Chapter 25: Food shortage
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Lin Ye served tea to the eldest senior brother, while An Zisheng was left by Lin Ye in the side hall of the front yard.
"Big Brother, thank you so much, I want to..."
"Why thank me? You can't buy this house with the little money I gave you. Besides, the things you left me are more valuable."
The eldest senior brother interrupted Lin Ye and said something meaningful. Lin Ye smiled awkwardly and said, "That is the ointment passed down from my ancestors. If you need it, I still have some."
"This ointment is very effective, but you are not a member of our rebel army, so I can't take it for free. As for spending money to buy it, we are also short of money and food now."
"Lack of money and food?"
"Well, those gentry fled before we arrived, and the remaining food that couldn't be moved was burned by these gentry and landlords. I don't have the money to buy ointment from you now."
Lin Ye did not expect that the gentry and landlords in other counties would do the same and burn all the grain. In this case, even if the eldest brother and his men conquered the land and distributed it to the poor people, the grain in the fields would not grow overnight.
But Lin Ye figured out the reason after changing his mind. The eldest senior brother listened to him and attacked the gentry and landlords. Therefore, those gentry and landlords naturally hated the eldest senior brother and his people. They would rather burn them than leave any food for them.
"I came here just to see you. After all, you also came from Shangqing Sect. Besides you, I am the only one left in Shangqing Sect."
The eldest senior brother's tone was a little low at the end of his speech, and Lin Ye's heart trembled. He knew that there would be casualties in the war, but he didn't expect that the eldest senior brother would be the only one left in Shangqing Sect.
He did not have particularly deep feelings for the inner and outer disciples of Shangqing Sect, including the menial disciples, but after all, they had been together for some time, and in his mind they were all vivid faces.
"You practiced martial arts?"
Sensing the low mood, the eldest senior brother suddenly smiled. Lin Ye nodded and replied, "I have been practicing the Tiger Roar Power you gave me for a few days."
"Practice for me."
Lin Ye knew that the senior brother wanted to give him some pointers, so he didn't hesitate and immediately got into a stance and performed a set of boxing techniques.
"Some parts of your body are not in the right rhythm, and your posture is a little wrong, slow down..."
The eldest senior brother walked up to Lin Ye and taught him step by step how to use his strength, including the punching posture and breathing adjustment.
"Okay, do it again as I teach you."
With the guidance of the senior brother, Lin Ye found that this time it was smoother than before, and the strength he could exert was also much stronger than before.
"Yes, you have a good talent for martial arts, but unfortunately you don't have enough time to practice martial arts. I have a prescription here, which is an auxiliary medicine for practicing Tiger Roar Power." The eldest brother took out a prescription from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Ye, and explained: "I didn't give it to you at the beginning because the medicines on this prescription are relatively precious and ordinary people can't afford it."
Lin Ye understood what the senior brother meant. Medicinal herbs were precious and most people could not afford them. If the senior brother gave them to him, it would be fine if he had no money. But if he had some savings and was eager to learn martial arts, he would not be able to do it within his ability. If he sold everything to buy herbs and learn martial arts, he might end up going bankrupt before he could master the Tiger Roar Power.
Now that the eldest senior brother gave him this prescription, he saw that he had no shortage of money. Since he had no shortage of money, he could naturally buy medicinal herbs to help him practice the Tiger Roar Power.
"There are many things to do in the army, so let's stop here and reminisce about the past."
Lin Ye did not ask the senior brother to stay, because he knew that the senior brother was really busy at this time, and he was able to take time out of his busy schedule to see him and teach him martial arts.
After seeing the senior brother off to the door and watching the backs of the senior brother and An Zisheng disappear at the street entrance, Lin Ye instructed Xu Bo: "Don't open the door for the next two days."
Even if there were rebels maintaining order, there would always be some young hooligans who would take advantage of the situation to rob. Lin Ye didn't want to get into trouble, so he simply stayed at home and lived his own life.
Because the city is unstable now, Lin Ye can't go AFK. After all, although he has some wisdom, it is only at the most basic level. If he encounters an emergency, he may not be able to handle it so smoothly. The information given to him by the gear did not tell him what the consequences would be if he died while AFK, so he better not try.
Lin Ye was meditating and practicing martial arts peacefully in the backyard until the third day, when someone knocked on the door.
"Dawu, what's wrong?" Lin Ye stopped practicing martial arts and asked curiously as he watched Xu Bo leading Dawu in.
"Mr. Lin, I'm here to remind you that it's best to go out and hide for a while. If not, just stay in our Taoist temple."
"what happened?"
I stayed at home and didn't go out, so I got into trouble?
"A commoner who used to live in our temple joined the rebel army. Today he came to our temple to tell us that the rebel army has a huge number of people and many people who can't survive want to join. However, the rebel army does not have that much food. I heard that a general of the rebel army suggested going to the homes of the rich to see if they have any food. If there is, they should confiscate it all."
Lin Ye's face darkened. The worst situation had happened.
His advice to the eldest brother was to strike back at the landlords, but not to force them into despair. Instead, he wanted them to distribute the land to the poor people. With the land, the poor people would naturally be willing to follow the rebels, but this presupposes that the rebels still have food to sustain themselves. Now those gentry and landlords have burned the food and run away with all their belongings. The poor people want to join the rebels, but they are not really supporting them, but just to have something to eat.
The so-called wealthy families left in the city were just some middle class people, mostly craftsmen and merchants. How much food could they have at home? Once these people were moved, the rebels would lose the support of the people.
"Is Master Lin here?"
An Zisheng's voice came from outside the door again. Before Lin Ye could respond, An Zisheng hurried in. Seeing Lin Ye and Daogu, he was stunned for a moment and said, "Mr. Lin, the rebels are in big trouble now."
…
After listening to An Zisheng's story, Lin Ye finally understood why the rebels had encountered so much trouble in just a few days.
Many poor people poured into Shangyang County. Some of them came here on their own initiative after hearing that they could get land by joining the rebel army, while others were deceived by landlords and gentry from other counties. Faced with so many poor people, the rebel army also had internal divisions.
Some thought that there was not enough food and that they could not accept it, while others thought that all of it should be accepted. Doesn't this just show that their uprising was what the people wanted?
As for the lack of food, we will search every house in the city. There will always be people hiding food at home. Some people think that this is not appropriate. Now the internal situation is in chaos because of this. Some soldiers have already taken their men to the homes of the people in the city to rob food.
As for why they didn't take the people with them to attack other counties, it was because the terrain in this area was somewhat special. There was a river to the north of Shangyang County, and all the boats had been burned. It took time for the army to cross the river, and these poor people were sent over by small boats from the opposite side.
There are mountains to the east and west, but the south is a plain. However, the rebels and the government soldiers have been fighting in the south for many days and have never been able to capture another city.
The reason for choosing this area to start the rebellion was because of its geographical advantages. As long as this area was taken, the terrain could be used to buy time for development. Unexpectedly, it has now become a hindrance.
"The other generals have different opinions now, and I'm afraid General Qiao alone can't convince everyone."
Listening to An Zisheng's anxious words, Lin Ye's expression changed. The next moment, a ray of determination flashed across his eyes, and he asked Daogu, "Dagu, is your master in the Taoist temple?"
"Here I am."
"I'm going to look for your master." Lin Ye walked away, and seeing An Zisheng's puzzled look, he said, "Just wait here for me. I'll tell you something later."
Qingfeng Temple.
When Lin Ye saw Taoist Priest Ding Xuan, he said straight to the point without any further ado: "Taoist Priest, the city is short of food now. I can get food to alleviate the crisis, but I need a way to stabilize my soul, otherwise I won't be able to get enough food."
Taoist Priest Ding Xuan listened to Lin Ye's words and looked at him deeply for a while. He already knew that there was a shortage of food in the city. If there was no food, the city would be in chaos.
"wait for me here."
Taoist Ding Xuan turned and left. Lin Ye waited for a quarter of an hour before Taoist Ding Xuan appeared again. His originally rosy face turned pale.
"Take this talisman and stick it on your body. Your soul will not be affected in any way for 12 hours."
"Thank you, Taoist Priest."
Lin Ye solemnly took the silver talisman from Taoist Ding Xuan. He knew that Taoist Ding Xuan must have paid a considerable price to draw this talisman.
Turn around and leave!
Just as Lin Ye's footsteps reached the gate of the Taoist temple, the voice of Taoist Priest Ding Xuan suddenly came: "My Qingfeng Temple has been receiving incense from the people, and has stored a lot of food over the years. Today, seeing that there is a shortage of food in the city, we have opened the warehouse to release the food."
Lin Ye paused and turned to look at Taoist Ding Xuan. The two looked at each other, and a silent understanding was conveyed.
"Thank you, Taoist Priest."
Lin Ye thanked him again. He understood the subtext of Taoist Ding Xuan's words.
If I were to take out so much food, I would inevitably be targeted. I believed that the eldest brother would not betray me, so I could secretly tell him where the food was hidden. However, the Taoist priest did not know his character. Thinking in the long run, if the eldest brother and his men failed in their uprising, the government would only look for Qingfeng Temple when they came to settle accounts.
The Taoist priest is taking all possible consequences for himself.
