On the 23rd day of the fourth lunar month, porridge stalls were set up inside and outside Qufu City. Hundreds of large vats were set up inside and outside the city. Many refugees were queuing up in front of the porridge stalls.
"The Lu Family is really going to give out porridge. They brought out so many vats today. It seems like the Lu Family really has food!"
In a teahouse on the street, a few aristocratic family members sat together and enjoyed their tea. They looked at the refugees who were queuing up outside the window and commented.
"I saw the Hua family's carriages yesterday. There are only about three hundred of them. At most, they only have about ten thousand dan of grain. The Lu Family actually didn't keep them for wheat seeds. Instead, they are giving out porridge to the refugees. Let's see how long they can keep this up.
This King Lu must be muddle-headed! "A slightly older aristocratic family member said with a smile.
When the others heard this, they couldn't help but nod their heads. If the Lu Family used the grain to help the refugees, the King Lu wouldn't be able to feed them in the autumn. In the end, the Lu Family would only benefit others.
"That's not necessarily true. I heard that the palace distributed the grain for the City Guards and the Imperial Guards. Many aristocratic families also borrowed grain from the Lu Family. Without at least a hundred thousand dan of grain, the Lu Family wouldn't dare to do this," someone said.
"Can the Lu Family really get their hands on grain?
If they can borrow grain from the aristocratic families at this time, they must have enough grain for the spring plowing … "When the aristocratic family member finished speaking, he saw that everyone was silent. This time, many aristocratic families had contributed to attracting all the refugees to Qufu City. They wanted to sit back and watch the Lu Family make a fool of themselves so that they could benefit from it.
However, the Lu Family really did take out their grain. This made everyone feel that everything they did was a gift to the Lu Family.
If the Lu Family had enough grain to control the hundreds of thousands of refugees inside and outside Qufu City, then when the famine was over, the Lu Family would really control the entire Qufu City.
That night, Hua Kai followed King of Lu's instructions and placed the food at the place he requested. He was not afraid of revealing the secret of the Treasured Glazed Vase to King of Lu. He was the Holy Son, the core disciple of Sage Ceng Can, and the grand disciple of Kong Zhisheng. King of Lu would never dare to do anything to him.
After staying in Qufu for a few days, Hua Kai couldn't help but use his [Eye of Truth] to check on the refugees outside the city. In the end, it took seven days. Hua Kai had already checked on half of the refugees outside Qufu. In total, he found 103 people with aptitude of A- and 2,426 people with aptitude of B- and above. Initially, Hua Kai wanted to continue checking for a few more days. However, after thinking about it for a while, he realized that it might affect the future of the King of Lu if he took away too many of the high-aptitude citizens from the Lu Kingdom. Therefore, he decided to stop.
Hua Kai told King of Lu about him choosing refugees to be his Household Servant. King of Lu generously said that he could choose anyone from the Hua family inside and outside the city. After thinking about it, Hua Kai decided to stop. He bade farewell to King of Lu and Princess Ji Le and rode on Lu, intending to catch up with the Jixia Academy team.
It was already the first of the fifth month, and the Jixia Academy team had been traveling for almost a month. Hua Kai could only detect the direction and approximate location of the giant. He rode Lu all the way to the west, following the official road, and traveled more than 1,400 miles on the first day. At night, he entered an inn in a small county to rest. When he checked on the Jixia Academy team again, the distance between them had shortened significantly.
As Hua Kai set off from the Lu Kingdom, he took a different route from the Jixia Academy team. Therefore, he had to look at the map and guess everyone's location.
To the west of the Lu Kingdom were the Cao and Guo Kingdoms, and further west was the Wei Kingdom.
When they reached the Wei Kingdom, they started to head north. After passing through the Wei Kingdom, Zhao Kingdom, and other regions, when they sensed the Jixia Academy team, they were already close to the Qin Kingdom.
Hua Kai used 12 days to travel from the Lu Kingdom to more than ten countries. When he finally caught up with the Jixia Academy team, he had already traveled nearly 8,000 miles on Lu.
Hua Kai was going to the Qin Kingdom to represent Jixia Academy in the academic debate. This was an honor for the Hua family.
When the Hua family members on the battlefield in the Yan Kingdom heard this news, they were all very happy.
The family head's reputation was sometimes as important as his ability. It could bring a good environment for the family to develop. Now, the Hua family had been fighting in the Yan Kingdom for eight months. Their achievements were enough for the family to be promoted to a rank seven family.
Ever since the drought ended, the Donghu army retreated faster and faster. They saw that they could not take root in the Yan Kingdom. Compared to the Central Plains countries, they were not a match in city defense. Therefore, everyone prepared to retreat to their own tribes.
The Guang County Legion led by the Hua family was in the Qi Kingdom. The three armies were on the west side. Not far ahead was the border between the Yan Kingdom and Donghu Kingdom. If the Donghu army retreated from the Yan Kingdom, then their goal of this war would be completed!
As the last cavalry was driven out of the border, everyone in the Guang County Legion cheered in victory. Hadn't they fought for so long without regard for anything just for this day?
Now that the battle on the west side was over, they just had to wait for the news of victory on the other two sides. Then they could return to Linzi City and receive their rewards!
"Look here, such a beautiful place. It is a pity that there is no one here!" Yu Jun rode his horse on the grass and said as he looked at the green grassland in the distance.
"All the people here have either been killed or taken captive. The Yan Kingdom may not be able to take care of this place for many years. Such a pity for such a good grassland!"
Xue Pan followed behind Yu Jun. Now that the orders from the main army had not come, they could only wait here. The beautiful scenery in front of them was a baptism for the Hua family after the war.
This grassland belonged to High Willow Commandery. It was the place that the Donghu army had taken first. When they left, they did not leave anything behind. High Willow Commandery went from a large commandery with more than a hundred thousand people to not even a county now. The original High Willow City was now in ruins, and there was no one alive.
"It is a pity for this fertile grassland. Look, the land is black. Everywhere you can see is good land. It is a pity that the nomads were so vicious. When they left, no one was left alive," Yu Jun said with a sigh.
As the two spoke, they saw Hua Zichen come from the distance on a Heavenly Dragon Colt. They hurried to greet him.
"Fifth Lord!" The two bowed and said.
"The orders from the main army have come down. They want us to stay here and not move. The Yan Kingdom plans to build a wall here to block the attacks of the grassland countries!"
Hua Zichen came over mainly to tell the two of them this. Now, Yu Jun and Xue Pan were the deputy generals of the Guang County Army.
"The Yan Kingdom wants to build a wall like the Qin and Zhao?
But do they have the power? "Yu Jun could not help but ask.
"They have to build it even if they don't have the power. Otherwise, the Yan Kingdom will be lucky to not be destroyed by the grassland countries, let alone the Central Plains.
This time, I heard that the Qi will provide support to the Yan Kingdom. We will stay behind to protect the people building the wall, "Hua Zichen said.
"We have been out for eight months. Why are we not allowed to go home? What is the Qi King doing?
Is he going to waste all of our time here? "Xue Pan said unhappily.
"I heard from Kai that the Qi King is seriously ill. I am not sure if the Qi Family is still in charge of the affairs of the Qi Kingdom. I have already sent a letter to the main army camp to request for the Guang County Army to return home as soon as possible," Hua Zichen said.
The few of them were deep in thought. The situation in the Qi Kingdom was getting more and more complicated. The four kingdoms and five counties had all gathered in Linzi City. The reshuffling of power in the Qi Kingdom was inevitable. The Hua family had contributed a lot in this war and should be given a share of the benefits. The application had already been submitted and it was up to the decision-makers of the Qi Kingdom to deal with it.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, the Guang County Army had finished their training and was organizing the cavalry to patrol the border. At this time, someone came to report that an envoy from the main army had arrived!
Hua Zichen went out to welcome him and realized that it was an Innate Expert from the Meng Family.
The Meng Family was the representative of the main army to the West Army camp. Could it be that the Meng Family was in charge of the entire Qi Kingdom?
"Greetings, envoy!"
Hua Zichen stepped forward and bowed. The Meng Family had the closest relationship with the Hua family in Linzi City. They used to stay together and were familiar with each other.
"General Hua, you don't have to be so courteous. The main army has received your letter. I am here today to talk to you about this." The Meng Family Innate Expert replied.
The two of them walked to the main tent and sat down side by side. The Meng Family Innate Expert spoke first.
"General Hua, you might know that the King of Qi is seriously ill and is unable to handle the country's affairs. The representatives of the four kingdoms and five counties under the Qi Kingdom have already entered the Qi Palace to take charge of the Qi Kingdom's affairs. Now that there are refugees everywhere in the Qi Kingdom, many aristocratic families have moved to Linzi City. The Qi Kingdom is unable to send any more troops to replace the West Army. The Hua family will have to hold on for a while longer." The Meng Family Innate Expert said.
"I don't think that's appropriate!
The Guang County Army has been on the battlefield for more than eight months. The food consumption of thirty thousand troops is not a small number. Now that there are refugees everywhere in the Qi Kingdom, how can we stay here to help the Yan Kingdom defend their territory? "Hua Zichen rejected.
"I am here today to discuss with you. The Hua family has contributed greatly in this war. We can discuss if you want any rewards. However, the Hua family must stay behind to defend Gao Liu County."
Hua Kai finally understood why the main army sent the Meng Family Innate Expert. They wanted to use rewards to keep the Guang County Army. Hua Zichen was thinking about how much the Hua family could benefit from this.
"The Guang County Army can leave a maximum of ten thousand troops. The entire Guang County Army will be handed over to the Hua family. The Hua family will be promoted to a sixth rank aristocratic family. In addition, the Hua family will be given ten spots to be promoted to an aristocratic family!" Hua Kai said after some thought.
He was asking for too much. If the Guang County Army was handed over to the Hua family, it meant that the other aristocratic families could not interfere with the affairs of the Guang County Army. The Hua family did not have a Xiantian expert, but they wanted to be promoted from a Family of Ninth Grades to a sixth rank. This had never happened before. Lastly, the Hua family wanted to increase the strength of their own affiliated families. However, it was impossible to give ten spots at once.
The Qi Kingdom had never promoted so many new aristocratic families in the past thirty years.
"Is there anyone else?
I will definitely bring General Hua's message to Linzi City. As for whether it will succeed or not, it will depend on the opinions of the aristocratic families! "The Meng Family Innate expert left after speaking with Hua Zichen.
Hua Zichen told Hua Xing and the rest what he had said to the Meng Family Innate expert. This time, more than half of the Hua family would return home. Princess Ji Le was still in the Lu Kingdom with six thousand family members. Fort Wah Ka was about to start the irrigation works. The Hua family's military strength was already insufficient. The Hua family had to send a portion of their main forces back home.