Lingyuan, who originally wanted to be lazy for a while, suddenly regained her energy and continued to fiddle with the dustpan in her hand.
"No wonder I heard that those who were captured into Lishui City have never been seen out. This is how lovers were tortured to death."
Lingyuan couldn't help but murmured softly.
Someone nearby heard it and quickly "shushed" her and whispered: "Be careful if the supervisor hears her."
Just know these things in your heart and there is no need to say them out loud.
In fact, although what happened in Lishui City was kept well hidden, no one outside knew what those people were arrested for, but they were not seen out after they were brought in, so everyone knew it.
Most of those people were carried casually to mass graves after they died, and were eaten up by wild beasts.
"No, if they are like this, no one will dare to resist?"
Lingyuan asked curiously.
The total number of people who were captured was tens of thousands at least.
Everyone rushed forward. Can these overseers and the soldiers guarding the city gate kill all these people?
If you are in a hurry, even if you injure the enemy by one thousand and damage yourself by eight hundred, you have to rush forward.
The man looked around, then lowered his voice and said, "Do you think these are the only soldiers guarding the city you saw?"
Lingyuan subconsciously glanced at Li Huang on the other side, then turned her head back, looked at him, and asked, "Isn't it?"
The man sneered: "Of course there are more. This Lishui City has at least 50,000 troops and horses."
fifty thousand……
Lingyuan's eyes widened and she almost screamed.
"How do you know? Where do these soldiers and horses come from? Aren't you afraid of attracting attention?"
The man came a little closer to her and said in an almost whispering voice: "Of course those soldiers did not come in openly. Some of them were just like now, grabbing strong men and bringing people in, and others..."
He coughed and continued: "It was just an excuse to go to the surrounding mountains and forests to suppress bandits, and when we came back, the number of people increased."
Lingyuan was dumbfounded, this was too arrogant.
"It seems like we can't hide this for long, right?"
The man said: "So, this only started last year. Now, don't you know everything you need to know?"
Lingyuan: "..."
At this time, Li Huang bumped into her and reminded: "Is that piece in your dustpan an ore?"
Lingyuan turned her eyes back to her small dustpan in surprise, and then she realized that there was something shiny lying inside.
The people next to me saw it and looked envious: "It seems that you can at least make a living."
Lingyuan sighed, if you put this outside, let alone steamed buns, at least you can go to a restaurant and have a good meal.
So, she stood up, held up the ore in her hand and said loudly: "Master, I found a piece of powdered ore, can you exchange it for two more steamed buns?"
Powdered ore is much more expensive than ordinary gold ore. After all, it is rare. If it is used to make jewelry, it can be worth a fortune.
Therefore, it is not too much for her to change to a few more steamed buns.
But who are these overseers?
How can they talk so easily?
The foreman came over, took one look, and motioned to his men behind him: "Give him a steamed bun."
Lingyuan argued: "How about one more? How can one have the strength to work? If I had known that such a big ore could not be exchanged for two steamed buns, I might as well have just swallowed the ore!"
When the supervisor heard this, his face turned dark immediately: "How dare you have any objections?"
Lingyuan pretended to be timid and pitiful: "How can I dare to have an opinion, little one? It's just that I've always been lucky, and maybe I can find some good things in the middle of the night. Why don't you show your kindness and give me more?"
Just a steamed bun."
The supervisor didn't know whether he was persuaded by her or had some other plans, so he waved his hand to signal to his men to give him more steamed buns.
Lingyuan pretended to be ecstatic and thanked her profusely.
After getting the steamed buns, she immediately gave one to Li Huang. Just as the master and servant were about to nibble, a loud "chicking" sound suddenly came from beside them.
The air suddenly became quiet for a while. Lingyuan endured the pain and broke off a small half and handed it to the man.
The man didn't expect that he would get food after just chatting with her for a few words. He immediately took it in surprise and stuffed it into his mouth, as if he was afraid of being robbed.
Others looked at it with envy.
Li Huang held the steamed bun in his hands, feeling really mixed in his heart.
Some people saw that she was hesitant to start her mouth, and some people said sourly: "It's good to have my brother to protect me. If I find a piece of ore, I can buy myself a piece of food."
Another person made a sound of "嘁" and said: "If you have the ability, you can be reincarnated and let your mother give you a brother."
At this time, someone approached Li Huang and said, "What? You've never had such a bad-tasting steamed bun? Then give it to me and I'll help you eat it."
As he said that, he stretched out his hand to grab it.
Lingyuan raised her hand and pinched the man's wrist, with a cold look in her eyes: "Snatching food under my nose? Are you tired of living?"
The man didn't expect that Lingyuan's hand would be so strong when he looked at her thin and small body. He felt like his wrist would be broken when she squeezed it like this.
However, he dared to shout loudly for fear of attracting the attention of the supervisor over there.
"Brother, let go quickly, my hand is about to break!" He grinned in pain, "It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
Lingyuan snorted, threw the man's wrist away, and warned coldly: "Get out!"
With her hand exposed, other people who had the same intention couldn't help but suppress their thoughts silently.
Many people have been working here for three to five months. They have not had a meal every day. They have long lost the strength of a normal man. How can they dare to compete with these people who have just come in?
This is another reason why no one dared to resist for so long.
Li Huang sat on a stone, took a bite of dry and hard steamed buns, and raised his fingers at Ling Yuan.
Lingyuan put her ear close to her and heard her lower her voice: "Look for a chance and find out who is in charge of Lishui City now."
The former defender of Licheng was Weiyuan General Yang Sui, who was the number one scholar personally selected by the emperor when he first ascended to the imperial throne.
Logically speaking, it is unlikely that he would rebel.
But after all, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and the conditions here are indeed a bit difficult. If someone is tempted, it's hard to say.
Lingyuan nodded, touched the medicine bottle in her arms, got up and walked towards the supervisor over there.
She was gone for a long time and didn't come back until late at night.
Li Huang asked: "Why have you been gone for so long?"
Lingyuan pulled her further away, and then whispered: "General Yang took in a new concubine last year, and she is from the Han family."
Li Huang: "..."
The Han family's hands are stretched far enough!
"Those hoarded soldiers and horses are the private soldiers of the Han family?"
Ling Yuan nodded: "Lishui City was only discovered last year that there were gold mines in the river. They used the money from these mines to raise private soldiers."