But when the refugees saw the machete on her back, they gave up the idea of robbing her.
In order to prevent her Xiaoxue from attracting too much attention, she had refused to let Xiaoxue take a bath for the past few days.
Xiaoxue's snow-white fur had turned yellow during her running along the way.
In the distance, she saw a big city standing between the mountains on both sides.
Not only that, the city gates were heavily guarded on both sides and were wide open.
Thousands of refugees were sitting or lying in the open space outside the city walls. There were also many soldiers carrying the bodies of dead refugees and transporting them away on horse-drawn or ox-drawn carts.
"Hey, what city is that? How dare they open the city gates so wide?
I came from Xilin County, and many county towns were like Xilin County, with their gates closed.
Why is the city gate open? Aren’t the officials here afraid that the refugees will rush in?"
Chaoge had followed the refugees fleeing famine for so long and had passed through many cities and towns, but wherever he went, the city gates were all closed.
This city really surprised her. She grabbed a passing refugee and asked curiously.
"Xiyingzhou, you came here without asking?"
The refugee glanced at Chaoge and said strangely.
Chaoge smiled awkwardly. Where did she ask? At most, she asked the refugees how to get to Taichuan Prefecture.
However, Chaoge didn't expect that she would reach a provincial capital so soon.
But if you count on your fingers, it’s not that fast.
It has been almost twenty days since she left Xilin County, and she often delayed her journey because of oversleeping. If she rode her donkey at a normal speed without any obstacles, she could reach her hometown in just a month.
But the refugees said that it was still another five or six hundred miles to Taichuan Prefecture.
The distance from Taichuan Prefecture to her Yunjia Village is still three or four hundred miles.
Chaoge was speechless, and secretly made up her mind that she must not delay her return journey due to oversleeping.
"Hey, why are you fleeing alone?
I didn't see you had anything on you, how did you manage to get through this?
You didn't starve to death, so you're quite capable?"
If the person Chaoge caught was not a tall man, he would have avoided her long ago.
Unexpectedly, this man, even though he saw Chaoge carrying a big machete on her back, actually started chatting with her out of curiosity.
"They are fleeing from famine, but they just ran out of food yesterday.
That’s why I was excited to see the city, and I was just about to go and restock some supplies.”
"Oh, if you want to go in, each person has to pay one or two taels of silver for the city entrance fee."
After saying this, the big man glanced up and down at Chaoge, his eyes filled with unconcealed contempt.
The corner of Chaoge's mouth twitched, and he finally understood why the city gates were wide open, but those refugees were still staying outside the city and not going in?
"Are these provincial officials too dark?
One ounce of silver? Isn't this asking for the lives of those refugees?
Who in the ordinary family could afford even a tael of silver? Isn't this blatant robbery?
I see there are probably tens of thousands of refugees, how come no one is dissatisfied?"
"Haha, these days, the emperor is far away, and the most evil-hearted people are the officials.
Even though the people are suffering terribly, they still want to eat their flesh and drink their blood.
You don’t know that if refugees want to enter the city, they only have to pay one tael of silver, but if they want a horse, they have to pay another five taels of silver!
What's even more outrageous is that if it is a horse-drawn carriage, you have to pay thirty taels before the government will let you go.
They just take advantage of every opportunity, and they calculate that anyone who rides a horse or a carriage is someone who can afford the money.
If they don't seize this opportunity to make a fortune, they will be unworthy of their evil hearts.
The reason these bold local emperors are so bold is that there are military camps stationed in their provincial capitals!
Didn’t you see that outside the city wall, there were so many soldiers standing there, holding spears and swords!
And there are hundreds of archers on the city walls; they are not just for show.
If they tried to force their way in, the refugees would be shot to pieces by the archers on the city wall before they could even reach the city gate!"
Chaoge!
She knew about the corruption in ancient times. After all, the emperor was far away and could cover up the sky with one hand. But she didn't expect that under such difficult circumstances, these officials could be so unscrupulous.
Seeing Chaoge's astonishment, the big man looked at her with contempt: "Haha, I thought you were a big shot, able to travel alone, how could you be afraid of these things?
Besides, this kind of thing happens everywhere, so what's so strange about it?
Anyway, no matter what, it is us common people who suffer.
The worse the famine, the fatter the officials become.
According to reliable sources, the imperial court had already allocated relief grain a long time ago. But look, we have come all the way here from the north, and who has even received a grain of food?
As for the drought, even if the food is distributed, everyone will die without water, and it won't solve the problem.
We can only go to the southwest and east, where there is no drought. When there is water, even if we have to eat tree roots, a few of us can survive."
Chaoge had already gotten off Xiaoxue's back, and was walking side by side with the big man, holding Xiaoxue's hand. He was shocked as he listened to the big man talking about the corruption in the government.
The two walked for about half an hour and finally arrived at the city gate.
As expected, Chaoge saw many people wanting to rush in, but they didn't have the courage.
There were a few people who wanted to go in, but as soon as they showed some sign of trying, arrows from the city wall were shot at them!
"Too, too cold-blooded, this emperor is..."
Although Chaoge had been mentally prepared for this ancient government, he still couldn't control his temper when he saw such a rampant person, and he was so angry that he almost said something he shouldn't have said.
Unexpectedly, before she could finish her words, her mouth was suddenly covered by the big man's rough hands!
This big guy's hands are not only rough, but also black and smelly!
What’s even more outrageous is that since they are refugees, they should starve, but this big guy is still incredibly strong!
Chaoge stretched out her hands to pry the big man's hands apart, but she couldn't do it. She wanted to cry but had no tears. Just when she was about to get angry, the big man came close to her and lowered his voice with a warning look: "Hey, don't talk nonsense.
But I am reminding you, these outrageous words should only be said behind your back, how dare you shout them out loud!
My dear brother, I am reminding you out of kindness because you are so thin and alone.
Forget it, brother, I have to take my family to find a place to rest first. Look, there are still many refugees coming behind us!"
After saying that, the big man finally withdrew his big hand, but Chaoge finally couldn't bear it anymore, he threw away Xiaoxue's reins, squatted on the ground, and vomited violently!
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