After I traveled through the book, I was spoiled by five little villains

Yan Shouzhuo stepped forward and stood in front of Qin Yaoguang.

Why does this elder know the identity of the eldest princess?

A group of impoverished migrants who have suffered a disaster should not have this ability.

Qin Yaoguang said calmly: "Get up."

"The common people obey."

The elder stood up slowly with the help of a cane. His staggering figure looked particularly lonely.

Behind him were the nervous eyes of the entire village.

Whether he could survive or not, they placed all their hopes on him.

As Yue Lu and others were on guard, the elder reached into his arms and took out a bag wrapped in several layers of oilcloth.

With trembling hands covered with age spots, he opened the oilcloth bag layer by layer, took out a folded document, and presented it with both hands.

Qin Yaoguang nodded, and Xuelian stepped forward to take it and presented it to her.

It was an official document with a big red official seal on it, which stated that they were from Ningdong Village. Because there was a deserter in their clan, they were implicated and ordered to arrive in Tudian Township before January 12 to be registered as good citizens. Anyone who violated the order would be killed without mercy.

It is both an official document and a pass.

Qin Yaoguang looked at the total number of people in the appendix at the back, and then looked at the people on the other side of the river, and he realized how difficult their journey had been.

According to rough estimates, dozens of lives have died on the road.

Because he was a criminal, one can imagine the treatment he received while carrying official documents.

In order to arrive within the specified time limit, we have to travel in the severe winter.

In this situation, the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled are the first to be eliminated.

Qin Yaoguang admitted that this policy was not confusing, but on the contrary it was a good policy that benefited the people.

In the past, all the people implicated would be demoted to slavery, and their descendants would not be allowed to participate in the imperial or military examinations.

It means the same as “deprivation of political rights for life” in modern times, but it is more cruel and will harm future generations.

If they wanted to get ahead, they had no choice but to join the army and start as the lowest-level menial servant.

Only if one has extraordinary talent and is lucky enough can one be transferred into the formal army to fight.

That alone is not enough.

He must kill more enemies and achieve twice as many military merits as an ordinary soldier in order to wash away the status of a lowly person that brings shame to his family and regain the status of a good citizen.

It's so hard.

It's so rare that you can't see the end at a glance.

Since the practice of collective punishment, only a handful of people have been able to successfully escape from their status as slaves.

Now, as long as you lead the whole village to the place designated by the court, you can become a good citizen again.

What a great thing.

Compared with this, what is the pain of leaving your hometown?

However, the hardships of traveling and the discrimination they faced brought no less suffering to these migrants.

So many people died before we even got there.

In the face of human lives, is it really that important whether one is of low status or good status?

Qin Yaoguang pulled himself back to his senses and signaled Xuelian to return the document to the elder.

This official document is of vital importance to the entire village, whether it is a pass to travel together or a document to get out of jail free.

The elder folded the document carefully, wrapped it in oilcloth as it was, and put it in his arms, close to his heart.

He moved slowly, and Qin Yaoguang did not urge him.

After he put it away, Qin Yaoguang asked softly, "Old man, do you have anything to tell me?"

The elder hesitated for only a moment, then revealed a fearless expression: "Your Highness, after we encountered the hail, someone showed us the way. They also told us that the princess was here and would not stand by and watch us die."

In fact, when he met Daoming Qin Yaoguang and revealed his identity, he did not leave any way out for himself.

Besides that, those people also told him to keep it secret.

If he told Qin Yaoguang, he and his family would die.

However, as the head of the clan, it is his duty to lead his people to find a way to survive.

After living for most of his life, he understood that those people who seemed to be giving guidance with good intentions actually had evil intentions.

If he puts the princess in danger, not only him but the lives of the entire village will be in danger.

This is not a conspiracy, this is a conspiracy.

Those people had already followed them, and even if there hadn't been this hailstorm, they would have found a way to drive them here.

Thinking of this, the elder couldn't help but feel fortunate.

Fortunately, it was a hailstorm and not people dressed up as robbers, so no one had to pay the price of life for the sake of realism.

Most of the people in Ningdong Village have the surname He and live together as one clan.

He is both the village chief and the clan leader.

Faced with the life and death of his entire clan, he had no choice but to obey their arrangements and come here for help.

In order not to anger the eldest princess, he took the initiative to tell everything and prepared himself to die.

The hidden story behind this was so complicated. Although he didn't say it, it allowed Qin Yaoguang to confirm his suspicions and guess about 70% of it.

Aristocratic family, noble.

I don’t know which force is ready to make a move.

Looking at the people on the other side of the river who were kneeling and unable to bow, Qin Yaoguang thought for a moment and ordered: "Let your family cross the bridge first."

The elder trembled, looked up in disbelief, his eyes full of ecstasy.

Princess, do you want to protect him?

He turned around and called out a few names towards the other side.

There was a commotion among the kneeling people, and seven or eight of them stood up and walked out of the crowd.

They were the elder's family members and were dressed a little better than the others, and at least the two children were well protected.

"careful!"

Just as they were showing their delight, Yue Lu suddenly shouted a warning: "Get down!"

However, it's too late.

A crossbow arrow flew at an extremely fast speed, and its target was the elder's family.

There was only a scream, and one of the young women's body shook a few times, blood spurted out of her mouth, and she fell to the ground.

Between life and death, she stood between her child.

Before the smile on her face faded, she had already lost her life.

"mother!"

"Mother!"

The child's heart-wrenching cry of grief suddenly rang out, weighing heavily on everyone's heart.

However, this is not the time to be sad.

Crossbow arrows arrived one after another.

The target was the group of unarmed and disaster-stricken relocated residents.

The families of the elderly bear the brunt of the impact.

Hu Yanjin shouted loudly, bent the bow and drew the arrow at an extremely fast speed. The feathered arrow came with the sound of wind and knocked away one of the crossbow arrows.

Yue Lu threw out a hidden weapon, and with a "ding" sound, it knocked a crossbow arrow away.

"Get down, get down quickly!"

Yue Lu gave the order while protecting Qin Yaoguang as they retreated.

Seeing his daughter being shot to death, the old man stood alone on the stone bridge, tears streaming down his face.

That's the price he paid.

He didn't expect the other party to be so brutal.

My only wish is that more people can survive this man-made disaster.

Yan Shouzhuo was anxious. He took a few big steps towards him, picked him up and carried him horizontally, then retreated back to the crowd.

That is a crossbow arrow, which has a longer range and greater power than a bow and arrow.

The current situation is very clear. The other party wants to use the victims to open the passage into the imperial farm, and their target must be the two princesses inside.

After the conspiracy was exposed, he simply stopped pretending.

Shoot the victims and throw them into chaos.

As long as people flock to the stone bridge out of fear, the enemy's goal will be achieved.

It's the same as forcing slaves to fill the moat during war.

Yes, this is war!