On the wedding day, I was broken off, so I remarried his uncle

Village Chief Lin paused and continued, "Let's not talk about the situation outside. If we go out now, we will be like a headless fly. If we run into those disaster victims who are attacking the county government office again, we have old and young people in our family. What chance do we have of winning against those hungry people?"

"Besides, our county magistrate is not like that Yang County Magistrate who arbitrarily exploits the people. We have the support of the county government. Let's not talk about whether those disaster victims will come to our village. Even if they dare to rob us, the worst that can happen is that we can't bear it and retreat. I think the county magistrate will not sit idly by."

Staying at home would give them a great chance of surviving the disaster. People are looked down upon when they leave their hometown. After hearing what the village chief said, the villagers were even more reluctant to leave.

Some villagers said: "Village chief, we listen to you."

"Yes, we all listen to you!"

"In that case, everyone, listen to my instructions. Call up all the young and strong men in the village. From now on, they will patrol the village twelve hours a day."

"In addition, bring the person who just reported the news to the village with you. We will select six strong men from the village and split them into two groups. One group will take the villagers' household registration to line up to receive the seeds, and the other group will report the news to the county magistrate!"

At this moment, the villagers were so shocked by such horrific news that they had no sleep at all, and everyone immediately got busy.

Before dawn, a group of people led by Chief Lin left the village and headed towards the county town.

The group did not stop along the way, and near noon, they finally saw the county town.

A group of people stood outside the city gate. Village Chief Lin pointed to the road to Songjia Village and said to three of them, "This matter is of great importance. As the village chief, I must meet with the county magistrate."

"As for Songjia Village, you guys go there first to reserve a seat. We are far away and it must be very busy right now. It won't be our turn for a while."

The villagers had never dared to ask for an audience with the county magistrate, but when they heard the magistrate's arrangements, they agreed without much hesitation.

Village chief Lin led the rest of the people into the city and went straight to the county government office.

At this time, County Magistrate Zhou had just arrived at the back house to rest, and he also went to Songjia Village early this morning.

Seeing that the other party had arranged everything in an orderly manner and there was no need for him to contribute, the villagers became very restrained because of his presence.

So he only stayed for a moment and then returned to the county government office. He had been handling official business in the public office for the whole morning. Now that he had some free time, a runner came to report with an anxious look on his face.

"Sir, the county lieutenant asks you to go to the front hall. There is an emergency."

County Magistrate Zhou's heart skipped a beat. The county lieutenant was usually in charge of the public security of an area. The other party suddenly came to find him, especially when he was resting. The county lieutenant was not such a thoughtless person.

County Magistrate Zhou did not even bother to rest and headed for the county government office.

At this time, County Lieutenant Zhang had already listened to the reports from several people and was filled with fear.

Since the establishment of the Xin Dynasty, there has never been a case where the people of a county rebelled and killed imperial officials.

When he saw County Magistrate Zhou rushing over, County Lieutenant Zhang immediately calmed down and stepped forward to bow.

County Magistrate Zhou waved his hand and asked with a frown, "What happened?"

Lieutenant Zhang immediately pointed at the people from Linjia Village who were kneeling nearby and repeated their story to Magistrate Zhou.

County Magistrate Zhou was horrified when he heard this. He glanced sharply at the three people kneeling below him, "Is this true?"

Village Chief Lin kowtowed repeatedly and said, "I dare not deceive you. Daniu is the son-in-law of our Linjia Village. He is from Nanyang County. Yesterday he was going to the county town to sell his game, but he saw this incident by accident."

County Magistrate Zhou paced back and forth anxiously after hearing this. The situation in the county town had just gotten better, but the neighboring county had given him another headache.

Seeing that Magistrate Zhou was in a state of panic, County Lieutenant Zhang was also very anxious. If those brave disaster victims flocked to their county, the defense would be his responsibility.

He tried his best to suppress the panic in his heart and suggested: "Sir, the most urgent thing is to send someone to confirm the situation in Lin County, so that we can make plans for the next step!"

County Magistrate Zhou came back to his senses and said, "Yes, yes, then you will be responsible for sending people to investigate. I will call the chief clerk, the county magistrate and others to discuss countermeasures."

"Yes, I will send someone to Nanyang County right away!" After saying this, he took the order and left.

Magistrate Zhou looked at the three people who were still kneeling on the ground and said, "Stand up. You have done a great job. When you go back, don't spread the news to others, lest people panic. Don't worry, the county government will dispatch personnel to strengthen the patrols in the county."

Several people responded in unison, and were then escorted out of the county government office by the officers.

After the three of them walked a distance away, a villager couldn't help but ask, "Village head, will the county magistrate really send people to patrol?"

Village Chief Lin, "Judging from the attitude of the county magistrate today, he will not sit idly by. Let's go, let's not dwell on this matter for now, let's go to Songjia Village first."

After the three men left, the chief clerk and the county magistrate in the county government were also invited to the public housing.

County Magistrate Zhou did not beat around the bush and immediately told the story.

"I have asked the county lieutenant to send people to Nanyang County to investigate. If the news is true, how should we, as a neighboring county of Nanyang County, deal with the possible disaster victims?"

When Chief Clerk Zeng and County Magistrate Ma heard that Magistrate Yang might have been killed by the disaster victims who rushed into the county government office, they turned pale with fright.

Zeng Zhubu said, "Sir, these disaster victims are too lawless. They dared to attack the county government office. How does this count as rebellion? I think these disaster victims should all be killed to serve as a warning to others!"

County Magistrate Ma, who was a little slow to react, stopped him and said, "Sir, no!"

"I'm sure you've heard about what Lord Yang did. In a good year, the people would just put up with it. But in a year like this, you're still oppressing the people. The people have no way out, so..."

He didn't finish what he said next, but everyone present understood his meaning.

Zeng Zhubu frowned and said disapprovingly, "Master Ma, do you mean to let these rioters who killed the imperial officials go?"

County Magistrate Ma hurriedly explained: "Master Zeng, please don't misunderstand me. What I mean is that there are so many people in Nanyang County. Those who really attacked the county government and killed court officials, you must not tolerate it!"

"As for those people who have nowhere to go, we must appease them! If we can get them to settle down in Nanyun County, it will be your political achievement in the future!"

When the higher authorities examine a county magistrate's performance, the first thing they look at is how much the population has increased during his tenure. Just as the county magistrate said, if he does this well, it will indeed be his opportunity!

Zeng Zhubo snorted, "That's easy to say. How can the county government afford to settle these disaster victims? There are at least 3,000 households in Nanyang County. Even if there are five people in one household, there are 15,000 people in the county."

"Even if only 5,000 people fled to our county, I ask you, what do these 5,000 people eat and drink?"