Volume 3 Chapter 58 (1/2)
Gu Fang Bu Zi Shang Vol03 Ch58
The war spread Even rees were not spared
The grief over the loss of the King eaker as the cloud of He Xia’s conquest hung over these people who lived by the day
“I announce, the Prince Consort of Yun Chang has given his Order The peasants in each village will be counted and every person rain This is to be paid in full in two days, without delay”
The gathered villages started panicking
“Three bags per person, then how are we to last through winter?”
“He doesn’t want us to live!”
“Mayor,” sorabbed onto the elderlythe Order He cried, “You know the daily life of rain has been swapped for , not to mention three”
Thetoo He lowered his voice, “What can I do? The several children in rain too Luo-boy, we have to pay up or else, because they’re tribute to the army If it’s a bit late, they’ll have your life Those Yun Chang soldiers kill without batting an eyelid”
Luo-boy’s eyes felt sour He rubbed his eyes and slu was still around, ere never required to pay three bags of grain all at once He Xia, hmph, why the hell did He Xia conquer our Bei Mo?”
“Do you value your life, daring to ?” Thehis ragged cuffs around his mouth He warned, “Just be obedient We don’t even knohere General Ruo Han has fled to, so don’t try to overestimate yourself, okay?”
While he was speaking, the sky-shattering thudding sound of hooves were heard, and the crowd juht Everyone’s head swivelled to look outside the village They saw the flag of Yun Chang soldiers surging forwards from the distance
“What happened? Is there anything wrong?”
The soldiers reached the village entrance and pulled their horses to a stop The villagers looked up,in the sun
“Who is in charge of you?” The one in front studied the mayor, “Do you already know about the Prince Consort’s Order for grain?”
“Yes, yes, it’s been read”
“Did anyone make trouble?”
“No, no We are all good peasants”
“Okay” The captain grunted and dragged out his folloords, “You Bei Mo people were supposed to be our Yun Chang ar you to supply resources for the arrow crops and look after horses The Prince Consort has also issued boundary placee finds any outsiders, they must be immediately reported If you dare conceal and not report hi to rebellion Is that all clear?”
The htened He hurriedly nodded and forced a laugh, “Yes, yes, it’s all clear We are all good peasants, good peasants”
That captain saw that he had been frightened to a treh disdainfully “Good peasants? Jiaokou Villiage fifty ood peasants too, but they privately hid a few ree of one hundred and seventeen was cohtered by us Hmph, I reckon we should put up a few bloody heads so that you knohat real good peasants are like Let’s go, my brothers”
Luo-boy suddenly collapsed onto the ground, holding his head in his hands as he wept
“Luo-boy, what are you crying for?”
“Don’t ask” A few spectators sighed, “His sister e”
Everyone grieved
The country was falling
Life and death was not a choice, just a
A-Han went past the fence with large, powerful strides, heading straight for the stone chair in the courtyard He yelled at Ze Yin, “Brother, it’s no good I can’t take it anymore I want to become a soldier and attack that He Xia bastard! What kind of life is this? That rain? If all that goes to keeping soldiers alive, then what about my woman and child?”
“A-Han, shut up first Don’t ask for trouble” Yangfeng hurried out frolared at A-Han She lowered her voice, “He Xia sent his Order A person is awarded fifty-two gold coins for every rebellious person exposed Bethat so loudly”
“Grain robbed, house ransacked and even the chickens are gone What is there to be afraid of?” A-Han shook his head, “I’m not afraid of death”
“Then your wife and child?”
“I…” A-Han’s neck stiffened His shoulders fell in the end “What use is there to live? They’reit impossible for us to live…” His voice drifted off
A strangled silence burst into the courtyard Ze Yin had been silent all along, quietly wiping the hoe in his hand It didn’t look much like a hoe but more like the sword the precious sword that had been by the Main General’s waist back then
Weiting couldn’t help but walk over He lowered his voice, “If this goes on, we’ll be forced to death Why don’t we…”
“Why don’t hat? The army of Bei Mo has lost, so who else can defeat He Xia’s army?”
“Don’t tell randsons bear the sha made his words harsher but pressed to lower his voice even o down the le call”
Weiting’s words seemed to evoke sohter He tree was only teradually dimmed away
If he were to go down, he would indeed be able to gather several hot-blooded citizens of Bei Mo However, even with several h to threaten He Xia’s army
He wasn’t fighting against someone else, but He Xia
He witnessed Chu Beijie’s strength and knew He Xia’s fame was just as equal There wasn’t a chance of victory even if their military poas the same
Not to ap between the armies was too wide
It would be a massacre He would be those Bei Mo peasants dissatisfied by the oppression into a hter in the Battle of Zhouqing
“General…”
“Don’t say anythe water and the food Yangfeng prepared It’s tio to the fields”
The es beyond the dark clouds, spreading terrified eyes and whispers
The King’s only brother, Duke of Zhong-Tan, called the fleeing Bei Mo soldiers to asseainst He Xia Less than ten days later, thirty thousand people gathered The arenerals thirty -Tan was caught alive He was tortured and sentenced to death by being cut into pieces
The retreating Dong Lin ar onceHe Xia however used sly tricks, placing an aain fell and suffered many casualties Their corpses were everywhere, and blood stained Dong Lin’s Fuzha River
The cloud of danger now loo pressed closer towards Gui Le’s capital and the terrified King of Gui Le was likely to surrender Le Zhen who always kept an eye on the King of Gui Le noticed the situation wasn’t good He pro towards Gui Le’s borders
Message afterarlory Thanks to the im demand for resources increased upon the peasants of the fallen countries
At first they derain but now each family must supply three pounds of iron so the army had the raw materials to build the weapons needed
The htly closed
The villagers were very worried
“Fifteen pounds of iron Don’t tellpots I refuse!”
“You refuse Do you want to be like Luo-boy then?”
The poorest rain so his skinny head was raised high up in the village His sickly wife tied a noose the next day, suicide by hanging
“If we give them our pots, then how are we to cook?”
“Do you want your life or the pots?”
“Even if we give the pots, it won’t be enough”
The elderly ers he known for so ive that hoe too…”
“How could that He Xia…be so unreasonable?”
“He has an army in his hands”
“What about our Bei Mo’s army?”
“Defeated No one can defeat He Xia”
“Why can no one defeat hi? How is this fair?”
“I heard there was one…” A phrase floated ast the crowd
Their devastated eyes suddenly widened as their gazes pinned on the one who spoke
“Who?”
The villager had only heard frag, he replied, “I think it was Duke of Bei so Chu maybe…”
“Then where is he?”
“About that…I don’t know…”
The people were disappointed Their eyes gained glint of light instantly diainst the wall, each were in silent daze
Three pounds of iron required today What about tomorrow?
Sh metal to hand to the soldiers The sunshi+ne seeer and depression It just continued to shi+ne down on the earth in high spirits
Ze Yin was in the fields, sweating as he lifted and dropped the hoe This was the only re hoe left in the house
The King had died; the country collapsed
Soldiers ca his effortful husbandry It felt like Ze Yin’s heart had been burdered by a boulder It was crushi+ng his heart to pieces, crushi+ng until it bled
He was once the Main General and held the hand its peasants
Yet now, the King died and the peasants were being trod on by other horses
If his opponent wasn’t He Xia, if he didn’t have to worry about his wife and child, would he re those violent soldiers snatch away his hard-earned results?
Yangfeng looked at hi’er and Changxiao- two kids who didn’t know sadness, just joy- did the boulder on his heart becohter
But when he turned away, the boulder would weigh heavily again until it almost seemed to suffocate him
“Brother! Brother!”
Ze Yin raised his head, bean-sized sweatdrops all over his face A-Han huffed as he ran from a shortcut “Brother, Brother, it’s terrible! Brother Wei has been caught by the soldiers!”
Ze Yin stiffened He threw the hoe down and ran towards him, “Where is he?”
“He’s outside the village on the hillside, next to the edge of the large meadow”
Not waiting for A-Han to finish, Ze Yin headed towards the village entrance
Weiting, he knew Weiting
That grumpy man, a man ouldn’t even look at his superiors’ face in the past He only kne to strike, clench his teeth down and fight His foul teo out on the grass plains so that he wouldn’t be able to hear each and every one of He Xia’s es which all served as a death sentence for the peasants Why did he run into Yun Chang’s soldiers?
Ze Yin madly ran all the way to the slopes until his pupils shrank at the sight On the ground, the grass was a mess, as if nuht red blood stains extending to the other side of the hill
“Weiting!” Ze Yin cried as he went on the other side
Weiting was lying on the slope, appearing to have rolled down frorass Ze Yin rushed forwards, got on one knee, and helped hi, how are you?”
“They…they…” Weiting’s head and face were swollen while the wounds on his body oozed blood They were either sword or spear wounds “…stole horse…and…sheep…I…”
“Don’t speak, don’t move” Ze Yin lowered his voice, “I understand”
Yangfeng and Pingting were shocked when Ze Yin carried back Weiting The wet nurse hurriedly took the two children to another roo’s wounds in bandages
“Horse and sheep…all…”
“Don’t speak any , as still struggling to speak She sighed, “Stealing things is fine, but is there a need to beat him up like this?”