Traveling through time and space

"My lords, the carriage can't go any further. We can only get off and walk." said the person outside the carriage.

"We've only been walking for less than an hour and the carriage can't move forward, Princess," Old Du wanted to get up, but then he remembered that he should let Su Yuanyuan go first.

"My lords, when you are away from home, there are no such things to pay attention to. Please go in first," Su Yuanyuan really didn't think much of anything.

"Princess, my lords, I am guilty of the death penalty." As soon as he got off the car, he saw Sun Yan kneeling on the ground.

"What's going on? Stand up and talk." Lord Du stood aside. Lord Du signaled the people behind him to pull Sun Yan up from the ground. "Stand up and talk. Whether he deserves death or not is up to us."

Unexpectedly, Sun Yan broke free from the people pulling him and fell to the ground, prostrating himself. "Your subordinate deserves death. I didn't say anything about implementation. The situation in the disaster area is even more serious than what I reported."

"Why don't you tell the truth?"

"Master Du, I've thought about this. I'm afraid if I tell the truth, you won't go and see for yourself how the victims are living."

"Sun Yan, is this what you call risking your life to meet the emperor?"

"Your humble servant is willing to take the blame. I only ask that you go and see the victims' situation in person. Lord Liu stopped this matter and refused to report it, saying that they should fend for themselves." Sun Yan's eyes were evasive and he kept his head down.

"Let's talk about this later. Please explain the current situation of the disaster clearly. Let's talk while we walk." Lord Du started forward.

Su Yuanyuan looked around. This really was a mountain, the kind that stretched as far as the eye could see. Because it was spring, it looked quite vibrant. If it hadn't been for the disaster, it would have been a great place for a spring outing. "Princess, are you tired?" Dongmei asked. "I see there are a lot of branches and bamboos on both sides. Can we make a sedan chair and carry you?"

"No need. This princess is not that pampered. I'm just thinking about something." Looking at the maids she brought with her who were standing beside her, she said, "Let's go. Don't delay the trip. Be careful." Su Yuanyuan was not afraid of walking. She took a few quick steps and followed the two adults.

"Princess, what you just said may have come true. Sun Yan just said that the victims are in dire need of medicine. Some normal people have begun to show symptoms of discomfort. What should we do now?" Lord Du stopped and asked when he saw Su Yuanyuan catching up.

"Isn't the new county magistrate Ren Minghao in Liupu? Send someone to contact Lord Ren immediately and ask him to quickly collect some commonly used medicinal materials, disinfectants and lime to send to the disaster area. First send as many as possible, and then think of other ways to allocate them from the surrounding counties. If it is state-owned, you can directly allocate it by issuing an official document and then report to the higher authorities. If it is private, you can owe it first and pay it back after the disaster relief money arrives in a few days." Su Yuanyuan said one by one.

"Okay, okay, okay, the princess handled the matter clearly. I am convinced. If there is anything in the future, may I discuss it with you?"

"Master Du, you are too kind to me," Su Yuanyuan hurriedly reached out to help Master Du up. Master Du said two things on the spot. One was to send someone back quickly to collect medicinal materials and lime, and the other was to send someone to the nearest disaster area to find the village head. Then the group continued walking.

"Sun Yan, you deserve to die for concealing the truth, but considering that you are wholeheartedly serving the people, this princess and the two adults can spare your life for now. The death penalty can be spared, but the living crime cannot be forgiven. This princess will give you another chance. Is there anything else you are hiding?" Su Yuanyuan could see that he was still hiding something.

"Princess, my Lords, I dare not hide anything anymore. Lord Liu dispersed the yamen runners to various villages because he was afraid that someone would break out of Puji Mountain. I will tell you everything."

"From now on, you can no longer conceal anything. If you do, you will be punished for multiple crimes. Do you two adults agree with what I say?"

"Of course I agree." As they walked and looked around, they asked many questions about Mount Puji and details about the disaster area. Sun Yan answered them all, and everyone finally understood Lord Liu's plan for dealing with the disaster. The yamen's personnel, but only his trusted associates, were assigned to each town to guard the area, preventing anyone from leaving their own village. This was to prevent them from engaging in looting and other activities once they reached the county seat, potentially causing further terror in the city. Su Yuanyuan then noticed that the two lords were already panting and, of course, sweating. Su Yuanyuan felt a little embarrassed. The two lords were both around fifty years old, and they were tired after walking for so long on the mountain path. While the path wasn't very steep, it was narrow. Two people abreast could still walk, but three wouldn't.

"Sun Yan, why haven't you met any pedestrians in such a long time?" Su Yuanyuan asked curiously.

"In reply to the princess, Lord Liu has issued a strict order, requiring the village heads to keep a close eye on the people in their respective villages. If anyone from their village comes out, the tax will be increased to 40% this year."

"Didn't the imperial court stipulate that taxes should only be collected at 10%?" Lord Shang asked in surprise, "Then what is the normal tax rate in Liupu?"

"To answer Lord Du, it's 20%."

"Every policy has its own countermeasure. Lord Liu is so bold that he's not afraid that someone will report it to the court." Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but sigh.

"Well, every policy has its own countermeasures." It can be seen that Lord Du is also helpless.

"My two lords, I'm a little tired after walking for such a long time. Can we take a break before continuing on our journey?" Su Yuanyuan could see how tired they were.

"Princess, you see that I am tired. Indeed, I am tired." Lord Du laughed at himself. Over there, his elder brother brought people to lift a dead tree out of the pit nearby.

"My two lords, please sit down and take a rest." Dongmei was wiping one end of the tree with a handkerchief. The eldest brother went up and asked the two lords to sit down.

"Princess, this is..." Lord Du saw that his eldest brother did not look like a servant at all.

"My lords, this is my cousin, the eldest son of Lord Cai Weide," Su Yuanyuan introduced.

"So that's how it is. Upon closer inspection, he has some similarities with Lord Cai." As they were talking, four people came over, one who had just left, a man in his forties, and two young men.

"My humble self, Yang Haoyu, greets the two adults and all the officials." The leader, who was in his forties,

The man stepped forward and saluted, "I am the head of Wangbian Village, Beikou Town." The man introduced himself.

"Is your village the first village entering this Puji Mountain? How far is it from here? How is the disaster situation in your village?" Lord Du stepped forward and asked.

"To answer your question, sir, we are a village nestled in the mountains, and our village is the only way to enter the mountains. It's still a long way to go. Our village was not affected by the disaster, but some houses that were dilapidated for a long time collapsed, but we were not affected too much. Sirs, please walk for another quarter of an hour and you will reach our village after passing the archway in front. I think you are a little tired, so please rest over there for a while before going in." The head of the village greeted politely, and the group followed the visitor in.

Not far away, they really saw the archway. It's called an archway, but it's actually a cave between two mountains. It looks quite long, which is really magical. "One man guards the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it." Su Yuanyuan looked at the young man next to him who had just come in. "Young man, this gate is a transportation fortress, right? Do we have to go through this gate to leave the mountain?"

"To answer your question, young lady, yes, we have to pass through the cave to get out of Puji Mountain." The young man answered shyly. Someone wanted to come forward and say something, but Su Yuanyuan waved her hand and said, "There are four towns in the mountains here. Everyone who goes in and out has to pass through here? If everyone has to pass through here, why haven't we seen any passers-by after walking for so long today?" Su Yuanyuan asked her doubts.

"In reply to the princess, Lord Liu has issued a death order to stop the villagers from leaving here. Today is the fifth day." Sun Yan stepped forward to explain. He walked a few steps inside and saw a phenomenon: there were rows of poles blocking the way.

"What does this mean?" Su Yuanyuan asked.

"Is it to prevent someone from going out?" asked Lord Du.

"Master Du, it seems we need to discuss this. Are they treating the victims as prisoners or something? They are locking them up and not letting them go out." Su Yuanyuan was a little angry.

"My humble servant Wang Yong greets all the gentlemen." Someone, accompanied by two yamen runners, came running over in disheveled clothes, still panting.

"It's derelict. How can you be a government official?" Lord Shang said angrily. "Who are you?"