Chapter 549

Qi territory.

North of Xianzhou, the fifteenth day of the second month, the lingering cold had not yet dissipated.

The setting sun hung in the west, golden light scattered across the wilderness, and the north wind rolled across the ground, whipping up withered grass and debris as they danced in the sky.

On the official road, dust billowed like a yellow dragon leaping, and more than two thousand armored cavalry were galloping south.

The armor clanged and collided, and the horse hooves stepped on the ground like rolling thunder, shaking the frozen earth slightly.

The leading general was Chen Yan, sitting upright on Sa Lu Zi, his sleeves fluttering in the wind.

Suddenly, a rider galloped over, the rider on the horse wearing dark-colored tight-fitting martial attire; it was the Embroidered Attire Envoy Mei Aoshan.

He urged his horse to sweep past the ranks, splashing up bursts of smoke and dust, and in a moment reached Chen Yan's side, reined in his horse, and cupped his hands: "Pillar of State, in the dense forest three miles ahead, it has been detected that Qi State refugees are gathered, numbering about two thousand!"

Chen Yan heard this, a sharp light flashed in his eyes, and he clapped his hands and laughed: "Great!"

Having said that, he turned his head to look at the generals beside him, Yuwen Ze and Feng Muye, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, follow me to the dense forest!"

"Obey!" The generals responded in unison, their voices shaking the wilderness.

Chen Yan flicked his horse whip, the warhorse neighed, and he took the lead in galloping toward the dense forest.

Two thousand cavalry followed closely behind, the sound of horse hooves becoming more urgent, like thunder, sweeping toward the dense forest.

In the dense forest, withered branches intertwined like a net, and sunlight shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadows.

The refugees were either sitting or lying down, all sallow and thin, wearing ragged clothes, fully revealing the suffering of displacement.

The young man Li Erzhu, who was leaning against an old locust tree, suddenly felt uneasy. He frowned, listened carefully for a moment, and asked his companion beside him in confusion: "Hey, did you notice any movement?"

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this and listened intently.

Li Erzhu leaned down and pressed his hand to the ground, feeling the slight tremor, and became even more confused: "Why is the ground shaking?"

"It's not just the ground shaking!" A middle-aged man beside him changed his expression slightly, "Listen, it seems there is also the sound of galloping horse hooves!"

Everyone listened intently and indeed heard the faint "da-da" sound coming from afar.

And the sound was getting closer and clearer, as if thousands of troops and horses were approaching.

"Not good!" An old man with white hair and beard in the crowd stood up abruptly, his face pale, his voice trembling, "This is cavalry! And the number is definitely not small!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the refugee crowd suddenly exploded.

"We are just refugees, we haven't committed any crimes!" A woman holding a child said, full of panic, "Why would the government go to such lengths to catch us?"

"Could it be that they think we are rioters?" Someone paced anxiously, "What should we do? We are unarmed, how can we fight against cavalry?"

Discussions, worries, and crying sounds intertwined, and the dense forest, which had been relatively calm, was instantly shrouded in panic.

Everyone had a look of fear, looking in the direction from which the sound of horse hooves came, not knowing what kind of fate they were about to face.

The iron cavalry galloped like thunder and reached the edge of the dense forest in an instant.

Chen Yan saw that the refugees were within sight, reined in his horse, and shouted in a deep voice: "Whoa!"

The moment the sound fell, the warhorse's front hooves rose high, let out a long neigh, and stopped steadily.

The two thousand cavalry following closely behind moved in unison, the sound of horse hooves stopping abruptly, like angry waves stopping suddenly.

Only the north wind continued to roll the withered grass across the armor, making a fine sound.

The entire team was neatly arrayed, the dark armor reflecting cold light in the setting sun, like a sharp sword out of its sheath, its edge restrained but its momentum compelling.

The few refugees closest to the cavalry were already full of fear, and at this moment, they were scared out of their wits by this mountain-like formation. Their legs went soft and they knelt straight on the ground, kowtowing and begging repeatedly: "Military lords! Military lords, spare our lives! Don't hit us!"

"The commoners have been law-abiding, we haven't robbed anything!"

Their crying sounds were like stones thrown into a lake, instantly stirring up thousands of waves.

More and more refugees reacted, kneeling on the ground one after another, their ragged figures rising and falling in the mottled light and shadows in the forest.

"Give the commoners a way to live!"

"Please, military lords, show mercy!"

"We are just refugees, we definitely dare not cause trouble!"

Begging and kowtowing sounds intertwined, and dust was shaken up, filling the forest.

The old man with white hair and beard knelt at the very front, looked up at Chen Yan sitting on the horse, his voice trembling but with a bit of caution: "Military lords, we are truly law-abiding commoners, we definitely have no robbery!"

"If the military lords need tribute, we commoners are willing to gather it for you, even if we have to give everything we have!"

As soon as the words fell, the surrounding refugees echoed in low voices: "Yes, military lords, we are willing to gather it!"

"Just ask the military lords to let us go!"

Chen Yan saw this, shook his head slowly, and dismounted.

Yuwen Ze, Feng Muye, Peng Chong, and others also dismounted closely behind, their movements neat and agile.

Zhu Yi and Hongye followed quickly and stood beside Chen Yan.

Chen Yan walked toward the refugees, his steps steady, his gaze sweeping over everyone's panicked faces, and then said loudly: "Old man, fellow villagers, you have misunderstood!"

"We are not the army of the Qi State!"

The old man was stunned upon hearing this, his turbid eyes full of confusion, and he muttered: "What do you mean not the army of the Qi State?"

The middle-aged man beside him was even more surprised and couldn't help but blurt out: "This is within the territory of Great Qi, and there has been no war, how can there be an army from another country?!"

Li Erzhu knelt on the ground and quietly looked up at Chen Yan and his party.

Seeing that although they were wearing armor, they did not have a fierce and evil appearance, and they did not come up to drive them away or scold them, but instead stopped to speak patiently, his heart moved slightly. After thinking about it, he whispered to the people beside him: "The style of these military lords really doesn't look like those arrogant Xianbei soldiers!"

As soon as Li Erzhu's words fell, several refugees beside him nodded thoughtfully, their eyes involuntarily cast toward the armor of Chen Yan and others.

Sunlight shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves onto the dark armor, refracting regular cold light. Someone lowered their voice and said: "Now that you mention it, it really is!"

"And, the style of their helmets and armor also looks different..."

Everyone heard this and began to look carefully.

They saw that the Zhou army's armor was forged well, the armor plates were dense and orderly, and the edges were engraved with simple cloud patterns, which were both majestic and orderly, significantly different from the common styles of the Qi army.

This subtle discovery made the panic in the refugees' hearts fade a little, but the confusion became even heavier.

Chen Yan took in the changes in the refugees' expressions, slowly looked around, and then said loudly: "I am Chen Yan!"

As the words fell, he cupped his hands and raised them high, his voice sonorous and powerful, saying word by word: "I am here by the order of the Emperor of Great Zhou to save the people of the Qi State from their suffering!"

"Chen Yan?"

"Chen Yan..."

These two words were like stones thrown into still water, stirring up ripples in the refugee crowd.

Everyone whispered the name repeatedly, brows slightly furrowed, heads bowed, and eyes lowered, muttering in confusion: "Why is this name so familiar?"

"Me too!" A young refugee scratched his head, his face full of annoyance, "It seems I have heard this name somewhere, but for a moment, I can't remember..."

Discussions in the crowd rose and fell, and everyone was trying hard to search for memories about "Chen Yan."

Just then, the middle-aged man who had questioned earlier suddenly jolted, as if he had suddenly remembered something, his eyes wide open.

He looked up at Chen Yan, his voice trembling with excitement, and then exclaimed: "Could it be... could it be the current 'Blue Sky' of the Zhou State, Lord Chen Yan, who makes decisions for the people and loves the people like his own children?!"

This exclamation was like a thunderclap, instantly plunging the entire dense forest into silence.

All the refugees looked at the middle-aged man in unison, then turned to look at Chen Yan, their eyes full of disbelief.

The old man with white hair and beard slapped his forehead, his turbid eyes instantly lighting up, and he nodded repeatedly as if waking from a dream: "That's it! That's it! The parent-official of the Zhou State who holds up a piece of sky for the people is called this name!"

His voice carried irrepressible excitement, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.

"Not just a parent-official!" Li Erzhu also echoed immediately, his tone full of admiration: "I heard that he is young and promising, and he was conferred the rank of Pillar of State at less than twenty years old!"

"More than half a year ago, he led his army straight to the royal court of the Tuyuhun, forcing their Khan to sign a treaty under the city walls!"

These words drew bursts of exclamation from the refugees, and the admiration in their eyes toward Chen Yan grew even stronger.

Peng Chong, standing to the side, felt full of pride and immediately held his head high, stepped forward, pointed at Chen Yan, and said loudly: "That is naturally my Pillar of State Lord!"

"Is there anyone else in the world with the same name who can create such earth-shattering achievements?"

As the words fell, the refugee crowd instantly erupted in thunderous exclamations: "It really is Lord Chen Yan!"

"It's the legendary Lord Chen who has come!"

The old man trembled with excitement, took the lead in kneeling on the ground, and kowtowed respectfully: "This old man greets Lord Chen Yan!"

One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and more and more refugees followed closely behind, kneeling on the ground one after another, the kowtowing sounds rising and falling, shaking the dense forest: "Commoners greet Lord Chen Yan!"

The previous panic and unease had long since vanished, replaced by indescribable excitement and hope.

The refugees' tear stains were not yet dry, but they all showed long-lost smiles, and they kept shouting: "Lord Chen Yan has come, we are saved!"

"With Lord Chen Yan here, no one will dare to bully us anymore!"

Lord Chen Yan has come, and peace has arrived...

Yuwen Ze stood beside Chen Yan, witnessing the refugees kowtowing to Chen Yan as if he were a god, his heart shook violently, and he marveled inwardly: "My elder brother's prestige has actually spread to the territory of the Qi State!"

He looked at the agitated refugees before him, feeling even more emotional, "To the point that once his name is mentioned, the people of the Qi State bow and kneel; such prestige is truly rare!"

When he turned his gaze toward Chen Yan, his eyes were already filled with irrepressible worship and admiration.

There was still so much he had to learn!

On the importance of reputation and persona...

But Yuwen Ze did not know that his understanding was still far behind...

Feng Muye on the other side was also surging with emotion, silently sighing: "The Grand General is truly amazing!"

"Even the people of the Qi State regard him as a 'Blue Sky'!"

Chen Yan personally helped up the kneeling old man, his fingertips touching the protruding bones under the old man's thin clothes. He slowly looked around, sweeping over the refugees' sallow faces and shriveled lips, and asked in a deep voice: "I see that you all have sallow complexions and haggard figures. You must have not eaten for a long time, not had a full meal, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the excitement on the refugees' faces slowed down, replaced by deep bitterness.

The middle-aged man stepped forward, his voice hoarse as he replied: "To tell you the truth, Lord Chen Yan, we commoners were reduced to refugees because we were truly about to starve to death, and we sold everything."

As he spoke, a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes, "But we fled everywhere, and wherever we went, we were driven away and scolded by the government and Xianbei soldiers. They treated us like grass, and wouldn't give us any way to live!"

"Yes! The government doesn't care about our lives at all!" As soon as the middle-aged man's words fell, the surrounding refugees echoed one after another, their voices full of despair and resentment.

"Prices are soaring, we can't afford food at all..." A young refugee in rags wiped away his tears, "The government's granaries are piled high, but they watch us starve to death!"

Li Erzhu clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, and he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "They are too busy making money!"

"The harsh taxes and levies are stripping us bare, leaving us with nothing; how could they have time to care about the lives of us lowly people!"

The refugees' faces were full of humiliation and unwillingness, and low curses spread quietly in the forest.

Chen Yan heard this, slapped his thigh abruptly, and cursed with feigned anger: "The Gao clan is truly outrageous!"

He swept his gaze over the refugees' indignant faces, and then said righteously: "The Qi government doesn't care about you, so I will!"

Having said that, he glanced at Yuwen Ze beside him and ordered loudly: "General Yuwen, pass the order down to set up camp immediately and set up pots to boil porridge!"

"Make sure every fellow villager can eat a hot meal!"