Chapter 90: All States of Human Nature

His wife choked; they were already homeless, so what stance could they have? He Lingchuan said in a low voice, "That man isn't a good thing; his mule is a bit old, but it can still carry two thin old people."

That old couple was very thin, and together they weighed at most one hundred and seventy or eighty jin.

His wife was stunned. "Then he?"

She stole a glance and sure enough, the mule was walking with a slight limp, but it was actually walking quite steadily.

"He just can't bear to part with his wealth," He Lingchuan explained. "The commander also saw this point, which is why he told him to throw away the wealth and help his father onto the mule's back. But without money and goods, it's very difficult for this person to gain a foothold in a new place, and his parents are too old to work and earn money, and there are two more mouths to feed."

"He refused, so the commander naturally wouldn't force him. The old woman going up the mountain by herself was also because she understood her son's heart." Either she was disheartened, or she couldn't let go of her old partner.

Liu Sanjiu and his wife heard this and looked at each other without speaking.

Some things couldn't be scrutinized; when pulled apart, they were all filthy.

Just like this, they walked for another quarter of an hour, and the cavalry coming from the rear shouted loudly, "Walk faster, all walk faster, the enemy is chasing!"

The rolling thunder in the sky didn't have the shocking power of this sentence, and screams and wails immediately erupted from the long team, and the speed of travel really increased visibly to the naked eye.

If you fell behind at this time, there was truly only a dead end! It wasn't easy to walk in the rainy night, and He Lingchuan saw many people running staggeringly, falling to the ground and then climbing up with difficulty.

Many old and weak people were stepped on by others after falling and never got up again.

He Lingchuan couldn't help but close his eyes.

Even though he knew history had drifted away with the wind and everything in front of him was illusory, he had come and seen it, and his heart felt like it was pressed by a giant stone, heavy and uncomfortable.

How much difference was there between the lives of the people on this plain and the grass under their feet and the chickens in the cages?

At the mercy of others, can be lightened, can be cheapened.

Just at this moment, the speed of the team suddenly slowed down, and a disturbance occurred in the front.

People squeezed people, and it was blocked.

He Lingchuan had good hearing and could hear the scolding in the front.

People were just like this; the more anxious and chaotic they were, the easier it was to make mistakes.

Standing here, he could only see the backs of the heads in the front row, so He Lingchuan put the bundle on the ground, climbed up the half-withered poplar tree next to him.

In extreme weather, standing high made it easy to be struck by lightning, but he accepted this risk.

Fortunately, the next two flashes of lightning struck far away, and incidentally provided him with light. Borrowing the light, he saw dozens of horse-drawn carriages squeezed by the riverbank.

The carriages were all loaded with large boxes, and it was clear that there were also wealthy households among the fleeing crowd.

Those who had already passed didn't need to be mentioned, but perhaps the household goods in the boxes were too heavy, or perhaps the ground was too muddy, seven or eight carriages couldn't climb the slope at all, no matter how the coachman whipped, the horses neighed, and the carriages just stayed stuck in the mud without moving.

There were twenty or thirty carriages waiting in line behind.

At this time, the team had walked to the riverside; on one side was a cliff, on the other was the river, and the road in the middle wasn't wide, at most allowing three carriages to travel side by side.

And this was also a steep slope.

All latecomers were blocked.

Those empty-handed like He Lingchuan could still climb over the carriages; but who didn't bring their whole family's belongings when fleeing? Those who led oxen and drove carts, carrying all their belongings, simply couldn't fly.

With pursuers behind, the refugees were all anxious, and they didn't treat them politely, going up to drag the carriages.

Who knew that a burst of shouting came from the carriage formation, and twenty or so bodyguards rushed out, one hand holding bright weapons, the other pushing the refugees. "Back off, all back off, don't you want your lives?"

The two sides started scolding each other.

Of course, in the current situation, scolding people couldn't solve the problem; it would only add fuel to the fire.

So a few dozen breaths later, the refugees first made a move, and someone picked up mud from the ground and threw it at the bodyguards. The latter immediately counterattacked, and the scene turned into a fight.

He Lingchuan counted, and in the time it took to drink half a cup of tea before and after, at least a dozen people were injured.

Not a single carriage was moved. It had to be said that these bodyguards were quite responsible.

The disturbance here quickly attracted the attention of the Great Wind Army. He Lingchuan's old acquaintance arrived again, this time with more than ten subordinates behind him.

The situation at the scene was clear at a glance, and he didn't listen to the nonsense of either side, so as not to waste time. "Whose carriages are these, stand out!"

A fat man in brocade clothes ran out from the carriage formation. "This Military Lord, what is your surname?"

"Xiao."

"Master Xiao, I am the steward of County Magistrate Sun, Lord Sun! These are all things from the Sun Fu, please help us push them up..."

The commander waved his hand. "Move them away immediately, make way for people!"

The fat man was anxious. "Military Lord, these are all valuable materials, and they are military supplies that County Magistrate Sun is transporting to Panlong City; this was all agreed upon by both sides! For example, the weapons and armor that your army can use..."

At this time, the Panlong Wasteland had long fallen into a state of long-term war stalemate, and military supplies and grain were the lifeline of the city. The commander also attached great importance to it when he heard it, directly saying, "Open the boxes for inspection!"

The merchant team obeyed and opened the boxes, but some were fast and some were slow. The boxes opened first were indeed full of weapons, armor, medicine, and other military supplies.

The fat man said loudly, "Military Lord, I didn't lie to you, did I?"

The commander waved his hand, and the cavalry stepped forward to open all the rest.

He Lingchuan looked down from above and saw at a glance that among these dozens of carriages, only about ten boxes were military supplies, while the rest were all kinds of valuables, gold, silver, jewelry, precious ornaments, and then clothes, antiques, and small household items; there was nothing people couldn't think of, and nothing that couldn't be packed here.

Just then, a flash of lightning passed by, illuminating a box of goldware until it shone, and there was even a small gold toilet in it...

The fat man wiped his forehead, not knowing whether he was wiping sweat or water.

The crowd was quiet for a few breaths, followed by a wave of scolding.

The commander ordered expressionlessly, "Unhitch the horses and drag the military supplies up! Push everything else away!"

The fat man was anxious. "You can't, you can't! If you throw away County Magistrate Sun's belongings, you won't be able to answer to the Commander-in-Chief!"

The commander shook off his hand, and an ingot of gold flew out. "Push quickly, what are you waiting for! The sooner the road is clear, the sooner you can get on the road!"

This was a military order; were they willing to obey?

The onlookers: Of course! They swarmed up, helping to push away the Sun Fu's private goods, and then unhitched the horses, adding them to the carriages transporting military supplies.

In this process, of course, some civilians grabbed the Sun Fu's valuables and hid them secretly. The Sun Fu servants saw it and rushed up to catch the thieves, making the scene even more chaotic.

Just then, a man in his thirties rushed over from behind and roared, "Who dares to touch my Sun family's things!"

He pointed at the commander and scolded, "You are so bold, my father, County Magistrate Sun, and Commander-in-Chief Zhong have supported each other for ten years, heart to heart! Now that Weicheng has fallen, you soldiers dare to kick us while we're down and rob my family's property..."

Just use this gold toilet to pay a small tribute to the great Mr. Saul Goodman!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 91 =====