All the migrant workers who had heard the rumors about Broken Gold Town were panicked and frightened, but Song Zhenping and his two siblings were completely confused and had no idea what was going on.

Song Liyun pulled Song Dekui, whose expression shifted between joy and worry, and asked, "Uncle Kui, what happened in Suijin Town that made everyone so afraid?"

Before Song Dekui could answer, a loud voice rang out behind Song Liyun, startling everyone.

"Men, bring all those cowards over here, and keep a close eye on them for me."

Song Liyun turned around abruptly and saw the bearded general directing the convoy standing right behind her.

Meanwhile, the other soldiers were shouting and driving the laborers who had been hiding far away over.

"Sir, this place...this place is uninhabitable! We'd like to work elsewhere," a man stepped out from the group of laborers and pleaded boldly.

"No one can live here! Who says no one can live here? Are we, who eat military rations, not human beings?"

You were hired to repair the military camp, and you will be paid every penny due.

"Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving. When it's time to go, someone will take you back. If you try to escape, don't blame military law!" the bearded man shouted in a booming voice.

Song Liyun frowned slightly: What kind of place is this? How can you force people to come like this? Couldn't you have explained it beforehand?

She wanted to build a border fortress, but she didn't want to lead her brothers to their deaths.

Before Song Liyun could question him, Song Dekui pulled her aside and whispered, "This is Lord Luo, the commander of the Zhenbei Army. He has a very bad temper, so don't mess with him."

"I heard there's a gold mine in Broken Gold Town. Since there are so many of us, we might as well go in and take a look."

Song Liyun was stunned: "A gold mine? Really? Uncle Kui, what are they afraid of if there's a gold mine?"

Song Dekui: "...!"

There are some things he can't explain clearly in just a few words, even in front of Commander Luo and his soldiers!

At this moment, everyone fell silent, even their cries were suppressed.

Urged on by the surrounding soldiers, they could only huddle together, cowering as they slowly crossed the boundary marker, stepping into Broken Gold Town like moths to a flame, courting their own death.

After being frightened, Song Dekui became excited again.

He even told stories from back then to some people, including the three Song siblings, who were unaware of the specifics.

Of course, he was just repeating what he'd heard.

Through his narration, Song Liyun finally learned the origin of Suijin Town.

Suijin Town is the "ghost town" that is widely known in Yunzhou.

Located 200 li from Qingping Town and 100 li from the Dilu Grassland, it is a remote mountain town with a population of less than 500.

But ever since someone found gold in the Huangsha River outside Suijin Town more than ten years ago, the town has become famous.

The placer gold here was brought in by flash floods and accumulated in a section of the river outside the town. The yield is not large, and it can't even be considered a gold mine.

Located deep in the mountains, it was difficult to manage, so the local government did not collect taxes, but allowed people to plunder it at will. The county government only came to collect high taxes every year.

As a result, news of the unclaimed gold mine spread quickly, and people from all directions who wanted to make a fortune quietly came.

At its peak, the town, which had a population of 500, had a population of 5,000, and the river, which stretched for miles, was filled with gold prospectors.

Houses were built in the town, and it was bustling with people everywhere.

Where there is gold, there are casinos; where there are brothels, there are restaurants.

The town of Suijin is brightly lit and bustling, even more so than the county seat of Qili.

Some people become rich overnight, while others toil away for nothing.

Gold panning is an adventure; no one knows if there's any tempting gold in their handful of sand, or whether they'll even be able to leave Broken Gold Town once they get their hands on some.

There is only so much placer gold. Every grain of sand in the Huangsha River has been sifted countless times. As gold production declines day by day, and when it even becomes unprofitable, the gold prospectors lose their jobs.

Some people were unwilling to accept that they should just leave like this, and wanted to make a final, big gamble.

So, one night in late autumn five years ago, a group of red-eyed sand workers, together with bandits and Di barbarian cavalry, sneaked into Suijin Town, bypassing the border defense posts.

Five days of bloody plundering, killing and looting, turned Broken Gold Town into a living hell.

When those who escaped went to Qili County to report the news, no one believed that the Di barbarians would come to abduct people, and some even beat the messenger out as if he were crazy.

More than ten days later, the government finally realized that Suijin Town was already covered in blood and deserted, with only about a hundred residents who had escaped into the mountains and forests and barely survived.

This tragedy resulted in the loss of 3,000 lives for the Wu Dynasty, which, for a country where population is wealth, was more than the casualties of a major war.

Moreover, it involved the collusion between the Di cavalry and bandits, rendering the border defenses virtually non-existent.

The whole country was shocked. The emperor was furious and ordered the Zhenbei Army to wage war against the Di barbarians and demand the return of the prisoners. He also punished the government for arresting the fugitives.

The border was not strictly guarded, allowing the barbarian cavalry to enter the country. The government's poor management and ineffective suppression of bandits allowed the roving bandits to collude with foreign enemies.

Several officials were beheaded, and the Marquis of Zhenbei, who was the commander of the Zhenbei Army, was also ordered to have his salary reduced.

The Zhenbei Army had been guarding Yunzhou for twenty years. Although they were not without flaws and had fought back and forth with the Di royal court, with both sides winning and losing, they had never suffered such a major setback.

Marquis Zhao Yanjiao of Zhenbei personally led his troops into the Di barbarian grasslands and fought several battles with the Di barbarian royal court. Both sides suffered hundreds of casualties, and some soldiers were also brought back.

Unfortunately, those who abducted the Wu Dynasty people either died on the way or were sold to various tribes and pastures on the grasslands, and very few were ever found.

After several battles, the Zhenbei Army had given an account to the imperial court, but its grudges with local officials had deepened.

These were all official infighting matters. No matter how many impeachment memorials were submitted, they could not save Broken Gold Town from its tragic fate of becoming a "ghost town".

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