readytorunbook Chapter 442 Making trouble
Chapter 442 Making trouble
No matter how the soldiers guarding the city explained, the people still refused to give in. They kept cursing and shouting, saying that the soldiers were hiding food and wanted to starve the people to death and take the remaining food for themselves.
Even though the people were fighting fiercely, the officers and soldiers did not kill them. They only arrested the ringleaders to serve as an example to them.
When the people saw this scene, instead of being afraid, they cursed even more fiercely.
"Well! You officials, not only did you hide the grain, but you also killed the common people at will. You are worse than pigs and dogs!"
"Don't be afraid of these officials, for the sake of our wives and children at home, let's fight them!"
"Without food, we will starve to death sooner or later. Let's fight these officials!"
Thousands of civilians were talking to each other, holding all kinds of weapons in their hands, including stones, axes, kitchen knives, etc. They seemed to be crazy and rushed towards the officers and soldiers regardless of everything.
"Stop! Stop fighting!" The prefect came hurriedly and wanted to stop it all, but no matter how he tried to persuade the people, they ignored him.
Suddenly, a man swung the axe in his hand and was about to hit the prefect on the forehead.
A figure stepped lightly on the heads of the people, used the force to fly to the prefect's side, and reached out to catch the axe.
Without waiting for the prefect to react, Shangguan Tang, who had caught the axe, said coldly: "How dare you attack an official of the imperial court in public? Capture him!"
"Yes, sir!" A response sounded throughout the heavens and earth.
The common people and soldiers present were stunned. When they looked up, they saw a team of several thousand people rushing over. All the people who were causing trouble were pinned to the ground. The man who threw the axe at the prefect was tied up and thrown in front of Shangguan Tang.
The people were terrified, the officers and soldiers and the troops stationed in the city were stunned, and it took the prefect a long time to find his voice.
"You are, you are..." He saw the red armor of the Flame Army clearly, and also saw the battle flag held high in the army.
"Flame Army, you are King Pingshan's Flame Army!" the prefect exclaimed.
"Your Excellency has good eyesight. Yes, we are the Flame Army!" Shangguan Tang handed the axe to the soldier beside him and said to the prefect, "Let me introduce myself. I am Shangguan Tang, the wife of King Pingshan!"
The prefect was so excited when he heard this that he immediately knelt down to Shangguan Tang: "Yang'an Prefecture Prefect Zuo Hui greets Princess Pingshan!"
"Your Excellency, there is no need to be so polite!" Shangguan Tang hurriedly asked someone to help Zuo Hui up and said, "This princess is under the order of King Pingshan to lead the Flame Army to help the various prefectures. When I passed by here, I found a fight at the city gate. Can you tell me what happened in Yang'an Mansion?"
Zuo Hui's face was haggard, his lips were chapped, and his face was bruised. He wiped the corners of his eyes and said, "Prince Pingshan is fighting at the border, but he still thinks about the people in the country. It's really a blessing for us! Princess, the food in my Yang'an Mansion is almost gone."
The team entered Yang'an Prefecture, and the people who were causing trouble were escorted into the city. The city was desolate everywhere, with few people on the streets and only some neatly arranged sleds.
After entering the government office, Shangguan Tang listened to the prefect talking about what happened in Yang'an Prefecture. He then asked several captured civilians and finally found out the situation in Yang'an Prefecture.
When the snowstorm first hit, the government made timely arrangements and the granaries had enough food, so the people were not starving and were relatively obedient, and no one made trouble. But later, as the snowstorm lasted longer and longer, the food in the granaries gradually decreased. In order to prevent the people from running out of food, the government gathered the people in three places for easy control and reduced the food supply.
When Zuo Hui said this, he looked sad and aggrieved: "I was forced to do this. There is not much food left. If we don't eat sparingly, we won't be able to survive for a few days. I did this for the good of the people, but many people think that I embezzled food, so I only give them a little food every day. Little do they know that I eat the same thing as them."
"When the people first started to make a fuss, we could barely control it. But as food became less and less, and everyone was hungry every day, their emotions got completely out of control."
"Some people took the lead in stirring up trouble, saying that the government was hoarding grain and leaving no way for the people to survive. Some people even wanted to eat their own children, but I stopped them. It would have been fine if I hadn't stopped them, but once I did, the people became even more angry."
"The people who were beaten by the soldiers today were the most violent among the many people. Because they made a mistake, I had them sent to work outside the city. They were not convinced, so they fought with the soldiers..."
There was a lot of helplessness in Zuo Hui's words. After he said those words, his body swayed and he looked like he would faint at any time.
Shangguan Tang ordered someone to bring out a bun for him: "How long has it been since you last had food, sir?"
Zuo Hui took the bun weakly, looked at the hot big meat bun, tears fell uncontrollably and he was speechless.
The judge at the side said, "The prefect has been worried about solving the problem of the people making trouble for many days. He has not eaten for three days and has only drunk a little hot water."
"Your Excellency, you have worked hard!" Shangguan Tang said, "Since this princess is here, I will definitely help you solve this matter. Your Excellency, please eat this bun."
Zuo Hui said: "The people in the city haven't eaten such delicious buns for more than ten days."
Shangguan Tang said: "From today on, everyone will have meat buns to eat. After you finish eating, immediately send someone to go down and gather all the soldiers and generals to line up to receive food."
She didn't intend to let Zuo Hui know about the water tank. She just wanted him to know that there was food in the Flame Army.
Seeing that Shangguan Tang was not lying and there was real food, Zuo Hui and the Tongpan cried with joy, ate the buns in big mouthfuls, and went downstairs to arrange for people to come over.
While Zuo Hui was arranging the personnel, Shangguan Tang summoned the Fire Army and took out water jars to place the food out.
There were tens of thousands of kilograms of rice, five thousand kilograms of wheat flour, millet, sweet potatoes, potatoes, fresh meat, vegetables and fruits, filling the granary.
When Zuo Hui and his men came over, they were stunned to see that the originally empty granary was now filled with food.
"So much food!" Zuo Hui was so surprised that he couldn't express it in words, and the people he brought with him also cried for joy.
"We have food! We have food!"
"This amount of food is enough to feed the entire Tianan Prefecture for two months!"
Shangguan Tang called Zuo Hui over and said, "It's not snowing anymore. The people in the city can't just eat for free without working. Pass the order down and have all the people join the snow-clearing team. Pull the snow all over the city to the designated place and pile it up. During the clearing process, if you find a human or animal corpse, don't touch it directly with your hands. You must wear gloves and carry the corpse to the designated place to burn it to avoid infection and plague."