By dinner time, the information on the commoners transporting the grain was placed in front of Jiang Jin.
She took a look; these commoners were from Chunfeng Village, Lucao Village, and a total of ten villages under the jurisdiction of Gefeng.
These villages were located in the southern part of Gefeng County. They used to be key grain-producing areas for Gefeng, but now they were largely abandoned, and few people had survived.
Jiang Jin handed the documents to Zhou Sui, Set out as early as possible tomorrow to bring the people over. We must be ready for battle at any time.
The commoners delivering the grain were arranged to stay in a few rooms at the very back of the barracks. Although these houses were dilapidated, they were still taller and sturdier than the houses in their own villages.
Everyone was somewhat at a loss, not knowing if their choice to stay was right or wrong.
Dinner time, come out and get your dinner. A woman's shout rang out from outside.
The commoners looked at each other in dismay and hesitantly walked out of the room.
A handcart was placed at the door, carrying a large barrel, a large cauldron, and a large basket. The basket contained many bamboo bowls and chopsticks.
Sun Acao shouted at them, Everyone line up to get your dinner. Our Lord is kind-hearted and is giving everyone a free meal tonight. Tomorrow, you will have to earn your own grain.
A dark-skinned man stood at the front of the line. Smelling the aroma of food coming from the cart, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
He even smelled a hint of meat. His stomach growled loudly, and his face suddenly grew hot.
Sun Acao urged, Don't dilly-dally, hurry up. You are in luck. We just happened to slaughter a wild boar today. There are a lot of bones in this porridge, it smells delicious.
She had to finish distributing the food to these people quickly so she could go back and eat her own dinner. There was meat today, and she was craving it too.
The dark-skinned man went to take a bamboo bowl from the basket with trembling hands, Is this... is this really for us?
Sun Acao handed him a steamed bun and a scoop of porridge, Of course it is. Only when you are full will you have the strength to work tomorrow.
When everyone received their dinner and returned to their rooms, they still couldn't quite believe it. It felt like a dream.
The dark-skinned man took a small sip of the porridge, which still had some bone marrow in it. He only felt the rich aroma of meat, but his throat tightened a little.
A tall, thin man squatting next to him sighed comfortably, Third Brother Zhang, why does this feel so unreal? We just entered the city? And from now on, we have work to do and grain to receive?
The dark-skinned man took a bite of the coarse grain bun. Instead of answering him, he said, That woman said that being a soldier earns half a stone of grain a month. Zhang Lin, do you think I can make it as a soldier?
His name was Zhang Jinshan, the third child in his family. His two older brothers were gone, leaving only an elderly mother and three nieces and nephews.
If he still had some doubts about Jiang Jin's words before, he believed them for the most part now. Being a soldier could guarantee that he would be well-fed, and the half-stone of grain given to his family would be basically enough for them to eat.
Zhang Lin also knew his family's situation. To be honest, he was also very tempted by the conditions of being a soldier, but he was afraid, Being a soldier makes it easy to die. What if...
Zhang Jinshan shook his head, People die just the same if they aren't soldiers. If Gefeng hadn't been conquered by that woman this time, those of us transporting grain might not have been able to return.
At noon the next day, the sun was scorching hot.
Jiang Jin had just returned to the county office after training when someone came to report, Lord, the people from Lihua Village have arrived.
Joy appeared on Jiang Jin's face; it was earlier than she expected.
Although she had been traveling leisurely, fighting bandits and training along the way, her speed wasn't particularly fast. But it was still the speed of a horse-drawn carriage, and the people in her team were mostly young and strong. On the other hand, Lihua Village and Xingnan Village had many elderly, weak, women, and children, and they also had to carry their belongings.
What she didn't know was that Sun Yi and the others had traveled day and night to catch up with her team as quickly as possible, which was why they arrived at Gefeng County today.
Jiang Jin quickly wiped her face, hopped onto Little Red, and arrived at the south gate.
A group of nearly a thousand people had stopped in front of the south gate. They were the villagers of Lihua Village and Xingnan Village, only now their group looked larger than before.
Xie Nanxiao came over to report, his expression a bit strange, Somehow, the people of Lihua Village came together with Village Head Su and the others.
Jiang Jin guessed, They probably ran into each other on the road.
She guessed right. Sun Yi and the others had met Village Head Su's group on the road.
Seeing them heading north, Village Head Su felt doubtful and couldn't help stopping to ask.
Seeing that they were dressed in rags just like his own people, Sun Yi felt compassion and truthfully told them where they were going.
Upon hearing this, Village Head Su immediately knew they were talking about Jiang Jin. He hadn't wanted to continue heading south in the first place, but the group's destination wasn't up to him alone.
At this moment, his heart wavered again, and he discussed it with several clan elders in the group.
By this time, the clan elders were also wavering. People all have a herd mentality. With the road ahead uncertain and seeing that others had already made a choice here, they were naturally tempted.
Village Head Su added fuel to the fire, It's not far from Gefeng here. We can go to Gefeng first. If there are problems, it won't be too late to turn back.
Look, if we join forces with them, we will have over 900 people. Even if there are problems, we will have the strength to fight back. Bandits and thieves on the road wouldn't dare attack us easily.
The clan elders thought it made sense. What if Gefeng could truly settle down? Then why would they keep traveling?
So the two groups merged and traveled day and night, finally arriving at the borders of Gefeng today.
However, the closer they got to their target, the more anxious Sun Yi's heart became. The answer to this massive gamble was about to be revealed.
When they saw from afar the soldiers wearing Quzhao clothing on the Gefeng city wall, as well as the tightly shut city gates, their hearts sank halfway.
Village Head Su's face turned pale, Why... why are the city gates closed? Could... could something have happened?
Sun Yi was also somewhat hesitant, No, it shouldn't be. How about we go ask about the situation first?
Just as the few of them didn't know what to do, the city gates opened. Xie Nanxiao walked out and shouted loudly, Is that Village Head Sun?
Sun Yi was stunned for a moment before finally recognizing him. Overjoyed, he said, It's you! You... you guys? Where is the Lady?
Xie Nanxiao had already come in front of them. He glanced at their group and said, I have already sent someone to notify our Lord. Please wait a moment.
Hearing him address her as Lord, Sun Yi was astounded, but he quickly reacted. He looked left and right, then lowered his voice and asked, This Gefeng...?
Xie Nanxiao smiled, That's right. Gefeng now belongs to my Lord.
Sun Yi and the others all gasped. Wait, it had only been a few days, and Gefeng had already changed hands?
