Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 59: Three Plans

Cheng Guangshan frowned, sinking into deep thought. A moment later, he murmured to himself,

"I never would have expected this. Two shipments of Official Grain hijacked... this is a grave matter. The stability of all of Jade Peak County is at stake.

"The Four Great Families sending men disguised as bandits to seize the two grain shipments—that can be explained by greed. But why incite the refugees as well? What are they trying to do? Plunge Jade Peak County into chaos? They have nothing to gain from that."

Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "Whatever their objective is, we’re in no position to interfere, let alone pay it any mind.

"The most important thing right now is to leave the County Town while we still can. If we get trapped and chaos erupts, we’ll be lambs to the slaughter."

However, Cheng Guangshan said, "I doubt it will come to that, so long as there isn’t a city-wide massacre. Those Martial Artist Families won’t harm common civilians. They have no conflict of interest with us."

But Cheng Zongyang countered, "There may be no conflict of interest, but we can still be used as cannon fodder.

"To the great Noble Families, the common folk are as insignificant as weeds.

"More importantly, the Noble Families don’t need a conflict of interest to do something. It’s merely a question of whether they want to or not."

Cheng Guangshan fell silent.

’How could he not know his nephew was right?’ But asking his family to pack up and leave now was a truly difficult prospect.

After all, this was all just speculation.

"And move where? Are we to become refugees, forced from our home?" Cheng Guangshan sighed.

Cheng Zongyang thought for a moment and said,

"Second Uncle, I won’t hide it from you. I have three plans."

At this, Cheng Guangshan was stunned. "What?"

’Three plans, just like that?’

’Just how long has my nephew been planning this in secret?’

Cheng Zongyang hadn’t told him about what happened in the village. He hadn’t thought it was a major issue, so he saw no need to bring it up.

But now things had grown complicated. Not only did his immediate family need to know his plans, but so did his second uncle.

He said with a solemn expression,

"First, I bought a house in the County Town. My original plan, after the refugees attacked the village yesterday, was to move my family and my maternal uncles into town, since the village is no longer safe. The house is quite large, it should be big enough for everyone."

"What?! The refugees attacked the village? How are your father and mother?! Is everyone at home all right?!" Cheng Guangshan’s expression changed as he asked anxiously.

"My father was slightly injured, but it’s nothing serious," Cheng Zongyang said with a reassuring smile.

"That’s good." Cheng Guangshan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "And what’s this about a house?"

"Second Uncle, that’s not important right now. Let’s move on to the second plan," Cheng Zongyang said, changing the subject. ’Otherwise, this could go on forever.’

"Second, we stay in the village. We could unite with the remaining villagers. If we join forces, we should be able to protect the village, as long as the number of refugees isn’t too large."

Cheng Guangshan didn’t respond right away, instead sinking into thought. After a moment, he asked, "And the third plan?"

Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang laid out his third plan.

"Third, we move into the mountains. I remember there are places in the mountains between Hechi Village and Golden Bridge Village. They aren’t huge, but they’re large enough to support a good number of people clearing land and farming.

"There’s more than enough room to clear the land and build houses. That way, we could avoid the chaos caused by the refugees and ensure our family’s safety in the mountains.

"Second Uncle, compared to the situation out here, living in the mountains shouldn’t be a problem as long as we can find a water source."

Cheng Guangshan paced around the small courtyard, his expression grave.

Things were changing too quickly. Even Golden Bridge Village had been affected, which meant all the villages near the County Town had been hit. And the situation was still escalating.

This was a development that couldn’t be ignored, yet the Government Office was slow to react.

When he connected this to what his nephew had said about the Four Great Families, it suddenly made sense why the County Town was ignoring the tragic state of the villages.

As for the three proposed plans, the second one was clearly not viable.

Staying to defend the village might scare off one small group of refugees, but it would only attract more.

Twenty or thirty sheep fighting back might repel a few hungry wolves, but they could never stop the whole pack drawn by the scent of blood.

Once the refugees gathered in force, the villagers would be fish on a chopping block, utterly powerless to resist.

Unless they had a powerful Martial Artist.

But two fists are no match for four. No matter how strong the Martial Artist, they couldn’t kill everyone at once.

And if some refugees with ulterior motives took the opportunity to kill defenseless family members, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

But now, he wasn’t sure if even the County Town was safe to live in.

He knew about the horrific state of things outside the walls. If the bodies out there were left unattended, a plague was inevitable!

And then, the County Town would become a living hell!

The reason was simple: there were far, far too many people gathered outside the County Town walls.

He wasn’t a member of a Noble Family, so he couldn’t possibly understand their motives or think from their perspective.

The third plan, on the other hand, was the safest of them all.

It would guarantee their safety and keep them far from the turmoil.

Most importantly, they wouldn’t be completely abandoning their home region. They could still keep an eye on the situation in the County Town and even have a chance to go in to buy supplies.

But it had its downsides, too. The mountains weren’t necessarily completely safe.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t rush his uncle, but simply waited.

If they left together, the clinic would have to close, and they would have to take a lot of things with them.

Of course, they wouldn’t be abandoning the place completely. They would return once things settled down.

The houses were still here, and they held the deeds. As long as the leadership of the County Town and Da Liang didn’t change, and as long as those deeds were still recognized as legal, they wouldn’t lose their properties.

Now, he needed to hear his family’s opinions before making a final decision.

Just then, Cheng Zongyang heard his second uncle speak.

"You still need to ask your father about this. But as for me, I’d prefer to stay in the city. I have two reasons."

Cheng Guangshan showed no impatience. He wasn’t treating his nephew like a child, but discussing the matter with him as an adult, an equal who could make decisions for the family.

"First, your analysis of the County Town is sound. And you’re thinking in terms of the worst-case scenario, which is a very good thing. It’s always wise to plan for a rainy day and not get caught unprepared.

"However, it’s highly probable that nothing will happen inside the County Town itself. Even if trouble does break out, it will likely be confined to the area outside the walls.

"As for a rebellion or the like, I doubt it. The great Noble Families must have some other objective. We just have no way of knowing what it is.

"Second, while the mountains may be a bit safer, there’s also a great deal of uncertainty. The first issue is finding water.

"With the drought these past two years, not a drop of rain has fallen. The rivers in the villages have dried up, and even the water level in the county’s wells is getting lower and lower.

"Then there’s the environment itself. Building a settlement for that many people will take more than a few days. Can our families, especially the children, adapt during that time?

"So, my opinion is to move into the County Town. Even if something does happen, they wouldn’t go so far as to force the townspeople to go out and fight, would they?

"Yang’Er, you should go back and discuss this with your father, mother, and your uncles. It’s not too late to make a decision after that.

"This concerns the entire family, young and old. When it comes to them, even the smallest detail is a major issue. It’s better to be slow and careful than to rush into things." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Cheng Zongyang listened to his uncle’s words, taking his meaning to heart. He nodded and said,

"I will. In that case, I’ll head back now."

"Go on, then. The city gates close early these days. It’s safer to head back sooner rather than later," Cheng Guangshan said with a nod.