A Group of Beggars Arrived

"Master! Why didn't you just kill a petty man like him and be done with it?"

"Heh! Lan Xin! If you think I was really being kindhearted, you're wrong!

"Punishing someone doesn't necessarily mean killing him. You can make him live in despair instead.

"Building the Grand Canal is no easier than building the Great Wall. I reckon quite a few people will die this time,

"but building the Grand Canal is also a good thing that will benefit generations to come. The methods are just a little cruel,

"sigh! It's all because this era is still so backward."

After Zhang Sheng's explanation, Lan Xin understood his intention: he wanted Wang Ergou to die on the Grand Canal.

"All right! Enough of these upsetting matters. For now, we've intimidated certain people with ill intentions,

"but others might still dare to take a risk in the future. After all, the world will soon fall into chaos!"

"The world is about to fall into chaos? Master! Is something big going to happen?"

"Heh! Something big is going to happen, but not now. The imperial court isn't fully prepared yet. For now, let's just live our lives in peace!"

It was still two years away, after all. There was no need for Zhang Sheng to explain it too clearly to Lan Xin and give her more to worry about.

Heshui County yamen

"My lord! I've found out what happened. Those people were headed for Blue Silver Village,

"but there were thirty or forty of them when they went in, and only one was seen leaving.

"The others seemed to have vanished into thin air."

"Are you really sure those people disappeared?"

"I'm sure!"

The subordinate's report made Lord Jia break out in a cold sweat. He knew perfectly well where those people came from.

"They came from the capital. Although he didn't know who they served, they were still people far beyond his reach.

Yet they had come to grief in Blue Silver Village. How could he not be afraid?

"Advisor! Pass down my orders: from now on, no one is to interfere in Blue Silver Village's affairs. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Yes, my lord!"

After Lord Jia gave his instructions, it was as though a stone had finally fallen from his heart.

He felt much more at ease. He had still harbored some resentment over his dispute with Zhang Sheng and the others,

but now he had no such thoughts at all. As long as Zhang Sheng didn't come looking for trouble with him, he would thank heaven and earth.

A few months passed in the blink of an eye. The weather gradually grew warmer, and all living things began to awaken.

Blue Silver Village began to bustle as it had before.

Today, Zhang Sheng had brought the sisters Lan Xin and Lan Yun out from home to visit the market.

They had spent the whole winter cooped up at home and were terribly stifled. Since there were plenty of people out today, they took the opportunity to go for a stroll.

"Wow! Master! There are so many people today! It's so lively!"

"Everyone's been cooped up all winter. Now that they finally have a chance to come out and enjoy themselves, of course they want to relax."

"Mm! Lan Yun was terribly bored!"

Lan Yun chimed in solemnly from the side.

But Zhang Sheng quickly took her down a peg.

"You were terribly bored? You were the liveliest one at home, jumping up and down like a little mouse."

"Hmph! I'm not a little mouse! Master is a lazy cat!"

"I'm a lazy cat? Then the cat is going to eat the mouse!"

"Ah! Sister! Help! Master wants to eat me!"

As they played around in the street, they had no idea that a group of people had arrived at the town gate.

They wore rags, their faces were sallow, and they were filthy all over. One look was enough to tell they had begged their way there.

"Stop! Who are you?"

"Military sirs, could you let us into town to beg for something to eat? We really can't walk any farther."

"We're not soldiers, just Blue Silver Village's defense team. How did you come to beg your way here?"

"Sigh! It's a long story! We were all conscripted as laborers."

"For the Grand Canal?"

"Yes!"

"Then what happened to you?"

"We had no choice. The higher-ups withheld our rations and pay. We didn't have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, so how could we have the strength to work?

"Over the whole winter, tens of thousands froze or starved to death. We couldn't take it anymore, so we escaped."

"Old He!"

"What's there that can't be said? Things have already come to this. At worst, we'll die!"

Hearing how miserable their story was, the members of the defense team felt a trace of pity.

At the same time, they sincerely admired Zhang Sheng's foresight.

If not for Zhang Sheng, they might have ended up just like these people, either dying on the canal or taking the road as fugitives.

"Wait here for a moment. We'll inform the village chief and see what he decides to do."

"Thank you, young man! We'll wait right here."

With people coming and going through the town gate, someone soon noticed the filthy group. Curious onlookers gathered around them.

"How did so many beggars end up in Blue Silver Village? I haven't heard of any disasters nearby this year either. How strange!"

"What's so strange about it? These days, where wouldn't you find a few beggars?

"Blue Silver Village is a prosperous place, so naturally it attracts them."

As the crowd pointed and commented on them, the laborers who had escaped

simply watched with indifference, as though the people being discussed weren't them.

As the crowd grew, it naturally attracted the attention of Zhang Sheng, who was still in the street.

"Lan Xin! What's going on over there? Why are so many people gathered together?"

"This servant doesn't know either!"

"Won't we find out if we go and look?"

Lan Yun loved a spectacle. As soon as she saw there was one to watch,

she immediately left Zhang Sheng and her sister behind and skipped over.

"Come on! Let's go and see too!"

The three arrived at the crowd one after another and immediately saw what was happening in its midst.

The sight made Zhang Sheng frown slightly. It wasn't that he disliked how dirty and disheveled the people were; he was puzzled by their appearance.

"Lan Xin! Has anything unusual happened recently?"

"No! Lately, it's all been about the Grand Canal."

"The Grand Canal? That's right! The trouble must have come from the Grand Canal. I was wondering! With the way those aristocratic clans and powerful families behave,

"how could they not stir up some trouble? And sure enough, something's happened."

After figuring a few things out, Zhang Sheng lost interest in looking into the matter before him.

But these people had come to Blue Silver Village, so something had to be done about them. How to handle them, however, was another question.

Since they had escaped without permission, the imperial court would certainly send people to arrest them.

If he rashly took them in, he would inevitably offend the imperial court, but Zhang Sheng couldn't bear to hand them over either.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Sheng stopped agonizing over it. As long as he could act with a clear conscience, that was enough. As for any trouble, he would deal with it when it came.

"Lan Xin! Tell the defense team to disperse the crowd. It's unseemly for everyone to be gathered here."

"Yes! This servant will do it right away."

The defense team received the order and quickly dispersed the crowd. Now only the laborers and Zhang Sheng's group remained.

"Uncle! Did you all come from the Grand Canal?"

"In answer to the young master, we all escaped from there, and now there's nowhere left for us to flee.

"We've been cold and hungry all the way here. Quite a few of our companions have already died on the road."

"Have things become so difficult for everyone building the Grand Canal now?"

"It's all the work of those corrupt officials! They withhold our rations and pay, and beat and curse us at the slightest excuse. Many people couldn't bear it and escaped."

After learning some details of the situation, Zhang Sheng said nothing more.

Uncle Dashan had arrived in the meantime. Seeing so many beggars there, he couldn't help being somewhat startled and thought another natural disaster had struck somewhere.

But after listening for a while, he gradually came to understand that something had gone wrong at the Grand Canal.

Before long, however, he too was struggling with the question of how to deal with these people.