Through the troubled times and famine, I just want to farm peacefully

The area where the Hu people have lived for generations is not suitable for farming, so they rely entirely on breeding to survive.

Last year was a year of severe drought, the grass harvest was poor, and the cattle and sheep on the grassland could not be fed, so they thought of plundering the Central Plains just to find a chance to survive.

There was also drought in the Central Plains last year, and no crops were harvested, so the Hu people came up with the idea of ​​using Han women and children as a substitute for food.

Therefore, whenever they arrived at a city, they would first slaughter all the young and strong men, leaving the women and children as mobile granaries.

Lin Yinan was horrified when he heard this.

This was truly too cruel. She had only seen a passing mention of this history in history books, but now it was actually happening before her eyes.

The Chinese New Year was just a few days away, so Lin Yinan and Lin Yiheng discussed and took out half a bag of flour and a pig leg to prepare dumplings for everyone. The flour was stored before, and the pig leg was given to the Yun family as a gift.

Since the wolves came back, the Yun family's secret guards would go into the mountains to hunt from time to time.

The day after Lin Yinan and his sister finished their lie, Yun Mo came to the Lin family carrying a deer leg.

"Madam, this is the deer I shot. Our family can't eat that much, so my mother asked me to send some to you."

Yun Mo's words made Old Mrs. Zhao smile happily.

Except for little kids, everyone knew that even if the Yun family couldn't handle it, they still had four or five hundred secret guards under their command, so they could definitely handle it.

As for why he gave it to the Lin family alone, everyone knew it.

After he left, Mrs. Zhao sighed and said, "I have never seen a man so devoted to a woman."

As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Yinan.

Lin Yinan said without blushing, "That's because they want something. Once they get the person they want, will they still be so polite and generous to the Lin family?"

As experienced people, Mrs. Zhao, the mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law remained silent.

Marriage is like a tomb. People in the tomb try desperately to climb out, while people outside the tomb want to find a harbor that can shelter them from the wind and rain.

However, the harbor that shelters us from wind and rain is not satisfactory.

Lin Yiheng is the most educated and promising person in the Lin family. He coughed twice and said, "The road to escape is difficult and dangerous. The Yun family has people in the south. We can only rely on the power of the Yun family to reach the south safely."

Lin Shuo glanced at Lin Yinan who was keeping silent with his eyes downcast. "No matter what, the Yun family is loyal and righteous, and they act uprightly. It's always right to follow them."

On New Year's Day, the Lin family had a sumptuous meal of wontons filled with wild vegetable pork and wild vegetable venison.

Like Lin Yinan's family, most families in Linjia Village continued to follow the Yun family firmly in the new year.

After the Spring Festival, the weather gradually warmed up and there was no heavy snow.

The melting of ice and snow became more and more serious, and icy water continued to drip down from the trees and rocks, slowly gathering into small streams and flowing to the low-lying areas.

There was no delay in leaving.

Yun Qi and Yun Er, who were responsible for exploring the route, returned.

They found a narrow mountain road that bypassed Gudao and Qingdao counties.

After repeated discussions, they unanimously decided to set off on the second day of the second lunar month, the day when the dragon raises its head.

Dragon Raising its Head Festival, also known as Spring Ploughing Festival and Green Dragon Festival.

Since ancient times, people have regarded the Dragon Raising its Head Day as a day to pray for good weather, ward off evil spirits and disasters, and bring good luck and fortune.

The dragon raising its head indicates the growth of yang energy, increasing rainfall and rising temperature.

Five or six households in Linjia Village chose to stay in the mountain village. They thought that the Hu people would not attack for a while, and even if they did, they could escape to the deeper mountains and forests to hide.

As the snow melts, the mountain roads become even more difficult to travel on.

The cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles were completely soaked after just a few steps, and the trouser legs were also covered with mud.

On the softened mud, everyone walked forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow. The progress was very slow and they could only cover 20 to 30 miles a day.

Even if the pace was slow, they had to go.

The ice and snow are melting at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Older people know that such a cold winter will freeze many people to death. If the temperature rises too quickly after the snowstorm, it may cause an epidemic.

Every day they set out at dawn and find an open space to rest in the evening.

Finally, on the tenth day, they walked out of the rolling mountains.

At this time, the snow had completely melted and the mountain road was muddy everywhere.

Looking at the village looming at the foot of the mountain, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

When everyone got closer, they realized something was wrong with the village.

It was already noon, and there was not even a trace of smoke in the village.

Yun Mo quickly asked Yun Qi to go and check it out.

Not long after, Yun Qi returned on horseback.

"What's the situation ahead?" Yun Mo asked.

Yun Qi's face was pale, obviously frightened by something.

"Master, there is no one in the whole village."

"Are they all gone?" Yun Mo thought they were fleeing.

Yun Qi shook his head, "He was killed."

"Can you see anything?"

"The massacre probably took place around the time when the mountains were closed due to heavy snow. Most of the villagers were killed in their homes in the middle of the night, and all the food stored in their homes was swept away."

"Robbers committing crimes?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Yun Mo rubbed his sore eyes and said, "Pass the order down. Do not enter the village. Go at full speed and find a place to camp and rest 20 miles away."

The villagers were puzzled as to why the villagers didn't go into the village to stay overnight when they passed by. It was not until they passed by the village and smelled the odor of a rotting corpse coming out of it that everyone fell silent.

For fear of contracting the virus, Lin Yinan covered his face with a handkerchief early on, and underneath it was a medical mask.

"It's been so long since he died, why hasn't anyone come to collect the body?" Old Mrs. Zhao said with a look of disgust, covering her mouth and nose with a towel.

Lin Yizhang spoke frankly, "Grandma, is it possible that the whole family died and there is no one to collect the bodies?"

Old Mrs. Zhao was speechless. This naughty kid was right.

As we walked out of the village, we saw even more dead bodies on the wide road, and their deaths were even more tragic.

Most of the dead bodies were only wearing thin inner garments; their outer garments and cotton robes were long gone.

Some of the female corpses had their lower bodies naked, without even a piece of cloth.

Everyone looked at the corpse in the snow. They were already uneasy, and this fright made them even more terrified.

Yun Er rode his horse and quietly approached Yun Mo, "Master, have you noticed that the knife wounds on these corpses are uniform?"

Yun Mo nodded. "It doesn't look like you, the bandit, committed the crime. What did you see?"

Yun Er was silent for a while, then said solemnly, "It's a bit like the military's method."

"You mean..."

"Government officials are killing innocent people to take credit for their achievements!"

"How far is it from here to the next county town?" Yun Mo asked.

Yun Qi knew the terrain on the map very well. "Less than thirty miles."

"Is there a place to rest nearby?"

"Yes, there is a forest ten miles ahead."

"Pass the order down, we will rest in the woods ten miles away." Yun Mo said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves was heard not far away.

His heart skipped a beat, "Be alert, there's something going on ahead!"