“Also, everyone must pay attention to hygiene. Under no circumstances should anyone urinate or defecate here. If anyone is found to be ill, they must be immediately removed from here and isolated. Understood?”
Jin Feng reminded them once again.
“Understood.” Zhou Youda and Han Feng nodded at the same time.
The three continued talking as they walked. When they reached the workshop entrance, somehow they were recognised.
In an instant, everyone in the workshop rushed towards the door, kneeling down and kowtowing in the direction of the three men.
They shouted words like “living Bodhisattva” and “benefactor”.
Looking at the dense crowd kneeling on the ground, Jin Feng felt a deep ache in his heart.
Gathering everyone into a single spacious room meant the living conditions were truly appalling.
Yet the common people were still this grateful…
“Where else could Chen Ji find such simple and honest people!”
Jin Feng sighed, cursing the fatuous ruler twice in his mind, then left with Zhou Youda and Han Feng.
They had not gone far when suddenly a escort master braved the cold wind, galloping towards them on horseback.
Seeing the three men, the escort master quickly reined in his warhorse.
The horse neighed, its two front hooves rearing high.
Snow sprayed all over Jin Feng.
“Old Tong, are you trying to die? With so many people around, you still ride that fast. If you had hit the gentleman, I would skin you alive!”
Da Liu brushed the snow off Jin Feng while scolding the rider.
Jin Feng, however, frowned deeply.
He recognised this escort master. He was the leader of the Zhong Ming team in Xichuan, named Tong Yuanlin.
Before Han Feng arrived, many matters were reported directly to Jin Feng by Tong Yuanlin.
He was a very steady person, usually quite cautious in his actions.
Galloping through a crowd now meant something urgent must have happened.
Sure enough, after jumping down, the escort master did not even greet his direct superior Han Feng. He rushed straight to Jin Feng’s side and hurriedly pulled out a slip of paper from his bosom. “Sir, news just arrived from Jiangnan.”
A sense of foreboding rose in Jin Feng’s heart. He quickly unfolded the paper.
A few sentences were written in very small characters on the slip, yet they instantly made Jin Feng’s eyes redden.
Grabbing the escort master’s arm, he demanded, “How is Xiao Bei?”
The note said that while Tang Xiaobei was raising grain in Jiangnan, the fleet had been ambushed by bandits.
The bandits were numerous and had scouted the escorts’ situation in advance. They occupied advantageous terrain, making it difficult for the escorts’ heavy crossbows and catapults to be effective. Losses were severe.
During the battle, the boat Tang Xiaobei was on was also sunk by rocks dropped by the bandits.
After falling into the water, Tang Xiaobei’s whereabouts were unknown.
Tong Yuanlin hesitated for a moment before replying, “Sir, this is all the information that has come back so far…”
Communication in Da Kang was truly too backward. Pigeon post was the fastest method available.
However, training carrier pigeons took time, and the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had only recently begun using them.
With pigeon post, transmitting intelligence from the capital or Jiangnan to Xihewan no longer required sending people thousands of li.
It not only saved manpower costs, but the speed of message delivery was several times faster.
Yet the drawbacks of pigeon post were also very obvious.
Pigeons flying from Jiangnan had to cross thousands of mountains and rivers.
Since they liked to forage near human settlements, they could be captured by hunters at any time along the way.
Moreover, the paper slips they carried could not be too heavy, or they could not fly.
In fact, several pigeons had been sent from Jiangnan, splitting the story into segments. Tong Yuanlin had only received one so far.
The other pigeons had either been caught by hunters or delayed by the recent harsh weather and had not yet arrived.
“What should we do?”
Jin Feng was burning with anxiety.
It was currently the season of north winds, and there had even been a snowfall. Pigeons flying from Jiangnan to the northwest would be much slower than usual.
That meant several days had already passed since Tang Xiaobei’s disappearance.
Tang Xiaobei could not swim. Would she be in danger after falling into the water?
But knowing that panicking would only make things worse, Jin Feng took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
“Old Han, go into the city immediately to find the Ninth Princess and Lord Qing. Tell them I have an urgent matter and need them to come here at once.”
Jin Feng quickly issued orders. “Da Liu, go notify Brother Liang, Da Zhuang, and Houzi. Tell them to come find me for a meeting right away.”
“Yes!”
Han Feng and Da Liu also realised the gravity of the situation and turned to run.
While waiting for Zhang Liang, Da Zhuang, and Houzi to arrive, Jin Feng turned to Zhou Youda. “Mr Zhou, I must go to Jiangnan at once. I am leaving Xichuan in your hands.”
“Sir, rest assured. As long as Zhou Youda has breath in his body, I will ensure the suffering brothers survive as well.”
Zhou Youda, who was usually moderate and avoided absolute promises, now thumped his chest in guarantee.
“I believe you!” Jin Feng patted Zhou Youda’s shoulder firmly.
He could see that Zhou Youda truly treated those refugees with branded faces as family.
For these people, he would truly give everything.
Soon, Zhang Liang arrived on horseback with Da Zhuang and Houzi.
Behind them followed their respective deputies.
“Sir, Da Liu said something happened to Madam Xiaobei in Jiangnan. What is the situation?”
Houzi leapt down before his horse fully stopped, landing in front of Jin Feng.
“I do not know the details,” Jin Feng shook his head.
Once Zhang Liang and Da Zhuang had dismounted, he quickly said, “I need to take three hundred black-armoured escorts to Jiangnan as soon as possible. Brother Liang, prepare here. Also, Houzi, you and Old Han will come with me to Jiangnan.”
Though Houzi usually seemed unreliable, he was actually bold yet meticulous, the best scout under his command.
“I will immediately have the first, second, and third companies prepare.”
Zhang Liang turned to call a deputy to arrange it.
“Good!” Houzi agreed at once.
He was secretly rather excited.
With the war fully over, he had long been bored to death.
“While I am away, there are some matters you need to pay attention to.”
Jin Feng led them into the tent, opened the map, and briefed them on key points.
After Zhang Liang and the others left, the Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao arrived.
The two had clearly not taken a carriage. Ice had formed on their hair and cloaks.
Yet neither minded. As soon as they entered, they asked, “Sir, why the urgent summons? What has happened?”
Zhang Liang, Houzi, and Da Zhuang were all trusted people. When Da Liu went to fetch them, he had mentioned Tang Xiaobei’s situation.
But in Han Feng’s view, the Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao were not yet fully trusted, so he only said Jin Feng needed them and nothing more.
“Xiaobei was attacked by bandits while raising grain in Jiangnan. Her whereabouts are now unknown, and we do not know if she is alive or dead. I must go to Jiangnan immediately.”
Jin Feng took out his seal and handed it to the Ninth Princess. “The cold wave has arrived. If you two need to draw grain from the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce warehouses, feel free to do so. But I hope my grain all reaches the stomachs of the common people, not feeds the worms.”
Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish. Regarding disaster relief, Jin Feng actually had detailed plans.
He did not intend to provide direct aid, but rather to find ways to give the people work.
However, this sudden turn of events had disrupted all of Jin Feng’s plans.
