Chapter 140 Chaos! Ayao, take your sister-in-law and niece and leave...
The sun had already set behind the mountains, but it was still very hot.
Lei Xiaoan held an ice cream in his right hand and a bamboo fan in his left, eating and fanning himself as he walked.
The girl walking beside him wasn't as relaxed as him. Her face, though in her early twenties, was full of weariness, revealing the vicissitudes of a man in his thirties or forties, and she yawned frequently.
Lei Xiaoan glanced at her out of the corner of her eye every now and then, and cautiously asked, "Zhenzhen, have you been very busy lately?"
He didn't expect that his words would ignite his cousin's anger.
Lei Zhen's expression instantly turned extremely ferocious. "Our Ministry of Civil Affairs has been busy from morning till night lately, without even time for lunch! I haven't been able to sit down and properly enjoy a meal for several days in a row. We've been eating 'battle meals'! Sometimes we just grab a few steamed buns!"
Lei Xiaoan: "...That's really very busy."
"That's right! Sometimes I don't even finish my work during the day, and I still have to work overtime at night! Look at my dark circles! Look!"
Lei Zhen quickly walked up to Lei Xiaoan, pressed his index finger against his lower eyelid, and made Lei Xiaoan look.
She then pointed to her forehead and said, "Look at these pimples, they're all from not getting enough rest and having an irregular diet lately!"
Lei Xiaoan was puzzled, "If you don't finish during the day, just do it the next day. Why do you have to work overtime?"
Lei Zhen chuckled, "Because there's even more to do the next day, I have no choice but to work overtime to prevent things from piling up."
Lei Xiaoan advised, "Health is your most valuable asset. You must take care of yourself and not ruin your health just because you're young."
Lei Zhen rolled his eyes. "I know. But brother, is it appropriate to say something like that in the current situation?"
The current situation? What situation?
Just as Lei Xiaoan was about to ask a question, he heard a male voice complain, "I really didn't expect that Sun Yannan and Zhao Jiashu would be the ones to start the fight first."
He looked in the direction of the sound and saw four or five unshaven young men sitting at a roadside stall drinking. They all looked extremely tired and, like Lei Zhen, had a sense of vicissitude beyond their years.
Lei Xiaoan: "..." The Administrative Office?
"Lu Hongdu is still moving, but Sun Yannan is actually..."
"Lu Hong is probably afraid that if he makes a move, the other lords will unite to attack him, just like when they attacked Lu Wei."
"Sun Yannan actually attacked Zhao Jiashu first? Hasn't he always coveted our Jinzhou?"
“He doesn’t covet Jinzhou; he wants our goddess.”
"Pah! Does he even deserve it?"
Hearing this, Lei Xiaoan seemed thoughtful and asked Lei Zhen, "Are there more people fleeing to Jinzhou?"
Lei Zhen glanced at the young men drinking and, sure enough, one of them was her colleague. They rarely had time to relax and drink.
She nodded. "Yes, the Sun family is fighting the Zhao family. Because of the war, many people who were displaced fled to Jinzhou, which is why our workload suddenly increased."
Lei Xiaoan sighed, "It's always the poor people like us who suffer in war."
Suffering upon suffering.
Lei Zhen nodded, "Rise and fall are both suffering!"
She stopped in front of a barbecue stall and said to the vendor, "I'd like three grilled gluten sticks."
The stall owner readily agreed, "Sure thing!"
"Does brother want some?"
Lei Xiaoan shook his head.
Lei Zhen paid the money casually.
During the wait, Lei Zhen said to Lei Xiaoan, "It's not just Qingzhou that's fighting; there's fighting in other places too."
Mountain bandits, rebel armies from all over the country, and some minor warlords are now fighting every few days to seize territory.
People from all over the country suffered from the ravages of war, and upon hearing that a goddess was protecting Jinzhou and that the people under her rule could have enough to eat three times a day, they packed their bags and, with their families in tow, headed straight for Jinzhou and Shengzhou.
Otherwise, Lei Zhen and his colleagues at the Ministry of Civil Affairs wouldn't be working so hard from dawn till dusk, so busy that they don't even have time to eat or rest.
There was no other way; the people had traveled long distances and endured countless hardships to reach Jinzhou and Shengzhou, and they urgently needed to settle down.
The various departments of the administrative office are working from dawn till dusk, hoping to quickly collect information, allocate housing, land, and jobs so that they can settle down here.
Delay could lead to unforeseen consequences.
If we leave them like this, what if they get instigated by bad people and affect the lives of the locals? Who will be responsible then?
Fortunately, the heads of the various departments of the Administrative Office were considerate of their employees' hard work. They not only tripled the salary for this month, but also gave everyone a day off to catch up on sleep. Otherwise, Lei Zhen wouldn't be able to go home for dinner with his cousin now.
Instead, he worked diligently at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, sleeping on a mat on the ground for two or three hours at night, then washing his face and continuing to work.
Lei Zhen covered his mouth with his left hand and yawned, tears welling up in his eyes.
Seeing that she looked extremely tired, Lei Xiaoan asked, "Do you want me to carry you back?"
Lei Zhen: "..." She glanced at her cousin's arms and legs with disdain and declined, "No need, I can still manage, I won't collapse while walking."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
Lei Xiaoan: "...I'll go rent a car."
The Goddess's Palace.
“There are frequent battles everywhere now,” Cheng Hui spread a map on the desk, pointing to the map with a thin bamboo stick in his right hand. “For example, Zhang Haiping of Ziyang County wants to take Langya Peak next door, and Zheng Jiming of Que Ling County is attacking Mao’er Mountain.”
He frowned. "Lu Hong in the capital is not entirely inactive either. According to the intelligence department, he is secretly bribing people in Chen County, and his troops are moving towards Chen County. It probably won't be long before he can take Chen County into his own hands."
He Qinglan's gaze fell on the location of Chenjun, which was pointed to by the bamboo pole. She said in a light tone, "Everyone has the ambition to conquer the world, so naturally they have to eat the small fish and expand their territory."
Cheng Hui agreed, and asked, "Goddess, shouldn't we do something?"
He Qinglan said, "Aren't we doing it right now?" We just ate from the Southwest and Northwest, so let's digest it a bit more.
Cheng Hui: "..."
That's right, Cheng Hui thought. Jinzhou fully supported the two armies in attacking the imperial army and entering the capital; they successively conquered the southwest and northwest.
It consumed a great deal of resources.
We can slow down and rest for a while to strengthen the goddess's rule. We can't let the territory we just gained be lost!
He Qinglan's gaze shifted from Chenjun to Mao'er Mountain. She paused for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.
She said to Cheng Hui, "You need to be prepared. Lu Hong and Sun Yannan will not let us go."
Thanks to a certain outsider, Lu Hong, who doesn't take her seriously these days, is very likely to team up with Sun Yannan to attack her first.
Cheng Hui respectfully replied, "Yes."
Mao'er Mountain.
The soldiers of Que Ling County charged towards Mao'er Mountain again, arrows raining down and blades flashing coldly. Countless people fell on the way up the mountain, their blood staining the stream at the foot of the mountain red.
These are all minor matters. Que Ling County is besieged, but they didn't make a concerted effort to take it down. They wanted to cut off their supplies and exhaust their arrows. This might work for a month or two, but what if it drags on for four or five months...
Yue Yao had just finished a battle and returned to the mountain with hundreds of his brothers.
"Big brother!"
Inside the Hall of Righteousness, Zhang Zigao saw Yue Yao rushing back and immediately went to greet him, "A-Yao, you...you..."
A new knife wound appeared on Yue Yao's face, with fresh flesh exposed, making him look exceptionally gruesome.
Yue Yao ignored the injury on his face and laughed, "It's nothing, big brother, just a minor injury."
Zhang Zigao looked at him, then at his wounded brothers behind him, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with determination.
“Ayao,” Zhang Zigao said in a deep voice, “take your sister-in-law and nephew and leave Mao’er Mountain.”
Yue Yao's expression changed. "Big brother, you..."
Zhang Zigao grasped his hands, his tone becoming more forceful, "Ayao, let me finish!"
Yue Yao shut his mouth, looking at Zhang Zigao with a face full of urgency, expressing his unwillingness with his eyes.
But Zhang Zigao had already made up his mind.
“Ah Yao, now Zheng Jiming is clearly trying to surround and kill us. There is no other way out of Mao'er Mountain. It’s just a matter of dying sooner or later.”
He gripped Yue Yao's hand tightly and shook it up and down. "But I can die. Your sister-in-law and nephew, the parents, wives and children of the brothers on the mountain, if they can find a way to survive... then they shouldn't die with us on Mao'er Mountain, right?"
Yue Yao moved his lips, he already understood Zhang Zigao's meaning, "Big brother, if we go together... we might not necessarily..."
Zhang Zigao smiled wryly, "Ayao, I've always considered you my younger brother, and the brothers on the mountain trust you too. You won't let us down, right?"
Yue Yao gritted his teeth, "We can fight our way out together, how could you... you..."
Zhang Zigao shook his head.
Let's fight our way out!
How could we possibly fight our way out together?
Zheng Jiming has been standing around for so long, is it just for fun?
Zhang Zigao immediately gathered all the brothers on the mountain and told them his decision.
"Have everyone's parents, wives, and children pack their belongings, including gold, silver, valuables, clothes, and food. Ayao and some of his brothers will protect them as they leave!"
"The rest of us will fight Zheng Jiming to the death, draw his attention, and buy them a chance to break through the encirclement!"
Mao'er Mountain is finished.
Many people shed tears after accepting this fact.
But Zhang Zigao decided to sacrifice some people so that their families could have a chance to leave, which inspired them to fight for their families.
Then someone raised their voice, "Okay! Big brother, you make the arrangements. We'll do whatever you tell us to do!"
"Yueyao, I'm counting on you to take care of your uncle, aunt, sister-in-law, and niece. In the next life, I'll be your older brother and serve you like a cow or a horse to repay your kindness!"
"Bring less clothes and food; too much will slow you down."
"Where can we escape to? The world is in chaos right now... Should we go north or south?"
"We will fight with all our might to buy you time!"
Having made the decision, they immediately began to take action.
The people on the mountain immediately went back to their families to talk about the matter and asked their families to pack their things and prepare to leave.
Every family was filled with sobs, unable to accept the outcome, but by dawn, everyone had packed their bags with red eyes.
Zhang Zigao looked at everyone and made a decision on his own, ordering those with mobility issues to stay behind so as not to burden the others.
The final battle has begun.
Zhang Zigao and his brothers suddenly charged down the mountain like madmen, engaging in a fierce battle that caught the Que Ling County army off guard.
But Zheng Jiming quickly calmed down and swiftly deployed troops to surround the enemy.
This gave Yue Yao and the others an opportunity. They targeted the weak points in the encirclement and led their families out.
Zheng Jiming's side couldn't send too many people to chase after them because Zhang Zigao was so relentless and aggressive, fighting with a complete disregard for his own life.
Half a day later, Zheng Jiming found Zhang Zigao's body halfway up the mountain.
He was covered in wounds, and his eyes were wide open in resentment.
Zheng Jiming looked down at him, stepped over him, and walked up the mountain.
As he walked, he gave the order, "Send more men to chase after Yue Yao!"
The subordinate replied, "Yes!"
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Author's Note: Zhang Zigao: The author
author:?
Zhang Zigao: You killed me off so that Ayao would go and seek refuge with He Qinglan? Have you forgotten how you wrote about Xue Rang earlier? Aren't you contradicting yourself?
Author: Should I send him to seek refuge with Lu Hong?
Zhang Zigao:......
Author's note: I'm having a terrible writer's block, please give me a break.
Zhang Zigao: You had writer's block, so you decided to kill me off at the last minute?!
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