Under the sky

Chapter 283 Disaster on Xiao Qiang

The breeze stirred up dust and sand, and the barley fields on both sides had been harvested. Only the dried barley stalks were left on the loess.Two trains crossed each other on the road, one leaving from Naibubadu, with children and the elderly sitting on the cars. The richer cars had roofs, and the poorer ones were pallet cars. Those were people who were afraid of hunger and brought only a few Keep the stored food away.

A few days ago, they could still buy some food in the villages along the road, but now there is no food left in the nearby villages. They plan to move to a farther village to temporarily escape the famine.Some people go hunting in the mountains, and if they kill a bird, they can get a bunch of copper coins.There are also many people scraping the land. The famine has just begun, but drought and rumors make them uneasy.

Long-distance convoys sometimes become the target of refugees, but recently the refugees near Nabu Batu have been quite peaceful, with less looting and more watching. Some people even scratched daggers on trees in an attempt to make knife-scale deals with the refugees - in the past, this was not the case. It was the refugees who collected the food, and now they want to exchange it for the food from the refugees.

It's just that no refugee is stupid enough to make deals with residents of big cities like Nabu Batu.

Another convoy entered Batu. Most of the carriages were carrying food and were protected by palace guards.Once the grain is delivered to grain merchants, it will be sold out in less than a quarter of an hour.Arien Palace issued a purchase restriction order. Each person can only buy a fixed amount of food per day, but it is still not enough to eat.

When the wind is strong, travelers going against the wind will be blinded by the dust and sand, and they will look up to the horizon from time to time.

That damn sun.

After talking to Shenzi and Gao Leqi, Mengde went to the Potu Festival the next day and asked Potu's opinion through small talk.Potu also felt that Hilidegg's approach was inappropriate, especially since many residents of the sheep dung pile barely had enough to eat, and rising food prices would inevitably affect their livelihoods.His position was only high priest, and he could not question Hilly Dege, so he approached Gulthas to ask. Unexpectedly, Gurthas said that he did not have to follow Hilli's orders and could do whatever he wanted.

Gulthas almost never gave such ambiguous orders, so Botu approached Hilly, hoping that he could give more food to the residents of the sheep dung pile so that they would not starve to death. However, Hilidegg said that the residents of the sheep dung pile were The residents cannot be regarded as the people of Batu.

"Healy has changed," Portu said. "He has become much more extreme than before."

"People are really fickle." Meng De drank milk tea. "Who would have expected that Hilidegg, who hates the nobles the most, would join forces with the nobles? What is even more unexpected is that those nobles would also betray their relatives."

"I still remember the old Healy. He was smart, pious, and cute. He was admitted to the priesthood when he was only ten years old. He was still very small at that time." Potu smiled and gestured on his waist, "After completing the homework, he will Find someone to play chess with him. I still remember the time when he climbed over a wall and got sprained while practicing Qinggong. It was the young priest from York who carried him back to his room."

Meng De said: "Sometimes when I listen to the tone of your voice, I think you are very old. You are only forty."

"Power is scary, so I'm afraid of power." Potu said, "Especially when it is put into my hands."

Meng De said: "You are the person most trusted by Gulthas, and you have great power in your hands."

"That's precisely because I'm afraid of power," Potu replied.

"Let's talk about the sheep dung pile." Meng De asked, "How did you deal with it later?"

"Gulsas said to do what I want," Potu said. "I bought some of the grain and sold it cheaply in the sheep dung pile."

"Where did you get the money?" Meng De was surprised. This was definitely a huge sum of money.

"Shortfall," Potu said, "I misappropriated other funds from the Priesthood, such as the cost of maintaining statues, pools, and gardens, as well as the salaries of some of the Guards Corps. Half of their income now comes from food, so they have a surplus."

Meng De felt that this would inevitably arouse Hillidegg's suspicion, and how to avoid accountability afterwards?

"Healy will not pursue me." Potu smiled, "I sent these grains in the name of Healy."

Potu did not think that Hilidegg would get the situation out of hand, and that Healy would clean up the mess before the real famine came.One of the most difficult things is to control chaos and order. If the people of Batu are really in famine, Gulthas will intervene, but if the people are not chaotic enough, they will not be able to deal a fatal blow to Arien Palace.

Speaking of accountability, that's another matter.

"Kong Xiao should impeach many princes, right?" Meng De said, "Who will be the victim?"

Botu didn't expect this. After all, it was not his responsibility, and he had never received any information from Kong Xiao.

"With such a huge famine, Kong Xiao can't do nothing. At least he has to impeach a few princes. Let Kong Xiao go find out, especially the ones in charge of highland barley and wheat." Meng De said, "Lest you get hurt. One of Hillidegg’s own people.”

When does Hilidegg plan to deliver the fatal blow to Arien Palace?After leaving Potu's room, Mengde thought about this problem.It shouldn't take long. The longer it goes, the more serious the chaos will be and the harder it will be to clean up.More and more people gathered outside Arien Palace, and the people were filled with resentment. However, there was still no opportunity. No amount of oil would burn the angry people unless they set a fire on their heads.

He did not go back to his room, but came to the Holy Teaching Hall, where the lecturers worked.He walked into the corridor on the left and came to the residence of the lecturers. There were very few pedestrians here during the day. Most of the lecturers were working or attending classes in the classroom. Meng De confirmed that there was no one around before knocking on the door of one of the rooms.

"Who?" came a voice from inside.

"Me." Meng De only replied. The other party quickly opened the door, looked at the old boss in front of him in surprise, respectfully took off his coat for him and hung it on the hanger behind the door, and asked: "What's wrong with the deputy dean?" Come visit me when you have time?"

This was his former subordinate. He was once one of the "big bugs" responsible for listening to the sounds of insects. After Meng De no longer had the job of listening to the sounds of insects, he also returned to the Priesthood as a lecturer.

"I want to listen to the bugs again." Meng De sat down, took out a small leather bag from his pocket, and poured the bag full of golden beads on the table. "Help me contact the big bug from the past. It must be trustworthy."

Then it was time to wait for the news. He knew it wouldn't be that easy and it might take a long time.It was not until the ninth day that he received reliable news and sent a letter to Arien Palace.

■

The guards of Arien Palace also felt the uneasiness of the impending storm. The first deserter appeared three days ago, and they had not been caught yet. In the next three days, 26 deserters escaped.Tucker ordered all the soldiers who escaped to be sentenced to exile.

"Does your face still hurt?" Zhao Ying applied medicinal wine on Gao Leqi's left cheek.Gao Leqi waved his hand to show that it was okay, poured himself a glass of wine and drank it.

"Mr. and Mrs. Monduke are not here." Zhao Ying asked, "What else should I do?"

Gao Leqi didn't reply, and a guard sent a letter.Gao Leqi read the letter, let out a long sigh, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is it a letter from Chief Priest Kong Xiao?" Zhao Ying asked, "Has he caught those princes?"

"It's a letter from Chief Priest Meng De. This is a letter that I waited for with great difficulty. He said that Kong Xiao did not get the list from Hillidegg." Gao Leqi replied, "Hillidegg hinted that Kong Xiao Xiao don’t get involved in this matter, it makes Kong Xiao very confused.”

"Priest Meng De." Zhao Ying was stunned, suddenly understood something, and her whole body started to tremble.

Gao Leqi pursed his lips: "You are really smart, you understood everything at once."

Zhao Ying said in a trembling voice: "I... I was... forced... by... my parents..."

"Don't lie to me, I know you were not forced." Gao Leqi shook his head, "Did he give me more money than me?"

Zhao Ying couldn't stand anymore and sat down on the ground. After being silent for a long time, she said with a trembling voice: "You won't marry me...at first...I...I want money so that I can...live on. I Just saying something inconsequential...there's...a huge bounty."

At first, even trivial things can be exchanged for money. Gradually, important things must be revealed in order to exchange for high bounties. When you become addicted, you can no longer get rid of your identity as a worm.

"When you reveal important enough secrets, he can threaten you." Gao Leqi said, "Actually, you don't need to push me to death."

"Hilidegg said that if you don't die, he will...expose me, and you...you will execute me."

"I was wondering how Hilidegg knew Maier's whereabouts. When you found out that Munduk was not there, you asked Mira about it, right? Mira was not wary, so she told him and Maier about going to check on the refugees. "

Zhao Ying agreed with difficulty and kept begging for mercy.

Gao Leqi was very heartbroken. This was the maid he loved very much and was also his most caring mistress.He could have handed her over to the guards and ended up somewhere where he couldn't see her, but after hearing Zhao Ying's begging for mercy, he still stretched out his hands and pressed her on Zhao Ying's neck, with a force as light as a normal touch: "You can You pretended not to know anything, but you still betrayed me, even though you knew it would kill me."

His hands were actually trembling slightly.

"This makes it impossible for me to forgive you."

Knowing that she was inevitable, Zhao Ying suddenly plucked up the courage and looked up at Gao Leqi: "If I can calm the anger of the hungry people on Nadia's behalf, will you hand me over without hesitation?"

Gao Leqi was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Then I didn't do anything wrong." Zhao Ying closed her eyes, raised her head, with tears in her eyes, and waited for death.

Gao Leqi washed his hands for a long time, almost rubbing the skin off, then went to see Tucker, and called Yang Yan, Wang Hong, and Maier at the same time.

"Priest Mengde has found the location of the grain." Gao Leqi spread out the map and pointed to a place in the northwest corner, "In this village."

Tucker jumped up: "So close? How many days will it take to walk?"

"If we hurry up, we can get there in about two days. Hillidegg won't hide the food too far away, and he also wants to clear up the chaos as soon as possible."

"Is it credible?" Wang Hong hesitated, "Could it be a trap?"

"Although Chief Priest Meng De no longer controls the insect, he has many subordinates who have been the insect." Gao Le said curiously, "And we have no other way."

Yang Yan said: "Then send people to find the food quickly! With the food and evidence, we can prove that it is Hillidege who hid the food!"

Wang Hong asked: "Are there guards there?"

"It is said that there are 500 people left, which is not many. Too many people can easily leak the news." Gao Leqi hesitated, "We have to send someone to confirm."

"Send 5000 people and pull them back directly!" Tucker jumped up, "1 people would be better!"

"This will attract the attention of Hillidegg, and... the palace's guards will be weak."

Nabu Batu's garrison mainly consists of the sacrificial army, the palace guard, and the prison department responsible for public security. The sacrificial army has more than 5000 people, and the palace guard also has more than 2000 people. However, after being distributed to the princes' palaces, only Six thousand, the Department of Prisons has a patrol team of [-] responsible for security in Batu. This refers to the troops stationed in the capital, excluding the militiamen hoarding everywhere, the garrison troops guarding the borders, and the garrison troops and holy mountain guards in various barracks. .Although the soldiers in the Prince's Palace are also controlled by the Palace Guards, the Prince actually has greater restraint on them.Now these princes have to protect themselves, and it is very difficult to mobilize them. If [-] people are really sent to pull food, there will be less than [-] palace guards left in Badun, which is very dangerous.

"Where are the slave barracks?" Yang Yan asked, "Aren't they stationed outside the city? Send them there."

The slave camp is a place for training slave soldiers. The number of slave soldiers is limited, but they can be used.Gao Leqi faced a difficult choice. He could not judge whether this was a trap, nor could he judge how many guards there were at the grain storage place, and whether he could successfully obtain the grain. Hillidegg could also mobilize the Holy Mountain Guards. Lidge noticed, if the people riot, can they be suppressed smoothly?Does he have any other options?He seems to be standing in the position of his ancestor, General Fish Luo. If he makes one wrong move, he will be famous throughout the ages. People will say that the descendants of fish are still fish.

"Send them to look for food." Yang Yan said, "Once the location of the food is confirmed, we can appease the people."

Maier was the one in charge of this matter. He mobilized the slave soldiers in the slave camp with Tucker's instructions, and led 1000 people to go north according to the map.

The atmosphere in Nabu Batu was depressed and angry. More people gathered in front of the palace than before. People were panicked and there were all kinds of rumors. Some said that the nobles of the palace deliberately raised the price of food, while others said that the witch deceived the Son of God. Some people say that the nobles are extravagant and have no money to buy food, so they are trying their best to raise money.

Perhaps what makes the people most angry is that the sacrificial army and the palace guard still have food, and the military family members are given food. It is cheap and abundant, and some people can even buy and sell the food on the black market.

Late at night on the third day after Maier left Nabu Batu, Yang Yan had nowhere to go.Tucker was drinking, Gao Leqi didn't know what he was busy with, the Munduks and Huck both left Batu, and he could only read the "Savata Sutra" alone in the room.

Tired of watching, Yang Yan stood up and walked through the torch-lit corridor to take a breather in the garden.He walked in the palace, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridors.

Almost all the guards have been transferred to guard the gates and courtyards. No one can be seen at the corners of the corridors, at the entrance of the stairs, and at every inner door.Yang Yan even thought that he was the only one left living in Arien Palace.

He walked leisurely. His eyesight was not good after nightfall, but Arien Palace was full of lights, and so were the gardens.He came to the flowerbed where the stone statue of the Son of God was placed, and saw Wang Hong sitting on a bench in a daze. When he saw him coming, he waved for him to come forward, pointed at the stone statue and said, "That's you."

Yang Yan had seen his own statue a long time ago and had to say that it was lifelike, especially the posture of holding a book and holding a knife, which was both powerful and gentle.

"But it's not like you." Wang Hong smiled, "This statue looks both civil and military."

Yang Yan snorted and said, "Why don't you go back to your room to rest?"

"I can't sleep." Yang Yan noticed Wang Hong's voice was trembling, "I'm so scared."

Although it was late at night, no one gathered outside the palace due to the curfew, but during the day the voices outside Arien Palace became louder and louder, pointing to Wang Hong as a witch who deceived the Son of God.

"According to the schedule, Maier will be back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest, and there will be food by then." Yang Yan patted Wang Hong on the shoulder and sat next to her, "It's okay."

Is everything really okay?Yang Yan was not sure either.The future is uncertain. He doesn't know when Hilidegg will attack, nor when Maier will come back, but he knows that Wang Hong is very scared.The two sat side by side and were silent for a long time. Yang Yan noticed Wang Hong's shoulders twitching and knew that she was sobbing. He thought that although she was very strong, she was still a girl, but she didn't know how to comfort her. After thinking for a long time, he took out the needle ball from his arms. .

"I have a sister, and I have never gotten along with her. Every time she bullied me, I would steal her needles, bend them, and tie them up. Before I knew it, the needle balls were so big." Yang Yan said, this It was the first time he told people about the origin of the needle ball.

Wang Hong knew that the needle ball Yang Yanzhen was alive, but she didn't know its origin until today.Did it turn out to be sister Yang Yan’s?She knew that Yang Yan was a member of the extermination family. Not only his sister, but also his entire family were dead.

"I hated her, and I still hate her when I think about it, but she died to save me. Because of her, I can survive as a genocide." Yang Yan continued, "She made me owe her my whole life, and I will owe her until my death. If you want to make me angry, I guess she is proud now."

Having said this, Yang Yan paused for a while and looked at Wang Hong: "I will never let my relatives leave me again."

He grabbed Wang Hong's hand, and Wang Hong felt the pain in her palm being pricked. When she lowered her head, she saw the needle ball that Yang Yan regarded as life.

"You have seen how I tried my best to protect this needle ball. Now I will give it to you for safekeeping." Yang Yan said, "I protect you to protect it."

Wang Hong held the needle ball, and the pain in her hand was so real, but it was not scary at all, she just felt warm.She couldn't help but burst into tears and laughed: "Am I going to change from your brother to your sister? Be good, call me Sister Na or Sister Hong and let me hear it."

Yang Yan smiled and said: "Let the Son of God call you sister, I'm afraid if you can't afford it, there will be five thunders from heaven."

Wang Hong smiled and said: "The more you pretend, the more you look like me. I believe it. Lord Son of God, how can I serve you if I am young?"

The atmosphere had just become more lively when suddenly alarm bells rang out, and Wang Hong's expression changed: "What happened?" The two of them quickly went upstairs and arrived at the rooftop platform of Arien Palace, where they saw a fiery red in the distance.

The sheep manure pile is on fire!

When the news came, Gao Leqi woke up from his sleep and immediately ran to Tucker's room, where Tucker was drunk and unconscious.Gao Leqi rushed to the meeting hall and gave orders to everyone, asking the warden of Sisi to lead troops to station outside the sheep dung pile to help put out the fire, and at the same time summoned the palace guards to guard Arien Palace tightly.

His orders cannot be said to be unsatisfactory, but they were still too slow in the face of the well-prepared riots.The fire in the sheep dung pile burned so fast that the adjacent tents were like pieces of cotton cloth. When one tent caught fire, the next one immediately burst into flames. The residents who fled in panic kicked over the burning tent and set another one on fire. .

There were shouts, screams, curses, horrifying screams, hurried footsteps, people running in a panic, the poor trampling on each other, and countless people died.The living people fled from the sheep dung pile and looked back, only to see a huge wave of flames and all their belongings were destroyed in the sea of ​​flames.

"It's the Son of God. The Son of God has been deceived!" someone shouted.

"It's the fire from the sky sent down by God Sa!" someone cried.

I don’t know who started it first, but when I calmed down, I saw that someone was already smashing and robbing people’s houses.Once the first door is broken, there will be a second and third door, spreading like a plague.The sea of ​​​​fire is the best lighting at night, and the residents next to the sheep dung pile bear the brunt. The doors of each house were kicked open, and the residents were pulled out of their houses one by one. What little food was left was robbed.

"We want to eat!"

"Give us something to eat!"

Innocent husbands were dragged out of the house and beaten, innocent women were stripped of their clothes and humiliated, innocent children could only sit on the ground and cried for their parents, and innocent old people had long fallen to the ground waiting to die.

The anger of tens of thousands of residents of the sheep dung heap finally erupted.

"Go to Arien Palace, find the witch, and burn her to death! Burn the witch to death!" someone shouted.

"There is food in Arien Palace!" someone shouted.

They dismantled wooden furniture, wrapped it in torn clothes, and poured kerosene on it to make simple torches.Someone shouted: "Raise the fire and let God Sa give us a clear path!"

First there were dozens, then hundreds, and finally they lit up like countless fireflies.Residents near the sheep dung pile discovered that a riot was taking place and fled their homes in a hurry, not knowing where to go.

I only heard someone shouting: "Go to Arien Palace to catch the witch!"

The first batch of Prison Department soldiers who arrived were dispersed by the people fleeing their homes. Seeing hundreds of people coming, they did not dare to stop them and turned around and fled.

"Don't go any further!" A team leader shouted on horseback, "Go back to the sheep dung pile!" An arrow hit a thug who was robbing.It was just an arrow, and trying to stop him had no effect. The mob had already rushed forward and pulled him off the horse. A big stone smashed his head. Before that, he had broken dozens of bones. The team he led was quickly swallowed up by the mob without a trace.

Even the fire prevention team who came to put out the fire were blocked by the crowd and could only let the fire spread in the sheep dung pile. Every time it spread, more mobs were released from the sheep dung pile, as if they were baked in oil. Pigskin, the more oil, the greater the fire. The greater the fire, the more oil, and eventually it is out of control.

After receiving the order, Sisi immediately led the prison department soldiers to maintain law and order, but he arrived too slowly. Not only the people in the sheep dung pile, but also the poor who did not originally live in the sheep dung pile but had been hungry for a long time due to famine, also Joined the team.They destroyed and spread along the way. Yang Yan and Wang Hong looked from the heights of the Arien Palace. The crowd was like a fire dragon that devoured everything and was winding towards the Arien Palace. Although it was still far away, they didn't know when they would close in. To the palace gate.

"Hilidge took action, and he actually started from the sheep dung pile..."

Yang Yan looked back and saw Gao Leqi also went up to the platform, followed by more than a dozen soldiers.

Yang Yan immediately alerted and protected Wang Hong behind him.

"I'm sorry, Son of God, we have to sacrifice Nadia to calm the public anger." Gao Leqi looked at Wang Hong behind him, "Nadia, you promised us."

Yang Yan shouted angrily: "Don't touch her!" He wanted to take the knife, but remembered that he was just walking and did not bring a weapon.

"As long as we survive one more day!" Yang Yan said, "Maier will be back with food tomorrow at the latest!"

Gao Leqi hesitated.

■

The team led by Maier worked hard, and the two-day journey was turned into one and a half days.

It was an abandoned village. The reason why it was confirmed to be abandoned was because there was no ever-extinguishing sacred fire in front of the small sacrificial house. There were only four or five scattered bonfires in the village, and there were about dozens of visible patrol soldiers.

Maier personally acted as a scout and used Qinggong to get closer. Fortunately, the bonfire was bright and he could clearly see the layout inside.There are about dozens of houses in the village, all of which have been renovated. The doors are closed. Hundreds of cattle and horses are enclosed in fences. There are also a large number of carts and barley stalks scattered everywhere. There are bags stacked in hills around the houses. It looks like Food seems to be hidden inside.

The numbers were a bit small, Maier thought, and that made him hesitate.But he could only order an attack, otherwise, what good news would he intend to find out?But wait until daybreak to attack or attack at night?Will there be any changes again at dawn?For example, your team is discovered, or the other party has reinforcements?

"Kill!" Maier ordered, and this group of troops, mainly composed of slave soldiers, rushed towards the village.This wave of offensive was very fast and powerful. The undermanned team with a bonfire lit in the dark night was a good target for a sneak attack. They quickly drove the enemy troops to occupy the village, and Maier opened the door of the house first.

Empty.

Maier was immediately alerted to the trap. He tore open the cloth bags stacked next to the hut. There was only barley straw and no food in it.

"Retreat!" he shouted.

Several rockets flew in the dark night, landed on the bag, and ignited immediately.Arrows rained down, and the sound of horse hooves came from all directions, but they didn't know where the enemy was.

A team with a small number of people and a bright light in the dark is a good target for a sneak attack.

(End of this chapter)