Traveling through ancient times to survive

"My eldest sister is so successful now, and you, Dad, have become a drag."

"Your sister is stronger than me now. Your uncle Li said Qing Ya has a great talent for martial arts, so she started learning kung fu from him. It's only been a month, but Qing Ya feels like she's back home when she goes into the mountains."

"Dad, do you think the world is really going to be in chaos? We have so much food stored at home."

"Well, I can't say for sure. Anyway, Qing Ya went to the county to inquire and found that those who have connections are hoarding food. Now even the food prices in town have increased. We ordinary people don't know what's going on, so we can only follow suit and stockpile some."

The two men sighed. They, ordinary civilians, were like duckweed in the river. No matter how strong or weak the water was, they could only go with the flow and had no control over their own destiny.

The night was as dark as a mirror, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard on the mountain road. Li Wu was traveling in the dark and finally saw the shadow of the Dashan Village. He slowed down and went home quietly.

Li Wu closed the door and did not notice the figure in the corner. It took a while for the shadow to climb into the next room.

It turned out that Zhao Qing was awakened by the noise and climbed over the wall to check. The people next door were indeed not simple. Zhao Qing thought that Li Wu's skills were average, and if he was a threat to him, he could be eliminated. Then he went home and fell asleep.

As the former head of the secret guards in the general's mansion, Li Wu, who believed himself to be a superb martial artist, would probably cry if he knew Zhao Qing's evaluation of him. However, at this moment, Li Wu, who had no idea of ​​the matter, was earnestly reporting the news he had obtained.

"My Lord, the two generals Liu Xi and Sun Li were transferred to the northwest more than 40 days ago. The Minister of Revenue Zhang Xuan died and angered the emperor, so his property was confiscated and he was exiled to the southwest. The several old men who pleaded for the Li family have retired and returned home."

Li Heng sneered: "Ha! It's Song Cheng's work again. Song Cheng is simply lawless. The dog emperor is really old and confused. The court is in chaos and he can only watch helplessly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he gasped and said anxiously: "Master, please take care of yourself."

"Don't worry. There are 120 lives in my Li family, and I can't die without taking revenge!"

The Li family was originally a family of military generals in the capital. Their ancestors followed Taizu to conquer the world and were granted the title of Marquis of Zhenbei after the founding of the country. Since then, the Li family has been guarding the north and the border.

Li Heng's real name is Li Xu, with the courtesy name Hengzhi. He is sixteen years old and is the third son of this generation of marquis. Due to an unexpected premature birth and weak health, he turned to the path of imperial examinations. The eldest and second sons of the Li family followed their father to guard the frontier.

Four months ago, the father and his two sons of the Li family died for their country. Before the old and young, women and children of the Li family had time to grieve, the military supervisor Wu Rui reported that the father and his sons of the Li family were collaborating with the enemy. Wu Rui was the cousin of Prince Duan Song Cheng.

The court was shaken and panicked, and no one believed the accusation. Several upright elders requested a thorough investigation, but the emperor quickly ordered the execution of the entire Li family.

The Li family tried their best to replace Li Xu and sent him out of the capital to join Li Wu. Li Wu was bought and trained by the Li family after being kidnapped, so he was loyal and stayed by Li Heng's side after escaping the catastrophe.

The two asked around along the way and after many twists and turns they finally found Li Wu's hometown before he was abducted and sold, so they pretended to be father and son and returned home.

Li Heng recalled the past, his eyes flashing with hatred, his voice gnashing with gritted teeth: "My father and two brothers have been fighting against the barbarians for many years, and both sides know each other well. The battle four months ago was only a few thousand people, just a routine test process, but the commander was killed in the battle. It's simply ridiculous. The tyrant king didn't even suspect anything. The emperor is the most ruthless. I think he was the one who led the death of my father and brother!"

Li Wu lowered his head and said nothing. He knew that his master did not need his answer. His master had been extremely intelligent since childhood and would definitely understand anything he could figure out by just thinking about it. Now he was just venting his unbearable pain.

Burying the hatred deep in his heart, Li Heng calmed down and asked, "What's the situation with the rising grain prices in town?"

"The prefect of Yingzhou sent his eldest son to this county three months ago. After that, some people in the county began to collect large quantities of food, cloth, medicine and charcoal, which has affected the surrounding counties. The prices of these materials have risen."

"Wang Yuan, the prefect of Yingzhou, is also Song Cheng's lackey, right? Is Song Cheng planning to rebel in the winter? He has already started preparing military supplies."

"The Lord is wise."

Li Heng's expression suddenly changed: "No! How could such a secret matter be handed over to that useless person from the Wang family? In addition to the area around this county, have grain prices increased near the capital and Song Cheng's fiefdom?"

"No."

"It seems that Wang Yuan acted on his own and did not report it to Song Cheng. What does he want to do?"

Without more clues and unable to deduce an accurate answer, Li Heng gave up and instructed: "Arrange another person to keep an eye on Wang Yuan's residence and report any abnormalities."

"Yes, my lord."

"No matter what their conspiracy is, let's stock up on supplies first."

Time flows slowly, and in the blink of an eye, summer leaves with the last trace of heat, and a monsoon blows across the earth, bringing coolness.

After the hot summer, people are happy about the favorable climate, but they don’t know that this is the prelude to extreme cold. The temperature will drop day by day, falling below zero degrees in about two months, and then quickly dropping to minus 40 degrees in a few days. It will remain low for the next six months, and will not rise until the summer.

After Zhao Deyan returned home, the father and son spent the whole day chopping wood. The wood filled the kitchen and the cowshed, and half of the cellar was emptied for firewood. They also stored a thousand kilograms of charcoal, which they had spent half a month's harvest on. They stopped only when their money ran out.

Wang Mei was full of complaints until she learned that the Li family next door was also quietly hoarding supplies. Then she stopped chattering. There was a scholar next door, so he must be well-informed and it was right to follow his instructions.

Knowing that the Zhao family next door had been stockpiling goods early on, the Li family did not hide the fact. This move unexpectedly made Wang Mei change her mind, and Zhao Qing finally had peace of mind. If she had come a few more times, she would have wanted to change her mind, run away from home and live alone.

"Dad, please collect more vegetables and dry them for storage. We don't know what the future will bring, so try to stockpile as much as possible."

"Okay, Deyan, continue chopping wood. I'll go collect some vegetables from the surrounding area and start pickling the meat. From today on, Qingya, you will sell half of the meat you hunt and save the other half for pickling."

In September, the harvest season, the villagers were busy harvesting crops in the fields. Zhao Chengchuan's family had five acres of land, and it took four people two days to harvest all the crops.

The yield per mu is about 300 kilograms, and the tax is 20% of the total. 300 kilograms are left for tax, 300 kilograms are used to honor the parents in the old house, and the rest of the grain is all moved into the cellar.

He couldn’t wait until the villagers sold all their grain, so that day, Zhao Chengchuan finally made up his mind to remind the villagers.

At night, Zhao Chengchuan knocked on the door of the village chief's house: "Uncle village chief, open the door!"

"Who is it? Wait a minute."

The village chief got up, put on his clothes, and opened the door: "It's Chengchuan, what's the matter? You're so anxious."

"Uncle village chief, we can't sell the harvested grain this year!"

The village chief's expression turned serious: "Why is that? What rumors have you heard?"