Who are you...?
Seeing the strange clothing and appearance of Sun Jian and his entourage outside the door, which were different from the locals, the old man couldn't help but ask suspiciously.
"Old man, we are merchants from the Han Dynasty. We just want to stay the night and have no other intentions!"
The guide explained, then took a silver coin from his pocket and handed it to the old man.
"Oh, big man, I think my son has mentioned you before. Come, come, please come in!"
Upon seeing the silver coins in the guide's hand, the old man's suspicion vanished instantly, and he stepped aside to clear the doorway.
Upon entering the courtyard, Sun Jian frowned upon seeing the house with several large cracks in the walls and the empty courtyard.
"My home is dilapidated, I'm sorry to have troubled my distinguished guests!" the old man said apologetically.
"It's alright!" Sun Jian waved his hand, then asked, "Old man, just now you said that your son knows about our Han Dynasty?"
The old man nodded: "Yes, it was around this time last year that my son enlisted in the army to fight the Parthians, supposedly to open up some kind of road to the Han..."
“It’s been a year, and your son still hasn’t come back?” Sun Jian asked again.
The old man shook his head: "No, they may have already died in battle!"
Sun Jian frowned: "Then... there's no compensation or benefits?"
"Sigh... There will definitely be compensation, but it all ends up in the hands of the lords. How could it possibly reach me?"
The old man sighed, a hint of loneliness appearing on his face, but more so a sense of composure, as if he had long been accustomed to it.
Sun Jian and Gao Shun exchanged a glance. It seemed that the lives of the people here were much harder than they had imagined.
"Distinguished guests, I only have two dilapidated rooms in my house. If you don't mind, please make do and stay in my room."
"no problem!"
Sun Jian nodded and followed the old man into the house.
Looking around, Sun Jian finally understood what it meant to be destitute.
Apart from a broken bed made of a few planks and a tattered quilt whose color was indistinguishable, there were no other items in the room, not even tables or chairs.
The old man hesitated and said, "Distinguished guests, we have run out of food. If you wish to eat, you will have to prepare it yourselves!"
"Okay, thank you for your trouble, sir!"
Sun Jian responded politely, saying that even if there was food in such a family, he wouldn't dare to eat it.
Afterwards, Sun Jian had people bring him food and cooking utensils, and he began to live and cook in the courtyard.
Soon, the aroma of rice filled the air, and the old man couldn't help but swallow hard, his eyes shining as he stared at the steaming pot of rice.
Seeing the old man's appearance, Sun Jian smiled and invited him, "Old man, come and eat with us!"
"Me...can I do it too?" The old man looked at Sun Jian in disbelief.
"Of course, we can't finish it all anyway!"
Sun Jian replied with a smile, then picked up a porcelain bowl, filled it to the brim with rice, and placed it in front of the old man.
"Thank you so much, distinguished guest! Thank you all!"
Upon seeing the food handed to him, the old man hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
After taking the bowl of rice, the old man didn't care that it was hot and began to wolf it down. Soon, he finished the whole bowl of rice, and it seemed that he had been starving for a long time.
At this moment, Gao Shun also came over with another bowl of rice: "Old man, is life this hard for everyone else in your village?"
"Sigh, it's all the same. Those with able-bodied men at home might be able to eat some wild grass roots and tree bark, but for an old bone like me with no one to care for me, I can only wait to starve to death!"
The old man sighed, thanked Gao Shun, took the food from his hands, and began to wolf it down again.
Gao Shun frowned: "What about the local government? Don't they care about you either?"
The old man shook his head: "No, we've never cared about it!"
Gao Shun's expression shifted: "So, the government and the lord have been in cahoots all along?"
"No, the government wants to intervene, but they just can't!"
The land within a radius of hundreds of miles belongs to Lord Morasi, and all the people and livestock produced on the land belong to him.
The government could only collect taxes and soldiers with the support of the lords.
They're already being lenient by not joining the lord in oppressing us; how could they possibly speak up for us?
When I was young, there was a governor who wanted to discipline those lords, but unfortunately, he was overthrown by their rebellion within a few days, and from then on, no one dared to touch them!
The old man spoke with a sigh about the current situation.
Sun Jian and Gao Shun exchanged glances, both showing a relaxed expression.
Through the old man's narration, they also understood the situation here. Those lords had become an ineradicable cancer, the actual controllers of this place. Although the government was dissatisfied, it was powerless to do anything about it.
This is precisely their opportunity; the more the government and the lords are not of one mind, the greater their chances of success.
Sun Jian looked at the old man and said, "Old man, in the past, the lives of the common people of our Han Dynasty were similar to yours. We suffered from the exploitation and oppression of landlords and powerful families."
But now everyone has land to cultivate, food to eat, and clothes to wear, and they can even eat meat from time to time!
Do you know why this is?
"Why...?"
The old man asked with anticipation, the scene Sun Jian described was so beautiful and so desirable.
Sun Jian said in a deep voice: "Because they dared to respond to the call of the Emperor of Han back then, took the initiative to stand up, sent those landlords and powerful families who oppressed them to hell, and took back what originally belonged to them."
They earned their living with their own hands and lives!
People like you already have nothing left; in the future, you will either starve to death or be killed.
"Either way, it's certain death. Why not step forward and take a gamble?"
"Step forward and give it a shot?"
Upon hearing Sun Jian's words, a glint of light flashed in the old man's eyes: "Yes, we're going to die anyway, so why not take a gamble?"
However, the light in the old man's eyes quickly faded, and he said with a bitter expression, "Without a wise ruler like the Emperor of Han to lead us, how can we possibly defeat those lords?"
"Who said there isn't?"
Sun Jian stood up straight, his face full of pride, and said, "Old man, to tell you the truth, I have come here on the orders of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to rescue you suffering people!"
The old man was slightly taken aback: "Even the Emperor of Han knows about us?"
"Of course, the emperor is benevolent and cannot bear to see the people suffer, no matter where they are or whether they are in the Han Dynasty!"
"Old man, if you are willing to believe me, please gather all the villagers. I have something to say to them!"
Upon hearing this, the old man looked down at the empty rice bowl in his hand and finally nodded.
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