Chapter 1013: Chapter 849: Denied Entry to the City

In the letter, there was even a handwritten note from Min Feng, confirming the fact of the water leakage in the river embankment of Yingnan Mansion.

Hu Maoshen was unsure whether this was true or just an excuse made up by Li Taixing to appease him. All these needed was someone to be sent for verification.

But Min Feng? He had only been in Yingnan Mansion for two days. Did he find this out himself? Hu Maoshen was very doubtful.

He knew well what kind of person Li Taixing was. Perhaps Li Taixing simply didn’t want to accept these refugees, hence the numerous excuses.

To make him believe it, he even pulled out the big name of Min Feng. And it was Min Feng’s first time handling such a major task, so it wasn’t surprising if he was fooled by Li Taixing.

Hu Maoshen didn’t believe it was so coincidental. Before he sent his letter, he hadn’t heard Li Taixing report the river embankment leakage.

But as soon as he wrote demanding Yingnan Mansion take in some of the surviving refugees from Changtian Prefecture, Li Taixing immediately responded, refusing and claiming the river embankment of Yingnan Mansion was also leaking.

Whether this was true or false, Hu Maoshen tended to believe the latter, saying that Min Feng might have already been swayed by Li Taixing.

Hu Maoshen furrowed his brow tightly; he had long known Min Feng was unreliable, but he didn’t expect Min Feng to be so easily swayed.

What could lure Min Feng, was it even a guess? Naturally, it was gold and beauties. Men care about little else.

"What? The river embankment in Yingnan Mansion is also leaking?" Hui An asked in surprise.

Hu Maoshen sneered, "Previously, Hangtian Prefecture reported the leakage, so saying it now leaves no doubt. But Yingnan Mansion is upstream on the Tianya River, where the embankment is inherently more solid and wide than others. If it truly leaked, the collapse would be even worse."

Hu Maoshen tapped his index finger fully on the table, continuing, "The possibility of upstream embankment leakage is low; otherwise, Li Taixing would already be in a panic."

Hui An nodded, deeply agreeing. Even if those officials dared to reach out, they wouldn’t overdo it upstream.

Otherwise, the breached embankment wouldn’t just flood one State but several States in succession.

"Hui An! Take people and head to Yingnan Mansion immediately; investigate whether this is Li Taixing’s excuse."

To accommodate these refugees, Yingnan Mansion must be included. Hu Maoshen still eyed Yingnan Mansion.

He thought briefly and then corrected himself, "No! You shouldn’t just inquire in the workshop, you need to check at the river embankment as well. Didn’t they say many people in Yingnan Mansion voluntarily organized to reinforce the embankment? Go ask those people if there’s indeed any leakage. Remember, go quietly, do not reveal your identity."

Hu Maoshen did not trust Li Taixing and Min Feng, unwilling to give up this good placement for the refugees.

...

"Go! The officials keep telling us to wait, but how long do we have to wait? Today, let’s go to Hangtian Prefecture and see if they can stop us."

A man dressed in an indigo short robe was simmering with anger, carrying a bundle on his back and holding the hand of a seven or eight-year-old boy.

"Right! It’s clear these officials don’t want us to leave here; they wish us to drown in this flood. Other villages have headed to Hangtian Prefecture, so why can’t we?"

Another man echoed, and with his words, the gathered crowd began to show their support, agreeing one after another.

"Go! Let’s find that imperial envoy and see what he’s planning."

"Yes! Let’s go find him."

A group of villagers congregated, marching majestically towards where Hu Maoshen was staying.

The government official guarding the door saw a large group of villagers approaching, looking unfriendly, and hurried inside to report.

"My lord! Those villagers are coming our way, carrying baggage and belongings. I’m afraid they’re not coming with good intentions!"

Baggage, that surely means they want to leave the village, these people are likely too impatient to leave.

Hu Maoshen’s face turned grim upon hearing this, and he quickly stepped out of the house to look outside.

"Look! That official, he’s the one not letting us leave!"

The surviving locals here were seething with anger, and the refugees who reached Hangtian Prefecture were equally furious, as they were blocked outside the city gate of Hangtian Prefecture.

"We have the official certificate and travel permit, why aren’t we allowed into the city?" someone shouted at the soldiers guarding the city, holding up their travel permit and clenching two copper coins in his hand.

Under normal circumstances, they would never speak to soldiers in such a tone.

But now, with nowhere to settle, anxiety was running high, naturally giving rise to a harsh tone.

Most importantly, they had the numbers advantage. This time, it was a mass migration of a village, totaling over five hundred people front to back.

The soldier guarding the city saw so many refugees from Changtian Prefecture, sensing trouble. Lord Prefect had instructed earlier that if large numbers of refugees from Changtian Prefecture attempted to enter the city, they must absolutely be kept out.

In such cases, report to Mr. Deng for a decision, or face dismissal and investigation.

"Our Magistrate has ordered, refugees from Changtian Prefecture are not allowed into the city!" one of the soldiers replied sternly.

This statement immediately caused an uproar behind.

"Why won’t they let us into the city? We’ve paid the entrance fee just like everyone else, why are we being stopped at the gates?"

One man, holding a small child, had a face etched with deep lines of worry.

A woman, carrying a child only seven or eight months old on her back, had bundles and cooking utensils piled at her feet.

"Right! We’ve traveled for days to reach Hangtian Prefecture. If they won’t let us in, what should we do?"

The woman looked anxiously at the villagers blocked ahead.

If they couldn’t get into the city, where should they go? Having no place to stay, should they just remain outside the city gates?

But outside the city, there’s no food or water, and they can’t enter to purchase provisions. Should they starve?

They had carried all the grain from their homes for the journey, just enough for the trip. Having finally reached Hangtian City, they were denied entry.

This place was much more desolate than within the city; it was possible there were wild animals in the hills behind them. What if beasts came down to hunt? It wasn’t impossible.

Among these people were many elderly, women, and children, which was indeed very dangerous.

Several soldiers guarding the city saw how enraged these people were, fearing they might rush the city without regard, they hurriedly tried to calm them: "It’s not that we won’t let you in, but our Lord has instructed that you must report to him before entering the city. Please wait for a while, and we’ll inform him first."

This soldier glanced at the rookie who replied earlier, thinking him foolish. Didn’t he notice how many people were there?

If these refugees were provoked and caused a riot, could this meager group of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals withstand it? They clearly didn’t have any tact.