an!"

Su Jiao just smiled with relief.

As long as I have not let Chang'an Jun down, all my hard work will be worth it!
Ying Chengjiao turned his gaze to the victims again.

But like Su Jiao, he did not say much, but just picked up the shoulder pole again and shouted loudly: "You two must be tired after all the hard work."

"The tent has been set up. You two can go and rest later."

"Lifu!"

"Let's eat!"

At the command, Lifu immediately led his men, carrying shoulder poles, to meet the victims and distributed crude wooden bowls that had just been carved to each of them.

Ying Chengjiao even personally carried a shoulder pole to meet the disaster victims. He scooped a large spoonful of corn rice from the rice bucket with a wooden spoon and pressed it into Zheng Chen's rice bowl. He gently urged, "Come, eat first!"

It was not until Ying Chengjiao had walked towards the next disaster victim that Zheng Chen came back to his senses and murmured, "Is the meal ready again?" "Why is Lord Chang'an the same as Minister Su, both of them put the meal aside at the slightest disagreement?"

When facing Su Jiao, Zheng Chen prepared a lot of words to respond, but before he could use many words, Su Jiao began to cook and serve the meal in a hurry.

When facing Ying Chengjiao, Zheng Chen couldn't even utter a single word of the speech he had prepared for four days, as it was suppressed by a spoonful of rice.

Li Fu, who happened to be walking not far from Zheng Chen, said with a smile: "It should be said that Minister Su is the same as Lord Chang'an."

"Changan Jun is such a person. Although Changan Jun is a world-famous lobbyist, he is more willing to make our lives better in a practical way."

"The elders must be tired after a long journey. It is important to eat some hot food, drink some hot soup, and take a good rest first."

"Come, have some soup!"

Zheng Chen quickly put the bowl on the ground, picked up another empty bowl, and received the hot soup that Li Fu scooped.

Looking at the pickles, minced meat and greasy food in the soup bowl, Zheng Chen was stunned and speechless.

Although the minced meat in this bowl of soup is not as big as a soybean, it is still meat!

Holding the steaming bowl of soup in both hands, Zheng Chen slid over the edge of the bowl to sip a mouthful of oil, then let out a long sigh of satisfaction.

A bowl of hot rice and a bowl of broth can comfort people better than a thousand words!

Seeing all the victims of Dongxiaoli sitting on the ground, tasting the soup and rice greedily or cherishingly, Ying Chengjiao returned the empty rice bucket to the young man and whispered, "Send the assistant minister Su Jiao and the other five assistant ministers to discuss the matter."

After he finished speaking, Ying Chengjiao left the place with light steps.

But even though Ying Chengjiao had tried to make his movements as light as possible, Zheng Chen and many other Dongxiaoli victims still caught a glimpse of Ying Chengjiao's departing figure.

They did not shout goodbye, but just knelt down and bowed sincerely in the direction where Ying Chengjiao left!

Ying Chengjiao had no idea what was happening behind him.

After finding an open space to stand still, he looked at Su Jiao, Feng Jie and others who were walking towards him with a smile on his face.

But when Ying Chengjiao's eyes fell on Zhou Qingchen, his smile froze: "Minister Zhou, what are you doing?"

Zhou Qingchen quickly bowed and apologized: "Your Highness, the child was hugging me too tightly, and I couldn't break free for a while, so I had no choice but to bring this child to see you, Lord Chang'an."

"I hope Chang'an Jun won't blame me."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Qingchen loosened his right hand.

Cai'er, who was held in Zhou Qingchen's arms, frowned slightly, and hugged Zhou Qingchen's neck, waist and abdomen more tightly with her little arms and legs like an octopus. She adjusted herself to a more comfortable posture without opening her eyes the whole time.

After proving that he really couldn't break free from Cai'er, Zhou Qingchen hurriedly hugged Cai'er with his right hand again, with undisguised worry and kindness on his face.

Ying Chengjiao looked a little surprised and said, "Of course I will not blame Minister Zhou."

"I just never thought that Minister Zhou could gain such trust from the children in the disaster area!"

Who was the most treacherous minister of the Qin Dynasty in the eyes of Confucian scholars of the Western Han Dynasty?

It is undoubtedly Zhao Gao!

Who was the second most treacherous minister of the Qin Dynasty in the eyes of Confucian scholars of the Western Han Dynasty?
It was not Li Si as commonly believed by later generations, but the minister in front of him who was holding a little girl and had a loving face.

Zhou Qingchen!
As the fuse of the Qin Dynasty's book burning incident and the cause of the destruction of a large number of books, Zhou Qingchen was scolded by Confucian scholars of the Western Han Dynasty for many years!
Moreover, all the records about Zhou Qingchen in historical materials are related to praising his merits and flattery, and there is no record of even one actual deed he did.

Even in the book burning incident, Zhou Qingchen's role was shameless and he promoted Ying Zheng in an extremely fawning way, which caused Chunyu Yue, who had been prepared to endure it, to go completely crazy. He then angrily denounced Zhou Qingchen and Ying Zheng, which led to a series of subsequent events!

It will only spread slander and flatter the superiors, causing the classics to be cut off.

These two serious crimes allowed Zhou Qingchen to surpass Li Si by an absolute majority of votes, and he could even compete with Zhao Gao!
Ying Chengjiao really didn't expect that Zhou Qingchen would have such a side of him!
Su Jiao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that after I arrived at Dongxiaoli, I was mainly responsible for treating the wounded. It was Minister Zhou who organized the rescue of the victims."

"Although Minister Zhou doesn't talk much, the victims all speak highly of him!"

Zhou Qingchen quickly bowed and said, "Minister Su, thank you for your compliment!"

"It was the prestige and determination of Lord Chang'an, as well as the favorable situation created by Minister Su, that enabled me to organize a rescue."

"I am just following the footsteps of Lord Chang'an!"

Ying Chengjiao waved his hand, interrupting Zhou Qingchen's flattery, and said in a deep voice: "I will report everything you have done to the king, and ask the king to reward you generously."

"But now, it's not time to reward people for their contributions!"

"All the victims from the villages surrounding Zheng County have been transported to the vicinity of Zheng County, but Zheng County is only the worst hit county in this earthquake, not all of them."

"According to the investigation of the fourth-term students of the military academy, several surrounding counties such as Tongcheng, Huaide, Wucheng, and Xiagua were also severely damaged by the earthquake."

"It has been seven days since the earthquake, and the victims buried deep under the rubble are probably too old to be rescued."

"But we still need you to pacify the people, quell the unrest, and provide food and supplies to fight the epidemic!"

Ying Chengjiao looked at Su Jiao and the others and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have the energy to go to other places and rescue the victims?"

Su Jiao laughed: "It's just seven days of running around, how can it be as long as a big battle?"

"I have plenty of energy left, and I am willing to go everywhere!"

Zhou Qingchen, Feng Jie and other ministers also bowed without hesitation and said, "We are willing to go!"

(End of this chapter)