bookrebus Chapter 747: King Chuang comes but refuses to pay taxes!
Chapter 747: King Chuang comes but refuses to pay taxes!
With the first one taking the lead, the refugees behind them quickly pushed their carts to the side of the road.
Seeing that the distance was still safe, Lu Qingqing whispered to Old Man Zhuang:
"Quick, speed up and rush over!"
Old Man Zhuang nodded quickly, and suddenly pulled the reins, and the horse ran forward in pain.
Lu Qingqing held the bow in one hand and grabbed the carriage with the other.
Standing on the shaft of the cart, staring at the refugees behind him.
She didn't sit back on the shaft until the carriage had driven away.
Seeing that she relaxed, Old Man Zhuang also slowed down a bit, feeling a little scared.
"Qingqing girl, that was so scary just now.
Those people looked as if they were about to rush over at any moment.
Fortunately, your bow and arrow are powerful!"
Lu Qingqing leaned against the carriage door, looked at the road ahead, and gave instructions to Old Man Zhuang.
"Now that we are on the official road, we may encounter refugees on the road ahead at any time.
Take out the knife later and keep it by your side.
If you really encounter someone who comes to rob you, you must be able to protect yourself."
Old Man Zhuang had relaxed a little, but when he heard this, his body tensed up again.
"Ah, is there really someone who dares to come up and rob?"
Lu Qingqing nodded.
“When people are very hungry, they are not afraid of death!
In short, you must be more vigilant and careful on the road from now on."
Old Man Zhuang sighed.
“I thought it would be better to get on the official road and see people.
Who knew that these people only wanted to rob us!
But where do these people come from?
It's so cold, and they can't push the cart any faster."
Lu Qingqing was also thinking about this problem.
Although it is not yet the month, the temperature is not much different from the normal winter temperature.
Going out on such a day means that those people will die if they don't run away.
There are several possibilities. Either the local area was hit by bandits who robbed and massacred the village on a large scale.
Or the local authorities forced the men in the family to flee because they were forced to conscript soldiers.
Of course, there is also the smallest possibility, that the barbarians are attacking.
Although, according to her own calculations, the barbarian's speed should not be that fast.
But the Dashun regime was established so much earlier, who can say that the barbarians would not capture the capital earlier!
In short, everything is unknown.
Forget it. If she encounters a small number of refugees ahead, she will ask someone about them.
Next to her, Old Man Zhuang saw that she didn't answer and turned to look at her.
Lu Qingqing came back to her senses and sighed.
"Who knows.
However, it is estimated that they were also forced to flee.
When the opportunity arises, we'll ask someone."
Old Man Zhuang responded with a gloomy expression when he thought about how he was forced to flee.
He shook the reins in his hand and the horse sped up again.
The carriage wheels made a creaking sound as they pressed over the snow.
After walking for another half an hour, we really encountered the second wave of refugees.
However, this time there were more refugees.
The personnel composition is also more complex, with men, women, young and old included.
Lu Qingqing also saw a few young children inside.
She and Old Man Zhuang became alert the moment they saw the person.
But fortunately, there was no unusual movement among this wave of refugees.
Even the old man at the front, after discovering their carriage, took the initiative to direct the team to move to the side.
Seeing this, Old Man Zhuang turned around and looked at Lu Qingqing.
Seeing her nod, he suddenly swung the reins and the carriage sped away.
After running past the group of people, Old Man Zhuang slowly slowed down.
"Qingqing girl, I think these people have good intentions. Should we go and ask them?"
Lu Qingqing shook her head.
“There are too many people!
If they really have any bad intentions, we two won't be able to resist them.
Keep going, there will always be someone to ask.”
Old Man Zhuang agreed and drove the car silently.
Towards evening, they finally met the third group of people.
There were only four people in this group, two adults and two children.
Among them, a smaller child was sitting in a bamboo basket and was carried on a shoulder pole by an adult.
Another one who was a little older, carrying a small bag, followed behind the adults.
Seeing that there were fewer people this time, Old Man Zhuang excitedly swung the reins and wanted to go over and ask.
Unexpectedly, the people in front were frightened by the rapid sound of horse hooves.
He turned around to look at the carriage, then quickly waved and ran to the side of the road.
Lu Qingqing pulled the reins with her hand, and the carriage slowly slowed down.
Looking at the frightened expressions of several people on the roadside, she turned around and took out four two-grain flour cakes from the bag in the carriage.
He held up the pancake to show the people hiding on the roadside and said loudly:
“We have no ill intentions, we just want to inquire about the situation.
If you answer truthfully, these cakes will be yours."
The man carrying the shoulder pole looked at the pancake in Lu Qingqing's hand and confirmed it with her again.
"Are you sure you'll give us the cake after I finish speaking?"
Lu Qingqing threw a pancake directly over.
The man quickly put down his carrying pole and went to take the cake.
Only after he actually smelled the fragrance of the cake did he believe it.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I will tell you everything I know."
Lu Qingqing didn't hesitate and asked directly:
"Why are you out in such cold weather?
What happened at home?"
The man was originally worried that she would ask him things he didn't know.
Hearing the content of the question, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The child in the bamboo basket beside him was crying and wanted to eat some biscuits.
Seeing this, the man broke off a small half of the pancake in his hand.
He gave most of the remaining portion to the woman next to him.
He carefully divided the small half in his hand into two pieces and handed each to the two children.
Seeing the children started eating, he smiled and explained to Lu Qingqing.
"A few days ago, a large group of soldiers came to Lijiazhuang, in front of our village.
Those officers and soldiers lived and ate directly in the village, and asked the village head to count the adult males in the village.
Although Lijiazhuang was a large and prosperous village, it could not afford to eat and take away so many people.
However, in just half a day, all the food in the village was taken away.
Not only that, they also took away all the men in the village.
Anyone who resists will be beaten.
After hearing this, the men in our village secretly went to inquire with the remaining people in Lijiazhuang.
The troops that came out are just a small branch, and the main force is in our county.
I heard that they are going to collect grain and conscript soldiers from our county.
Our two villages are not too far away from each other, and I am worried that they will come to our village soon.
Everyone in the village fled.
But some fled eastward, and some, like my family, fled southward."
When Lu Qingqing heard that there were soldiers, she asked hurriedly.
"What kind of officers and soldiers have words written on their clothes?"
The man heard this, frowned and began to think.
The woman next to him thought for a moment and whispered something.
"Third Uncle said that the word on the soldier's body is Shun!"
After she said that, the man also remembered.
“Yes, it’s Shun!
My third uncle said that this team was the rebel king who had previously invaded the capital.
However, what we heard before was that King Chuang did not take the food of the common people.
But this time, I saw them eating and taking at the same time!"
The little boy in the basket next to him had just finished eating a two-grain pancake.
Hearing them talking about King Chuang, he clapped his hands and shouted:
"Eat his mother, wear his mother, open the gate to welcome the rebel king, and the rebel king will not pay taxes when he comes!"
The clear voice of a child echoed on the empty official road.