Chapter 82 The Food is Missing
The refugees looked at the innocent Xiaojiu, their hearts agitated. "Did everyone hear that? Even a little kid can understand it, so why are we still wasting time?"
"We're going to ask the county magistrate for food!"
Crowds of people rushed to the granary like a flood, and everyone shouted in unison, "Open the granary and release the grain!"
"Open the warehouse and release the grain!"
"Everyone, please be patient and listen to what I have to say!" The county magistrate walked out with his hands behind his back, escorted by yamen runners. "As the father and mother of this county, I've been worried day and night since the famine began, unable to sleep or eat. How could I just leave the people alone? Starting tomorrow, I'll personally distribute porridge in front of the county government office. Everyone, please remember to come!"
"Why do we have to wait until tomorrow to distribute porridge?" The refugees did not believe his explanation at all.
"What's handed over is grain. It takes time to pound it into rice!" said the county magistrate.
"Will you really distribute porridge starting tomorrow?" The refugees were skeptical.
"My word is my bond. How could I possibly deceive the people?" the county magistrate vowed. "Everyone, go to the county government office early tomorrow to line up and wait for the porridge!"
Just as the crowd was about to disperse, someone suddenly shouted from a distance, "Oh no! The bandits from Black Eagle Village are coming!"
The county magistrate shrank back in fear and said in panic, "How come the bandits are so well-informed? Quick, close the door!"
The door of the granary was tightly closed, dust was flying in the distance, and the sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer.
Sitting on the tall horse was a burly man with a scar on his face. He rode his horse leisurely to the door of the granary.
"Damn it! Get out of my way!"
A dozen bandits carried a large wooden stake and rammed it hard against the gate.
The granary door was covered with iron, but no matter how strong it was, it could not withstand the bandits' persistent pounding, and it seemed that the door was about to be breached.
The county magistrate shouted from inside, "Fellow victims, if you want to eat porridge and survive, you must help the government resist the bandits! If the food is taken away by the bandits, you won't even have a grain of rice to eat!"
After these words were spoken, the refugees who were watching the excitement nearby lost their composure.
The county magistrate continued, "If you don't want to starve to death, help me stop the bandits! If the food is stolen today, you will be the ones who suffer in the end! Because I originally wanted to use this food on you! Whether you can eat porridge tomorrow, and whether you can eat porridge in the future, depends on your next choice!"
After hearing this, the refugees could no longer remain indifferent. They gritted their teeth and rushed towards the bandits.
The two sides fought in a group.
The villagers of Heihe Village were unwilling to work for the corrupt officials and quietly withdrew.
"Hey, hey! Go!" Xiaojiu slapped Ye Yanping's face with his little palm, "Hey!"
Ye Yanping immediately understood what his daughter meant. She wanted him to go and help secretly!
Ye Yanping took advantage of the chaos to blend in with the refugees and eliminated all the strong bandits. After ensuring that the refugees would not be at a disadvantage, he quietly withdrew from the battlefield.
"Go back to the village! We can't stay here for long!"
The people of Heihe Village quickly left this troubled place.
Not long after, the bandits were beaten back and disappeared from everyone's sight, cursing.
"Did we really defeat the bandits?"
The refugees were a little confused. Aren't the bandits from Black Eagle Village the most powerful? Why were they driven away so easily?
"Your Excellency, County Magistrate, we have repelled the bandits and are waiting for you to distribute porridge tomorrow!"
"Okay, okay! Of course, of course!" the county magistrate answered from inside.
At dawn the next day, countless refugees were already waiting in front of the county government office.
The county magistrate heard that Heihe Village had set up four large pots before, so in order to surpass Heihe Village, he set up six and lined them up in a long row. The scene was quite spectacular.
The fire started and the water in the pot began to boil.
"Dump the rice!" The county magistrate gave the order with great momentum.
For a long time, no one answered.
The county magistrate's face turned serious. "Where did all the people go?"
The county magistrate hurried over and whispered a few words to the county magistrate.
The county magistrate's face changed drastically. "What did you say? The grain in the granary disappeared? How is that possible?!"
The county magistrate had a bitter look on his face. "It's indeed missing. I just checked!"
The county magistrate was struck by lightning. "Impossible! I don't believe it! I want to see it for myself!"
The refugees recovered from their shock and blocked the county magistrate's way, cursing loudly.
"Stop pretending, you bastard official! You didn't even plan to distribute porridge! You want to hide away like a coward again!"
"How could the grain in the granary disappear for no reason? Do you think we are fools? The corrupt officials must have embezzled it!"
"Yesterday he tricked us into fighting bandits for him! We risked our lives for him, but couldn't even get a mouthful of porridge! This bastard official's heart is blacker than the bottom of a pot, and more cruel than a jackal!"
The county magistrate was confused and annoyed. "Get out of here! Anyone who dares to obstruct my work will be killed!"
The words "kill without mercy" completely ignited the anger in the hearts of the refugees.
"Everyone, charge! Beat this shameless official to death!"
"He clearly promised to distribute porridge today. Tear his ungrateful mouth apart!"
In an instant, the refugees rushed in like a flood.
"Protect me quickly!" The county magistrate's legs went limp with fear.
Countless stones were thrown at him, and the county magistrate pretended to shout, "County magistrate, run!" and ran away immediately.
The yamen runners were unable to stop them and were chased and beaten by the extremely angry refugees. They were unable to defeat them and they scattered with a bang.
Before leaving, they still expressed their loyalty, "Sir County Magistrate, let's go get some reinforcements! You hold on!"
The county magistrate was so frightened that he rolled on the ground several times, threatening: "If you dare to assault an official appointed by the imperial court, you will be beheaded!"
"Behead me if you will! It's the same death no matter what! I'll only satisfy my grievances by beating you, you bastard official, to death!"
The county magistrate was hit on the head and blood was all over his head. Seeing that the situation was not good, he ran desperately into the county government office.
The refugees rushed into the county government office and smashed it to pieces. The county magistrate escaped through the side door.
In the carriage, the county magistrate covered his bandaged head and said to the driver, "Take a shortcut to the granary!"
He would never believe it even if he was beaten to death. Thousands of stones of grain just disappeared like that!
As soon as he arrived at the granary, the county magistrate couldn't wait for the carriage to stop and hurriedly got off. When the granary guard saw him, he said with a sad face, "County magistrate, the grain is gone..."
"Shut up!" The county magistrate didn't want to listen any more and came to the granary without saying a word.
After taking a few deep breaths, he took out the key and opened the door himself.
When the granary door was slowly pushed open, the county magistrate's eyes widened.
The food that was piled high yesterday is now gone, not even a bag!
"How do you do your job? What happened last night?" The county magistrate was so angry that he could not stand still and roared with his hands covering his head.
"My Lord County Magistrate, please understand! Nothing happened last night!"
"Bullshit!" the county magistrate gasped in anger.
"We are completely baffled by this! Suddenly, there was so much more food yesterday. We couldn't afford to neglect our duty and have been guarding this place the entire time, not even blinking an eye! We can guarantee that not even a fly has entered the granary!"
"But when the county magistrate came to collect the grain early this morning, he opened the door and found that everything was emptied out!"
"The doors and windows were untouched, and the locks were intact! Six thousand dan of grain just disappeared without a sound! County Magistrate, this is beyond human control! I'm afraid it's the work of a demon!"
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