She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

Meng Bing came out of the tent almost covered in cold sweat.

When Shi Ding took out the various letters bound in chronological order, he knew that he was completely out of touch with the new camp established by the young marquis in front of him.

Hengzhi was not a child who did not understand the ways of the world, nor was he as unreliable as he appeared to be. Every step he took was based on his foresight in anticipating at least a few steps ahead.

Just like when people play chess, every move is carefully considered.

When he was still the crown prince, he had already placed spies in Youbei and secretly set up his own sentry posts in Louguan. Otherwise, how could he have had time to plan today and leave room for maneuver before the news from Louguan arrived.

Meng Bing pondered and his pace unconsciously slowed down.

"Captain, please stay." Shi Ding's voice came from behind.

The left and right generals of the guards were supposed to be the confidants of the governor-general. Hengzhi was the only son and had long been designated as the next Marquis of Zhao, so the old marquis delegated power to him. The three of them had already had contacts with each other, which was also a common thing.

Shi Ding saw Meng Binghun coming out in a daze, and thought that he must be feeling a bit troubled.

"I have been busy with official duties and must have visited several counties these days. How is your family, Captain?" Shi Ding changed his serious face and suddenly put on a smile, which made Meng Bing, who was in a state of confusion, suddenly recall the days when they were colleagues.

They had fought in many battles when they followed Heng Qi. Meng Bing was a military candidate, so he was promoted faster than Shi Ding and Chao Xu. However, he liked to hang out in the camp and didn't have any airs of a general, so they had a good relationship.

At that time, Shi Ding followed the sixteen-year-old prince to quell the friction on the border. The reason why it was called friction was that for those of them who had truly experienced a war, the battle was indeed smaller.

It was also Shi Dingxiao who told him not to look down on the young and poor. Although the prince lacked experience, he was good at seeing the big picture from the small details and had a clear mind. He would definitely become a good ruler in the future.

It was Meng Bing's indifference and his laughing attitude that led to his embarrassing appearance today.

"All good, all good." Meng Bing murmured a few words in reply.

Shi Ding smiled at him and knew what he was thinking, "I used to be under the command of the former Marquis Zhao, and now we are about to encounter chaos. It is a great honor for me to share the same robe with you."

"Yes." Meng Bing raised his head and glanced at the gloomy sky. "Now, it is the young marquis who is in charge of the central tent."

"You." Shi Ding patted his shoulder, "You always miss the old times. People are subject to ups and downs, and things are up and down. How can there be a long-term solution? Besides, when the former Marquis was in his later years, didn't you know that indulging in beauty and living a life of drunkenness and dreams, is that a good thing for Kezhou?"

Meng Bing remained silent.

"Besides, we are on the border of Dachong, and we are facing Youbei head-on. Isn't the stalemate of several decades enough? Young Marquis is young and steady, it's time to use some new blades to break this old situation. At our age, we can still fight for the country and the people and keep our integrity. It is a great blessing."

These words were undoubtedly the push that cleared the fog and enabled Meng Bing, who was experiencing mixed emotions, to see the blue sky.

Wasn't it because he had never fought alongside them before that he looked down on Hengzhi and didn't trust them at all? But over the years, the grass in Youbei had grown new, the horses had been replaced, and the soldiers had come one after another, all of them were brave and good at fighting, and never fell behind.

And what about them?

The short-lived stability has begun to show its flaws. If the abscess is not dug out in time, what awaits Kezhou will be its own extinction.

Meng Bing pondered for a long time, as if he was immersed in his own artistic conception. After a while, he turned around and walked quickly towards the tent.

Shi Ding did not follow. He looked at his old comrade's back from afar and breathed a sigh of relief.

The war is imminent, so if you can add one more member to your lord's arsenal, then do so.

There are about 100,000 soldiers in Louguan Camp. For a county, it is naturally sufficient in terms of armaments, but for a military pass, it is obviously a bit difficult.

When Youbei launches the attack, his elite troops must be in the front. Under this attack, Louguan can only move close to the city gate and defend it. Once it is lost, all the soldiers stockpiled inside the city gate will have to respond to the enemy, and there will surely be heavy casualties.

The Kezhou camp has another 150,000 soldiers. Apart from the 30,000 soldiers who are usually deployed to defend Luo County, there are a total of 120,000 soldiers left. If they are sent to Louguan all at once, it will definitely attract attention.

Not to mention how many spies there are in Kezhou. Even if they are not spies from Youbei, but just the remnants of Beitang, it will be enough to cause trouble for the army.

Therefore, the problem now is how to secretly transfer troops so that You Bei would underestimate the situation in Kezhou City.

The military command was in Qin Shengguang's hands. He naturally supported all the decisions made by Hengzhi, but he still needed to wait for a good opportunity to make this decision.
-
Shui Changdong recently negotiated a new business deal with a flower and plant growing shop in Pingzhou.

The shopkeeper was originally a gardener, and it was said that his father had once tended the flowers and plants for Princess Pingchang, who was A's aunt and the elder sister of Emperor Wu'an.

Princess Pingzhou has always had an easy-going personality. After her husband died young, she has been a widow in Pingzhou. She just likes to spend her time tending to flowers and plants, so there are many famous gardeners in Pingzhou.

Ordinary farmers grow crops at home, but this shopkeeper Wang exchanged fields with others, picking the ones backed by mountains and forests, and planted pine, cypress, plum and chrysanthemum, all of which are noble species. In recent years, perhaps because life has been difficult and agricultural taxes have been getting higher and higher, he planted some other species and sold them to officials and families, which made him somewhat famous.

Ah-yi thought that no matter whether it was a wedding or a funeral, there were always some things that were needed. For example, the bride's flower crown, or the round fan she held in her hand, could also be decorated with flowers. Moreover, the bride and groom's homes would always have festive flowers and plants placed to make the place lively and bustling.

Or it may be the grave of the deceased, surrounded by pine and cypress trees is always common, and good varieties can also enhance the reputation of the shop.

So A'ao traveled to Pingzhou in a dusty manner. It was already late autumn, and Hengzhi had not returned from the camp yet.

The letter was sent home and then taken to Shuichangdong by Yunli. Based on her understanding of A'an, if she came back, she would go to the shop first.

The autumn wind has been bleak in recent days, and many people have caught a cold for unknown reasons, causing panic among the people. There are fewer people on the streets, and almost no houses are open.

Ah-yi and Mrs. Zhou were walking on the street, and they felt something was wrong. "It's not cold enough for water to freeze, but the city is deserted?" Mrs. Zhou was so exhausted that her mouth was dry and she didn't bother to ask further.

The two of them hurried back to Shuichangdong in the bleak wind.

What caught my eye was Zheng Da lying on the table in the hall, as if he was asleep.

Zhao Zhuo walked back and forth in the room with Fusheng in his arms, looking anxious and flustered. Ruzui looked upset and confused, and no one knew what he was thinking about with his brows furrowed.

"What's going on?" Ah'ao took down the curtain that blocked the wind and stepped inside in two or three steps.

Ruzui finally found his backbone when he saw the two of them coming back, and immediately went to greet them, "Finally you're back, our shop almost couldn't operate!"

Ah'ao's eyelids were almost closed, so she immediately filled two cups of strong tea, handed one to Mrs. Zhou, and drank one herself. Only then did she feel half alive again.

"Don't worry, just take your time."

Ruzui sighed again, not knowing where to start. "I don't know why, but a few days after you left, many people in the city started to have high fevers, rashes, vomiting and diarrhea. It was really scary. We closed the shop during those days and asked Wanlang and the others to go home to hide. The three of us have been living in the shop since then, and nothing serious has happened."

Ah's hand holding the cup paused for a moment.

"Then some funerals came to our store. Because the owner of the coffin shop was also unwell, the families who died of illness could not order coffins, so they came to us and reopened the store. Not long after, Xiao Fusheng and Zheng Da also started to feel unwell."

As soon as they heard that the child was sick, A'ao and Mrs. Zhou were no longer sleepy and went to check immediately.

Fusheng's forehead was burning hot, and even his hands tied in his sleeves were burning hot. He could no longer cry. There were patches of red rashes on his neck, and the marks of scratching were faintly visible.

"Have you found a doctor?" A'ao asked hurriedly.

Zhao Zhuo didn't know how to take care of children, and after Pingniang passed away, Zhou Saozi helped him a lot. In order not to let himself be beaten by the pain of losing Pingniang, he kept taking various jobs in the shop and was busy all day long.

But things are different now. Mrs. Zhou and A'an have been out for more than half a month, but they really haven't made any progress at all.

"Where can we find a doctor now?"

"How can you be a father?" Ah's anger suddenly rose. "Even if you can't take care of him, you should at least find a doctor to reduce his fever, at least make him feel better, right? What's the point of your listless appearance!"

On the one hand, I felt sorry for the child suffering, and on the other hand, I couldn't bear to see him look like he wanted to commit suicide on the spot for love.

Children are always innocent. They have already lost their mother, so how can they lose their father too?

What's more, judging from the way Zhao Zhuo was spinning around with the child in his arms, I'm afraid the child would die before he committed suicide.

Ah-yi frowned and walked over to look at Zheng Da. He must have fallen asleep on the table, or maybe he fainted from the fever, it was unknown at the moment.

With the back collar slightly opened, Ah'ao also saw the red spots extending from the roots of the hair to the bottom of the neck.

This cannot continue.

"Ruzui, what's wrong with you?" Ah'ao turned around and asked curiously, "Isn't this strange disease contagious?"

Several people looked at A'ao, and A'ao looked as if she were drunk.

The tense atmosphere swept in with the autumn wind, blowing up the hems of clothes and turning the eerie coldness into a binding evil spirit that engulfed every inch of flesh.

"No." Ruzui uttered two words slowly, "I stay in Zhou's wife's house in the west of the city every day and have never come out. Today is the first time."

Ah'ao thought about it and felt that the situation was not simple at the moment.

If it is an epidemic, it must have a source.

The most important thing now is to find a doctor who can treat the disease and prescribe a prescription for treatment.

"Get paper and pen." A'an said, rolling up her sleeves and sitting at the table.

He opened the pen, licked the ink, quickly described the current situation, then quickly sealed the paper and put it in his arms.

"I will write to you right away to ask about this matter. You should close the door and go to the backyard to get some water for Fusheng and Zhengda to reduce their fever."

For now, this is the only option.

Ah'ao plunged into the gloomy twilight, the cold wind kept blowing into her arms. She clutched her clothes tightly and walked forward against the wind.

In these turbulent times, every strange incident makes people think more.

As the war was approaching, Hengzhi had already gone to Louguan, and most of the troops had been deployed. Apart from the civilians, there were only 10,000 elite soldiers in the patrol camp left to defend the city of Kezhou.

If the rear is lost at this time, who will benefit?

(End of this chapter)