Chapter 159 Hearing the News
The war drums at the city gates sounded one after another, and people fled like a tide into the alleys of the county. The city gates on both sides were attacked by the enemy, and there was nowhere to escape. In a state of panic, they subconsciously went back to the shack to find the people closest to them.
Li was finally able to catch her breath. Her hair was disheveled and she could hear crying and wailing in her ears, but those sounds just passed by her ears and did not enter her heart. Her mind was filled with the stolen meat. She turned around to look for her dried meat, but where was it?
Li cried and slapped herself again and again, feeling desperate and unable to stop crying despite the pain.
At this time, the crowd had already dispersed a lot. She squatted down with her knees hugged and cried. As she squatted down, she seemed to see a round soybean at her feet through her tears.
soy!
She stretched out her hand eagerly. It was not an illusion.
It's really soybeans.
Li stopped crying and started crawling around picking up some beans scattered on the ground.
Just now, so many people were grabbing food in the chaos, and a lot of food was scattered on the ground. Now that the crowd was a little loose, it was revealed that Li was not the only one picking up food. Most of them were people whose food had been robbed, because only those whose food had been robbed would be so collapsed that they didn't have time to run back quickly.
The ones who lost their food were the first group of people who were picking up food, and then came the others who had just arrived and found that there was food to pick up. The little bit of food scattered on the ground became a new battlefield.
"Mine, this is my house!"
"It's mine, don't pick it up, don't pick it up! You are robbing, you are robbing!"
They were all people who were short of food. They were so desperate that they scrambled for food like hungry tigers. Li found a piece with a little more food and grabbed two handfuls of beans mixed with mud and sand and put them in the hem of his clothes. He wanted to pick up more but was pushed to the other side by someone.
Not only did he fail to pick up the food, but he almost spilled everything in his pocket.
She held it tightly and rushed forward to grab the food until there was less food on the ground, until she and a man next to her grabbed the same handful of food. Li raised her eyes and found that the other person was staring at the hem of her clothes tightly held in her left hand with a greedy and malicious look. She swallowed and finally got scared. She hurriedly got up and ran back with the few beans in her pocket.
Shen Jin and his siblings suddenly heard the sound of drums in the shack, and then vaguely heard all kinds of chaotic shouting in the distance. They ran to the door of the shack, and one after another people came running back, shouting that bandits were coming, and they were all frightened like headless flies.
He walked around and waited for a long time before his mother came running back. When she got closer, he could see clearly that her hair was disheveled, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was swollen as well.
Shen Jin and the others hurried over: "Mom?"
Seeing the four little ones at home, Li's tears, which she had just held back while busy collecting food, burst out again. She couldn't say a word to Shen Jin and Shen Yin, but just kept crying. It was not until Shen Jin anxiously asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?" that Li finally broke down and cried out loud.
"The dried meat is gone, gone. Someone has taken it all. How are we going to survive?"
"Why should I go to get food? Why should I go to get food?" She slapped herself again and again, howling and collapsing, sitting on the ground with tears streaming down her face, "There is only so little food, and it was robbed by others. Stealing other people's food, you deserve to be struck by lightning, you are so evil-hearted and rotten-hearted that you shall not die a good death."
Li cried with her legs apart, but the words that came out of her cry were like a thunder that split the sky and the earth. Tian Yaer didn't understand, but Chen Tie vaguely understood. However, Li cried too hard and he was a little stunned, so the thunder only hit Shen Jin and Shen Yin on the top of their heads.
All the jerky is gone?
Looking at their mother again, it was true that the bag she had carried when she left was gone.
The two brothers stood there stupidly, not even realizing that they should cry at this moment, and they forgot to cry.
But the real despair was that Shen San staggered back, as embarrassed as Li, with nothing in his hands or arms.
There was a buzzing in Li's ears, and she stopped crying. She grabbed the bag of beans on the hem of her clothes with one hand, supported herself with the other hand, stood up, and rushed towards Shen San.
"Where's the food? Where's our family's food?"
Shen San's hair was disheveled and he looked panicked: "It fell off. The bandits are about to break in. Do you think the officers and soldiers can stop them?"
He didn't even care about the lost food, he was just afraid that he would become a ghost under the knife of the bandits in the next moment.
Li cried until she was almost crazy and felt that death was just around the corner.
However, the cries of Li were not the only ones heard. It was not just the Shen family whose food was robbed that day. In the area around the county school alone, the cries of more than a dozen women echoed Li's collapse, composing a song of suffering for all living beings.
People in the neighboring shacks, some familiar and some strangers, some watched and some retreated into their shacks. There was panic, numbness, or vigilance in their eyes, but the only thing they didn't have was sympathy.
In the yards of the neighboring houses, the indigenous people of the county closed their doors even more tightly, and moved countless things behind the doors to prop them up, for fear that these hungry villagers would rush into their houses to steal food.
Bandits are besieging the city outside and there is no food inside. Everyone is an ant waiting to be judged by fate. No one is better than anyone else. At this time, everyone can only be wary of everyone, so how can they sympathize with others?
Whether it was Shen San, Li Shi, or even the sensible or ignorant children standing there helplessly, they were just a microcosm of the countless people in Qiyang County and the Dagan Dynasty. This was the collapse of the world for the third branch of the Shen family, and it was also the prelude to the suffering of countless third branches of the Shen family trapped in this chaotic world.
…
In the dilapidated house newly bought by the Xu family in the west of the city, the Xu family members who were digging hard with their heads down closed also heard the drum sounds. Manager Xu left his wife, children and old servants to continue digging the tunnel, and went out alone to investigate the situation. When he heard that bandits were besieging the city, he changed his attitude and ran to the city gate to see. The 1,500 defenders were still doing their duty at this time, at least they were really trying their best to defend the city.
Manager Xu did not dare to delay and rushed back to the house. When he told the situation, everyone in the house became nervous. Considering the depth of the foundation of the city wall, as well as not alerting the people in the military tents and shacks above, and also to prevent landslides, the family dug the tunnel nearly half a foot deep before starting to dig inside. They were also afraid that the tunnel would be too long and poorly ventilated, and the width was limited so that more people could not fit in, so two people dug in front, two helped to widen it a little in the back, and one person carried soil to the next room.
But there was no time to widen the road at this moment. Three of them squeezed in front and dug, while two of them carried the soil.
There is no one here who really understands construction, so they don't know if there will be any problems with ventilation, but if they don't dig the tunnel first, they will be in trouble once the bandits break in.
At this point, racing against time means racing against life. The Xu family only hopes that the 1,500 garrison troops in the city can hold out a little longer.
…
While the five members of the Xu family were digging tunnels non-stop, the offensive and defensive battles inside and outside the city were also in full swing. It was unknown how Qiyang County had become the bandits' nth target. More than 2,000 bandits attacked the two city gates, using ladders and slingshots with ease.
The city also began to recruit civilians. They needed to transport logs and stones, boil water and iron, and rescue the wounded. All of these required manpower. The soldiers also came to the clinics and drug stores to reopen for business.
The news of the conscription of laborers spread everywhere in the slum area. Laborers could earn a small bun a day. For this small bun, many people in the city who were short of food were willing to go. Li also saw a chance for survival, but Shen San was afraid of fighting and refused to go no matter what.
Li was willing to go so that her children could have something to eat, but the man in charge of conscripting laborers said that it was unlucky for women and asked her to go aside.
Until the next day, Shen San still refused to go. No matter what he did, nine out of ten times he would have to go up to the city wall, where arrows would fly everywhere and he would be pierced through if he was not careful. He would rather drink vegetable soup than go.
In fact, at this moment, the whole family of the third branch of the Shen family was extremely hungry.
It lasted for a full three months. In the first two months, I could still have some chopped beans, but in the last month, I basically ate wild vegetables. I did eat a piece of the dried meat on the day it was discovered, but the rest were snatched away before I could eat them. Now, both the soybeans and the dried meat are gone.
Either boiled wild vegetables or boiled vegetables, nothing else. Whenever I thought of the soybeans and dried meat that were stolen, I felt like my stomach was being scratched by claws.
The family was all in a daze while eating the vegetable soup, but they didn't dare eat the two handfuls of soybeans that Li had picked up, for fear that if they ate them all, they would starve to death if they got hungry again.
On the morning of the third day, Shen San still refused to be a laborer. Li staggered out of the shack and took out a kitchen knife. She put it on Shen San's neck when he was not paying attention. "Are you going or not? You can choose not to go, but you will starve to death anyway. I will chop you up now and we will die together as a family."
Shen San really thought that Li was crazy, but he was also shocked, and his neck moved back away from the blade: "What are you crazy about? Can't I go?"
Li finally forced Shen San to be a laborer, but she was too naive. Shen San was not a man who cared much about his family. He was starving to death. Wasn't it tiring to work? He stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth first. On the first day, he brought nothing back for the mother and her five children.
The next day, Li calculated the time and asked Shen Jin and Shen Yin to take the two children and not move around in the shack. She went to the city gate to guard the distribution of steamed buns. Shen San was still in the queue, and when it was almost his turn, Li rushed over.
The yamen runners nearby thought that Li was trying to steal the food and raised their whips. Li shouted, "I am his wife. I have to take this steamed bun home so that the whole family can eat it. Otherwise, the children will starve to death."
She really cried, and she cried out this cry.
Among the men who were queuing up to get steamed buns, some of them looked at Shen San with a strange look.
It takes a woman to risk her life to get this steamed bun, but she didn't even take a single bite home?
It is also rare.
Shen San's face flushed with embarrassment, but he was even hungrier, so he tried to take the steamed bun from the steward's hand. The steward raised his hand and asked Shen San, "Is she really your wife?"
Shen San didn’t lie at this moment, and nodded subconsciously.
When the steward saw him nod, and then looked at Li's thin figure, he handed the steamed bun to Li without saying anything else, and just shouted, "Next!"
Li took the steamed bun, held it against her chest, bent down and bowed several times to the manager, thanking him repeatedly.
Shen San was so angry that he fell backwards, but he didn't dare to say anything to the steward. Seeing Li walking back, he hurriedly chased after Li, still chattering: "I do all the hard work, and I have to risk being shot to death by stray arrows. Why should I do this if I can't eat this steamed bun?"
Li only guarded the small bun tightly and said, “I didn’t say you can’t eat it, but you have to give the children a bite, Shen San, you are the father.”
Shen San was choked to death. There had never been a day when he was so annoyed that he had given birth to such a large litter.
It's such a small steamed bun, shared by six people, how could he taste it?
But the steamed buns were already in Li's hands, and after all they were for the children to eat, so he couldn't really go up and snatch them.
I'm tired, too tired. I eat little and work a lot, and I don't have the energy to fight.
That night, Shen Jin's siblings finally got to taste some food other than soup. Tian Ya'er and Xiao Tie had been lying in bed all day, starving. After eating some food and hot soup, they finally felt more energetic.
…
On the sixth day of May, Chen Lie and his three companions finally arrived at the cave where they had passed the message to Shopkeeper Xu.
He fished out a bamboo tube and two dozen narrow cloth bags from a hidden little stone cave, opened one of them and took a look: "It's salt."
Wei Qinghe was the happiest.
His brother-in-law still had letters coming in, and he could still bring them some salt, which at least meant that it was still safe outside. He took the bamboo tube and said, "Let me see what's in the letter."
After unfolding the letter and reading it to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan, Wei Qinghe himself breathed a sigh of relief.
The letter mainly informed Shen Lie that someone in Shili Village was selling children, and that Shen San might be planning to sell the child. Li asked Shen Jin to take the initiative to reveal his hunting skills to protect himself.
Chen Dashan shook his head when he heard this: "Your third uncle is really a piece of shit."
Shen Lie was too lazy to say anything, and just asked Wei Qinghe: "When did your brother-in-law send this letter?"
Wei Qinghe looked at the signature and said, "Eight or nine days ago."
Shen Lie frowned, thinking about the current situation mentioned by Manager Xu in the letter. It sounded like Qiyang County was safe, but one possibility had to be ruled out - delayed news.
If the information Manager Xu received was delayed, then Qiyang County may not be safe now.
He put the salt bags into the backpack behind him and said, "Let's go. We are already here. Let's go outside and take a look at the situation."
Chen Dashan had no objection. Compared with his previous escape from enemy territory, wandering around Qiyang County was no different from strolling around the mountain behind his own home.
Wei Qinghe was very excited and bowed to thank them.
He was indeed concerned about the situation outside, and it would be better to go and take a look than to read the letter from eight or nine days ago, but he didn't have the ability to go out, and he was too embarrassed to ask Chen Lie and Chen Dashan. As a result, the two of them took the initiative to go outside to take a look. How could Wei Qinghe not be happy and grateful?
After walking all the way out for two hours, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan both frowned.
Chen Dashan glanced at Chen Lie and asked, "Did you find anything?"
Chen Lie's expression was stern and cold: "It's too quiet."
There are more refugees in the inner area, but no one is left in the outer area.
The expressions of both of them became solemn. Chen Lie and Chen Dashan stopped and cut some branches and leaves. After making sure there were no insects, they found some rattan bark and tied it around Wei Qinghe's arms. Then they started to work on themselves.
Wei Qinghe swallowed and asked, "What's going on?"
It didn’t seem to happen like this in the woods before.
As Chen Lie was tying up his own cover, he said, "I'm afraid the bandits have already reached the border of Qiyang County. Be careful when you move around. If you see anything wrong, don't show up. Hide behind bushes or trees."
When Wei Qinghe heard this, he froze.
The bandits have already arrived in Qiyang, so what about his parents, elder sister, nephew and brother-in-law...
His breathing was rapid and he no longer dared to think too deeply.
Chen Dashan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous. Go out and explore the villages first to see what the situation is."
Wei Qinghe could only nod: "Okay, okay, thank you very much."
There were only his relatives outside, and the children from the third branch of the Shen family. Chen Lie and Chen Dashan didn't need to take any risks. No matter who they went for, or if it was both, Wei Qinghe was grateful.
Chen Lie looked at him and said, "Okay, stop talking about this. Let's go. Be careful and follow behind me and Dashan."
…
The place they were most familiar with was Shili Village, so their first stop was to go straight to Shili Village.
The first place Shen Lie touched was the shelter and the cave he had dug for Shen Jin.
No one.
There was no food left inside, and the slingshots were taken away. Only a few earthenware jars and bowls were left.
Shen Lie's hand at his side trembled, and the three of them prepared to sneak into the village to take another look.
The once bustling village is now deserted. The houses are empty, the chickens and ducks are gone, the vegetable fields have been dug up, and even the haystacks built by the villagers are now only left with some weeds on the ground.
Look at each family one by one.
Chen Dashan said: "There are no signs of fighting. They left on their own initiative."
This is the only good news at the moment. At least it’s not a massacre of the entire village.
Chen Lie pursed his lips and said, "Go around the mountain and explore Sanli Village."
The group turned back to the mountain, and before they had gone far, they heard someone carefully calling out, "Alie, Dashan?"
The voice sounded familiar. Shen Lie looked in the direction of the voice and was surprised: "Uncle Zhou, you didn't leave the village?"
The one who called Chen Lie and Chen Dashan was none other than Zhou Laizi, and the eldest son of the Zhou family was also there.
Zhou Laizi and his son came out from the bushes and ran quickly towards Chen Lie and his companions, their faces showing the joy of meeting old friends.
"We left the village. Didn't you ask me to go to your house and tell me the solution? I went there at the time you said and found that your house was empty. Then I knew the solution you said and ran away right after that."
Shen Lie nodded. He was not surprised that Zhou Laizi's family would make such a choice. They dared to die, so why would they be afraid of going into the mountains? He asked, "Is Uncle Zhou okay in the mountains?"
Zhou Laizi rubbed his hands and said, "Fortunately, fortunately, we didn't dare to go too deep, but we found a hidden cave and sealed it with stones. The whole family hid in the cave most of the time, and only my father and I occasionally came out to look for food."
Chen Dashan saw that although the father and son were very thin, their spirits were better than before, so he asked, "Uncle Zhou, do you know what's going on in the village?"
This is exactly what Shen Lie and Wei Qinghe are eager to know.
The Zhou family father and son looked at each other, Zhou Laizi sighed and said, "You may not know yet, a lot of soldiers came a while ago, and the villagers from villages outside the county were forced to move to the county, but within a few days, the bandits arrived, and now the county town is surrounded by bandits."
Upon hearing that bandits were besieging the city, Shen Lie and the other two changed their expressions, and then they immediately asked Zhou's father and son if they knew the specific day the city was besieged and how many people were involved.
Zhou Laizi shook his head and said, "We usually stay in the mountains and don't dare to come out. I don't know the exact date. I only learned about these situations when I heard people who escaped into the mountains talking about it. I heard the letter four days ago. I mustered up the courage to come back to take a look and also to see if there is anything to eat."
After thinking for a while, he said, "As for the number of people, I don't know exactly. I heard a few people say there were a lot of bandits, maybe at least a thousand? It's not certain, and we don't dare to get close to that place."
When he heard that there were more than a thousand bandits, the color on Wei Qinghe's face suddenly faded.
"Then my brother-in-law..."
He was anxious and opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
Who can save more than a thousand bandits? Even the gods can't save them.
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