Li Lanzhen cursed inwardly as she looked at the firelight.
This is tantamount to setting the mountain on fire; it's practically driving the fleeing people to their deaths.
When Old Lady Wu and her son, along with more than twenty of their yamen runners, hurriedly arrived at the woods outside the city gate, which they had already scouted, they were dumbfounded. Not only were the people of Hanjiacun gone, but even all the refugees in the area had vanished.
Old Mrs. Wu was so angry she jumped up and down. The black-clad spy from King Jin, who had followed them there, was also furious. It was all because of this old hag that she had ruined their plans. Now that they hadn't caught Li Lanzhen, they wouldn't be able to get any benefits when they returned.
He ignored the group of fools and leaped up the mountain following the trail.
Old Lady Wu's brother also led the yamen runners up the mountain. They were familiar with the terrain and were not a burden, so they made their way up the mountain quickly. When they finally reached the valley, they searched for the people of Han Family Village in the crowd, but they didn't see a single one. Meanwhile, the refugees scattered all over the mountain when they saw the yamen runners.
The constables lit torches and began the chase, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered and caught very few people. Later, Old Lady Wu came up with a plan.
"Set the mountain on fire and burn these bastards out."
And so, the scene that Li Lanzhen and the others saw while standing on the mountainside came to be.
Upon seeing this, Xue Laohu said worriedly, "This won't do. The wildfire is burning very fast and it will reach this area in no time. We'd better hurry up the mountain. We need to be quick."
So the next step is the forced march mode.
Fortunately, the forests were all dry, so donkey carts, oxcarts, and handcarts were still easy to travel on. Otherwise, the wheels would have been stuck in the weeds and bushes, making it even more difficult to move.
Li Lanzhen, while pulling Han Yuemei along, kept an eye on the mall as they went up the mountain, looking for stun guns or other firearms.
However, she came up empty-handed, seeing quite a few large sticks and two-pronged iron forks. She felt this was acceptable, but the merchant required her to exchange them for antiques such as calligraphy and paintings, thread-bound books, and ancient porcelain.
I don't have any antiques. I'm penniless and have nothing.
Suddenly, she remembered the silk that Madam Zhou had given her, so she put in a bolt of silk to see if she could exchange it. Unexpectedly, the silk disappeared after she put it in, and what followed was a bunch of big sticks and a dozen two-pronged iron forks.
Li Lanzhen immediately straightened her back and found Han Mingjiang, saying to him, "Son, go find Han Deshun and your father-in-law and bring them here."
When they arrived, they saw a pile of things at Li Lanzhen's feet. "Take a look at how these weapons should be distributed. Women should have some too."
Han Deshun looked at the unfamiliar "weapon" with surprise, but he quickly put it at ease, guessing that it was a self-defense gift from Young Master Zhou.
Xue Laohu looked at the pair of items, then at Li Lanzhen, and said nothing. "These sharpened weapons with iron tips are for the men, they're stronger. These big wooden sticks are for the men who didn't get the sharpened weapons. The extras are for the boys. Do you think this distribution is acceptable?"
Everyone agreed, so they stopped and began distributing the weapons. Xue Laohu studied how to use them and then told the people of Hanjiacun that every child over 9 years old in the village had a large wooden stick to hold and wave.
Li Lanzhen was not surprised to see the children waving the flags so easily without any effort. In ancient times, children started doing farm work at a young age; as the saying goes, "poor children learn to manage the household early."
Han Deshun warned everyone, "The weapons we have were given to Sister Lanzhen by Young Master Zhou for self-defense. Now, Sister Lanzhen has given them all to everyone to protect her wife and children."
If you encounter government troops, fight them hard! Remember, it's either you kill them, or they kill you and take your wife and children away. So, you decide what to do.
His words inspired people to fight, and all they wanted to do was kill these corrupt officials and protect their homes, their wives and children.
Xue Laohu also said to everyone, "Wait a moment, the men and boys carrying big wooden sticks will lead the way, followed by the women with even smaller children, and the men carrying sharp iron points will bring up the rear with me."
After much deliberation, Li Lanzhen handed over half a box of fireworks and five firecrackers to Xue Laohu.
"In-law Xue, look, these are the fireworks we set off when we encountered Ye Daye's soldiers capturing us in the mountains. You can decide how to use them." With that, he handed half a wooden box of fireworks to Xue Laohu.
While the others were unaware of the firecrackers' power, Xue Laohu was. He was pleased and felt more confident in defeating the pursuing government troops.
Since almost all the men were out fighting with weapons, the women were the ones pulling the carts at home.
Han Mingjiang handed his family's cart to his wife, Xue Nizi, while Han Yuemei helped push it from the side.
Han Minghai handed his cart to Li Guangyang, while Tonghua pulled her own cart. Li Lanzhen wanted to persuade her to leave the carts there, but she knew that the villagers valued their carts highly; in the countryside, a cart was a relatively valuable possession for a family.
So she didn't say anything and just helped Li Guangyang push the cart.
Because of its light weight, Gou Dan's cart was easier to maneuver in the mountains, making it easier for the grandfather and grandson to walk together. Han Yinan helped his cousin Li Guangyang push his father's cart.
With everything arranged, the team began to climb the mountain rapidly again.
About half an hour later, Xue Bao called out from the front, "Dad, this place is full of bushes, and the trees and grass are all alive. It's hard to drive in the car."
In fact, the woman had already noticed this, and as she walked, she started picking the green grass, regardless of whether it was weeds or not, and put it into her own basket first.
For over a year, I haven't seen any green trees or grass. Even the sleepy children wanted to jump down, walk in the grass, grab a stalk, put it in their mouths and chew it. If they could eat it, they would swallow it; if they couldn't, they would spit it out.
The group couldn't light torches and had to move forward entirely by moonlight. Fortunately, the moon hung high in the sky, as if it were there specifically to illuminate their path.
If only there weren't pursuers behind us, we could lie here eating wild vegetables until we're full before leaving.
Perhaps it was the sight of green trees, green wild vegetables and grasses, or the fresh scent of wild grasses that invigorated both adults and children, making them walk faster.
Li Lanzhen thought to herself, "Since the trees here are all green and alive, your wildfire shouldn't have reached here, right?"
That's true, but the wildfire did indeed catch up with the villagers of Hanjiacun much faster than the soldiers.
"Fire! Fire! Run!"
Someone shouted something, and the crowd suddenly became chaotic.
The shouts grew louder and louder, calling for their children, mothers, husbands, and wives. Li Lanzhen frowned immediately upon seeing this scene.
Soldiers, they should be catching up soon by the sound.
Suddenly, they heard the village chief shout: "Drop the car and heavy things, escape is the priority. Hurry up the mountain, don't be afraid if you get separated, cross the mountain and wait for each other."
This shout stopped the chaotic crowd, and those who moved quickly immediately led their families and began to run desperately up the mountain.
Li Lanzhen also called on her family to abandon the cart and lead the big blue mule and black donkey up the mountain.
"Han Mingxiang, you lead the big blue mule and carry your uncle first. Second brother, you lead the black donkey and carry your grandfather. Eldest brother, you support your wife; she's heavily pregnant and can't ride the donkey."
Others carried their belongings in baskets on their backs.
Li Lanzhen arrived at the carriage containing the water tanks and buckets, immediately put them into her spatial storage, and also put the grains, pots, pans and bowls into her spatial storage.
In the chaos, no one noticed these things. She dawdled and slowly put her family's mule cart, donkey cart, and two handcarts into her spatial storage in the shadows.
She was a little surprised to see the village chief and Han Dazhong's family disassembling and reassembling their carts, with the men carrying the planks up the mountain.
And so, with the wildfire chasing after them and the soldiers watching with glee from behind, they carried their belongings and dragged their children who couldn't run any further, running desperately towards the mountaintop.
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