"You, Boss, how can you say that?! Where did you know that?"
Butcher Fang steadied her hand and said, "Keep your voice down."
Wu was anxious, but she also knew that the matter was of great importance. She urged quietly, "Hurry up and tell me!"
"Every once in a while, refugees would attack the city, and everyone was exhausted. I don't know where the refugees got their bows and arrows, but they shot the prefect in the chest with a few shots. Although they said the prefect had seen a doctor, had his sword removed, and was now alive and well. But, but..."
Butcher Fang lowered his voice even further. "I was off duty tonight and took a side road when I saw two carriages coming out of the prefectural government's back door. Inside were a young man and a young lady, accompanied by over twenty guards. I had no idea where they were going."
"It's almost dark. Where can they go in the carriage? Those guards usually follow the adults to protect them..."
Butcher Fang suspected that the child had been sent away to seek refuge.
Whether it's a battle between two armies or the current struggle against refugees, if you lose your leader, you lose the morale of the army. Half of the guards at the city gates are civilians, and if the morale of the army is lost, the city will be no different from a deserted city!
So much time has passed, and the court has not taken any action or sent any troops to support them. It is obvious that they have given up on them.
Butcher Fang took a deep breath and held his wife's hand, "We must prepare to flee!"
Wu had always lived in the capital, and she had only heard the elders mention escaping. She didn't know what it would be like. Perhaps, it would be similar to the refugees outside?
Her legs went weak instantly, and she had to call all the children over to discuss how to prepare.
How could the children sleep after seeing their father so flustered? As soon as their mother called them, they hurried over.
Fang Xin burst into tears when he heard they had to flee. Fang Lu slapped him on the butt a few times, "What's the point of crying now? Will crying save your life? Or will it attract others to steal our food?"
Fang Xin didn't dare to cry anymore and was frightened by her sister and started hiccuping.
Fang Lu was calmer than her mother. She began to make arrangements. "Dad and Big Brother, sharpen the knives. Feed the mules. And check if the mule cart is stable. Mom, make more dry food. The more the better. I'll put away all the valuables and important things."
Seeing that everyone was moving, Fang Xin pouted and ran to find his sister, wanting to help too.
Fang Lu asked him to choose the two thickest quilts in each room and fold them.
It was nighttime, so it was not a good idea to knock on the Jiang family's door. Fang Lu took the pen and paper her father used for accounting, wrote down the details, and threw them into the Jiang family's yard.
Jiang Nian heard the noise and came out.
Jiang Yue yawned and saw the paper ball. "Why is it this again? Is there something bloody going on again?"
Jiang Nian's jaw tightened as he unfolded the paper ball and handed it to her, "It's definitely going to bleed."
The note read, "The prefect is seriously injured and the child is missing."
Jiang Yue breathed a sigh of relief. When the generals on the battlefield saw that the battle situation was getting bad, they would send their children away. This tactic was called "keeping the flame."
Fortunately, they have always been preparing for the worst and have made all the necessary preparations.
The next day, Butcher Fang took sick leave and did not go to defend the city. Going back now was meaningless; he might as well stay home and prepare for his escape.
Jiang Yue didn't want to owe anyone a favor, so she poured a bucket of water to the Fang family, solving their urgent problem.
Even if the Fang family wanted to make more dry food, they still needed water. With the water sent by the Jiang family, they could make dozens more dry cakes.
Two days later, news came from somewhere that the prefect had died of his injuries.
The city was in a state of panic, and the refugees began a new round of siege.
Some set up ladders, some broke down the city gates, and the thieves rushed in and began to loot the city.
The guards were overwhelmed and were quickly defeated.
"The city has been broken!"
"The city is broken! Run quickly——"
There was chaos and war outside, and Jiang Yue estimated that many people would take advantage of the disorder to rob.
The two men changed into ragged clothes, put on masks that left only their eyes uncovered, pulled out the mule cart, and locked the door.
The same is true for the Fang family next door, but they have much more stuff than the Jiang family, so they are too conspicuous.
After all, we are fleeing, and we may not be able to survive without enough things.
Mrs. Wu took her youngest daughter and youngest son to the cart to protect the food, while Fang the butcher and his eldest son sat on the cart frame, holding knives and driving the cart.
The two families met at the gate and nodded. Jiang Nian drove off without waiting for the Fang family or asking where they were going. The two families were not on the same path, and the Fang family was burdened with many things, so it was hard to say how far they could escape.
"Woo-woo-burn! Burn it all!"
"Hahahahaha, I told you not to open the door! You deserve this retribution!"
When they arrived at the outer city, flames were blazing everywhere, and the refugees were smashing, looting, and burning everywhere. In the light of the flames, the refugees' faces were grim, and they felt a sense of pleasure in revenge.
"Let's go search for something first!" Jiang Yue felt it was a pity that someone's life's work was burned in vain.
The bookstore owner and his family had disappeared, and a homeless man was about to start a fire at the door. Jiang Yue jumped out of the car, holding the knife with both hands, and stabbed him in the back.
"Bang!" Jiang Nian kicked the door open without taking any of the books inside.
I don't know if the bookworm owner is still alive. Jiang Yue emptied out all the things. "If we're destined to be together, I'll return them to you later."
"Brothers! There is a mule cart here!" A group of refugees came with fierce looks on their faces.
Some of them held kitchen knives and some held wooden sticks, and they surrounded the two men.
Jiang Yue guarded the mule cart to prevent anyone from hurting the mules.
Jiang Nian was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and he took care of the people before this mob could react.
He jumped into the car, sat firmly, pulled the rope with his left hand, bent down and took Jiang Yue in his right hand, and went to the next store.
The grocery store had long been cleared out, leaving only some rouge, eyebrow powder, and the like. Jiang Yue bought all of them, making it easier for her to disguise herself in the future.
The fire illuminated half of the city, and the sounds of fighting and begging for mercy were everywhere.
Jiang Yue received the goods and went to the tile kiln.
She kicked the refugee from behind, stepped on his chest, raised her knife with one hand, and cut his throat. Blood splattered all over her.
Wearing a mask in advance is indeed useful.
"Master, please spare my life!"
"Please! Don't kill me! I'll give you everything!"
The owner of the tile kiln was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy while holding his wife and children. His parents beside him had been brutally murdered.
Jiang Yue took off her mask and said, "Boss, it's me."
The boss looked up tremblingly and saw that it was the previous customer. He had escaped, but he didn't dare to breathe a sigh of relief.
The whole family began to kowtow, "Thank you for your kindness, guests..."
Jiang Yue didn't have time to listen to nonsense. "It's all chaos outside. Hurry up and grab some money, food and drink, and bring your knives, stones, and sticks. Run out of the city and you might as well save your life."
"Yueyue!" Jiang Nian killed two more people outside. Seeing that she was delayed, he didn't know what was going on.
Jiang Yue put on a mask and hurried out, regardless of their reactions. She had to act quickly to save herself.
The charcoal shop and the iron shop were deserted, and all the large items had been taken away, so she collected all the small items and would sort them out later.
After buying six or seven shops in a row, the two men whipped their horses vigorously and rushed towards the city gate.
"There's a fat sheep about to run away!"
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
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