Chapter 14: Escape from the Troubled Times 12
"I've been waiting for you guys. Let's go quickly. The village has already been left."
Wu Chenggong was panting as he helped everyone push the cart.
"What happened?" Wu Geli asked as he walked.
"I don't know the details. Master Wu heard the sound of a large number of horses coming this way and left in a hurry because he was worried that something might happen."
"Mr. Wu is a veteran. If he said that, it must be right." Everyone nodded.
Just as they walked a thousand meters, they saw a group of soldiers rushing out of the city gate, talking loudly about something.
Lin Xia looked back and immediately realized that they were recruiting soldiers. They first used the name of providing porridge to attract refugees and then forced them to join the army.
Therefore, there is a shortage of ironware in the blacksmith shop, mostly because of the limited raw materials and the need for weapons from the upper class.
Wu Geli was not stupid either. He randomly asked everyone to take some food to reduce the weight of the car, and then ran out frantically.
The refugees on the other side also knew that they had been deceived, and they fled in all directions. However, people could not run faster than horses, so about a hundred cavalrymen controlled the refugees, who were dozens of times their number. Only a few people who saw the danger at the beginning escaped.
Lin Xia was helpless. Her driving skills were not very proficient and she almost flipped over while driving so fast.
Have I become inextricably linked with running away? I am always running! Can't she just run away? Women are not conscripted into the army, so what does it have to do with her?
I thought so, but my body was honest and kept going.
I get along very well with Wujiacun. Apart from my courage and ruthlessness, what else do I have to make them fall down with just one push?
Fortunately, there were enough refugees under the city wall to worry about the officers and soldiers, so they did not chase after those who ran away.
*
"Second brother, tell us, how long have we been walking towards the village? Why can't we see any shadow of the village? Is the route you took correct?" Wu Geili leaned on the cart, panting.
After running for half an hour, everyone felt weak and sat down to rest.
"They left about half an hour after you entered the city, and asked me to wait for you at the South Gate." Wu Chenggong scratched his head.
He added considerately, "Dad told me it was this direction, it can't be wrong."
"Okay, let's get on with our journey now that we've rested enough. Who knows if those soldiers will come chasing us on horseback?"
After saying that, he got up and set off.
Lin Xia didn't want to say anything. She had really walked enough. She had been in this world for less than a month and had walked the past eighteen years. Is this the price of health?
An hour later.
The dazed crowd almost cried when they finally saw the main group. They were afraid that they would get lost or be caught and never see them again.
"Dad!" Wu Chenggong rushed forward with a shrill howl.
"My son almost never got to see you again! Wuu ...
A row of black lines flashed across Lin Xia’s head.
"What's going on?" the villagers immediately asked with concern.
"They are recruiting..."
Everyone was shocked!
They fled from the north to the south not because of the drought. It can be said that it was not just the drought. It was more because there was a war in the north and a large number of soldiers were being recruited. In previous years, only one soldier was recruited from each family, but this year only one soldier could be retained from each family. Once they went to the battlefield, they would be in danger of death. Only a few soldiers came back. They did not want to die, so the whole village fled.
As a result, conscription has now begun in the inland areas of the Central Plains. This is a sign of chaos in the world!
"We'll rest for an incense stick, and then take the path to the west foot of the mountain. If soldiers come, the men will go into the mountains immediately. The area here is too peaceful, and once soldiers pass by, they will see us and we will be easily caught." The village chief made the decision without hesitation.
Normally this is a time for rest and the temperature is high, but due to today's special experience, everyone seems not to feel the heat or tiredness. The presence of a man in the family can greatly increase the chances of survival of other women and children, so they must advance and retreat together.
The plain here was neither big nor small, and the group walked until dark before they got close to the mountains.
The refugees he escaped from, who were traveling light or extremely poor, and even though they were starving, still caught up with the villagers of Wujia Village who had gone ahead. Their goal was the same as that of the villagers in Wujia Village - to go to the foot of the mountain.
"We're almost there. Let's hold on for a while. We'll stop and rest after walking for another stick of incense."
"Okay." The village chief's answer was from a sparse and weak voice.
For a long time afterwards, Wujia Village moved along the foot of the mountain. Because there were so many people, there were also many refugees following them. As the number of refugees increased, troubles gradually arose.
Most of these refugees were elderly people, women and children. The city did not give them food, and after their husbands and sons were captured, they were driven away. They had nothing to eat, and the wild vegetables in the mountains were scarce and not enough to feed these people.
Now there is a piece of fat meat right in front of them, how can they not fight for it?
First, someone came forward to offer himself as a partner, but the village chief restrained everyone and did not agree.
Then, in order to survive and for the sake of their children, they began to fight guerrilla warfare, harassing the team from time to time, robbing and running away.
Gradually, the hands of the farmers in Wujia Village were stained with blood. The whole team was no longer the rabbits that screamed in panic when facing the wolves. Their claws became sharper and their fangs gradually became stronger.
Lin Xia was still with the last group. Many people were staring at her. She had killed old people, women, and even a three-year-old child.
I don’t know how I feel. A young man who grew up under the red flag has turned into a murderous demon.
Should we hate these unarmed people who are in desperate situation?
Or do they hate the ruthless God who brought them this natural disaster?
Or do you hate the cruelty of those in power who brought about this cruel and cannibalistic world?
It's sad that they live in this era...
The refugees, who had been defeated repeatedly in battles, no longer wasted their energy on the villagers of Wu Village. There were too many people in Wu Village and they were too united. Several riots had not yielded any good results. The people of Wu Village seemed to be using them for training and no longer hesitated to attack them, acting more and more like a military force.
They began to move away, turning their attention to the others.
"Grandma, I'm so hungry." said Tiedan, the grandson of Aunt Ge.
"I smell delicious meat."
"I want to eat, too."
"Yes, I smelled it too," said another child.
"I want to eat meat too. I haven't eaten meat for a long time." The child made a big gesture.
Tiedan tugged at Lin Xia's clothes and asked quietly, "Aunt Lin, don't those people have nothing to eat?"
Lin Xia and several adults around them looked at each other in silence. The children might not know what this meant, but the adults knew that once someone started eating people, others would soon follow suit.
"There was a great famine, and people were cannibalizing each other."
These cold words, which are only written in history books, are being displayed in front of everyone in the cruelest way.
"Be good, Tiedan. You won't want to eat when you fall asleep." Lin Xia told Tiedan to go to bed quickly.
Ever since she helped the grandparents and grandchildren during the wolf attack last time, they had become familiar with her, and the two sides occasionally helped each other drive away the marauding refugees.
Later, from Aunt Ge's intermittent chatter, we learned that after they split up, the three weak teams were quickly targeted, and Tiedan's mother was killed by the refugees because she was covering for them.
Lin Xia sighed inwardly and prepared to go to sleep, when she was suddenly woken up by someone. It was Village Chief Wu who asked everyone to pack up and get away from the crowd overnight.
Lin Xia and the others smelled meat, and Village Chief Wu also smelled it.
Even though there are many people in the village, it is impossible to guard against thieves for a thousand days without being a thief. Once those people have gained strength, won't they want to launch a sneak attack?
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