Chapter 155 Can't Get Out
Shopkeeper Xu raised his eyes, and when he saw the person coming in from the door, his eyes widened, and he stood up and blurted out, "Lingzhen!"
He strode over again: "Why are you here?"
In a blink of an eye, he saw his eldest son Wenqing and the second son Wenhong following behind his wife.
The person he had been thinking about the moment before appeared before him in the blink of an eye. Shopkeeper Xu was both surprised and happy. Of course he was happy, but he was also surprised because the situation outside was not peaceful at the moment. Although the refugees from the north had not arrived yet, countless good people in the local area had become refugees.
"How did you get here?"
Wei Lingzhen knew what he was worried about, and smiled to comfort him: "We went to Wang's Escort Agency and hired a few escorts to escort us here. We didn't bring anything eye-catching, so the journey was relatively safe."
Shopkeeper Xu let out a sigh of relief.
Wei Lingzhen turned around and bowed slightly to the accountant, thanking him for leading the way.
The accountant and Shopkeeper Xu were old partners and knew Wei Lingzhen. They smiled and waved their hands, saying that they had something to do outside, and then left, leaving the space for Shopkeeper Xu and his family, and closing the door.
This room was originally the place where Manager Xu usually rested when he was in the restaurant. As soon as the accountant left, before Manager Xu could ask his wife and children to sit down, he saw that the smile on his wife's face had become forced and turned into a slight sadness.
He was stunned for a moment, then took the bag from his wife's hand, helped her sit down, and asked, "I see you look strange. Why did you come here suddenly? Did something happen?"
Wei Lingzhen sighed and nodded: "Something did happen. I really couldn't make up my mind, so I brought Wenqing and Wenhong to ask you for a plan."
Shopkeeper Xu's expression changed slightly: "What happened?"
Wei Lingzhen's face turned pale. She opened her mouth and paused before saying, "The eldest wife's family, except for two nephews and nieces who were taken away by the people of Wang's escort company, all the family members are gone."
This sentence shocked Shopkeeper Xu so much that his heart almost stopped beating. He held his breath for a while before he reacted: "...What did you say?"
Mrs. Wang’s family was a prominent family in Yu County, but the whole family was wiped out... What happened?
Wei Lingzhen said: "Several escorts who escaped from Yu County said that the county town was surrounded by a group of two to three thousand bandits and was captured in just five days. The eldest wife's father and brother died when the city was captured, and most of the clan members also died tragically. Almost no one was left alive. The eldest wife's mother, sister-in-law, brothers, sisters, and several nieces refused to be humiliated..."
Wei Lingzhen was originally a maid in the first house, and had served Madam Wang for two years before her indenture was released. Thinking of the misfortune suffered by her former master's family, tears welled up in her eyes when she spoke of this. She pressed her eyes and said, "They were all hanged at home."
Shopkeeper Xu's teeth were chattering, and he couldn't find his own voice for a long time. Finally, he understood why the county government had been so active in the past few days. Hundreds of strong runners were recruited, and there were also garrison generals entering and leaving the county government.
Thinking that Yu County was only six or seven small counties away from Shezhou, he broke out in a cold sweat: "Then why do you dare to run away at this time? Isn't the state capital safer than my small county? The Dong family is also there."
The brothers Xu Wenqing and Xu Wenhong looked at each other and stood silently at the back without saying a word.
Wei Lingzhen sighed, "I'm afraid my mother and I can't stay at the Wang family any longer. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to come here at this time."
Shopkeeper Xu was surprised: "What do you mean?"
Wei Lingzhen smiled bitterly: "The first wife fell ill when she heard the news from her parents' home, and she has not been able to get up since then. Now the third wife is in charge of the family."
The second wife of the Wang family was always taking medicine and was unable to manage the household. Once the first wife fell ill, it was the third wife's turn to take over.
Shopkeeper Xu understood as soon as he heard this.
In times of chaos, it would be very easy for the mistress of the house to do something to outsiders like their family who had taken refuge there, especially those with low status. Given the Third Madam's hatred for the Wei family, let alone protecting them, she might even harm them without knowing what was going on.
"My parents said that if you can provide accommodation here, Wen Qing and Wen Hong and I would better come to your side. As for the old man, we went to ask for shelter ourselves. If we leave now... I'm afraid you will be in trouble."
Shopkeeper Xu shook his head and said, "The boss knows about the things between the third wife and our family. If the boss had changed the third wife, the boss should be able to guess the reason when you come here. I will write a letter to explain it in a tactful way."
He paused and said, "It's just a small county here, I'm afraid it may not be safer."
At this point he sighed again: "If I had asked you and your children to follow my mother and the others into the mountains, I would be more relieved now. Now even if I want to send you to join Chen Lie and the others, I can't find them."
Wei Lingzhen had received a letter from her youngest son, in which her husband also told her a lot about Chen Lie and the others. She also knew that her husband didn't know where they were hiding, so she held her husband's hand and said, "It doesn't matter if we can't go into the mountains. I can be with you, no matter what the situation is, at least I feel at ease. But I'm afraid that the food we brought when we came here will be looted by refugees, so I gave all the food stored in Shezhou to my parents and hid it."
"That's fine. I have some food prepared here. But are your parents-in-law staying over there?"
Wei Lingzhen knew what he was worried about and comforted him, "My mother is serving the old lady, so she should be fine. Besides, my parents have lived in the Wang family for half their lives and are unwilling to leave."
In fact, what's the harm in leaving? Where is safe?
Shopkeeper Xu nodded, stood up and paced a few steps, saying, "I'll take you back to my place first. Uncle Xu is out delivering a letter, and he won't be back until tomorrow at the earliest. If you come earlier, I'll write to Shen Lie and Madam Sang to ask for help. If we're lucky, Shen Lie will come out and read the letter, and hopefully I can send you and your son away."
The bandits were already so close, and Shopkeeper Xu felt cold to the ground after hearing about the miserable plight of Madam Wang's family.
But he also knew that there was little hope, and Chen Lie and the others must be hiding quite deeply. Although they had agreed to come out every once in a while to check on the news he had delivered, they would not come out very often because they were so secluded from the world.
If Yu County was destroyed, how far away was Shezhou? If Shezhou was in chaos, their Qiyang County would probably be in trouble too.
Even if he sent another letter in the next two days, he might not be able to wait until Shen Lie found it.
Wei Lingzhen was quite open-minded and said, "It doesn't matter whether we can leave or not. At least we can leave together as a family, and stay together if we want to."
She would not be willing to send only her and her son away. If she really had the chance to leave, she would not let the man stay here alone. With her life at stake, Wei Lingzhen felt that it was not important whether the shopkeeper did it or not.
Shopkeeper Xu didn't say anything else. Time was urgent and he had to make some arrangements as soon as possible.
He took his wife and children out, said goodbye to the accountant, and took the three of them back to his temporary residence.
Along the way, I asked why there were so many bandits gathered in Yu County. As a result, I heard from the eldest son that many of them were not refugees from the north, but villagers from the south. Some of them rebelled against the court because they had no food to survive, and some chose to submit to the court because they were afraid that the bandits would kill them. In short, many of them were originally people from surrounding counties and states.
He sighed.
The court and the officials below were too cruel. The people were really forced into a state of desperation. It was okay now, but in a month or so, more people would be out of food. He still hoped to contact Chen Lie and stay outside. To be honest, he himself began to panic.
…
The old servant of the Xu family and the Dong brothers returned to the county on the morning of the second day. They had taken off their ragged clothes when they were close to the county town. Now they always prepared two sets of clothes when they went out. They had to wear tattered clothes in the countryside, but if they wanted to go into the city, they dared not dress like refugees.
The inspection at the city gate is now quite strict, and there are about forty or fifty guards visible.
The three men took out their pass, but before they got close to the city gate, they heard a burst of dense footsteps coming from behind. The three were startled and didn't know who was coming, so they hurriedly tried to hide in the city.
But they showed their credentials, and the guard at the city gate had no intention of questioning them. He pushed the man away, put his hand on the weapon he was carrying, stared straight ahead, and the veins on his hand holding the scabbard were bulging.
The old servant of the Xu family and Dong Ge'er's brothers could not enter the city. The guards at the city gate were ready to draw their swords, but they did not dare to force their way in. They could only worry about it themselves.
At this time, the dense footsteps became louder and closer. The three of them looked back and found that they were soldiers. The old servant of the Xu family had been in Shezhou. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be soldiers stationed in Shezhou?
He breathed a sigh of relief. It would be good if it was the garrison troops. If it were bandits, they would be in danger.
There were hundreds of people coming, and the first few riders were riding horses, and they looked like generals.
Several people who were originally waiting to enter the city stepped back and made way. A rider beside the leading young general rode forward to negotiate with the guards at the city gate. Soon, the guards retreated. With a wave of his hand, the guards opened the city gate wide. The young general of the garrison rode into the city on horseback, followed by hundreds of infantrymen who rushed in.
Dong Ge'er held his breath tightly in his chest, and only now dared to let it out: "I'm scared to death, why are there so many troops stationed here? Are they going to cause trouble here?"
Who knows?
The three of them all looked unhappy. They hurriedly passed the inspection, paid the entrance fee, entered the city, and went straight to Dongfulou.
…
In Dongfulou, Manager Xu also knew that a large number of troops had entered the county town. There was nothing he could do, with such a loud noise, it was impossible not to hear it.
He was standing in a box on the second floor facing the street, watching the situation outside. As he watched the garrison walk away, his heart felt like it was frying in oil, and he paced back and forth anxiously.
At this moment, the old servant and the Dong Ge'er brothers came back.
When he saw the three people coming back, Shopkeeper Xu was overjoyed: "Uncle Xu, you're back just in time. The situation is urgent. Do you have the letter that Chen Lie left for me?"
The old servant shook his head: "No, Mr. Shen should never have come out."
Shopkeeper Xu was a little disappointed, but this was expected. He hurriedly took out a tube of sealed letters from his sleeve and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to make another trip to deliver another letter to Chen Lie."
The old servant was puzzled: "Why do you want to send a letter again?"
Shopkeeper Xu told the story of his wife and children coming here for refuge, and also briefly described the situation in Yu County. He said, "The garrison troops have arrived, and it won't be long before chaos breaks out here. I'm really worried, so I'll let Wenqing go with you this time."
As for Dong Ge'er and his brothers, chaos was about to happen, and he didn't dare to order the two brothers around at this time, as they also had families to take care of.
The old servant nodded and said, "Is Dalang in the house? There is no time to lose. I will go back to find him."
The master and servant moved quickly, but they didn't know that at this moment in the Qiyang County Government Office, the young general that the old servant of the Xu family had seen earlier was handing an official document to the county magistrate.
"Sir Wei, this is an order from above. Please take a look and follow it as soon as possible."
County Magistrate Wei took the document and took a look at it. His eyes widened and he looked at the person who came in surprise: "Moving all the rural people to the county town? How are they going to be resettled? What about the fields? Are they all going to be abandoned?"
The visitor raised his lips and said, "It's not my business. I only know that in the nearby counties, once the rioters and bandits arrive, 40% to 50% of the rural people will eventually submit to them. This is an order from above. I will only follow the order and help you defend the county. As for how to resettle them, that's for you, Lord Wei, to consider."
County Magistrate Wei knew that many villagers in neighboring counties and prefectures had joined bandits. When he thought about what would happen if villagers around Qiyang County also joined bandits, the hairs on his back stood on end, and he threw aside the unreasonableness of the decree.
"That's right. We can't let all these people become collaborators."
He looked at the young general and said, "General Chen, when does it start?"
The young general surnamed Chen: "Of course, it is better to do it sooner rather than later."
…
The Qiyang County Government started to move.
The garrison troops who had just entered the city were quickly led by the officials of the county government and divided into dozens of teams to rush out of Qiyang County.
The noise was so loud that the people in the county began to panic, but they had no idea what was going on.
When Shopkeeper Xu and his sons and the old servant of the Xu family ran to the city gate and were about to leave, the gate guards stopped them and said, "The county lord has ordered that from today on, you can enter but not leave through this city gate!"
There were people who originally lived in the countryside and came to the city to buy things or do business. When they saw so many more garrison troops coming in and out of the county, they wanted to find out what was going on in the city. The villagers, who had not even left the city gate, were stunned when they heard what the guards said.
He rushed over and took out his ID card: "I'm from Shijiatang nearby. Can I go home?"
The guard just looked at him and said, "You are allowed in but not out. Don't you understand?"
The man was anxious: "No, I'm going back to my own home, why can't I go out?"
The guard had no expression on his face, and he couldn't have any expression.
“We were just following orders.”
People who were in the same situation heard what was happening from afar and became anxious. They ran over to reason with the people, causing a commotion at the city gate.
The noise was so loud that it attracted the county residents who had come out to see the situation of the garrison. When they heard that the city gates were under martial law and only people were allowed to enter but not leave, even the villagers nearby were not allowed to leave after entering the city, everyone was shocked.
After hearing the commotion, Shopkeeper Xu found a familiar guard and secretly gave him money in the hope that the old servant and the eldest son could go out at night, but the guard did not dare to accept it.
"It's not that I don't want to help. This time is different from the past. We city guards are not the only ones guarding here."
As the guard spoke, he glanced in another direction. Shopkeeper Xu followed his gaze and found a young general sitting on the city wall, looking at this side with a smile on his face.
Shopkeeper Xu was dejected, but he still quietly put the silver into the hand of the city guard and found out what was going on.
The city guard squeezed the silver ingot in his hand, was silent for a moment, and said, "I'm not sure about the details, but I heard that they want to gather all the villagers around and settle them in the county. If Manager Xu has any ideas, he should quickly store more food."
How much food do the villagers have left? The crops in the fields have not been harvested yet, and people are rushing to the county. It is foreseeable how much food there will be in the future.
Shopkeeper Xu felt a chill down his spine. He thanked the guard and strode back to his family.
When Xu Wenqing saw him coming back, he asked anxiously, "Dad, what's wrong?"
Shopkeeper Xu shook his head: "We can't get out. Let's go back immediately."
Most of his food was hidden in the shelter outside the county. There was also food in the house, but not much. He had to get some food back immediately. Dongfulou could no longer be opened. The remaining food was related to lives: his life and the lives of the cooks and waiters of Dongfulou. Even if the boss blamed him, he would have to bear the blame.
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