Accidentally dressed as an empress

Chapter 178: Opening Warehouses for Disaster Relief

Yunxiu stood on the towering city wall, and the whistling wind on the wall was still pulling at the corners of her clothes.

Yun Xiu lowered his head and saw Su Qing leading his team to the bottom of the city gate tower, and then walked down the city wall with a nimble posture.

The bricks and stones of the city wall are slightly mottled due to the erosion of time, revealing an ancient and vicissitudes of life. A few dead grasses are growing tenaciously between the cracks in the wall, shivering in the cold wind.

The sharp wind whistled past like a whistle, blowing her hair wildly.

Su Qing walked forward respectfully, bowed slightly, clasped his fists, and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, after cleaning and inspection, the prefectural governor's residence has been cleaned up. Everything is ready. Please proceed."

Yunxiu raised her head slightly, a hint of satisfaction flashed in her deep eyes, and she nodded gently, "Let's go over there." After that, she walked forward.

Yunxiu's yellow cloak fluttered in the wind behind her, like a flag flying on the battlefield.

Su Qing quickly turned sideways and followed behind Yunxiu, keeping a distance of one step.

Yunxiu led everyone forward and arrived at the prefectural government office.

The gate of the prefectural government was tall and majestic. Rows of copper nails as big as bowls were inlaid on the vermilion door panels, shining with a cold metallic luster in the sun, as if telling of the power of the past.

The animal head holding a ring on the door was carved vividly, with its eyes wide open. Yunxiu held the door knocker and pushed open the door.

When you step into the prefectural mansion, the first thing that catches your eye is a spacious courtyard.

The ground is paved with bluestone slabs, on which the years have left mottled marks. Some weeds have grown in the gaps between the slabs, swaying gently in the breeze, adding a sense of desolation to this originally solemn courtyard.

There is a rockery in the center of the courtyard. The stones are of strange shapes, some look like crouching beasts, and some look like eagles spreading their wings to fly. But now it looks a little lonely and is covered with moss, as if the rockery is wearing a green coat.

Walking along the corridor of the courtyard, although the carved beams and painted buildings are exquisite, they can hardly hide the erosion of time.

The colored paint had peeled off a bit, revealing the wood grain underneath. The originally gorgeous decorations on the pillars of the corridor were also a little damaged. In some places, the gold foil had fallen off, leaving only a dull background.

The lobby was empty and silent. The four characters "Integrity and Honesty" were still on the high-hanging plaque, but they seemed to be silently mocking something.

The tables and chairs were neatly arranged, but a thin layer of dust had accumulated on them. The sunlight came in through the window, and the dust flew in the air.

Yunxiu stood in the middle of the lobby, feeling a mixture of emotions.

Yunxiu stood in the center of the hall, looking around, her mind racing. She looked at the four characters "Integrity and Honesty" on the high-hanging plaque, a hint of sneer playing on her lips. "Hmph, those four words seem so ironic now. If someone were truly honest and upright, why would they desert the battlefield and let the people suffer?"

Yunxiu walked to the granary behind the prefect's mansion.

The heavy door of the granary slowly opened in front of her, and a stale smell blew in her face, but what came into view was an empty warehouse with only a few grain crumbs left on the ground, making the place look even more desolate.

A hint of understanding flashed in Yunxiu's eyes. She quickly walked through the granary, checking every corner, but there was no grain stored here at all.

Helplessly, Yunxiu took a deep breath, closed her eyes, concentrated and opened the system.

In her consciousness, light flickered, and a virtual space where food was stored emerged.

As her mind controlled the process, bags of grain slowly emerged from the system and landed steadily on the floor of the granary. The grain piled up, gradually forming a small mountain.

After putting the grain away, she left the granary and returned to the lobby.

Yunxiu's men also entered the hall one after another. Zhong Yi was the first to speak, "My dear wife, I've already checked outside the East City Gate. There are refugees everywhere, and the ground is full of starving people. The people in the city only have enough food for one day.

Now that we have taken over this prefectural government, we must urgently find ways to provide relief to the refugees."

The issue of food is a matter of life and death and must be resolved as soon as possible. The people must not be allowed to fall into despair again.

Otherwise, even if they drove away the bandits, they still had no good way to let the victims live a good life. Then in the hearts of the people, what was the difference between her and the governor who fled from the battlefield and the bandit who was the king of Champa.

Yunxiu already had a plan for work-for-relief in mind, but the refugees had been hungry for so long, how could they have the energy to work?

It’s better to open the warehouses to provide disaster relief first and not worry about anything else.

In ancient times when productivity was backward, agriculture was the basis of life, so the top priority was to solve the problem of Yunyin City not being able to grow food.

After solving the major issue of farming, let's think about the future industrial development of Yunyin City. Salt was originally the foundation of Yunyin City, but now it has declined.

Ren Li, the white glove who runs her business, is still in Yunyang City. She has to call her over to discuss the matter.

So Yunxiu sent a message to Ren Li, asking her to come to Yunyin City and bring Zhong Lu and the garrison with her.

Yunxiu looked at Zhong Yi, Su Qing, Su Da and the others, "Ayi, all of you come here."

Yun Xiu continued, "The most urgent task is to find food to provide relief to the victims. Otherwise, the land will be full of starving people, and Yunyin City will be doomed."

"Master, we searched the camp and confiscated about 5,000 dan of grain from the bandits' granary." Su Dadao.

"Five thousand shi, is it enough for so many refugees?" Zhong Yi frowned.

Yunxiu raised her head slightly, her eyes becoming firm. "There's still some grain in the prefectural granary. Ah Yi, I'll leave the disaster relief to you. Su Da and Su Er, quickly gather the men and prepare to move the grain. Relief for the victims cannot be delayed."

Yunxiu remembered that Zhong Yi had also provided porridge to the victims last time. That experience gave him a certain understanding of disaster relief. After careful consideration, Yunxiu confidently handed over all matters related to disaster relief to him.

"I have my own way to raise the remaining food." Yunxiu paused and said.

When the men heard that Yunxiu had a solution, hope ignited in their eyes and they all responded in unison: "Yes!"

Then they each took their orders and left.

"Su Qing." Yun Xiu looked at Su Qing with some reluctance, "How many days did General Lin give you?"

"Your Highness, I am willing to stay in Yunyin City until Your Highness no longer needs me. When I return, I will apologize to the general." Su Qing knelt on one knee and said.

Yunxiu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a warm yet helpless smile, "You, you..."

Yunxiu never doubted Su Qing's loyalty. She shook her head gently and said, "Military orders are as strong as mountains. When the time comes, return to Xiling. I've worked so hard to get you to the military camp, so do your best. In the future, the higher your position, the more help you can give me. Do you understand?"

"Your Highness, I can stay for seven days, and there are still five days left. I don't want to leave..." Su Qing whispered.

Su Qing lowered his head, Yun Xiu smiled and patted Su Qing's shoulder.

One day later, Zhong Yi took inventory of the food, busied himself with preparations, and began to distribute porridge.

The porridge stall is set up in the square in the city. Several large pots are lined up in a row, and the pots are filled with steaming rice porridge. The rising white steam fills the air, carrying a faint rice fragrance, which is the most soothing smell in a famine.

Zhong Yi was busy running around, directing the soldiers to maintain order. Winter was almost approaching, and Zhong Yi's forehead was covered with sweat, but he had no time to wipe it off.

Some of the victims were so weak that they could barely stand. He would rush forward to support them, his eyes full of concern, and whisper, "Eat slowly, don't worry, there's plenty of porridge."

As he spoke, he personally brought a bowl of porridge full of porridge to them, and did not forget to remind them: "This porridge is hot, please be careful."

Some children were crying loudly with hunger, their little faces red from crying. He hurriedly took out the prepared dry food from the bag beside him and handed it to the children's parents, saying gently: "Give the children some food to fill their stomachs first, the porridge will be here soon."

The child's parents took the dry food, their eyes full of gratitude, and kept saying thank you.

During the porridge distribution process, some difficult situations also occurred. Someone tried to cut in line, which caused dissatisfaction among the surrounding disaster victims and the line began to become a little chaotic.

Zhong Yi arrived immediately. He looked serious but spoke calmly, "Everyone is hungry. It's not easy for us. Let's come in order. Everyone will have porridge."

The person who cut in line looked ashamed and quietly returned to the end of the line. Some people were worried that there wouldn't be enough porridge and scrambled for it, causing a lot of noise.

Zhong Yi stood on a high ground and shouted, "Fellow villagers, don't rush! We have enough food prepared, enough for everyone to eat!"