Seeing Huo Xi's question, the clan leader said: "Noble sir, my surname is Lu, not Mao."
Well……
Huo Xi turned her head and glanced at the half-grown boy. The boy's eyes bulged: "My name is Lu Maoshi. My surname is Lu."
Huh, I thought this tribe's surname was Mao Ni. Huo Xi touched his nose.
Huo Nian glared at the boy. Why didn't his sister remind him when she called someone? Mao Shi was glared at by Huo Nian and moved towards the clan leader.
Something went wrong. The clan leader asked Huo Xi and others to clarify their doubts.
But it turns out that this tribe of people had fled from the Central Plains earlier. Because of the war in the previous dynasty, they fled all the way to this mountain.
Originally, I had lived a stable life for decades, except for the poverty.
The land of Shu is peaceful, but the mountains are high, the forests are deep, and there are few fertile fields. Their family can only open some poor land on the mountainside and grow some beans and grains to make a living.
Fortunately, this tribe of people still have some craftsmanship. With the mountains of stones, they have mastered the art of building with stone materials. They usually collect stones, cut down some wood, or build houses for people in border counties.
You can build a house and make a living.
But I don’t know when, many bandits and bandits came to the surrounding mountains, and they no longer dared to chop wood, nor did they dare to extract stones. Even if they were mined, they would only be used to make wedding clothes for the bandits.
That's all. Half a month ago, a group of bandits occupied their village.
There was so much food and drink in their village that they were asked to provide food, and they ate all the food they had stored up. Not only that, but they also robbed women! The villagers were still a little bloody at first and resisted fiercely.
But they couldn't fight against the bandits. They were beaten all over with injuries and several died. They were thrown under the mountain stream and couldn't even bury their bones in the loess. The villagers were frightened and Chief Lu was also worried.
Lying in bed, I didn't want to live anymore. I just felt like I had failed my tribe.
Chief Lu was lying on the bed waiting to die. Unexpectedly, the village had no money or food, and the bandits forced everyone to go down the mountain to rob.
"Your Excellency, we are all ordinary people with our duties. They are all forced to have no choice. Please forgive us." Chief Lu was relieved when he heard that these nobles had taken the bandits to the government.
I was relieved, but I was also worried that the other party would be concerned about the villagers' participation in the robbery and would want to settle the villagers' account.
They were also worried about attracting the attention of nearby bandits by alerting others. They were afraid that after the nobles left, the nearby bandits would come again to rob and retaliate against them.
A heart feels like it is being burned in a fire, feeling helpless and helpless.
After hearing this, Huo Xi and others sighed.
"We will not hold your people responsible for their faults. You just have to restrain yourself. But after I leave, you won't have to worry about whether this group of bandits has any accomplices? Or will bandits from other mountains come to harass you again?"
Patriarch Lu nodded repeatedly, worried, how could he not be worried.
Huo Xi glanced around and saw that the small courtyard of the clan leader's house was full of clan members who came to hear the news. There were many young women here. If they encountered bandits again, would they all go jumping into the mountain stream?
"This world doesn't give the poor a way to live!" Patriarch Lu also followed Huo Xi's gaze and glanced at the clan members. Seeing that the clan members all looked helpless, he felt sad.
While coughing, I feel heartbroken. I don’t know where this tribe of people will go.
"There are so many of you, why are you afraid of a few bandits? Let's attack one of the head offices with ten people, or else set fire to their houses while they are sleeping." Isn't it possible to burn them to death?
Huo Nian couldn't figure it out. There were only about twenty bandits in that group, but there were at least over a hundred people in this village. Why didn't they dare to resist?
"They have knives in their hands," Mao Shi said.
"Don't you have a hoe and a fork?"
Mao Shi lowered his head: "We resisted some, but we couldn't defeat them." Several strong laborers died in the village. The clan leader was very angry.
While he was talking, heavy rain poured down.
Everyone in the village ran to their homes, and Patriarch Lu also hurriedly called Huo Xi and others to go inside to take shelter from the rain.
The granddaughter of Patriarch Lu brought water to everyone. They were all wooden bowls with beautiful carved patterns. Looking inside the room, there were either wooden tables and chairs or stone tables and chairs.
Taking a closer look, Huo Xi's eyes flashed as he saw that there were also beautiful patterns carved on it.
It is pouring heavily, and the sound is especially loud and scary in the mountains. If you are walking in a mountain col, rocks and mud are rolling down on both sides, and there is nowhere to hide.
I couldn't help but glance over at Vanilla.
Vanilla received Huo Xi's gaze and raised her chin proudly. When Grandma Ma saw it, she immediately slapped her, and Vanilla immediately became honest.
Huo Xi couldn't help but laugh.
"I heard that the noble man had a premonition that the heavy rain was coming, so he came to our village to take shelter. The noble man is a capable person. I wonder if you can give us some advice on where to go."
These nobles were able to defeat the bandits, and they dared to escort the bandits to see the officials. Just a few people were on their way, either they were very capable or they were of high status.
Chief Lu, now there are internal and external troubles. The clan members are unable to fill their stomachs, their livelihood is difficult, and they are also worried about bandits entering the village. It is really a two-sided struggle.
Thinking about returning to their hometown again, decades have passed and there is no place for them in the hometown. And they can't even raise the travel expenses.
Along the way, Huo Xi felt sad when she saw the Lu family hiding in the mountains and forests.
After thinking about it, he suggested: "If we can't survive here, why not move the whole clan to another place?"
"Move somewhere else?"
Chief Lu shook his head: "It's because we don't want to. We, the Lu clan, originally escaped from the Central Plains. We have built houses and cultivated fields here for decades. Now we have moved to other places, wandering around.
We still don’t know what will happen to us on the road. The whole family together can’t even pay for the travel expenses.”
Huo Xi looked at the furniture in the room: "Does everyone in your clan know wood and stone craftsmanship?"
"Yes, in the past, everyone could make ends meet with this craft, but now they can't even make ends meet."
Huo Xi thought that they were destined to meet, but she couldn't bear to see them frightened and living under the threat of bandits, and said, "I wonder if you have ever heard that the emperor plans to move the capital?"
"The emperor plans to move the capital? Where? Is the emperor no longer in Jiangnan?" Chief Lu was shocked.
Originally, the imperial city was in Dadu, but in the hands of foreigners, Taizu took it back for the Han people and later established the capital in Jiangnan. Why did the capital have to be moved again? Has the Zhu Wei Dynasty been overthrown by someone again?
Then should they escape further south?
Patriarch Lu and his family were restless.
Huo Xi saw that they were in the mountains and had little contact with the outside world, so he told them some political affairs outside.
"Now the emperor intends to move the capital to Peking. Peking is currently building palaces and building mausoleums. Craftsmen from all over the country have been summoned to Peking. However, the manpower is still insufficient. They are also recruiting talents from all over the country..."
"I heard that the palace and mausoleum require eight major works: earthwork, stone work, wood work, wood work, tile work, oil work, color painting, and paper work. I am an outsider in these, and you should be more familiar with them than me. You guys
If you have skills, you can go to Peiping. The wages are good and you can always make ends meet."
Patriarch Lu was so excited that he stood up, his body trembling: "Is this true?"
Huo Xi nodded.
We are saved, our tribe is saved! Chief Lu circled excitedly.
After turning around twice, he calmed down again.
How could they go all the way to Peking when they didn't even have travel expenses? Are they going to live in the wind and the earth?
Patriarch Lu and his family looked at each other and then fell back.
Besides, even if the clan members can find work in Peiping, once the wages are sent back, it is doubtful whether the remaining clan members can survive in the hands of the bandits.