After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 642 - 636: Tense Situation
Zhao Ju turned his head to look at Gao Yi: "Who came up with this idea?" Turning things upside down like this, anyone with a bit of sense would know it’s unbelievable.
Gao Yi smiled ingratiatingly at Zhao Ju and said, "This was suggested by Mr. Ming. He said that in this world, truth and falsehood are mixed, and the truth, once it passes through the mouths of others, can become a rumor. Then, after it spreads further, it becomes gossip. By the time it reaches Yun City and Luoyang, gossip can turn into slander, not to mention when it reaches other places."
"So Mr. Ming said that as long as we insist they are Yu State border citizens, then they are. They were just abducted by Gou Chun."
Zhao Ju frowned, "How can truth and falsehood be so easily confused? Checking household registration and looking at their homes, anyone can figure out the truth. Fabricating like this, if the emperor sends someone to investigate and it gets out, wouldn’t it implicate the lady unjustly?"
It would be better to boldly admit, even say they simply couldn’t stand seeing them bully the common people, and these people are willing to come to them.
Gao Yi blinked and whispered, "General, actually, I think Mr. Ming’s idea is quite good. He is a strategist, someone who specializes in giving ideas. As this story spreads, it might become a reality. Even if the emperor really sends someone to investigate, at worst, we move a few villagers nearby and let them live there. Once the testimonies match, who would dare say they aren’t Yu State people?"
The two places are only separated by a ditch; the language is the same, and everything else is almost identical, so nothing would be exposed.
Zhao Ju thought for a moment and then said, "Let’s go, we should head back first. What’s important is Ming Yu. Gou Chun has a volatile temperament, and we don’t know if he will deploy troops. Our crossing the boundary needs to be reported to Governor Zhao."
Ming Yu temporarily stayed at the military station as he was sick and couldn’t continue traveling.
Zhao Ju, having no other choice, had to enlist famous doctors nearby to treat him, while also maneuvering troops and assembling forces by the border. Gou Chun, in his anger, dispatched troops near the border that very evening, intending to cross over. But they were discovered by their border patrol, and after a warning, were forced to retreat.
Gou Chun is an impulsive and irritable person, with a petty nature. One never knows if he might impulsively attack, so Zhao Ju must be prepared.
He handed over the migrated villagers to the local county government. The county government is experienced in handling such matters; they would simply give them legitimate status, and categorize them under the lowest artisan grade.
Simple!
In his convalescence, Ming Yu would occasionally walk around the vicinity of the military camp.
Near the military camp are their own fields, but beyond those is where the county government has arranged for the villagers.
The county government feared retaliation, so they purposely arranged them close to the camp. In case of any incident, the military presence there would allow for swift response.
The magistrate’s office found temporary lodging places for them in nearby villages, provided them with a certain amount of relief grain, and then gave them materials to start building houses.
The three villages, still divided into three points, were not far apart — only about two or three miles.
The people of the three villages were already familiar with each other, and seeing that they weren’t far from one another now, felt at ease. Furthermore, building houses now provided them with payment, serving as relief through work.
But these houses were for them to live in.
It was said that once they’re built, they would draw lots to determine who gets which house, and because they didn’t know which one they’d draw, they all worked diligently on building the houses, fearing any future discomfort.
Ming Yu would occasionally visit them. They had clearly just escaped a cataclysm, narrowly escaping death, yet they didn’t exhibit any fear or anxiety. Instead, they were lively and full of vitality.
More so than when living in their own villages, they were more at ease and joyful.
Ming Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but smile.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ming’s message had also reached the border. When Zhao Ju reported, he only mentioned that they crossed the border to rescue Ming Yu, angering Gou Chun, without mentioning the villagers from the three villages.
"The Governor said, use whatever excuse, but shove all the blame onto them. Just say Gou Chun killed our people, and important ones at that," the messenger cautiously glanced at Zhao Ju before asking, "General, do you have any brothers-in-law or brothers? If not, perhaps a sworn brother..."
Zhao Ju: "..."
He hurriedly interrupted him and said, "We already have an excuse. We’ll say Gou Chun abducted our people and we went over to rescue them."
The officer frowned and said, "Are you talking about Mr. Ming? Isn’t this inappropriate? How about saying they robbed us of our people’s belongings, wasn’t Gou Chun pillaging during the summer harvest?"
"No, this excuse is quite good." Zhao Ju initially thought this excuse from Ming Yu was far-fetched, but now he found it much better than what Zhao Ming came up with. He said, "It’s not about Mr. Ming, but some ordinary people, a total of 139 households."
The officer was a bit puzzled, "What?"
Zhao Ju said, "When we met Mr. Ming, we passed through three villages, they didn’t report to Gou Chun. Knowing his temperament, those from the three villages would have been severely punished, so we migrated them all over."
The officer was silent; he had been too naive, not realizing this matter could escalate so much.
One hundred and thirty-nine households, several hundred people; it’s quite different from just taking Ming Yu alone. The former not only creates a bigger commotion but leaves more traces.
The officer had no choice but to run back to Chen County to report, meanwhile advising Zhao Ju, "If a real fight breaks out, you can fight back, but try not to hurt Gou Chun."
If you harm Gou Xi’s younger brother, this incident cannot be easily resolved.
Zhao Ju agreed.
On the other side, Gou Chun was eager to advance, but was repeatedly and strongly advised against it by his assistant generals.
Once, Gou Chun was already swinging his whip, leading a large army near the border. Zhao Ju had also stationed troops at the border, ready for battle, but Vice General Xu came rushing and tightly grabbed him, whispering in his ear: "This matter has been reported, but the Great General has not yet sent a reply. Apparently, even the Great General is indecisive. Hasn’t the always decisive and domineering Great General been hesitant this time?"
Without waiting for Gou Chun to respond, Vice General Xu quickly said, "I fear there’s a change in Yun City, or that things around the Great General have changed."
Gou Chun grabbed him by the collar and glared angrily, "What do you mean?"
"General, the Great General has indulged in pleasures for half a year, and the other generals already have opinions about it. Moreover, not long ago, the Great General even killed Yan Xian...Yan Heng, which only increased dissatisfaction," Vice General Xu said. "The soldiers’ hearts are not united. If a real fight happens, we might not win, and moreover..."
He lowered his voice and said, "There are also the Xiongnu to the north. If we fight Zhao Hanzhang now, won’t it give them another opportunity?"
Liu Yuan has always wanted to extinguish Great Jin and become the rightful Emperor of the world. Now the Emperor is in Yun City. If the Xiongnu deploy troops, they will surely head straight for Yan State. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Unluckily, the areas above Yan State like Jizhou are held by Liu Yuan’s subordinate general, Shi Le. So if they start from Yan State, they don’t even need to pass through Luoyang, they can come straight down from Shangdang and Jizhou.
