Chapter 86: The Villagers of Ten Villages Have All Rebelled!

Upon hearing they were to be killed, the refugees broke into a chorus of wailing.

Wu Da knelt on the ground, his face full of remorse.

Robbing the Prince of the North was a grave disrespect to the imperial family.

By law, it was punishable by the execution of one's nine generations.

That Xiao Moting had not wiped out his nine generations was already an act of mercy.

Wu Da muttered in agony.

"It is I who have harmed the villagers..."

The ten villages in this vicinity were originally grain depots where the Yuan Family Army grew crops, and the villagers were all farmers who supplied the grain to the Yuan Family Army as military rations.

But because of the great drought, the Yuan Family Army had no grain to eat, let alone the ability to manage the farmers in the grain depots.

Qin Zhan raised his Ghost Head Blade, signaling the soldiers to take up their blades and Long Swords to kill the robbers and silence them.

Xiao Moting's sword-like brows knit tightly, his lips pressed into a thin line.

He was in a dilemma too!

The people before him were all unarmed commoners; he could not bring himself to slaughter them!

However, this was Yuan Canghai's territory.

If anyone leaked the news, he and his soldiers would have to face an army of two hundred and thirty thousand and die without a whole corpse!

"Kill them!"

Qin Zhan ordered sternly.

Suddenly!

A strange sound came from the Minivan.

It was the vehicle holding the Wardrobe!

Xiao Moting's expression changed, and he immediately walked forward!

He pulled open the car door!

"Thump, thump..."

Huge water barrels rolled out from the open Wardrobe one by one.

The transparent barrels had long spouts, and they were actually filled with clear water.

The refugees kneeling on the ground stared with wide, fixed eyes.

"It's water!"

"So many barrels of clear water!"

Xiao Moting froze for a moment, then immediately stepped onto the vehicle and approached the Wardrobe.

Indeed!

A row of elegant handwriting appeared on the Wardrobe.

"Xiao Moting, distribute the water to the refugees, let them take the water and grain, head north along the way, and go to Beijiang!"

"Enlist them, reclaim wasteland, farm... expand your strength!"

"Spring is coming; Beijiang needs to plant crops, it needs population, it needs labor!"

Xiao Moting understood!

Once the blizzard passed, it would be a warm spring!

It was time for farming!

Turn the Yannan farmers who helped Yuan Canghai grow grain into the people of Beijiang, and let them help the Northern Frontier Army farm!

It would keep the secret and expand his strength!

He turned around and scanned the refugees kneeling on the ground.

"Village Chief Wu, are you willing to defect to this Prince?"

Wu Da's expression was one of shock and doubt.

"Prince, are... are you willing to spare us?"

He was a village chief, a low-ranking official within the Yuan Family Army.

If he followed the Prince of the North, it would be a betrayal of Yuan Canghai, making him a rebel.

As a rebel, not only could he never return to the Yuan Family Army, but if caught, he would be beheaded.

Such a major matter!

Wu Da was uncertain and could not make up his mind.

"Prince, allow this humble officer to consider it."

Xiao Moting nodded, giving him time to think.

Then, he turned around and ordered the soldiers to distribute the water first.

Barrel after barrel of bottled water was handed into the hands of the refugees.

The refugees were so moved that their eyes welled up with tears.

They hadn't drunk water this clear for over half a year.

"Clear water, and it's even sweet."

"Not a speck of silt, what wonderful water."

The refugees were all parched, their lips cracked and dry.

The children revealed smiles, and the elderly smoothed their furrowed brows.

Water!

It was the hope for their survival!

Everyone drank water frantically, terrified that if they drank even a mouthful less, they would never get to drink again, tears streaming down their faces as they drank...

Xiao Dabao walked forward, unscrewed a bottle of Cola, and handed it to Wu Da.

"Have a taste, this is the water our Northern Frontier Army usually drinks."

"Black... black water?"

Wu Da was stunned.

Could it be that the Northern Frontier Army saved the clear water for the refugees, while drinking this black sewage themselves?

He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively took a sip.

Instantly!

A bright light shone in Wu Da's eyes!

Delicious!

This black water was sweet, and there were countless bubbles when it hit his mouth; it not only quenched his thirst but was also stimulating!

Wu Da, who hadn't had clear water in half a month, drank the entire 800 milliliters of Cola in one breath.

His stomach was so full it was round, and he let out three or four loud, satisfied burps, his face turning bright red with embarrassment.

"Prince, *burp*... please forgive this humble general for his lack of decorum... *burp*..."

Xiao Dabao laughed heartily, fished a few Xiangbalao braised chicken legs out from his bosom, tossed one to Qin Zhan, then opened the plastic bag of a chicken leg and began to gnaw on it happily.

He was doing it on purpose.

The nearby post guards watched him gnaw on the chicken leg, their eyes all turning green, and they swallowed their saliva in unison.

They smelled the aroma of the braised chicken and wanted to eat.

The Northern Frontier Army ate too well!

Black water to drink as they pleased, chicken legs to eat as they pleased...

The refugees kneeling on the ground also stared straight ahead.

A sound of swallowing echoed all around.

Xiao Moting spoke to the refugees in a deep voice.

"The Northern Frontier has grain and water, enough to let everyone eat their fill and dress warmly! Are you willing to leave your hometowns and go to the Northern Frontier to settle down and farm?"

The refugees quieted down.

Yannan was their home, and none of them had ever been to the distant Northern Frontier.

But the Northern Frontier had clear water and chicken legs!

Someone couldn't help but shout out.

"I'll go! Rather than staying here and starving to death, it's better to go to the Northern Frontier; I won't grow grain for Yuan Canghai anymore!"

"The crops have withered, there's no land to farm, and the village has gone to waste... I am willing to take my whole family to help the Prince of Northern Suppression farm."

"Where wouldn't we farmers be farming? The Northern Frontier has water and food, I'm going to the Northern Frontier to farm!"

They were villagers, and the military regulations of the Yuan Family Army could not control them.

Yannan was suffering from a great drought, and there was even less water; Yuan Canghai usually made them farm, and when it was dry, he let them fend for themselves. Everyone had already turned to robbery, so why worry about whether it was treason or not?

The Northern Frontier had water and grain, and the Northern Frontier Army even ate chicken legs as they pleased—how prosperous!

The Prince of Northern Suppression was more capable than Yuan Canghai and very benevolent; not only did he not kill them, but he also gave them water to drink.

Everyone was willing to go to the Northern Frontier!

Wu Da was clumsy with words and kept repeating himself in his excitement.

"This humble general, on behalf of the villagers, thanks the Prince..."

Xiao Moting walked up to him and said in a deep, commanding voice.

"Post Chief Wu Da, if you are willing to join the Northern Frontier Army, you shall be responsible for gathering the villagers and leading them to the Northern Frontier."

"I will distribute the water and food for the journey."

"If any villagers are unwilling to leave, you are responsible for watching over them and ensuring they do not take a single step out of the village for ten days!"

Wu Da was stunned.

Not only were they going to take them in, but they were also going to distribute rice and water?

The Prince of Northern Suppression... he truly was a wise ruler of his generation!

The hundred or so post guards under his command all raised their heads and looked straight at Wu Da.

They wanted to go, but they had to listen to Wu Da's arrangements.

They were the lowest-ranking soldiers, responsible for guarding the Post Road, and didn't even have the qualifications to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

They had joined the Yuan Family Army only to scrape together a military meal.

But under the great drought, corruption was rampant in the army; they couldn't get their military pay and were barely able to eat, so they had run off to become bandits.

Going to the Northern Frontier meant they could survive!

Everyone just wanted to fill their stomachs.

Wu Da suppressed the gratitude in his heart and knelt to kowtow.

"Post Chief Wu Da is willing to serve the Prince of Northern Suppression."

As for being a rebel army, so what if he betrayed Yuan Canghai?

The farmers of ten villages were all following the Prince of Northern Suppression, running off to the Northern Frontier to farm!

He might as well be a rebel too and defect to the Prince of Northern Suppression!