The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 111 A Miserable Survival
Two days later.

Longshan Pass.

A large, swarming group of ragged beggars, leaning on wooden sticks, reached the checkpoint.

The men were all barely clothed.

The clothes were torn into strips.

Either the sleeve was torn off, or only half of it remained.

His arms, back, and other exposed areas were covered with scars of all shapes and sizes.

It healed quickly; a long scar has already formed.

For some large wounds, the area around the wound is still red and swollen, and the wound looks white, which is mostly because it has become infected with pus.

Judging by appearances, these beggars have been injured for no more than half a month!

Judging from their walking posture, many of them are limping!

It's understandable that young and strong men rush to the front lines when something happens.

Take a closer look.

The women and children following behind were so dirty it was unbearable to look at.

Not to mention her hair was a complete mess, like a bird's nest.

The clothes were so dirty that their original color was no longer visible.

Many of the women also had a sour, foul odor emanating from their bodies.

Then look at the skin on the back of their hands; it's so dark you could rub off a layer of dirt!
They huddled behind the men, trembling.

They might be carrying a baby on their backs or carrying a patched-up bundle on their shoulders.

At the very back of the line were a group of old guys.

These people were practically crawling on the ground.

His body was hunched over, and he walked with a shaky gait.

Their overall appearance is more like that of refugees than refugees themselves!

Are they fleeing to the northwest to escape famine?
The soldiers exchanged glances, secretly wondering about the origins of these people.

Before they could even make a move to chase them away.

The person at the very front of the group felt as if they were seeing family.

They ran over with shining eyes, handing over the relevant documents with both hands:

"Lord Guan! Lord Guan! We are yamen runners from Daming Prefecture escorting exiled prisoners through this pass to reach the border town."

After repeated checks, it was confirmed that the travel permit and travel document in the man's hand were genuine.

The soldiers guarding the pass were speechless.

Someone asked with obvious disdain, "Exiled prisoners are one thing, but why are you seventy escorting officers dressed like this too?"

The other person patted their chest, still shaken, and said:

"What Lord Guan and his men do not know."

We were fine when we left Daming Prefecture, but as soon as we arrived in Yuzhou Prefecture, we were caught in a torrential downpour!
While we were sheltering from the rain in a cave, the local villagers robbed us of our public funds and food.

Then we could only borrow money from the nearby county government office in the name of the prefect.

After finally reaching Nanhe Prefecture, the refugees there started a riot.

They not only slaughtered all the guard posts at the pass, but they also hacked down those of us in uniform!

Oh, these exiled criminals used to be from powerful families and were big landowners. They couldn't stand landlords and would beat and kill them whenever they saw them.

We ran and were chased the whole way!
I don't even know how many times I was robbed or beaten by refugees!
If the post stations along the way hadn't been waiving our lodging fees, we probably wouldn't have made it to Anxi Prefecture.

To be honest, we haven't eaten for three days!
"Could you gentlemen, considering we're all on official business, lend us some grain? We'll repay you double when we return to Daming Prefecture!"

The soldiers were all shocked: these escorting officials were actually begging for alms from them?!
Want to eat fart!

However, the necessary checks should still be performed.

We can't let these beggars pull any tricks under our noses.

They were about to line up one by one to prepare for a body search.

In the middle of the crowd, an old woman fainted at the checkpoint.

"Oh, Mother, Mother! What's wrong?"

A young man rushed out of the crowd and walked up to the woman who had fallen to the ground.

His face showed great fear, as if the sky was about to fall.

The officer beside him quickly followed, checking his pulse and lifting his eyelids, before finally sighing and saying to him:
"I'm hungry, I'm really hungry!"

The young man suddenly knelt down, then grabbed the official's leg and burst into tears:

"Officer, officer! My father passed away when I was seven. My mother worked hard to wash clothes for others and raised me. Please, give me something to eat."

Where are the officials supposed to get food?
They stared longingly at the soldiers. As the man shouted, a dozen or so more children began to whine.

"Uncle officer, I want to eat, I want to eat black steamed buns."

"Mommy, Mommy, I'm so hungry, my tummy hurts!"

"."

A mother's heart aches when her child cries out that he is hungry.

What else can I do?
All I can do is cry with them!

Immediately, the Longshan Pass was filled with the cries of women and children.

Crying makes your head ache.

This infuriated Guan Jun and his men!
Is this a plan to stay at the border and not leave, or what?

A centurion roared at the group, "Anyone who dares to cause trouble at the pass will not be allowed to pass today!"

The threat of not being allowed to pass through is still very significant.

At least the officials escorting the prisoners were terrified of failing to complete their mission.

The head constable was pulling at two soldiers at the checkpoint, begging them to let him go.

The attitude must be as humble as possible.

He patiently described it to everyone.

They described how difficult it was for them to beg for alms along the way, and how the postmasters at the post stations along the route disliked them because they were covered in mud and only allowed them to stay in the woodsheds.

Then he went on and on about how difficult it was for these yamen runners to make this long journey.

Not only were the bribes that the exiled prisoners' relatives had given them before they set off all snatched away by the refugees.

Even the two taels of silver he had painstakingly saved up were completely plundered.

They also worried that they might starve to death on the road from Longshan to the border town.
Happiness comes from contrast!

I always thought they were the most pitiful, the Guan soldiers who were driven to the brink of despair.

The eyes of the dozens of unfortunate officials were filled with sympathy.

He was utterly merciless with his words:

"Get out, get out, get out of here! Who has the patience to listen to your lousy work!"

Sympathy is sympathy.

It's impossible to make them lose money!

They risked being beheaded to carry out this one robbery.

The goods left behind by those Western Region merchants included camels, which were divided among thousands of people.

On a per capita basis, we are truly not wealthy!

They planned to wait for those Western Region merchants to return, rob the remaining half of their wealth, and then the entire garrison would run away with all that money.

But the big fish they were waiting for never returned.

A bunch of rotten fish and shrimp have run into us!
The rotten fish and shrimp carried the old woman, who had fainted from hunger, and stumbled into the gate.

We passed through the gourd-shaped mouth.

Then everyone saw the hundred or so large and small pits that had been dug out on the mountain path.

The officials couldn't help but think of how, two days ago, under Zuo Wenkang's persuasion, they had sold several mule carts and that chestnut horse at a huge loss and a low price.

I can't help but admire the scholar once again.

With so many pits, any mule or horse walking here would have its legs fall into one.

Once a mule or horse's leg is broken, it can only be killed for meat.

Compared to eating meat, it's about selling it at a low price.

The latter is clearly more in their interest.

The officials glanced again at the children on the women's backs.

Who would believe that those dirty children were hiding their private savings and public funds in the hidden pockets of their pants?

This Scholar Zuo is a real talent!

Today's act of feigning misery was all done under his guidance.

To make this tragic scene more realistic.

They really hadn't eaten for three days.

They were all so hungry that they were weak and listless, their stomachs rumbling all the way.

What's even more amazing is.

He also made the women in the exiled group put their outer garments in the swill bucket at the post station and let them soak for fifteen minutes.

The exposed skin was smeared with soot and mud from the bottom of a pot several times.
(End of this chapter)