In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 212 Who is Zhang He?

"Is that Old Wang's voice?"

Liu Qiaoshou blurted out that Lao Wang was a friend she met after arriving in Taiping County. Lao Wang had also fled from Liangzhou. Because they were both from Nanling County in Liangzhou, and because Lao Wang was an honest and kind person, Liu Qiaoshou quickly became familiar with Lao Wang's family and they became good friends and neighbors.

Upon hearing Lao Wang's voice, Liu Qiaoshou quickly got up from the ground, opened the door to her house, and saw Lao Wang standing outside.

Old Wang's real name was Wang Ling. He had an ordinary yet honest-looking face, but... because he hadn't had enough to eat for a long time, his cheeks were very thin, and his body was dirty. He looked no different from a beggar, or even worse.

Of course, Liu Qiaoshou's family wasn't much better off; everyone was dressed in tattered clothes and looked emaciated.

"Old Wang."

Looking at Old Wang outside the station gate, Liu Qiaoshou asked in confusion, "You just said that the government officials came?"

"OK!"

Old Wang's accent had a hint of Northeastern Chinese. "Just now, a group of officials came and told us that the county magistrate would be coming later and that we should gather in front of the city gate!"

"The county magistrate?"

Liu Qiaoshou frowned. To be honest, he didn't have a good impression of county magistrates, who were officials of the imperial court. The order to increase taxes in Nanling County was personally issued by the county magistrate of Nanling County.

Because of the magistrate's order, countless families in Nanling County were destroyed and people died. It can be said that none of these refugees who fled from Liangzhou had any goodwill towards the officials.

Of course, because government officials would occasionally distribute porridge outside the city of Taiping County, Liu Qiaoshou didn't have a good impression of the magistrate of Taiping County, but she didn't hate him either. She just regarded him as a high-ranking official who had nothing to do with her.

"What brings the magistrate here?"

Liu Qiaoshou asked subconsciously. For ordinary people like him, officials of the county magistrate level were people they would never have any contact with in their entire lives. Not to mention anything else, just take the county magistrate of Nanling County. Liu Qiaoshou had lived in Nanling County for decades and had never seen what the county magistrate of Nanling County looked like.

"I don't know either."

Wang Ling shook his head and said, "However, the messenger who came to inform us was quite polite, so it shouldn't be anything bad."

It's not a bad thing?

Liu Qiaoshou smiled bitterly to herself. She was already in such a state, how much worse could things get? It was just a matter of starving to death or being murdered.

"Skilled Hands, let's hurry over there. The magistrate is coming soon. Maybe it'll be good news?"

Wang Ling and Liu Qiaoshou had different ideas. He still held a sliver of hope, thinking that it was ultimately a good thing that such a high-ranking figure as the county magistrate was willing to lower himself to meet them, these refugees. Perhaps...

Would the county magistrate allow us to come to the city to make a living?

"Then let's go!"

Liu Qiaoshou was too lazy to guess the magistrate's purpose in meeting with them. After giving some instructions to his wife and children, he followed Old Wang out of the shantytown and headed towards the city gate.

Meanwhile, in the various shack areas, other refugees were also gathering in twos and threes toward the city gate. These refugees looked like beggars, with numb eyes. It was only because the soldiers guarding the city gate were not modern people that one would think that zombies had entered the city.

Even without the thought of zombies entering the city, the city guards were still on high alert. Because the county magistrate wanted to meet with these refugees, the number of guards outside the city gates had increased to thirty, each fully armored and armed with a sword, showing they were well prepared.

however……

There are many soldiers guarding the city, but even more refugees. At this moment, there are no fewer than several hundred refugees gathered here, and they are all men. Once they riot, even thirty soldiers would probably have a hard time stopping them.

Fortunately, these refugees still retained their rationality. They stopped when they approached the county town, gathered together, and waited quietly.

Standing in the crowd, Liu Qiaoshou looked at the solemn-faced soldiers guarding the city and asked Old Wang beside her, "Where is the magistrate?"

"They should be here soon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people slowly walked out from inside the city gate.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man with a refined and scholarly air, dressed in an official robe; he was none other than Xu Zhiwen, the magistrate of Taiping County.

To Xu Zhiwen's left was Chen Dao, whose face still looked somewhat youthful, while to his right were Li Hu and Zhang He.

Walking behind them were Chen Cheng, who was responsible for protection, and Zhang He's men, including Skinny Monkey.

Xu Zhiwen walked over to a city guard, patted him on the shoulder to indicate that he didn't need to be nervous, and then turned to look at the huddled refugees, a trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

These refugees were all emaciated from hunger, each one a skeleton made of skin and bones, their clothes dirty and tattered, worse off than even the beggars in the county town.

But Xu Zhiwen knew perfectly well that they were definitely not beggars!

Before becoming refugees, they might have been farmers, artisans, or laborers. Every single one of them had paid taxes and made contributions to the Xia Kingdom. They were definitely not beggars who did not engage in production and were useless to the country!

However... how did the Xia Kingdom treat them when they could no longer make ends meet?

Not only did they fail to provide disaster relief, they also intensified their conscription and taxation...

These people did not fail the Xia Kingdom, but the Xia Kingdom let them down!

Xu Zhiwen sighed inwardly, faced the crowd of refugees, and slowly said, "You probably don't recognize me. Let me introduce myself. My surname is Xu, my given name is Zhiwen, and I am the magistrate of Taiping County!"

What does "忝为" mean?

"How would I know! But what he meant was that he was the magistrate of Taiping County."

"So this is the county magistrate?"

"What does this magistrate want with us? Does he want us to come to the city to make a living?"

"I saw Zhang He next to the magistrate!"

"I saw it too! Zhang He has actually become the magistrate's close associate?"

"Damn it, if I had known, I should have followed Zhang He back then. Maybe I could have lived a life of luxury in the city!"

"That's right! We were too timid back then and didn't dare to go into the city with Zhang He, otherwise we could have lived a life with enough to eat!"

"..."

Many people in the crowd recognized Zhang He next to Xu Zhiwen, and their eyes immediately flashed with envy. They regretted not following Zhang He into the city back then, otherwise they might have been able to live a good life in the city like Zhang He.

only……

What these people didn't know was that as many as thirty of the refugees who followed Zhang He into the city died!

For Xu Zhiwen's promise, and for the sake of a full meal, the refugees who followed Zhang He into the city paid the price with their blood, and even their lives.

"Zhang He?"

Upon hearing the name Zhang He, Liu Qiaoshou turned to Wang Ling and asked, "Who is this Zhang He?"

Liu Qiaoshou arrived in Taiping County relatively late, so she did not know who Zhang He was, let alone the earth-shattering things he had done.