Rebellion

Qin Fang had thought the Iron Tiger Gang would come looking for trouble the very next day, eager to get their hands on him. But the result was somewhat unexpected...

For several days in a row, Wang Long and the others seemed to have forgotten he existed. They didn't show their faces once.

Qin Fang was stunned for a moment, then caught on...

Could it be because the refugees had revolted?

Had the rebellion delayed them?

Qin Fang couldn't be sure.

But it was undoubtedly good news.

It let Qin Fang relax and recover in peace.

Every night, Old Wu came by to check his wounds and change his salve.

Old Wu's salve worked astonishingly well. In just three or four days, the wounds on his waist and left shoulder had scabbed over completely... Although he was still a long way from fully recovering, at least they were no longer getting worse.

With his wounds properly treated, Qin Fang stopped running a fever... and felt better with each passing day.

Everything was looking up.

Except...

"The refugees have rebelled!"

It wasn't until several days later that the more straightforward of the two boys who brought him meals every day delivered the news.

The boy's name was Zhang Hao. He was an earnest, simple sort. At first, he'd been full of resentment and suspicion toward Qin Fang.

But Qin Fang made a point of striking up conversations whenever Zhang Hao came to bring him food. As time went by, Zhang Hao slowly let go of his suspicion and dislike...

This guy was pretty polite. He didn't look like a bad person.

Gradually, Zhang Hao became willing to talk with him a little more.

And then, from the boy's mouth, Qin Fang learned something that left him deeply shaken...

The refugees had rebelled.

Of course, he immediately thought of the group of fake refugees he'd encountered earlier.

Chances were, they were the ones behind it.

But it was strange. True Martial County had already opened its gates and let the refugees in... With a way to survive, why would they still rebel?

After asking some more questions, Qin Fang learned something else...

"The relief grain was actually burned a few days ago. Our Spring Return Hall even helped put out the fire. But at the same time, some mysterious people caused trouble and killed people indiscriminately. We worked all night, but still couldn't save the grain. We could only watch it burn."

"You were pretty lucky to get in on the first day... Actually, the grain they handed out that day wasn't relief grain supplied by the imperial court. It was grain the county magistrate had begged from the various powers in True Martial County."

"But even those powers only have so much grain. The refugees keep pouring in. I heard there are already over a hundred thousand... A hundred thousand! That's a hundred thousand mouths waiting to be fed! Even the various powers don't have that much stored up... They have to eat, too!"

"When there's no more grain to hand out, naturally the refugees won't stand for it... So they rebelled."

At this, Zhang Hao gritted his teeth. "Those refugees are really something! It's not like we have grain and are just refusing to give it to them... We're out of grain ourselves! And when they don't get any, they start looting? What a bunch of ungrateful wolves!"

Only then did Qin Fang fully understand.

The relief grain had been destroyed before they arrived?

Thinking back to that question from the other day...

Where did the grain come from?

He'd thought it strange at the time. Why had the other person suddenly asked that?

Now he understood completely...

It had to be that group. They'd burned the grain to force the refugees to rebel.

That was why, when they heard that True Martial had opened its gates and was handing out porridge, they'd blurted out, "Where did the grain come from?"

But they'd kept acting afterward, which meant they knew True Martial County's grain wouldn't solve the problem.

With ten thousand dan of relief grain burned, even if True Martial County wanted to help the refugees, where could it conjure more grain from?

As more refugees gathered, the grain shortage would only grow worse.

When the various powerful groups in True Martial County saw that, they certainly wouldn't keep opening their granaries...

It was a bottomless pit.

And although those powerful groups might lend a hand as far as they were able, out of respect for the authorities...

Who would agree to stake their entire fortune?

Even the Celestial Venerable of Charity and Morality wouldn't go that far!

Qin Fang finally had a general grasp of the whole situation, and his expression shifted between light and shadow.

This would obviously affect him, too... After all, he was one of the refugees.

The refugees had attacked True Martial and caused massive destruction. The people of True Martial County would certainly hate them.

He'd be caught in the crossfire.

But it wasn't all bad...

The Iron Tiger Gang had clearly been tied up by this whole affair, letting him enjoy a few peaceful days.

...Or maybe they'd already died in the refugee uprising?

If so, that would solve a huge problem for him.

"The refugees have rebelled. Will it affect the hall?"

Qin Fang asked the question that concerned him most.

Whether the refugees rebelled or not had nothing to do with him.

But the safety of Spring Return Hall was closely tied to his own!

If the refugees broke into Spring Return Hall, he didn't think they'd spare him just because he was a refugee too.

...Starving refugees weren't human.

And neither were those who'd gone berserk with bloodlust.

He knew all too well how much terrible resentment had built up in the refugees' hearts during their flight.

Those feelings had to find an outlet.

Once the thread of reason snapped completely, it was impossible to imagine what the rebellious refugees might do.

"There's no need to worry about that. Most of the rebels haven't entered the city yet. The group that caused trouble in the city some time ago has already been scattered. Some are dead, and the rest have fled. They don't pose much of a threat."

"The city gates are shut now, and the True Martial Guard has stopped them outside the walls. The refugees have been branded rebels. They don't have siege equipment, so they can't get in. They'll probably leave before long."

You could never kill them all. With tens of thousands of refugees, even if they stood still, you'd have to spend hours hacking away at them!

True Martial County wasn't some great city protected by a large army.

It had only a single garrison, barely more than five thousand men.

But five thousand elite soldiers in armor were more than enough to defend a city. No matter how many refugees there were, numbers wouldn't help.

The city couldn't be breached.

If they held out for a while, the refugees would leave on their own...

They wouldn't keep biting at a bone too hard to chew.

After all, True Martial County wasn't the only place around. There were other counties... and even townships and villages.

"It's just that if this refugee army attacks the villages, I'm afraid it'll bring another disaster..."

Zhang Hao's expression grew grave as he spoke, and he gritted his teeth.

The villages had no city gates to hide behind.

If these refugees attacked the villages, one could imagine how horrific it would be...

Qin Fang fell silent.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

He was a refugee himself, and Spring Return Hall was only a temporary refuge... He still had no idea what he'd do afterward...

Several more days passed amid this unease.

Zhang Hao brought him another piece of news.

"The refugees really did retreat."

He let out a long breath, his eyes filled with complicated emotions. There was fear and shock, but also excitement and awe. "I heard they tried to attack the city several times, but the True Martial Guard drove them back... I just went to the city gate to take a look. Tsk, what a gruesome sight. The dead were scattered everywhere... They even tried to set fire to the city gate, but they were shot down before they could reach it. Instead, a whole lot of them burned to death themselves..."

The boy was shaken and awed by the horrors of a real battlefield.

But at the same time, he seemed to feel a strange kind of excitement.

Qin Fang didn't know what to say.

Still, the refugees' retreat had been expected... and for those currently in True Martial County, it was undoubtedly wonderful news.

That included him, of course.

But after letting out a soft breath, Qin Fang asked, "Hao, do you know the Iron Tiger Gang?"

Zhang Hao, still wearing a complicated expression, froze at the sudden question and looked at Qin Fang in confusion. "The Iron Tiger Gang? Why'd you suddenly ask about them?"