Chapter 1076

Zhu Guanqi's gaze fell upon those corpses; although the corpses had their faces covered, most of their legs and feet were still exposed. Zhu Guanqi said: 'These dead people should all be porters; look at the shoes on their feet, and you should be able to guess their identity.'

Hu Xiaotian had actually noticed this as well; the people killed were ordinary porters, the main figures in the convoy had mostly fled, and Hu Xiaotian said to Li Mingcheng: 'Where is that survivor?'

Li Mingcheng said: 'He's been injured and sent to the city for treatment; they're only superficial wounds, so there should be no danger to his life.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded, ordering Li Mingcheng and the others to first send those corpses back to the Charitable Estate for temporary storage, striving to ascertain their identities as soon as possible; he and Zhu Guanqi then went to the place where the refugees were settled.

The refugee camp also recruited five hundred soldiers locally to handle security here; their main duty was to maintain order and distribute relief, so their ages varied widely—some over sixty, others as young as twelve or thirteen—there was no uniform attire, and their weapons were improvised from local materials: wooden sticks, iron hoes, kitchen knives, and the like.

The refugee camp also elected three temporary heads, chosen according to locality; upon hearing that the lord of Dongliang Jun had arrived in person, they rushed over in a fluster to meet him. These refugees still felt grateful to Hu Xiaotian; if not for his taking them in and sending food and clothing, perhaps more than half of the thirty thousand refugees in the camp would already have frozen or starved to death.

At the forefront walked an elderly man with white hair and a flowing long beard, named Yu Dongqing, who enjoyed high prestige in the refugee camp; over two thousand people had followed him in fleeing here. Because he was learned and versatile, and also upright in character, he quickly gained the people's admiration and approval.

Yu Dongqing led the other two to Hu Xiaotian's presence, performing a respectful salute and saying: 'Commoner pays respects to Sir Hu.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and nodded, saying: 'Elder Yu, no need for excessive ceremony. I happened to be passing by on patrol today and stopped by to take a look; the weather has turned cold these past two days—I don't know how your camp is faring. Do you need more cotton quilts and clothing? Are provisions sufficient?'

Yu Dongqing, tears of gratitude in his eyes, said: 'Thank you, Sir Hu, for your compassion in taking us in; these past two days you even had supplies sent for winter. Without Sir Hu, we would likely have starved or frozen to death on the road to Da Yong.' The majority of those remaining in the refugee camp are the old, weak, sick, and disabled; among them, a portion of the young and able-bodied have been conscripted, while another considerable group continues to head north. In fact, these refugees are not lacking in far-sighted individuals; many have already seen that Dakang's fate is exhausted, and whether Dongliang Jun can survive remains unknown. As soon as Da Yong decides to attack Dakang, this place will be the first to fall into war's flames; to completely escape disaster, the only option is to venture into Da Yong. Only by seeking refuge there can one forever be free of the worry of war.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Elder Yu, no need to stand on ceremony; we are all compatriots of the same state, and within my ability I will naturally do my utmost for my fellow countrymen.'

Yu Dongqing, however, sensed that Hu Xiaotian's visit was no coincidence. The site where the Da Yong convoy was ambushed lies only a little over three li from the refugee camp, and they had heard some rumors. Surmising that Hu Xiaotian's coming was almost certainly related to this matter, they had expected the authorities to come investigate, but they did not anticipate that Hu Xiaotian would arrive lightly, with few attendants. This also let Yu Dongqing and the others secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Hu Xiaotian inspected the refugee camp, paying particular attention to the refugees' meals. The refugees' food supplies are now centrally controlled and uniformly distributed each day to avoid waste as much as possible; within the camp there are twenty designated sites where large cauldrons are used to cook rice, with two meals a day. After mealtime begins, the refugees line up in orderly rows to collect their rations: a thousand people form a unit, a hundred a village, ten a household. Adult men and women each receive one portion, while children and the elderly receive half. Although most cannot eat their fill, such a diet can barely sustain life.

Hu Xiaotian specially went to the cauldron to have a look; inside he saw only thin porridge being boiled—a bowl of thin porridge and a black steamed bun constitute an adult's daily ration. Fish and meat are out of the question, and fresh vegetables are nowhere to be seen. Under the current circumstances, having thin porridge to fill the stomach is already considered good, and the refugees dare not ask for more.

Hu Xiaotian asked Yu Dongqing: 'Elder Yu, have you recently heard of anything unusual?'

Yu Dongqing knew what Hu Xiaotian was asking about, and replied anxiously: 'Sir Hu, are you asking about the incident where the convoy outside the refugee camp was robbed?'

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Yu Dongqing clasped his hands and bowed deeply, saying: 'Sir, this matter has nothing to do with us. We fled from the south to here, and only with difficulty did we encounter your willingness to take us in and provide us with food and clothing; we are grateful beyond words and would never dare to commit such a reckless act.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: 'Elder Yu, there's no need to panic; I never said this matter was related to you—it merely happened near the refugee camp, so I wanted to ask if you have any clues.'

Yu Dongqing said: 'Sir Hu, we truly do not know what exactly happened.'

Zhu Guanqi at the side said: 'It turns out the elder is unaware of what happened; a little over three li outside the refugee camp, a convoy came under attack—this convoy was from Da Yong, and the assault resulted in twelve deaths and one injury.'

Yu Dongqing's face changed upon hearing this: 'What? A Da Yong convoy?'

Zhu Guanqi nodded and said: 'The survivor has already fled to Da Yong to spread the news; if the Da Yong side learns that their convoy encountered trouble in Dongliang Jun, they will surely not let it go unanswered.'

Yu Dongqing turned pale and trembled as he said: 'How could such a thing happen?'

At that moment a languid voice drawled: 'Is war coming? Sooner or later there will be a battle; it's better to come early than late—war is great!' It was a ragged, disheveled-haired youth curled up beside a large cauldron, warming himself by the fire.

While Hu Xiaotian and the others had been speaking just moments before, he had lain there motionless; moreover, many people were gathered around the cauldron warming themselves by the fire, so no one noticed him.

Yu Dongqing turned to the youth and snapped angrily: 'You scoundrel, what nonsense are you spouting?' It turned out that this youth was actually his youngest son, Yu Tianxing.

Yu Tianxing yawned and slowly turned around; his face was covered in dust, he looked emaciated like a beggar, and he smiled at Yu Dongqing, revealing a mouthful of snow-white, even teeth.

Yu Dongqing apologized to Hu Xiaotian: 'Sir Hu, please don't take offense; this is my youngest son, Yu Tianxing, a bookish simpleton who has been addled since childhood, lazy and ignorant of the five grains.'

Yu Tianxing laughed heartily and said: 'Father, your words are mistaken; I, Yu Tianxing, am a person destined for great deeds—I disdain to bother with trifles.'

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter; although Yu Dongqing was highly respected in the refugee camp, his son was utterly worthless, idling away his days, and no matter how perilous the surroundings, he remained this lazy sort. Flushed with embarrassment from the crowd's mockery, Yu Dongqing grabbed a nearby broom clump and rushed forward, intending to strike Yu Tianxing.

Yu Tianxing panicked and tried to flee, but in his haste he stepped on his own tattered long robe, fell with a thud, and as he lifted his head he saw a hand reaching out to him; looking up, he saw Hu Xiaotian smiling at him.

Yu Tianxing without hesitation grasped Hu Xiaotian's clean, strong hand with his dirty right hand, and with Hu Xiaotian's help he climbed to his feet. Seeing his son standing beside Hu Xiaotian, Yu Dongqing halted, pointed at his son, and scolded: 'You filthy wretch, stay away from Sir Hu.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: 'Elder Yu, please calm your anger.'

Yu Tianxing mimicked his tone, saying: 'Yes! Elder Yu, please calm your anger.'

The surrounding crowd again burst into laughter in unison.

Hearing the crowd's laughter and seeing his son smugly pleased, Yu Dongqing felt utterly ashamed, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Young Master Yu, your demeanor is truly out of the ordinary!'

Yu Tianxing released his hand and said: 'Sir Hu, you're just making fun of me—you can paint a tiger's skin but not its bones, you can know a person's face but not their heart; it turns out Sir Hu also likes to judge by appearance.'

Yu Dongqing's hands trembled with anger as he said: 'You scoundrel, how dare you speak to Sir Hu like that? Do you not realize that without Sir Hu's help, we refugees would have long since starved or frozen to death?'

Yu Tianxing shook his head and said: 'Whether early or late, we all die in the end; can Sir Hu protect us for a moment, or for a lifetime?'

'You…'

Yu Tianxing said: 'Originally we were all hopeless, but then, thanks to Sir Hu, we gained hope; yet when that hope later turns to despair, would that not be even more sorrowful and painful? It would be better to remain hopeless all along.'

Hu Xiaotian felt a stir in his heart, glanced toward Zhu Guanqi, and saw that Zhu Guanqi was also looking at the young man with interest.

Yu Dongqing could no longer restrain himself; he rushed forward, grabbed Yu Tianxing's ear, and pulled him away from Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian watched the retreating backs of father and son, smiled, and said: 'This Yu Tianxing is rather interesting.'

Zhu Guanqi said: 'This young man is certainly no ordinary pond creature; his wanton, unrestrained behavior and irreverence toward the world stem from his unfulfilled ambitions, and the fact that he speaks thus before Sir Hu clearly indicates he has another motive.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily and said: 'Come on, let's go take a look!'

Xiong Tianba remarked from the side: 'He's just an impoverished scholar; I don't see any talent in him.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'What do you know? Don't go stirring up trouble.' He had the others wait where they were, and together with Zhu Guanqi he followed after them. Not having gone far, they heard shouts coming from behind the tents—it was Yu Dongqing waving a broom as he disciplined his son, while Yu Tianxing crouched there holding his head, submitting to his father's blows; anyway, he didn't want to be hit too hard, just to let his father vent his anger.

Hu Xiaotian and Zhu Guanqi did not rush forward to stop him; seeing Yu Dongqing grow tired from swinging the broom, he tossed it aside and turned to leave, whereupon Yu Tianxing finally rose, rubbed his sore arm where the blows had landed, sighed, and said: 'The world is murky, yet none know me; I shall gallop on high and take no heed.'

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help laughing at this, and Zhu Guanqi also couldn't help but smile. (To be continued~^~)