Perhaps even Lu Zicheng had not expected in advance that these refugees, who were so hungry that they were so weak that they had no strength left to wield a knife, could start a war that lasted for two months in the second city of Feng City.
In autumn and September, thousands of refugees climbed to the top of the city in the first city of Zhongyi City. They fought hard day and night, killing and injuring hundreds. Finally, they cut off the iron cables of the suspension bridge, allowing refugees from outside the city to file in. Even Lu Zicheng relied on his prestige and the remaining men on hand. Controlling them did not help. They were so hungry that they could no longer care about the countless other disaster-stricken refugees. They almost filled the streets and alleys of Zhongyi Shou City, and they just surrounded the huge city. But when the refugees actually entered Zhongyi City and everyone worked together to open the grain depot, they realized that even Zhongyi City had not much food left.
Therefore, this war should naturally wrap up the Zhongyi City, which should have stayed out of the war. Almost all the surviving refugees in the six cities moved towards the Inner A City.
Han Jiangling took the first step in climbing the city, so he took a considerable amount of grain from the city's grain depot during the grain season. With the remaining grain, he found a doctor in the city to treat the young man's illness. He was helpless, but fortunately, he now had rice to satisfy his hunger, and he took a few medicinal herbs to make some adjustments, which made the young man open his eyes. Although he could not speak, his face looked better than usual. As usual, he saw the city. The girl with a very good figure walked back and forth, but she still glanced at her with furtive eyes, unable to move her eyes away.
Compared with the woman who finally breathed a sigh of relief, compared with the child who put down his thoughts and could eat enough for two days, Han Jiangling spoke less and less day by day after climbing the city, and had no intention of eating most of the time. , but after a long wasted time, I picked up the increasingly incomplete long knife and leaned against the wall of the residence occupied by the refugees. I lowered my eyebrows and did not know what I was thinking.
Lu Zicheng knew that the first city of Zhongyi was definitely not the final place where the refugees could find a way to survive. Therefore, although thousands of refugees forced their way into the city and killed the soldiers who defended the city, they were able to successfully enter the city lord's palace. However, even if he talked with the current city lord , and couldn't find out the whereabouts of the remaining food in the city, so they had to leave in anger to find another way out. After a few days of rectification, they led the increasingly powerful refugee people to Neijia City. However, they did not take Han Jiangling with them, but ordered Han Jiangling to go to Neijia City. After a few days in Jiangling, he brought thousands of refugees to the outside of Neijia City to provide relief.
Ever since the refugees entered the city, there has been no rooster crow in Zhongyi City. This is not because the refugees are cruel, but because at this time of year, the crowing of the rooster is more important than survival. Therefore, in the early morning, the city is extremely quiet. Well, I think the few people elected by the refugees also knew that they should not do such desperate things. Therefore, after breaking down the gate of Zhongyi Shou City, they did not violate the rules again. They did not do any harm to the people in the city. They just Take out the grain stored in the government offices in the city to extend the lives of the refugees. The woman walked out of the house. As expected, Han Jiangling still picked up the long knife, shrank up with difficulty, sat against the courtyard wall, looked up at the gloomy and miserable sky outside, and the feeling that had not gone away so far. Wolf smoke.
The woman who had been known as domineering in the small building for many years carefully knelt down, tiptoed and sat down next to Han Jiangling. Unexpectedly, Han Jiangling, who was in a daze, suddenly slashed with his sword, just a hair away from the woman's throat.
However, the woman did not show much fear and gently pushed away the damaged long knife in front of her eyes. The same civet cat seemed to be lying between Han Jiangling's knees, which made the latter come to his senses and apologize in a low voice.
"You've seen something on the top of the city. It's okay to tell me about it." Han Jiangling still looked thin, but even so, Fu Guiru could notice that the man in front of him was shaking slightly, and he raised his hand to lift him up. The latter had hair on his temples and looked at the man with a pair of really good-looking eyebrows. No matter how he behaved, he seemed to be trying to comfort a child, which was indeed somewhat effective. Han Jiangling also rarely smiled, shaking his head and smiling. .
"Actually, I have never seen any horrifying scenes. It's just a group of people who want to live and meet another group of people who also want to live. But in this troubled world, not everyone can survive. That's probably the case. , the matter of killing each other without land, when I think about it carefully, the fault is not with the refugees, nor with the soldiers who guard the city. I never thought about it before, but now I want to think about it a little bit."
However, the woman did not answer. Instead, she glanced at Han Jiangling with a slightly reproachful look, grabbed the man's ribs with two fingers, and squeezed them away. "It's natural to talk to others in a formal way, but what if you said this to me?" If you speak against your will, you will not be forgiven and you will have to suffer some physical pain." Even though Han Jiangling had been boxing since he was a child and often fought with others, he thought that his flesh and skin were solid. Unfortunately, Fu Guiru felt a stinging sensation on his two fingers. It was quite difficult to relax, so I kept begging for mercy, which actually cleared away most of the recent gloom.
So in the early morning outside the courtyard wall, the man took the woman into his arms and began to talk about what he saw at the top of the city.
Han Jiangling in Waibing City often used fists and palms to do things for Fu Guiru, who lived in a small building. He was especially good at visiting people to collect debts and breaking down doors. However, even in the critical situation he encountered at Buwu Tea House, He has never seen life or death. At the city head that day, even though Han Jiangling was not skilled in swordsmanship, he still killed dozens of people with his bravery. In the end, the broken long sword that Lu Zicheng handed to Han Jiangling himself was extremely blunt and could not hurt the armor of the defenders at all. Even if a person stabs at an unarmored area, it will still be difficult to break through the flesh.
But in the most critical moment, the refugees above the city suffered heavy casualties and no one could replace them. Only a few dozen people were left. Even though there were warriors like Lu Zicheng who were very good with weapons leading the way, the surrounding refugees were still lying down in pieces. As a last resort, Han Jiangling also He was so ruthless that he just pierced the armor with the tip of the knife, killing several people again. Blood and water splashed along the throat, which was several feet high.
Even now, Han Jiangling feels faintly chilled when he thinks of his murderous methods that day. Whenever he picks up the old and broken long knife, he always thinks about it with lingering fear, and even dares not to close his eyes and relapse. When my eyes are dark, I can always hear the sound of the knife cutting into the bones, and the miserable screams of the homeless people and guards on the city top. No matter how ferocious and cunning a warrior is, he will never take someone else's life on his hands, even if he often sees blood. And if his hands are contaminated with other people's lives, it will take who knows how many years before he can calm down his thoughts.
It’s hard work here, and I can’t tell outsiders about it.
The woman didn't say much, she just hooked her arm around Han Jiangling's neck, who was looking downcast, put his forehead against his chest, and softly hummed a tune from his childhood.
It tells the story of a young man who went away to a foreign country to serve as a conscript, leaving behind his sweetheart to stop at the bridge and look around at the young man year after year. His voice was soft and without sadness, but the more he listened to it, the more heart-pounding it became.
On the second day, a middle-aged man with clear features and simple clothes came to visit the five people's residence.
Even in such a calamity year, visitors are still polite and polite, and they are not impatient or impatient. However, children hate to see such a bookish scholar. They took advantage of Han Jiangling's resting season and tried every means to stop him. After struggling for a full hour, he reluctantly let it go and let him step into the house.
Han Jiangling's illness happened to show up again, and it was difficult for him to see the surrounding scenery clearly. Fortunately, after many years, his hearing was not bad, so no one else heard the sound in front of the door. Only Han Jiangling knew that the child was deliberately making things difficult for others. He didn't stop him, but just sat quietly in the room. When the person came and sat down in embarrassment, he said with a smile, "I have met the city lord, the reputation is worse than meeting him." When I saw him today, his demeanor was indeed not like ordinary people. The city lord who deserves to be the first city in the second rank.
In fact, it is quite easy to guess. The three leaders elected by the refugees are not far from the Inner City and are not in the city. And the only one who is famous among the refugees in the city is the one who broke the iron chain of the suspension bridge. Han Jiangling, a middle-aged man who is well-educated, speaks slowly and has a servant following him when he enters the door. There is no need to think carefully, he is probably not an ordinary person.
Based on what the city lord said, Han Jiangling learned that the families in Zhongyi City were better off than those in Outer B City. However, there was not much food left in the government granary. When the disaster started, 60% of the people in Zhongyi City had already been reduced. All the three outer cities of Wai Bing were allocated to the rescue, but for a long time, no one heard of any movement in the three inner cities of Inner A, which have always been extremely wealthy and full of money and food. Furthermore, since he is the lord of a city, he needs to plan for the people in the city first. If the disaster continues year after year, with the presence of this first city in Zhongyi City, we can not only communicate with the lord of Feng City, but also isolate the displaced people due to the disease. After all, relying on this city to feed countless displaced people is really a small thing.
"Of course I know that the city lord is concerned, but these refugees don't deserve to die. If the city lord had opened the city earlier and released people, perhaps many people would not have died in vain, and these desperate refugees would not have been killed with swords and axes in their hands. As we enter the city, the momentum intensifies.”
Han Jiangling's eyes were dull, he fumbled for the water bag on the desk, drank some water, and then he smiled half-heartedly.
"Many people are waiting until they die. Someone on the top of the city said that the city will be opened soon, or that food will be released in three days. These people are used to starving, and the sky in autumn is even colder. Most of them are Honest people, at the beginning of the great disaster, many of the wealthy families were able to find a way out in advance, but these people did not have that kind of ability. They might just be waiting for the city lord's order. Even if they died, they would still have something to look forward to. .”
"A few months after the great disaster, there was not much food left in the city." Han Jiangling could not see the expression on the face of the person in front of him, but he could hear some misery in his words.
"In the three inner cities, I have never been ordered to open warehouses to release grain, nor have I been allowed to open the city to release grain. Even every household in the city has only a surplus of food to survive. However, even in this season, the collection of money and grain has not been reduced in the slightest. , I have been a city lord for many years, but I have accumulated a lot of money, so I rely on my own money to fill the granary, and it is difficult to survive until now. Among the three cities in the inner city, they are really singing and dancing, but no one has ever asked the inner city. Take a look outside the city."
"It was me, the city lord, who failed in my duties, which made the people live in difficulty. It was also my, the city lord, who failed in my duties, that I did not stop the refugees."
Han Jiangling remained motionless for a long time after the city lord of Zhongyi Capital City said goodbye and left.
Finally, he reached out and slowly touched the broken knife on the table.
Perhaps in the eyes of many people in the inner city, the lives of the people in the six outer cities, the outer C, the middle and the second city, are no more valuable than the chickens and dogs they raise at home.
Some people died, but not completely...
