Liu Qiaoer remembered a sentence.
"When prosperity comes, the people suffer; when decline comes, the people suffer."
When the court was peaceful and prosperous, the imperial taxes made the common people unable to stand up.
Not to mention during times of war, ordinary people simply cannot survive.
Taking refuge in troubled times is the best option.
As for those who say that heroes emerge in troubled times, just ask yourself, which hero did not once come from a wealthy family? How can ordinary people rebel when they can't even get enough food to eat
Prince Xiang was quietly causing unrest, and it was unknown whether he was colluding with the garrison in Liangzhou. The Huns in the north were also eyeing the court covetously, while the emperor in the capital was thinking about the selection of concubines. This made Liu Qiaoer a little disappointed with the emperor.
I don’t know whether Marquis Zhennan knows about it or not. It seems that Liu Qiaoer has to hurry up and get Zhang Lingzhi back to tell the court the real situation here so that the court can send troops to suppress it.
When they arrived at the village, Liu Qiaoer told them, "Just search every household and take away everything you can use. I will be guarding at the entrance of the village. If anyone comes, I will give you a signal."
Xiao Shuang asked in confusion: "What's the code?"
Liu Qiaoer imitated a few bird calls, and Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "It sounds pretty nice, but birds don't sing in winter, they all fly away."
Liu Qiao'er was speechless. "What else can I do? I can't call you. When you receive the signal, you should hide in the cellar of the village head's house and wait for me to find you."
Everyone was familiar with the village, and after the yards were allocated, they started to take action.
Liu Qiaoer also quietly came to the entrance of the village and hid beside a big rock.
The biggest reason why their village was looted by soldiers was that it was very close to the county town. If Liu Qiaoer climbed a tree, she could see the city wall of the county town.
The advantage of being too close is that the men in their village will go to the city to do odd jobs during the slack season and earn some money.
The downside is that they are the first to suffer if something goes wrong.
Xiaoshuang and her friends searched room by room but did not find anything usable. Generally, there were only old furniture and broken bowls. There was basically no food. They did find some bedding, but they were very rotten.
Just when they were looking for it excitedly, they heard Liu Qiaoer's urgent cry.
"Cuckoo, cuckoo."
Everyone was in sync with each other. They took their things, followed the path, and hid in the cellar of the headman's house.
Soon, Liu Qiaoer also hid in.
"I just met a pair of soldiers. It seems that they are conscripting men everywhere. I have a bold idea. I want to sneak into the city. You guys hide here for the time being. I will be back soon."
Liu Qiaoer was about to leave when Xiao Shuang pulled her back: "I'll go with you."
Liu Qiaoer immediately rejected the idea: "No, it's too dangerous."
Xiao Shuang: "If anything happens to you, I will come back to report and find someone to rescue you."
Liu Qiaoer didn't want to bring it at first, but then she thought it would be okay to bring an extra helper.
"Okay, come with me. If you wait until dark and I haven't come back yet, go back to the mountain at night."
The rest of the people nodded.
Liu Qiaoer brought Xiaoshuang out.
It was indeed a pair of soldiers who were conscripting able-bodied men everywhere. The people from the nearby villages had all run away, so they could only go to the farther ones, capture a few, tie their hands, and run behind the horses.
The horses walked at a leisurely pace.
Liu Qiaoer rolled her eyes and whispered to Xiao Shuang, "You are stronger than me. I will capture a soldier later. You put on his clothes and we can sneak into the city."
Although Xiaoshuang was nervous, she was very brave.
Nodding: "I'll listen to you."
When the soldiers passed by their village, Liu Qiaoer and Xiaoshuang followed them.
When they came out of the Taoist temple, they were women dressed as men. Liu Qiaoer was small and looked like a child of fifteen or sixteen years old.
Xiaoshuang is a strong man. Liu Qiaoer followed behind the team and knocked out the last soldier cleanly and neatly and dragged him away.
The soldier's armor was taken off and put on Xiaoshuang. Liu Qiaoer grabbed a rope and pretended to tie her hands. The two of them walked slowly behind the team.
All the way to the county town, there were still some refugees outside the city gate. I didn't know what they were waiting for. Some were still crying for their sons, looking for their men, and the children were still crying for their fathers.
When the officers and soldiers saw them, they began to drive them away. They were all old, weak, sick and disabled, and could not go anywhere, so they kept crying.
Fortunately, Liu Qiaoer and Xiaoshuang followed them into the city smoothly.
The situation in the city was not much better than outside the city. All the shops had been robbed, and there were almost no people on the streets. Only soldiers were coming and going, busy with their own affairs.
After they were brought into the city, Liu Qiaoer pulled Xiaoshuang and the two of them went into a small alley. It must be said that the armor on Xiaoshuang was indeed their amulet.
Liu Qiaoer said, "This place has probably been occupied by someone. Let's not go anywhere else. Let's go to some shops, restaurants, kitchens, etc. to find some salt and some bedding. Go quickly and come back soon."
Xiao Shuang said, "I'll listen to you."
Liu Qiao'er got some government office clothes from somewhere, and the two of them went to the street one after the other. They saw a noodle shop with its door smashed and the inside in a mess.
The two of them pushed the door open and went straight to the back kitchen.
Xiaoshuang found a can of coarse salt, some soybeans, mixed noodles and other things, and she quickly put them away.
Liu Qiaoer went to the backyard but found nothing. It was empty. It seemed that the family had escaped long ago.
Generally speaking, when a rebel group captures a city, they will not rob the civilians as long as it is not an invasion. After all, talents are the foundation.
There are still civilians in this city, but there are also many soldiers. It is very likely that the generals are stationed in the city.
Those who were well-informed had already fled, and the ordinary people who were not well-informed could only close their doors and live in fear.
All the shops near the city gate were closed, but a few alleys later, there were still shops open, and it was still a bustling scene.
Liu Qiaoer had some money, so after thinking it over she went into a cloth shop and bought some soft lining cloth, some cheap coarse cloth, and ten kilograms of cotton. Although the prices were high, she could still afford them.
Except for the cotton stored in the space, everything else is carried in the bamboo basket.
Xiaoshuang saw Liu Qiaoer enter the store, and she stood outside, not daring to go in. This is the sorrow of the poor, without money, they dare not even go shopping.
Seeing Liu Qiaoer bought so many things, he was surprised: "You, you, have money..."
Liu Qiaoer shook her head: "I used my last piece of jewelry to exchange for it, and now it's completely gone."
Xiao Shuang: "They picked up some cotton-padded jackets and quilts in the village. If they go back and wash them, the new and old ones together should be enough to get through the winter."
Liu Qiaoer: "I thought so too. Now we should think about how to get out."
It was difficult to get in, but easy to get out. Xiaoshuang took off her armor, hid herself, and she and Liu Qiaoer disguised themselves as ordinary women and went out openly.
It was already midnight when we returned to the Taoist temple. The children were all asleep, and the adults were tired after a day's work and fell asleep. Only some elderly people who were not sleepy enough did not sleep.
Liu Qiaoer put the things in the kitchen and saw that the child was sleeping soundly without disturbing him. She was also very tired and fell asleep immediately.