Su Yuchi pressed his lips together and descended from the archery tower without a word. Yuan Qingshan followed close behind him. "General, there are many children among the refugees. Could we at least let the women and children into the city?"
Su Yuchi abruptly turned and glared at Yuan Qingshan. "The Imperial Court has ordered us not to admit anyone into the city. Do you want me to defy an imperial decree?"
"General," Yuan Qingshan said, "even among our soldiers defending the city, many still have relatives in Western Sichuan. Li Tianheng may have rebelled and declared independence, but the people of Western Sichuan are still subjects of Great Kang. Why must we turn them away at our gates?" His eyes had reddened. The scenes he had witnessed when he went out among the refugees earlier had filled him with sorrow. People were not grass and trees-who could be without feeling?
Su Yuchi was not heartless. He also knew that Yuan Qingshan had a point, but he had always been a man who obeyed the rules. How could he dare disregard an order from the Imperial Court? Perhaps the court had made this decision because, during Great Kang's famine years ago, Western Sichuan had sealed its borders and refused to let Great Kang's people enter to escape the disaster and survive. Now the wheel of fortune had turned, and Western Sichuan's turn to suffer had finally come. Or perhaps the Imperial Court of Great Kang, which had only just recovered a little of its strength, did not want to shoulder such a heavy burden or let Western Sichuan's refugees drag down its economy. All of this was merely Su Yuchi's speculation.
Yuan Qingshan wanted to say more, but Su Yuchi raised a hand, signaling him to stop.
Just then, an