CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98: GROWING TURMOIL

Two days later, two thousand jin of crude salt were refined.

Hu Changsheng didn’t go again. After all, the channel had been smoothed out, and considering his age, he handed it over to his son, Hu Chun, to take over.

Zhang He still led fifty Divine Brave Guards to go, loading the goods onto two mule carts.

Hu Qiang also went along — the mountain village was nearing its end.

These past two days, the news of Fengxian’s fall spread like a hurricane in and around Pingting County. What the situation was inside the city, Chen Mo couldn’t say, but outside the city, Chen Mo already felt some chaos.

Because of Fengxian’s fall, the surrounding counties of Fengxian were also affected, causing many refugees to head south. By now, they were almost near Qingtian and Pingting counties.

What impacted Chen Mo the most was Dadong Lake. With fewer people in the Fishing Team because Chen Mo had independently claimed Dadong Lake as village property, those refugees were naturally blocked by Han Wu and his men when they went fishing, and then conflict broke out. Over twenty people in the Fishing Team were injured; fortunately, no one died.

Even so, after learning about it, Chen Mo naturally didn’t allow anyone outside the city to challenge his authority. That day, he took the Divine Brave Guards and avenged the wrong.

But the refugees came wave after wave, and with Dadong Lake being far from the village, to avoid further conflict, Chen Mo allowed those refugees to fish, and the fish caught by the Fishing Team no longer needed to be handed over to the village.

Chen Mo realized that the Fishing Team was on the brink of disbandment.

Additionally, in the past two nights, stealing incidents occurred several times at Wang Family Manor. Although the thieves were caught by the patrolling Divine Brave Guards, the chaos it caused made Chen Mo frown.

For the safety of the two villages’ residents, Chen Mo strengthened patrols at night.

Moreover, accepting refugees, Chen Mo was not as lenient as a few days ago.

Now, only families with able-bodied members would be accepted; others would not be taken in.

Another day passed, and Chen Mo calculated that Zhang He and his team should be on their way back. He immediately had Han Wu lead one hundred Divine Brave Guards out to meet them to prevent anything unexpected.

The total number of Divine Brave Guards had now reached one thousand two hundred.

The number of squad leaders had also increased to ten.

Two days later, on April 21st.

As expected, something unexpected happened.

The rain from the previous two days had made the roads muddy and difficult to navigate. On the way back with the grain, Zhang He’s mule cart got stuck in a pit, causing the grain on the cart to tilt over, and one bag of rice spilled out.

Currently, there were many refugees heading south on the road, and as soon as the grain was exposed, those starving refugees immediately brightened their eyes and all rushed over to snatch the grain.

A person driven by extreme hunger can ignore the threat of death.

Although Zhang He and his team were armed with knives, they weren’t many in number, and especially after killing a few people, the refugees still wouldn’t retreat, making the situation instantly precarious.

In order to protect the goods, there were casualties among the escorting Divine Brave Guards.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Han Wu arrived with his soldiers, drove away the refugees, and Zhang He and his team were saved from catastrophe.

Panting heavily, Zhang He instructed the survivors to support the injured brothers and take the bodies of their brothers back, while calling for the grain to be reloaded onto the cart.

Han Wu and his men came over to help.

"Why are you here?" Zhang He let out a breath upon seeing Han Wu and asked.

"Immortal Master Chen was worried something might happen to you all, so he had me bring some men over to reinforce you, and something really did happen," Han Wu said.

Zhang He blinked: "Brother Mo is truly astute."

Then he cursed and ranted: "Damn, these refugees are insane. Even when the knife is at their face, they don’t fear it. Where did so many refugees come from?"

"According to those recently taken in by the village, the counties surrounding Fengxian have all been occupied by the Celestial Master Army from the north, and all these refugees are people from the Fengxian area," Han Wu replied.

"So what Zhu Yongzhi said was true?"

"What is true?"

...

At the Chen Family.

"You mean to say that all of Zhu Yongzhi’s crude salt comes from Qingtian County’s Salt Lake, and recently, the official soldiers of Qingtian County have strengthened their guard on the Salt Lake, leaving Zhu Yongzhi’s men with no loopholes to exploit?" Chen Mo frowned after hearing Zhang He’s words.

"Brother Mo, that’s what Zhu Yongzhi said. Originally, those guarding the Salt Lake were governmental officials from Qingtian County. Zhu Yongzhi bribed the steward overseeing the Salt Warehouse, but because of the refugees, for the Salt Warehouse’s security, the original governmental officials were replaced by the Defense Army of Qingtian County," Zhang He replied.

Chen Mo understood; essentially, the people Zhu Yongzhi had bribed were replaced, and now the Defense Army guarding the Salt Warehouse had not yet been bribed by Zhu Yongzhi, meaning he couldn’t traffic smuggled salt anymore.

Chen Mo’s brow furrowed tightly.

This won’t do. Without crude salt, he can’t refine fine salt, and without fine salt, he doesn’t have money to buy grain.

Currently, the Divine Brave Guards are entirely sustained by grain, and without it, relying solely on the village’s grain won’t last long. If this isn’t resolved quickly, there will be a significant problem.

Lightly tapping his fingers on the table, he said, "Hu Qiang, tonight you take a few men and go survey the area around Qingtian County’s Salt Warehouse, estimate how many Defense Army soldiers are guarding the warehouse."

Hu Qiang, being a hunter, undoubtedly has better stealth skills than Zhang He. Sending him to scout for information is more suitable than Zhang He.

"Brother Mo, are you planning to...?" Hearing Chen Mo’s words, Zhang He and the others could somewhat guess the meaning and couldn’t help but widen their eyes.

Chen Mo didn’t reveal everything yet.

But he already had his plan in mind — it was time for a major operation.

"Understood." Hu Qiang nodded in agreement.

"Brother Shui, make sure to handle the consolation work for the wounded and deceased brothers well, so their families don’t bring their grievances to the Divine Brave Guard," Chen Mo instructed.

"No worries, Brother Mo, leave it to me."

...

In the village.

A large group of people entered the village, immediately drawing the villagers’ attention.

When the Divine Brave Guards brought the seriously injured and deceased brothers before the villagers,

their families discovered them and hurriedly rushed over.

A woman, seeing her husband’s body, immediately rushed forward, wailing: "My husband, what happened to you? Wake up, now that you’re gone, how will I and the children live..."

"My son, I told you long ago not to become a soldier, but you refused to listen, tempted by the three meals a day. Is it so easy to be a soldier? And now, look at this, making me, the gray-haired one, see off the black-haired one."

"Dad..."

The gathered villagers grew, pointing and whispering, their hearts full of sorrow.

"Silence."

At this moment, a cold shout was heard.

The villagers turned towards the voice and saw the newcomer was Zhang He.

Beside him was a mule cart, piled with grain and a basket of Copper Coins.

Upon seeing this, the villagers couldn’t help but murmur among themselves in intrigue.

ps: Thanks to everyone for the monthly passes!