Lonely non-good minister

Song Fu went to the army without stopping, while Song Yuan slowly drove his horse into the city. The streets were covered with yellow sand, and there were brown blood stains under the yellow sand. The houses along the street were swept by fire, leaving only dilapidated and injured houses. Soldiers and surviving civilians lay wailing on the street, with few healthy people coming and going. Unclaimed corpses were lying in various directions, exuding an unbearable stench.

"Your Highness." The guard had already gone to the Yamen. When he came back to report the news, his face was very unbearable. Facing Song Yuan's questioning eyes, he just shook his head.

Song Yuan had a bad premonition in her heart. She hurried to the Yamen. Before she could get off her horse, she saw the beheaded official's body hanging in front of the Yamen. The pool of blood at her feet had dried and turned black, and the official uniform was stained with blood. color.

Even without going in to take a look, Song Yuan could guess how miserable it was inside. The strong smell of blood mixed with the smell of decaying corpses went straight to his forehead. This was already five or six days after the town was attacked.

"The Yamen has been massacred." The guards had already searched around: "I heard that the county magistrate Mr. Zhu called on the yamen servants to resist the men in the city. After the Huns broke through the city, they forced Mr. Zhu to kneel down and beg for surrender. Mr. Zhu refused to die. He was hung up and watched all his life as all the officials in the Yamen were slaughtered, and even their family members were not spared."

Song Yuan couldn't bear it. This was not the only town that was attacked. The situation in other places was similar to this. The Xiongnu's breach of contract and the military encounter with the Wei Dynasty must be related to the fact that the envoys sent to Beijing a few months ago were rejected to discuss trade between the two countries. This It's just to show Wei's face. Taking the people captive and then waiting to discuss with Wei is a way to delay time.

Song Yuan knew all this in her heart, but these facts were not under her control. This was not a trivial matter and had to wait for the court's decision. What she could do now was to appease the people, prevent the disease from happening, rebuild houses, farm buildings and defenses, and To prevent the Huns from attacking again.

Because all the government officials in the town were killed, Song Yuan ordered people to make statistics and immediately dispatched officials to various places to serve as agents. She also ordered the officials who were assigned to bring food and medicine. When Song Fu mobilized troops, she also asked for them to be dispatched. With the assistance of a thousand soldiers, not only the bodies had to be buried and burned inside and outside the town, but they also had to be cleaned up as quickly as possible to prevent epidemics. This was no small task.

There were not many soldiers and people in the city who could provide help, and progress was slow at first. After waiting for several days, the soldiers arranged by Song Fu arrived and then the speed was accelerated. Once the officials dispatched from various places arrived, everything gradually came to an end. On track, Song Yuan also made time to visit the villages around the town.

Although the Xiongnu listed towns as the main target of their attacks, they never spared the villages along the way. Burning, killing, and looting were also staged in these places. No one took away the corpses in the villages, and almost no one could be found alive. The villagers died tragically. The sight was unbearable, and the parchment letter left on the old tree in front of the village made people bite their back molars into pieces.

'If you want to redeem someone, prepare 30 catties of cotton and 50 shi of grain, otherwise they will be killed. '

Wei Yan shouted: "The lion opened his mouth, he is going to break up with Wei."

"People have already drawn their swords to slaughter the city, why do they still care about their face?" Song Yuan's heart was boiling with hatred, but she couldn't show it. It was useless to vent at this time, so she could only force herself to make arrangements: "Arrange some people to remove the corpses." Bury them as soon as possible, remember to spread some lime to prevent epidemics, and then arrange for people to look around. If there are any dead, bury them as soon as possible. If there are survivors, bring them back to the town for resettlement first. It would be best if we can count the number of people who were kidnapped."

"Yes." The guards following him immediately led the soldiers to do it, and Song Yuan also rushed back to the city first.

The town was also busy rebuilding. When the Huns massacred the city, they adopted fire attack tactics and severely burned the city gates and walls. If they were not rebuilt as soon as possible, it would be difficult to guarantee whether the Huns would come back again. To this end, Song Yuan arranged for four hundred The soldiers rebuilt the city wall. After a few days, most of it had been rebuilt, but the progress was still slow. "These grooves on the city wall will facilitate the enemy's climbing and sneak attacks, so they must be repaired as soon as possible." Song Yuan stood outside the city, looking at the city wall that had been cleaned but still stained with blood, and looked worried: "In the army, Can we arrange for a new general to defend the city?"

Wei Yan immediately said: "We have already arrived this morning. Your Highness is busy, so I went to set up defenses first."

"Well, you have more experience in marching and fighting than me. If he has anything to discuss, you don't have to waste time waiting to ask me. Just discuss it with him yourself. Although there is a large army deployed for defense ahead, the border situation is changeable and very It’s hard to guarantee that the Huns won’t attack from behind, and now that we don’t have enough manpower, if we encounter trouble, we can only focus on defense.”

Wei Yan said hurriedly: "Your Highness, don't worry. The Fifth Lord has ordered that inspections be strengthened everywhere, and more than a dozen generals who have neglected their duties have been prosecuted. Although the places attacked are close to the border, it is not easy for the Huns to successfully raid. There must be other hidden reasons behind this incident."

Hidden secret?Collusion between inside and outside?
Song Yuan didn't dare to make wild guesses. Jingzhao had not yet made a conclusion on Song Fen and Song Ling's collusion with the Huns. It was difficult to guarantee whether the Xiongnu attack on the city would also be blamed on the two brothers.

Song Yuan rode a horse and walked around the town. It was almost dark before he entered the city and returned. The soldiers and people on the street burned torches. Even when night fell, they were busy rebuilding their houses. Not only did the streets accumulate thick yellow sand, Now there is an extra layer of black charcoal ash, which makes people squint and choke when the wind blows at night.

Song Yuan covered his mouth and nose as he walked through the street. He noticed a few thin people sleeping on the corner of the street, and immediately asked: "Didn't we arrange a temporary courtyard for people to stay there for the night? Why are there still people sleeping on the street? Up? Is the place not big enough?"

"The place is big enough, but there are always people who dislike the place where people have died and feel it is unlucky, so they refuse to go." The official who followed him was very helpless: "I have tried to persuade him several times, but I can't convince him."

The places where the people were temporarily resettled were the residences of several wealthy merchants. When the Xiongnu attacked the city, these wealthy merchants suffered the most. Not only were their money robbed, but all the female relatives at home were also brutally murdered, and many of them committed suicide. The huge residences suddenly became empty. Even if it is cleaned up, it is still disgusting.

After Song Yuan heard the reason, he ignored it and walked away: "Can you sort out the names of the hundreds of people who were kidnapped? How many people are there?"

"It has been sorted out according to the roster. Although there are omissions, the discrepancies should not be big." The officials knew Song Yuan's temper and did not dare to delay in doing things. She immediately agreed carefully when she asked.

Song Yuan was very satisfied with this attitude. When she returned to the Yamen, although all the corpses had been cleaned up and even the floor had been carefully scrubbed twice, the faint smell of corpses still lingered in her breath. She rubbed her nose. , and opened the roster on the table.