201, prepare early
201, prepare early
The next morning, Lu Youtian brought his men back to the village and went to the home of their old patriarch. He talked to the old patriarch about this year's disaster and reminded them that the old patriarch should make plans in advance for the people in the tribe.
Patriarch Lu has lived for most of his life and has experienced all kinds of natural and man-made disasters. He knows that sometimes man-made disasters are more terrifying than natural disasters.
Therefore, after listening to Lu Youtian's words, he knew that the concerns of Lu Youtian and his son were not unreasonable.
After thinking deeply for a moment, Patriarch Lu said, "I can't make the decision on this matter alone."
"I'll have someone call the village chief, the head of the village, and the other clan leaders to come and discuss this."
After saying that, the old patriarch asked his old wife to go out to the yard and call his nephew next door to call people over.
After waiting for a while, the village chief and the head of the village, as well as the clan leaders and elders of other ethnic groups came to the home of Clan Leader Lu one after another.
After everyone was gathered, Patriarch Lu mentioned the natural disasters of the past two years, the current war at the border, and the refugees who had recently appeared in their area.
"Recently, some refugees have come to our village to beg for food. I know the villagers will give them something to eat out of pity for them."
"I can't say this is a bad thing and stop everyone from doing it. But you all should know that this is just the beginning. There will definitely be a steady stream of disaster victims coming to Kyoto Prefecture. Those people can't enter the city, so they will definitely come to our surrounding villages to beg for food."
When Patriarch Lu said this, he wasn't criticizing anyone. Doing these things is good in itself, but doing good requires protecting yourself and your family. He was reminding everyone, "We can help one or two people, but not a thousand or a hundred."
"In our village, life has only improved in the past two years. But it's not good enough to support hundreds of thousands of people. We've provided them with food once or twice, and we're worried that if we don't provide it a third time, some people will harbor resentment and hatred. We're afraid that when these refugees get desperately hungry, they'll do something harmful."
Upon hearing this, everyone present had a solemn expression on their faces, because they all knew that what Patriarch Lu said was not without reason.
"Yes, Uncle Lu, what you said makes sense. We can't let these refugees come into our village anymore." The village chief also realized that allowing refugees to come into the village to beg for food would be an unstable factor for their villagers.
"In our village, only the elderly and children are at home during the day. We are afraid that kidnappers will sneak in among these refugees and target the women and children in our village."
The village chief looked at the others present and asked, "What do you think about this?"
"How about we gather all the villagers and build a wall around our village while there aren't that many refugees arriving yet?" suggested the old patriarch Wang.
This suggestion was recognized by many people present.
The village chief naturally had no objection to building the wall, but he was concerned about the cost. "Building a wall is bound to cost money, and I'm worried that some people in the village won't be willing to pay."
"Those who have money can contribute money, and those who have strength can contribute strength. This wall must be built." said the old patriarch Lu.
"Yes, that's right." Everyone else present agreed with what Patriarch Lu said.
Patriarch Lu raised his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet.
When everyone present saw the gesture of Patriarch Lu, they all stopped.
The village chief asked, "Uncle Lu, do you have anything else to say?"
"Just now, Arita gave me a suggestion, and I thought I'd share it with you here as well."
Then, Elder Lu told everyone what Lu Youtian had just said to him, about sending people to the mountains to survey the land and relocating some villagers there. "No one can predict what will happen in the current situation. We must preserve the legacy of the clan."
"This... shouldn't be that serious, right?" Patriarch Wang thought Old Man Lu was worrying too much. "We're close to Kyoto City, and the capital area has always been stable. There are still 100,000 imperial guards outside Kyoto City, and they can definitely protect Kyoto City."
"Yes, the border is so far away from us, and the war can't reach us." An elder of the Wang family said nearby.
For a time, people from all tribes were discussing this matter. Some agreed with the proposal of Patriarch Lu, but some felt it was unnecessary. They also said that there were wild beasts in the mountains and it was very dangerous. The current situation was far from the point where they had to hide in the mountains.
After listening for a while, Patriarch Lu raised his hand to stop everyone from arguing any further, and proposed a compromise: "How about this: if a family wants to move into the mountains, we can arrange for them to go in and cultivate the land first. If they feel it's not necessary, they can stay in the village and live their lives as usual."
"When you go back, you can gather the people in your clan to discuss this matter. Those who want to go can arrange for someone to go together, and those who don't want to go can just not go." Old clan leader Lu really didn't want to listen to these people arguing here anymore.
When the patriarchs and elders of other tribes heard this, they exchanged glances and many of them nodded in agreement.
Patriarch Lu signaled the village chief, the head of the village, and his own people to stay, and asked people from other tribes to go back first.
…
That day, Lu Youtian stayed in the old patriarch's house for a long time before he followed the village chief and the head of the village out of the old patriarch's house.
As soon as they came out of the door, Lu Youtian saw his mother standing outside.
"San'er." Old Lady Lu came forward with trembling steps, looking at her third son with tears in her eyes. She asked, "San'er, you've returned to the village, but why don't you come back to see your father and mother?"
Seeing this, the village chief, the head of the village, and the elders of the Lu family knew that this was someone else's family affair and it was not appropriate for them to interfere. They nodded to Lu Youtian and left first.
After everyone left, Lu Youtian asked his mother, "Mother, why did you come to see me?"
"You are my son. Can't I come to you if I have nothing to do? Do you still see me as your mother?" Old Mrs. Lu questioned her son harshly.
Lu Youtian really didn't want to argue with his mother about this issue, so he turned his eyes away, no longer looking at the old woman who came to pretend to be nice to him, and said, "If you don't have anything else, I'll leave first."
"San'er, you, you are not allowed to leave!" Old Mrs. Lu rushed over and grabbed her son's hand.
Old Mrs. Dou, who had been listening in the yard for a while, saw that Old Mrs. Lu had entangled Lu Youtian and would not let him leave. She then walked towards the door, let out a cry, and asked Old Mrs. Wang in a loud voice: "When you and your family locked Youtian in the house to die, did you ever consider that this was your own son?"
"Why, now that I think of it, you still have such a son?"
When Mrs. Lu heard this, her body stiffened.
Lu Youtian took the opportunity to break free from his mother's hand and took two steps to the side.
This was someone else's family affair, and as outsiders, they shouldn't have been involved. However, this old lady Lu was so disgusting that old Mrs. Dou had to stand up and speak a fair word.
Seeing that even her own son Lu Youtian doesn’t like Old Lady Lu, it shows how unpopular this old lady is.
"Youtian, you are in a hurry to go back to the city, so go back first. Your mother is here with your eldest brother and sister-in-law to take care of her." Old Mrs. Dou said this deliberately to remind Old Lady Lu and others that they had already separated the third son's family.
Lu Youtian paused, took out a purse from his bosom, took out a few taels of silver and gave it to the servant following him, asking the servant to take it to his mother.
"Take this few taels of silver to buy food. I have other things to do, so I'll leave first." Then, Lu Youtian got on the carriage and left without caring about his mother's reaction.
Old Mrs. Lu, who was standing at the back, held the silver in her hand and tears began to flow from her eyes.
Looking at the carriage going away, Old Mrs. Lu felt regretful. If she had known that her son and grandson were so capable, she should not have put all her attention on her eldest son and grandson.
It’s a pity that there was no such thing as knowing it earlier.
"If I had known this would happen, why would I have done such a ruthless thing?" Old Mrs. Dou glanced at Old Lady Lu, turned around and went back to the yard, closing the door.
Old Mrs. Lu, standing outside the door, looked at the closed door, her heart full of resentment and her eyes filled with unconcealable malice.
***
After leaving Shihua Village, Lu Youtian did not return to the city, but came to their farm outside the city to arrange some of the things that his eldest son mentioned.
That day, Lu Mingfei did not wait for his father to return to the city, so he took the family donkey cart to the Imperial College.
Perhaps because there was a war in the north, the atmosphere in the Imperial Academy was not as relaxed as before. Every day, people around were discussing the war in the north and the political affairs of the court.
As Lu Mingfei had expected, half a month later, the number of refugees outside Kyoto Prefecture increased, and a war broke out with the Hu people in the north.
However, half a month passed, and the court was still unable to raise military pay and food.
There were also many children of officials in the Imperial Academy, so they had more sources of information about what was going on in the court. Basically, whatever the officials were arguing about and saying in the court that morning, someone in the Imperial Academy would be discussing it that afternoon.
However, the students in the Imperial Academy were not stupid. They all dared to talk openly about the war in the north, but no one dared to discuss loudly in public the fact that the court could not pay the military salaries.
Regarding the recent events in Kyoto Prefecture, Lu Mingfei never participated in discussions among his classmates, and he had already warned Zhang Lingxuan, Ye Zhuoran, and their senior brother not to discuss political affairs with others in public.
Trouble comes from the mouth. Who knows when a word you say will become a reason for others to criticize you? In Kyoto Prefecture, saying the wrong thing can mean being expelled from the Imperial College at best, or even imprisonment at worst. If something goes wrong, it could also bring harm to your family.
Lu Mingfei trusts Zhang Lingxuan and their senior brother's character and words.
Ye Zhuoran, the only one with a more eccentric personality, has Zhang Lingxuan watching him, so he probably won't say anything he shouldn't say in public.
The four of them never discussed political affairs with others in public, but when they returned to the courtyard where they lived, the four of them would still chat about these things behind closed doors.
But more of them still focused their thoughts and energy on preparing for the competition at the end of the month and the provincial examination three months later.
At the end of the month, after finishing the monthly exam, the four of them packed up and prepared to go home.
As they were about to leave that day, Ye Zhuoran suddenly asked a worried question: "Do you think this year's provincial examination will be held as scheduled?"
"It should be possible, right?" Fu Boming looked at the two silent people with some uncertainty.
Meeting everyone's gazes, Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and said, "The Ministry of Rites hasn't issued any notice, so I think everything should go on as scheduled." However, he wasn't sure about this matter.
"Whether the provincial examination will go ahead or not, we can't fall behind in our studies." Lu Mingfei was starting to waver about taking the exam, but he hadn't told anyone about it yet.
"Ming Fei makes sense." Fu Boming nodded in response.
The four of them didn't talk much on this topic, and they left the Imperial College together, got on the car that came to pick them up and went home.
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