But the road ahead was so congested with carriages and people that there was hardly any room to put one's feet.
The crowd only vaguely understood what they were hearing, and when they asked those around them, they were told that there was an argument going on up ahead.
But when asked why they were arguing, no one could give a reason.
The group had no choice but to grit their teeth and squeeze forward. It took them half an hour to cover a distance of less than ten zhang.
Jiaren and Jiayi followed behind their fourth uncle, subtly protecting their younger sister.
Seeing their younger sister looking around with great interest, the two of them found it amusing.
This little girl is really bold.
As the group finally approached the city gate, they heard someone shouting loudly.
"Why can't we pass? We're all commoners of Tianwu. When did we start having to pay money just to walk?"
A hundred or so soldiers stood guard at the city gate, following a tall, imposing lieutenant general.
In front of the wide doorway stood a wooden frame about half a person's height, leaving only a narrow passage for one person to pass through.
Perhaps impatient with the noise, the man snorted and cursed.
"What? On what grounds? On what grounds? With the knife in my hand? What kind of time is this? You're still reluctant to spend money when you're trying to save your life? Why don't you just stay home and wait to die to save money!"
These words were truly offensive, and the people around were furious, shouting and yelling at each other.
"We are the people of Tianwu. We pay grain taxes every year to support you people. Is this just to block our way to survive?"
"That's right, you guys are too domineering, actually charging tolls! We're going to sue you!"
The lieutenant, emboldened by his position, laughed even more arrogantly.
"The imperial court is about to move south, who has time to care about you lowly commoners!"
Li Laosi and the others frowned deeply, all feeling a bad premonition.
Li Laosi pulled an old man wiping away tears and asked, "Uncle, what's going on? Why are they charging money to enter the city?"
"Yes, five taels per person! They're practically ripping us off. Who has that much silver? They won't let us go without paying. How are we supposed to escape if we can't get through?"
The old man carried his grandson on one side and his luggage on the other, his face filled with despair as he wept.
Li Laosi and the others gasped in shock. Five taels per person, and there were thousands of people at the city gate. The toll alone could amount to twenty or thirty thousand taels.
These people are obsessed with money!
He wanted to ask a few more questions, but two carriages at the city gate had already paid and were about to pass through.
Some people wanted to take advantage of the chaos and rushed in.
But the long swords in the soldiers' hands were not just for show; the man was hacked to death almost instantly.
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, affecting those around them.
Some screamed, some fainted, some cried loudly, and chaos immediately broke out at the city gate.
Li Laosi protected everyone and quickly retreated.
Jiayin hadn't expected it to be so bloody. She shrank back in fright and hid obediently behind her father.
Afraid that his younger sister would be frightened, Jiaren quickly took off his outer garment and put it over her head.
Jiayi never left his uncle and sister's side.
It was difficult for a few people to squeeze in, but it was extremely easy for them to leave as the others did.
They had only gone halfway back when the village chief arrived with his men to meet them.
They were in the camp and could only see the riot at the city gate, but they didn't know what was going on.
After finally settling back, everyone, young and old, asked about it. They were all surprised to hear that it cost five taels of silver per person to cross the city, and then they were so angry that they cursed loudly.
"These heartless bastards, do they have sick mothers at home who need money for medicine? They're so immoral, aren't they just ripping people off by the neck and demanding money?"
"These are bandits who rob people on the road, not government soldiers!"
"Why is nobody doing anything about this? They're making it impossible for us ordinary people to live!"
Everyone was cursing, but it didn't do anything.
Thinking about the few hundred coins they had saved, not a single person could even think about going into the city!
After working ourselves to the bone to get here, only to be stopped like this, no one would be willing to accept it.
A woman hugged her child and began to sob, "What are we going to do? Are we just going to wait here to die?"
"Mom, I don't want to die, I want to eat chicken!" The child, not understanding, blurted out.
The woman was both angry and heartbroken, and she raised her hand to hit him!
"Why eat chicken? You'll die!"
The child didn't understand what was happening and started crying. Chaos ensued, and everyone was bewildered and helpless.
Li Lao Er sighed, "Ninety-seven people, five taels each, that's nearly five hundred taels. We simply can't afford that. Let's think of another way."
The others nodded in agreement. To be honest, even if they had silver, they couldn't just hand it all over just to get through the city gate.
Are you saying you're not going to eat anymore, that you're not going to live?
Wherever you settle down, you'll have to start building your own fortune again!
"Should we wait? Maybe if there are too many people at the city gate, they'll actually break it open?" someone suggested, but he himself gave a wry smile after saying that.
So many soldiers, and they weren't just made of straw, who would dare to risk their lives?
Everyone remained silent and troubled when suddenly a young woman whispered, "We're not without money, are we?"
Everyone listened with confusion and looked over in that direction.
They were all poor people. Five taels of silver was manageable, but five hundred taels was simply impossible.
The young woman hesitated for a moment, then secretly glanced at Jiayin in Old Lady Li's arms.
“When Aunt Li’s daughter Fu Niu turned one year old, didn’t she receive a lot of gold jewelry? I heard it was dozens of taels heavy! If we exchange it for silver and everyone chips in, it should be enough.”
The Li family members' expressions all changed, turning as cold as ice.
Little did they know, someone else was eyeing the Li family's wealth.
Jiayi, with his quick temper, was the first to shout, "That's my sister's dowry, no one can touch it!"
Jiaren and the others chimed in, "That's right, that belongs to my sister."
The young wife pouted and muttered in dissatisfaction.
"At this age, everyone is counting on this money to save their lives. The little girl is only one year old, what does she know about dowries? Besides, there are still more than ten years before the little girl gets married. Let's use this money for emergencies first, and we can prepare it for her when everyone earns more money later."
These words were spoken with such confidence that Jiayin was stunned for a moment, even suspecting that she had been possessed by Wu Cuihua.
The Li family members all turned pale, and Old Mrs. Li immediately started cursing.
"Bullshit! Who do you think you are, daring to scheme against my granddaughter's dowry? You're surnamed Li, but does our Li family owe you anything? Why should we listen to you just because you open your mouth? You have a donkey face, do you really think you're an animal!"
The old lady is usually very reasonable, but never involve her granddaughter, or she'll immediately transform.
The young woman's face flushed red from the scolding, and she was about to speak when Tao Hongying spoke up as well.
"Shut your dog mouth! You shameless bastard, thinking you're the only smart one in the world. Well, I'd say if we stripped you naked and threw you at the city gate, the general guarding the city would be overjoyed and would take you as a concubine, then he'd happily let us pass! Why don't you hurry up and offer yourself up!"
The young woman burst into tears and hugged herself tightly.
"Your Li family is bullying us! All we asked was for you to lend us money to get through the city gates. You refused, but why are you hurling insults? If my family had money, I would definitely give it to you. We would never be as stingy as your family!"
"Hmph, you've come all the way to our doorstep, and we're not even allowed to say a few words? Is God your own father? Does everyone have to indulge you?" Zhao Yuru rarely said anything harsh.
"You say you're not stingy, but the children haven't had any millet these past few days, and you clearly still had some in your basket, why didn't you take it out? If we took some millet, you'd let the children eat as much as they wanted? You think we're all fools if we don't argue with you!"
The Li family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law unleashed their fury, and the young wife couldn't withstand their barrage of insults.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com