jdhmnovel Chapter 384: Luohe returns with a full load, Yunzhou Army sneaks in again
Chapter 384: Luohe returns with a full load, Yunzhou Army sneaks in again
The night was long and starry in Chaisang City. Except for the servants and night watchmen on duty, most people in the Gu Mansion had fallen asleep.
But thousands of miles away, outside Xueyue City at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake in the northwest, there was a crowd of people and a constant noise.
At the second watch, cuckoos were calling, and refugees were gathering outside the gate of Xiaguan.
Three days ago, Luo He, who was entrusted by Baili Dongjun to take some small gold, silver and jade items out to exchange for money, finally returned.
He was dressed in black, carrying the broadsword on his back, riding a green-maned horse, and accompanied by three or four disciples from the mortal realm. He led a team of twelve or thirteen horse carts loaded with corn, flour, copper coins and silver ingots, and returned to Xiaguan City in a mighty procession.
Seeing the convoy getting closer, many refugees who were camping outside heard the sound of horse hooves and wheels and stuck their heads out to look.
A young man with bright eyes emerged from the first tent. When he saw that the person in the lead was Luo He, he excitedly went back to the tent and woke up the old man who was still sleeping:
"Uncle, look! The young city lord is back!"
A little girl with a round bun walked out of the shed on the other side. She looked at the bulging sacks on the carriage with a pale face and asked her mother:
"So many carriages... Mother, are those sacks filled with food? My daughter is so hungry. She doesn't want to eat rice bran anymore..."
At the foot of the city wall, an elderly man wrapped in rags stood up with the help of a cane. One of his eyes was blind, and the other reflected the shadow of the caravan:
"We're saved, finally! The Young City Lord and the other two City Lords are truly rare good people... The fact that my family has managed to crawl to Snow Moon City alive is a testament to the virtue of our ancestors!"
More and more refugees poked their heads out from their tents and huts, gradually forming rows of human walls, all looking towards the convoy carrying hope.
Although Yunzhou City had been captured by Baili Luochen, some local people who were afraid of war still left their homes and fled to Xiaguan City.
There are now 40,000 to 50,000 refugees gathered here, most of them are from Yunzhou, and a small number of them come from Shuzhong across the ancient Shu Road.
The journey was not peaceful. Many people were buried on the roadside, or starved to death, or fell off cliffs or ravines, or were killed by poisonous snakes and beasts...
Only three or four out of ten people could reach Xiaguan City safely, and the hardships involved were beyond the imagination of outsiders.
What Luo He didn't know was that in addition to the pairs of hope-filled eyes of the refugees outside the city, there were more than a dozen pairs of gloomy and cold eyes staring at him in the dense forest four or five miles behind him!
In the dense forest, there were several teams of scouts sent out by the three major camps of the Yunzhou border army to explore. These teams of scouts were not wearing the military uniforms and light armor of the Yunzhou border army. Each of them was dressed in coarse linen clothes and eight-piece linen shoes on his feet, looking very much like the common farmers in the Yunshu border area.
The leader was a bearded man, but his eyes were sharp and sharp, not like a vulgar soldier. He looked at the Luohe convoy for a long time, then turned to the dozen or so scouts behind him and asked:
"Did you all see clearly?"
"I can see clearly! The one on horseback leading the way should be the younger brother of the former city lord Luo Shui. His swordsmanship is not bad, but his cultivation should still be at the mortal level!"
One of the younger scouts responded.
The captain nodded, took out a crude map from his pocket, and said as he looked at it:
"According to the information we've obtained, the best martial artists in Xueyue City should be Baili Dongjun and the two old men surnamed Luo in Tongtian Pavilion. They are both masters of the Free and Easy Heaven Realm. This Luo He in front of us is nothing to be afraid of! These Yunzhou people outside the city can be used by us!"
Another scout with a dark red face and high cheekbones was puzzled. He asked tentatively:
"What does Bai Hu mean by this?"
The captain put away the map, rolled his eyes at the questioner with a hint of disgust and said:
"Stupid! These refugees definitely didn't gather here the day before. Baili Dongjun and his group came to Tianqi City to cheat and deceive people because these refugees have eaten up all the money in Xueyue City!
The Grand Commander told you and me before he sent out the troops that our main objective this time wasn't to attack the city; capturing Baili Dongjun was our top priority! Don't just stand there, find an opportunity to sneak in among the beggars, change into some rags, and follow me into the city to find where Baili Dongjun and the others are hiding!
If we are accidentally discovered by the warriors in the city, we can also threaten the lives of those refugees. You and I are ordinary warriors of the fifth or sixth rank. How can we be a match for those guys in a head-on confrontation? "
After the captain's speech, the other scouts said at the same time:
"Under the mark, I understand!"
Soon, more than a dozen figures came out of the dense forest and followed the path to the outskirts of the city gate.
Luo He's convoy was soon surrounded by refugees, some of whom anxiously came to the front of the carriage to try to see if there was food inside.
Seeing that more and more people were gathering around, Luo He was worried about something happening, so he had to pull the reins and take a breath of Qi in his mouth and said loudly:
"Fellow villagers, please make way for me to return to the city. Before dawn, the Grand and Second City Lords and I will distribute food and warm clothing to everyone. Please be patient!"
His shout had indeed worked. The refugees retreated one after another, leaving a path more than ten feet wide. Luo He hurriedly urged the carriage to slowly enter the city.
Baili Dongjun and his men did not forbid refugees from entering the city, but there were many hidden sects and hermit masters in Xueyue City who did not want to be disturbed. Moreover, the city was not very big. If these tens of thousands of refugees were accepted, the normal operation of the entire city would probably be paralyzed.
In that case, more refugees might die. In order to avoid such a situation, after weighing the pros and cons, Baili Dongjun, Sikong Changfeng and others discussed and unanimously decided to let the refugees settle down outside the city.
The people in the city also donated money and manpower to help them build huts and tents. The refugees had nowhere to go, so they were naturally overjoyed that there was a place to take them in.
During this period, this balance was maintained between the city and the outside world until half a month ago when Xueyue City was in urgent need of money and food. Coincidentally, Wen Yanzhao entered the city, so Baili Dongjun and others decided to leave the city to find a way to survive for the entire Xueyue City and the tens of thousands of refugees outside the city.
Luo He's convoy slowly drove into Xiaguan City. He was walking in front and didn't notice that there were already several people behind him wearing refugee clothes who had climbed onto the carriage and sneaked into the city under the cover of night.
The convoy soon arrived at the City Lord's Mansion. Luo He dismounted and said,
"Stop! You guys, put the money, food, and other supplies back to the warehouse first. I'll go discuss the distribution with the Grand City Lord. Luo Baicheng and Luo Mingzhe, come over there. I'll leave this matter to you two brothers. Don't embarrass your uncle!"
The two burly young men, about eighteen or nineteen, who were at the head of the convoy, clasped their fists and responded simultaneously, "Young City Lord, please rest assured!"
These two people are the nephews of Tongtian Pavilion elders Luo Nianse and Luo Fengzhong. They went out this time to follow Luo He for training.
The two of them followed Luo He's arrangements and took the caravan to deposit hundreds of thousands of copper coins and silver ingots into the warehouse. They also placed grain, cotton, cloth, herbs and other supplies in the warehouse. Only then did they pack up their carriages and return to the mansion.
Your Excellency, City Lord, two furtive shadows flashed by. With the light from the attic, I could barely make out that they were two men in tattered clothes.
They turned to the north side of the City Lord's Pavilion, looked around, and took out a pair of grappling hooks from their waists. Another person pulled off the torn bag on his back, which contained a roll of hemp rope.
The two of them tied the hook and looked towards the flower wall outside the City Lord's Pavilion, then swung the hook -
"Swoosh...nail!"
The hook was tightly attached to the wall brick. The two men pulled the rope, looked at each other, and quickly pulled the hemp rope to climb up the outer wall of the attic.
……