The Humble Family's Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!-Chapter 1027 - 865: Robbery

"Miss, life seems to be tougher in Xiliang than anywhere else!"

On the way back to the posthouse, Bi Shi felt rather emotional.

Daohua: "After all, it is the borderland, and it definitely can’t compare with the inland." As she spoke, she paused for a moment, "Maybe the situation here is still okay, the further northwest you go, not only do the climatic conditions get worse, but you also have to constantly suffer the invasions of Xiliao people, and that’s when life truly becomes a living hell."

Afterward, seeing a grain store, Daohua went in to have a look.

The shop mostly sold coarse grains, and fine grains were very scarce, with rice being rarely seen.

Daohua inquired about the prices, perhaps because of the low grain yield in Xiliang, the food here was at least 20% more expensive than in other places.

After visiting several towns in succession, Daohua lost interest in getting off the carriage, as resources were scarce here. Apart from buying some grain, she could only purchase some beef and mutton from the herdsmen.

As for vegetables, in the winter here there was only pickled and dried vegetables, and even those were limited in variety—typically only cabbage and radishes were common.

With nothing to see or enjoy, Daohua had the caravan increase its speed.

Xiliang had many mountains, and the farther west they went, the more uneven the terrain, riding in a carriage all day made everyone feel almost shattered to pieces.

Daohua feared that Gu Jian’s constitution wouldn’t hold up, so every day at noon they would stop to rest for half an hour, allowing everyone to get out and stretch their limbs.

Time quickly reached December, and at this moment, Daohua and her companions had arrived in the central hinterland of Xiliang, where the local authorities of Xiliang were located.

The weather turned colder. After passing Liangdu, Daohua didn’t go into the city to stroll but only instructed Cao Chuan to buy some daily necessities.

After Liangdu, passing through two more Wei Cities, they would reach Ganzhou Guard.

In the following days, except for times they got out to move around, the caravan was on the road quickly; by this point, everyone wanted to reach Ganzhou Guard as soon as possible to have a good rest and repair.

One day, as the caravan usually stopped to rest by the side of the road, suddenly, a group of bandits wielding weapons surged down from a nearby hill.

There were over a hundred bandits, who came rushing out all at once, startling everyone.

However, the Guard Squad quickly regained their composure, some stayed to guard the carriages, while the rest met the bandits head-on to defend against them.

The instant Daohua heard the sounds of battle, she leaped from the carriage and ran straight towards Gu Jian’s carriage.

Mei Lan, Mei Ju, Dongli, Caiju, and a few Jinling Guards left by Xiao Yeyang surrounded the carriage tightly.

Inside the carriage, Daohua intended to reassure Gu Jian, telling him not to worry, but seeing her master’s face even calmer than herself, she silently swallowed her words.

"Crown Princess, the bandits have all been captured by the Guard Squad."

Hearing Mei Lan’s voice, Daohua paused, "So soon?" she said and quickly lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.

The bandits who had appeared menacing just moments before now lay in the snow, howling in pain and rolling about.

"Are they here to make us laugh?"

Daohua was somewhat speechless but soon frowned deeply.

She saw that the bandits, one by one, were all dressed in tattered clothes, skinny as rails, shivering from the cold, including a child no older than seven or eight.

Just then, one of the bandits shouted at the Guard Squad, who was about to strike down with the swords in their hands.

"Don’t hurt anyone!"

Daohua called out to stop them. Seeing the Guard Squad lowering their swords, she then said, "Bring the people over, I have questions."

Quickly, the Guard Squad dragged what seemed to be the leader of the bandits, a rugged man, in front of the carriage.

Daohua scrutinized the man: "Why did you try to rob us?"

The rugged man, Wang Wu, scoffed, "Why do you think? We can’t survive otherwise. It’s so cold and the ground is frozen, no food to be found. Seeing your fat sheep passing by, of course, we had to rush over for a bite."

Saying so, his face showed regret.

"It’s a shame, the sheep were so fat, but it ended up chipping our teeth."

Guyu then asked, "Do you make a habit of robbing passersby here in these mountains?"

Wang Wu glanced at the carriage, regretfully unable to see the person inside. Perhaps it was because of Guyu’s earlier shout of ’do not harm anyone’, and after hesitating for a moment, he still spoke, "You’re just unlucky, being the first ones."

Guyu: "You just got here?"

Wang Wu let out an indifferent ’hm’.

Guyu fell silent for a moment, "Tell me why you became bandits. If your reasons are sound, I might consider letting you go."

Wang Wu’s eyes lit up with eagerness, "Are you a person of your word?"

Actually, he really didn’t want to rob this caravan, but there was no choice. His clan had been without food for several days, and with such cold weather, he could only take a desperate chance.

Upon clashing swords, he knew he had run into tough opposition. He had thought he was as good as dead but now the situation had taken a surprising turn.

Dongli glared at Wang Wu, "Answer properly."

Having no other choice, Wang Wu began to recount the plight that had driven the Wang Clan to flee to this area.

"We are from Kangdu Town in the Jinwei Guard. This winter had barely started when the Xiliao people attacked. The soldiers from the garrison came too late, and... the Xiliao slaughtered the entire town."

As he spoke, Wang Wu couldn’t help but redden in the eyes and choke up before continuing, "Thankfully, an elder in our clan noticed something amiss ahead of time and led us to escape in the dead of night, saving our lives."

Inside the carriage, Guyu, Gu Jian, and Doctor Ge were all shocked by the news of the massacre.

They knew that Xiliang was not peaceful, but they had not expected a massacre.

"Damn it, what was the Commander of the Jinwei Guard doing to let the Xiliao people slaughter an entire town?!" Gu Jian was furiously outraged.

Hearing the unrestrained anger in Gu Jian’s voice, Wang Wu also paused, surprised that there were others in the carriage. Realizing the exceptional nature of this caravan, he thought for a moment and went on to explain:

"In fact, these past few years, the Xiliao have frequently invaded, ravaging, murdering, and looting. Incidents like the massacre of towns happen every year."

Guyu: "Doesn’t anyone do something about it?"

Wang Wu sneered, "The soldiers at the garrison posts in Xiliang are just for show. Very few are actually capable of fighting the enemy. Most of the time, when faced with Xiliao forces, they can only get slaughtered."

Guyu: "Isn’t there the Border Army as well?"

Wang Wu: "I don’t know about the Border Army."

Guyu fell silent a moment, "Is everything you said true?"

Wang Wu straightened his back, "If there’s a single lie in what I’ve just said, may I be struck by heavenly thunder. Who would become bandits if they weren’t pushed to desperation? In Xiliang, nine out of ten bandits are those who couldn’t survive any other way."

Guyu looked at Gu Jian, "Master, what do you think we should do with them?"

Gu Jian didn’t want to intercede, "You decide."

After thinking for a moment, Guyu said, "Being bandits is still the wrong path. Later, I will leave you with two carts of grain, enough to last you through the winter."

Wang Wu was truly stunned. He never imagined that such a fortunate event, like a pie falling from the sky, could happen.

Guyu continued, "I will also give you a few bags of seeds. Xiliang may lack many things, but there’s no shortage of land. As long as you plow and plant earnestly come next spring, survival shouldn’t be difficult."

Wang Wu slapped his own face twice, making sure he wasn’t dreaming, then asked with a stutter, "You... really giving me food and seeds?"

Guyu: "I don’t give my belongings for free. This road will be frequently used by my people in the future. If I find out you are still here, or if you continue to rob elsewhere, I’ll send the army to wipe you out at once."

Wang Wu quickly shook his head, "That won’t happen, absolutely not. I took the people out to rob you without telling the elders back home, acting in secret. If he found out, he would surely punish us with the clan rules. There won’t be a next time."

Guyu: "I hope you keep your word." Saying this, he called over Guyu, "Leave them a bag of wheat seeds, two bags of corn seeds, and... three carts of coarse grain."

Corn doesn’t require much from the soil and is resistant to cold and drought, making it well-suited for planting in Xiliang.

Guyu had people unload three carts of grain by the roadside and personally handed the wheat and corn seeds to Wang Wu, "Seeds are not easy to come by; please don’t let my young lady down."