bestfiction Chapter 175 The Small Mountain Village on Fire
Chapter 175 The Small Mountain Village on Fire
Before leaving, Magistrate Yang told Wen Yuxia that the water level in Xinchuan County was rising year by year. Last year, after fifteen consecutive days of heavy rain, the water level had overflowed the top of the dike.
Fearing that the water level would overflow the dikes again this rainy season, he made a special trip to Nanzhou Prefecture at the end of last year to explain to Lord Mu the importance of reinforcing the dikes.
It clearly explains that as water levels overflow the dam, they gradually wash away the soil, making the soil thinner and softer, which could lead to the dam being breached by the river.
Later, he wrote to inquire several more times, but Lord Mu did not give a direct response to the matter.
Wen Yuxia said somewhat helplessly, "I will tell the Crown Prince about this matter. You can write a detailed report when you get back and submit it to the Crown Prince later."
After parting ways with Magistrate Yang, Wen Yuxia headed west of the city. The little girl, who was being held by Bei Si, looked around curiously.
The bustling city scene gradually brought a glimmer of hope to the little girl's eyes. Her gaze fell upon the haystack adorned with candied hawthorns.
Bei Si asked softly, "Xiao Ya, do you want to eat? If you want to eat, Master will buy it for you."
On the first day that Xiaoya and her younger brother Xiaohu followed Wen Yuxia, Nan Yi and Bei Yi had already agreed that the girls would learn martial arts from the four Bei Yi sisters, while the boys would belong to the seven Nan Yi brothers.
"No, I won't eat," Xiaoya swallowed hard and said with difficulty.
Bei Si strode up to the vendor selling candied hawthorns and asked, "How much is a skewer?"
"Three copper coins a string," the vendor replied enthusiastically.
With a satisfied look on her face, Xiaoya held the candied hawthorn to Xiaohu's lips and said in her childish voice, "Little brother, have something sweet."
Back at the residence in the west of the city, Steward Li looked at Wen Yuxia with excitement: "Princess, you're back!"
Butler Li went on and on about the Wen family in Xinghua Village: Old Master Wen and his wife, Wen Zhihua and his wife, and Wen Zicai's family of three.
Wang Ping, Wang Erzhu and his family of three, Wang Sanzhu and his family of three, Wang Sizhu's wife and children, Wang Liuzhu and his wife, Wang Qizhu, Wang Bazhu, and Wang Hu from Niutou Village were all settled in his residence in the south of the city.
Wang Wushi and her family of three were swept away by the flood and their whereabouts are unknown.
Five people have gone missing from several farms outside the city. All the grain stored on the farms was washed away by the flood. With the continuous light rain, there was no way to dry the grain, and it is already showing signs of mold.
The walls surrounding the racetrack and horse farm were high and sturdy, so the rushing floodwaters didn't penetrate much. The veterans used their horses' swimming ability to float in the water, and no one went missing or died at the horse farm.
Finally, Steward Li said with some remorse, "When I went to Xinghua Village, Master Wen insisted on bringing your great-grandfather's family along. I couldn't dissuade him, so I had no choice but to bring them all back."
Wen Yuxia calmly said, "This is not your fault, you don't need to blame yourself. Send someone to inform the village heads of Lin, Wu, and Huang to set up soup kitchens outside the villages, and send some people to transport the grain from the villages to the south and north city gates."
There is a considerable amount of grain stored in the three villages. Since it has already been soaked by water, it can be used directly for disaster relief.
When Xia Yichen and his group arrived in Xinchuan County, the people in the town and villages had already begun rebuilding their homes; the destroyed houses were being repaired or rebuilt as needed.
Magistrate Yang informed Xia Yichen that the dike had been damaged by floods due to years of disrepair, and that Lord Mu had not allocated funds for reinforcing the dike.
Xia Yichen had seen the memorial requesting the reinforcement of the dikes, and he was also present when the Emperor instructed Gu Yue, the Minister of Revenue, to allocate funds to Nanzhou Prefecture. Where exactly did things go wrong?
Xia Yichen said coldly, "Provide disaster relief first, and settle the victims before holding anyone accountable."
Magistrate Yang said, "The grain in the county government and the grain donated by wealthy households in the city are enough to sustain the porridge distribution outside the south and north gates."
Princess Mu Hua set up soup kitchens in Lingyuan Manor, Lingdong Manor, and Lingtong Manor, and instructed Steward Li to lead people to carry buckets of hot soup to each village for the villagers to eat..."
Knowing that Wen Yuxia and her group had already left Xinchuan County for disaster relief in downstream cities, Xia Yichen said with some emotion, "I'm late."
He left behind some grain, medicine, and clothing and bedding, instructing Magistrate Yang to distribute the clothing and bedding to the elderly and children. Afterward, Xia Yichen led his men away from Xinchuan County to provide disaster relief in other areas.
As darkness fell, Wen Yuxia and her group were still rushing along the official road. The towering flames illuminated the sky and startled Wen Yuxia and the others.
Wen Yuxia stopped her mount and, gazing at the firelight ahead, slowly said, "Dismount, let's walk." Bei Yi and Bei Er simultaneously pressed the pressure points on Xiao Ya and her brother, putting them to sleep, and handed the sleeping siblings to Wen Yuxia.
Wen Yuxia quickly stored Xiaoya and her siblings, along with everyone else's mounts, into her spatial storage, and said coldly, "Be careful to conceal yourselves and quickly move towards the firelight."
With that, Wen Yuxia leaped into the air and disappeared from Nan Yi and the others' sight in a few bounds. Nan Yi and the others quickly followed, and the group ran frantically towards the direction of the firelight.
The fire broke out in a small mountain village. Wen Yuxia and the others, with their sharp ears and eyes, could hear the crackling sounds of burning houses, as well as the cries, screams, and wails of the villagers, even from the village entrance. Wen Yuxia said coldly, "Nan Yi, go and check the village."
"Master, the ones who set fire to the village were bandits," Nan Yi explained in detail, relaying the information he had gathered from the villagers.
Last year, a gang of bandits settled on the mountain behind the village, and ever since then, the village has been plagued by unrest, with bandits frequently raiding the village.
Fortunately, the bandits only robbed grain and didn't kill people. They occasionally bullied women, and the villagers could tolerate it. But tonight, these bandits went berserk for some unknown reason. After entering the village, they hacked at everyone they saw, and before leaving, they even set the village on fire.
Wen Yuxia said coldly, "This princess will go and meet these bandits." As usual, Wen Yuxia moved Nan Yi and the others into her spatial dimension, and following the direction Nan Yi pointed out, Wen Yuxia went up the mountain alone to find the bandits.
Upon arriving at the bandits' hideout, Wen Yuxia was utterly astonished. Ten wooden houses were arranged in a semi-circle, a bonfire burned in the open space, and two yawning sentries stood guard. This bandits' lair was far too rudimentary!
Wen Yuxia flashed and instantly appeared behind the two sentries, placing her hands on their shoulders and leading them into the space.
"Nan Yi, Nan Er, you two disguise yourselves as sentries and go out on night watch," Wen Yuxia instructed the two to take off their sentry coats and put them on, then sent them out of the space.
After interrogating the two sentries and learning that there were a total of seventy-eight bandits in the ten wooden houses, Wen Yuxia led Nan San and the others out of the space. The two sentries were also brought out, but as soon as they left the space, Nan San and Nan Si snapped their necks.
Wen Yuxia distributed the sleeping incense and whispered, "Use the sleeping incense, and finish this quickly." Thinking of the villagers' tragic fate, Wen Yuxia gave the order to kill without hesitation.
Having dealt with the sleeping bandits, Wen Yuxia stored all their valuables into her spatial storage and coldly ordered, "Nan Yi, dig a pit and bury them."
Wen Yuxia piled the grain she had obtained from the bandits at the village entrance, then took out some silver and placed it aside. She then shouted loudly, "The bandits are gone! Come out quickly and collect your reconstruction compensation!"
After calling out three times, an old man emerged trembling from the village. Wen Yuxia said kindly, "Old man, we are here on the orders of the Crown Prince to suppress the bandits. The bandits on the mountain have already been wiped out..."
The old man cried out in a trembling voice, "The Crown Prince has sent men to suppress the bandits! The bandits have been executed! Villagers, come out and distribute the grain and silver..."