Three Kingdoms Sugar King - Chapter 662
Only Krnovel
662. Me? I’m just a student who grew chives.
Hwang Chong called the soldier who was standing guard outside the tent and summoned two of his close associates.
One was Lee Geum, a member of the Wolgi Church, who led Hwang Chung’s pro-military unit, Wol Gi-yeong, and the other was a man named Jangsa Bok-ryong, the head of the civil servants.
“oh! Is General Yongyang finally coming? “The soldiers will all be happy to hear this news.”
Lee Geum, who heard the whole story from Hwang Chung, was very happy. Bokryong seemed to be happy as well, laughing together and talking about the difficulties he had faced.
“oh my. I’m really glad. I was really stressed out during this time. “I don’t know how much my blood dried up as I watched the grain decrease with each passing day.”
Chaeong asked, tilting his head as it was his first time hearing Bokryong’s words.
“Grains are decreasing? What does that mean? As for the issue of concentration, didn’t Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan each agree to bear half of the burden while the captive general stayed here?”
“yes. It was like that. However, not long ago, both sides began sending less and less grain as if they had promised. So, I don’t know how hard it was to get the grain that was lacking. “I even sent my subordinates to noble families living far away to beg for help.”
“I can’t believe something like that happened…” … “It looks like the situation was really serious.”
“That’s right. After Baekgae went down to Xuzhou, the pressure got really intense. Moreover, there was not enough grain for our soldiers to eat, and we had to take care of the people’s share as well, so it was doubly difficult.”
“The people? Are you talking about the refugees who wandered around here and came to rely on the general? “I understand that when a certain number of people are gathered, they send it to Yuan Shao or Gongsun Zan?”
Hwang Chung answered Chaeong’s question with a frown on his face.
“It was like that until Baekgae left for Xuzhou. However, after the new year dawned, both of them suddenly refused to accept refugees. So, there are quite a few people gathered separately outside the Yeongchae now.”
“Is this because of how many people have gathered?”
“How long was that? Look Jaheon. “How many refugees do we have now?”
When Hwang Chung looked at Bok-ryong in response to Chae-ong’s question, Bok-ryong, as if he didn’t know the detailed numbers, turned his head and looked at the official who was sitting in the corner grinding ink and asked.
The official was startled and quickly answered.
“yes. “Yesterday, about a hundred people who fled from Yuju joined us, so now the number is close to 2,000.”
“Two thousand? “It’s only been a little over a month since I went to Xuzhou, and so many people have already gathered?”
When Chaeong spoke with a shocked face, the official scratched his head and opened his mouth.
“That’s because Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan no longer accept refugees, so even the people who were far away have nowhere to go, so they are all flocking here.”
“Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are not accepting more refugees? Why on earth? “If you just take them in and make them work, they will donate grain on their own, so I don’t understand why you’re stopping that?”
“Maybe it’s because there will be a famine soon?”
Everyone was surprised by the official’s words, as it seemed like something Hwang Chung, Lee Geum, and Bokryong had never thought about.
“A bad harvest?”
When Hwang Chung asked, the official put down the ink in his hand and scratched the bridge of his nose with his finger.
“yes. Since my hometown is Georok-gun, Giju, I hear various news from people I know. And before I came here, I planted and raised chives to make a living, and even now, my wife and her servants continue to farm.”
“… … Chives?”
Everyone was puzzled by the sudden mention of chives, but the official continued speaking in a calm tone.
“Normally, chives don’t sprout in the winter, so we take a break from farming, but strangely enough, it was warm this winter, so we planted them again after the harvest last fall. However, because the weather continues to be warm, my wife is happy that it has grown well and is already ready to be harvested.”
“Look. It’s in front of the general, but I can’t say anything useless… … .”
When Bokryong couldn’t hold back any longer and tried to stop him, he shook his head as if he wasn’t an official.
“no. I didn’t bring this up for no reason. The important thing starts now. “I received a letter from my wife a few days ago saying that all the chives I had grown were stolen.”
“You got robbed?”
“It looks like someone cut up all the chives at night and took them away. It is said that some people have been begging for chives to be shared for some time now, saying they have nothing to eat. Maybe one of them took it. Anyway, when I heard this, I thought something was unusual and asked my acquaintances to find out what happened to wheat farming. Then… … .”
“So what?”
“Due to the drought, most of the wheat planted last year withered and died. The government must have sensed that something was unusual and was urging the nobles to harvest the grain they had stored up. “As if that wasn’t enough, they also collect dried mulberry fruits and even soybeans that grow in the wild rather than in the fields where they were collected to feed livestock.”
Chaeong nodded with a dark complexion at the official’s words.
“Huh. “My son-in-law said that a major famine would soon hit the country. Is there already a drought here in Hebei?”
“Baekgae. What do you mean by that? “I heard that General Yongyang said that there would be a great famine in the country?”
In response to Hwang Chung’s question, Chaeong raised his hand, stroked his beard, and brought up the story he had heard from Jeok Chung.
“I don’t know the details, but my son-in-law was convinced that there would be a famine. Now in Western Zhou, they are expanding their granaries as they can and stockpiling grain gathered from all over. “We even ask women and the elderly to collect things like dried mulberry fruit and wild beans.”
“If General Yongyang said that, then something really big is going to happen. In that case, I feel that if I leave the people gathered here behind, it would be like leaving them all to die. however… … .”
After saying that, Huang Chong suddenly remembered something, looked at the official, and asked Fu Long.
“Doesn’t the author have anything else to do?”
Bokryong turned around and asked if Hwangchong was talking about something important, so he could listen to it, and he said with a smile.
“You don’t have to worry about that. “That person is a general, but we may not know it, but he is someone who would die easily to Baekgae, and there is no way he would betray him.”
“uh? “Are you talking about me?”
When the official was taken aback by Bokryong’s words, Chaeong laughed and said,
“Hehehe. That person is a problem because he bothers me so much. “He was happy to come to me and ask me questions about academics, but it was a bit weird to follow me and ask questions outside of the family when I went out to run errands.”
The official bowed his head in embarrassment at Chaeong’s scolding.
“I’m sorry about what happened back then. However, I have been controlling myself since then.”
As Hwang Chung helped Bokryong and Chaeong, his doubts about the official were resolved.
“Well, even Baekgae said that, so I have to believe it. Anyway, I feel bad about leaving 2,000 people like this and taking refuge. “If I were to become the general of a country and not be able to protect my people but instead let them die, what would the people of the world say about me?”
Lee Geum, who was quietly listening to those words, said with a frown on his face.
“I understand the general’s feelings, but it is difficult to retreat with just the soldiers, but it is very difficult to bring the people with you. “It’s obvious that because of the slow-moving people, we won’t be able to go very far and will be caught by the armies of Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan.”
Chaeong opened his mouth with a sad face at Lee Geum’s point.
“Huh. It is unacceptable to leave the people behind. How desperate must he have been to come this far? But leaving it behind, knowing clearly that everyone will die if you throw it away, isn’t something you would do as a person before you live a long life.”
At Chaeong’s words, there was only heavy silence in the hall. But he opened his mouth with a face that only officials could not understand.
“You’re leaving me behind? Why is that answer? “Why not just take a few hundred soldiers and send them somewhere else?”
“What does that mean? “Already, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are constantly putting pressure on us because we don’t know when we will be on the other side. Are you going to just watch it obediently?”
In response to Lee Geum’s question, Hwang Chung also looked at the official with an interesting face.
“You seem to have something on your mind. Would you mind telling me?”
Hearing Hwang Chung’s words, the official scratched his head and spoke one by one.
“There is nothing particularly difficult about it. First of all, send someone to Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan’s army and talk honestly about the situation here. “We are in dire straits because you did not send the grain you promised. We are notifying you that we can no longer afford to protect the people, so we will send them elsewhere.”
“Then, are you saying we should send the people to Taesan County, where General Yongyang is located? If we do that, won’t our intention to join General Yongyang be discovered?”
“you’re right. Moreover, here, excluding Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, the closest power is Cao Cao. If you pass through Chuga County in the south, you will reach Jebuk Province in Yeonju. “I don’t know if it’s Gongsun Chan, but Yuan Shao’s side will be suspicious of why they’re sending it to Taesan County when they can just send it there.”
When Lee Geum immediately brought up the issue in response to Hwang Chung’s question, the official shook his head and said,
“Oh my gosh, wouldn’t something big happen if I did that?”
“It’s a big deal?”
“yes. Do you know what I hear the most these days as I walk around the compound? They want to tear Cao Cao to death. Most of the soldiers were from Western Zhou, so they were full of hostility toward Cao Cao. “Civil servants like me nobly refer to Cao Cao as food and meat.”
Chaeong frowned at the official’s words and explained what he meant.
“Food meat is an insult usually used by civil servants like me. “I hate that guy so much that I want to chew his flesh.”
“yes. you’re right. From the soldiers down to the officials, what would happen if we were to go to Jebeuk to escort the people?”
“… … “It would be wise not to start a fight right away.”
“you’re right. “If you tell me that, even Yuan Shao won’t be able to say anything.”
The official who said that stood up, took out a military map depicting the Pyeongwon County area, placed it on a wooden stand, and continued talking.
“Therefore, the route to escort the people would be to start from here, go to Jinan, pass through Yeokseong here, and then head to Taishan in the south.”
“It’s a reverse… … If it was south of there, Taishan would be directly in the way, right? General Yongyang’s army won’t come that way either. “Even if there is a road there, it is only a mountain road, so it is not a place where a large army can travel.”
In response to Hwang Chung’s question, the official pointed with his hand to a place just south of Yeokseong.
“yes. There is no need to go into Mt. Taishan with people who are weak. “You can just evacuate here.”
“That’s Sanqi County. “I’m sure it’s a plain up there, so the road won’t be rough.”
“That’s right. If you go there and go over just one mountain, you will come to the fortress. It’s located in a remote area on the northwest side of Mount Tai, so if you avoid there, you’ll be safe for the time being. However, we need to provide food for the people, and that can be done somehow if we send someone to General Yongyang and ask him to do so.”
“I know what you mean. But if you leave it like that, won’t you be harmed by Prince Yuan?”
“no way. What do you mean? Would Yuan Shao’s army go out of its way to target the people who were like miserable animals with no flesh to eat? “Right now, in front of you, there is the general’s army, the most delicious prey.”
Bokryong blushed and muttered at the official’s explicit analogy.
“No matter what I say, do you keep saying it like that?”
“… … Nope. That’s right. A country can acquire 10,000 troops, but will it care about its people? Anyway, this is a strange thing. “When I was recruiting people to help me in Gizhou, I believe that Yuan Shao blocked those who could be useful from applying.”
After saying that, Hwang Chong looked at the official and asked with a puzzled look.
“What were you doing before you came here? “I think with a talent like yours, you would have made a name for yourself a long time ago.”
The official shrugged his shoulders and answered Hwang Chung’s question.
“You mean me? I probably told you this earlier. “I was just a student raising chives because I had no idea how to make a living.”