Chapter 290 Living in a dilapidated thatched hut and reclaiming wasteland
Panyu Town was one of the important towns on the "Maritime Silk Road" of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Merchants gathered here, and the streets were lined with spices, ivory and other specialties brought by foreign merchants, creating a scene of prosperity in the south, reminiscent of the "Golden Mountain and Pearl Sea".
Here you can see people from various countries, including Arabs, Champas, and Black people. Their unique clothing and appearance are eye-catching, making you feel like you are in a foreign land.
The local people speak their native dialect, and the foreign merchants can converse with them in the local language, occasionally throwing in a few words of their own country's language, which the people can understand. Very few people speak Mandarin.
The village where the exiles were settled must have been very remote and simple, with nothing at all. It was necessary to prepare some essential living supplies such as rice, oil, and salt in advance.
She went shopping with Xiao Xuance.
Yun Zhaoxue made an excuse to go buy some household items for her daughter, and secretly took out several camping tents and food from her spatial storage.
Xiao Xuanwu gave her the money from selling the bear, hoping she could buy a camping tent for Yang Shi so that she wouldn't be afraid of wind or rain in the future.
Yun Zhaoxue then realized that he had been longing to buy tents and was going to secretly take out five tents from his spatial storage during this trip to the market.
After spending the night at the inn, Lao Liao went to the yamen early the next morning to report to the county magistrate.
The magistrate was still not there.
Old Liao led his men to the magistrate's house, but the guards at the gate said the magistrate was not there.
Undeterred, he lingered at the gate for a while, several times tempted to sneak into the mansion to see if the magistrate was deliberately not closing the gate or was truly not at home.
Tomorrow is the deadline mentioned in the document, and if the handover is not completed by today, he fears the court will punish him.
He paced back and forth outside the magistrate's mansion, so anxious that he wanted to climb over the wall. After hesitating for a moment, he refrained from doing so. It was still early today, and he planned to come back at noon.
At this moment, a sedan chair stopped in front of the magistrate's gate.
The sedan bearers lifted the curtain and helped a fat, middle-aged man out of the sedan. The guards at the door hurriedly came forward and bowed, "Master, Master, you're back?"
"Um!"
Old Liao strode forward, cupped his hands and bowed deeply to the county magistrate, "Your Honor, please wait. My name is Liao Zhong, and I am the commander sent by the Dali Temple in the capital to escort prisoners."
As he spoke, he took out the escort warrant from his pocket and handed it over.
Magistrate Cui, reeking of alcohol, hadn't even opened his eyes yet. He showed the document to his accompanying clerk, who took it, quickly scanned it, and nodded to the magistrate.
"Sir, you are indeed from the capital."
Magistrate Cui waved his hand and said, "I am not feeling well today. My clerk, take him to the county office and discuss with the judicial officer where we are short of manpower. We can assign them to tasks such as clearing land for farming, mining stone and salt, or building river embankments."
The imperial court is really something. They send all sorts of garbage to Lingnan, and everyone there is useless, wasting food.
"yes!"
The advisor asked Lao Liao to inquire about the number of exiled criminals on the way to the yamen.
"A total of one hundred and ninety-eight people!"
The advisor stroked his goatee and smiled at Old Liao, "There are so many of them, they could form a village. Why don't we put them all in one place? That would make it easier for the people below to manage them."
Upon arriving at the yamen, they summoned Lu Zheng, the judicial officer, and the three of them discussed the matter together, ultimately deciding to settle the exiled criminals in Datian Village.
The advisor instructed Lu Zheng to take them to the village before returning to report to the county magistrate.
The convicts were grateful to be with their families and not have to be separated.
If they are separated into different villages, they will be outnumbered and vulnerable, and may be bullied to death by the locals. There are nearly two hundred of them, including some with high martial arts skills. Anyone who wants to mess with them should think twice.
Military Advisor Lu and several yamen runners rode horses and led them on foot for two hours to Datian Village on the outskirts of the city. Datian Village was close to the salt fields, and a large number of government fields were abandoned and uncultivated.
We passed through a village with dozens of open-air, roofless thatched huts, their front yards overgrown with weeds taller than a person.
Lu Zheng told them, "This is Datian Village. You'll be staying here for a while. I'll take you to the city defense camp to report for duty first."
The convicts craned their necks to look around, whispering among themselves, "There seems to be no one here. How can anyone live in a hut that's so dilapidated?"
"Exactly, what's the difference between this and living in the wild?"
Lu Canjun said, "Two years ago, a rare high tide occurred, and the seawater flooded the farmland. After the tide receded, all the crops died, and nothing could survive. Many locals starved to death. The government decided to merge them into the neighboring village."
"The land is so barren that we can't even grow crops, and you still want us to live in this kind of land? What if we starve to death?"
"Exactly, isn't that blatantly trying to kill us? Can't we move to another place? We don't want to live here."
“The seawater hasn’t reached this area in recent years. But with the continuous rain these past few months, it should be able to grow crops. If they don’t survive, we can quarry, mine salt, mine other minerals, and build river embankments. As long as you work hard, you won’t starve.”
"What? You want us to do that dangerous work? We're all scholars, how can we do that kind of work? This is going to kill us!"
They considered the life of exile, the worst being to live like ordinary people, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
They farmed every day, had food, clothing, and shelter, and their lives weren't too bad. However, the current situation is completely different from what they expected, and it's even worse.
How are they supposed to survive if they are given a barren, uncultivated field and a dilapidated, almost crumbling thatched hut?
One of the constables sneered, "Are you prisoners or are you here to act like big shots?"
"You dare to complain about having land to cultivate? Do you want me to take you to the quarry right now? Those who were exiled here before didn't have your luck. They were all taken to quarry and mine, and they were all worked to death in less than half a year."
"If we're going to clear land and farm, why would we need to go mining?"
"It's not like we're farming every day. If we're short-handed, we'll definitely have to assign you to work. Put away your grandpa act and act like you own the place. Act like servants or slaves, or you'll suffer a terrible fate, hahaha!!!"
"I don't want to go to the quarry, I want to go back to the capital, I want to go back to the capital!" Someone in the group was terrified and wanted to turn back.
The constable lashed out with his whip, "Crack!"
"What are you doing? Get back to the group."
Hearing the commotion, the soldiers guarding the city gate opened the gate and shouted, "Who dares to make such a racket at the gate of my city defense camp?"
The leader, Lu Zheng, replied, "It's me!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, the soldier's expression instantly changed, revealing a fawning smile. "So it's Military Advisor Lu, Lord Lu. I'll go fetch the commander right away."
Lu Canjun dismounted.
A middle-aged man in a red military uniform hurried over with several people. "This humble servant greets Lord Lu. I apologize for not welcoming you properly."
"There are 198 convicts from the capital. They are now under your command."
Jia Quan glanced behind him and saw that the prisoners weren't wearing handcuffs or shackles. He asked curiously, "Why aren't these convicts wearing any restraints? What if they escape?"
Old Liao said, "We encountered bandits on our way south and were robbed. They even broke our torture instruments. Apart from the 38 who died, none of the convicts escaped."
When Commander Jia saw that Lao Liao was wearing official robes, he became more respectful to him. "Oh, I see."
Old Liao handed the prisoners over to the county government, and his mission was complete. But he was still worried, so he followed along and watched as the city defense battalion arranged accommodations for them before he felt at ease enough to return to the capital.
Jia Quan invited Lu Zheng inside for tea and asked him how Lord Cui planned to deal with the group of exiled prisoners.
Lu Zheng said, "Place people in the deserted thatched huts in Datian Village, cultivate that wasteland that no one has cultivated in recent years, and have them guarded by the city defense battalion. If they do not comply, beat them until they comply. If anyone dares to do so, treat them as fugitives. We have the right to execute them first and report later. We can kill them at will and then report to our superiors."
After Lu Canjun finished his handover, he left. Jia Quan made the rest of the arrangements and invited Lao Liao to leave with him.
Yun Zhaoxue, who was at the back of the group, called out to Lao Liao, "What are your plans for the future, Master Liao? With the war in the north, the capital is in great danger. I hope you will secure a way out for yourself and your family as soon as possible."
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