The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 64: Island Refugees Arrive
With Madam Gong Er's generous words, the refugees on the island felt much more at ease.

So I was not in a hurry to pick up my family on the island and decided to go to Dongmiaozi Village first.

Madam Gong Er and Qian Zhuoqun walked in front to lead the way, followed by more than a hundred old brothers, more than a hundred island soldiers, and a team of more than two hundred people, heading towards Dongmiaozi Village.

After walking for an hour, we saw a small village in front of us called Yuanzhuang Village. There were actually people living in this village. From a distance, we could see clothes hanging out to dry in the village, and the fields around the village showed signs of having been plowed.

Wu Zhan and others couldn't help but think in their hearts: More than 200 of us passing by the village will definitely scare the villagers into a panic.

However, the scene he imagined did not happen.

The mounted scouts took the lead and ran towards the village, shouting as they ran: "We are the Jimo Righteous Army, the troops of King Gong."

Upon hearing this, the villagers actually came out to greet them, shouting from afar, "It's King Gong's men! Great!"

The doors of the village were all opened, and many villagers came out, waving to the rebels. Some even shouted, "Second Lady, Second Lady!"

"Second Madam, I want to join the team that transports iron ore and be a porter. Do you still need anyone?"

It turns out that Yuanzhuang Village was one of the villages that Qian Zhuoqun passed by when he sent people to transport iron ore and was "included in protection" by the way.

The iron ore transported from the Wangzhuang Town Iron Mine to Dongmiaozi Village will pass through Yuanzhuang Village.

At the beginning, the villagers here were very afraid of the rebels, worried that they were bandits under the banner of rebellion.

But after Qi Jiguang rectified the military rules and discipline, the rebel army's scouts and transport teams were very well-behaved and would no longer oppress the people. Otherwise, they would be punished with beatings at the very least and beheadings at the worst.

In addition, there is a god above our heads, so the rebel army dared not act recklessly.

With strict military discipline, watchful eyes, and no worries about supplies, the rebel army has long since gotten rid of its bandit habits.

After the people of Yuanzhuang Village had many contacts with the rebels, they realized that the rebels were more disciplined than the soldiers and bandits, and there was no need to be afraid. Many farmers in the village ran to Dongmiaozi Village to learn "magic farming methods", and the rest of the people also thought about joining the rebels.

Some young and strong people have already gone to Dongmiaozi Village to "join the army", while ordinary people who are afraid of fighting are considering doing some work for the rebels, such as... transporting iron ore.

"Second Lady, please take me in as a porter. I might suffer."

"I want to learn blacksmithing from the Immortal Craftsman. I wonder if he's still accepting apprentices?"

The villagers gathered in front and shouted, and Madam Gong Er smiled and responded one by one: "Okay, we still need porters! The immortal craftsman is also looking for apprentices. Our rebel army is in need of blacksmiths now, and the more people willing to learn blacksmithing, the better."

"The True Lord also said that the more people who are willing to learn the craftsman's skills, the better. He will teach you other immortal skills in the future."

When the villagers of Yuanzhuang Village heard this, they all looked happy.

Wu Zhan and the island refugees stood in the distance and watched this scene, feeling it was unbelievable.

"The people of Yuanzhuang Village are not afraid of the rebels!"

"They actually chatted with the rebels."

The island refugees are marveling...

Then they saw another transport team coming from the southwest of the village. The transport team actually brought their own scouts, who met with Gong Er Niang's scouts outside the village. The two sides talked and laughed. It turned out to be the transport team of the rebel army.

The transport team quickly entered the village and unloaded bag after bag of food from the trucks.

The grain was distributed directly to the villagers of Yuanzhuang Village. A woman accompanied the transport team, carrying a ledger. She recorded each bag of grain she distributed and said to the recipient, "This is the salary your son Dalang received for joining the rebel army. Did you actually receive it?"

The farmer who had harvested the grain nodded vigorously: "Got it, got it."

The woman said, "Come, press your fingerprints here. I will take this back to Dongmiaozi Village and show it to your husband. I will let him know that the military pay has been sent home so that he can train with peace of mind."

The farmer quickly dipped his finger in some ink and pressed it hard on the account book handed to him by the woman.

The woman then raised her voice and said, "Next!"

Another farmer came up and pointed at his nose with a simple smile: "My name is Yuan Dadou, and my son Yuan Erdou works as a porter over there."

The woman nodded and said, "Yuan Erdou sent two dou of rice home. Go over there to collect it, and then come over and press your fingerprints."

Yuan Dadou happily received two dou of rice and called out to the women and children at home, "Erdou is back with food."

Wu Zhan and the island refugees nearby were all staring in amazement, and they immediately turned to Qian Zhuoqun: "Second Brother Qian, can the people from Yuanzhuang Village get food from you?"

Qian Zhuoqun smiled and said, "Everyone who works for our rebel army will be given food. Soldiers will receive military pay, porters will receive porter wages, and blacksmiths will also receive wages for completing their work of forging weapons. Our transport team can also help them transport their wages back home."

"Wow!" The island refugees were all stunned.

A group of people whispered to each other: "Is this the benefit of joining the rebel army?"

"It seems that what Madam Gong Er just said to us is true. If we join the gang, can we also get food like the people in Yuanzhuang Village?"

"We've been on the island for two months and have eaten up all our food. Even back in our village, there's nothing to eat. How are we supposed to survive until the autumn harvest?"

"Yes! We should join the rebel army like the people in Yuanzhuang Village and work for them. That way we can send food back home so that our parents and brothers can farm peacefully and rely on this food to survive until the autumn harvest."

"Even the government isn't that good."

With just this one move, the rebels have captured the hearts of all the refugees on the island.

When everyone left Yuanzhuang Village and continued to move towards Dongmiaozi Village, the island refugees had basically made up their minds that they would send at least one male member of their family to Dongmiaozi Village to serve as a soldier, a blacksmith, or a porter to earn some food for their family, otherwise the whole family would starve to death.

With this idea in mind, they were full of expectations for Dongmiaozi Village, and wanted to see what was so special about this village.

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at Dongmiaozi Village.

As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, Wu Zhan saw a large group of farmers following an old man in Taoist robes. They were standing in a circle beside a field and seemed to be doing something in the field.

Wu Zhan couldn't help but wonder, "What happened?"

Qian Zhuoqun smiled at him and said, "That is Old Liao, the god of farming. He is an immortal who descended from heaven."

"what?"

Wu Zhan was confused, and the refugees on the island all had an expression of "you are lying" on their faces.

Just then, they heard Old Liao speak, saying to the farmers around him, "Listen up everyone, here's the secret to using the magic water during spring plowing... First, we need to sprinkle this magic water on the surface of the ground. When preparing the land, turn the magic water under the plow and bury it. Generally, bury it 10 to 20 centimeters below the tillage layer. A depth of one to two palms is best."

(End of this chapter)