Chapter 457: Petition

A vast crowd of commoners packed the street before the government office, shouting for the court to return the looted grain, holding bowls, basins, sacks under their arms, and many more carrying farming tools and weapons.

Chen Wuji hadn't even reached the scene yet; just seeing it from afar made his head begin to ache.

"Your lord's good plan might not work." Yang Tiejiang said gloomily.

Before arriving here, the two of them had come up with a bunch of strategies.

But Chen Wuji and Yang Tiejiang both overlooked one thing, forgetting to ask how large this so‑called crowd of commoners actually was.

Chen Wuji let out a heavy sigh, "Indeed, it seems a bit risky."

He instinctively thought that if the powerful clans banded together to gather a few hundred people, that would already be a lot.

But before this scene, even several groups of a few hundred couldn't hold it down.

It seemed as if half the city's commoners had come.

"Act according to the situation; first see what trick they're up to!" Chen Wuji lifted his hand to adjust his belt and ordered those beside him, "Clear the way!"

Instantly, the fully armored personal guard pressed in from left and right, forcibly carving a path through the crowd.

Without doing that, Chen Wuji couldn't reach the government office.

The commotion on Chen Wuji's side quickly stirred up a violent disturbance among the commoners.

"That official has arrived."

"He looks fierce; won't he kill us all?"

"Just go with the flow; if things go wrong, run quickly—don't end up losing your life for not getting a bite of grain."

"All crows under heaven are generally black; the world is falling into chaos, trying to snatch grain from officials' mouths is likely difficult."

"Let's try; even if it's hard we must try—we've gone days without food, and if we can't get any grain, I can only…"

"Enough, enough, here they come!"

……

Following the path cleared by the personal guard, Chen Wuji managed to reach the front of the government office with some danger.

Here he finally saw the leader who had instigated this incident.

Three sedan chairs were arranged in a fan shape before the government office gate, surrounded by about a hundred sturdy men in tight clothing holding sticks, clubs, swords, and spears.

"Come out, whoever's in the sedan chairs—this show of force is bigger than mine; are you waiting for me to pay my respects?" Chen Wuji planted his feet a short distance away and said indifferently.

When he had just come over, he also happened to hear the commoners' discussion.

Today's affair was started by someone taking the lead; the hungry, desperate commoners followed suit, and after a round of calling friends, they gathered to the size seen now.

The commoners' demand for grain is reasonable and just.

He too had originally planned to open the granaries and distribute grain at fair prices.

But these few leading powerful clans, as soon as he entered the city, pulled this stunt, likely for some other motive.

What Chen Wuji couldn't figure out was that these people seemed to have no memory.

They gave Gu Wenjie a show of force, driving that lad mad so he began indiscriminate killing and looting—how could he not learn from a setback?

Could it be that they think he's easy to bully because he bears the court's name?

At that moment, movement came from inside the three sedan chairs.

Shortly after, two white‑haired elders and a middle‑aged man laden with jade on his hands walked out.

Upon seeing Chen Wuji, all three broke into smiles and immediately greeted him respectfully.

After exchanging courtesies, the jade‑laden fat man bowed his head, smiling like Maitreya, and said to Chen Wuji, "I have seen Deputy Commander Chen; I am Jia Wentao, a local of Hezhou, farming a few mu and running a small business."

"These two elders are the village elders of Hezhou—Yuan Qi, Elder Yuan, and Zhu Zaidao, Elder Zhu."

During Jia Wentao's introduction, the two elders again bowed their hands to Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji nodded in acknowledgment, "What's the meaning of this you've stirred up? Are you trying to give me, Chen, a show of force?"

"How dare we, how dare we!" Jia Wentao hurriedly said.

"Deputy Commander Chen saved Hezhou's commoners from fire and water; we wouldn't dare give you a show of force, even if we borrowed a few dozen more courages we still wouldn't dare—please don't misunderstand."

Chen Wuji did not feel he had misunderstood.

These matters could be discussed just as well in private; why bring so many people to block the government office gate?

If this isn't considered a show of force, Chen Wuji might consider relearning what those three words mean.

"Since this isn't a show of force aimed at me, what then is your intention?" Chen Wuji asked.

Zhu Zaidao said, "Deputy Commander Chen, don't get angry first; let us speak first."

"Go ahead."

"When Gu Wenjie occupied Hezhou, he carried out reckless atrocities, indiscriminately slaughtering and looting the commoners, even not sparing the ironware in their homes. Today Hezhou is filled with wailing cries and resentment everywhere; we have come today merely to ask Deputy Commander Chen to pity Hezhou's commoners, open the granaries and release grain, to avoid further disaster."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Elder Zhu's words are quite reasonable; I will shortly send people to open the granaries and release grain. Anything else?"

"It's a blessing for Hezhou's commoners that you, Deputy Commander, have come to Hezhou." Zhu Zaidao laughed, tossed out a hollow compliment, then shifted tone and continued, "Moreover, we also want to recover the grain that Gu Wenjie stole from us…"

"Originally, Deputy Commander Chen's mobilization of troops should have been met with our contribution of money and grain as hosts, to do our small part. But that scoundrel Gu Wenjie was so ruthless that we ourselves have no rice to cook."

"We few in Hezhou City each have large households, supporting hundreds or even thousands of people; tightening our own belts is fine, but the commoners who rely on us for a livelihood cannot wait."

"We are now on the verge of eating each other's children; if we don't bring back some grain, disaster is likely to erupt."

Chen Wuji nodded, "I know you're anxious, but please don't rush."

"I've just arrived; I still haven't clarified the situation in Hezhou. You two should each take two carts of grain back first, letting the people on the Zhuangzi hold out for these two days, and once I've figured things out we can discuss other matters."

"I just got into the city today and haven't even had a chance to enter the government office gate, yet you've already blocked it. You've endured so many days; I suppose you're not in a hurry for this moment, are you?"

Jia Wentao said with a mournful face, "Deputy Commander Chen, it's truly urgent!"

"If the situation weren't urgent, we wouldn't dare bother Deputy Commander Chen at this time; if we don't bring back grain, the people on the Zhuangzi will likely rebel. Though we are improper and abrupt, we have no choice but to resort to this plan."

"Let me kowtow to you, Deputy Commander; please open the granaries and release grain for Hezhou's commoners."

Jia Wentao said nothing more and fell with a thud, kneeling before Chen Wuji.

His motion caused a large group behind him to instantly drop to their knees with a clatter.

"Please, Commandant, consider the people of Hezhou, open the granaries and release the grain!"