a third-rank official. While the Minister of Finance is also a third-rank official, because he leads a department, his position is higher and more powerful. This half-level jump seems within reach bu...Chapter 84: The World is Too Difficult

"Where we are, it's a village after another village, with families where only one or two people can even run away. It's considered lucky if that happens."

“We begged for food with the villagers, but more and more people started begging. No one had enough grain to help us all, so everyone went digging up roots and gnawing on tree bark. Look at my child, his belly is so big, it’s from eating dirt! Every night he cries in pain, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“By the time we reached here, countless people had collapsed along the way. Some stronger individuals turned to robbery, theft, or even became bandits in the mountains. Others, some women, would offer their clothes in exchange for a mere meal on the roadside. Young girls were sent to wealthy families as maidservants, these children who were once treasured by their parents, but now faced this harsh reality with no other choice.”

The old man spoke, tears streaming down his face.

This speech, though lacking in flowery language and even a bit disjointed, touches the heart because of its raw honesty. The speaker's thoughts flow freely, revealing their true feelings without pretense.

Zhao Rui's eyes welled up with tears as she murmured, "So the common people outside are already suffering so much."

At this moment, the Jinyiwei arrived with several steamed buns and flatbreads. Li Chen took them and gave them to the old man and the child.

The old man expressed his deep gratitude, kneeling on the ground with his child.

"Big boy, bow to the benefactor."

Li Chen was just about to help him up, but the child hit his forehead hard on the ground.

"Thank you, benefactor!"

Li Chen's hand hovered in mid-air before finally landing on the child's greasy, foul-smelling head. He said, "Come with grandpa to a safe place and have a good meal."

Bidding farewell to the grandfather and grandson, Li Chen waved his hand, signaling the Jinyiwei guards to follow the pair. Otherwise, with their frail physique, surrounded by those desperate refugees with bloodshot eyes and drool practically dripping from their mouths, as soon as Li Chen left, this grandfather-grandson duo would be in grave danger.

Having left the official road, Li Chen walked south with Zhao Rui.

As they traveled farther from the capital city, they encountered more and more refugees along the way.

Under the heavy blanket of snow, those disaster victims who still had some strength would seek shelter in any place that could offer a meager protection from the cold. But most of them huddled together on the roadside, lying amidst the pristine white snow like a gruesome pile of corpses, a sight that was truly heart-wrenching.

There were a few groans from the roadside, proving they weren't dead yet.

...To see Li Chen and Zhao Rui dressed so well, it was obvious they were from wealthy families. The disaster victims struggled to crawl over, wanting to beg for alms. ...

Zhao Rui had never seen such a scene before, and was terrified.

In the end, it was Li Chen who called upon the secretly guarding Jin Yi Wei to prevent the disaster victims from breaking through and allowing passage.

Throughout the journey, Li Chen remained silent and didn't speak to Zhao Rui.

Not until they had walked twenty or thirty miles south of the city did the number of disaster refugees suddenly decrease. Then they saw dozens of soldiers in armor digging pits, with hundreds of corpses laid out beside them.

After those soldiers had dug the hole, the two of them lifted a corpse and threw it directly into the pit. The pit was already filled with corpses.

"Ah!"

Zhao Rui was so frightened by the scene that she turned pale.

Li Chen, however, remained calm.

"Did you see that"

These people, just a few hours ago, died at the hands of Zhao Jianye. They were driven to desperation by hunger, their minds clouded by starvation, and they stormed the camp of the Yu Lin Wei's southern army.

Li Chen let out a cold smile and said, "This time's conflict, thousands died, you only saw one tenth, this is what your Zhao Shuifu, wants to do." and said in a warm voice: "Young Master Long, this king doesn't want such things to happen either, but since it has happened, we have to face it and solve it. Self-pity and fear won't solve any probl...