Hangzhou.
Refugee camp in the north of the city.
The weather in May is already a bit hot.
Early in the morning, countless refugees got up from the camp and, under the supervision of soldiers, lined up in long lines to receive gruel.
When the soldiers on patrol were bored, a man suddenly threw the porcelain bowl to the ground after receiving the porridge and shouted:
"You want us to starve to death? Just two bowls of gruel every day, who can eat it?"
"I have heard a long time ago that the local Wang Dashanren and others wanted to enter the camp for relief, but they were rejected by a certain big shot."
"Is this reasonable?"
Following his outburst, someone else shouted:
"There are also those who were picked up by Lord Cao. They have solid food every day and are full to eat. Why should we only live on gruel? This is so unfair?"
An old man said in an unpredictable tone:
"Didn't you notice that most of the families picked out have young women..."
As you and I discussed each other, the refugees' mood became more and more wrong, and some of them were already out of control.
This is the saying that we should not suffer from poverty but from inequality.
One of the men who was patrolling with his subordinates saw this and hurriedly walked forward and said angrily:
"What do you want to do? How dare you disrupt the order of the Zhi refugee camp and seek death?"
One of the men suddenly shouted:
"Young general, we have no other intentions. We just want to provide relief to Wang Dashan and others because they have plenty of food. Why does Marquis Cao want to stop them?"
"He didn't spend his food, and he detained us and refused to leave. Is there some conspiracy in this..."
When everyone heard this, they became even more noisy, and some even whispered:
"I have long said that this Zhongjing Marquis is not a good person."
"He has a bad reputation, so why would he help us for no reason?"
This kind of discussion is increasing and slowly spreading to more people.
When the young general heard this, he immediately became angry and said:
"How dare you criticize Lord Cao, are you looking for death?"
“I’ll arrest them all and punish them severely, as a warning to others!”
He knew that he couldn't hesitate at this time, otherwise it might lead to catastrophe.
At this time, the Deputy Superintendent of Soldiers and Horses of Hangzhou suddenly came over and said:
"Stop it. The people have been wronged. If you just say a few words, why bother to mobilize troops?"
"I, the Song Dynasty, never sin with words!"
After he finished speaking, everyone behind him said with resentment:
"We also put in a lot of effort to eliminate the traitors this time, but Master Hou only rewarded Shang and those outsiders from Jingxiang."
"We old brothers who guard Hangzhou, but he turns a blind eye. Is he too partial?"
"Moreover, there are so many brothers in the army who are single, but Marquis Cao takes a young woman away to have sex for himself. Isn't this too unkind?"
As soon as these words came out, they immediately resonated with many soldiers.
When the refugees saw that there were people in the army supporting them, they suddenly became bolder and shouted:
"I don't think the person named Cao has any good intentions at all..."
"Yes, you still starve us all the time and don't let us have enough to eat. This is no longer a thing? We must ask for an explanation!"
Hearing Dujian Li's words, the young general was stunned for a moment and looked at him deeply. Seeing that most of the refugees looked resentful, he couldn't help but feel annoyed and shouted angrily:
"Do you still have a conscience? You were held hostage by Fang La and you were already guilty. Who saved you?"
"Your food was robbed by Fang La. Even if you are let back, will you have food at home?"
"If it weren't for Mr. Cao Hou, you would have starved to death long ago."
"Do you think those kind people are really so kind? Give you food for free?"
Although he knew that some people were spreading rumors and causing trouble among the refugees, the fact that so many people did not know what was right and wrong and so easily believed the rumors and accused Cao Bin still made him angry.
I haven’t asked you to work, so it would be a great kindness to give you two bowls of porridge.
With the current living conditions, even if you are resting at home, you will not ask for enough food and drink.
Aren't you just eating enough to make a fuss over something like this?
After saying that, he was still upset and pointed at the soldiers behind Li Dujian and said:
"And you."
"Don't you know whether you have any merit or not?"
"With your careless demeanor, you can't accomplish anything. Why should the Marquis give you a reward?"
Most of the people who followed Li Dujian to find trouble were the original Forbidden Army soldiers in Hangzhou, and they were all veterans.
After Lu Junyi arrived in Hangzhou, he felt that they were really unfit for training, so he selected some and focused his energy on the newly recruited soldiers.
Seeing that the young general was getting more and more rational as he spoke, all of Li Dujian's subordinates suddenly became anxious and said without hesitation:
"You are the dog promoted by Cao Bin, of course you speak to him?"
"A man with muddy legs dares to talk to the Governor like this. Are you looking for death..."
As he was speaking, the young general suddenly pulled out his sword and shouted angrily:
"How dare you insult Mr. Hou."
At the same time, another loud shout suddenly sounded from outside the camp.
"Be bold!"
Before Nadu Tou could react, a giant tiger-like figure rushed over and kicked him away.
Seeing Cao Bin coming in leisurely with his hands behind his back, Li Dujian broke into a cold sweat and secretly complained in his heart. Those family heads were too unreliable. Why did this man come so fast?
The refugees and soldiers have not yet been fully mobilized.
Although he had the courage to plot a conspiracy behind his back, he knew very well how powerful Cao Bin was and his prestige in the army, so he would never dare to challenge him face to face.
Not to mention Cao Bin, even his men could tear him alive.
So, without any hesitation, he knelt down and apologized with a "poof" sound, and said tremblingly:
"Hou... Mr. Hou, the last general..."
Cao Bin ignored him and looked at the endless refugees. At this time, they also became quiet.
Although I dare not say it openly, there is still resentment in my eyes...
But apart from resentment, they were mostly filled with fear. After all, a devil-like figure like Fang La was beaten to a pulp by Cao Bin.
At this moment, the Hangzhou magistrate and other officials and gentry family heads also rushed in without being blocked.
"Master Cao Hou, why are you here?"
Cao Bin smiled and said: "If I don't come here again, I'm afraid this refugee camp will be turned upside down."
As he spoke, he did not hesitate and turned to the refugees and shouted:
"Don't you want to be with Wang Dashanren? Very good! I agree."
Anyway, most of the people who are useful have been picked out by him.
Since they were willing to trust the local gentry, he was happy.
When the young general heard this, he immediately became anxious and said hurriedly:
"Master Hou, these people are ungrateful..."
Cao Bin waved his hand and interrupted him directly. In fact, he didn't care about these refugees being good or bad, ungrateful and so on. It was just human nature.
Most of the people are like this too. It’s hard to say whether it’s right or wrong. Since he lets them go, Cao Bin has already predicted it, which is where he can take advantage of it...
Hearing Cao Bin's words, not only the gentry but also the refugees were stunned. They did not expect that Cao Bin would speak so easily.
Even Li Dujian breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was fine. Just as he was about to get up, he saw Cao Bin waving his hand and saying:
"Come here, arrest all these soldiers and generals who have committed rebellion, and wait for me to deal with them... Anyone who refuses to obey will be killed on the spot."
Deputy Superintendent Li was stunned and quickly begged for mercy:
"Master Hou, I was wronged, wronged!"
"Master Wang, save me..."
Just as he was talking, Lu Junyi kicked him over and waved:
"Take it!"
On the other side, Yan Qing took a step forward, drew a knife and cut off the head of the rude person, and handed it to Lu Junyi's hand and said:
"General, there's also this."
Lu Junyi reacted immediately and quickly accepted it.
When all the gentry and officials saw this, they immediately trembled. Even the refugees were too frightened to speak out. They looked at Cao Bin and others with fear...
