Let's rewind two hours.
Lin Lian is from Linjia Village and originally lived here. She often comes here to wander around, so everyone is quite familiar with her.
So when Niu San saw Lin Lian sitting near the kiln, he didn't pay much attention and continued working with everyone else.
However, when he turned his head unintentionally, he found that the little girl was holding a familiar wooden whistle.
The whistle was thin and long. Ordinary people wouldn't think much of it when they saw such a wooden whistle, but Niu San personally witnessed those bandits using it to transmit messages.
After all, the bandits started their troubles in Zi County, and they were the magistrate's adopted sons, so how could they not investigate the situation?
Even if they couldn't subdue those bandits, they did find out some information and learned that these bandits came from the border of Qingzhou. Because there was a rebel army causing chaos there, many people couldn't survive in the area and had to flee to other places with their families.
The bandits who came to Zi County were brought by two brothers. They probably wanted to emulate the rebel army on the border of Qingzhou. They recruited a lot of refugees and by the time they arrived in Zi County, they had formed a force of three hundred people, all of whom were armed.
Later, these bandits continued to recruit new refugees, and it is estimated that they now number five or six hundred.
The three Niu brothers were well aware of all this. It was precisely because they knew how powerful these bandits were that the magistrate of Zi County planned to flee.
The magistrate of Zi County can escape, but what about Niujia Village near Zi County?
So the three Niu brothers pretended not to understand and insisted on carrying their adoptive father back, which led to their current mission to investigate the desolate county.
Of course, Niu San has long forgotten about the magistrate of Zi County; to him, whoever feeds him is his mother.
Linjia Village is his new home, where all the displaced people can have enough to eat!
So the moment Niu San saw the wooden whistle, he immediately became alert. He kept observing the little girl and noticed that this girl named Lin Lian kept looking around, as if she wanted to confirm something.
Finally, when Lin Lian blew the wooden whistle and heard the exact same sound, he was furious.
Why are those bandits so annoying? They want to ruin the livelihood he finally found? No, he absolutely won't allow it!
So Niu San told the manager of the earthen kiln about this, and sure enough, he heard the angry and shocked voices of the crowd.
"What? Those bandits are planning to loot the desolate mountains?"
"Will we still be able to eat our fill, and still be able to eat roasted sweet potatoes, stir-fried potato shreds, and boiled corn?"
"Are you stupid? This was all bestowed by the Mountain Goddess. The seeds were planted by the villagers of the barren mountain. If they were looted, everyone would be either dead or crippled, and we would definitely never be able to eat this kind of delicacy again!"
"Not only will we not be able to eat here, but we also won't be able to find such good jobs in the future, and we won't get paid!"
"That won't do. We were planning to stay here for another six months to buy my wife and kids a new cotton-padded coat. The cotton-padded coats issued from this remote mountain are warmer than the clothes worn by those high-ranking officials and nobles. Isn't this going to kill us?"
"I heard they're building houses over there in the barren mountains. Once we become followers of the Mountain Goddess, we can even buy houses there using points! I heard the points are really easy to earn there. My whole family worked there and earned enough points for a house in less than a month!"
"What? Such a good thing? Those bandits really deserve to die!"
"Brothers, what are you all standing here for? Those bandits aren't giving us a way out, are you still planning to burn incense for them? Drive these guys all out of this desolate mountain!"
A group of people quickly rushed up with various tools, managing to stop the bandits before they could find the address of Linjia Village.
As the group charged forward, they grew increasingly enraged, and their actions actually intimidated Guangping, who was in charge.
"You two hundred people dare to oppose more than five hundred of us?" Lin Erluo was also quite frightened, but when he saw who these people were, his expression turned contemptuous.
This time, in order to completely occupy the barren mountain and plunder the grain stored in Linjia Village, they left only a small number of bandits behind, while most of the people came over.
"So what if there are a hundred or two hundred people? A hundred or two hundred people can stop you!" Niu San shouted angrily.
The hatred of having one's job destroyed is irreconcilable!
"If you want to slaughter Lin Family Village, then step over our corpses!"
He swung his axe, smashing a large crater in the ground.
Bandit leader Guangping: "???"
If I remember correctly, most of these people are homeless, cowardly vagrants who bully the weak and fear the strong, right? How did Huangxian manage to train people like this? They're all like fearless suicide squads!
If so many people could join his team, it would definitely make him even more powerful!
Guangping thought for a moment and instead of sending people over immediately, he stayed there to negotiate.
"If you are willing to follow me, I will make sure you have enough to eat and wear every day. And wherever we go, we will give you half of the silver we loot!"
"And you may not realize it, but I'm going to conquer the world in the future. If you follow me, you might be able to achieve great things by supporting the emperor, completely changing your family's fortunes and bringing glory to your ancestors!"
Guangping felt that the conditions he had offered were incredibly tempting. Who could resist the power to help someone rise to power, and who could resist the allure of bringing glory to their ancestors?
“You said you’d make sure we’re well-fed and clothed, but do you have roasted sweet potatoes? Fried potatoes? Boiled corn?” Niu San retorted.
Guangping's eyes widened. What were all these things? He'd never heard of them before.
"Yes, can you give cotton-padded clothes to our whole family?" someone else asked.
Guangping's face began to tense up; it was the first time he had ever been questioned like this.
"There are no potatoes or sweet potatoes, but we'll make sure you're well-fed and warmly clothed! Those cotton-padded coats are for high-ranking officials and nobles. Once we lead our brothers to victory, what kind of clothes won't we have? Fine clothes, jade ornaments, all kinds of antiques and paintings, take your pick!"
Guangping felt he had already given more than enough. Whose wealth, stolen by rebels, should be left for these lowly thugs to pick and choose as they pleased?
Only he can make such a promise now. People who want to join his team have to pledge their loyalty!
"Hilarious! What's the use of all those fine clothes, jade pendants, and antique paintings and poems? Can they keep us warm? They won't even give us cotton-padded clothes. They're trying to fool us. Let me tell you, no way!" Niu San waved his hand and led a group of people over.
"Brothers, for our potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and our families' winter clothes, let's charge!"
Guangping was utterly devastated. How could these people be so unreasonable? Where was he giving too little?
Upon seeing this, Yu Luo couldn't stop laughing.
This Niu San is quite a character. Lin Lian only blew a whistle, and this guy was able to discover it and even follow the bandits' trail to find this place.
She had originally planned to have many of her followers hide in the woods and catch them off guard.
Niu San's intervention inadvertently attracted the attention of the bandits.
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