Chapter 558: Refugees Are Coming
In the suburbs of Hezhong County, although with the care of Li Mingde, the famine situation in Shanyazigou was much better than that in other small villages.
However, as the number of refugees continued to increase, they also discovered Shanyazigou.
The village organized villagers to guard the entrance of the village day and night, temporarily deterring the refugees who wanted to rush in.
Then the eyes of those refugees were like those of vicious wolves in the mountains, making the villagers unable to sleep day or night.
Widow Deng and the old woman next door lived together tacitly.
Patrols can only stop large numbers of refugees, but cannot prevent the occasional one or two people who want to sneak in and take risks.
Families like theirs without men are extremely easy targets for thieves.
In difficult times like these, we naturally need to stick together for warmth.
The old woman helped take care of Widow Deng's son, while Widow Deng went to the village to inquire about the news.
"Keep your voice down, your son is asleep."
Widow Deng closed the door quietly. She didn't even want to light the oil lamp. In the bright moonlight, she whispered to the old woman about the current situation.
"Mr. Li is still in Hezhong Prefecture and has not returned. It is said that he is distributing porridge in the prefecture. The village chief just said that villagers are not allowed to go out. This morning, a group of thieves came from outside."
Widow Deng frowned tightly, with worry on her face. "Those people said it was the Red Lotus Sect, and they believed in the Red Lotus Goddess. Every time the moon rises, they hold a sacrificial ceremony."
The old woman had lived to this age and had experienced a lot. When she heard what Widow Deng said, alarm bells began to ring in her heart.
"It's better to trust yourself than to pray to the gods. Every time there is a disaster, some monsters will appear. You must not fall into their trap!"
"I know." Widow Deng was silent for a moment, and her voice became even lower. "In fact, I just sneaked out of the village."
The old woman was horrified and slapped Widow Deng hard on the head: "If you don't want to live, just take your son with you to die!"
Widow Deng trembled slightly. "I saw them using children and women as tributes. Then they set up a big pot..."
"Stop talking!" The old woman covered Widow Deng's mouth tightly, and Widow Deng trembled like a sieve.
The old woman took Widow Deng into her arms, patting her like she was coaxing a child to sleep, and coaxing her: "We are with the villagers, they dare not rush in casually. When Li Lang is free, our village will be safe."
"Aunt, if I die, please take care of my son. He is so young. He has a bad fate. He was born in my belly and has never enjoyed a single day of happiness..."
Tears welled up in the old woman's cloudy eyes: "Don't talk nonsense! You and I are both lucky people. How difficult was it back then? A noble person appeared?! If it really doesn't work, we can go to Shuozhou. Going to Yunzhou will always find a way to survive."
That night, neither of them dared to close their eyes and sleep.
As soon as the sky was getting light, gongs and drums sounded at the entrance of the village.
The harsh sound of gongs and drums broke the tranquility in the mountains.
The strong men in the village rushed out with hoes in hand, while the old, weak, women and children, like Widow Deng and the old woman, gathered together and watched quietly far away from the village entrance.
"We are the Red Lotus Sect! The world is full of suffering, and the great way leads to heaven. Believe in the Red Lotus Sect, cultivate this life, and live in the next life! Don't resist in vain."
A man with a face full of flesh shouted loudly with his hands on his waist, but the way he looked at the villagers was as if he was looking at walking meat.
Muramasa didn't say much to them and directly gave orders, asking the villagers to prepare for a fight.
The situation is extremely urgent and ready to explode.
Widow Deng stuffed her son into the old woman's arms, picked up the only sickle in the house, and stood in front of the old woman.
"Auntie, if a fight breaks out, take your children and run to the mountains. There are wolves in the mountains, and you may not survive if you go in. But if you stay at the foot of the mountain, you will definitely die!"
Widow Deng's eyes were fierce. She was determined to fight for her son!
The two sides kept trying to get closer, and no one said a harsh word.
The air seemed to be stagnant.
Everyone's palms were sweating, this was a life-and-death duel!
Just as they were about to take action, there was a sudden commotion in the Red Lotus Sect.
A skinny man leaned close to the ear of a fat monk from the Red Lotus Sect and muttered a few words.
The fat monk was seen shaking a cloth bag and then walking out with his followers.
A hint of suspicion flashed across the villagers' eyes, but they still did not dare to let their guard down.
When the refugees outside the village saw that the Red Lotus were getting ready to leave, their eyes moved back and forth between the Red Lotus and the heavily defended village.
Perhaps they knew that they could not capture the village on their own, so the refugees followed the Red Lotus Sect and left slowly with unwilling looks on their faces.
Muramasa waited for a long time, until he could no longer see the group of people, then he sent out one or two agile young men to check whether the refugees had really left or were lying in ambush nearby.
The villagers were all standing at the entrance of the village, craning their necks to look around.
It was not until the sun was high in the sky that the two young villagers came running back, panting, with incomparable excitement on their faces.
Before they even entered the village, they shouted loudly: "Let's go, the refugees are all gone!"
"Great, we are safe!" Cheers of survivors broke out in the village.
Widow Deng's sickle fell to the ground. She felt completely exhausted and sat down on the ground, her face covered with tears and snot.
Muramasa suppressed his inner excitement and asked tremblingly: "Do you know why they left?"
One of the young men immediately said, "I heard they are going to Shuozhou!"
"What's so good about Shuozhou? They actually gave up the fat meat that was right in front of them."
"Isn't Shuozhou occupied by Duke Yun?"
"The drought in Shuozhou is also quite serious."
The villagers were chattering, and they didn't understand why the refugees would give up the fat meat that was right in their mouths and choose to go to Shuozhou.
The young man scratched the back of his head and said with a simple smile, "Maybe it's because of the new policy implemented by Duke Yun. I heard that all the farmland in Shuozhou belongs to the county government."
"The government provides land, seeds, and oxen, and only collects 40% of the rent, which also includes grain tax."
The villagers exclaimed: "This is really incredible! We are already the cheapest in Hezhong County in terms of rent collection, and even with this, excluding taxes, we have to pay half."
"Ah, you are worthy of being the Duke of Yun. I wish our Hezhong County would be under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Yun someday."
"Yes. With so many disaster victims going to Shuozhou together, I wonder if Shuozhou can hold on."
Muramasa waved his hand and said, "Hurry back home. Have you harvested all the food here? Have you got water at home? Why do you all have so much free time? Is it up to us to decide whether Hezhong County belongs to the Duke of Yun?"
There was no threat of refugees, and even though the land was alarmingly dry, the villagers still joked with optimism.
"Life is hard enough, let's daydream! Dreams can bring us everything."
"A wife and children, a warm bed, a full granary, and a full basket of gold."
"Hahaha, I don't dare to think too much. At most, I dreamed that Duke Yun would take over our Hezhong County as well."
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