The man said, "We didn't go with them. Lu Sanlang told us to wait at the entrance of the cave and wait for them to bring the things over so we could slowly transport them inside."
Although he didn't go, he could guess a thing or two. Judging from the bloodstains on the people when they returned, the thing must have come from an illegitimate source.
Iron is controlled by the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even with money, it's not certain that you can buy so many knives. Moreover, these broadswords have sharp blades and are all of high quality. It's obvious that these knives must belong to the government.
However, judging from the style, it was different from the knives that the yamen runners used to carry when he passed by the yamen in the past.
Considering that the Western Rong had now attacked, he easily guessed the true origin of these knives.
He didn't tell his wife his suspicions, just in case she was scared.
Although he didn't say it, many people in the village knew where the item came from.
"Old man, I heard from Chaoyang that most of these things were stolen from the Western Rong soldiers. This... won't bring trouble back with us?" Song Village Chief's wife, Qian, said with a worried look.
Village Chief Song said, "Lu Sanlang is a capable man, and he knows what he's doing. Since he dared to do this, he must have a plan in mind. Don't worry about these things, just keep an eye on your family and don't go around spreading rumors and causing unnecessary panic among the villagers."
"How could I not have this sense of propriety?" Wang said, "I'm just afraid that other families... won't have it."
Village Chief Song put his hands behind his back, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll go take a walk around." If there were any ignorant families, he could say something to them in advance.
Fortunately, nothing serious happened.
Even the Fang family, who were usually the most prone to causing trouble, were stunned by Lu Shiyan's methods of punishing Lu Cuilan's family and were unusually obedient today.
Inside the city of Puzhou, at the Prefect's residence.
At that moment, Zhang Kui, the prefect of Puzhou, was pacing anxiously in his room when suddenly the neighing of horses rang out outside.
He strode out of the room and was met by his trusted confidant Zeng Wen, who jumped down from his horse. Upon seeing the prefect, Zeng Wen excitedly said, "My lord, great news! The army that was delivering grain from the eastern route of the Western Rong has been killed by the bandits."
"What did you say? Your men didn't even make a move, yet the army delivering grain from the Western Rong East Route was killed first?" Zhang Kui swallowed hard, wondering if he had misheard.
Zeng Wen nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! They were all slit in the throat, not a single one was left."
He had expected to fight a tough battle and was prepared to die, but he won without a fight.
"Who killed him?" Zhang Kuiyou was still in a dream and couldn't quite process what was happening.
Zeng Wendao: "We don't know either. When our men arrived, they only found the corpses of Western Rong soldiers scattered on the ground. The person who did it was not only ruthless, but also..."
"What else?" Zhang Kui slapped his thigh and said anxiously, "What are you stammering about? Hurry up and say it."
"They were all stripped naked." Zeng Wen said somewhat uncertainly, "It looks like they were robbed, and the robber didn't even spare their clothes."
"Where did such skilled bandits come from? The army escorting the grain supplies on the eastern route has elite guards in addition to the grain supply corps. How could ordinary bandits wipe out the entire eastern grain supply corps without leaving a single survivor?"
Zhang Kui found his confidant's words absurd, and his confidant also felt that his guess could not be deduced by common sense.
But Yihe County has fallen, and the Western Rong soldiers are advancing straight towards Puzhou. He sent more than a dozen memorials to the court overnight, but so far no reinforcements have been sent to support him.
He also sent letters seeking help to the local officials in Jingzhou and Jiangzhou, which are close to Puzhou, but received no response.
The imperial court did not send troops, and the officials stationed in Jingzhou and Jiangzhou were not the type to do good deeds anonymously, so who would kill the Western Rong's grain and supplies soldiers?
After thinking it over, only the robber's explanation made more sense.
“My lord, this is a good thing no matter what.” Zeng Wen said, “Although we only robbed one route of grain, it greatly reduces our pressure. We can launch a surprise attack on the other grain and supply routes of the Western Rong, cutting off their supply lines at the root. In the end, we might be able to hold Puzhou.”
Zhang Kui stroked his beard, turned and went into the house, took out the taro and started looking at it.
*
In the valley, the villagers stared excitedly at the Lu family.
In particular, families with men who accompanied Lu Shiyan out of the valley were all eyeing the things Lu Shiyan brought back with envy, wondering if they could get a share.
Lu Shiyan didn't hesitate and called Village Chief Song over that very evening to distribute the supplies.
"So much stuff, are you really going to distribute it all?" Village Chief Song asked again to confirm.
“These knives are not to be separated.” Lu Shiyan picked up several sacks of knives and moved them aside. “The hoes and shovels are also not to be separated; they’re for the brick kiln. Only the grains are to be separated. You pick out which ones can be used for seed. First, separate the seed-producing grains from the grains that can only be eaten.”
As for the specific distribution of the grain, Lu Shiyan asked Li Shi and Liu Chengjun to make arrangements.
The two men who went out with him and brought back the grain were also the most knowledgeable about everyone's performance that day.
Lu Shiyan followed the rules of the military: those who performed the most bravely and made the most contributions would receive the largest share.
Those who are only responsible for moving things will receive a smaller share.
Those whose families didn't go out of the valley with them were naturally not entitled to a share of the grain they brought back.
However, although it cannot be divided, it can be borrowed.
Those who didn't receive any grain were somewhat disappointed, but Lu Shiyan's actions were not wrong. No pain, no gain—this is an age-old truth.
Moreover, although grain could not be distributed for free, it could be borrowed, which to some extent relieved the urgent needs of many families.
Having learned about Lu Shiyan's principles of conduct, when Lu Shiyan selected people to leave the valley the next day, none of the selected families made any excuses.
Some people even volunteered to sign up, saying they wanted to go out with them.
Although the villagers showed great enthusiasm for following him out of the valley, Lu Shiyan did not make many choices and chose about the same number of people as yesterday to leave the valley.
In the valley, Jiang Tangtang felt much better today.
I don't know if it was the Chinese medicine Lu Shiyan gave me that worked, or because my period was almost over.
She no longer felt her legs were weak and she couldn't walk.
Feeling a bit better, Jiang Tangtang decided to go for a walk in the mountains.
Nowadays, while land reclamation and brick kiln construction are both necessary, they are not as urgent as food.
However, since Li Shi and the others had left the valley with Lu Shiyan, and some villagers were building brick kilns and clearing land, not many people could follow her into the mountains.
After much deliberation, Jiang Tangtang decided against going into the mountains and instead set her sights on the river.
She approached Luo Taohua and said, "Sister-in-law, we know of a place with a patch of wild hemp. Let's go cut some and make a fishing net to catch fish in the river."
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