Sure enough, when Li Lanzhen brought her two children to the foot of the mountain, she was met with a scene of utter devastation. Blood was everywhere, and there were people lying around, screaming in agony, all of whom were women and the elderly.
All the able-bodied men were gone; they must have all been arrested. What's worse, she searched everywhere but couldn't find her son or Xue Bao and the others.
Gou Dan ran over, covered in sweat, and said, "Grandma Lanzhen, I couldn't find my second uncle and the others."
Han Yinan ran over, her eyes red, and said, "Grandma, Second Uncle is missing? Uncle Xue Bao isn't here either. All the uncles in our Han Family Village are gone." She then wiped away her tears.
Gou Dan said, "I asked an old lady, and she said they were all taken to the city. They were beaten terribly by the soldiers."
A surge of anger welled up inside Li Lanzhen and shot up to the top of her head.
Just because I'm not showing my teeth doesn't mean I'm a pushover, does it? Fine. I'm going to storm this Ankang City and see what's going on inside.
"Gou Dan and Yi Nan, you two go along the city wall and look for the dog hole. Once you find it, we'll wait until it gets dark before we go into the city."
Dog Egg said, “Okay, Grandma Lanzhen, come with me over there. Usually, the dog holes on the city wall are on the east side.”
Li Lanzhen asked in confusion, "Is there some kind of reason behind this?"
Dog Egg said, "Generally, the poor live on the west side. Children from poor families dig a dog hole in the east city wall so that it is convenient to come and go, and it is also easy to leave the city if they find something good."
Li Lanzhen nodded and followed Gou Dan towards the east of Ankang City.
Wherever they went, there were crowds of people crying and wailing. Li Lanzhen walked quickly past them, not wanting to look any longer. She felt terrible seeing their helpless and sorrowful eyes. There was nothing she could do.
Once we arrived in Dongcheng, there was no one around.
Li Lianzhen chose a patch of withered grass, surrounded by some tall trees. Although the leaves were withered, yellow, and fallen, they were still there to lean against. She sat down and leaned against a tree. "This will do. You two hurry up and find the dog hole."
Dog Egg and the man happily agreed and ran off.
In less than half an hour, the two little ones came running back.
Gou Dan said, "Grandma Lan Zhen, we found a dog hole. We even crawled in to take a look, but as soon as we went in, there was a big courtyard wall. We quickly came back out."
Yinan said, "Yes, Grandma, as soon as we went inside, we smelled the aroma of food and heard a lot of people talking in the front yard."
Li Lanzhen planned to go in during the day to observe the terrain, find Han Mingjiang and the others, and then rescue them at night.
She then instructed the two children, "You two stay here. Grandma will go into town first to see where your second uncle is being held. Once we've scouted the area, we'll move in tonight."
Han Yinan gripped Li Lanzhen's sleeve tightly, shaking her head and saying, "No. Grandma, we can't be separated. If you want to go in, we'll go in together."
Gou Dan also looked at Li Lanzhen with a determined gaze.
Li Lanzhen thought it was a good idea; if they got separated again, where would she find the two children?
The three of them quickly arrived at the dog hole.
Gou Dan crawled in first, then whispered to Yi Nan to hurry up and crawl in.
Li Lanzhen crawled through the dog hole into the city. The dog hole inside the city wall was about an alleyway away from the city wall of the wealthy family they were talking about.
The three of them dusted themselves off. Li Lanzhen wiped the children's faces clean, straightened their hair, and patted herself down to take off her clothes. She told them to make sure they were clean, otherwise they might mistake them for refugees and get arrested, which would be troublesome.
Li Lanzhen took a small bundle of dry grass from her basket, grabbed a handful of grass, twisted a rope, tied it up, and handed it to Gou Dan to carry. She also took out a dozen or so dry, thin branches and gave them to Han Yinan to carry on his back.
She carried a basket on her back with some wild vegetables inside. The three of them walked along the alley and soon arrived at a bustling street.
There were quite a few people setting up stalls in the market, and a fair number of people coming and going. The shops were all open, with food stalls and small daily necessities set up nearby. The peaceful and orderly life in the city contrasted sharply with the desolation outside the city.
Li Lanzhen sighed deeply in her heart. They were all citizens of the Li Kingdom, but their fates were different! Outside the city, wives and children were torn apart, and people were injured and bleeding, while people inside the city were still doing business and living their lives well.
The fastest place to get information is probably restaurants and eateries.
Li Lanzhen saw a small shop selling wontons and noodles, so she took her two children and found a table by the window to sit down.
The waiter immediately ran over with a smile. Seeing that they were dressed in tattered clothes, he didn't look down on them and asked Li Lanzhen, "Auntie, what would you three like to eat?"
"Three bowls of wontons."
"One tael of silver."
"Hiss. One tael of silver? You want to eat silver?!"
"Auntie, the price of grain changes every day. Besides, our wontons are all made with fresh pork."
Gou Dan and Han Yinan both swallowed hard, thinking that Li Lanzhen probably didn't have a single tael of silver, since she was the one who said she wouldn't eat anymore.
Then Li Lanzhen took out one or two taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to the waiter.
"Come up to Chaos. Can you fill our water bags?"
"Sure, I'll do it." The waiter happily took the silver and water bag and turned to leave.
The three of them sat at the table, picked up their teacups and water, and looked out the window.
"Cough cough cough."
Han Yinan pointed outside, looking terrified, so much so that she choked on her water.
Li Lanzhen also saw the bricks. There was a group of about a hundred people outside, all strong men, with ropes tied behind their backs. Soldiers followed on both sides, waving sticks in their hands from time to time and hitting them.
Among these people were members of the Han Family Village guard team, and of course, Xue Bao and Han Mingjiang were also in the crowd.
Xue Bao's leg was probably injured, and he was dragging himself along the ground. Han Mingjiang's face was covered in blood, and it was unclear where he was injured. He supported Xue Bao with his bound hand.
Perhaps it was because Li Lanzhen and the others' gazes were too intense, Xue Bao and Han Mingjiang looked up and saw Li Lanzhen and the two children.
They were all warmed by the news that Aunt Lanzhen's mother had come to their rescue.
Dog Egg stood up and whispered, "I'll go follow them and see where they're being held."
Li Lanzhen nodded, "Okay, hurry up and come back, we'll be waiting for you here."
At this moment, the people in the small restaurant also began to whisper among themselves.
"Sigh, look, another batch has been arrested. They're all refugees from their hometowns. What will happen to their wives, children, and parents now that they've been arrested?"
“King Jin is not a kind man. If he doesn’t conscript men, what else can he do? The princes in the fiefdoms have all started frantically hoarding grain, conscripting men, and building city walls.”
"Aren't you all leaving? We're leaving in three days. Otherwise, we'll be taken to the battlefield that day."
Three bowls of wontons were served, and Gou Dan returned as well.
He whispered, "Grandma, she's been locked up in the courtyard of the government office. The prison is full, so she's tied to a wooden stake in the courtyard."
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