Chapter 141 Broken Trust
This was originally a small hut inside the government office for storing documents, but some prefect neglected his duties and most of the documents disappeared long ago. Later people were too lazy to clean them up and so they abandoned them here.
Now, in addition to a few tattered bookshelves, this small house has a cleaned floor and a simple bamboo bed. An old man in an old red robe is sitting on the bed, reading a yellowed book with relish.
The wooden door creaked open, and Lan Rong stepped into the small room. "You have the best guest rooms but you insist on staying here. Even if you want to stage a drama about the Red Lotus Cult sharing the suffering of the people, there is no audience here."
The old helmsman raised his head and looked at Lan Rong with an expressionless face: "It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. When I was your age, I also accidentally fell into the land of wealth and luxury. Within a year, I lost all my ambition. Even when I walked out again later, my cultivation level had completely stopped at the sixth level."
"You can't blame others for your weak resolve."
"Yes, so now that I am old, I dare not take a wrong step. Lord Lan, what do you want from me?"
Lan Rong pulled a stool over and sat down: "Do you know Zhao Yushu?"
"We met once and talked a few words."
Lan Rong snorted coldly: "I knew it."
"I think he is a good kid."
"You want to recruit him into the Red Lotus Sect?"
The old captain smiled and shook his head: "He won't join. The Red Lotus Sect is so austere, he can't stand it. But the Red Lotus Sect helps the world, which doesn't mean you have to join the Red Lotus Sect to help the world. In some ways, he is better than me."
"which aspect?"
"Perhaps the governor will know soon. Is this the only reason you came here today to ask?"
Lan Rong shook his head: "Let me tell you about the granary."
The old helmsman closed the book and gestured for permission to speak.
"Yesterday, the craftsmen in the city had already chosen the location. When I took office, several gardens were demolished. The materials are barely enough, but manpower is a problem. The people in the city are unwilling to build a granary for people outside the city."
A gleam of brilliance flashed in the old helmsman's eyes: "Great tricks, sir!"
Lan Rong's expression remained unchanged: "I will give you the food you want to eat, and I will also give you the food you want to take home. It is up to you to decide whether to build the granary or not."
Lan Rong stood up, opened the door and walked out, then paused: "Since we are already preparing to provide food, not a single steamed bun can leave the city until the granary is built, so take care of yourself."
The old helmsman clenched his hands tightly, and the old book turned into ashes silently.
The door closed, and after a long time, a sigh was heard from inside the room.
Before Zhao Yushu returned to the academy, several fast horses carrying command flags rushed out of the city. When Lao Zhao and Wang Bushi came to the outside of the city again, they found that the entire refugee camp was in an uproar. Only then did they know what news the fast horses brought.
The prefect is going to release grain, not only to provide everyone with enough food, but also to provide everyone with food to take home. Just tighten your belt and you can get through to the autumn harvest!
Who would be willing to leave their hometown if they really couldn't survive?
The cheers of "Long live the emperor" grew louder and louder until the refugees had vented their excitement. Only then did the officer in charge of delivering the message continue to read the notice.
The site for the granary has been chosen, and the materials for building it have been prepared, but this amount of grain has exhausted the treasury's silver and money, and there is no money to hire craftsmen. The government hopes that the refugees will provide some of their own people to build the granary.
This request was reasonable and the refugees had nothing to say, but everyone was suddenly troubled. Eating a steamed bun every three or four days was good enough to survive. How could they have the energy to do hard labor?
The messenger officer said he could do nothing to help, but the order had been delivered and the construction materials would be delivered today. As for the rest, you guys can discuss it among yourselves.
The herald left the blueprint and went back to the city. The refugees were leaderless and in chaos for a while, but fortunately they still had someone to ask.
Fang Sanniang stood in front of the old helmsman's tent, her face covered in cold sweat. She had never dealt with a major matter of this magnitude alone.
"Sanniang, we respect you. You are a godly figure. The old helmsman is not here, and you are his apprentice. You have to make the decision. We are going to need food soon. You took our life-saving food to feed so many people before. Isn't it time for you to help? You can't let us, who can't even walk, build a granary, right?"
Several elderly refugees were nominated to find Fang Sanniang. Their request was simple. Before, everyone trusted you, the Red Lotus Sect. Even if they starved to death, they would save food for you to raise a group of strong men. Now we need to build a granary, and it's time for these strong men to go into action.
This was very reasonable, but Fang Sanniang didn't dare to give in.
Before leaving, the master told him that these strong men were to be used in case of "emergency". To put it bluntly, if a knife attack was to occur, they would be the only ones who could fight, and they must not act rashly until that time came.
But what should we do now? The prefect wants to release grain. In other words, there will be no more fighting. If there is no war, there is naturally no need to guard these strong men. This is reasonable, but we cannot disobey the master's words.
Seeing that Fang Sanniang was slow to speak, several refugee representatives began to become suspicious: "Sanniang, is there any difficulty?"
"But, Master hasn't come back yet."
"What does the return of the old helmsman have to do with building a granary?"
"Master said, Master said..." What did he say? He said there would be a war? Who would believe him now?
"Sanniang, you, the Red Lotus Sect, are not doing this on purpose to rebel?"
With a snap, Fang Sanniang seemed to hear something breaking. Although she was not smart, she knew that if she refused at this time, the Red Lotus Sect and the refugees would instantly turn from relatives to enemies.
"Sanniang, Sanniang! A letter from the captain! It was sent from the city!"
At the critical moment, Mei Gu ran in from outside and handed Sanniang a letter. Sanniang hurriedly opened it, and a group of people around her craned their heads hoping to see what was written on the letter.
When Sanniang saw the first glimpse, she heaved a sigh of relief, raised her head and smiled: "Master said that we should all work together to build the granary, and we will build it right away!"
Cheers rang out, including those strong men who smiled sincerely. Their lives were saved by the refugees, so how could they not want to repay their gratitude? They didn't want to fight either, they also wanted to go home and live a good life.
A few people who knew civil engineering shouted and led the strong men to set off in high spirits. Everyone dispersed, and except for Mei Gu, no one noticed that Sanniang's hands were shaking so much that she could hardly hold the letter.
"Sanniang, what's wrong with you?" Mei Gu held Sanniang's hands and asked anxiously.
"Aunt Mei..." Sanniang handed the letter to Gu Mei with trembling hands. Gu Mei hurriedly took it and read it from beginning to end.
The previous content is to let the strong men help build the granary, and if the government office sends someone, let everyone obey the orders of the government office.
The content on the back of the letter was a few very ordinary sentences from the Red Lotus Sect's scriptures. It looked like a doctrine and there was nothing special about it. However, Fang Sanniang, who had been forced by her master to study doctrine every day since she was a child, could see the problem at a glance.
There are several unclear punctuations in these paragraphs of teachings. The only secret language Fang Sanniang learned was the one that used this punctuation method. The content of the secret language was just one sentence: Leave Nanyang as soon as possible!