Chapter 376: This Is No Charity Hall

376. Chapter 376: This Is No Charity Hall

The weather had turned cool, but the area around He Family Village still bustled with intense activity. The barracks housing over two thousand Zhao Battalion household troops had been properly laid out, while the tall outer walls and deep trenches were still under construction.

All this work was done by the refugees. Besides construction and digging, they were also repairing the roads leading from He Family Village to the neighboring areas, laboring hard every single day.

The work was exhausting, but everyone could endure it because they could still eat their fill each day, and the men supervising them were not overly harsh.

The refugees were all able-bodied young men and women. They had barely settled in the Cloud Mountain Temple estate before being transferred here. Before coming, every one of them was anxious and uneasy. They had witnessed the ferocity of this Zhao Battalion, the blood flowing like a river beneath the city walls, and they feared being abused and exploited at will.

During the journey south, they had been in a state of despair and frenzy the whole time, so some things went unfelt. Looking back on it now, those ringleaders and outsiders had been no different from beasts, constantly taking women from the refugee column for their amusement, perhaps even selling them off. Many people simply vanished, never to return.

Now that everyone had settled down in the estate, quite a few had paired up, even forming families. But what if this Zhao Battalion turned out to be just like those beasts from before? Many of the able-bodied refugees didn't even dare entertain the thought of fighting back. Even though they had gradually regained their strength and normal spirits, that Zhao Battalion was simply too terrifying.

However, after arriving here, they found that everything was all right. The Zhao Battalion drilled on their own, conducting regular patrols and supervision, but showed no excessive excitement. Even scolding and beatings were rare.

In early September, a rumor suddenly spread among the refugees. It said that Shandong now enjoyed favorable weather, the authorities had distributed large amounts of relief, and whoever returned first would receive more of the unclaimed farmland.

It's hard to leave one's homeland. Though these refugees had endured hellish torment in their hometowns, they still wanted to go back. Upon hearing this, everyone's minds were immediately stirred. From He Family Village to the nearby ferry crossing, with such a vast area and so many people, if they wanted to run, surely no one would know. Then they could beg a boat by the Yellow River to take them across and go home. How wonderful that would be.

But this rumor had only circulated for two days. When several dozen able-bodied men gathered to flee, they were blocked by the Zhao Battalion cavalry, who had long been prepared, and were seized on the spot. Then the two men who had spread the rumor were also captured.

"These two are the swindlers who brought calamity upon you, who lured you away from your homes. You want to go back? Go back and eat human flesh? These two were planning to sell you off, sell you to Henan and Northern Zhili like livestock." An ox-drawn cart slowly made its way across the worksite. There were several men on the cart. One shouted out the proclamation, while another wielded a large club, striking down blow after brutal blow. Everyone could see two more men lying on the ox cart, already beaten to a bloody pulp, twitching with each strike of the club.

As for the several dozen who had tried to flee, everyone also saw their fate. All of them were in iron chains and shackles, working there with utterly dejected expressions. They had already been given dozens of lashes, were now allowed only one meal a day, and were assigned the bitterest and most grueling labor.

The sight chilled everyone to the bone. It was tiring and bitter here, but at least they could sleep soundly and eat their fill. Why go looking for trouble? And if the trouble failed, they would be severely punished. Everyone understood perfectly well what choice to make.

Laboring here at He Family Village, the refugees, whose information was completely cut off, naturally had no idea that a new round of arrests had begun across the entire prefecture of Xuzhou and its four counties. Before those two men died, the bailiffs skilled in interrogation had extracted a great deal from them. Within Xuzhou, there were still many followers of the Smelling Incense Sect who did not acknowledge Zheng Quan. Some of these were merely ordinary believers, while others had ulterior motives. It was said they had long ago received orders to incite these refugees to disperse at the first opportunity.

No matter how many were caught, as long as it was confirmed, the reward was five taels per person. Extracting useful information through interrogation brought additional compensation. Payment was in gleaming silver cash, with absolutely no shortchanging.

The reward was issued by Zhao Zhentang, Deputy Chief Constable of the Xuzhou Prefectural Office, with Zhao Jin acting as guarantor. Though the reward was so generous as to be unbelievable, the reputations of those two men left no room for doubt.

Also, because Zhao Zhentang came from a background of veteran yamen clerks, no one dared act too recklessly when making arrests. They generally followed the lists, interrogated to extract accomplices, and advanced layer by layer. Even so, across the entire prefecture of Xuzhou and its four counties, over a hundred people were arrested within three days. In the days that followed, nearly another hundred were arrested. After that, there were hardly any left. The reason was simple: there weren't that many fanatical believers reckless enough to court death, and even if there were, they had long since fled.

Zhao Jin dispatched his subordinates to various locations, and Zhao Zhentang also sent men he trusted. After a simple screening of those arrested, the rest were immediately dealt with severely.

Although even a summary execution had to wait until autumn to be carried out, making someone die in prison was all too easy. Another batch of sudden deaths was reported from various places, and the prefectural punishment office approved them directly.

This was the final disturbance among the refugee host. With heads rolling and blood flowing like a river, no one was willing to stick their neck out and court death anymore. Even if there was a Maitreya and an Eternal Mother, one's own life was still one's own.

The house at the east end of Little Stone Village was occupied again. About two li from Little Stone Village, a new residence had been built, standing there all alone. But everyone knew not to approach it, day or night. That was a place for handling confidential matters.

"This humble one is Nie Hei, a member of the Cult Leader's personal guard. I always worked under the Cult Leader's younger brother, Xu Hongju." A somewhat frail, tall, thin man spoke in a low voice inside the courtyard.

The man looked like an ordinary farmer, as thin and weak as the refugees. His body was also slightly crooked, as if one leg gave him trouble.

Liu Yong stood on the other side of the courtyard. He and this man had arrived one after the other. Although people in Little Stone Village took notice, there were no idle busybodies staring fixedly. Knowing that one person had come was already something; they couldn't see more.

"This humble one had his leg broken back in the day and couldn't keep up with the flight, so he was abandoned here. This humble one originally thought to heal his leg, then run back on his own. Unexpectedly, this time someone came from over there, wanting us who stayed behind to stir up trouble, saying there would be a heavy reward afterward." Nie Hei stood several paces away from Liu Yong, bowing as he gave his account.

Liu Yong shook his head and then asked, "Why did you inform on them? Why didn't you inform on them back then?"

A flicker of indignation crossed Nie Hei's face, but he still spoke with a composed demeanor: "Xu Hongju does things unreliably, but the Cult Leader is a man of great vision and bold strategy. This humble one still wished to return and follow him. But the person sent this time was different. When this humble one said his leg was no good and he couldn't follow, he actually threatened this humble one, saying that if I didn't step forward, he would report me to the authorities. At that moment, this humble one's heart went completely cold, so I simply told you gentlemen everything."

Liu Yong nodded slightly and said, "Over thirty people came forward with you to inform. They are still locked up. Do you know why you were the first to be brought out?"

Nie Hei shook his head glumly. Liu Yong said, "Your old mother and younger brother in Yutai County have been brought to Xuzhou."

The moment these words were spoken, the previously wooden Nie Hei's eyes instantly sharpened. Liu Yong, however, seemed unconcerned. Nie Hei then exhaled in relief and said, "This is for the best. I was afraid those people would harm my mother and brother's lives. Having them brought here puts my mind at ease!"

After saying this, Nie Hei couldn't help but curse, "They're all our own brothers, yet they sell each other out without blinking. Only a handful of people knew about this humble one's mother and brother."

"Because your family has come, you are the most trustworthy. That day you said you were willing to serve the Zhao Battalion, and the Internal Guard is also short of men. Let me ask you, what can you do?" Liu Yong asked calmly.

Nie Hei calmed down just as quickly and bowed again, saying, "This humble one can use both blade and spear, and can also ride a horse. However, my skill in large-scale battlefield slaughter is quite ordinary. This humble one's main ability lies in short weapons."

Liu Yong picked up a pouch from beside him and tossed it over. The pouch was about the size of a fist, seemed to be made of leather, and made a metallic sound when it hit the ground.

"Show me."

Nie Hei slowly bent down to pick up the pouch, turned his head to look around the courtyard, and said, "Sir, there's a wooden pole by the base of the wall. Three inches from the top."

Before his words faded, Nie Hei's arm suddenly lashed out. Ten paces away, a throwing dart was now embedded in that wooden pole, three inches from the top.

He had seemed injured, his movements very sluggish, but suddenly he was extremely fast. His hand reached into the pouch, drew out a dart, and flung it in a flash. Liu Yong could barely follow his movement.

"Bring me that pole," Liu Yong said, standing there. Nie Hei limped over, picked it up, and brought it back.

The dart was a narrow steel blade, the length of an index finger, with cloth strips tied at the tail end as a tassel. It was embedded dead center in the wooden pole, penetrating half an inch into the wood. Such accuracy, such hand strength—truly impressive. Liu Yong dealt extensively with people of the jianghu and had seen his share of jianghu techniques. He knew this man was genuinely exceptional. The target had been chosen on the spot, with no preparation, a sudden strike, yet it achieved such precision and force. Considering that Nie Hei was rather weak and still injured, his normal level must be even more formidable.

Xu Hongru of the Smelling Incense Sect had indeed recruited many capable and extraordinary individuals. It was just that he used them with too little regard, driving them to disaffection and betrayal.

Nie Hei handed over the wooden pole, then lowered his head and retreated several paces back. Liu Yong examined it carefully there, then suddenly asked with a smile, "There are no guards around here. If you wanted to leave, you could kill me with a dart and simply walk away. It would be quite convenient."

"This humble one's family is all with Master Yong. How would this humble one dare act rashly?" Nie Hei said, his eyes downcast and demeanor submissive.

Liu Yong, with a faint, ambiguous smile, asked again, "If your family were not here, wouldn't that have been a perfect opportunity just now?"

Nie Hei looked up, then somewhat helplessly pointed toward a room on one side and said glumly, "Besides Master Yong, there are two more people in that room, likely figures on par with Master Yong. If this humble one made any suspicious move, it would be a dead end. How would this humble one dare act recklessly?"

"How did you figure that out?" The expression on Liu Yong's face finally turned to pure curiosity.

"When this humble one entered, I heard faint sounds from inside the room, and there were a few unusual tears in the window paper, so I became aware," Nie Hei said, lowering his head.