Become a founding empress in ancient times with the system

About a month later, Sheng Changan sighed. It seemed that there was indeed a drought in the north. Since they arrived here, the water resources have become less and less, not to mention the weather is getting hotter and hotter.

She could only have people collect dew in the morning, but this was barely enough for drinking, and bathing was certainly out of the question.

After traveling for days, one is bound to sweat, and since one cannot take a shower for several days, everyone exudes a foul odor. Now she feels suffocated when she smells her own odor.

Because we took a lot of detours in the south, the time to return was greatly extended.

I don’t know how Wang Yi spread the news so quickly. Since they set foot on the land in the north, more and more refugees have come to escape famine, and they look at them with eager eyes.

To be on the safe side, the newly added hundred people were divided among the four teams behind them. Although their group was short of water, they still had food.

With the addition of horses and cattle in the team, more and more people surrounded them.

"Miss, aren't you going to take action?" Hu Yu had a murderous look on his face. These people couldn't be driven away, and even if they took action, these people would remain indifferent. If they hadn't acted quickly, the bodies of the people they killed would have been snatched away by them.

Xu Qing has been feeling particularly insecure recently. Wherever Sheng Changan is, he will be there. In his words, if something happens, these people will definitely give priority to protecting her, so of course he has to follow closely.

"Miss, even if we don't take action, they'll eat us alive with their eyes."

Sun Yuan shook his head and said, "There are so many people. We can't kill them all. We need to find a way to get rid of them." More importantly, if they were all killed, it would be fine. But if even one of them escaped, it would definitely damage your reputation.

"Let's lead the people to the upper company." The law does not punish the masses. Just as she worried, if the Liu family really had the intention of rebellion, they would not act rashly.

In a sense, the upper company itself has enough advantages to attract these people. "Sun Yuan, go and help our General Liu promote it well."

Hu Yu was a little worried about whether this would anger the Liu family. If they confronted the Liu family directly, their chances of winning would be slim.

"It's just a matter of time, and they won't have time to deal with me next time."

"Now that the imperial court has been slow to act and appease the people, the common people have nowhere to go. Naturally, there will be ambitious people who want to take over. By then, the Liu family will naturally not be in the mood to pay attention to me."

The Liu family hoped that she could guard the border well and attract the attention of the Xianbei. After all, this was a good opportunity for the Xianbei to take advantage of the situation.

The more times like this happened, the more he dared not touch her easily. He probably hoped that both she and the Xianbei would suffer losses.

"You mean there will be a rebellion soon?" Hu Yu was a little surprised.

"Guess" that the government forced the people to rebel, and the people had no choice but to rebel, but this has little to do with her for the time being. Her position is on the border, and there shouldn't be anyone stupid enough to run here first to seize her territory.

If she wants to grab it, she has to wait until the person sitting in that position is firmly seated, which will take at least a few years. After a few years, her explosives should appear.

It was a pity that they hadn't anticipated the flood, so they hadn't bought enough sulfur. She couldn't afford the things from the previous one. If Wang Yi had really taken Mrs. Du to Guangping, she would have had a stable source of sulfur in the future.

I originally wanted to ask Lin Chuan to keep the person, but I didn't expect this to happen. It turns out that when luck comes, it can't be stopped.

"Miss, where are we going?" Hu Yu asked tentatively. He just kept following and walking north, but he thought the direction seemed to be heading towards the border.

That deserted place on the border is often robbed and looks like a place where you can lose your life.

Seeing Hu Yu's expression as if he would immediately run away with his brothers if they went to the border, Sheng Changan fell silent.

Hu Yu frowned. "Could it be the border?" If so, he would have to think about it.

"That's not the border," Sheng Changan immediately said confidently. In her eyes, the area within a thousand miles was her territory, but some places did not have her name on them for the time being.

Hu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise he wouldn't know how to explain. He should have asked about the place clearly at the beginning, but now it is difficult to ask.

Xu Qing looked at her quietly, "Sir, do you really think so?"

Sheng Changjing was silent for a moment, then uttered a wise saying, "Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side of the river. By then, Guangping County, within a thousand miles, will be our territory. And I didn't say when. I said that in a few years, Guangping County will definitely not be a border area."

Xu Qing seemed to be lost in thought, as if he had opened the door to a new world.

A few years later, the boomerang hit the bull's eye.

Soon a rumor spread among these people:

"Have you heard? We'll reach our company in another half month."

"What is Shanglian?"

"Shanglian may not know, but you must know Concubine Liu! I heard that her eldest brother is in Shanglian."

The listeners were a little hesitant, “Will they take care of us?”

"What are you afraid of? There are so many of us, how can he kill us all?" He pointed at Sheng Changan and his group and said, "Look, they are also afraid. They only dare to kill a few who show their heads."

"It seems that there is still an advantage in numbers."

------

A woman led a group of people, her face pale, with a baby girl on her back. Their lips were chapped, indicating they hadn't had a drink of water in a long time.

There was a wound on the woman's hand, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of the girl's mouth.

"Mrs. Du, there is no water source ahead." The person who spoke was Wang Yi.

There were two young children beside the woman. Zhou Lin blamed himself a little, "Aunt, it's all our fault."

She touched the two people's heads and said, "It has nothing to do with you."

She hadn't expected that even after Lord Zhou died, they still wouldn't let the two children go. She had no choice but to take them and hide. The refugees who had traveled with them were probably almost reaching Guangping County now.

She also left people inside. After hearing the news, her husband would probably find a way to find them.

However, due to the escape, her people gradually got separated, leaving only her, Wang Yi, Uncle Zhong who had always followed her, and three children.

They are now like fat sheep walking outside, and people around them always want to take a bite. Unfortunately, her Xiaoyu has not woken up yet due to lack of water, so she can only use her own blood to relieve her pain.

Even so, some people did not feel terrified when seeing this scene. Instead, they wondered if they were the ones who drank the blood.

After days of running around and losing blood, her condition was already very bad. But among the three of them, only Wang Yi knew a little bit of boxing and could beat up a few people. Now there were nearly hundreds of people following them.

Everyone was watching, waiting for one of the three to fall, and then these people would step forward to divide the spoils.

She could only grit her teeth and persevere. She didn't want them to become food for these people. If they hadn't killed a lot of people some time ago, these people would not dare to act rashly. She would probably have collapsed long ago.

But her condition has been getting worse over the past few days, and the looks of these people have become more and more explicit. She could only bite her lower lip tightly, not daring to faint.

"I think we should wait. In our current situation, more and more people are surrounding us. Sooner or later, these people will be unable to hold back."

Wang Yi licked his cracked lips and said, "Wait here, miss. They may be here soon. If all else fails, just wait here for them to come over there."

The woman smiled bitterly and said, "You are confident, but how can you be sure that your young lady will leave here? Besides, we don't have much food. It's hard to say whether we can survive for a few days."

"That's why we have to wait even longer. The young lady must have been followed by someone along the way, and she will definitely not bring everyone back." He knew very well that the adults had horses and people, and these people would definitely not let them go.

There must be cannibals among these people. The adults have always strictly prohibited such people and will definitely find a way to get rid of them.

"And it's only a few days' walk from here to Shanglian. If we want to take a detour back, this is the most suitable place. Xiaoyu and the others also need to rest."

The woman looked at the two children beside her. Their lips were cracked and bleeding due to thirst after being exposed to the sun for days. The shoes on their feet had long been worn out. The shoes they were wearing were the ones she had taken off from the people who had been following them. In their hands, they tightly grasped the dagger she had given them.

He was completely black and dirty, and even if those who were chasing him came, they probably wouldn't be able to recognize him.

More importantly, she could see that the two children couldn't hold on any longer. If they continued walking, more people would collapse. "Rest first."

Wang Yixin felt relieved, knowing that she agreed, and quickly found a place to tidy up.

Uncle Zhong stayed closely behind the two children. A few days ago, due to a moment of carelessness, Eleven was captured by those people in order to protect Zhou Lin.

If they hadn't reacted in time, that person would have used his mouth to suck blood from Eleven. He didn't expect that at his age he could still see such a brutal scene.

------

Guangping County:

Zhang Shi had a worried look on his face. "The water shortage is too serious. The crops in the land also need water. If there is no other way, we can only dig them out first." Now there is no grass on the roadside.

"Wait a little longer. Master Du has gone into the forest to help us find water. The water in the city is barely enough for our daily needs." County Magistrate Wu also spoke in a heavy tone.

Lin Chuan sighed, "This isn't a long-term solution. I heard from Elder Shen that the trees in the forest are dying, and we don't know how long this drought will last."

"I don't know when the master will be back," Zheng Jun murmured.

County Magistrate Wu sighed. Not to mention the lord, even Shen Huaizhi had not returned after going out. Now Old Shen was added to the list. One after another, no one came back.

"Sir Wu, there are a large number of refugees outside the city and heading towards us," Wang Qi ran over hurriedly.

Lin Chuan frowned. "Why are there suddenly refugees? Did something happen?"

"Let's go and take a look," County Magistrate Wu couldn't help but say.

------

Looking at the barren roadside, Sheng Chang'an frowned more and more. He knew from the situation that the situation in Guangping was not optimistic. Now a large number of refugees were heading north again, and who knew how many people would die on the road.

Hu Yu looked at the figure in front of him, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he had been fooled. No matter how he looked at it, this direction was heading towards the border. Now that things had come to this, he couldn't go back on his word.

And what Sun Yuan said was right. Putting this aside, she ate and slept with everyone along the way, and did not pick and choose because of her status. She even gave up her own carriage.

At least from the current point of view, her style of doing things is still very much to his liking.

"Miss, there are hundreds of refugees ahead." Xu Qing was a little worried. There were already enough refugees following behind them.

Sheng Changan was a little puzzled. It seemed like they were trapping someone in this situation. "Hu Yu, come with me and take a look."

"Yes"

The closer he got, the more familiar the people inside seemed to Sheng Changan, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

Until a voice came from the crowd: "I advise you to think carefully. If you want to take action, our swords will not show mercy. You have seen what happened to the people in front of you."

A woman was lying on the ground next to him, with a young child sitting beside her crying. Two other children were also standing around the woman with daggers in their hands.

There was also an older person standing steadily on the side, and two adults and two children tightly surrounded the woman.

A thin man swallowed and said, "She's already dead. Let's get rid of her."

"The lady is not dead," the older man said with a murderous look on his face.

"Oh! This is bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, you don't want these three children to get into an accident, do you?" He stretched out his hand as he spoke.

Just as Wang Yi was about to take action, an arrow pierced the man's chest from behind.

"Hu Yu, save people!"

Hearing this voice, Wang Yi couldn't hold back his tears. The adults had finally arrived.

There was a murderous look in Sheng Chang'an's eyes. She didn't expect to meet Wang Yi and the others here. She thought they might have arrived in Guangping, but she didn't expect that they almost died here.

Hu Yu and his men directly created a gap among hundreds of people. These people probably hadn't eaten for a while, so killing them was more than enough.

Sheng Changan looked at the people who wanted to rush to her and capture the leader first, and shot them down one by one with an arrow. Thanks to these people, her archery skills have improved a lot recently.

So she specially prepared a lot of bamboo arrows, which were more than enough for these ordinary people who had no protection.

"Sir, you are finally here." Wang Yi rushed over with tears in his eyes, leaving two marks on his face. "Hurry up and save Madam Du, she is dying."

Sir? Hu Yu, who had just walked over with his men, paused.

Sheng Changan sighed. After all, they were not far from Guangping now. Even if Hu Yu knew, it would not be a big problem. Seeing Wang Yi's IQ suddenly drop, she could only understand.

After all, he had made some contributions, but the main thing was that he was in such a miserable state now. His clothes, which had once fit him, were now tattered, and he was as thin as a skeleton.

His entire body was pitch black, and apart from his teeth and two traces of tears, no other part of his body was clean. Blood was slowly oozing from the corners of his mouth due to the amplitude of his speech.

"Carry the people onto the carriage." Sheng Chang'an dismounted and looked at the three children. The other two were fine, but Eleven seemed a little embarrassed and retracted his exposed toes.