The refugees, carrying tattered bags on their backs and broken bowls in their hands, lined up under the command of the palace's personal guards and went to the front one by one to receive porridge.
Due to the large number of people, there is not just one such team.
Everyone stared at the spoon in the hand of the soldier in front with eager expectation. They saw the big spoon stirring the pot, then scooping out a full spoonful of porridge and pouring it into the bowl of the person at the front of the line.
In addition to porridge, each person can also get a large pancake.
The person whose line was up held a bowl full of porridge in one hand and wiped his body with the other hand. He took the clean cake from another soldier, then left with a smile on his face, constantly saying thank you.
Seeing the people behind them who didn't get a turn, they unconsciously sucked their saliva and waited more and more anxiously, wishing they could rush up immediately. However, with so many soldiers watching, they could only follow the rules and line up obediently.
Both adults and children can get food.
Those who received the food gathered in twos and threes, found a place outside the caravan, sat cross-legged, and started eating bites of bread and porridge.
Some people started crying while eating.
"Mom, we are saved. It would be great if you could hold on for another half a day."
"Gou Wa, our family is going to Xizhou. Dad is useless, so he can only leave you here. In the future, there is no way for me to visit you at your grave, to clean the grass for you, or to burn some paper for you. Dad is sorry for you!"
The sad atmosphere spread, and someone said with a smile.
"You are so stubborn. Who said we have to go to Xizhou? We don't have to go."
"But if we don't go to Xizhou, will we continue to starve?"
"I told you you're stupid, but you still don't admit it." The man called the people around him to come closer to him, then he looked around and found that no one noticed him, then he lowered his head and whispered to the others:
"We can pretend to agree to go to Xizhou. His Royal Highness King Xia will definitely provide us with food along the way. From Lanzhou to Xizhou, we have to pass through Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Guazhou, and Shazhou. When we get to Shazhou, we can change our mind and not go. We can just eat and drink for free for more than a month.
At that time, whether to stay in Ganzhou or Liangzhou, or come back, is up to everyone. But I suggest coming back, because it is almost the spring farming season, and we can go directly back to Yuanzhou to farm. You see, we have eaten and drunk, and it won't affect our spring farming. "
This man's abacus was so good that the beads were about to jump into Ethan Yun's eyes.
"This... you promised me something, but you're not going. Isn't that just a lie?"
The man was so disappointed with his fellow villager that after eating and drinking, his spit was almost sprayed on his fellow villager's face.
"You really don't know what Xizhou is. It doesn't matter if General Xiao took it back. It's still a desert. It's not a joke that there's no grass growing outside Yumen Pass. The place is so poor that there's not even tree bark or grass to eat. Where can you get food if you go there?"
"Oh my God, it's actually like this!" Some people were already moved by what they heard.
But there are also honest ones.
"Don't exaggerate. If Xizhou is really as you said, how could a man as precious as His Royal Highness King Xia be willing to go there? Besides, although I can't read a few words, I know the eight words of gratitude and keeping one's word!
If you were a sneaky person like you in our village, you would be despised by everyone! "
The person who encouraged others to escape suppressed his guilty conscience and said calmly: "I am doing this for your own good. Believe it or not, it's up to you. When the time comes, you will suffer, but don't blame me for not warning you earlier."
"Hmph, my kindness is really taken for granted." He stood up and was about to go to another place, but he was controlled by two soldiers who suddenly appeared as soon as he stood up.
He struggled in panic, "What are you doing?"
Cao Cheng also came over at this time, and grinned when he heard the words, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Don't be afraid, my prince is just inviting you to have a cup of tea."
There were eight other people who were invited to have tea with this person.
The nine people were led to an open space. They looked at each other, not understanding why they were taken out so quickly when they clearly hadn't accomplished anything yet.
Ethan Yun heard Cao Cheng come back to report that the people had been caught, and walked slowly from a distance. When he came closer, Cao Cheng moved a chair with a tactful look, "Your Highness, please sit down."
Ethan Yun didn't hesitate. He lifted his robe and sat down, staring at the nine people in front of him who were lowering their heads.
The nine people standing below were nervous and didn't dare to breathe. As time passed, Ethan Yun still didn't speak. It was October, but the strong sense of oppression made them so nervous that sweat began to break out on their foreheads.
They couldn't see the expression of the person sitting on the chair, they could only hear the rhythmic tapping of the other person's fingers on the armrest of the wooden chair, which made them lower their heads even more, feeling even more uncertain.
Ethan Yun was not trying to scare them on purpose, but was looking at something, something that suddenly appeared in his mind.
Half an hour ago, just when he finished saying that all refugees going to Xizhou would have food to eat, a P*rnographic book appeared in his mind.
This book was originally a story about a fight for the throne, but the original title has faded away and replaced with something else --- "The Hero Who Dominates the World: I'm the Master of My Life".
Ethan Yun was so embarrassed that his toes touched the ground. It had been many years since he had come across such a childish thing.
When the book was opened, the original text disappeared completely, leaving only a little instruction manual on the front page.
It is not accurate to say that this is a book. It is more like a prop, or a system, a lottery system. It is just that we don't know what will be drawn.
According to the user guide, when the book owner accumulates 5,000 points of public trust, the system can be activated. After that, every 1,000 points of public trust will increase the chance of a lucky draw.
At this moment, the book shows that Ethan Yun's favorability and trust are 6,187 points.
Ethan Yun didn't understand how it calculated the data, just like he didn't know why he came here. But he always believed in the principle of "making the best of a good place". Since he was given this system, he would try it out.
The bright word "draw" kept flashing, and Ethan Yun finally couldn't resist the temptation to draw a card. He rubbed his hands and pressed it without hesitation.
After a wave of ripples dissipated, new content appeared on the blank first page of the P*rnographic book.
---Fire eyes and golden pupils!
The world in Yunshu's eyes also changed completely.
The ordinary people and soldiers now had different names displayed above their foreheads, and they were also colored.
Most of the names are green, with a few yellow ones in between. The most eye-catching one is the red name that stands out among the two thousand people.
It was precisely because of this that Ethan Yun was able to capture those nine people.
Ethan Yun concentrated and looked at the P*rnographic book again, only to see new content displayed below the Fiery Eyes. Hostile people were shown in red, trustworthy people were shown in green, and neutral people were shown in yellow.
It seems that not all the 5,000 people I brought with me are on my side, otherwise the system would not have been unable to start at the beginning. Now it seems that this is indeed the case.
However, most of the two thousand refugees are green. Apart from these few with red names, there are very few with yellow names.
However, people are fickle. If these red names continue to make trouble, no one can say whether these green names will turn yellow or red.
Adhering to the principle of resolving the problem as soon as possible and leaving no future trouble, Ethan Yun immediately ordered the arrest of these people after discovering that they were not right.
Ethan Yun, who had been silent for a long time and felt oppressed, suddenly spoke.
"You know each other, but you are not refugees. Tell me what you want to do by hiding among the refugees? And who instructed you to do so?"
Ethan Yun suddenly spoke out, startling those people.
Some who were already panicking were so frightened that they fell to their knees.
But there were also those who were strong in their mentality. "I don't know what your Highness means. We fled together and naturally got to know each other on the road. How could anyone be instructing us? If your Highness is forcing us and doesn't want us to continue following you, then we will leave. There is no need to find excuses for us to have other plans."
Not only did this person deny it, he also took the opportunity to discredit Ethan Yun.
If they left, it would mean that Ethan Yun treated the refugees differently, which meant that what he said before, that he would take them with him as long as they were willing to go to Xizhou, was all a lie.
And the message given to others is that King Xia drove them away today, but who knows who will be driven away tomorrow? How many of these refugees will be left in a month?
Ethan Yun could see through these little tricks in the words. He smiled and said playfully: "You're quite stubborn."
He did not stop anyone, so the commotion here still attracted some people's attention, and many people spontaneously moved over here. Fortunately, for the sake of Ethan Yun's safety, Cao Cheng was afraid that many people would surround him, so he separated the refugees outside.
But there was no obstruction, and people outside could hear the conversation clearly.
Seeing this, the man took the opportunity to say:
"Your Highness, are you still trying to force a confession? Even if Your Highness tortures me, I will still say that I came from Yuanzhou with everyone else. We are all poor people who were forced to leave our homes due to the famine. How can there be someone behind this?"
This person's words immediately attracted the approval of others.
"That's right. If there is any instigation, it is God who has caused us to be like this."
The people were easily fooled and instigated, and seeing their voices growing louder and louder, Ethan Yun used his hand to signal them to be quiet.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cheng shouted at the refugees who did not respond, and they became quiet after seeing Ethan Yun's action. "Let's see what His Highness has to say."
Ethan Yun whispered to a soldier beside him, and then the man led more than ten people to surround the nine people and began to take off their coats with quick movements.
"Why are you taking off my clothes?"
"Is there still any law and justice? How can you steal someone's clothes in broad daylight?"
The weather was already cold, and although the men's clothes were ragged, they still wore several layers of clothing. The soldiers completely ignored their shouting and quickly took off their ragged outer clothes.
It was not until this moment that the refugees outside widened their eyes.
After these people took off their outer clothes, they revealed their clean and tidy inner clothes. The fabric looked extremely soft and was not something that these refugees could afford to wear.
The refugees outside looked at each other in confusion.
"this..."
"How could this happen? Do they really have other motives?"
Ethan Yun stood up and walked in front of them.
"You said you were with them?"
Ethan Yun pointed at the refugees watching, then turned his gaze back and continued, "But they all came from several towns in Yuanzhou that were affected by the disaster, and they are all farmers. They became refugees because they couldn't get enough food. I wonder which refugee can afford to wear such a nice cotton lining?
Even if they had such good clothes, they would have exchanged them for food long ago. How could they be reluctant to part with a few pieces of clothes when they were so hungry that they had to eat tree bark?"
The man's dusty, dark face was filled with anxiety, but Ethan Yun gave him the final blow.
Ethan Yun pointed at the shoes on his feet and said, "Why don't you tell me how you, an ordinary farmer, can wear a pair of military-style boots?"
Although this pair of boots has been deliberately made to look old and worn, and is very different from its original appearance, the uppers and soles of the military boots are both engraved with special patterns.
It is absolutely impossible for ordinary people to have such a pair of shoes.
Ethan Yun looked at him with a half-smile, "You can't possibly say that you killed a soldier and stole his boots, right?"
It was not until this moment that the stubborn refugee finally fell to his knees.
In fact, Yunshu himself couldn’t see anything wrong with the boots. Even his original body, who had lived in the palace for many years, had no knowledge of this.
It was Cao Cheng who discovered this problem.
After Yunshu asked him to arrest someone, he asked his Highness how he could tell that someone had a problem. Yunshu didn't know how to answer, so he simply threw the question back to him, asking him to think about it more.
Finally, Cao Cheng reported the situation to Ethan Yun with a look of surprise, and Ethan Yun nodded mysteriously, indicating that he guessed correctly.
Cao Cheng was extremely happy, but he didn't know that his Highness not only loved to deceive his enemies, but also his own people.
As for why Ethan Yun felt that there was something wrong with the inner garments, it was because they were reluctant to change the shoes they wore outside, so they would certainly not change the inner garments that were invisible.
Anyway, he has the standard answer. As for the deduction process of catching people, he can always find clues by cheating a little.
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