Chapter 45
There has been some unrest in Luo City recently. Although City Lord Luo has never participated in a war, he has learned a lot from his father since he was a child. His father also often talked to him about refugees.
Having seen and heard so much, he could tell at a glance that some of the refugees were trying to take advantage of the situation and spread rumors to arouse public anger.
He discussed the matter urgently with various departments including Song Tisi, and the final result of the discussion was to send people to suppress it. There was no other way. Now there were limited manpower and food shortages, so they could only transfer guards from other places to Luocheng for support and relief.
But the messenger brought news that it would take at least five days for the grain transport team to arrive.
Lord Li and Lord Zhao suggested withdrawing the guards guarding Jiang Mansion and transferring them to guard the city gate. However, before everyone could express their ideas, this move was rejected by City Lord Luo.
He said that the Jiang family was wealthy and powerful, and they could easily take the opportunity to run away with the money. When peace was restored in Luo City, the emperor would investigate the matter and demand the people from him, and he would go wherever he wanted to catch them.
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other and tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again. They all thought that the Jiang family had a high reputation and that the heads of the family for generations had all loved to do good deeds, but now that it was this generation, their good days were over.
Only Song Tisi noticed the clue, but he didn't say anything.
Based on his understanding of Miss Jiang Er, if this matter had anything to do with her, she would definitely not just walk away.
Lord Zhuang hid at the back of the crowd, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible. You know, among these people, he was the closest to Yin Su. When the defense map was lost, Lord Luo did not arrest him because of their past friendship.
He couldn't help but curse in his heart, it was all his fault that he was bewitched and had to make friends with that son-in-law. Now he was hurting both himself and others. If City Lord Luo held a grudge against him because of this, then his path to promotion would be ruined.
The situation is serious now. The guards cannot stay outside the city at all. If they are not careful, they will be beaten by angry refugees. In recent days, dozens of guards have been taken away on stretchers.
Now everyone is on high alert, guarding the city walls and paying close attention to what is happening below.
From time to time, guards would shout to the people below to reassure them and ask them to hold on for a few more days, as the imperial relief workers would arrive soon.
The daily rations consisted of only thin rice porridge, which could not satisfy their daily food needs. Most people still felt very hungry and were not full at all. Some even had hallucinations due to hunger.
If someone slightly sparks the fire at this time, the evil thoughts in one's heart will be easily brought out.
During this period, they had rioted three times. Although they were suppressed each time, each time they became more severe than the last, and it seemed that they could not be suppressed.
Seeing that the situation was not good, City Lord Luo immediately sent people to remind every household to reinforce the doors and windows and not to go out unless necessary.
If there are no adult males in the family, they can report to the Luo Mansion immediately and be managed centrally, which can also be considered a form of protection.
According to calculations, the relief grain from the imperial court should be on the way.
“Oh no—”
"Those refugees took advantage of the porridge distribution to injure the guards and rushed in."
City Lord Luo paused while holding the pen. Everyone looked up. He immediately folded the paper and handed it to the messenger who had been waiting to receive the letter, and said, "Return quickly."
The messenger bowed and said goodbye, then turned around and walked out.
City Lord Luo then quickly stood up and walked out, saying in a serious tone, "I'll go take a look."
Seeing this, the guards on the side knelt down in front of City Lord Luo and said, "City Lord, all the gentlemen, you cannot go out. There are some vicious people outside now. They are spreading rumors in the middle of Changming Street and Mudan Street, saying that... they want to..."
Song Tisi interrupted coldly: "Say what."
The guards stammered and repeated what the people shouted when the city was captured: "They said they swore to kill all the officials, seize food and land to save their wives and children."
Lord Luo glanced down at him, knowing that he was worried about his safety, but as a city lord, he couldn't just watch the disaster befall Luo City and hide like a turtle. He couldn't do it, nor did he want to be such a person. He stared at the front and said slowly: "If we all hide, they won't come looking for us, right?"
"Where are the guards at the city gate?" Song Tisi asked the key question.
The guard trembled, not daring to look up: "He was...killed."
Song Tisi continued to ask: "How was he killed?"
The guard didn't understand, but answered honestly: "Use...use a knife." Even at this time, Song Tisi was still thinking about how the guards were killed. Shouldn't the top priority now be to quickly mobilize manpower to fight against them?
Song Tisi frowned: "Did you use the knife when you just entered the city gate, or did you use the knife after entering the city gate?"
The guard's face then became serious: "I heard that they attacked people with knives as soon as they entered the door."
Song Tisi frowned. The refugees were now starving and had thrown away all the burdensome things they could on the way to escape. How could they carry such a heavy thing as a knife with them? The only thing he was sure of was that someone took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in, pretending to be a refugee, and came to Los Angeles to commit crimes.
Song Tisi made a prompt decision and immediately ordered in a cold voice: "Pass the order down, any refugee holding a knife, whether real or fake, must be captured alive by this Tisi. Remember, they must be captured alive."
The guard received the order and left in a hurry.
He turned to look at City Lord Luo and said, "There may be people from other countries mixed in with the refugees. Let's capture a few and interrogate them first."
City Lord Luo nodded. The people from the Tixingsi were more sensitive to these things and could make accurate analysis based on the on-site conditions. It would be most appropriate for them to go.
"Okay, I'll leave the arrest to you. Let's go find some people to protect those families that are prone to robbery."
Just as City Lord Luo was about to leave, Lord Zhuang spoke tremblingly: "City Lord, why don't you activate the escape door and let the people flee to Yuncheng first."
Upon hearing this, City Lord Luo paused and said a few words indifferently: "Don't focus on illusory things. There is no escape route in Luo City."
Lord Zhuang and the other lords were shocked, their faces turned pale in an instant, and they whispered to each other, saying that there was no escape door, so they would not die here.
City Lord Luo was preoccupied with his own concerns, so he naturally didn't pay attention to the expressions of these people.
As an official in Los Angeles, his mind should be on the refugees at the moment, and he should not believe in rumors about the escape door. Besides, he has never publicly admitted that there is an escape door in Los Angeles, but of course, he has never denied it either.
These rumors did frighten many people who wanted to take over Los Angeles. They tried their best to figure out the location of the escape door, but they could never find it, because there was no escape door in Los Angeles.
As soon as I arrived at the street, I heard the incessant screams of people along the street, which made my heart tremble.
City Lord Luo sighed helplessly. A few days ago, he sent people to warn every household that the world is not peaceful now and they should not go out unless necessary or reinforce their doors and windows. What's wrong with these people? They still dare to wander around the streets.
City Lord Luo felt helpless and had to dispatch another group of troops, which were already seriously insufficient, to suppress the rebellion.
The relief grain from the imperial court should arrive soon, in just a few days.
—
The screams kept coming into the Jiang Mansion, as piercing as those of a ghost, making people's hearts palpitate. Jiang Zhaoli woke up suddenly. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, took a long sigh, and called Chuntao in.
"Chun Tao, what happened outside? What was that sound just now?" She seemed to hear many people screaming in her sleep, which was very shrill.
Chun Tao's face turned pale, and her voice trembled: "Girl...it's...it's those refugees who broke into the city."
The last time refugees broke into the city was a generation ago. They heard from the older generation that the refugees broke into the city and burned, killed, looted and caused a river of blood like bandits.
Fortunately, the girl had asked her to dig a hole in the yard some time ago and move all the food and money of the Jiang Mansion into it, in order to prevent refugees from entering the city and robbing in the chaos.
If the Jiang Mansion is broken into, they will also have a place to hide.
But the situation was not what they thought. The Jiang Mansion, which they originally thought was dangerous, became extremely safe at this moment. The people from the Ministry of Justice, who were originally responsible for watching over them and preventing them from escaping, now became the people who protected the Jiang family. Even though it was so chaotic outside, they still did not leave.
Is he doing his best to fulfill his responsibilities, or does he have other intentions?
I heard that many people were robbed, but the Jiang Mansion was fine. No one even dared to rob it. But if you went to the gate of the Jiang Mansion, you would find that there were more than a dozen corpses lying at the door, all of them died from being hit by sharp weapons.
It’s not that they didn’t dare, but those who dared lost their lives. The rest of the timid ones looked at the corpses lying all over the place and bypassed the Jiang Mansion.
Chuntao told Jiang Zhaoli everything that happened today word for word. After hearing this, Jiang Zhaoli's face changed slightly.
"How are Grandfather and the others?"
Chun Tao: "Don't worry, young lady. The old man is fine. He has been staying in Huaiyuan, and is being looked after by the Fu official family. The third lady now has Yaya as her companion, so she is not afraid. The second lady still complains in the mansion every day."
She cursed her son-in-law almost every day, but she couldn't say these words because she didn't want to mention the girl's sad story anymore.
Jiang Zhaoli pursed his lips and asked, "Chun Tao, have your great-uncle and great-uncle been implicated because of the Jiang Mansion?"
Chun Tao shook her head: "Don't worry, young lady. Before the refugees broke into the city, the old man was afraid that Master Bo's family would be short of food, so he sent people to deliver a lot of food. Master Bo has a large family, and all five young masters are good at martial arts. Now the four young masters are also excellent, and those refugees dare not rob their family."
Jiang Zhaoli was relieved then, as long as no one was implicated. As for the shops on Changming Street, they had been closed a few days ago. There was no food or valuables inside, so he was not worried about being robbed.
Today, Los Angeles is deserted. Compared with the prosperity of the past few days, it is now a scene of depression. The stalls of street vendors have been overturned and things are scattered on the ground.
Few people were still wandering the streets. Groups of refugees sat together, staring blankly into the distance.
The guards came back with dusty faces and reported that they had not caught the group of knife-wielding people. They seemed to have disappeared for a moment after entering the city. Did they throw away their knives and wander the streets disguised as refugees? But they searched every corner and did not see any trace of knives.
City Lord Luo spoke calmly and pointed out the direction: "Go to Zou Ji Medical Clinic."
Lord Zhao was puzzled: "Didn't Zou's Clinic have been searched a few days ago? Now we should put our forces where they are needed most and not waste any more." Every time the guards went out to search, they consumed a lot of physical strength and needed more food. Now there is no extra food to supply.
City Lord Luo frowned and said, "Search again and surround them from the front and back gates."
Seeing that he was so determined, the others said nothing more and did as he said.
Soon, several people hiding in Zou Ji Medical Clinic were arrested and taken to the Tixingsi for interrogation one by one.
Lord Luo smiled and said, "This farce is finally coming to an end." The team escorting the food will arrive in Luo City tomorrow at the latest. He will first comfort the refugees and then write a letter to Kyoto, asking the emperor to decide whether to hold the Min Kingdom accountable.
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