Zhu Guanqi looked at the corpses. Although the corpses had their faces covered, most of their legs and feet were still exposed. Zhu Guanqi said: "These dead people should be porters. If you look at the shoes on their feet, they should be
Can guess their identities."
Hu Xiaotian actually noticed this just now. The people who were killed were all ordinary porters. Most of the main characters in the caravan had escaped. Hu Xiaotian asked Li Mingcheng: "Where is the survivor?"
Li Mingcheng said: "He was injured and has been sent to the city for treatment. However, it is only a skin injury and should not be life-threatening."
Hu Xiaotian nodded and ordered Li Mingcheng and others to send the corpses back to Yizhuang for temporary storage in an effort to find out their identities as soon as possible. He and Zhu Guanqi went to the place where the refugees were resettled.
Five hundred soldiers were also recruited locally in the refugee camp to be responsible for the security management here. Their main tasks are to maintain security and distribute relief, so their ages vary. The oldest is over sixty years old, and the youngest is only ten years old.
He was twenty or three years old, and he did not wear uniforms, and his weapons were sticks, shovels, kitchen knives and the like made from local materials.
Three temporary leaders were also elected in the refugee camp, selected according to different regions. When the three temporary leaders heard that the city lord of Dongliang County was coming in person, they hurriedly came over to meet. These refugees were still grateful to Hu Xiaotian.
, if he hadn't been kind enough to take them in and send them food and clothing, most of the 30,000 refugees in this refugee camp would have died of cold and starvation.
The old man with white hair and long beard walking at the front was named Yu Dongqing. He was highly respected in the refugee camp. There were as many as 2,000 people who came to flee with him. Because he was knowledgeable and fair, he was very popular.
It quickly gained everyone's praise and recognition.
Yu Dongqing led the other two people to come to Hu Xiaotian, saluted respectfully and said: "Common people meet Mr. Hu!"
Hu Xiaotian smiled and nodded and said: "Mr. Yu, no need to be polite. I passed by this place during my inspection today and stopped by to take a look. The weather has turned cold in the past two days. I wonder how the situation is in your camp? Do you need to buy more quilts and clothes? Do you have enough food and grass?
?”
Yu Dongqing burst into tears and said: "Thank you Master Hu for your kindness and taking us in. In the past two days, I also specially sent people supplies for the winter. Without Master Hu, I am afraid that we people would not have starved to death."
They froze to death on the way to Dayong." Most of the people who stayed in the refugee camp were the old, weak, sick and disabled. Some of the young and strong were selected to join the army, and a considerable number continued to choose to go north. In fact, these refugees did not lack long-term vision.
People, many people have seen that Dakang's strength has been exhausted. Whether Dongliang County can exist is also unknown. As long as Dayong decides to attack Dakang, it will be the first to fall into the war. The only way to completely escape the disaster is to venture into Dayong.
, only by going there can we escape the worries of war forever.
Hu Xiaotian said: "Mr. Yu, you're welcome. We are all compatriots of the same country. Hu will naturally do his best for his compatriots within his ability."
However, Yu Dongqing expected that Hu Xiaotian's visit was no accident. The place where the Dayong caravan was ambushed was only more than three miles away from the refugee camp. They had heard some rumors and guessed that Hu Xiaotian's visit was most likely related to this incident.
Related. They had long expected that the government would come to investigate, but they did not expect that Hu Xiaotian drove lightly and did not bring too many people. This also made Yu Dongqing and others secretly relieved.
Hu Xiaotian inspected the refugee camp and paid special attention to the food of the refugees. Now the food of the refugees is under unified control. It is distributed uniformly every day to avoid waste to the greatest extent. There are twenty specific places in the refugee camp. These places
Use a big pot to light a fire to cook meals. After eating, the refugees line up in neat lines to receive meals. There are one thousand people in a village, one hundred people in one village, and ten people in one household. Adult men and women each have a portion, and children and
The elderly are halved. Although most of them cannot eat enough, they can barely survive on such a diet.
Hu Xiaotian specially came to the big pot to take a look, and saw that it was all boiled with gruel. A bowl of gruel and a black steamed bun were the rations for an adult meal. Fish and meat were out of the question, and there were no fresh vegetables.
It turns out that under the current situation, it is quite good to have gruel to satisfy one's hunger, and the refugees do not dare to ask for more.
Hu Xiaotian asked Yu Dongqing: "Mr. Yu, have you heard of anything unusual recently?"
Yu Dongqing knew what Hu Xiaotian was asking, and replied in panic: "Master Hu is asking about the robbery of the caravan outside the refugee camp?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded.
Yu Dongqing clasped his hands and bowed deeply: "Sir, this matter has nothing to do with us. We fled from the south and came here. It was not easy to meet the master who was willing to take us in and gave us food and clothing. We are very grateful.
How dare you do such a bold thing if you don’t have time?”
Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Mr. Yu, don't panic. I didn't say that this incident has anything to do with you. It's just that it happened near the refugee camp. That's why I wanted to ask Mr. Yu if he has any clues."
Yu Dongqing said: "Master Hu, we really don't know what happened."
Zhu Guanqi on the side said: "It turns out that the old gentleman didn't know what happened. A caravan was attacked more than three miles away from the refugee camp. This caravan came from Dayong. The attack killed a total of twelve people.
One person was injured.”
Yu Dongqing's expression changed when he heard this: "What? Dayong caravan?"
Zhu Guanqi nodded and said: "The survivors have fled to Dayong to report the news. If the Dayong side learns that something happened to their caravan in Dongliang County, I'm afraid they won't let it go."
Yu Dongqing's face turned pale with fright, and she said in a trembling voice: "How could such a thing happen?"
At this time, a lazy voice said: "Is there going to be a war? Sooner or later there will be a battle. It's better to come early than to come late. It's better to fight!" But it was a young man in ragged clothes and disheveled hair who was curled up near a large pot to warm himself over the fire.
When Hu Xiaotian and others were talking just now, he was lying there motionless, and there were many people gathered around the big pot to warm themselves by the fire, so no one noticed him.
Yu Dongqing turned to the young man and said angrily: "You bastard, what are you talking about?" It turned out that the young man was his youngest son Yu Tianxing.
Yu Tianxing yawned and turned around slowly. His face was covered with dust and he looked haggard, like a beggar. He smiled at Yu Dongqing, revealing his neat white teeth.
Yu Dongqing apologized to Hu Xiaotian and said: "Master Hu, please don't care about it. He is my youngest son Yu Tianxing. He is a nerd. He has been crazy since he was a child. He is indifferent to the four body parts and the five grains."
Yu Tianxing laughed and said, "Dad, that's wrong. I, Yu Tianxing, am a person who does big things. I don't even bother to do those small things."
The people around burst into laughter. Yu Dongqing was highly respected among the refugees, but his son was really incompetent and idle all day long. No matter how dangerous the surrounding environment was, he still looked lazy. Yu Dongqing's face turned red because of the laughter of everyone, and he scratched his head.
He picked up a knot on the broom beside him and rushed forward, wanting to beat Yu Tianxing.
Yu Tianxing ran away in a hurry, but because of his haste, he stepped on his tattered robe, and fell to the ground with a thud. When he raised his head, he saw a hand being handed to him. Yu Tianxing looked up,
But he saw Hu Xiaotian looking at him with a smile.
Yu Tianxing did not hesitate, and held Hu Xiaotian's clean and strong hand with his dirty right hand. With his help, he climbed up. When Yu Dongqing saw his son and Hu Xiaotian standing together, he had to stop and pointed at his son.
He scolded: "You are a pickled person, please stay away from Mr. Hu."
Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Mr. Yu, please calm down."
Yu Tianxing imitated his tone and said, "Yes! Mr. Yu, calm down!"
Everyone around them burst into laughter again.
When Yu Dongqing heard the crowd's ridicule and saw her son's complacent and oblivious face, he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Hu Xiaotian said: "Master Yu's temperament is really different!"
Yu Tianxing let go of his hand and said: "Master Hu is laughing at me. It's difficult to paint the skin of a tiger but the bones. It turns out that Master Hu also likes to judge people by their appearance."
Yu Dongqing was so angry that her hands were shaking: "You bastard, how dare you talk to Mr. Hu like this? Do you know that we refugees would have starved to death and frozen to death if we didn't have Mr. Hu's help?"
Yu Tianxing shook his head and said: "Sooner or later, we will all die. Can Mr. Hu protect us for a while, or for a lifetime?"
"you……"
Yu Tianxing said: "I was already in despair, and then because you have hope again. If this hope turns into despair in the future, wouldn't it be even more miserable and sad? It would be better to remain in despair."
Hu Xiaotian's heart moved and he looked towards Zhu Guanqi, only to see Zhu Guanqi looking at the young man with great interest.
Yu Dongqing couldn't bear it anymore and rushed up and grabbed Yu Tianxing's ears and dragged him away from Hu Xiaotian.
Hu Xiaotian looked at the retreating figures of father and son and said with a smile, "This Yu Tianxing is a bit interesting."
Zhu Guanqi said: "This child is by no means a thing in the pond. The reason why he is dissolute and cynical is because his ambition has not been realized. He clearly has other motives for saying this in front of adults."
Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "Let's go and have a look!"
Xiong Tianba said aside: "Isn't he just a poor scholar? I don't see what he has any ability."
Hu Xiaotian said: "What do you know? Don't cause trouble." He asked the other people to wait where they were, and followed with Zhu Guanqi. Not far away, he heard the sound of scolding coming from behind the tent, but it was Yu.
Dongqing was waving a broom and teaching her son, while Yu Tianxing squatted there with his head in his hands, letting his father beat him. He was not willing to hit him too hard anyway, so he just let him get away with it.
Hu Xiaotian and Zhu Guanqi did not rush forward to stop them. Seeing that Yu Dongqing was tired from beating, they threw the broom away and turned away. Yu Tianxing then stood up, rubbed his sore arm and sighed.
Said: "The world is turbid and there is no one who knows it, but we are so high-spirited that we ignore it!"
Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and Zhu Guanqi couldn't help but smile. (To be continued)
