Chapter 184: Refugees Causing Trouble
In front of this wonton stall, men and women gathered at a table to chat about business, which has now become a rare sight in Lan County.
People passing by seemed to be used to it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
But if this scene happened half a year ago, the woman would have been scolded as "fickle" and "unfaithful to her husband".
Changes always happen silently, just like a night of spring rain. When you wake up in the morning, you may not see the rain, but you can see the mist on the treetops.
Old Master Fang, who had listened to the entire conversation, sneered and said to Fang Xun beside him, "Xu Zhenying is really good at this. She said she'd rent the place for free for ten years. Her medical building has a total of twenty or thirty shops, and there are only a few clinics in Lan County right now. Yet, she's been able to create a situation where demand outstrips supply, attracting all these shopkeepers to come and join her. Not only that, they're all so grateful and loyal. Little do they know that they've been roped into Xu Zhenying's trap. For the next ten years, I'm afraid these people will be loyal to her for their own benefit."
Fang Xun supported Old Man Fang and sighed, "Grandfather, why do you always think the worst of the city lord? Her original intention in establishing the medical school was indeed to promote the advancement of medical technology in the Great Zhou Dynasty and make medical care affordable for more people. What's more, her move has satisfied the people, the doctors, and now the owners of the clinic are also satisfied. Isn't it a win-win situation for all parties?"
Old Master Fang frowned, seeming to be somewhat disdainful of her methods. "She has always been like this. She puts profit above all else in everything she does. She finds the weaknesses of human nature and seeks mutual benefit. This woman's skill in manipulating people's hearts is truly terrifying."
Fang Xun disagreed, "Grandfather, is there anything wrong with this?"
"There's nothing wrong. I just think she..." Old Master Fang sighed, and when he thought of those outlandish words she said, he felt something stuck in his throat.
Since his last candid meeting with Xu Zhenying, he had been so shocked that he fell ill and remained bedridden. Spring had arrived, and the weather was perfect, so Fang Xun insisted on dragging him out, saying he wanted to see the changes in Lan County.
You don't know until you see it, it's really shocking.
In just a few months, Lan County has undergone tremendous changes.
The streets seemed to have become wider and brighter, and there were obviously more people on the streets. But despite the large number of people, the streets were not noisy. The stalls of the street vendors seemed to be aligned in a neat line, leaving just enough space for pedestrians.
They are also very particular about where they place their things, never sticking out at all and never bumping into any passersby. When they leave, they will also consciously clean up the area around their stalls.
The most direct sensory experience is that there are so many women on the streets!
It seemed as if all the women in Lan County had come out, young or old, married or unmarried.
The girls on the way to school were chattering, holding freshly-fried pancakes in their hands, and talking to the boys about the homework assigned by the teacher without any hesitation. When the conversation got excited, they even argued with the boys, refusing to give in even when their faces turned red!
The married young woman with a woman's hairstyle was calmly selling garlands and flower baskets. Her skin was very white, slightly reddened by the sun, but her hands were constantly moving, constantly picking up the wild flowers scattered at her feet and tying them up bit by bit with silk.
Old Master Fang remembered that whenever a new store opened in Lan County, flowers would be placed at the door to make it look festive and beautiful.
In the past, such a weak and pretty woman would probably not dare to go out alone, let alone do business in public like this.
Fang Xun explained that the city lord had already organized two teams called the Public Security Management Team.
One team is composed of brave women among the refugees, and the other team is composed of soldiers randomly selected from the barracks. The two groups patrol back and forth every day. One team is responsible for mediating neighborhood conflicts and family matters, and the other team is responsible for resolving harassment from hooligans who are looking for trouble.
In Lan County, harassment by hooligans is a serious crime. Whether it is verbal or physical teasing, before the women even have a chance to file a complaint themselves, the surrounding shops and passersby will enthusiastically pull over the people from the public security management team.
Often, before the harassed women could react, the provocative men were dragged to the county government gate and lashed twenty times. Those in serious cases were even sent to work as free labor in the wasteland reclamation area.
Nowadays, the men in Lan County are more strict with male ethics than the women. When they walk on the street, even if they see a beautiful woman with her collar slightly exposed, they dare not even glance at her.
Even if the male companions wanted to take a second look, they would be stopped by a message: "You want to die? Do you want to go to the demonstration base and be free livestock?"
Therefore, the women in Lan County now dare to go out without worry. Even at night, they will walk on the street openly.
Not to mention the people in Lan County, each of them is in high spirits and walks briskly, no matter what they do, they walk in a hurry, as if something is chasing them from behind.
It would be impossible to say that Mr. Fang was not shocked by the tremendous changes in Lan County.
It was precisely because of this shock that Mr. Fang felt powerless and desperate.
Could it be that God wants to destroy the Great Zhou?
Even things like the Fairy from the Sky happened here, not to mention Xu Zhenying's ambition and means were fully revealed. Did she want to copy that world here?
Is he really an ant blocking the progress of history?
Old Master Fang felt indescribably powerless at the moment. After walking around, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. He sighed to Fang Xun: "The heavens are going to destroy our Great Zhou..."
Fang Xun really wanted to say that the Great Zhou Dynasty had fallen apart.
But considering that Mr. Fang was old, he could only endure it.
"I underestimated Xu Zhenying. Anyway, the wheel of history rolls forward, and I, an old man, can't change anything." Old Master Fang patted Fang Xun on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "The new world Xu Zhenying talked about is yours."
"Grandfather, do you agree that I can work under the City Lord?" Fang Xun's face lit up. "The City Lord has been hoping that you would come to your senses and come out to help us, the younger ones. As long as you give the nod, the position of second-in-command in Lan County will belong to you!"
Old Master Fang laughed a big, sad laugh, yet with a sense of detached relief. "Xun'er, I can't do it. I was born and raised in the Great Zhou Dynasty. I drank the water of the Great Zhou Dynasty, ate the food of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and have lived my entire life in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Naturally, I will die in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even if it is already decaying, even if its sun is setting, even if it will become the dust of history, even if the city is broken, it is still death. Jade can be shattered but its whiteness cannot be destroyed, bamboo can be burned but its joints cannot be destroyed. Even if my body is damaged, my name can be passed down in history. What is there to fear?"
"grandfather!"
"You don't need to persuade me anymore. The new world is yours, and this shabby, rotten old world is mine. Go tell Xu Zhenying that I'm not worthy of the position she offered me. I, Fang Zhen, will not stop you from making great achievements in this life, but I myself will never serve a traitor! As long as she doesn't kill me, I will remain a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
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As night fell, the lights in Lan County gradually went out and everything became quiet.
A waning moon hangs in the sky, shining brightly, and is magnificent.
At this moment, a fast horse was running at full speed, and the sound of its hooves was particularly clear in the quiet Lan County.
Someone, half asleep and half awake, looked at the fire outside and muttered, "What happened again?"
The woman beside him was half asleep. "What are you afraid of? Even if the sky falls, the city lord will hold it up."
"Too."
The Xu family mansion was awakened by a series of rapid knocks on the door. Xu Zhenying knew something was wrong when she heard the commotion in the front yard. She grabbed a coat and rushed out. Sure enough, she saw that it was the signalman from the military camp who came in anxiously. "City Lord, someone is setting fire to the mountain at the Demonstration Village base. The refugees and Xiao Shuangye and his men are about to fight!"
Xu Zhenying's expression remained calm. "Have you notified the military camp?"
"The city wall guards have informed the military camp."
"Who's in charge of the camp tonight?"
"Instructor Mo Jinchun."
"Very good. He should know his limits. Go get the horse, I'll be right out!"
People from several courtyards of the Xu family lived next to each other. At this moment, everyone was awakened. Miao, Lian, Xu Yinxi and others all hurried over with their coats on. Even Qian Zhenniang, who lived farther away, appeared at the Xu family with sweat all over her face.
Upon hearing about the riot, everyone was terrified. My aunt was the first to curse, "Why are they fighting? Those refugees were so obedient, weren't they? How could they reveal their true colors so quickly?"
Xu Zhenying immediately packed up and said, "Fourth sister, you go to the county government office and take charge. I'll leave 500 elite soldiers with you. You must guard the city to prevent any disturbances from happening inside. If anyone tries to take advantage of the situation and cause trouble, we must use severe punishments during this extraordinary period. Zhenniang, the refugees won't cause trouble for no reason. I'll give you a few people. Go and quietly investigate the situation and see if anyone is behind this."
Seeing Xu Zhenying about to leave, Miao immediately said, "I'll go with you. I'm in charge of logistics. The fight today was probably about the distribution of supplies. I'm fully aware of all the material expenditures in Lan County."
Lian immediately said, "I'll go help too."
Xu Degui also said immediately: "They are numerous and powerful. I will select a few people to follow you and protect you closely. If a fight really breaks out, they can also protect you and get you out safely."
When Huang Cui'e saw that everyone had volunteered, she quickly winked at her eldest son. Xu Huijia from the eldest wife's house immediately understood, "City Lord, I'll go too. I've been training in the barracks for a long time. Let me show my skills!"
Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt also immediately said, "We'll go too. Anping is still over there, and we're worried about her."
Seeing that everyone was leaving, Aunt Chun immediately expressed her opinion, "Then we will stay and look after the old lady and the younger generation at home. Fu Wei, Hui Rong, and Mei Xiao can all be safely left with us, and we will ensure that not a single hair is lost."
It's really rare that in such a chaotic situation, everyone in the Xu family actually started to have their own ideas, and before Xu Zhenying even said anything, they made clear arrangements for themselves.
Whatever their motivations, this is truly a welcome improvement.
"Okay. Everyone, split up!"
Meanwhile, things at the demonstration base were already in chaos.
A conflict broke out between the two groups, and thousands of refugees, holding hoes, sticks and other things, surrounded the main members of the Xu family's government team.
Some people were trying to stop the fight, some were watching the fun, and some were going to report the situation.
Wang Xingye, mingling with the refugees, tried to dissuade them: "Everyone, if you have anything to say, just talk it over. Why did you have to set the mountain on fire? It's a good thing we discovered it in time, otherwise it would have been a disaster! Do you still want to divide the land?"
Some refugees shouted, "What land are we sharing?! We've been clearing land here for over two months, doing nothing but hard labor, and we haven't even seen the fields grow any bigger. I suspect the city lord is just treating us like farmhands!"
"There's no need to divide the land. The land has already been divided. We're just waiting for the labor to be accumulated to exchange the land! The city lord has made it clear, why don't you believe it?"
"Then give it to us first! We'll still open up the wasteland! Then we'll have our own fields, which will give us more energy! I think the city lord is clearly delaying the distribution of land to us, making us work for her for free!"
"You're being too righteous! What kind of situation is this? How many people have starved to death outside? Just tell me, have you been hungry and cold since entering Lan County? Did the City Lord give you any food? What's going on? A little kindness, a big rice, a grudge, right? Now you deny it after just having a meal? Put the food down quickly. If you have anything to say, let's talk it out when the City Lord comes!"
"Mr. Wang, whose side are you on? You came into the city with us, so why are you now speaking in favor of outsiders?"
Ming Xiaoshuang was squeezed in the middle, his sword drawn. His face flushed as he shouted angrily, "Back off! Back off! Everyone, back off! What are you doing? What are you doing? Are you trying to rebel?!"
The soldiers led by Mo Jinchun had also arrived. Each of them held a sword in front of him, accompanied by a uniform slogan, "Boom, boom, boom!" The ground was covered with dust. They pressed forward step by step, and used their bodies to push the troublemakers away for a distance.
Seeing that the situation was about to explode, someone shouted, "The city lord is coming!"
The dozen or so troublemakers looked guilty and tried to run away, but were caught by Zhou Bo and others.
Everyone retreated to the sides holding torches, and Xu Zhenying walked in slowly.
The man walked slowly and leisurely, as if he was not in a hurry. He approached slowly with a large group of people behind him. Ming Xiaoshuang immediately moved a few benches over with his quick eyes and hands.
As soon as Xu Zhenying sat down, the dozen or so refugees who were causing trouble were frightened and knelt down in unison.
Xu Zhenying waved his hand. "I don't want to kneel down here. Just explain everything clearly. Tell me, what's going on?"
Now everyone started talking at the same time, which gave Xu Zhenying a headache. She shouted several times but no one listened, so she had to sit there and wait for them to finish.
They waited for a stick of incense, and everyone was cursing at each other. It took a while before they realized that Xu Zhenying was here and slowly lowered his voice.
Finally, the sound gradually died down.
Xu Zhenying sighed. He finally finished talking, but luckily no one started fighting.
Now I can finally process it slowly.
The dozen or so people were twisted by the soldiers' arms and pushed in front of Xu Zhenying. Xu Zhenying asked, "Who is the leader of the riot?"
Zhou Bo said, "The one I have is the most noisy."
Xu Zhenying looked around again and asked, "Was he the one who set the mountain on fire?"
"yes."
Xu Zhenying glanced at Ming Xiaoshuang and said in a cold voice, "Kill him."
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