Chapter 312 A Plot to Kill the Corrupt Official

Old Liu crossed his arms and watched their performance quietly. "Do you have any money? I, Old Liu, know it all. Don't try to play the poor card with me; I'm poorer than you."

"Lord Jia said that in order to encourage you to work hard, you should pay for the land with silver, ten taels per mu, and then hand over half of the grain."

"Don't want to work? What do you think this place is? This is the city defense camp; I knew you'd resist!"

"Slap! Slap!!"

Old Liu clapped his hands.

On the nearby hillside, a row of soldiers suddenly emerged from the bushes, holding bows and arrows and aiming them at them.

If they dare to protest again, shoot them dead.

The city defense battalion had always wanted to kill them, waiting for them to make a mistake so they could take the opportunity to kill them and curry favor with their superiors.

The opposing general gave the order, "Fire!"

"Ah! No, don't kill me..."

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The convicts standing on the hillside were so frightened that they retreated.

However, the arrows only struck their feet.

However, whether intentionally or due to poor archery skills, several arrows were shot straight at them, aimed directly at their deaths.

"Ah! Help me..." Li Yuying saw an arrow shooting towards her, screamed in fright and backed away. She tripped over a protruding clod of earth, fell down into the field, and got a mouthful of mud, feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit.

She reached out to Yun Yanze on the hillside, crying, "Husband, save me! Pull me up quickly..."

"ah!"

Those exposed in the front row desperately pushed forward, screaming, "Ahhh!!! Help! Help! Don't kill me..."

The people in front were pushed down the hillside and rolled into the plowed paddy field, instantly turning into muddy figures.

"Bang!" Mud splattered everywhere.

Xiao Xuance swung his hoe and knocked the arrows away.

Old Liu raised his hand to signal the archers to stop, and the commander above led the team down the mountain.

"I was polite to you a few days ago because I, Old Liu, am easy to talk to, but you didn't listen to me, so the brothers of the city defense battalion are not so polite to you!"

The convicts dared not speak out in their anger, cursing inwardly: "Pah! Corrupt officials! Corrupt officials!"

They even squeeze money from exiled prisoners; they're inhuman.

They just won't buy it, what can we do about it?

When Lao Liu heard them firmly say they wouldn't buy, he secretly sneered. He ordered the men to line up and plow the field. If they couldn't pull it, he had his soldiers whip them until they could.

A field that is twenty or thirty meters long can be hauled back and forth by one person.

Most people couldn't pull it, so the two families gritted their teeth and pooled their money to buy a cow.

Wang Youcai couldn't bear it any longer and finally spent money to buy a cow. He also promised to lend the cow to the Xiao family. He would remember the Xiao family's life-saving grace for the rest of his life.

The Lu family and the Chen family also bought a cow together.

Only Xiao Xuance could easily pull the cart back and forth by himself.

Originally, Lao Liu had arranged for him to be in a group with Xiao Xuanwu.

Xiao Xuance considered that his younger brother was only thirteen years old this year, which was the age when he was growing taller, and that doing this kind of hard labor might stunt his growth.

He easily plowed back and forth, with Meng Dahu helping him hold the plow.

Meng Dahu and the others were surprised.

The two of them pulled with all their might, and every step was difficult.

He walked so easily by himself, he was as good as several of them. They trained so hard, it's a waste that they have such big bodies and so much flesh.

Old Liu was even more surprised. He was almost as strong as an ox or a horse. Could a human really be that strong?

He doesn't believe it!

“Meng Dahu, did you cheat? Did you deliberately raise the plow so that it didn’t plow into the field at all? Let him plow it once, and this time I will check carefully.”

Meng Dahu wanted to go easy on him, but his benefactor was too powerful, so there was no need to.

This accusation was unjust, and he was even angrier than Old Liu. "Lord Liu, I really didn't go easy on him. I have a grudge against Xiao... that pretty boy. I wish I could embed the plowshare in the ground. How could I possibly go easy on him?"

"If Lord Liu doesn't trust us, he should come down and take charge of the plow himself."

"This is work that prisoners should do. How can you expect me to do it? I'm not going," Lord Liu sneered.

"Plowing the land and planting crops is not just a job for prisoners. People all over the world farm. Go back a few generations, who hasn't farmed?"

Xiao Xuance handed the rope to Guo Ba, saying, "Since Lord Liu is unwilling to try it himself, I, Xiao, will not plow it."

"Let's try it. I don't believe you're stronger than an ox." Old Liu proved his guess and proved them wrong. He finally agreed, took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers, and got out of bed.

"Lord Liu, hold on tight. Don't blame me if you fall and get hurt."

Old Liu found a flat, uncultivated patch of ground, shoved the plow head deep into the earth, and said, "Alright, alright, enough nagging, let's get started."

Xiao Xuance grabbed two ropes with both hands, wrapped them around his shoulders, and dragged himself forward.

The muddy water spread along the path the plow had taken.

Old Liu pressed the plowshare down hard, embedding it into the ground, and then took a few steps.

However, Xiao Xuance walked faster and faster.

Old Liu tried to control the plow but was pulled and fell down, "Ouch..."

"Stop, stop, stop..."

Xiao Xuance pretended not to hear and walked faster and faster.

Old Liu's foot got stuck in the gap of the plow and was dragged along, instantly turning him into a muddy mess.

Two soldiers jumped down into the field and helped the man up. "Sir, sir, how are you?"

"My leg is going to break, slow down, slow down..."

The soldier pulled his leg out of the plow.

His legs were immobile, so two soldiers, one on each side, supported him from behind with one hand and placed the other under his knees, and carried him to the edge of the field.

Old Liu pointed at Xiao Xuance and said, "Xiao, are you doing this on purpose? And you, Meng Dahu, you're in cahoots with them."

"Your Honor, I'm innocent! It was purely an accident. I'm not with him. He killed the second son, and I'm his sworn enemy."

"I order you to break his legs right now!"

"Sir, we can't win."

Old Liu sat on the edge of the field with his legs in the water.

"Sir, don't move! You have leeches on you!"

Meng Dahu said, "I heard that someone broke their leg and was bitten by a leech, and then lost all feeling in their leg and became paralyzed."

Where is it?

"It's over there."

Old Liu asked impatiently, "Where is that? Explain it clearly."

"Right on your feet!"

Old Liu hurriedly stood up, wanting to kick the leeches off his legs.

He forgot about his leg injury, lost his footing, and tumbled down the ridge behind him. "Ah!"

Just as the two soldiers were about to go down and retrieve it from Old Liu's wreckage, they saw a brownish-yellow short-tailed viper and fled in terror, shouting, "Ah! A poisonous snake..."

Old Liu struggled to climb up, but was bitten by a snake. Because of the pain in his leg, he fell down and was bitten a second time.

"ah!--"

No one dared to go over.

Xiao Xuance stepped forward.

Meng Dahu stopped him, "Don't go over there, those are poisonous snakes, you'll die if you get bitten."

"Thank you for letting me know, but if we don't kill the venomous snake this time, it will be dangerous for everyone to farm in this area in the future."

Meng Dahu thought he made sense, "Okay! Then I'll go with you."

Their walk together startled the short-tailed viper, which quickly scurried away. Xiao Xuance threw a dart, which struck the viper seven inches from its neck, pinning it to the ground.

Old Liu was bitten several times. The soldier carried him back, but he died that night.