Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

71. The Great Escape

: leaving home in a hurry and wading through rugged water

~

The hoarding and grabbing of grains were not as violent as the selling of grains this time, and grain prices plummeted. In an instant, the situation changed, and Su Su was completely confused. A while ago, she was having trouble sleeping and eating for food, but suddenly there was a flood of food. Susu was about to buy back the grain, but was stopped by Suini. This time Susu obeyed without complaint. Grain prices have dropped to half of previous years, to 30%, and are still falling.

The reduction of vassal status disrupted everything. Thinking that the Minister of Hubu had left Dongfu, the three ministers had nowhere to vent their grievances. They hated the Minister of Hubu and the price of grain more than ever before. , and hate Daozhi even more.

The Minister of Staff kept walking back and forth in the room, slamming cups and cursing from time to time. The Minister of Punishment took a knife and chopped down the tree he planted in the courtyard to vent his anger. The Minister of Industry poured wine into his body one cup after another until Lingding was drunk and tried to anesthetize himself. My aunt and her gang not only spent all their property on food but also borrowed a large sum of money. Now they have lost all their money and the Dongfu country is in turmoil., the creditors were all friends at first, but now they have become enemies. They brought people to collect debts one after another. For fear of being too late, the so-called brother was forced to have no choice but to hang himself in the pawn shop. The brothel was beaten to pieces, and the concubine cried straight away. Fainted in the toilet. Wu County's father-in-law borrowed a lot of money under the guise of being the housekeeper of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and was beaten to death in the end.

At this time, a fat Luoba businessman appeared and purchased grain at the lowest price on the market. At first, some wealthy squire households were a little reserved. They stared blankly at the piles of grain and listened to the merry playing of mice. Suddenly they laughed wildly, and then they burst into laughter. Cry, as long as food prices can rise, they are willing to kill people, set fire to them and even dig up people's ancestral graves. In the end, they sold the grain at a low price with great pain. After selling the grain, they sold their land and their homes. They did not want to stay in this painful place for a moment. Some court officials also secretly dealt with the land with tears in their eyes, and could withdraw at any time if the opportunity was not right.

Facing the noisy brothers and the crying wives and concubines in the courtyard, the gangster was very calm. Reflecting on the fact that he and his brothers had worked hard to extort money all their lives, and suddenly they were back to the time when they were born, he felt calm and calmed down. The remaining money was divided, and the brothers were sent away to find their own way.

~

"I won't sell it at such a low price."A big family, an old man replied firmly.

"Dad, things are different now. If you sell it, leave as soon as possible. Sell the house as much as you can get for it. There is going to be a war. If you can't save your life, don't worry about the land."son

"The land cannot be sold unless it is sold, and I am not afraid of war."Old man

"Dad, you are not afraid of death, we are, and everyone is gone."son

"Not selling, but selling the land unless I die."The old man is very stubborn.

"Dad, while you can still go, you can’t buy any more land wherever you take the money."

"Not for sale. I won’t sell it. If I want to leave, you can leave."

"Dad, leave quickly."My daughter-in-law came up to persuade me.

"If I don’t leave, the land is my life, isn’t this going to cost me my life?"The old man refused to leave.

No one could convince his father to sell the land. The sons understood that this was the wealth he had worked hard to accumulate. It was because of these lands that the family could live a prosperous life. The family was anxious. , several children ran out

"Mom, won’t grandpa come with us?"The child was very happy when he heard that he was going out.

The daughter-in-law had an idea and said:"If grandpa doesn't come with us, will you miss grandpa?"

"meeting"

"Grandpa likes you the most. Go and let grandpa go with you, okay? The child ran to his grandfather:"Grandpa, are you coming with us? Mom said, if you don't leave, you will never see grandpa again.""

Grandpa's inner stubbornness suddenly became corrupted, and he hugged his grandson with tears in his eyes.

Sure enough, the Blue Lake ban came. Not only did it prohibit grain trade, but all goods from the East Fu Kingdom were not allowed to enter the Blue Lake. Most countries also followed the call of the Xilu Kingdom. People from Dongfu were prohibited from coming in and out. Those who moved quickly had already escaped, while those who moved slowly regretted not being faster. They hurriedly dealt with the property and began to find a way out in every possible way. Some people thought of Old Mrs. Fang and came to Old Mrs. Fang's house. , Old Mrs. Fang’s family has left.

It’s a coincidence that not long ago, a man appeared at Mr. Fang’s home, claiming to be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He could open up channels and have a way to send them to Xilu Country across the Blue Lake. , one person needed 50 taels of silver. Knowing that Mr. Fang had a way out, the wealthy squire families crossed the threshold. Although 50 taels was a lot, they could only lose money to save their lives. The flight caused a lot of turmoil in Dongfu Kingdom, and the wealthy squire families in the south took action. The fast ones have arrived, most of them are crossing the Blue Lake. The gentry of the Eastern Capital came to the south and wanted to go to the Xilu Kingdom through Old Master Fang, followed by some officials of the imperial court. Those who could not bring out 50 taels could only resign themselves to fate. The common people were usually beaten. The wealthy squire squeezed and saw that they left and left many daily necessities in a hurry. Seeing their hurried appearance, they felt happy. Everyone in the east capital was talking about when the Xilu army would come. In the war, all the vegetation was destroyed , will it end up in a scorched earth just like 60 years ago. Once again, half of the people in the court did not go to court. King Dongfu looked at the court and had to announce the suspension of the court again.

With the help of Mr. Fang, the escaped squire successfully arrived in Xilu Kingdom After landing on the coast at night, they were told that they had to pay 50 taels of resettlement silver before they could be allowed to enter the Xilu Kingdom. Although they were very reluctant, they had already paid the 50 taels and were about to be stable, so they could only continue. Hand in.

The eunuch reported the movements of the large gentry households in the southern and eastern capital cities to King Dongfu. King Dongfu just said lightly:"It's going to rain and my mother wants to get married. There is no way around it, so let them go!""

At this time, the Minister of Hubu was active in the Xilu Kingdom. Since the murder of the Minister of War, he had been waiting for this opportunity and actively lobbied the Xilu Kingdom, especially the third prince and General Chaoran, and strongly advocated war against the Dongfu Kingdom. As a distant relative of General Chao Chao, Bu Shangshu was also the only one who had the opportunity to meet King Xilu. One day, he was summoned by King Xilu.

~

The rebellion of the Yi vassals caused a certain shock in the Blue Lake countries. There are varying degrees of rebel forces within each country. Even though the Xilu Kingdom made unreasonable accusations and loudly called for the implementation of the Blue Lake ban on the Dongfu Kingdom, some countries actually only superficial response. The monarchs of all countries understand that Pingyi Fan is a good warning lesson to the rebels in their own countries. Pingyi Fan will also be the beginning of the turmoil in Blue Lake. Before the dust has settled, it is inconvenient for a small country to make a breakthrough prematurely.

Li Lai looked serious:"Has it started yet?"

"Over the years, I have fought so many battles with the general, and I have never felt as unsure as this time."Sosuo

"We must be able to wage, defeat, and end wars. We do not want to resort to militaristic wars."Daozhi

"It's easy to start, but I'm afraid we can't control the end. After all, the Xilu Kingdom is powerful?"Li Lai's expression was solemn.

"War is a continuation of the government's external affairs. In the battle of Xilu Kingdom 60 years ago, when entering the battlefield, not only could they come out, but they could come out with dignity. Only then could they have the Blue Lake Treaty and become the overlord of the Blue Lake. In the past 60 years, the prerequisite for every war waged by the Xilu Kingdom was to be absolutely sure of victory and to obtain sufficient benefits. They never did anything that harmed others and was not beneficial to themselves. As long as they know the cost is high enough, they can control the end. We must despise them strategically and pay attention to them tactically."Daozhi

"What the general said is true, but how can we let them know that the price is huge?"Sosuo

"We still have to start from the war."Li Lai

"It will take some time for our soldiers to reach the combat strength of the Xilu Army, and there is a huge difference in the numbers of the two armies."Cheng Gang

"I'm afraid we can't fight head-on. Even if we can use the human wave tactic, we don't have enough soldiers and armor."Sui Ni.

Several people gathered around the map and looked at it carefully.

"I have always advocated the path of independent and peaceful development, and I have paid a heavy price for this. After the Yi Fan, the nature of the relationship between the two countries has completely changed. They used to be rivals, but now they are enemies. We have no choice. If we want to win, we must use all available forces, no matter whether we are friends or enemies."He pointed at a place on the map.

"Luoba Kingdom, Luoba Kingdom has always been cunning. After Xilu Kingdom became strong, it immediately followed Xilu Kingdom and sought his support. I think it is unlikely."Sosuo

"I also suspect that Xilu Kingdom is still the overlord of Blue Lake. With our current strength, it is impossible for them to support us."Suini

"Cunning also has its benefits. Cunning people naturally cannot be trusted, and they are not only cunning towards us. Daozhi stopped and asked again:"If we start a war now, what are our Dongfu Army's chances of winning?""

"Our regular army only has 80,000 people, and after expansion, it will only be 100,000 at full strength. The original Yifan defense force has 30,000 left, making a total of 130,000, which is less than 30% of the Xilu Army. There are many people in Dongfu Kingdom. If the mainland is fully defended and engages in a war of attrition, the chance of winning should be 50%."Cheng Gang

"Our Dongfu Army has insufficient combat power. The 80,000 soldiers have almost no combat experience. The expanded 20,000 farmers and workers only have some basic skills. The 30,000 troops of the original Yi Fan are at risk. In addition, the Xilu Kingdom has banned the sale of armor to my country for many years. The armor of the Dongfu Army is old, the weapons are not sharp enough, and the armor is not strong in defense. It is basically unusable. The 20,000 armor purchased by the former Minister of War was very average. In addition to the 20,000 high-grade soldiers and armor seized from the Yi vassal, and the less than 20,000 soldiers and armor we have made ourselves in the past two years, the total is less than half of the soldiers. After the ban, ironware can only come in through smugglers, and the quantity is very limited. If all the people were to defend the country, Dongfu would not be able to fight head-on even if it was a protracted war."Suini

"Even if Dongfuguo is defended, the losses will probably be greater than those 60 years ago."Cheng Gang.

Dao Zhi said categorically:"If the consequence of the war is to make the lives of the people of Dongfu worse, this war will be like digging one's own grave."

Such a result is obviously not what the Dongfu people want, and several people pondered.