Xie Linzhou could see that almost everyone in their team listened to this little girl.
Even the two village chiefs consulted her on everything.
Xie Linzhou beckoned, and Zhang Ping bent down to obey: "Bring that little girl over here."
"yes."
Knowing the man's identity, Song Ning dared not act as she had the previous two days.
He ran over excitedly and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, General Xie."
Xie Linzhou, with a faint smile on his lips, pointed to the stool opposite him.
Song Ning didn't move, but Zhang Ping, who was standing to the side, said, "My young master told you to sit down, so please sit down."
Song Ning glanced at Xie Linzhou across from her, and seeing that the man's expression was normal, she calmly took her seat.
"Where are you from?" Xie Linzhou asked.
“They came from Shanhe Town in the west.”
"Tell me about what you saw and heard on the road."
Song Ning didn't understand. Shouldn't this kind of thing involve the two village chiefs? Why call her here?
"What, you don't want to talk?" Xie Linzhou's voice was clear and gentle, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.
Song Ning quickly waved his hand: "No, no." In feudal society, you couldn't afford to offend officials like that.
Song Ning then began to recount their experiences along the way.
The people on the road suffered greatly; many died along the way, some ate tree bark, some ate dirt, some starved to death, some died of thirst, and some even ate people.
Song Ning really didn't hold back at all. When he mentioned Taojia Village, Zhang Ping, who was next to Xie Linzhou, frowned.
"Are you done talking?"
"That's all."
Xie Linzhou was silent for a moment, then pointed to Song Ning's group in the distance: "Then tell me again, how did you manage to get these hundreds of people to obey you?"
Song Ning glanced behind her. Were these people obeying her orders?
"General Xie, we're all from the same village. We've helped each other along the way. I'm just an ordinary villager. It's good enough if I don't cause trouble for the team. Why would they listen to me? We all listen to the village chief."
Xie Linzhou narrowed his eyes, stared at Song Ning for a long time, and then asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Song Ning."
Xie Linzhou glanced at her and waved his hand: "Alright, go back."
"Ai."
Seeing his young master frown, Zhang Ping asked, "Young master, is there something wrong with that little girl?"
Xie Linzhou shook his head: "Let's go back."
She was a little girl from a village, and from what she said, she had never left Shanhe Town in her entire life. Yet, this little girl answered his questions fluently and without the slightest bit of timidity.
It's not that there's a problem, it's just illogical.
As soon as Song Ning returned to the group, Village Chief Luo came over and asked, "Er Ya, what does General Xie want with you?"
"Nothing much, just asking what we've seen and heard along the way."
Village Chief Luo breathed a sigh of relief. It's good that nothing happened. It's good that nothing happened.
As Xie Linzhou and his group left, everyone on the road breathed a sigh of relief, especially those who had done bad things before.
They could see that many people were tied to the backs of those soldiers, their faces branded with marks that could never be washed off.
Song Ning smiled and said, "It's okay. We didn't do anything wrong, so we won't be arrested."
The group continued on their journey, walking for several days before finally confirming that they were on the right track.
Standing on high ground, Song Ning could vaguely see the city, and not far outside the city, there was a river.
The village chief was overjoyed: "Those soldiers weren't lying to us; there really is a town ahead."
Before they even passed by, people were already cheering.
After traveling for another two or three days, the group finally saw the city.
The three large characters "Yanzhou City" on the city gate are truly inspiring.
The city gate was packed with people, and those who had arrived earlier were waiting outside without going in.
Song Ning then noticed that the city gates were tightly closed, and there was no one in charge outside.
"What... what's going on?" Village Chief Luo asked.
Song Ning walked up and asked someone, only to find out that the city gate was open yesterday, but had not been opened since it was closed last night.
No one knew what was going on, so they could only wait outside.
Just then, the city gate finally opened, and everyone thought they could get in. But then several soldiers came out and pushed aside the people surging in front of them, some of whom were even kicked a few times.
Those people posted a notice on the wall, then went back without a word and closed the door again.
Immediately, the crowd moved toward the notice, but after looking at it for a long time, they still couldn't figure it out, as none of them could read.
At this moment, Zhou Ling'an finally came in handy.
Village Chief Zhou pushed his way forward with his son, shouting as he did so, "Make way! My son is educated and can read!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped pushing forward and made way for them.
Zhou Ling'an's expression changed after just one glance.
The notice conveyed roughly two meanings: one was that the city could only accept a limited number of refugees, and for the sake of other residents, they were not allowed to enter the city.
Secondly, these people might have come from who-knows-where on the road, and if they were carrying diseases, wouldn't they bring misfortune to the entire city?
The happiest I was when I came, the more disappointed I am now.
They were all dark-skinned and thin, their shoes were worn out, their clothes were tattered, and their faces were sallow. They all remained silent.
Many people sat there wiping away tears, feeling wronged.
I've made it through everything, but I never expected to break down like this at the very end.
They thought they had finally reached the end of the road and could settle down, but it turned out that the city didn't want them at all and wouldn't even open the city gates.
Having fled famine all the way here, only to end up like this, some people immediately burst into tears.
Song Ning returned to the group and remained silent for a long time. Village Chief Luo and Village Chief Zhou were also squatting on the ground with furrowed brows.
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