"Then just ask your master directly." Chu San finished speaking, and seeing his shocked expression, he silently added: "Then I can ask your master. Is your master sitting in the carriage?"
Driver: “…”
Master, it’s not that I don’t want to save you, it’s just that we can’t beat him at first glance.
The master in the carriage had obviously heard it, and he hastily lifted the curtain and said to Chu San impatiently, "Several princes in the court have rebelled, and all the fiefdoms are forcing soldiers to be recruited. I don't know how the news got out to our county, but the county magistrate ran away before us."
"Stop asking nonsense questions and get out of the way."
"Wait, if you run away now, where can you go? Will other princes' fiefdoms accept us?" Chu San is young in mind, so he talks a lot. Whenever he can't figure something out, he asks, and he looks more innocent.
The old man rolled his eyes when he heard this. "The world is changing. How can anyone from the government be responsible for whether or not we are refugees? I only know that the northern prince has soldiers at his disposal, so there's no need for forced conscription. We can just go there and pay taxes. Who wouldn't be happy about this?"
"Staying here means death. If we go to war, we'll just be cannon fodder."
"Young man, you are such a kind person. Please don't stop me. I have old people and children at home. If I delay any longer, what will happen if something happens?"
Chu San stepped aside somewhat awkwardly. The old man saw this and quickly lowered the curtain and urged the driver to hurry up.
When He Lincheng heard these words, his face turned pale. He reacted and pulled Chu San's clothes, urging him to go back quickly and notify his family.
Chu San had no choice but to ride back with He Linchengcheng.
"Dad, this is terrible! The court is in chaos and they need to recruit soldiers for war."
As soon as He Lincheng arrived at the place, he got off the horse with soft feet, howled, and ran straight towards the village chief.
People living nearby in the village also heard this, were shocked, and hurriedly asked questions.
He Lincheng was surrounded by villagers and couldn't move before he even reached his own land.
"Lin Cheng, what's going on? What war? Tell me more."
"That's right, what you said is too scary."
"Isn't this a famine? Why are we still fighting? People will starve to death."
He Lincheng couldn't leave, and was extremely anxious, so he stayed and explained, "We learned the news when we saw people from the county town moving their entire families on the official road ahead."
"They say the imperial court wants to force conscription."
“Even the county magistrate ran away.”
"Oh my God."
"How could this be? Forced conscription? If we stay here, won't we also be pulled over to fill the number?"
"That's right. The imperial court wants to recruit soldiers. How can we resist?"
"Then run! Didn't you hear Lin Cheng say that everyone in the county town ran away? If the county magistrate ran away, it wouldn't be a big deal if we run away."
"That's right, let's go! We're already hungry and have no hope for the future. Now we're being drafted. It's like being sent to be cannon fodder. We won't even have time to blink before we die."
The villagers were talking about it.
The village chief was also supported by his eldest son and walked over. When he heard what the third son said, his face turned pale.
These old people knew the suffering of the war years before. Nine out of ten houses were empty and all the men died. There was also a famine, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a tragedy in the world.
Chu San took advantage of the time when He Lincheng was entangled and quickly broke free, leading the horse back to the Chu family.
Chu's mother also heard something from a distance. When she saw her son coming back, she hurriedly asked how he got back. The eldest brother Chu, the second brother Chu and others also gathered around.
Chu San hurriedly told the news he had heard.
It’s no different from what He Lincheng said.
When Chu's mother heard this, she turned pale with fright.
Several children even hugged their parents' legs and shouted that they didn't want to die and didn't want to give themselves up.
Big Brother Chu said, "Dad, Mom, we can't waste any more time thinking about anything. Let's go. Even though the county magistrate has escaped, there's no doubt that the higher-ups will get wind of him and chase us sooner or later. If there are troops stationed there, we won't be able to leave the prefecture and will have no choice but to hide in the mountains. But there are only hungry beasts in the mountains now, and going up there would be suicide. Who knows, in order to survive, everyone might have to trade their lives with the government for food to save the children at home."
"You can't be confused anymore."
The second brother Chu was also anxious. He didn't even bother to point out that his eldest brother's words were not pleasant. He nodded quickly and said, "Dad, Mom, yes, we still have some food left, enough to live for two or three months. Even if there is no food next, we can always buy it by going north. I haven't heard of any disasters over there. At least we still have money on us, so we are not completely broke."
"If we were to be drafted, I'm afraid all our belongings would be embezzled. We can't resist, as those garrison troops are no match for the bandits ahead."
Zhou Jiaojiao didn't expect it to be this news.
She was also startled.
Compared to the insignificant group of bandits in front.
Facing the imperial garrison, she had no hope of escaping with her family from the hands of so many people.
By then, even if she had medical skills and money, she might not be able to save the four strong men of the Chu family.
Moreover, she had read books and knew that the civil strife in the court would last at least seven or eight years before it would be resolved. During this period, except for Youzhou where the situation was better and the officials above did not exploit the people, they could still barely make ends meet. In other places, only the officials and wealthy families in the capital could live better.
But those who died the most miserably later were those in the capital. After all, it was the new emperor who came to the throne and wanted to settle accounts with others. Those people were all people of other princes.
She asked why there was no news about the court's disaster relief, and it turned out that they were waiting here.
Mother Chu and Father Chu had no intention of staying. The two elders trembled and quickly made a decision: "Let's go. We must hurry tonight and can't delay any longer. It's cold now. I heard that it will snow in the north in winter. If we go there now, it will probably be difficult to travel."
"Oh, why is it such a bad season? It would be better if it were summer."
Zhou Jiaojiao also thought about the heavy snow in the north. Yuzhou is in the middle area. It snows sometimes, but it is basically light snow and it rarely stops. However, the heavy snow in the north is different.
But there is no way. If there had not been this sudden change in the court, the villagers would probably have stayed in Yuzhou for the entire winter. Now, no matter what, the only way to survive is to keep moving forward.
If you can survive the snow and cold, there is still hope, but if you are drafted into the army, you will have no choice but to endure death.
Apparently, other people in the village thought the same thing.
There is no need to discuss anything together.
Everyone pulled the carts, and the large group headed out of Yuzhou.
At this time, you can only take the official road.
Not only is the path dangerous, it can also waste time.
However, taking the official road also makes one conspicuous and easily intercepted by people from the government office.
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