Jiang Jin hesitated for a moment, deciding to eavesdrop. She seemed to have just heard words like magistrate, rob, bandits, and granary.
She instructed Little Red in a low voice, "Little Red, I'm going over there for a bit. Don't run around and don't make a fuss. If someone comes, remember to neigh twice."
Little Red ignored her. It believed that with its tall and fierce stature, it was absolutely impossible to be called Little Red.
Jiang Jin didn't mind. She walked a bit further into the alley, and the voices became clearer and clearer.
Jiang Jin then realized that the voices weren't coming from the alley, but from a house on one side of it. The spot she was standing in happened to be right behind this house.
At this time, most windows in houses weren't built very large, let alone a back window, which was very small. She stood by the window as the conversation inside continued.
"I didn't expect we'd have to take action again so soon tonight. Remember to open the city gates when the time comes."
"I know, it's not our first time doing this, don't worry. By the way, are we opening all four gates this time?"
"Yeah, heh heh. Lin County has been robbed so many times that the granary can barely hold all the grain, so they want to transport some to Wuqin first."
"That's true. Just the grain brought by the great merchant Lan Liang last time amounted to thousands of shi, and there was also the wealthy merchant Wang You. I heard he brought countless amounts of gold, silver, copper coins, and silk, all of which were taken by our magistrate..."
"You know quite a bit, kid. Magistrate Gao is indeed formidable. He got so much grain, and not only does no one suspect him, but he also won the hearts of the people."
"Truly brilliant. Now the Han people basically all come to Lin County, bringing us countless wealth and goods."
"Of course. Right now, there aren't many places left in Fengzhou that are Han territories, so where else would they go but here?"
"Yeah, who would have thought that the magistrate and all of us have become Quzhao's people! This place has become Quzhao's grain sack and money pouch, with the Han people endlessly sending money and grain here."
"Exactly. Half a month ago, our Lin County even sent a thousand shi of grain to Shu County, enough to feed the Quzhao soldiers there for two months."
"It's just a pity about the county defender. He was too righteous and refused to... sigh!"
"Speaking of the county defender, I wonder where Eldest Miss Xia ran off to?"
"Who knows, she probably escaped out of the city long ago. She's quite fierce for a woman; so many people failed to catch her, and she even managed to kill a few of our soldiers."
"I heard she grew up by the county defender's side and is highly skilled in archery, riding, and martial arts. Who would dare marry a woman like that?"
"Haha, exactly. I heard she's already nineteen and still unmarried. Probably because no one wants her."
"Alright, what's the use of talking about this? It's almost time for the shift change, let's go."
Jiang Jin stood there motionless, listening to the retreating footsteps. Only after making sure everyone had left did she slowly walk back to the carriage.
The amount of information she just heard was overwhelming. She sorted it out in her mind and got a rough grasp of the situation.
The magistrate of Lin County was Quzhao's man, or rather, Quzhao's puppet.
The conversation mentioned that Lin County had been robbed multiple times, and the money and grain ended up in Lin County's granary.
In other words, Lin County used bandits and robberies to plunder wealthy merchants and grain dealers who came to the county, enriching Lin County's granary, and then continuously transported this wealth and grain into the hands of the Quzhao people.
Furthermore, there would be a major operation in Lin County tonight. They needed to transport grain out to the Quzhao people, and they might kill some people and loot some things along the way.
A cold light flashed in her eyes. What a Lin County!
What a Magistrate Gao!
It was obvious that Lin County was a massive slaughterhouse, using the flesh and blood of the Han people to feed the Quzhao people!
With a plan in mind, she quickly drove the carriage to several other grain shops to buy grain. Using her old method, she put the grain into the carriage and then stored it in her space.
Of course, she left a good amount of grain visibly inside the carriage. Only then did she drive the carriage to the rendezvous point, which was a flat area beside the medical clinic.
She saw that Dong Si and Zhou Sui were already there waiting for her.
Dong Si's carriage was filled with clay pots, all containing salt and oil. Fearing they might break from bumping, he had padded the bottom and sides with plenty of dry grass stalks.
Zhou Sui's was even more exaggerated. The inner part of the carriage was piled with baskets full of vegetables, especially eggplants, taros, and melons, which could be stored for a longer time.
Near the outside of the carriage, two more baskets were stacked, but these were bamboo livestock baskets with lids, containing seven or eight ducks and over ten chickens respectively.
A lot of straw was padded under the bamboo baskets, so it wouldn't dirty the carriage, but the smell was somewhat overwhelming.
Jiang Jin told the two to watch the carriages. As she turned around and was about to enter the medical clinic, she saw the old man standing at the entrance, gazing deeply into the distance.
Jiang Jin followed his gaze.
In the distance, a squad of soldiers was walking down the street. On the surface, there was nothing amiss.
However, looking at the old man's expression, a trace of deep thought flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes. It seemed that quite a few people in Lin County had already noticed something was wrong.
Sensing her gaze, the old man snapped back to reality and greeted, "Young lady, you're back."
Jiang Jin stepped into the clinic. "How is it?"
The old man replied, "The wound on the leg has been treated, and I've prescribed some oral medication."
As they spoke, they arrived at the treatment room.
Yun Ci had already woken up. Seeing Jiang Jin, he was about to get up to thank her.
Jiang Jin hurriedly stopped him. "Old Mister Yun, there's no need for this. It was just a small effort."
It wasn't appropriate to call him General here and now, but she really couldn't bring herself to call him directly by his name like Zhou Sui did, considering his age.
Yun Ci shook his head. "To you, it might have been a small effort, but to us, it is a life-saving grace. In the future, if there is anywhere I can be of use, as long as it doesn't violate morality, just give the order."
Jiang Jin nodded. "Alright."
She then turned to look at Yun Yu. "Third Young Master Yun, could I have a word with you in private?"
Yun Yu glanced at Yun Ci, and seeing him nod in agreement, he followed Jiang Jin outside the clinic.
Leaving Dong Si outside to watch the carriages, Jiang Jin took Zhou Sui and Yun Yu to talk behind the carriage.
After making sure there was no one around, Jiang Jin relayed the information she had heard.
Yun Yu's veins bulged with anger. "This is going too far!"
Zhou Sui, however, didn't have much of a reaction. "What does the young lady plan to do?"
Jiang Jin lowered her voice. "It will definitely get chaotic here tonight, and no one knows what accidents might happen. So the previous plan is canceled. We'll move quickly to buy the people in a bit, and Old Mister Yun and Dong Si will leave the city first."
Their original plan was to stay in Lin County for a night or two to buy supplies and people.
More importantly, it was to get Yun Ci medical treatment. The injuries on his body wouldn't heal instantly. They originally wanted to wait until his condition improved a bit, at least until he stopped having recurring fevers, before continuing their journey.
But plans couldn't keep up with changes. The 'bandits' entering the city would inevitably cause a looting spree.
This was their standard operation; it allowed them to plunder money and grain, and also created chaos so they could smoothly transport the grain out.
Whether the medical clinic would be targeted during the robbery was hard to say.
Yun Ci couldn't withstand too much jolting right now. Fleeing for their lives when the time came would be no joke.
Given the circumstances, it would be safer to get the medicine and leave the city as soon as possible.
Hearing that only Dong Si and the others were leaving the city, Zhou Sui knew Jiang Jin was going to stir up trouble in Lin County. However, he didn't say anything, tacitly agreeing and supporting her.
Yun Yu, however, was a bit hesitant. "Aren't you and the Great General leaving the city together?"
Jiang Jin gave a soft hum of agreement. "You should make preparations early and have the doctor prescribe a few extra days' worth of medicine."
Although Yun Yu was worried, he and Jiang Jin were not particularly close after all, so it was not his place to pry into the details.
Once their discussion concluded, Yun Yu hurried back to the clinic. Meanwhile, Jiang Jin took Dong Si to purchase servants, leaving Zhou Sui behind to guard the carriages.
When it came to buying people, Dong Si was indeed the experienced one. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was practically his area of expertise.
The two arrived at the slave market and began their selection.
In this era, formal brokerages had not yet been established; those who trafficked in servants and slaves were simply known as dealers.
The slave market was no different from a market selling chickens and ducks. The people were bound by the hands with ropes and strung together in a line, left at the mercy of buyers to pick and choose.
Dong Si came to a halt in front of two women who appeared somewhat cleaner than the rest.
