The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

Lu Linlang also knew that no matter how much she said, everyone would be scared, but fortunately she and General He had anticipated this situation and arranged an army of 5,000 people to garrison in the mountains north of Chongshui in advance.

Chongshui is a mountainous area. After reaching a cooperation with Chief Qiu, they have found a route in the mountains to secretly supply supplies to the army. They are also growing vegetables in the mountains according to the method provided by Lu Linlang to be self-sufficient.

This was the trump card to protect the princess. Lu Linlang did not reveal it to others, so they all thought that the army was approaching and the final situation was that someone would have to stand up to resist the wrath of the army.

Hearing that Lord Zhao was entrusting his son to the care of others instead of seeking refuge with the Regent, Lu Linlang nodded secretly. Lord Zhao had passed the test of the princess and General He.

But now, it depends on the attitude of the Hezhou prefect. If he surrenders voluntarily under the pressure of the tyranny, the position of Hezhou prefect will have to be replaced by someone else.

As the army approached, all the people heard about this and they were in a state of panic. The crops had just been planted and they were reluctant to leave. However, when they heard that the army would kill anyone who encountered resistance, they begged God at home to give them a way to survive.

Lu Linlang saw that the villagers had lost their energy to work because of this incident, and all they discussed all day was whether to flee.

"Whatever? If the soldiers really come, we can just hide in the mountains. The weather is warmer now, and there are wild fruits and vegetables in the mountains. We can always survive. If we leave Chongshui, where can we go? I heard that it's even more chaotic out there."

"Oh, I don't know how long this war will last. I finally have a job and can feed and clothe my family, but now there's another war."

"Who knows? We don't understand what they mean. I see the boss and the clan leader aren't worried, so why should we? They'll hold up the sky if it falls. At worst, I'll risk my life to leave a way out for my family."

"Stop talking. The boss will definitely not ignore us. Didn't we learn some martial arts from them? I don't think those people are that good. I heard that during the battle with the Tatars, some people were scared to death."

"Never mind, we still have work to do and we still have money to earn, so we'll just work as long as we can." Many people are very carefree. They don't want to fight, but they are more afraid of having no work to do. If they have work to do, it can be considered a skill when they run away in the future, and maybe they can even support their entire family.

"The village will begin patrolling tomorrow, both day and night. People from our workshop will also be involved. You all need to be alert. Be careful of people trying to steal our workshop at this time."

"Whoever dares to steal things from our workshop, I won't have to hit him with a hammer. Don't worry, clan leader, we will keep a close eye on him." This workshop is their life now. Anyone who dares to mess with it will touch their reverse scale.

Under the organization of County Magistrate Zhao, the people of Chongshui County also began to patrol in shifts day and night. Many wealthy businessmen hid their grain deeper. They all knew that if those people came, the first to be attacked would be these businessmen. Many people had already made up their minds whether to comply with their intentions and hand over the grain or to resist.

"Dad, if you ask me, the Prince Regent is the one who wants to be the emperor. Why should we go against him? Once those armies arrive, we will be the first to die. Why bother? We might as well surrender in advance. We have stored food anyway. When the time comes, we can send the generals to their respective storage locations. That will be considered a meritorious service for us."

When Master Liu heard his father was still hesitating, he couldn't help but interrupt.

"You know what? The county magistrate is leading the resistance. If we surrender, I'm afraid he'll chop off our heads before the news even gets out. Then we'll hand over our food to the regent's army. They'll get the good stuff, and we'll be the bad guys. That's not right."

"I've heard that County Magistrate Zhao is very pedantic and old-fashioned, and he's just like those old ministers who banged their heads against the pillars. He didn't want the regent to ascend the throne, so he let the people of the entire county be buried with him. Isn't this just asking us all to die with him?

I heard the army will arrive in Hezhou Prefecture tomorrow. Since the county is now closed to traffic, we might as well take this opportunity to head to Hezhou Prefecture and find the officers and soldiers beforehand to tell them about Chongshui's situation. Especially Lu Linlang, who's ruined our business. She has two large farms, and they probably have a lot of food stored there."

"Let me think about it. If County Magistrate Zhao finds out about this, our whole family will be finished."

"Father, if you don't dare go, why don't I go myself? If it works, our family, relying on the power of the Regent, will surely be able to turn things around. If it doesn't work, you'll always be here to watch over us. Then you and County Magistrate Zhao can work together. With both sides taking action, one side will surely win, right?"

"What you said makes sense. Then you should set off now and don't let anyone recognize you when you leave the city." Master Liu thought about it and thought that his son was a double insurance. No matter who wins, there will be no loss.

Young Master Liu changed his clothes and left Chongshui County, not knowing that he had been targeted.

In Hezhou Prefecture, the Regent's army was already at the gates. Seeing the gates closed, the leading general shouted, "My general was sent by the Regent himself to collect the imperial taxes. If you close the gates, will you become traitors?"

"In the Emperor's will, he personally appointed Princess Yong'an as the next emperor. On whose basis did the Regent come to collect grain?" The man standing on the city wall was not the prefect of Hezhou, but another man. When he showed up, the generals below were quite shocked.

"Wenren Qian, why are you here instead of staying in the Northwest Army? How come you control Hezhou Prefecture?"

"Haha, if I don't control Hezhou Prefecture, you will probably kill a chicken to scare the monkeys here, causing great suffering to the people and committing sins?" Wen Renqian was the general sent by He Yue to guard Hezhou. He had always been a man of both civil and military talents in the Northwest Army. This time he was sent here to protect the princess's safety and defend Hezhou Prefecture.

"Go back and tell the Regent that if he wants to collect taxes, he can do so in the underworld. You people are afraid of death when facing foreign enemies, but you draw your swords against your own people. If you want to take Hezhou today, you must get past me first!"

"Hmph, don't think I'm afraid of you. Our prince is the true emperor. Soldiers, attack! Take down Hezhou Prefecture. You can choose any beauties and drink as much wine as you want."

The battle was about to break out. Wen Renqian was not afraid at all when facing these people. He ordered his soldiers to nock the arrows prepared in advance and shoot.

The people of Hezhou originally thought that their remaining food would be robbed once the army arrived today, but they didn't expect that a group of people suddenly came and took over the city gate, and they were ordered to stay at home.

Everyone in the Hezhou government office, from the prefect to the clerk, was tied up. They had been frantically robbing food from the people in the past few days, fearing that they would be held accountable. They were planning to open the city gates and wait for the regent's army to arrive, but suddenly a group of people came and wiped them all out.