The Emperor is Above

Chapter 94 Where Have All the People Gone?
As they got closer to Huaiqiuli, the Kou family felt more and more that something was wrong.

The curling smoke from cooking fires, the playing children, and the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs, which are the most common sights in Tingli Village, were nowhere to be seen. There was only an unusual silence.

Kou Qiang, who was walking in the front, stopped his horse and looked around in confusion, "It's strange. These days are the spring plowing season. Other pavilions are busy, but why is there no one in the fields around Huaiqiu?"

Even several of Kou's private soldiers couldn't help but speak up: "Master, Young Master, I remember there was a huge windmill not far to the east of Huaiqiuli. It was very conspicuous for miles, but now it can't be seen."

"Years ago, Huaiqiuli was almost besieged by a group of wild wolves. They rebuilt the high wall at that time, and sent militiamen to patrol and stand guard every day. But there was no one on the high wall today?"

"Huaiqiuli got its name because of the four huge dragon claw locust trees, in addition to the locust trees everywhere. Now we can't see these big trees anymore. Could they have been cut down?"

The words of these Kou family soldiers made Kou Rui's face change drastically, and he said hurriedly: "Damn it, that kid was given a fiefdom in Guqiu, deep in the desolate Jiming Marsh, and he must be full of resentment.

"We've been announcing the takeover of Huaiqiuli these past few days. Could it be that my son, in a fit of rage, demolished the windmill and cut down those giant locust trees?"

Kou Qiang's face became even more angry and he said, "Even if that kid destroyed these things out of anger, he will eventually leave for his fiefdom, but the villagers in Huaiqiu can't leave behind those shabby belongings.

These unruly people knew we were coming today, but not one of them came out to greet us. When I become the head of Huaiqiu Village, you will see how I will deal with them."

Filled with anger, the Kou family members walked up Huaiqiu from the northeast, only to see that the huge windmill house that originally stood on the east side had been demolished, leaving only some foundation stones.

Kou Qiang felt uneasy and rode his horse quickly to the gate of Huaiqiuli village, only to find that the huge wooden gate had disappeared, leaving only an empty doorway.

"Snapped--"

Seeing this scene, Kou Qiang became even more angry. He whipped the horse under him and rushed in at full speed. However, when he saw the appearance of the entire village in Huaiqiuli at this moment, he was stunned.

"Gululu——"

At Kou Rui's urging, Kou's private army quickly drove their carriages into Huaiqiu. When they saw the situation in front of them, they all stood there in a daze.

Kou Rui couldn't help but rub his eyes vigorously, and asked in disbelief: "Is my eyes blurry? Where did all the people in Huaiqiu go?"

The appearance of Huaiqiuli had changed drastically at this time. The streets and alleys of the entire village were empty. Not only was there no one, but not even a chicken or a dog could be seen.

“Chirp, chirp—”

A group of sparrows were startled by the sound of Kou Qiang's horse hooves. They fluttered to the treetops not far away and looked at the strangers curiously.

Unwilling to give up, Kou Qiang searched every courtyard one by one, but what made him vomit blood was that every courtyard was empty, with no people, animals, carriages, or food left.

When the villagers of Huaiqiuli left, they were very well prepared. In the spirit of diligence and thrift, they packed up everything they could use and took it away.

Most of the villagers even took down the large timbers that served as roof beams, rafters, doors and windows, and cut down and took away all the trees in the courtyard that were more than one foot in diameter.

After looking through most of the courtyard in one breath, the distraught Kou Qiang staggered to Qing Yi's courtyard, only to see that the simple house was now only in ruins, as if it had been severely destroyed.

Where the four giant locust trees had originally grown, not even a single root was left, only four huge tree pits with a diameter of ten feet.

Seeing this, Kou Qiang could no longer hold back his anger and shouted to the sky, "You little brat Huaiqiu Yi, you are really going too far!"

"Boom-"

After shouting this, Kou Qiang couldn't accept this situation, and fainted from anger, falling heavily to the ground. Several Kou's private soldiers rushed forward to take care of him. Kou Rui rode in a carriage, following closely behind Kou Qiang, and found that Kou Qiang's face looked even uglier after he fainted.

At this time, the voices of Mao Sheng and Shu Qiu Bing who were in doubt came from behind: "Corporal Kou Rui, although you have a grudge against Gu Qiu Yi, there is no need to drive away the villagers and demolish the entire Huaiqiuli, right?"

"puff--"

Kou Rui, who was originally barely supporting it, was stimulated by these words and could no longer hold back and suddenly spurted out blood.

"Father--"

Kou An, who was following closely behind Mao Sheng, hurried forward to support Kou Rui.

Mao Sheng had been extremely surprised since he entered the Huai Hill. Seeing Kou Rui's miserable appearance, he looked around in surprise and asked, "Could it be that you really didn't do it?"

"Of course it wasn't us!" Kou Rui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his left hand, and said angrily, "The villagers in Huaiqiu must have followed Guqiu Yi."

"My Lord, we found dense footprints and wheel tracks in the locust hill, heading towards the river in the south!"

Hearing the report from Mao's private army, Kou Rui's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly urged: "They must have gone east along the river not far away. Let's go and chase the villagers back now."

"How can we catch the villagers who have left?"

Shuqiu Bing looked at the back of Kou Rui being carried by the Kou clan in a hurry, and shook his head slightly to Maosheng, "The Xinghou of all dynasties have made laws with the people, and the people have the right to migrate freely."

Kou Rui and Kou An did not think so. The Chinese people were attached to their land and would always sell their homes for money. They must have been forced to leave with Qing Yi.

They chased towards the small river south of Huaiqiuli, and saw many trampled footprints and a large number of dragging marks on the reclaimed fields along the roadside.

Kou Rui, sitting on the sedan chair, said even more excitedly: "Look, the villagers in Huaiqiu have even reclaimed their land. How could they leave so easily? Guqiu Yi must have forced them to leave."

Soon they arrived at the river. This small river was only twenty feet wide, which was about forty or fifty meters wide according to the units of later generations.

On the side of Huaiqiuli, a simple pier was built with logs. Judging from the fresh marks on the ground, the villagers must have left early this morning.

"Chase them. They can't walk fast with their families. They can only travel ten miles in an hour at most."

Kou An rode his horse along the river without hesitation to chase after him, and Kou Rui continued to follow closely in the carriage. He noticed that there were many traces of carriages and horses along the river bank, and it was obvious that the villagers of Huaiqiuli were traveling by both land and water.

After chasing for less than twenty miles, we saw a group of hundreds of villagers migrating from Huaiqiu.

At the front of the river were five simple wooden boats, about twenty to thirty meters long, carrying weak elderly people, women, children and some valuables.

Behind the wooden boat was a raft made of wood from dismantled beams, rafters, pillars, doors and windows, loaded with a large number of heavy and water-resistant items.

The young and strong men drove cattle, horses and carts, walking on the wasteland along the river bank. The faces of the villagers were solemn, and the sounds of women crying and children howling could be heard on the boats.

Kou Rui was overjoyed and said, "See? These villagers were clearly coerced by Gu Qiuyi. Let's go and get them back now."

(End of this chapter)