Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 152: Gathering Information in the City

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Gathering Information in the City

Leng Qi briefly explained the situation he had discovered, and everyone had different expressions.

It turned out that Yu County had already been occupied by a group of refugee rebel army, who claimed to be fighting for justice and for the common people under the banner of welcoming refugees.

They claimed that all homeless people could come to the city to receive a bowl of porridge and a pair of shoes.

This approach, like that of a reborn parent, attracted many refugees to settle in the county town.

Everyone couldn’t help but bitterly think that now they were also part of the vast refugee army, there was nothing to be proud of, at most having one extra mouthful of food than other refugees, just enough not to starve to death.

To further investigate the situation, the village sent three or four smart men disguised as destitute refugees to mix into the city.

The others stayed put, waiting to confirm the information before making any plans.

Under the clear moon and sparse stars, when all was silent, several stealthy figures knocked on the door of an courtyard’s side gate, knocking three long and two short knocks; a thin man soon opened the door, looking unsurprised to see the visitors.

After letting them in, he stretched his neck to look left and right at the street corner, and seeing nothing unusual, he quickly closed the door.

The visitors went to a rockery, entering a secret chamber.

The furniture inside the secret chamber was exquisite and luxurious; a man sitting in the main seat was discussing something with an old man at the side, and upon hearing the sound, he looked towards the door.

When the visitor saw the person in the main seat, he knelt down and saluted, "Subordinate Li Zhu pays respects to Zhuge Junling."

The man in the main seat was Zhuge Fang, around forty years old, with well-defined features, though his face was slightly delicate, sporting a little moustache, with eyes that shone like cold stars, eyebrows arched as if painted with lacquer; his physique was robust and firm, faintly exuding an evil qi.

"Get up!"

Zhuge Fang raised the tea cup from the table, took a sip, and slowly opened his mouth, "Was the information you sent earlier true?"

Li Zhu replied respectfully, "I dare not deceive the leader; that group indeed has a lot of stored grain, and they are quite different from ordinary refugees."

"Oh! How are they different?"

Zhuge Fang showed some interest, putting down the tea cup, leisurely leaning back in his chair and waiting for Li Zhu to continue.

"They are not like the villagers fleeing disaster, their clothes are clean and tidy, they have horses and food, they don’t lack food and drink, more like a caravan; most importantly, among them is a formidable little girl, she has two guards with high martial arts skills." Li Zhu spoke more and more alarmed; just their aura alone suppressed him, making him dare not act rashly, otherwise there’d be no need for subterfuge, he would’ve grabbed them by force in broad daylight.

"Is it the little girl who is formidable, or the guards? Make it clear." An old man standing by, with a hairpin and a crown, wisps of white hair at his temples, had an appearance of profound wisdom and cunning.

"Both, both are formidable." Li Zhu replied truthfully. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Zhuge Fang was indifferent, "Just a small village girl; how formidable could she be, it’s likely that the guards are just protecting her well, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth."

In his eyes, women were all mere adjuncts. The eldest princess was so fierce back in the day, yet wasn’t she firmly handled by the prince consort, at most daughters of military generals could be a bit unruly, what is a mere countryside girl worth?

"Master shouldn’t be so arbitrary, how could a mere village girl have the financial means to hire highly skilled martial arts guards? This thing is inherently eerie; caution ensures a safe ship for a thousand years."

The old man’s thoughts were meticulous, and he couldn’t allow the master’s schemes to have even the slightest deviation.

"Describe in detail everything you encountered."

"Yes! Mr. Hong."

Li Zhu dared not be careless, narrating the entire incident involving Cheng Xiaoxiao’s group, not leaving out a single detail.

Mr. Hong pondered for a while, slightly bowing, speaking solemnly, "Master, it seems this group is not easy to deal with; those two guards are most likely inner strength experts."

"Teacher, you are overexaggerating them; after all, they are just a group of villagers. Even if they have inner strength experts, so what? We also have plenty of inner strength experts; do just two people dare challenge us?" Zhuge Fang sarcastically curled his lips.

To deal with such a weak bunch, what tactics are needed? Just grab them directly, and if they don’t know what’s good for them, just kill them.

"You said they are coming for this place?"

Li Zhu was still daydreaming, it was best for him not to hear any of these adults’ conversations.

Suddenly being named, he was somewhat caught off guard, "Yes, yes, they asked about Yu County’s current situation."

Zhuge Fang nodded, "Then that’s easy, just wait for them to throw themselves into the net."

This time Mr. Hong did not object, he merely said, "Have the subordinates restrain themselves a bit, don’t let anything be revealed too clearly."

"Yes!"

The secret chamber’s conspiracy against Cheng Xiaoxiao’s group, they knew nothing of, still waiting for news in place.

Throughout history, when public grievances have boiled, righteous men have been compelled to revolt.

They expose the corruption of the court, the avarice of officials, heavy taxes, unequal rewards and punishments, and they call for people to respond to their uprising.

This is the general trend, yet merely due to a natural disaster, being unable to receive aid promptly, revolting against the court seems a bit excessive.

Nevertheless, Cheng Xiaoxiao was reluctant to agree.

Just at this moment, the men who had gone to the city to gather news returned.

It turned out the city was occupied by a group of people organized into a rebel army, also driven to desperation, using this desperate measure.

According to the memories of the common people present at the time.

At that time, they were starving and on the brink of death, with only awaiting death.

It was Zhuge Junling who gave everyone a way to live.

Only to see him raise his arm and shout, "Since those corrupt officials dare to act on the first day, why should we not act on the fifteenth too? They don’t provide a path of life for the people, letting thousands upon thousands of people starve outside the city, worse than pigs and dogs; what use are such ’parent’ officials? What use is a government office merely supporting rich and powerful officials and merchants?"

At that time, at the people’s most desperate moment, someone stood up, overthrew the government, looted the gentry and rich merchants, occupied the county town, let the refugees and common people enter the city, giving them hope for life; since then, the people were grateful and in awe of this hero.

Listening to their passionate narrative made one wish to immediately join the rebel army, yet Cheng Xiaoxiao’s doubts grew stronger.

This deviated somewhat from what the system had gathered.

"Did you see any prisoners, or any old or young people working with shackles?"

"Yes, we did! Those wearing shackles inside were not common people, but captured gentry, wealthy merchants, and the families of corrupt officials who did evil and seized wealth by force, this was their retribution," Second Lazy said proudly.

Is it truly like that?

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t believe it, could it be their whereabouts were exposed?

No, they can’t rashly enter the city.

The village chief and the clan leader saw Cheng Xiaoxiao shake her head, was it because it didn’t seem right?

Just as Cheng Xiaoxiao’s group was debating how to gather more information.

The 20-plus refugees had already skillfully mingled with the village women, addressing them as aunts and sisters, feeling closer than even real siblings.

Everyone was overjoyed to hear that Yu County would take in refugees, finally having a temporary place to stay.