The pathfinders went further and further away, bringing back more and more news every day. In the beginning, there was a family that ran out of food in Little Liu Village, a family's house collapsed in Heishi Ao and killed someone, and later on, there was a family who wanted to sell their daughter in Xihong Temple, and the granary of the rich Liu family in town was robbed...
Two days later, Dacheng came back and brought back news that there were many beggars outside the county town. The constables and yamen runners guarded the city gates very tightly. Those who did not have a pass or had unknown origins were not allowed to enter or leave. Even those who entered the city without relatives or shelter were sent out. Some straw shacks were built ten miles outside the city to barely accommodate some people.
A few days later, relatives from all over the country came to borrow rice and grain. They brought the news that the Liu family in the east village had been robbed of the Li family's grain store in the west village…
The news that King Village had money and food had spread out at some point in time. That night, a group of people sneaked into the village. Fortunately, those people had raised a few alert big dogs. In addition, they were close to Yang Ping's house, so Liang and his men acted early to prevent a disaster.
Just like that, more and more bad news came. The atmosphere above the village became more and more tense. Everyone could not sit still anymore. Wang Maocai led the village's elites and began to guard the village entrance in groups of three to five. It was because of this that many people in the village slept with one eye open at night until dawn.
This couldn't go on. Sooner or later, she would get sick.
On this day, Uncle Cheng and Mister Feng were sitting together and talking when Yang Ping rushed over with a book in her hand."Uncle Cheng, Uncle Feng, build an ice wall!”
The two people in front of the table stood up and asked in a hurry,"Girl, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Yang Ping said as she handed the scroll over and adjusted her breathing."I was sorting out my father's notes when I saw this. It said that it was used in the army back then and its defensive effect was very good.”
The two of them glanced through it and their eyes lit up.
"Good, good!" Feng Nianen clapped his hands and laughed. As expected of a victorious general!"
Uncle Cheng was a soldier after all. After seeing the ice wall technique, he immediately understood it by analogy."Good idea! Build an ice wall outside, or at home. Put all the snow on the wall, from the base of the wall to the top of the wall, and then pour water on it. It will freeze overnight…"
"Let's do it this way! I'll go find Old Wang!"
The two of them had been worrying about how to defend the village. This mountain village was different from a town. There were no city walls and no sentry posts. Many families lived scattered and were surrounded by forests. If another strong person sneaked in in the middle of the night, they really did not know what would happen. This was great. It solved the urgent problem!
Uncle Cheng, who had always been stern, also said playfully,"Alright, you go and greet Old Wang. I'll call those kids to equip the walls of our house!”
Yang Ping shouted from behind,"Water it with hot water. Hot water will freeze faster!" Forget it, I'll go boil some water."
This job was not difficult. They started from the periphery. The whole village worked together, sealing the snow pile up. They boiled hot water in a big pot and poured it over it. In just one night, tall and slippery ice walls were built. In this place where water was frozen, such an ice wall could stand for a whole winter without melting. The quick-witted young man pulled a thorny caltrop and placed it on top. This way, let alone a person, even a wolf could be stopped.
After they were done with the work outside, they would do the work inside. Each family would be responsible for the walls. The men would seal the snow while the women would boil water. Buckets of water would be poured over them, and ice walls would be built…
Aiyo, I can finally sleep soundly!
All the villagers let out a long sigh of relief.
However, this peace had only lasted for two days when Feng Huang walked in hurriedly with a note in his hand. His expression was rarely solemn."Master Cheng, Father, we just received news that refugees have attacked Yu County's government office!”
"What?!"
"Hurry up and bring it over!"
The note was sent by Uncle Cheng's people who had been placed elsewhere. It said that Yu County's government office was attacked by refugees at dawn today. A granary of the government office was robbed, and there were many casualties.
The two of them couldn't help but sigh after reading the note. Yu County was a small county less than a hundred miles away from Qing Zong County. It was located on the throat of the road from Qing Zong County to Yun Prefecture. They had attacked the county government and robbed the granary…
This matter had blown up!
Uncle Cheng rubbed the note with his thumb and frowned."Let the messenger have a good rest for the night. Tomorrow, bring Xiaohui and him along. Tell everyone to be careful and pay close attention to the situation. I keep feeling that this matter is not simple…"
"Yes, sir!"
"I have the same feeling. Where did the refugees get such guts?”
"Master and father think someone instigated them?" Feng Huang understood.”
Uncle Cheng waved his hand and said slowly," It's still just a guess. Change your clothes and be careful to hide. Safety first!"”
"Yes!" Feng Huang accepted the order and left.
Seeing his son turn around the corridor, Feng Nianen retracted his gaze."Who do you think is behind this, Second Brother Cheng? Will we…"
"No!" Uncle Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was very certain."Ming Yujing knows his limits. Besides, he will be more cautious after learning from his mistakes. As for who instructed Yu County, we still have to think about why the other party would choose such a quiet and unaffiliated county government.”
"Yeah, Yu County…"
Feng Nianen leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and bit his left thumb. Uncle Cheng knew that he was deep in thought, so he put down his teacup and walked out of the room, intending to talk to Old Master Meng.
Half a day had passed, but the inside and outside of Yu County was still in chaos. There were people wailing and crying, people who were frightened, people who were in a hurry, and people who were at a loss…
County Magistrate Li Wencheng was sitting on a bow-shaped chair in the hall with a frown that could squeeze two flies to death. His heel slammed against the chair's leg fiercely, and with a wave of his sleeve, he knocked over another teacup. A skinny and small boy was trembling with fear as he brought up another teacup. This was already the fifth teacup!
At this moment, he wished that the brick floor in front of him would immediately crack open and leak him out. He was just a handyman in the kitchen. He usually only did the work of fetching water, sweeping the floor, and pouring swill. How could he do this precious work of serving people!
However, something big happened today! Forty to fifty people from the entire county government were sent out. Helplessly, he, who had a slow tongue, came up to serve tea.
"Y-Y-Your Excellency…please, please have some tea!”，The kid's face turned pale as he finally finished speaking.
County Magistrate Li Wencheng didn't even look at him, only staring at a half-broken window in front of him. The boy's hand was numb, so he mustered up his courage and looked up. Seeing that the county magistrate wasn't looking at him, he felt that he had been let off. He hurriedly put down his teacup and ran out as if he was escaping.
In front of the hall, in the treasury, in the corridors, and even in the back of the yamen, the red blood could be seen everywhere. The snow on the ground stung people's eyes. County Magistrate Li still did not understand what had happened.
The heavy snow had affected many parts of the county. He had been taking stock of the collapsed houses and treating the victims for more than ten days. He was so tired that he felt dizzy.
He was finally able to catch his breath. He had planned to hug the blanket and sleep for another two hours, but who knew that someone would rush in from below to report that refugees had attacked the storeroom. He was so frightened that he fell off the brick bed. Even now, his right elbow was still hurting!
He hurriedly gathered all the constables and officers to disperse the refugees. Who knew that those people would actually fight with red eyes? They grabbed food from their pockets and picked up wooden sticks and stones to fight with the people of the county government.
No one knew who made the first move or who shed blood first. Anyway, after seeing blood, the bloodthirsty wildness of people was stimulated. A group fight that happened in the county government began in a muddle-headed manner. Both sides fought until the sky was dark.
Yu County was a poor county. The total amount of grain in the warehouse did not exceed 3,000 catties. To be honest, robbing a grain store was more worthwhile than robbing the warehouse of the county government. However, no matter how poor the county government was, it was still a government office. There were guards on duty. Were those refugees crazy or did they eat the guts of a bear?
Now, seven people had died, including five refugees and two Zao Li. Eleven people were seriously injured, and the rest were more or less lightly injured…This was a big deal!
He had only gotten such an official position when he was over forty years old. He had been in office for six years and knew that his ability was limited. He originally thought that it would be good if he could die peacefully. Now, this head was probably going to die here!
He hated himself for letting the refugees enter the city and not controlling them effectively. Now, not only were there so many people, but there were also people with ulterior motives hiding in the dark to cause trouble for him.
County Magistrate Li Wencheng was having a headache inside. Outside, a large group of refugees was blocking the entrance of the county government and shouting loudly. The local officials holding podao and water and fire sticks were shouting loudly and pushing people out. The scene was almost out of control.
A simple-looking boy with half a bruised face looked at the muscular man beside him with pleading eyes and said,"Boss, quickly think of a way!”
The man called "Boss" was the county's constable, Ding Wang. His eyes were red, and his fists were so swollen that they could not be bent, either because of the cold or because he had been beaten up."Hold on, we have to hold on. Advisor Qiu has already brought people to the neighboring county to ask for help.”
He had said this dozens of times, and it was unknown whether he was comforting his subordinates or himself.
Finally, when another wave of attacks arrived, Ding Wang knocked out a few people ruthlessly and dragged them into the cell. The noisy crowd finally fell silent for a moment. Ding Wang took the opportunity to shout,"Ignorant people, attacking the county government is equivalent to rebelling, do you know that?”
"You were originally refugees, but you made things difficult for the government officials. Your crime is the same as rebelling. You want to exterminate your entire family. Don't you want your own lives?!”
"Kill anyone who takes another step forward!”
"Kill without mercy!" A hoarse but powerful shout rushed out from the blood-filled throat in unison and finally suppressed the chaos in front of them for the time being.
“……”
Finally, at dusk, under the fervent anticipation of County Magistrate Li and the others, the sound of footsteps could be heard treading on the snow. A group of bailiffs from the neighboring county holding shiny podaos rushed over.
Seeing the reinforcements, Ding Wang and the others finally relaxed their stiff backs. A few of them could not help but slip onto the ground. They had no choice. They were tired, hungry, and in pain!
The leader of Qing Zong County was Mu Shun. As the one with the best martial arts in the arrest squad, the Ming County Magistrate was reluctant to let him out. However, the person who came cried and begged with tears and snot. The Ming County Magistrate finally endured the pain and ordered twenty people to come and help.
After all, Yu County had helped him stop a large number of refugees. He understood the principle of losing the lips, and it would be best if he could "resist the enemy" outside the county. Therefore, Mu Shun, who was capable and had martial arts, was invited.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。