pdf-ebookys Chapter 96 Not Allowing Guests to Stay
Chapter 96 Not Allowing Guests to Stay
"Later, it was your sister, Jiang Ranran, who was very capable. She did something behind the scenes that angered the Second Madam and got them all kicked out. Tsk tsk, she's really something."
"No, no way, it must be you, you bitch..."
"Snapped!"
Jiang Mianmian slapped him across the face. That felt good!
She got up to find Lin Xianghe, and the two began to discuss what to eat for dinner.
Jiang Zhongtian's lips trembled with anger. He didn't believe it, but what if it was true? What if they really were kicked out? Where could they go?
No, he had to find a way to sneak out and go find them!
That's what he thought in his heart, but the reality was that his hands and feet were tied, and every day he would be force-fed different grass juices by several little brats. He couldn't even take care of his own eating, drinking, and relieving himself!
There's no way to get out!
Just as I was feeling down, I smelled a rich aroma of food.
Damn it, I'm even angrier! Jiang Zhongtian wanted to cry.
Jiang Mianmian only ate dinner in the cave before setting off to catch up with the retreating troops.
All told, they had been on their way for nearly twenty days, and should have arrived at Qingbao Village by now.
The entire Fengshui County was relocated eastward, and the first village along the way was Qingbao Village in Hong'an County.
Although a small number of people ultimately chose to stay, nearly 100,000 people set off. How many people are needed for a military campaign?
This is why she had Magistrate Ye organize the eastward retreat from the very beginning.
If there is no county magistrate, they might be mistaken for rebels, which would lead to the army forcibly suppressing them, which would be disastrous.
At this moment, Magistrate Ye was indeed somewhat anxious.
He led the entire county to retreat eastward, which was a last resort. He had no choice but to endure poor food and sleep along the way, and was constantly soaked in the rain. He had hoped that once he reached Qingbao Village, he could at least find a place to stay and rest.
Little did they know that when they saw so many people, they were terrified.
They directly dispatched all the strong men in the village to guard the village entrance, refusing to let them into the village no matter what they said.
"Only two hundred people need lodging, we'll give them money, we really can't take it anymore!"
Magistrate Ye took the money bag and stuffed it into the hand of the leading man.
This man was Liu Nianggu, the son of the village chief of Qingbao Village. He was very respected in the village, but he couldn't make the decision on this matter.
He simply pushed the silver away, saying, "Only two hundred people? Look at how small our village is!"
Generally, the more remote the villages are in a county, the more desolate they become, and the fewer people there are.
The westernmost villages in Fengshui County, such as Lijia Village, have small populations, only two or three hundred to four hundred people. Qingbao Village is slightly larger, but still has fewer than one hundred households and about four hundred people.
If we dare to let two hundred strangers into the village, the consequences would be unimaginable if a conflict broke out!
What's more, besides these two hundred people, there are huge numbers of people waiting in the distance!
Magistrate Ye couldn't reason with him, so he turned back to the leaders of each group and said, "You've all seen it. Two hundred people. They definitely won't let us into the village. If we reduce the number by half and double the goods, we might be able to negotiate again."
In his heart, even a hundred people might not be enough.
But he dared not say it, for fear that these people would get really angry and beat him up again.
Sure enough, after these words were spoken, the people all looked displeased. "You are the county magistrate. It's just a word from you. How dare they disobey you?"
"Yeah, at worst we'll just go straight in. What's the big deal? With so many of us, we could easily raze this little village to the ground!"
Shi Yi, along with the soldiers and the constable, stood in front of Magistrate Ye.
Magistrate Ye then said, "Gentlemen, don't forget, we are fleeing eastward; we are law-abiding citizens, not rebels!"
He had already explained the seriousness of the matter many times beforehand, but when it came to the actual situation, why did he still want to take advantage of the fact that there were more people to occupy someone else's village?
He said earnestly, "What if we really attract the garrison? Although I wrote to the government office, I haven't received a reply yet."
Someone muttered under their breath, "Even if there's a reply, you won't receive it. Where is it now?"
Magistrate Ye sighed deeply.
Who can argue with that? This is only the first village. Who knows what we'll encounter further east? With such a large group, which county wouldn't be afraid?
However, things couldn't remain at this stalemate, so the leader went back to discuss it again.
Magistrate Ye waited patiently.
Fengshui County has a total population of 100,000, but only 80,000 people actually evacuated to the east.
He divided these people into large groups of ten thousand each, totaling eight groups, and appointed eight leaders for each group.
Each brigade is further divided into smaller teams of about a thousand people each. Larger villages are almost entirely comprised of a team, with the team leader being either the village chief or the head of the village. In smaller villages, the team leaders are chosen by a group of village chiefs who discuss and decide on the team leader.
This way, if there's anything, he can directly tell the captain, who will then communicate with the squad leader, and the message will be passed down layer by layer, which will be more efficient.
With two hundred people, each team can only send two or three people, either highly respected or pregnant patients. Now that the number has been halved, the number of slots will be even fewer.
With fewer slots available, things are more likely to go wrong, especially with that large team in the county town, which is notorious for causing trouble.
What's even more outrageous is that the small group led by Ruyilou was all from wealthy families, yet they were obsessed with the fuss over nothing!
The thought had barely formed when a commotion erupted from where the group was encamped.
Magistrate Ye looked up and, sure enough, it was Wu Yong again!
Wu Yong burst out of the carriage and roared at the squad leader who had delivered the message, "There are so many people in the team, and you still want to reduce the number of people? What, are we only fit to be huddled in the carriage? It's been so many days..."
Magistrate Ye covered his ears, wishing he could just find a hole to crawl into.
After a while, the team leaders returned one after another.
The answer was not surprising: they agreed to reduce the number of participants to one hundred.
Magistrate Ye then approached Liu Nianggu, saying, "Gu Zi, as you can see, we're really out of options. Fengshui County is completely flooded, and we haven't been able to contact the imperial court since. We have no choice but to retreat eastward. We'll just stay for one night, and I'll ride as fast as I can to your magistrate first thing tomorrow morning to see if he's received any news. What do you say?"
Liu Nianggu stiffened his neck, about to refuse.
Magistrate Ye grabbed his hand and tightened his grip, his face darkening. "You know, with so many of us, it's not impossible for us to force our way in. You'd better be sensible. We'll only take in a hundred people. If you can get through the night peacefully, we'll give your village a lot of money. If you refuse again, I really can't control them."
"You! Threaten me?"
Liu Nianggu was both anxious and angry, but what the other person said was true.
He thought for a moment, then withdrew his hand. "Then you wait here, I need to go back and discuss it with everyone."
Magistrate Ye nodded. It's a good thing that there's something to discuss.
He really didn't want to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary.
However, after using both threats and inducements, he felt he had an 80% chance of success, so he gave each brigade ten slots, leaving the specific allocations to them to the designated individuals.
There are twenty left. Besides himself, he also has to give some to Shi Yi and the squad leader.