Natural disaster, man-made disaster?

In the sixth year of Longwu, Wei Residence.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the courtyard, with a small figure darting through halls and around pillars at lightning speed. The steward chased closely behind, shouting, "Slow down, slow down! Young Master, little ancestor! If you fall, you'll be the death of me!"

The boy was Wei Yuan. Although he had just turned three this year, he was exceptionally tall. Children from mountain villages were generally thin and small, so he already looked taller than many seven or eight-year-old children in town.

At this moment, the aroma of food wafted from the main hall. Little Wei Yuan, as if caught by a fishing line in mid-air, immediately changed direction.

In the main room, Great Benefactor Wei and his two wives sat at the table, the meal already laid out. On the table were two earthenware basins. One held several flatbreads and dark, coarse-grained buns. The other contained yellow, mixed-grain porridge. Four dishes were served: pickled beans, salted radishes, shredded radish stir-fry, and a small dish of pickled wild chicken.

This was the midday meal for the Wei family, a prominent household in the county.

Little Wei Yuan was already ravenous. He broke off a bun almost as big as his head, stuffed it with chicken, and then buried his head in eating, finishing it in the blink of an eye. One bun wasn't enough, so he ate two more flatbreads and a bowl of porridge before he felt full. After eating, he jumped off the stool, bowed to Great Benefactor Wei and the two madams, and then scurried out of the room.

Great Benefactor Wei and the two madams had barely touched their chopsticks. They only began to eat after little Wei Yuan had finished and left the room. The Third Madam said, "Yuan'er is growing so fast. His appetite is like an adult's now, and he's so polite, though he doesn't talk much. If only Fourth Sister were still here..."

The Second Madam quickly tugged at her sleeve. The Third Madam immediately realized her mistake and quickly shut her mouth.

Outside, little Wei Yuan paused his steps for a moment, then continued towards the front courtyard as if he had heard nothing. The old women, maids, and servants he encountered along the way all bowed and made way for him. But from a distance, the hushed whispers of the servants reached Wei Yuan's ears.

"The young master is growing so fast, eating more than an adult, it's a shame his mother is gone."

"Keep your voice down! Master said not to let the young master know about this."

"What's there to hide? Who doesn't know Fourth Madam ran off with someone not long after giving birth to the young master? Master only said the madam died and even set up a grave as a pretense. But who can be fooled by that?"

Little Wei Yuan's footsteps didn't falter. He left the rear residence and entered the front courtyard. The front courtyard was quite bustling, with farmhands, kitchen workers, and household guards moving to and fro.

He walked into an open space in the front courtyard. On the ground were stone locks and spears, where the household guards usually practiced. As soon as he entered the clearing, he heard more whispers.

"The young master has good looks, but he doesn't resemble Master much."

"You think... could it be Fourth Madam's bastard child with an outsider...?"

"Keep it down!"

"What are you afraid of? No one's around, who's going to hear?"

Wei Yuan wanted to block out the voices, but he could hear them all clearly. The two household guards whispering were twenty feet away. They were speaking softly, and under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for others to hear them, but Wei Yuan could hear them perfectly. In fact, no matter where he stood, Wei Yuan could hear the commotion in more than half of the residence.

In Wei Yuan's memory, at some point when he was very young, he suddenly started hearing these sounds. After hearing them for a while, he soon understood the meaning of most of what was said.

The countryside was crude, and the servants' private discussions about their masters were naturally not pleasant.

Ever since he could understand, Wei Yuan had become increasingly silent. Although he could understand what others said, he couldn't understand why they said it.

Wei Yuan went to the stone locks as usual and picked up the ten-jin lock he often played with. But after lifting it a few times, he felt an itchiness spreading through his body, an itch that seemed to come from the very marrow of his bones. Only running or carrying heavy loads could alleviate it somewhat, but the light stone lock in his hand was no longer sufficient.

Little Wei Yuan walked over to a larger stone lock nearby. This stone lock weighed fifty jin and was the heaviest one the household guards usually used for training. Little Wei Yuan gripped it with both hands and lifted with all his might. The stone lock rose slightly off the ground.

At that moment, Wei Youcai's voice suddenly rang out from a distance: "Put it down, quick, put it down!"

Little Wei Yuan turned his head and saw Great Benefactor Wei running over, repeatedly saying, "How dare you touch such a heavy stone lock? What if you injure your muscles and bones? I know you like playing with this, so I had someone specially make a good one for you."

As he spoke, Wei Youcai produced a small stone lock made of white marble, exquisite and delicate, weighing about one jin.

Little Wei Yuan reluctantly took the jade lock.

Although it felt almost weightless in his hands, little Wei Yuan could feel his father's concern. So, despite his reluctance, he moved away from the fifty-jin stone lock and pretended to play with the small jade lock.

Wei Youcai wiped the sweat from Wei Yuan's brow. This whole ordeal had left him sweating profusely. He squinted up at the sky. The sky was clear, without a single cloud, and the scorching sun hung high overhead, casting fiery light and heat onto the earth.

Wei Youcai told little Wei Yuan to go play by himself, then called the steward over and asked, "Is it the beginning of summer today?"

"Master, it was the beginning of summer yesterday."

Great Benefactor Wei frowned. "It's already the beginning of summer? How are the fields?"

The steward wore a bitter expression. "The crops are just heading into the ear stage, but it's only rained once in the past two months. They can't possibly survive! The fields near the mountains have failed completely. Those by the Tong River are a bit better. But drawing water from the river is a deadly task; two people in the village downstream have already died from exhaustion!"

"Prepare the donkey. I'm going to the village."

A moment later, Great Benefactor Wei, along with the steward and a household guard, headed towards the valley entrance. It was only eight li from the Wei Residence to the valley entrance. Outside the valley was Xiahe Village, which bordered the Tong River and had the best acres of land in the entire county. If it didn't rain soon, Xiahe Village might be the only village in all of Ye County to have a harvest.

As they exited the residence gate, their eyes were met with a dazzling yellow.

The fields were yellow, the roads were yellow, the trees were yellow, the mountains were yellow, and even the wind was yellow.

Looking out, only the ancient tree behind the Wei family's courtyard remained lush and green, the sole patch of green in this world. In fact, if it weren't for the household guards watching it day and night, this large tree would have been stripped bare long ago: its bark could have been peeled off in a single night.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, kicking up yellow dust that coated Wei Youcai's face.

Wei Youcai spat out mouthfuls of dirt before he finally cleared his mouth. He wiped his face, dismounted from the donkey, and walked to the fields along the roadside. He dug his hands into the soil, pulling out only dry earth. The seedlings on the ridges had all withered.

Wei Youcai braced himself on his knees, struggling to stand up. The steward quickly came to support him.

Wei Youcai took a few breaths and asked, "How are the tenant families doing?"

"Master, the year before last it was just a bit hot. Last year, there wasn't much rain, and the fields had a poor harvest. The imperial court didn't reduce the taxes, so every household not only ate through their stored grain but also owed us some grain. This year, it looks like a complete crop failure, but our own stored grain isn't much either. I fear people will die..."

Wei Youcai's expression turned grim. "If we don't provide disaster relief soon, it will be too late. Is there any news from the county?"

The steward said, "A few days ago, I specifically went to the county to find Master Zhao at the yamen. Master Zhao said there's no news of disaster relief from above, and this year they're adding several more taxes. The names seem to be Armor Tax, Tribute to the Barbarians Tax, and Ox Tax."

"What, Ox Tax?" Great Benefactor Wei asked, cupping his ear.

"Ox Tax," the second steward confirmed. He had double-checked with Master Zhao at the time.

Wei Youcai exclaimed in surprise, "Have we ever had oxen in our county?"

The steward said, "At least for the past few decades, I haven't heard of any oxen."

In fact, it wasn't just Ye County; Fengyuan Commandery had no oxen since ancient times. This place was adjacent to a large southern mountain, with unique earth energy that made it difficult for oxen to survive. The farm work used a type of animal called a Ding Mule, which resembled a donkey but was slightly smaller. Not to mention Fengyuan Commandery, even in the entire Ji State, places with oxen were only two or three out of ten, unlike the northern countries where oxen were everywhere.

"If there are no oxen, how can you collect ox tax?"

The steward glanced at Great Benefactor Wei's expression and said in a low voice, "Master Zhao said that even without oxen, it doesn't prevent the court from collecting ox tax."

Wei Youcai asked with a grim face, "What exactly is going on?"

"Master Zhao said that recently the court appointed a great scholar from the north, whose writings are very famous. After that person arrived, they began to reform the laws and proposed a method called the 'Per Capita Tax System,' which is to collect taxes based on the number of people. For every fifty households, even if they collectively owned one ox, they would have to pay ox tax. It is said that fishermen and boatmen also have to pay ox tax."

Wei Youcai was so angry he laughed, "What kind of Demons and Devils have crawled out! They can write articles? Writing articles allows them to do such wicked things?"

The steward also said indignantly, "Perhaps it's precisely because they can write articles that they can be so wicked!"

Wei Youcai cursed a few times, then fell silent. After a while, he said, "Let's go back."

"Aren't we going to Lower River Village anymore?"

"No. The times are about to change. You go to the mountains and call Old Six back."

The steward was startled and asked, "You want to call Sixth Master back?"

"In a year of great disaster, there will definitely be refugees. Without Old Six, we'll have to flee the famine."

The steward's expression changed. He didn't dare to ask more, led the donkey, and returned to the residence under the scorching sun.

Master Zhao's news was indeed swift. Within two days, the imperial decree for increased taxes arrived at the county. Ye County was located in a remote area, so the decree arrived the latest; other places had received the imperial edict half a month earlier. Instantly, resentment boiled everywhere. Naturally, many people, seeing that they couldn't survive, began to ponder other ways to make a living.

In Yongzhou, since ancient times, there had been no good citizens who were willing to starve to death obediently.

One morning, young Yuan'er, after finishing breakfast, rushed to the open space where the household guards usually trained. As soon as he reached the edge of the open space, a pair of large hands descended from the sky and lifted him up as if he were soaring through the clouds.

This was a bald man with a face full of rough flesh and a long scar on his right cheek. The man held Yuan'er up, stared at him fiercely, his face menacing.

Young Yuan'er looked around and realized that he was much higher than when he was usually held by others, seeing only the tops of everyone's heads. He immediately burst into laughter.

The bald man turned Yuan'er's little face back to face him and asked strangely, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Young Yuan'er asked doubtfully, "Why should I be afraid of you?"

Although it was their first meeting, Yuan'er could feel that in this manor, the bald man was the third person, besides Wei Youcai and the steward, who was full of affection for him. Therefore, no matter how the bald man bared his teeth, Yuan'er only found it amusing.

The bald man laughed heartily and said, "Good kid! Come, let's go find your father!"

The man carried Yuan'er and walked to the corner tower. Wei Youcai had changed into short clothes and was testing the strings of a hunting bow in his hand. However, Master Wei was clearly not used to physical labor; he was out of breath after pulling it a few times and had to put it down.

The bald man walked up to Wei Youcai and said, "Big Brother, I'm back!"

Wei Youcai looked up at the man who was a head taller than him, then at Yuan'er, who was sitting quietly in the man's arms. A smile finally appeared on his tired face, and he said, "Old Six, it's good that you're back!"

Baldy Liu said, "On my way here, I've already seen quite a few refugees, all coming from the northeast. The main group is thirty miles away, and there are probably thousands of them, with someone leading them."

"What is their situation now?"

The bald man said in a deep voice, "I sneaked in at night. The leaders were boiling meat soup. The meat smelled wrong; I'm afraid it was human flesh."

Wei Youcai said calmly, "When people are starving, they'll eat anything. It's not surprising."

He pondered for a moment and said, "Thirty miles away, that means they'll reach us the day after tomorrow. Even our remote place can attract thousands of people; it seems there are hardly any people left in those northeastern counties."

The man said, "Big Brother, I brought three capable brothers this time, ten sets of leather armor, and three excellent strong bows. The refugees aren't moving fast. As long as we avoid the main group, it won't be difficult to break through. Big Brother, should we flee or defend?"

"When refugees pass through, nothing grows" was not just a saying. The hoes in the hands of refugees could be used to till the land, or to kill people. The Wei Residence had only a few dozen people, and they were facing thousands of refugees. Once the residence was breached, it would mean annihilation.

But until it was absolutely necessary, no one wanted to leave their homes and become refugees.

Wei Youcai's slender eyes narrowed into a slit. After a long time, he said, "Defend!"

Baldy Liu's spirit lifted, and he grinned, "Alright!"

In the remaining two days, everyone in the manor worked with all their might, raising the courtyard walls by another half a foot and adding supports to the weak points.

During these two days, wherever Wei Youcai went, he carried little Yuan'er. Little Yuan'er watched the bald man take out leather armor and strong bows from a leather bucket, and watched the household guards put on weapons and leather armor. Then, on the third morning, little Yuan'er ate a hearty meal with everyone else.

Not long after dawn, rolling dust could be seen at the end of the road, with countless people indistinctly visible within. Seeing this scene, some household guards on the wall began to tremble.

Wei Youcai had already changed into his strong suit. He now held Yuan'er and calmly ascended the corner tower, ordering a Grand Tutor's chair to be placed at the top, and sat down with Yuan'er. The steward and Baldy Liu were already standing on the corner tower. When they saw Wei Youcai carrying Yuan'er up, they were both startled. Baldy Liu asked, "Big Brother, isn't it suitable to bring a child up here? What if..."

Wei Youcai waved his hand and said, "It's fine! Yuan'er is sensible and understands everything now. It's good for him to see some blood early."

The steward said, "Master, it's not suitable for you to be here either!"

Wei Youcai chuckled and said, "You don't need to worry about me. If the residence is breached by refugees, I'll be dead wherever I hide. So today, I'll just sit here and watch how they break my home and eat my flesh!"

As he spoke, the refugee horde approached. The refugees were all ragged, with sallow faces, but their faces were filled with ferocity. Some carried hoes, some held pitchforks, and many had large dark stains on their bodies, clearly dried blood.

There were also some women in the group, all scantily clad. Some young women were tied together with ropes, wearing almost no cloth.

Seeing the Wei family's grand residence ahead, the refugees' eyes lit up with a green glow. Among the people at the front were a few in local attire, pointing at the residence.

The steward, with sharp eyes, recognized the faces of those few people and immediately jumped up and cursed, "Isn't that Hu San? That son of a bitch! If we hadn't given him life-saving grain last year, would he be alive today?"

The steward's curses were useless. The refugees, seeing the grand residence from afar, could no longer restrain themselves. Regardless of the distance, they charged forward like a swarm.

The shouts of the refugees were chaotic. From a distance, only the sound of killing could be heard. However, Yuan'er could hear every word clearly. Even if dozens of people shouted at the same time, he could distinguish each one and hear every word clearly.

"There's food and women inside! Brothers, kill!"

"We're starving to death, and they're having a good time inside!"

"Exterminate the wealthy!"

Seeing the refugees swarm forward like beasts, Wei Yuan suddenly turned his head and asked, "Why do they want to kill us?"

Wei Youcai said gently, "Watch first, and you'll know as you watch."

Before long, the refugees had rushed to the outside of the wall and began to howl as they climbed. The Wei Residence's courtyard wall was only about three meters high, and strong individuals could reach the top with a leap. Those who weren't as strong were boosted by others, managing to climb up. The Wei family's household guards and servants stood on the wall. At first, they were scared, but at the brink of death, they became fierce, screaming as they swung their knives at the hands reaching for the wall and the heads that emerged, sending blood splattering and fingers and palms flying everywhere.

There were simply too many refugees. Those in the back couldn't push forward, so they picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at the wall. In moments, several household guards were struck on the head, bleeding profusely, and some fell from the wall. However, those who fell gritted their teeth and climbed back up, ignoring the blood on their heads. Everyone knew that if the wall were breached, the outcome would be even more horrific than being dismembered by a thousand cuts.

The Wei Residence's corner towers were nine meters high. Three men brought by Baldy Liu were shooting arrows down one by one. These three were clearly skilled archers, shooting quickly and fiercely. The steward also stood on the corner tower, with several colored flags at his feet. He waved the flags from time to time, directing the household guards and observing the targets, occasionally shouting, "That tall one in black over there is likely a leader, shoot him!"

Under the steward's guidance, the three archers quickly shot down seven or eight fierce refugees. However, by this time, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, and they were still desperately charging the residence, climbing over the corpses and severed limbs of their companions.

Under the steward's coordination, the dozens of household guards and strong women of the Wei Residence supported each other, barely holding back the refugee onslaught and defending the wall. The bald men patrolled back and forth, rushing to resist wherever it was dangerous, several times cutting down refugees who had climbed over the wall.

Wei Yuan sat in Wei Youcai's arms, quietly watching arrows pierce human bodies and then plunge into the ground with bloody rain; watching the household guards beside him tremble, screaming as they swung stones downwards; and also watching a refugee with an arrow in his belly writhe and cry out, desperately grabbing a companion's trouser leg, only for the companion to shove him aside as a nuisance and cleave his head with a sickle, then continue towards the mansion without a second glance.

The steaming scent of blood mixed with dust surged in waves. A household guard on the wall couldn't help but vomit into his hands, clutching the battlements. But in the next moment, a stone struck his head, and in a daze, he was pulled over the wall by a refugee, then torn and bitten, becoming a bloody mess in an instant, his screams continuous.

On the corner tower, Wei Youcai sat calmly, as if the scene before him was not a brutal battle but just a few children playing wildly. Little Wei Yuan leaned against him, like leaning against an unmoving mountain.

The two sides fought for the time it takes to eat a meal. The household guards were all panting, each bearing wounds, and the defenses began to show weaknesses. A group of refugees finally surged over the wall and climbed onto the corner tower. A fierce battle immediately erupted on the tower!

A burly refugee kicked the steward away and grinned as he charged towards Wei Youcai. Wei Youcai remained unfazed and stood up, drawing his saber. However, accustomed to his pampered life, his movements were slow. Before he could even raise his saber, he was kicked in the chest and knocked down. The man raised his woodcutter's axe, about to bring it down on Wei Youcai's head!

As the axe was about to fall, little Wei Yuan's mind suddenly went blank. He grabbed a short spear from the ground and thrust it into the refugee's abdomen!

The man, seeing Wei Yuan was just a child, hadn't paid him any mind. He hadn't expected the spear to be so heavy. Both surprised and enraged, he kicked little Wei Yuan away and then forcefully pulled the short spear out. Blood immediately spurted from his wound, drenching little Wei Yuan.

The man's strength drained away like water, his legs weakened, and he collapsed to the ground.

Little Wei Yuan suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the short spear and pulling it back. The strong refugee felt a force from his hand that did not belong to a child; the short spear was snatched away.

Little Wei Yuan stepped forward again and thrust the spear into the refugee's chest.

The refugee cried out in pain, gripping the spear shaft with one hand and struggling with little Wei Yuan, while reaching for his woodcutter's axe with the other, about to chop at Wei Yuan's head. Little Wei Yuan didn't even look at the axe above him, instead mustering all his strength to push the short spear deeper into the refugee's heart, inch by inch.

The refugee suddenly saw Wei Yuan's eyes, their pupils bottomless, as if hiding another world. His small face was filled with a profound calmness, as if he wasn't killing someone but merely doing an ordinary task. Looking at Wei Yuan's face, the refugee inexplicably felt a chill in his heart. At this moment, his last breath escaped, and the short spear plunged deeply into his chest with a thud.

At this moment, the steward and the others finally cut down all the refugees on the corner tower and then threw their bodies one by one from the tower. The refugee horde was thrown into chaos, and their momentum faltered.

Seeing the morale of the refugees shaken, the steward immediately grabbed a red flag and hurled it forcefully towards the center of the horde.

The bald man fighting on the wall's eyes lit up, and he grinned, "It's finally time! Brothers, follow me!"

He leaped from the wall, knocking over several refugees upon landing, and charged directly towards where the red flag had fallen. Five more household guards clad in leather armor appeared in the courtyard. They had not participated in the earlier defense of the wall and had been conserving their strength. They also jumped down from the wall, following the bald man as they charged into the center of the refugee horde.

The bald man roared, and a dense bloody light erupted around him, like a fiery torch! He slashed forward, bisecting three refugees, then swung back, cutting down seven or eight more around him at the waist!

Since the bloody light appeared on his body, the bald man's every move was incredibly powerful. With this elite squad, he moved as if in an uninhabited land, cutting down over a hundred refugees in moments and reaching the center of the horde.

The refugees' morale finally broke. It was like an army collapsing. In an instant, all the refugees scattered.

The steward finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, muttering, "Fortunately, they were just a mob."

As the tension eased, the steward felt a sharp pain in his back. He realized someone had cut him at some point.

In the short battle, hundreds of refugee corpses lay outside the Wei family mansion, along with many who had lost limbs. They lay on the ground, screaming in agony, not yet dead. Many of the household guards on the wall were ordinary farmers who had never seen such a scene. Some held onto the wall, vomiting, while others cried and laughed.

Wei Youcai got up and pulled little Wei Yuan into his arms, checking him for injuries. Only when he saw that little Wei Yuan had no wounds and that the blood belonged to the enemy did he let out a sigh of relief, his face already deathly pale.

Wei Youcai patted his chest and then wiped the bloodstains from little Wei Yuan's face with his sleeve.

Little Wei Yuan tilted his small face and asked again, "Why do they want to kill us?"

Wei Youcai hugged him and stood up, walking to the edge of the corner tower. He pointed towards the northeast and said, "They were all people like us before. But now they are too hungry, so they want to eat our grain. But there isn't enough grain, so they must eat us to survive. If we were starving and had no choice but to go elsewhere to find food, we would become like them."

Wei Youcai then pointed southwest and said, "Over there, beyond these great mountains, there are many people who don't look like us. Let's call them people for now. Whether they are hungry or not, they want to eat us."

"These are the ones who want to eat us directly." Wei Youcai then gestured north and said, "Far away in those directions, there are many large cities. The people living in the center of those cities also eat people, just not directly, and in a more civilized way. But in terms of eating people, they eat the most."

Little Wei Yuan listened, understanding only half of it.

Wei Youcai smiled and pointed to the sky, saying, "If we were standing up there, perhaps we would see things differently. But from where we are now..."

"...this is a world that eats people."

Little Wei Yuan furrowed his small brow, trying to think, and asked, "Why do they eat people? People don't taste good."

Wei Youcai gestured with his hand and said, "Because there's only so much land, and it can't support all these people. Whether it's eating, killing, or starving to death, a portion of the people must die. Once enough people have died, things will calm down a bit."