Chapter 483: War and Chaos
She watched the big white horse being taken away by the Zhou army.
Liang Han took out the map and decided to take a shortcut.
She found a dead branch and walked forward while pulling at the grass.
Since he almost stepped on a snake last time, Liang Han did not dare to be careless when walking in the wild again.
Finally, at noon, she walked out of the deep forest.
After walking for a long time, my feet and legs ached, and my mouth was dry.
Liang Han sat tiredly on a large rock to rest. Comparing the map, he found that this was the boundary of Lianzhou.
She took out the sheepskin water bag, but within two sips, not a drop was left.
Without water and a big white horse, we can't go on like this.
Liang Huan didn't dare to stay long, so he just rested briefly before continuing to move forward.
Before the sun sets, a village appears not far away.
The village is very small, with only a few houses. You can see the rising smoke before you even get close.
Liang Huan was overjoyed. It seemed that not only would he be able to get water tonight, but he would also have a decent place to stay.
I was exhausted at first, but now I immediately cheered up and couldn't help but speed up the pace and move forward.
Arriving at the entrance of the village, Liang Huan stared at the scene in front of him with horror in his eyes.
The joy just now turned into fear.
There were four or five fierce-looking men standing nearby, holding large knives. In the open space in the middle, women and children were squatting and huddled together, sobbing and choking.
Rogue bandits rob the village?
A man suddenly appeared, and everyone looked over.
When the women and children saw that she was a single woman, their hopes were instantly extinguished. Their eyes were filled with disappointment and sympathy. They lowered their heads silently and cried softly.
The big men were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and laughed. Did you come to your door for free?
Someone smiled maliciously and walked towards Liang Han with a big knife.
"Where are you going, girl?"
Liang Huan glanced behind him. It was too late to run, so she slowly touched the baggage with her hand.
Just when the rough hands were about to fall on her shoulders, the fat and muscular man fell over in front of her.
His face was distorted and his expression was painful, and he ran out of breath before he even had time to shout.
The accomplices behind him stopped laughing when they saw this, and were surprised and suspicious.
Someone noticed something was wrong, shouted angrily, and ran straight over with a knife.
Liang Huan no longer covered up, and while retreating, he aimed at the people rushing towards him and shot several arrows in succession.
Within a few moments, all those who fell to the ground had expired.
When the women and children squatting on the ground saw this, instead of cheering, they shrank their necks and shivered, showing fear.
An older woman stood up bravely and begged.
“Please spare my life, Queen.”
Liang Huan put away her small bow and arrows.
"I'm not a queen, I'm just passing by and want to go into the village to ask for some water. It's getting late, and I want to stay overnight. Of course, I will pay."
I'm afraid they won't believe it, and He took out a few pennies from the pouch at his waist.
At this point, the women and children squatting on the ground breathed a sigh of relief and helped each other to stand up.
The previous woman hugged the children hiding behind her and asked Liang Huan: "How can you go out alone in this chaotic situation?"
Seeing that they still had concerns, Liang Huan said frankly : "My brother is in Lianzhou City, and I am going to join him this time."
The woman nodded and took a few steps closer.
"My house is more spacious, so you can go back with me."
Liang Huan saluted and thanked her, and followed the woman home.
She did not forget to observe as she walked. The whole village was very rundown, there were not many people, and there were a few empty houses.
After asking, I found out that the man in the family went to the battlefield, and the old man who stayed behind also died of illness.
The woman filled Liang Huan's sheepskin bag with water. The little boy lay on the door and stared at her curiously.
Liang Huan smiled and took out the remaining piece of white jade cake from the bag and handed it to him.
The little boy looked at his mother with doubts in his eyes, and then at Liang Huan, not daring to reach out to take it. The little boy had never seen such a thing, but the woman had seen it. Although it was not so detailed, it looked similar in appearance.
The woman looked at Liang Huan carefully, but saw that her fingers were thin and white and her speech was polite, so she asked: "You must be from a wealthy family, right?"
Liang Huan put the white jade cake into the boy's hand and spoke calmly.
“My grandfather was an official in the past, but the family fortune declined.”
The woman was amazed at this.
In a remote country like theirs, it would be strange to see a businesswoman, let alone an official girl in a high-end courtyard.
The little boy brought the white jade cake to the woman.
The woman smiled, patted his head and let him eat.
Looking at this scene, Liang Huan thought of Xi'er and Zhou Xin.
She lowered her eyes and stopped talking.
Supper is wild vegetable porridge.
In fact, there are a few grains of rice floating here and there, and more of them are green wild vegetables.
Liang Huan drank vegetable soup and listened to the woman's story.
It turns out that when the woman was seven months pregnant, her husband was drafted into the army. Three months later, she gave birth to a daughter. Unfortunately, she died of illness within half a month.
As the woman spoke, she covered her face and started crying. The little boy put away the white jade cake and leaned against her.
Liang Huan understood that the woman at that time was probably still in her confinement and was physically weak after giving birth, so she must have been forced to take care of her two children.
What a pity...
She sighed, inconsolable.
At dawn, Liang Huan got up and tidied up.
While having breakfast, Liang Huan told the woman that she suggested that the women and children in the village go to Lianzhou City with her.
Lianzhou is close to Tuyang and Fanzhou. Fanzhou was captured by the Zhou State long ago, and now Tuyang is also occupied by the Zhou army. As a result, Lianzhou is sandwiched between the two places and is not safe.
During the battle between the two armies, this small village on the edge was not easy to be attacked by rogue bandits. Even if the Zhou army attacked, it was difficult to say that it would not be massacred——
Facing the rogue bandits, they were still unable to protect themselves and were slaughtered by others, let alone the strong Zhou army.
Some people hesitated at first, but gradually, except for a few who wanted to stick to it, most of them agreed.
Liang Huan roughly counted about ten people.
It is not easy to travel with a group of people, and there are young children in the group, which requires some energy and patience.
We walked for another four days until the evening of the fifth day, when we finally approached our destination. We also passed several villages during this period, but unfortunately there were only ruins left, which had long been abandoned.
Along the way, it was full of decadence and desolation.
It seems that since the drought started that year, natural and man-made disasters have never stopped.
As the sky got darker and darker, Liang Huan stood up and prepared to lead everyone on their way.
Unexpectedly, I saw a faint fire flashing in the distance.
Liang Huan immediately silenced everyone and took advantage of the darkness to hide nearby.
Without the sounds of children crying and talking, the air suddenly became quiet, and the sound of fighting in the distance could clearly be heard.
Others heard it too, and they were all nervous.
Someone asked timidly: "Could it be that the Zhou army has already attacked? What should we do? If we can't enter the city, where can we go?"
Liang Huan He patted her shoulder and said comfortingly: "You guys hide here first, I'll go ahead and explore the way. As long as I don't make a sound, you must not come out."
The older woman should follow. She went with him, but Liang Huan shook his head and refused.
After Liang Huan finished speaking, she bent over and walked straight to the place where the fire was shining, not caring whether there were any snakes, insects, rats, or ants emerging from the grass under her feet.
Liang Huan hid behind a hillside, frowning and looking at the road not far away.
It was actually Zhou Jun and Qi Jun.
Although there are not many people on both sides, there are many corpses lying on the ground, and the surviving people are still fighting endlessly.
Suddenly, a long sword stabbed straight into the vest of the man who was fighting.
Liang Huan was shocked and subconsciously stood up and rushed forward.
(End of this chapter)