Strong Winds Return Home

The two people were surrounded by bright torches. A-Ning looked at the group of rebels holding long swords in front of him, and stammered to explain: “My…..my brother and I just entered the city today, and we don’t know the way, so we came here. It’s not that we want to steal anything.”

“If you just entered the city, why didn’t you just stay in your residence? What can you come out and do?” The leader brought the torch closer to the two of them, trying to see their faces clearly, and Liu Xian’an took two steps back away from the wave of heat, protecting A-Ning behind him as he explained, “My younger brother and I are both doctors, and many people in the temple have fallen ill. We heard that we can receive medicine at the granary, so we wanted to go out and look for it.”

As he spoke, he gently waved his hand behind his back, signaling the three guards in the shadows not to step forward. A-Ning was still holding onto his young master’s sleeve tightly, looking at the weapons with a foolish expression. One of them was thin and small, and the other was frail. It seemed like they couldn’t cause any big problems, so a rebel said: “General Yuan, if they’re really doctors, let them look at Lao Miao so that you don’t have to ask for Doctor Zhang again.”

The person he called “General Yuan” was named Yuan Zong. He was tall and strong, and really looked like a general on a stage. Yuan Zong looked Liu Xian’an up and down: “How are you medical skills?”

“Fair.”

“Let’s go.” Yuan Zong turned around. “Go and help my Dage’s injury.”

The three guards followed Liu Xian’an not too far away, until they saw the brightly lit “Jinluan Palace.” The manor was surrounded by patrolling rebels, but for the three of them, who were as light as hawks, this was obviously not an obstacle, and they still snuck in easily.

Liu Xian’an was taken to a large courtyard, and just as he entered the door, he bumped into someone who was announcing a decree to promote the bedridden Lao Miao from adjutant to general. Yuan Zong hurriedly stepped forward to congratulate him, and the people outside the courtyard also came to do the same. There was General Li on the left and General Zhao on the right. A-Ning had never seen so many generals in his life. He was dazzled for a while, and couldn’t remember who was who for a long time.

But Liu Xian’an remembered. Not only did he remember, but also relied on their words to roughly rank the generals in the courtyard. As number one, Yuan Zong’s status was not low, and General Miao was also quite authoritative because of his meritorious service.

General Miao’s name was Miao Changqing – Evergreen Grass – and he had indeed been diligently planting crops for most of his life. Due to the perennial toil, his legs and feet would fall ill every time this season came. He casually asked: “Have you been seen by a doctor before?”

“No, I couldn’t even eat enough, so I didn’t have enough money to see a doctor,” Miao Changqing said. “If you take a look, you might not be optimistic about it.”

Liu Xian’an pulled out the needle. “Does it still hurt?”

Miao Changqing tried to move a few times, and said in surprise: “It really doesn’t hurt much.”

The generals hadn’t all left the room yet, and when they heard this, they flocked forward to see. Liu Xian’an spoke again: “These few needles alone won’t cure the pain, and can only temporarily relieve it. You still need to rest more. I will write a prescription, and General Miao will try it for ten days.”

Miao Changqing, of course, didn’t listen to the doctor’s advice. He couldn’t wait to get out of bed, walking back and forth a few times before saying with approval: “Miracle Doctor. Little brother, you are a Miracle Doctor, ah!”

“That’s right, this looks much better than Imperial Doctor Zhang,” the others also said.

“Little brother, what’s your name, can my wrist pain be cured?” 

“I’m about to give birth, I mean, my wife is about to give birth, will the doctor also take a look?”

Liu Xian’an and A-Ning were surrounded by the group, and their ears were buzzing: “We can, we can, everyone, take it easy.”

The next day, the dilapidated temple was turned into a temporary medical center. There was a long queue in front of the door, all of them people who were waiting to see a doctor.

And the city’s security also became tighter, because the Yan army had already crossed Mianshan mountain.

On this day, Liang Shu received a secret report, and Gao Lin joined in to read it together. After reading it, he gave a thumbs up. Capable, and worthy of being someone the prince likes. I think this happy event might as well be held next month. It saves us from having to go to Baihe Mountain Village to pick that person up if there is another war in the future.

“You only see what is in front of you.” Liang Shu lit a fire and burned the secret report. “You can’t open your mouth without talking about war, why can’t you think about peaceful and prosperous times?”

“I do, ah, why wouldn’t I want to?” Gao Lin said, “Who doesn’t want to live in peace. When I don’t have to fight anymore, I will also set up a small courtyard opposite the palace and spend a few months idling about, wandering around the dream capital Wangcheng.”

“I forbid it.” Liang Shu mounted his horse. “Seeing your face, it’s easy to think of the hard days in the northwest where there is no tomorrow, which affects my mood.”

Gao Lin also galloped to catch up, saying cheerfully: “Okay, then I’ll live far away. It is enough for the prince to give me a little more money. WIth the money, I promise to stay as far away as possible and never disturb the prince when he’s seeing Second Young Master Liu.”

The “seeing” he spoke of was more poetic, just like lovers on a stage gazing at each other and holding hands, very pure and clean, but the picture that Liang Shu thought of at these words was much more vivid. There was a large back courtyard in Xiao Wang Palace, which was presently deserted. In the future, it could be used to build a waterside pavilion similar to the one in Baihe Mountain Village. There were ice blocks in the summer and a heater in the winter, plants and flowers all around. Big, comfortable reclining couches would be placed everywhere, so that no matter when he went home, he was sure to find a soft, sleepy, and warm forty-eight thousand year-old lazy egg under a blanket.

“Cough!” Gao Lin was beside him. “Cough, cough!”

Liang Shu: “…….”

“Your Highness, Your Highness,” Gao Lin reminded earnestly, “Put away that expression. War is ahead, think about it a little bit. There is no need to be so affectionate, I just got goosebumps when I saw it, but eighty percent of other people who see it will think the general is bewitched, which is really not conducive to stabilizing the morale of the army.”

Liang Shu said: “Scram.”

Gao Lin scrammed very cooperatively, scramming to the front to command the soldiers.

Birds in spring knew how to flare their gorgeous tails up in courtship. If the prince was courting a mate, why not win the battle and show off his skills to the fullest?

“Line up!” He ordered loudly.

“Triumph in every battle!” There was a uniform shout all over the mountain.

It seemed like thousands of troops were working hard for the lifelong event of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

And Liu Xian’an in the city had also become a moderate celebrity. He had superb medical skills, a pleasant voice, and was soft-spoken. No matter how rough a patient was, he didn’t seem to have any temper. On the contrary, when others saw it, they would always come forward to help him maintain order. Once people got to know each other well, they would also talk a lot. The most frequently discussed topic was the upcoming war, because it was said that the Yan army was already attacking outside the city.

A little girl suddenly cried out with a “wah,” and a woman quickly hugged her into her arms. After comforting her, she explained apologetically: “In the past few days, there are always naughty boys scaring her about the Yan army killing people, and she will cry when she hears it.”

“That is no joke,” one person said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard about Qingyang City?”

When the words “Qingyang City” were mentioned, everyone at the scene fell silent. Only the little girl’s sobs and long sighs could be heard: “How did we come across this troubled world?”

“I heard that elsewhere, there are cities that are not close to the Bai River” A-Ning said, grinding medicine without raising his head. “The people there are living well, and if we hadn’t happened to be going to visit relatives in Qingyang City, we would have been transferred to Wanhe City by the government, and the situation there is not bad.”

“Other places are good, so those of us who are close to the Bai River deserve to be unlucky?”

“No one deserves to be unlucky,” Liu Xian’an said. “It is because they don’t want to be unlucky that everyone gathers here, hoping to live a good life. I’ve heard that our new emperor is very capable, and I wonder if he can cure the flooding next year.”

“Next year, how can it be so fast?” An educated person in the crowd retorted loudly. “That’s the Bai River, at least tens of thousands of zhang long. No, hundreds of thousands of zhang. It is said that its widest width is more distant than the sea.”

“So the Bai River is so long, ah.” Liu Xian’an set down his brush and said doubtfully, “Then how long will it take to manage such a river?”

All the common people were questioned, and for many of them, the longest road they had had traveled in their lives was from their villages to Sanshui City. The rushing river of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of zhang was truly unimaginable. Liu Xian’an said again: “Five years should be enough.”

Five years was also not enough, really not enough. Everyone just asked and answered like this, ten years, fifty years, one hundred years, and finally came to a conclusion. It might take another hundred years, and after tens of thousands of river workers labored day and night, the Bai River could be successfully diverted.

This answer was already grave, because everyone present could not wait a hundred years, and if the Bai River was not properly governed, the people on both sides of the banks would be threatened another day. Even if the emperor was changed, the emperor was not the river god, so wasn’t Baihe still the same in the end?

At this time, a group of patrolling soldiers happened to pass by outside. Liu Xian’an saw them, and stopped them to ask: “General Li, do you know when the emperor plans to start governing the Bai River?”

General Li, who was inexplicably questioned by him: “Who told you that the emperor was going to govern the Bai River?”

“Not now, certainly not now.” A-Ning added, “My brother says it will be in the future, after the emperor fights all the way to Wangcheng.”

“Fighting to Wangcheng has nothing to do with the Bai River,” General Li said. “Such a long river is difficult for the gods to rule. When they fight all the way to Wangcheng, all the followers will be heroes, and they’ll only care about eating delicious food and drinking hard liquor, not about the Bai River.”

He said so, and really thought so, but after he left, Liu Xian’an said: “From Sanshui City to Wangcheng, there are at least a dozen separate cities. Fighting all the way, the troop will only get bigger and bigger. Can Wangcheng really hold so many people? Not to mention that there are millions of people living there. If we went in, what about them?”

One question made the temple become more and more silent. Many people had come here simply because they could no longer live in their hometowns, had no food to eat, and had no way of making a living. They were actually unwilling to fight, not to mention that there were many old, weak, and sick among them who couldn’t fight either. Although Sanshui City had food to eat right now, the newly enthroned emperor would not stay here forever. He would continue to go north, and when the army pulled out of the camp, it would certainly take away the food.

There were only two paths left before everyone. Either join Huang Wangxiang’s team and fight with him, or wander to the next city.

A-Ning said: “Then we will become military doctors, Brother. In any case, five members of our family can work for the emperor.”

Liu Xian’an agreed: “Okay.”

He was all right, but there were many who were not all right, and the woman with several children was the first to cry, not knowing when this long night would end. An old man was next, and the temple was filled with sobs. A-Ning comforted: “Everyone, don’t be quick to cry. Let’s ask the emperor, if the man of the family goes to fight, can his family stay in Sanshui City and share some grain and land?”

“Where is there any surplus food in this city?” A young man said. “We used to be able to receive three cornmeal loaves every day, but now we can only receive two. It’s even hard to feed half the children. A few days ago, I went to help the doctor retrieve medicine, and the granary was almost bottomed out.”

Without food, it meant that the next round of hunger was coming. Coupled with the Yan army approaching outside the city, everyone’s hearts were suspended.

Many people also found that whether this battle was won or lost, it seemed to have no meaning to them.

Liang Shu led his army forward. On the horizon, the walls of Sanshui City and the bright yellow flag of the rebels appeared faintly.

The Dayan iron cavalry’s black armor glinted coldly, and their long swords refracted a harsh light. Huang Wangxiang stood at a high place and looked at the black tide in the distance, wearing an ill-fitting dragon robe and holding a sword in his hand.

He had heard the stories of Liang Shu, Dayan’s first-class general, young, brutal, and invincible.

At that time, he was just a farmer in the fields, holding a bowl and listening to legends from thousands of li away.

Huang Wangxiang coughed twice. He was really too tired recently. The whole of Sanshui City was so smoky, dirty, and smelly, far from the ideal kingdom of heaven. Every day seemed to contain endless trivial matters, pushing the situation toward a worse direction.

There was a sound from downstairs, and then Liu Xian’an was brought up. He volunteered to see the new emperor. Although the ministers felt that more should be known when it came to the selection of Imperial physicians, the conditions in the city were limited, and there was indeed no room to pick and choose.

This was the first time Liu Xian’an had seen Huang Wangxiang. He was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man with no murderous aura, and even with a sword in his hand, he looked more like he was holding a hoe. Liu Xian’an could also see the Dayan army in the distance, so at this moment, his heartstrings couldn’t help but twitch slightly.

“Audacious!” Someone reprimanded. “Seeing the emperor and still not kneeling down!”

“No need,” Huang Wangxiang said. “I hear you are a miracle doctor with excellent medical skills. Can you cure insomnia?”

“Yes, insomnia is what I know best.” Liu Xian’an asked, “Your Majesty cannot sleep well?”

Huang Wangxiang sighed deeply: “Yes.”

Liu Xian’an said: “Because I need to make a diagnosis, I must ask everything clearly.”

Huang Wangxiang nodded: “All right, you ask.”

“Is the emperor’s insomnia due to the Yan army in the distance?”

“Not entirely.” Huang Wangxiang said, “I have fought against the Yan army many times and slept very well.”

“Then it is because of the commander of the Yan army.”

“That is also not it.”

Liu Xian’an: “Truly?”

Huang Wangxiang looked at him, puzzled.

Liu Xian’an explained: “I hear that he is victorious in every battle.”

Huang Wangxiang shook his head: “My insomnia started on the day I was enthroned, and there was no news of Liang Shu at that time.”

“So the emperor was too happy to sleep?”

“Presumptuous!”

Before Huang Wangxiang could speak, the generals next to him shouted angrily first, and General Yuan was the loudest among them. Being so happy that you couldn’t sleep after ascending the throne, what an embarrassing image of a humble low-status person putting on airs. Some even pointed at Liu Xian’an’s nose and cursed: “He has long talked nonsense in the ruined temple to shake the morale of the army. Looking at him now, he dared to talk strangely to the emperor. Perhaps he is a spy sent by the Yan army!”

During war, the word “spy” could make everyone’s nerves tense. Long swords were promptly drawn out of their sheaths with a shing. Ordinary people’s legs may have gone soft, but Second Young Master Liu was a person who disregarded life and death, so he seemed very calm, so calm that Huang Wangxiang asked, “You’re not afraid?”

Liu Xian’an said: “I’m not a spy, so naturally I am not afraid.”

Huang Wangxiang asked the man who had just shouted: “How did he shake the morale of the army?”

The other party replied: “When seeing the doctor in the temple, people were told that it is useless to keep fighting.”

“I didn’t say that fighting was useless. My original words were to encourage young and middle-aged people to join the army and go all the way north, so that they can have a meal in the future,” Liu Xian’an said. “But most young and middle-aged people have parents, wives, and children. They can’t join the army, and can only stay in Sanshui City or go to other cities. That day, I asked two generals who were passing by if there were any resettlement measures, but they said nothing in the end. In the future, whoever wants to eat must perform meritorious deeds, otherwise they will starve. But when we entered the city, we clearly heard the officers say that as long as we take refuge with the emperor, everyone will be able to eat.”

Huang Wangxiang looked at the group of generals.

Someone gritted his teeth and said: “Your Majesty, there is not much food left in the city, and new refugees are still being let in every day. We’ve slowed down as much as possible, but……there are still too many people who need to eat.”

In fact, it didn’t need to be stated by him. Huang Wangxiang also knew this. Let everyone have enough to eat – this was what he had proposed. Before, it was just a slogan during the war and didn’t carry much weight, but since becoming the emperor in Sanshui City, this slogan had become an Imperial decree, a task that must be completed.

He spent most of his life’s wisdom ruling this new capital and learning how to be an emperor. Previously, he had thought this matter would not be too difficult. As long as he had the nation in his heart, and was kind and just, he would certainly gain support and create a peaceful and prosperous world. But the reality was in front of him. Sanshui City was becoming more and more chaotic and getting worse under his various new policies.

And the original residents of Sanshui City seemed to hate him far more than they hated the Yan army. No one was enthusiastic about spilling their blood on behalf of hatred, which was indeed too different from what he had thought before.

At this moment, Liu Xian’an still asked: “Why does the emperor want to slow down the speed of the refugees entering the city? They all came here with hope, and have no other extravagant demands. They only want to have a meal. Is this difficult?”

Was it difficult?

In the past, Huang Wangxiang felt that it would not be difficult at all. He believed that the reason he was starving was because corrupt officials in his hometown were rampant and would not distribute food to the people. As long as one was honest, the problem would be solved. But now, he found that trying to feed everyone was really too difficult.

As for the Bai River, it was even more like a wide-mouthed beast. Even if he resembled the rumors and could easily transform into hundreds or thousands of Huang Wangxiangs and throw himself into the river, it would be difficult to make any impact.

It was impossible for him to manage the Bai River well in his lifetime.

Just like it was impossible for him to be a good emperor.

Liu Xian’an gazed at the city: “The Yan army is almost here.”

He asked Huang Wangxiang: “What does the emperor plan to do with the thousands of people gathered outside the city gate?”

T/N: LXA spitting some straight facts.