EBE Chapter 213 Going down the mountain
Chapter 213 Going down the mountain
Lin Kunlun led Lin Shi away from his family and began to walk down the mountain.
"Dad! Are we going to be gone for a long time this time?" Lin Shi suddenly asked as he followed Lin Kunlun forward.
"Yes! This time we may have to go a little longer." Lin Kunlun answered as he walked.
"Father, why did you fight those soldiers?" Lin Shi continued to ask. He wanted to know why his father fought with those people and why he had to lead everyone to resist. In the eyes of a child who grew up in this mountainous area and had no education, as long as he could have a meal, he should not do such a thing.
"This is the only solution. As a man, you must always have some pursuits!" Lin Kunlun stopped and looked at Lin Shi seriously, explaining. He knew that his son was not clear about these things.
"Isn't it a drought?" Lin Shi suddenly asked.
"The drought is only the superficial reason. If the ruler of this country truly loves his people, how could there be a drought for two consecutive years and force these people to pay taxes?" Lin Kunlun could only explain it from this aspect. In fact, the biggest reason is the ambition of the ruler. He needs a higher position and greater power to find more spiritual herbs or things to expand his space. He wants to find a way back through the fairy gourd space.
"What we are doing now is to ensure that everyone has food to eat and is respected in the future! If you don't understand, it's not too late to regret it now! You continue to stay in this mountain, at least there will be no danger for the time being." Lin Kunlun suddenly stopped and said.
"No! I don't want to stay in this mountain! I want to be a hero like you! I want to protect my family and make sure everyone has food to eat!" Lin Shi said firmly.
Lin Kunlun was touched and relieved when he heard his son's firm answer. He knew that this decision meant more unknowns and dangers for Lin Shi, but he also understood that there are always some challenges and adventures on the road to growth.
"Okay! Since you have made up your mind, let's go on together!" Lin Kunlun patted Lin Shi's shoulder, his eyes flashing with hope for the future.
They continued along the mountain road, passing through green bamboo forests and crossing gurgling streams. Lin Shi was full of curiosity about the upcoming adventure, and he asked his father various questions from time to time, and Lin Kunlun patiently answered them one by one.
Just as they were about to reach the foot of the mountain, a figure suddenly jumped out from the bushes nearby.
A white figure jumped in front of Lin Kunlun! Lin Kunlun looked carefully and saw that it was indeed the white fox.
"Xiaobai! Why are you here? Are you reluctant to let us go?" Lin Shi had already squatted down and stroked Xiaobai's fur. Because of your difficulties, Lin Shi and the other little white foxes got along very well. The cave where they lived had never had any snakes, insects, rats, or ants, and any insects were dealt with by the little white foxes.
So the whole family likes this white fox very much. The most important thing is that this white fox doesn't need their care at all. He is the real master in this mountain. This white fox can find food by himself, catch rabbits and the like, and can also provide food for the family.
I saw the white fox holding Lin Kunlun's feet hard.
"Do you want to go with me?" Lin Kunlun asked curiously.
The white fox nodded its head desperately.
"I'm afraid that won't work! You're safer in this forest! I'm going to go out and fight, and it's not convenient to take you with me!" Lin Kunlun's words made the white fox look a little disappointed, but it didn't give up and still hugged Lin Kunlun's feet tightly. Seeing this, Lin Shi also squatted down and stroked the white fox's head, persuading: "Xiaobai, you are safer here, you can run around freely, and you can find delicious food. If you follow us, you may be in danger."
The white fox seemed to understand Lin Shi's words, but it was still unwilling to let go. Lin Kunlun looked at the white fox's determined eyes, and his heart moved. He understood that the white fox had a deep affection for them, and it did not seem to be afraid of danger, but was willing to face it with them.
"Okay, Xiaobai, since you've made up your mind, let's go together." Lin Kunlun finally agreed. He squatted down and picked up the white fox. The white fox seemed very happy and immediately rubbed against Lin Kunlun's arms.
Lin Shi also smiled when he saw this. He knew that with Xiao Bai's joining, their adventure would be more interesting and exciting. So they continued to move forward and set foot on the road leading down the mountain.
In the following days, Xiaobai became their most loyal partner. Not only did it help them find food and water during the march, but it also sensed danger many times in advance and saved their lives during the battle. Lin Kunlun and Lin Shi were deeply grateful to this white fox, and they regarded it as their own family. Of course, all this is a story for later.
The father and son, along with a white fox, walked and chatted until they reached the outskirts of the village. But soon, Lin Kunlun felt something was wrong. The whole village was too quiet. They did not encounter any villagers who went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables along the way. He did not hear any sound when he entered the village. You know, it was not like this when he went up the mountain yesterday. Although the villagers were more or less in low spirits due to lack of food, there were still many people who went up the mountain to pick grass roots, tree bark and other food to fill the surroundings. The children's voices could still be heard. But now the whole village seemed unusually quiet.
"Father! Have all the people in the village left? Why can't I see any villagers? Lin Shi and his companions haven't come down the mountain for a while, so they don't know the situation in the village!"
"No! When I went up the mountain yesterday, there were still many people in the village! I even rested at the old village chief's house! Impossible, there is no one in the village now!" Lin Kunlun nervously took out two knives from the space. He stuffed one for the temporary. He also took one for himself. He now regretted not bringing a few more crossbows with him. Otherwise, they would come in handy now.
He took the snacks and approached the village carefully. He tried not to expose himself on the main road of the village. I used the houses and walls of the villagers as cover to check the situation. At this time, the little white fox was already in front of him to explore the road. It was so small that it was hard to be discovered. It was a good explorer.
Just as the father and son were walking forward carefully, the little white fox came running back in a hurry, desperately pointing its claws in the direction ahead.
What's going on? What happened in the village? Lin Kunlun was confused. He quickly looked in the direction pointed by the little white fox, and saw a group of people standing in the largest threshing ground in the village. There were more than 100 people in total. The population of this village was not large. There were only about or households. However, this village also lost the least population because of Lin Kunlun! At this time, they actually gathered there!
It was then that Lin Kunlun discovered that there were several people in official uniforms standing under the fallen locust tree in the threshing ground.
"What are these officials doing here at this time? Are they delivering food?" Lin Kunlun observed for a while, and when he found that there was no danger, he immediately put away his knife. He slowly used the surrounding houses as cover to approach the threshing ground.
"My fellow officials! Our village has always been law-abiding! As for the taxes that are owed! Everyone knows that there is nothing we can do about it! All the people in our village are here except for a few who went up the mountain and did not come down!" The old village chief introduced to the officials at this time.
"I heard that your village has a lot of food!" one of the officers said sarcastically!
"My dear officials, this must be a misunderstanding! The reason why we can hold on until now is because of grass roots and tree bark! If you don't believe me, you can go to our kitchen and see that the pot is full of grass roots and tree bark! We have been looking forward to the food from the court for a long time! I heard that the court is going to distribute food. Do you know how long it will take?" The old village chief had fought in the border and had seen the world. Naturally, he knew that these officials had no good intentions.
"You may not know this! The former Lord Li was a corrupt official who embezzled all your food! That's why we can't distribute food now! You are the village chief, right? You can get these villagers to sign and seal the deal! Just to prove that you have received the food!" One of the officials took out a special account book for distributing food, and asked the old village chief and others to sign and seal the deal.
Lin Kunlun immediately knew what they wanted to do. They just wanted to embezzle the grain allocated by the court. Of course, these officials could not do it. It must be an official in the county government. Li Wei, the county magistrate of Xishan County, had been arrested. The person who could do this was most likely the new county magistrate!
Lin Kunlun couldn't help but shook his head when he thought of this. The Minister of Works, Sun Ting, came up with a good plan to keep the country safe. If the local governments could implement it seriously, the victims would have something to eat and would not starve to death. They would not have followed him to a dead end. Lin Kunlun and his men would not have had any new soldiers! But things are often like this. No matter how good Sun Ting's plan was, he would never have thought that the food he had collected from the surrounding counties would be deducted layer by layer, and in the end, there might not be a grain left in the hands of the victims.
"How can this be? Officials! If there is no more food, we will all starve to death! If you are in a good mood, just give us half of the food!" The old village chief pleaded at this time. The other villagers also pleaded loudly. They had been waiting for this part of the food from the court. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be fake in the end.
Lin Kunlun could imagine the despair of those who had been begging outside and were deceived by the imperial court's notice to return to their hometowns. Only to find that there was not even a grain of food. More people would take risks and follow the path of Lin Kunlun and others.