Chapter 449

【Previous】 some were added. Refresh.

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Dawang and Wei Shen call themselves brothers, having just come from the border Golden Brilliance, passing through Cool Prefecture to Wing Prefecture; the two brothers plan to go to Secluded Prefecture to make a living.

At noon they squatted in the grass, chatting with a resting refugee elder; the elder sized up Dawang with a glance, saying, "Your brother is honest—this day and age can still raise you a round face, not bad, truly not bad!"

Dawang: …You're the round face, your whole family is round face!

Wei Shen held back laughter, then began to boast, "Exactly! I only have this younger brother; if there's food to eat, I'd starve myself before letting him go hungry!"

Dawang's teeth itched; he didn't know who in the morning had stopped him and searched every pocket, rudely taking away his hidden beef jerky.

"This is baby fat, like my mother's; I've been like this since childhood, my aunt said it'll disappear when I grow a bit at thirteen or fourteen." Absolutely not fat! Dawang declared firmly.

Wei Shen looked indulgent, "If you say so, then it is."

Dawang: …Disgusting. You're so sly!

The refugee elder laughed heartily……

After a few casual words, everyone became familiar, and the conversation grew.

Dawang first blurted out that they were going to Secluded Prefecture to find work; once settled, his older brother would send him to study at a school there.

The refugee elder couldn't help envying, "Does Golden Brilliance also belong to the Northern Border? If you can go to Secluded Prefecture, we southerners like us can't."

He rummaged and pulled out a wooden plaque, their temporary ID: "We got it at Luo Water Pass, along with those earlier; we're all together. Our group was assigned to Ling County in Wing Prefecture; I heard there's a resettlement point there. We'll go reclaim land—as long as we work, the Northern Border King will keep us from starving, though I don't know if it's true."

Anyway, no one in Everlasting Peace cares, so we'll just give it a try. You're all set—having Northern Border household registration lets you go to Secluded Prefecture; I hear you need a travel permit and household register to enter, and we without them can't get in.

Dawang hurried to give himself a black mark, "I know this! We heard in Peace and Stability that the arable land in Secluded Prefecture has already been mostly taken up; if you go there you'll have nowhere to settle, only able to scatter into other empty counties. My older brother knows carpentry, so he could find a livelihood—that's why we've come all this way to Secluded Prefecture."

The refugee elder envied Wei Shen, "You still need a skill! When the younger brother finds work, then he can send his brother to study; after a bit of hardship they'll surely rise. That's the good thing about the Northern Border—common folk can study too, and once things stabilize I'll send my own son to learn a few characters."

Dawang thought this elder, despite his fallen state, was still quite optimistic.

Wei Carpenter Shen smiled proudly; his identity abroad… is all just his brother's casual boasting.

The king chattered, "Uncle, once you arrive in our Northern Border, you'll surely rise to prominence! We've seen plenty along the way—refugees coming to the Northern Border find the local government arranging things quite well: they have shelter, they won't starve, it's much better than before~ Work two years in Ling County and you'll get Northern Border household registration—then you can go wherever you want!"

"That's right, everyone says that." Another of them had also heard of the Northern Border king's martial prowess; Jiyin is not far from Pengcheng, and they'd heard of it too—being able to stay away from the ravages of war is a good place.

That so-called Prince Lu of Pengcheng is dead, but who knows if a second or third Prince Lu might appear someday?

The king then asked about his hometown and what he'd seen on the road, but the refugee elder had a hard time putting it into words.

"We don't know about other places, but in Jiyin this year we've had a total crop failure. The earth is dry and cracked open in gaps an inch wide; the millet seedlings in the fields are scorched yellow, crumbling to dust at a pinch—Heaven itself has given us no way to survive!"

"Sigh!" The king sighed along, quite adept at providing emotional value.

Having come this way, we only relaxed after passing Luoshui Pass—the Northern Border is really much safer. You lot in the south don't know, it's chaotic there! I've heard the Northern Border doesn't even have bandits? On our journey south we've seen plenty—those merchant caravans keep a small army of guards, and if they run into trouble they're lucky to get off with just losing a layer of skin!

Aren't there any nearby commanderies or counties? Isn't the government taking care of it?

Who knows? Every county we pass through has its gates tightly shut; in the officials' eyes we're scarier than those bandits.... Actually, when we left our hometown we still had a bit of food, and we hadn't planned to rob anyone—we just teamed up to come to the Northern Border seeking shelter.

The king flattered: "Exactly! I can tell—your bearing is different from the other refugees we've met before."

Little brother, you've got a way with words!

When the talk turned to the Northern Border, the refugee elder's face lit up with anticipation: "We've heard down south that the Northern Border's cavalry is fearsome—they took Pengcheng and crushed the rebel forces as easily as chopping melons and cutting vegetables. When we reached Luoshui Pass we heard the elite cavalry were stationed in Youzhou; once I can move freely in the Northern Border, I'll definitely go to Youzhou to have a look, though I don't know if I'll get the chance."

The king, grinning with satisfaction, chimed in: "Definitely! By then we might even run into each other in Youzhou."

That's great, hahaha~

After the king's gossip craving was satisfied, the two brothers pretended to continue eastward and bade farewell. When they returned to their unit far away, the king proudly showed off to Dong Fu, Wei Ke, and the others how steady this group of refugees' emotions were, praising the work done at Luoshui Pass.

"Liang He and Wu Jian have done well!" Having said that, he then took a swipe at Liang Bin, saying, "Liang He is excellent." The meaning was: look at him, they share the same father.

Liang Bin, turned into a dark-skinned dandy by the sun, looked utterly defeated, having been bleached white by the sun!

"We've been getting along well, but if you keep falling short of Liang He in everything, will my face still look good?"

Liang Bin: ……"You're just too competitive……"

The king, pretending to be hard of hearing: "What did you say? The wind's too loud, I didn't catch that."

"Speak, when I return to Youzhou I'll definitely put on a good showing, striving not to be outshone by Liang He, not to lose face for Your Highness—please rest assured, Your Highness."

"That's about right, I'll be waiting!" Roll it up! The king loves to watch.

Liang Bin: ……Tough fate.

Wei Shen chimed in, "Your Highness, some people there blame the Baili clan for lacking virtue, saying that's why Heaven punished them with a thousand li of barren earth. What do you think? Should I go after them and 'click' them?" He didn't forget to mimic the gesture of a sword strike.

The king spoke confidently, "They're scolding Baili Jin; what does that have to do with my Baili Jing?"

Dong Fu: ……

Wei Shen gave him a thumbs-up, "You really know how to let things go."

The king continued to be strict with others and lenient with himself.