057
"Sir, what are you doing?!"
"Please don't steal it... I beg you..."
"This little bit of food is the lifeblood of our whole family..."
An old man covered in patches, with red eyes and a stooped back, shakily pulled at several soldiers who were not wearing armor.
The three soldiers all looked impatient. One of them was carrying a cloth bag, and the leader was even more arrogant, kicking the old man straight in the chest.
The old man staggered to the ground, huddled in the snow, unable to get up.
"Sir, sir..."
"Pah—useless old codger!"
The soldier was about to kick him a few more times when he was pulled back by two men behind him, and then he prepared to leave arrogantly.
Song Ling, who had just arrived after hearing the commotion, turned cold.
Without her saying anything, Yu Baizhou, unable to contain his anger, strode forward.
He delivered a vicious kick directly to the leader.
Yu Baizhou had fought on the battlefield for many years and was already quite skilled in martial arts. In addition, he did not hold back at all, and the man was sent flying more than ten feet away.
Fortunately, the heavy snow that had fallen for two days and two nights had accumulated to a depth of nearly knee-deep, which provided some relief.
But the man suddenly felt a burning sensation in his throat.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Being kicked like that without armor means he must have been injured inside.
Even at this point, the man remained extremely arrogant: "Who dares to kick me!"
"I'm going to kick you!"
Yu Baizhou stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, pulled him up, and after letting him see his face clearly, threw him to the ground.
"Checkmate! Checkmate!"
The other two were already terrified the moment Yu Baizhou appeared, and now they were trembling and didn't know what to say.
The man on the ground realized what was happening and, ignoring the excruciating pain in his chest and abdomen, tried to kneel down and beg for mercy.
But Yu Baizhou didn't even spare him a glance, and shouted angrily, "Men, tie him up!"
"Those who loot wantonly and injure civilians will be dealt with according to military regulations!"
The Southwest Army was known for its strict discipline; those who stole others' property for personal gain were executed.
Although these people did not commit theft, they were still robbing and injuring people, making their actions extremely egregious.
If we handle things lightly, wouldn't the Southwest Army's military regulations become a mere formality for all the soldiers?
"General, I didn't mean it that way. I bought the grain from that old man myself!"
The old man seemed to finally see a glimmer of hope, and shakily crawled to Yu Baizhou, begging for mercy: "Please, General, do me justice! What this soldier said isn't true at all..."
"It was clearly them. They suddenly appeared out of the way and took away the old man's grain... I don't know how I offended this soldier..."
At this moment, Song Ling, who had been silent all along, spoke up and asked, "General, may I say something first?"
"Sir, you can just speak directly." Yu Baizhou tensed up slightly when she moved a few steps closer to him.
"It would be better to take these people away for questioning first, and then deal with them according to military regulations after the investigation is completed."
Song Ling glanced thoughtfully at the group of people: "After all, it's fortunate that the general encountered them today. But in places where the general doesn't encounter such people, there might not be any."
"Calamities often accumulate from the smallest negligence."
Perhaps, unbeknownst to them, such behavior has already become commonplace, otherwise these individuals wouldn't be so arrogant.
With just one look from her, Yu Baizhou understood.
So he immediately ordered his men to gag the men and drag them away for questioning.
They've only won a few battles, yet the lower-ranking soldiers have already become so arrogant.
If we were to actually capture Luoyang in the future, with such a group of hooligans and ruffians around, how would the common people survive?
Seeing the soldiers being led away, the old man hurriedly crawled towards the bag of grain.
One of them was so frightened that his hand trembled and he lost his grip on the grain sack, which then fell to the ground.
The grain sacks were tossed aside and spilled all over the snow.
The old man ignored his cough and picked up the old grains one by one, putting them back into the bag. He became more and more anxious as he picked them up.
"Uncle, we'll help you."
Song Ling led Yu Baizhou forward and squatted down in the thick snow to help pick up grains of food.
"No, no, young lady... General... no, no..."
Before he could kneel down again, Yu Baizhou stopped him, saying, "Uncle, don't refuse. The snow is getting heavier. Let's finish picking up the snow and go home."
"Home……"
It would have been better if the topic hadn't been brought up, because once it was, the old man sighed repeatedly, "Where is there a home anymore..."
Song Ling pointed out the crux of the matter: "But the house also collapsed under the weight of the snow?"
This was actually the purpose of her coming here with the general from the military camp.
The old man was surprised that she had guessed it, and sighed, "Yes, it collapsed overnight. It's my fault. When I built the house, I never thought of adding more timbers to support it... I regret it so much."
Yu Baizhou: "Is anyone in your family injured?"
The old man shook his head slightly: "No, thankfully my wife is a light sleeper and pulled me out. But now the house is buried in the snow. I dug this bag of grain out this morning; if we lose it, we really won't survive."
As he spoke, his back seemed to hunch even more.
After coughing a few times, he bid farewell to the two men, clutching the bag of grain to his chest as if it were something he couldn't bear to see.
"Shi Jiu," Song Ling called to the person who appeared behind her, handing him a bag of silver: "Follow him and see what's going on, and find him a doctor while you're at it."
"Shouldn't we go check again?" Yu Baizhou asked with concern. "The situation is probably... more complicated than we thought."
Half an hour ago, the snowflakes had clearly become much smaller.
But now it has suddenly grown bigger again.
Actually, it could hardly be called snowflakes anymore; it was clearly large chunks of snow and snow debris mixed with the cold wind, slamming onto the ground...
Having lived in southern Xinjiang for many years and reached this age, this was the first time Yu Baizhou had ever seen such heavy snow.
Southern Xinjiang has not seen a snowfall for many years, and houses and other structures are overwhelmed by the weight... In just a few days, countless houses and other structures have collapsed in various counties and prefectures of Cangwu Prefecture.
Without shelter, without fire, without food, and especially if one is old and frail like the old man from before…
This winter, all we can do is wait to die.
After all, the snow was getting heavier and heavier, showing no signs of letting up.
“Even if you go, the general alone won’t be able to handle it.” Song Ling walked back, her tone laced with sarcasm: “Is Governor Yu dead? Why is there still no movement?”
"In this huge state, when disaster strikes, there's no word on rebuilding houses, not even a soup kitchen is set up."
Although he was indeed incompetent as governor in his daily life, Yu Baizhou had to defend him to some extent: "He sent me an urgent letter early this morning, but in this kind of snowy weather, it is really impossible to rebuild the house."
"As for distributing porridge... firstly, there simply aren't enough people, and secondly, the relief grain from the prefecture has already been urgently given to the Southwest Army..."
"Then let's go from the military camp!"
Song Ling said coldly, "Since it has been taken from the people, it should be used for the people."
What does the general think?
There are some things Yu Baizhou has to consider... Will Yangzhou be captured at this moment, and will his men be convinced...?
He knew there was no perfect solution, but since Song Ling said it must be possible, he believed her.
"I would like to ask you for your advice, sir." Yu Baizhou cupped his hands and said, "Please tell me what you need me to do."
"As long as we can save the people as quickly as possible."
The men in the military camp were in better physical condition. Since there was no war, they were going hungry for a meal or two... so they made do.
Song Ling pondered for a moment: "There is a way, but we have to go back to the military camp."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
