On the tenth day of the first month of October, Lin Qingji, who had received the envoy, embarked on the journey out of Beijing, and outside the city, Wei Yao was already waiting there, carrying a package in her arms, which were all snacks she made and eaten for Lin Qingji on the way.

Lin Qingji, who didn't have Lin Yi by his side, only brought six expert guards sent to him by the prince to accompany him, and several of them dressed as businessmen and traveled lightly.

After three days of day and night, Lin Qingji finally arrived in Jiaozhou on the evening of October 12, Jiaozhou is close to the sea, most of the people rely on trade and fishing to make a living, Lin Qingji has also been to Jiaozhou when he traveled, after all, it is close to Penglai, which is known as Xiangxian Island.

But at this time, Jiaozhou was completely devoid of the previous bustle and peace, the market was deserted, most of the shops were closed, and even pedestrians were in a hurry.

Finally found an inn to live in, called a few people to sit down, and only then did I know that Jiaozhou had suffered from the invasion of Dongying pirates in the past two years.

In addition to robbery, these pirates will also rob and kill the people on a large scale, and the state capital yamen has not thought of a way, but most of the pirates go ashore to rob and rob vigorously, and when the officers and soldiers gather to arrest them, they have already fled into the vast sea and have nowhere to pursue, and these pirates are scattered in gangs every time, and it is difficult to arrest them all.

In Jiaozhou City, where business could not be done, most of the people left their hometowns and went to other places, and some of the old, weak, sick and disabled who could not walk could only stay and starve to death and die of poverty.

After listening to what the shopkeeper said, Lin Qingji's hand holding the wine cup tightened, frowned and stopped speaking, the general situation that could be heard was already clear, so the next thing was to do something by his own ability.

Lin Qingji arrived in Jiaozhou two days earlier than expected due to the starry night, and these two days were just the right time to secretly investigate the real situation in Jiaozhou.

The Jiaozhou district officials, who had already received the summons, knew that the Qincha would arrive in two days, so if they did wait until two days later, many things might not be visible.

Lin Qingji got the news he wanted, and he was not in a hurry to eat, so he walked out into the street alone, and the others wanted to follow and were also sent back by him.

On the road, I saw a lot of old, weak, sick and disabled people in rags or sitting or lying on the corner of the street, only to see two men in the clothes of the servants not far away who were constantly scolding and shouting loudly, and when they got closer, it turned out that there was a weak old man with white hair and beard curled up by the wall with a little girl, who seemed to be a pair of grandchildren.

There were no more homeless people and other beggars nearby, and the official scolded and kicked the old man twice, Lin Qingji couldn't look at it and stepped forward to stop the officer, but the officer saw Lin Qingji dressed in ordinary clothes, and only squinted his eyes and said: "Listen to the accent, this son should be a foreigner, right?" I advise you to be nosy so as not to get into trouble! ”

When Lin Qingji heard the words of the servant, anger welled up in his chest, and his voice was a little harsh: "They just came out to beg for food, have you ever thought about your own parents and young son when you force the law so much?" Besides, this street is not a private place, so why should they stay here? ”

"Why not? We are just doing what we are told, we can't do our errands, our positions are not guaranteed, our families will also live on the streets, who is not forced? The two officials looked at each other and sneered.

"Whose orders are you? Why did the government drive them away instead of helping the people? Seeing that your official yamen is also quite magnificent, there should be no shortage of silver, right? Lin Qingji tried to get a clue from the mouths of the two officials.

"It's not your business, judging by your dress, you should be just a businessman, right? Wake up with good intentions, this Jiaozhou City is over, if you want to do business, let's go somewhere else. The two waved their hands and said impatiently.

"And the two of you, hurry up, the Qin mission sent by the imperial court will arrive in two days, before the Qin mission leaves, don't go back to the street, and don't embarrass us." The two officials finished speaking to the grandparents and grandchildren in the corner and left.

When the official walked away, Lin Qingji squatted down and looked at the old man, the old man's voice came from his throat, and said: "Thank you for this young man's help, those two people are right, you still don't expect to do business in Jiaozhou City, let's go quickly." ”

"Uncle, why did those two officials say that you should not appear on the street before the Qin mission left? Is that Chincha-sama so terrible? Lin Qingji asked gently.

"Alas, it's not that the Qincha is terrible, but they are afraid that the Qincha will find out that they, the officials, have allowed the people to be displaced and hungry, knowing that they have cut off their official path by filling their pockets." The old man said with a sigh.

"Grandpa, I'm so hungry......" said the little girl who snuggled up next to the old man, blinking her watery eyes.

"Little girl, will your uncle take you and your grandfather to eat?" Lin Qingji raised his hand and touched the top of the little girl's head and said softly.

"Really?" When the little girl saw Lin Qingji helping to drive away the servants, she naturally had a good impression of him, and she was even more overjoyed when she heard Lin Qingji mention that she wanted to take them to eat.

"Ling'er, this young man has already helped us get rid of the officials, don't trouble people anymore, wait a minute, grandpa will take you to eat something delicious later, okay?" The old man looked at his granddaughter beside him, and there was reproach and reluctance in his tone.

When the girl heard her grandfather's words, she was like a deflated ball, and the light in her eyes faded away, and she whispered: "But we haven't eaten for a day, Ling'er is so hungry......"

"Uncle, when I first came here in my late life, there are still a lot of things I don't understand, and I want to ask you a question or two, why don't we go and drink two sips of hot tea and chat?" Lin Qingji said earnestly.

The old man hesitated and agreed, the three of them walked to the corner of the street and turned a corner, saw a simple noodle stall, found an empty table and sat down, asked the boss for three nights of Yangchun noodles, and asked for two side dishes, the noodles were served Ling'er's eyes were shining and he devoured them with joy, Lin Qingji touched Ling'er's hair and said gently: "Ling'er eat slowly, be careful of scalding, uncle has a treat today, you must eat enough." ”

Immediately, Lin Qingji looked at the old man sitting opposite, and asked worriedly, "Uncle, is Ling'er your granddaughter?" Why don't you spend time on the streets with your family? ”

The old man listened to Lin Qingji's words, his face showed sadness, and said: "My son and daughter-in-law, that is, Ling'er's father and mother, were killed by pirates, and they didn't even let go of my little grandson who could just walk, and killed them together. We have no home, we can only live by begging, I don't know how long this old bone can last, but pity Ling'er, if I am gone, what will she do. ”

After the old man finished speaking, he raised his dirty black sleeves and wiped his eyes, and the wrinkled eyes were full of red bloodshot and full of vicissitudes.

"There are still many people in Jiaozhou City who are homeless like you, right?"

"Yes, the pirates have robbed and killed countless people, who wants to live a precarious life here, those who can go are gone, only those of us who can't leave are waiting to die, alas......" The old man sighed again and again.

Lin Qingji's gaze gradually became solemn, he had not tasted the taste of a ruined family, of course he knew the pain of going through this.

gave the ancestors and grandchildren enough silver taels, and placed the two people's residences, it was already the willow tops on the moon, the dissolved moonlight sprinkled on the earth like frost, there was only the sound of whimpering wind in the ears, and the city of Jiaozhou was even more deserted and silent, Lin Qingji walked on the street and slowly disappeared into the thick moonlight.

Prosperous Heroes

Heroes 2018