In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 880 Hesitation

Land is the only means of survival for farmers in Kyushu. Unless it is seized by trickery or forced by natural disasters, no farmer would consider selling the land on which they depend for survival.

So after clarifying the situation, all the prisoners of war accepted the policies of the Yang family army.

The centurion continued, "Of course, this land isn't given to you for free. You'll have to hand over 30% of the grain you cultivate as tax. Can you accept this condition?"

"no problem!"

“I can accept it.”

"Wouldn't it be foolish not to accept it?"

"..."

The prisoners of war nodded like chickens pecking at rice. They would accept even if it meant handing over 50%, let alone 30%.

It should be noted that most of the prisoners of war present were serfs of the Lu family. As serfs of the Lu family, they had to hand over all the grain they cultivated to the Lu family in exchange for nothing more than two meals a day!

Now they not only own their own land, but also only need to pay 30% of the grain tax. How could they not be happy?

"As long as it's acceptable!"

The centurion smiled and nodded, raising his voice slightly as he said, "Alright! That's all I wanted to say. Go back and pack your things. You can leave this POW camp first thing tomorrow morning!"

After saying this, the centurion led his men and left.

As expected, a huge uproar erupted at the scene after he left.

"Haha! I'm no longer a slave! That's great!"

"I can go back and see my parents now! Hahahaha!"

"Hehe! We even have our own land now! I'm going to farm hard, save money to find a wife to warm my bed, and have two big, healthy sons!"

"Me too!"

"This King Yang is such a good person! I have never met a general who has treated me so well!"

"Yes! Long live King Yang!"

"Long live King Yang!"

"Long live King Yang! Long live the Yang Family Army!"

"..."

All those words ultimately boiled down to "Long live King Yang!" The prisoners of war shouted "Long live King Yang!" with their faces full of piety.

…………

…………

"Three sheep, three sheep."

The next day, before dawn, Xu Sanyang was awakened by an urgent voice. He opened his eyes groggily and saw that it was none other than Li Ming.

Li Ming, carrying a cloth bag, grabbed Xu Sanyang's arm and shook it repeatedly: "Sanyang, get up quickly, we can leave now!"

"No hurries!"

Xu Sanyang shook his head. He was awakened and no longer sleepy, so he simply got up, picked up the package placed by the bed, and walked out of the prisoner-of-war camp with Li Ming.

Although it was not yet fully light, a large number of people had already appeared in the POW camp. The prisoners of war, eager to go home, could not wait a moment longer. Some, like Li Ming, had not slept all night and set off early.

"Good morning, sir!"

Upon reaching the entrance of the prisoner-of-war camp, Li Ming greeted the Yang family army soldiers guarding the camp with a fawning expression.

The heavily armored soldiers didn't show any displeasure; instead, they responded to Li Ming in a rather friendly manner, saying, "Good morning! Going home?"

"Yes, sir! We'll be going now, see you again sometime!"

"Let's go."

After greeting the soldiers at the entrance, Li Ming and Xu Sanyang walked out of the prisoner-of-war camp side by side. The soldiers did not stop them, but watched them leave.

After walking a little further, Li Ming couldn't help but say, "San Yang, these soldiers of the Yang family army are completely different from the ones we've seen before!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Sanyang couldn't help but nod. In the minds of these Lu family serfs, soldiers should be like the Lu family retainers, high and mighty, arrogant and never taking them, these serfs, seriously. They would beat and scold them at the drop of a hat, and even kill them!

The soldiers of the Yang family army were completely different. Even if they were in a prisoner-of-war camp, as long as they followed the rules, the soldiers of the Yang family army would not harm them, nor would they look at them with the disgusting, contemptuous eyes that were like those of livestock.

Therefore, Xu Sanyang prefers the latter to the former.

"Hurry up, Sanyang! I can't wait to get home!"

Li Ming grabbed Xu Sanyang's wrist and pulled him forward at almost a jog pace.

Fortunately, the prisoner-of-war camp was located within the Lu family manor, so the two were not far from home. Half an hour later, their thatched hut by the farmland came into view.

"San Yang, faster!"

Panting heavily, Li Ming didn't even stop to catch his breath. Instead, he pulled Xu Sanyang along and continued running until they reached his front door.

Standing in front of the dilapidated thatched hut, Li Ming stared at the tightly closed door, wanting to reach out and push it open, but the moment his hand touched the door, he was filled with trepidation and dared not push it open!

At that moment, he was afraid!

He was afraid that if he pushed open the door, he wouldn't see his pregnant wife, but an empty house...

"What's wrong? Weren't you in a hurry to come back? Why are you afraid to open the door now that you're home?"

Xu Sanyang jokingly remarked from the side.

"San Yang, please stop making fun of me!"

Li Ming said with a conflicted expression, "I'm really not at ease!"

Although the Yang family army is known for its strict discipline and it is highly unlikely that they would harm his wife, it is only a high probability, not a certainty.

Li Ming dared not imagine how he would cope if his wife were harmed...

"Who?"

Just as Li Ming was standing outside the door hesitating, a sound came from inside the house.

Upon hearing this voice, Li Ming felt as if he had heard heavenly music. He pushed open the door with a bang and exclaimed with great joy, "Wife, you're still alive?"

The woman inside the house was startled when she heard the door being pushed open. Then, upon hearing Li Ming's familiar voice, her face lit up with immense joy, and she abruptly turned her head, exclaiming, "Old Li?"

"Ha ha!"

Li Ming laughed loudly and stepped forward, embracing his wife tightly. Overjoyed, he cried, "Wife, you're alive! I was so worried about you!"

The woman being hugged stiffened at first, then relaxed, rolling her eyes and saying, "What do you mean it's good that I'm still alive? I'm doing just fine. On the contrary, where have you been lately? I haven't seen you for a whole month!"

As she spoke, tears welled up in the woman's eyes. Li Ming was worried about her, but she was also worried about Li Ming all along.

During the month that Li Ming was on the battlefield, she almost thought he had died there. The thought of losing her child before it was even born filled her with grief, and she cried every night until her eyes were swollen.

So when she saw Li Ming return, her joy was no less than his, and she couldn't help but shed tears of happiness.