Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

The next morning, Zhang Jingwei had just finished his morning exercise. He was dressed in a white gown, standing tall and walking briskly towards the military camp. However, just as he was about to leave, he was suddenly stopped by two beggars with disheveled hair and ragged clothes.

The two beggars looked extremely down and out, their hair tangled like weeds, their faces covered in dirt, and they exuded a foul odor. Seeing this, Qian Ming quickly reached out to drive them away, but one of the older beggars slumped to his knees, clasped his hands together, and wailed non-stop, "Great sage, please have mercy on us and give us something to eat..."

Seeing this, Zhang Jingwei's heart softened and he hurriedly said, "Old man, please get up quickly!" Then he turned to Qian Ming beside him and ordered, "Give him two strings of copper coins." Although Qian Ming was reluctant, he still took out two strings of copper coins from his pocket and handed them to the old beggar.

But no one expected that just as Qian Ming handed the money to the old beggar, a loud noise was heard. Suddenly, a group of beggars rushed out from the back alley, rushing over like a tide, and instantly surrounded Zhang Jingwei and Qian Ming. Some of these beggars were old and weak, some were young and strong, some were women holding children, and some young children were frightened by the chaotic scene and burst into tears.

Faced with such a surging crowd, Zhang Jingwei was immediately panicked, not knowing how to respond. Qian Ming, while protecting Zhang Jingwei, shouted loudly: "Everyone, don't push, come one by one!" But his voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

At that moment, the guard at the door was quick-witted and grabbed Zhang Jingwei and Qian Ming's arms, dragging them into the mansion and quickly closing the door. The group of beggars, blocked outside, continued to bang on the door, shouting and clamoring.

After entering the house, Zhang Jingwei and Qian Ming were both breathless and in shock. The guard asked with concern, "Master, Master Qian, are you two okay?" Zhang Jingwei shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Luckily I ran fast, but those guys almost stripped my clothes off." Qian Ming also echoed with fear, "Yeah, it was really scary! Master, I think we should go out the back door."

Zhang Jingwei frowned and thought for a moment, then said decisively, "I won't go to work today. I'll have Wang Ergou find out why so many beggars suddenly appeared at our doorstep! We must find out the reason."

……

At lunch, Zhang Jingwei was not in the mood to eat, so he squatted at the gate of the yard waiting for news from Wang Ergou.

Wang Ergou trotted over to Zhang Jingwei and said breathlessly, "Master, there's some clue!"

Seeing this, Zhang Jingwei hurriedly asked, "What's going on? Tell me quickly."

Wang Ergou took a deep breath, calmed himself, and replied, "After some investigation, I found that these beggars are refugees from Wuzhou. As you know, Wuzhou defends against northern enemies and forms a strong support with Yunzhou. So if the Rong people move south, Wuzhou will naturally be the first place they will invade and plunder!"

Zhang Jingwei frowned and said in confusion, "That's strange. Wuzhou is in Hebei Province, about 400 miles away from here. Logically, even if they wanted to flee, they should have gone to the closer Beizhou or Yizhou. At worst, they could have gone directly to Zhending Prefecture in Hebei! Why did they come to Yunzhou? This doesn't make sense."

Wang Ergou pondered for a moment, then analyzed, "In my opinion, it might be because we have the Marquis in charge of Yunzhou. Those Rong people must be wary and dare not easily invade. In comparison, Yunzhou may be safer for these refugees."

Zhang Jingwei nodded, agreeing with Wang Ergou's opinion, and then continued, "That being said, looking at the ragged clothes and pale, skinny appearance of these refugees, it seems as if they have been through a long journey and exiled thousands of miles away."

Wang Ergou bowed and said, "Young Master, you are absolutely right. This matter is indeed a bit strange. I will investigate further to find out what is so strange about it."

At this moment, Zhang Jingwei suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "By the way, besides our Marquis Mansion, have there been any refugees at the gates of other wealthy families?"

Wang Ergou answered without hesitation: "The Ma family in the East Quarter, the Luo family in the West Quarter, and the He family in the South Quarter have all gathered a large number of refugees!"

Zhang Jingwei nodded and thought to himself, it seems that Yunzhou will be in chaos for a few days.

……

Outside Wuzhou, the Chahar tribe of the Rong people began to stockpile grass and recruit soldiers to invade villages. The prefect of Wuzhou was so frightened that he resigned from his post and fled, his whereabouts unknown. The people of Wuzhou also fled in all directions and became displaced.

In the government office, Huangfu Changshi rarely discussed matters with the two chief officials of Yunzhou. Lu Hui was so angry that he stomped his feet, and Liu Yanzhi also looked anxious.

Lu Hui frowned, his face filled with anger as he cursed, "That damn Wu Huaiming is such a piece of shit! The battle hasn't even started yet, and he's already running away faster than a rabbit! Wuzhou is in chaos now, and a full 10,000 garrison troops are guarding an empty city. It's a joke! It's only been half a month, and already a large number of refugees are flooding into Yunzhou."

Liu Yanzhi, standing by, shook his head slightly and sighed, "Alas, Governor Wu has always been a weak and incompetent man. When the bandits started to make a move, I'm afraid he was only thinking about how to save his life and was ready to flee early."

At this moment, Huangfu Changshui suddenly interrupted and asked, "I'm really curious. The garrison on the Hebei side is so weak, so why are the garrison commanders' ranks half a rank higher than those on the Hedong side? What's the reason for this?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yanzhi's face darkened and he scolded, "Changshui! It's already this hour, and you still have the mind to argue about the rank of official? The most important thing right now is how to deal with the current situation!"

Huangfu Changshui waved his hand calmly and said with a smile, "Don't worry. Isn't our commander-in-chief dispatching troops to strengthen Yunzhou's defense? Besides, that small Chahar tribe wouldn't dare to attack me."

Lu Hui glared at Huangfu Changshui and said unhappily, "Humph! That's easy for you to say. How are we going to accommodate all these refugees pouring into the city? You were the one who ordered the gatekeepers to let these in. Let's see how you're going to clean up this mess when the time comes!"

Huangfu Changshui argued: "When did I give the order? They broke in by force. I only ordered that no one should be harmed!"

At this moment, a yamen runner hurried over, bowed, and reported: "Your Excellency, Gao Jiong comes to see you!"

Lu Hui was slightly stunned, then waved his hand and said, "Oh? What is this kid doing here at this time? Let him in!"

Not long after, a tall and handsome young man walked in quickly.