Chapter 41: A Grain of Rice Can Feed The Masses
The territory of the Great Jin was divided into three districts.
As there were often refugees causing trouble, in order to prevent martial artists from acting recklessly, there were soldiers stationed in every district.
Juhe County naturally had some too.
However, most of the land and resources in the county were controlled by the Huang family, so there were not many soldiers, only less than 200.
If they encountered a war, they would have to recruit civilians or train a militia.
Now, the less than 200 soldiers were all handed over to Monk Hui Shi.
When the soldiers above the city gates saw him arrive, they immediately stood up and bowed.
“Alright.” Hui Shi nodded and stepped forward to the parapet. He looked out of the city and frowned. “There are so many refugees.”
Juhe County was adjacent to the Hong River, and the overall terrain was rather flat. In front of the city gate, there was a flat plain with many houses and farmland further away. It looked like a small town.
All of this was actually because the Huang family had been too oppressive previously. Many commoners had no place to stay in the city and could only move out of the city to build houses and reclaim some barren fields to barely survive.
However, after Cui Heng gave the order to distribute the Huang family’s farmland and property back to the commoners, the commoners in the small town outside the city moved back to the city.
Since a few days ago, no one lived in these houses.
Now, it was occupied by the refugees who had fled here. Looking at the number of refugees, there were really three to four thousand people.
“Lieutenant Chen, what do you think we should do?” A soldier guarding the city came over and asked Monk Hui Shi.
Monk Hui Shi’s surname was Chen, and his identity in Juhe County was called Chen Hui.
As for this “Lieutenant”, it was a respectful title for his identity.
The commander of a county army could be called a County Lieutenant. Although Monk Hui Shi did not have this position, he was actually already leading troops. It was normal for the soldiers under him to call him Lieutenant Chen.
And the constables who followed him would still call him Captain.
“Get ten people ready,” Hui Shi said in a low voice. “When the County Lord’s notice arrives, follow me out of the city.”
“Yes!” The soldier nodded immediately.
...
Zhao Goudan was curled up in a dilapidated house outside Juhe County City, his eyes fixed on the steaming pot in front of him.
He kept swallowing his saliva.
Although it was only some wild vegetables he had found from the farmland, it still made his mouth water.
He had not eaten for two days and was extremely hungry.
A 15-year-old young man was still a growing youth. He could not withstand hunger at all.
“Third Uncle, can we eat now?” Zhao Goudan asked weakly. Then, he began to pant heavily. Just saying these words made him feel like he had used up all his strength.
He was too hungry!
“Just wait a little longer.” Third Uncle was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was tall, but he looked very weak.
At this moment, he was also staring at the wild vegetable soup in the pot and kept swallowing his saliva. “The wild vegetables must be boiled until it’s soft. Otherwise, if we eat it and our stomach hurts, we’ll lose our life.”
After a long while.
“Alright, it should be done!” Third Uncle’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly scooped a bowl of soup from the pot into a broken bowl, blew on it a few times, and handed it to Zhao Goudan. “Drink, drink.”
“Alright, Third Uncle, you, you drink it too! Wow, it’s so hot!” Zhao Goudan picked up the bowl and drank it. He cried out loudly from the heat, but he only blew a few more breaths symbolically before drinking it again.
He was really hungry!
It was clearly just a bowl of soup made with rotten wild vegetables, but it made him feel like he was eating delicacies.
“Third Uncle, this is for you. Drink it.” Zhao Goudan handed the broken bowl to Third Uncle.
The two of them only managed to snatch a single broken bowl. They could only take turns drinking the soup.
“Haha, at least you have a conscience.” Third Uncle laughed heartily and scooped another bowl of soup for himself. When the hot soup entered his mouth, his grayish-white face finally revealed a satisfied smile.
“Third Uncle, do you think the county magistrate here will take us in?” Zhao Goudan regained some energy and began to look forward to the future. “Will he give us a bite to eat?”
“I’m afraid not.” Third Uncle shook his head and scooped another bowl of soup for Zhao Goudan. He sighed and said, “Our Dachang County has been breached by those Yan dogs. Next is Juhe County.
“Moreover, Juhe County is adjacent to the Hong River. It’s definitely a place that the Yan dogs must take. To this county magistrate, every portion of food is a source of confidence to resist the Yan dogs. It’s impossible for him to give it to us refugees.”
To a certain extent, the defense of a city was a fight for food reserves.
“Those Yan dogs need to die!” Zhao Goudan gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “If I can become stronger one day, I must kill those Yan dogs with my own hands and avenge Father, Mother, my brothers, sisters, and uncles!”
As King Yan’s army had encountered tenacious resistance in Dachang County, he carried out a massacre after the city was breached.
Not only were the county government and the garrison troops killed, but the people were also robbed, killed, and raped. There were no evil deeds that the invaders did not dare to do. The county city of Dachang almost became a living hell.
Zhao Goudan’s father was beheaded by King Yan’s army in front of him. His mother could not stand the humiliation and smashed her head against the wall before dying.
If Third Uncle hadn’t arrived in time, even he would have been killed.
In the end, only he and Third Uncle were left in Zhao Goudan’s family. They risked their lives to escape from the city.
“Those Yan dogs had committed too many evil deeds. They will definitely die!”
Third Uncle also cursed, but after cursing, he sighed and said with a bitter smile, “I don’t know how many days we have left. These wild vegetables won’t last us long.”
At this moment, there was a commotion outside…
“The military commander of Juhe County is here. Everyone, come out quickly!”
Someone was shouting outside.
Third Uncle and Zhao Goudan looked at each other and could not help but feel flustered. Could it be that the county magistrate had sent troops to chase them away?
The two of them hesitated for a moment before going out.
No matter what they were going to face, it was the best choice to stick together with the others.
Zhao Goudan followed Third Uncle and blended into the crowd. He tiptoed and looked ahead.
A military official in refined iron armor arrived with ten soldiers.
This military official had a burly figure and his gaze was as sharp as lightning. Just looking at him made one feel fear.
Many of the refugees started to stir, and they were all very vigilant.
They were all afraid that this military official was here to chase them away.
Although the houses here were dilapidated, it was still a place to stay. There were also farmlands which they could use to grow some food to survive.
If they left this place, they would probably die in a few days.
After all, no one wanted to die.
“Everyone, don’t worry, there’s no need to be afraid!”
At this moment, Zhao Goudan heard the leading military officer shout.
His voice wasn’t very loud, but it was clear.
“County Lord is merciful. Not only did he allow you to continue living here, but he also agreed to open the warehouse to release food to help you!
“The County Lord also promised that if King Yan’s army attacked, he would let you enter the city to take refuge and not let you suffer any more disasters.
Remember, this is all a favor from the County Lord!”
Boom!
The crowd of refugees immediately erupted with noise, and everyone’s faces revealed expressions of disbelief.
Then, they became ecstatic.
Three to four thousand people knelt down one after another and kowtowed in the direction of the county city.
“County Lord is a kind person!”
“I will never forget the County Lord’s life-saving grace!”
“Long live the County Lord!”
Everyone cheered. The cheers were mixed with sounds of loud sobbing. Everyone was crying tears of joy.
Zhao Goudan also cheered in the crowd.
He also fell into ecstasy and branded the grace of the county magistrate of Juhe County in his heart.
This was a life-saving favor. He swore to use his entire life to repay it!
...
In a courtyard in the city.
Fang Min had just settled down with Zhou Caiwei when she heard the news that the county magistrate was going to open the granary to relieve the refugees outside the city.
This shocked her, and she even found it difficult to understand.
Hence, she found Zhao Guang and asked, “Minister Zhao, are the rumors outside true? The County Lord is going to open up the granary to relieve the refugees?”
“That’s right.” Zhao Guang nodded and smiled. “County Lord is a kind person, so he naturally can’t bear to see the people suffer.”
He had also received Cui Heng’s message and knew about the decision to release the grains.
“But King Yan’s army is about to arrive!” Fang Min said anxiously. “How are we going to defend the city if we release the food supplies now? If we persist for too short a time, I’m afraid we won’t even have a chance to negotiate. At that time, the entire city’s citizens will suffer a calamity…”
Even a top expert would need time to encircle around and attack King Yan’s rear.
This operation required Juhe County to defend for a period of time.
“Senior Sister, I heard that there are three to four thousand refugees outside.” Zhou Caiwei suddenly said, “If the County Lord doesn’t release the food supplies, they will all starve to death.”
“That’s true, but…” Fang Min hesitated. She didn’t know what to do in this situation.
“This County Lord is very smart.” Zhou Caiwei smiled faintly and said, “I think since he has decided to do this, he must have already prepared a backup plan. He will definitely not let the city defense lack food.”
“Junior Sister, you’re actually so confident?” Fang Min asked in surprise.
“Senior Sister, have you forgotten?” Zhou Caiwei said with a smile, “When we were asking around earlier, you were shocked when you heard about the County Lord’s various actions. Such a powerful person will definitely consider all aspects, right?”
“…” Fang Min fell silent when she heard this. Then, she bowed and apologized to Zhao Guang. “Minister Zhao, I was a little anxious just now and was disrespectful to the County Lord. Please forgive me.”
“Actually, County Lord has already expected you to feel anxious.” Zhao Guang smiled and said, “County Lord has already told me that if you have any doubts, you can ask him personally tomorrow.”
Fang Min was stunned when she heard this. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “County Lord’s foresight is like a god.”
...
In the Juhe County office.
Lu Zhengming looked at the granary ledger in his hand with a bitter expression and said with an ugly smile, “County Lord, there’s not much food left in the official granary at all. It’s completely not enough to support three to four thousand people.”
The food that they had seized from the Huang family were basically all distributed to the commoners. The granary’s stock did not increase much, and it was still at its original level.
“Don’t be anxious. Bring me to the granary to take a look.” Cui Heng stood up from his seat and smiled. “As long as there’s a grain of rice, it can fill the granary and feed the masses.”