She picked up the young prime minister while fleeing famine

This scene naturally fell into the eyes of Lian Chengmo and the others. Lian Chengmo whispered a few words to Yao Dahe, and Yao Dahe then told everyone to bring out their weapons.

Ten gleaming longswords were revealed, and those who had harbored designs on them froze, reluctantly retreating.

Whether they have truly given up the idea remains to be seen.

"Brother Dahe, you're making people do this..." Lian Chengmo stopped the team and whispered to Yao Dahe for a while.

And so, the oxcart stopped at the outermost edge, without entering the area where the disaster victims gathered at the city gate. The two people that Yao Dahe had chosen quietly found their own direction under the cover of night and blended into the crowd of disaster victims.

The two returned after about half an hour, but they brought back some useful information: there are now three ways to enter the city.

First, it would cost one or two taels of silver per person for ordinary people or disaster victims to enter the city, while these disaster victims outside the city obviously had no money to enter.

Secondly, if able-bodied men are willing to join the army and become military households, their whole family can enter the city for free. But now there are wars everywhere, and joining the army means dying in battle. The disaster victims are just trying to survive, so why would they choose this option so easily?

Not to mention that although King Cheng was cruel, he was someone who aspired to rule the world. He didn't want those who were so thin and weak that they could be pushed over at the slightest push. If he took such people back, King Cheng would have to provide food to feed them. He wasn't stupid.

Therefore, not many people could choose the second method of entering the city, let alone those who were desperate to survive and did not want to become military households.

The third option is even more difficult. King Cheng recruited advisors from all over the country. Those with some fame or those who had passed the imperial examinations could bring their entire families into the city for free with a document.

But those who could pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) all came from wealthy families or had connections. How could they possibly end up fleeing famine?

King Cheng's third condition was not open to the disaster victims; it was clearly an attempt to seize talented individuals from the court for his own use.

After the two men recounted what they had learned, the ten men looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally all their gazes fell upon Lian Chengmo.

Yao Dahe and the others were all from Yao Li Village. Military households struggled to survive; how much silver could they possibly save?

Furthermore, even if they could save some money, they wouldn't be willing to use it as a travel fee to enter the city, since they would have to come out again this time.

If the entire village cannot be settled down, what use are the ten of them if they go to the city?

Since it was Lian Chengmo who came to gather information, everyone naturally turned their attention to him.

Lian Chengmo was also considering whether or not to go into the city. He had the money to take eleven taels of silver into the city, but it seemed unnecessary.

These conditions for entering the city clearly reveal King Cheng's intentions. He is preparing military provisions and renowned scholars, clearly intending to take advantage of the drought in Hedong Prefecture to seize the prefecture.

Thus, even if they went into the city, they couldn't buy food, and it was very difficult to settle down in Vietnam unless they were military households.

The people of Yaoli Village have to see and inquire for themselves, rather than Lian Chengmo telling them directly.

That's right, this intelligence gathering was a move by Lian Chengmo to take Yao Li Village away, thus discouraging Yao Li Village from settling in Vietnam.

Moreover, he was not really clear about the situation in Vietnam at that time.

After all, in his previous life, Lian Chengmo was only ten years old at this time, and he was constantly worried about protecting his younger siblings. It had already taken all his strength to get to Yunzhou safely.

Afterwards, he was trapped in the Yun family's villa and knew very little about what was happening outside. It wasn't until he managed to participate in the imperial examination and finally passed that he learned some old stories, but they weren't very clear.

Later, Ayu died in battle, and Xiaoshuang'er was tricked into marrying someone else. In a fit of anger, Lianchengmo switched sides and completely broke ties with the Liancheng family of Yunzhou.

Now, having been reborn, he stands on the opposite side of the Liancheng family in Yunzhou, but no one knows this now.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Lian Chengmo must find out about the Lian Cheng family's situation and the current decisions of the King of Cheng. Therefore, this city must be entered.

Fortunately, King Cheng was quite helpful, laying out the three conditions for entering the city, which dashed most of Yao Li Village's hopes, as could be seen from the faces of these people.

“Brother Dahe, pick one more person. The three of us will go into town. The rest of you can drive the oxcart back a bit and hide it. Rest well and wait for us to come back.”

"We'll enter the city early tomorrow morning and be out by nightfall at the latest, then we'll travel back overnight." In no time, Lian Chengmo had figured out what to do.

A day is enough time for him to gather information in the city.

Yao Dahe nodded and quickly picked out a person, who was indeed Yao Daniu, who had followed the bandits with Yao Dazhuang before. Yao Daniu's father died in battle last year.

Yao Daniu's family has a mother who is almost forty years old, as well as three younger siblings who are not yet adults. They are living a very difficult life.

Yao Dahe knew that his father wanted to help Yao Daniu establish his family, so he tried to take him along on any missions.

Previously, we could give him more food, but this time we can broaden his horizons.

Yao Dahe was willing to take him along for this kind of worldly experience. Yao Daniu himself was clever and knew how to handle things, and with the young master watching over him, nothing bad would happen.

Lian Chengmo glanced at Yao Daniu, who had no objection to it. To him, it didn't matter much who went into the city with him.

The group retreated a little further, moving another hundred meters away from the disaster victims. Yao Dahe then distributed dry rations to everyone and urged them to eat quickly and get some rest.

Four people are assigned to night shifts: two for the first half of the night and two for the second half.

Lian Chengmo heard the noise when he went to the toilet in the middle of the night.

He instinctively reached out and touched it lightly, and then he heard someone talking.

“King Cheng’s actions are truly disgusting. He is unwilling to accept the disaster victims and has come up with such a method. I heard that many people have paid silver to enter the city today, and some people have even become military households so that their families can enter the city.”

"If this continues, King Cheng will gain fame and his army will grow stronger. He will probably attack our master soon."

A man's voice said angrily.

Qingyang County is adjacent to Hedong Prefecture, which has suffered a disaster and lost many people. Instead of thinking about how to help, King Cheng is taking this opportunity to amass wealth and strengthen his army. It is utterly shameful.

“This is indeed something that cannot be delayed. You continue to gather information, and I will immediately send a message to the master to see what we should do next.”

Another, more mature male voice rang out, filled with worry.

After exchanging a few more words, the two parted ways and went their separate ways.

In the darkness, a knowing glint flashed in Lian Chengmo's eyes; he roughly knew whose men these two were.

The military commander of the Vietnamese prefecture, Shan Cong An, is now known as the Prince of An.

During the chaos of the previous year, he seized the opportunity to occupy Hedong Prefecture and declared himself king, thus creating a standoff with the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, which was adjacent to Hedong Prefecture to the west.

As a result, the Vietnamese government suffered a drought shortly after taking office.