Chapter 1033: Are You Really Worthy of Your Position? I Use My Soldiers Like Mud because I Love Them Like My Own Sons!

Bringing more than a thousand candidates who passed the preliminary examination, escorting nearly 100,000 people and dignitaries in shackles, and carrying more than 40,000 heads, Ying Chengjiao set out on the road back to Xianyang on August 22, the 16th year of Qin Wangzheng.

As for what the great Confucian scholars such as Kong Yu will do next, Ying Chengjiao doesn't care.

Not to mention that the scholar's rebellion failed in three years, the possibility of great Confucian scholars such as Kong Yu taking the initiative to stir up unrest is very small.

Ying Chengjiao came here just to cut off the source of the unrest in the old Qi in advance, not to really make the old Qi follow the lead of the Qin, you know he doesn't have that ability!

This job is something that Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei should worry about.

More importantly, Ying Chengjiao has sown the seeds of hope. With the combination of Chang'an Bookstore, teaching law officials, and the imperial examination, the thriving seedlings will surely challenge the great Confucian scholars such as Kong Yu first!

So Ying Chengjiao was very happy along the way, and he returned with a full load in addition to the fish!

At the same time, Li Mu also left Jicheng and headed west.

But Li Mu's mood was completely opposite to Ying Chengjiao's.

The warhorse slowly stepped forward, carefully avoiding the bones on the ground, but Li Mu's eyes could not avoid the tragic scene under his feet.

"These bones are the remains of a child."

When he uttered this sentence, Li Mu's lips were trembling, and his voice was no longer as firm and powerful as when he gave orders in the army.

Ma Fudui comforted in a gentle voice: "This is a tragic scene that no one wants to see."

"However, Wu'an Jun has been trying his best to deal with it and to reassure the people, and he is worthy of Dai!"

When he first saw the tragic scene in Dai, Ma Fudui felt very uncomfortable.

But along the way, it was really a case of bones exposed in the wild and no roosters crowing for thousands of miles!

Let alone the bones of a child of about eight years old, even the bones of a child of three or four years old, or thousands of skeletons piled together, Ma Fudui has seen more than one.

Walking and looking all the way, Ma Fudui has gotten used to it, or rather, he is no longer able to feel sad.

Li Mu slightly closed his eyelids and murmured softly: "My lord, am I worthy of my succession?"

In order to avoid being hurt by the bone fragments, the warhorse's pace was not only slow but also twisted and turned. The warhorse that had once fought against the enemy and roamed the battlefield now walked out in a charming cat-like step.

But Li Mu had no intention of blaming the warhorse under his crotch, but just asked himself again and again in his heart.

My lord, am I really worthy of my succession?

The main force continued to move forward. Li Hong ran back with the first scout and said casually: "Auntie, there are rocks blocking the southwest fork. We can continue to move forward along the northwest road."

Li Mu finally opened his eyes and looked at Li Hong steadily and said: "Do you think I am old?"

Li Hong hurriedly laughed and said: "How could I!"

"Auntie is in his prime, healthy, able to ride a fierce horse and shoot a hard bow. How could I think he was old?"

"Although there are rocks ahead, Auntie can jump over them."

"But my army has many carriages and horses. We can't move all of them over the pile of rocks, right?"

"It's better to move northwest."

Li Mu looked at Li Hong with complicated eyes. After a few breaths, he sighed: "Hong'er."

Li Hong hurriedly responded: "My son is here!"

Li Mu tiredly reminded: "Remember to say less when you lie in the future."

Li Hong:...

Li Mu did not ask Li Hong why he lied to him. After all, he was his son. Li Mu believed that Li Hong would not harm him.

Using the warhorse to continue moving southwest, Li Mu saw the curling smoke soon.

Suddenly, Li Mu's spirit was shocked: "It's cooking smoke!"

Cooking smoke should be the most common smoke, but for Li Mu today, it seems like a rare auspicious sign.

Because the last time Li Mu saw someone else's cooking smoke was a few days ago!

But just as the joy surged in his heart, Li Mu's heart tightened again. He turned his head and looked at Li Hong. He saw Li Hong pursing his lips and lowering his head, following behind him. His face seemed to be reluctant and a little happy that his little tricks had succeeded.

In an instant, Li Mu felt like he fell into an ice cave, and his heart was cold.

But would Li Mu be a person who was afraid of knowing the truth?

Unconsciously tightening the reins, Li Mu continued to move forward without saying a word, and finally saw hundreds of disaster victims.

Everyone here had dirty and ragged clothes, and there was filth on their bodies and faces. Although there were hundreds of people gathered, they were clearly divided into dozens of settlements. Not only that, the people in each settlement also kept a distance from others that was enough to draw their swords and fight back.

Internally, everyone was wary of others, and externally, all the disaster victims looked at Li Mu's troops with hostility and vigilance, ready to fight side by side at any time.

Li Mu, who had seen the plight of the victims, knew very well why they acted like this. It was just a self-protection behavior when trust and rules had completely collapsed. They needed to protect themselves with the power of the collective but were afraid of being hurt by others in the collective.

Li Mu sighed softly in his heart and turned his eyes to the center of a settlement. The crackling firewood was one of the sources of the smoke.

Li Hong persuaded softly: "Aunt, take a detour."

At this point, how could Li Mu not know why Li Hong persuaded him to take a detour?

But Li Mu ignored Li Hong's persuasion and continued to ride forward, which also made the victims more nervous and hostile.

"There are people! Be careful! There are at least two thousand people coming, all in armor, and there are carriages transporting supplies in the back!"

"It's the army! We can't beat them at all! Run!"

"What's the use of running?! The enemy is riding horses, and it's a death anyway, fight with them!"

"Wait! That seems to be... Mr. Wu An? It's Mr. Wu An! It's really Mr. Wu An!"

It’s not that the victims didn’t discover Li Hong’s scouting force, nor that they didn’t discover Li Mu’s large force early.

However, they have been hungry for a long time and have no family to support. Their physical strength and endurance are not enough to support them in outrunning people who can eat normally, let alone outrunning horses.

During the long-term struggle against stragglers, deserters, bandits and other victims of the disaster, the victims knew that their only chance of survival in this situation was to show off their bravery and show that even if they were killed, they would still destroy a few of the opponent's bullets. Only with Ya's determination can it be possible to scare off the enemy and allow them to survive!

But when a person called out the name of 'Wu'anjun', the weapons in the hands of the victims unconsciously drooped a little.

Li Mu's eyes were slightly red, and he continued to drive his horse forward. When he was about seventy feet in front of the victims, Li Mu took off his helmet and spoke in a gentle but hoarse voice: "I am Lord Wu An."

Li Mu originally wanted to recite his title loudly.

But the stagnant throat and the shame in his heart made Li Mu's voice sound like normal speech.

It is as if the name Wu Anjun is not an honor for Li Mu at this moment, but a crime!

But when the victims heard this name, they cried with joy, and even cried in their arms!

"Wu Anjun is back! We have a way to survive! We can survive!"

"Oh my God! Oh my God! If you just hold on for two more days, you can wait for Mr. Wu An!"

"Mr. Wu An! Those foreign nobles don't regard us as human beings at all. Not only did they not save us, they also robbed us of money and food after the earth dragon turned over. They want to force us to death! Mr. Wu An, you want to do it for me. It’s up to you!”

The victims were like children who had been beaten to near death by a group of people outside and oppressed by the powerful and had no way to ask for help. Suddenly they saw their parents. They flocked to Li Mu and told their misery and pain with tears.

There were even a few young men who ran at the front because they were still strong, shouting repeatedly: "Mr. Wu'an! Please give me some food and give Ewa'er a chance to live! I am willing to work as a cow or a horse for you." , this life is at the command of Lord Wu An!"

"I am a humble man! In the battle of Fukouxing in the past, I served five hundred men under the command of the commander. Commander, do you still remember me!"

Li Mu forced himself not to listen to the calls for food, and turned his gaze to the birdman. After searching his mind for a long time, he finally recalled a figure, and exclaimed in shock: "Are you a birdman?!"

In the Battle of Fukouxing, Li Mu's heroic attitude of charging forward and fighting bravely left some impression on Li Mu. Li Mu originally wanted to promote the Bird Fu after the war, but he encountered a change of generals and the demise of the Zhao Kingdom. Waiting for many changes, I have no intention of thinking about it anymore.

Li Mu never expected that he would see this fierce general in such a situation again!

Looking at the skinny, dirty, weak, desolate man in front of him, with his left hand missing, Li Mu felt sad and self-blame.

Li Mu uses his troops like clay, but the reason why the soldiers are willing to be driven by Li Mu at will is because Li Mu loves his soldiers like sons!

This is his soldier! It's his Lao Paoze!

The Birdman cried with joy: "Commander, um, I am a Birdman! um, I am a 500-year-old Master! Do you still remember to be humble?"

Knowing that Li Mu still remembered him, Birdman couldn't hold back his tears and cried: "Coach! Please make the decision for me!"

"Because I lost my left hand in the battle of Fukouxing, I avoided the previous imperial conquest and stayed at home to be upright."

"Who would have thought that we would be overthrown by an earth dragon! Later, I went to the county to ask for help, but instead of helping us, the county magistrate not only refused to help us, but also plundered all the young and strong, and searched for food and grass!"

"If we hadn't been humble enough to seize the opportunity and speed up the villagers to flee with the food, we would all have perished long ago!"

Li Mu spoke with a trembling voice: "Today, the imperial court should have sent officials to rectify the situation..."

Before Li Mu could finish speaking, Birdman cried even more sadly: "The imperial court sent officials, but they didn't bring any food and grass. They might as well not come!"

"Coach, it's not like Dilong has never stood up before."

"But after the Earth Dragon turned over this time, why did our generation become like this!"

Do disaster victims need dispatch and management?

What the victims need are resources! It's food! It’s rice! ! !

Even if the most outstanding officials go to their posts without food, it is hard for a clever woman to make a living without rice. What's more, many officials who are transferred to replace the land do not regard the fate of Li Shu as their fate!

Li Mu tightened his grip on the reins in pain. He couldn't answer Birdman's question, and he was also asking himself.

It is not that the earth dragon's overturn has never happened in Daichi, but the earth dragon's overturn in Daidi has never caused such heavy losses.

Daichi, why did it become like this!

The victims didn't know the pain in Li Mu's heart, and they just kept talking about their grievances.

But Li Hong rode his horse forward at this moment, blocking Li Mu's left front with his body, looking at the pile of firewood and the stone helmets placed on the firewood, and asked calmly: "You said you can't eat enough."

"Then what is cooked on the fire?"