Return of the Swallow

There were fewer people among the victims to stir up emotions. Everyone's anger calmed down a lot when they recalled that the food they had been eating these days was the food that Prince Zhongshun and Princess Zhongshun had tried their best to obtain.

Regardless of whether the emperor was attentive to them or not, at least Prince Zhongshun and Magistrate Li tried their best.

They were instigated by others to riot when they were in panic.

But after venting their emotions, many people regretted it, and they even began to worry about whether they would be held accountable. They no longer continued to rush into the Yamen angrily, but bursts of crying could be heard from the crowd.

This sorrow made everyone feel the same, and the victims' cries became louder and louder, which shocked people's hearts.

Qin Yining leaned against Pang Xiao's side and shed tears sadly after hearing such sad crying.

Pang Xiao hugged Qin Yining's shoulders and rubbed them, and then said loudly: "Don't be afraid, everyone. Since I have come here after receiving the order, I will definitely do my duty as a disaster relief ambassador. The earth dragon turned over and was destroyed by the earthquake. There are many roads, making it difficult to transport food into the city, but I will find a way to solve these problems. Please be patient and don't waste your energy."

Some of the sobbing and crying people shouted loudly: "How can we believe you?"

"Yes, we have been trapped here for so long, so many people have died in vain, and many of the injured should not have lost their lives!"

"You disaster relief workers come so slowly and empty-handed. How can we, ordinary people, trust you?"

…

We are all poor people, and we have all lost our relatives to some extent in this disaster, and what Li Qitian did is really chilling. No wonder the people in the disaster area hold grudges in their hearts.

In fact, Pang Xiao and Qin Yining did not agree with Li Qitian's approach.

However, their stance could not say anything wrong with Li Qitian, so they could only sternly promise that they would never abandon any common people.

The two of them used all their strength to suppress a riot. No serious damage was caused.

If today's riots continue to develop, even if Pang Xiao has superb martial arts skills and is protected by masters, a good tiger can't defeat a pack of wolves. People who are frantically fighting for their lives rush forward, and these people are restrained. Will it cause a stir? The more serious consequences are still unknown.

Finally the victims were comforted,

Pang Xiao took Qin Yining to discuss countermeasures with Li Zhixian and Gong Zhifu.

In an open space, everyone, regardless of their status, sat on the ground, and Long Xiangjun also surrounded everyone.

Magistrate Gong said: "The situation is very clear now. Although the disaster relief money from the Holy Emperor has not arrived, the money donated by the prince is enough to last for a long time. However, the transportation is inconvenient and we have nowhere to buy rice. In the city Those big households in China have rice, but they are charging ten taels of silver per stone for brown rice, and refuse to lower the price at all. If the price is ten taels of silver per stone, and the money is used to buy medicine and rice, there is no telling how long it can support the lives of these people. .

Pang Xiao gritted his teeth and said, "Those thieves are so cruel and cruel!"

Everyone's heart was heavy, because when the people were suffering, some people gathered together to find a solution, while some morally corrupt families like the Ding family and the Pei family stood aside to watch the joke.

Such a strong contrast is embarrassing.

But the victims did not understand their difficulties. They only saw that the Holy Spirit did not provide food and money for disaster relief, leaving many people to starve to death and die of illness.

Disaster relief is not only about keeping the victims alive. According to Yu Shengshang, what is more important is to stabilize people's hearts.

If we cannot do the former, we are afraid of losing the support of the people. Failure to do the latter may lead to death!

Qin Yining pursed her lips. In fact, she had a cruel method circling in her mind, but she never said it out loud.

After meeting so many suffering people today, she finally no longer hesitated and said firmly: "Actually, I have a way to temporarily solve the urgent need without using money. It's just that this way is too destructive..."

Everyone looked at Qin Yining.

Pang Xiao said thoughtfully: "What is your method?"

“Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.”

After Qin Yining finished speaking, he pursed his lips and knitted his eyebrows, unable to say the next sentence for a long time.

Li Zhixian said: "I understand what the princess means, but we don't have enough men and horses. If we attack those big households, we may not be able to grab food at all, and it will only increase casualties."

Magistrate Gong also nodded: "That's right. Besides, if we rob those people's houses, we might be charged in the end."

Qin Yining pursed her lips and closed her eyes before saying, "But what if the people who hit those big houses are victims of the disaster?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this.

Pang Xiao hugged Qin Yining distressedly, patting her back comfortingly regardless of everyone's attention.

"Sister Yi, I'm embarrassing you."

Qin Yining shook his head, gently pushed Pang Xiao away, and said: "You may think that the method I thought of is too underhanded. Because once the victims attack the wealthy households with anger, it will definitely cause serious casualties on both sides. Moreover, the victims rushed into the splendid homes of large families, and it was impossible to avoid such things as smashing, looting, and burning. Even some elderly people, children, and women would...

\u0026nbs--\u003e\u003e

p;"But now I really can't think of any other way to save so many people.

"The Holy One's treasury is empty, and I don't know when food and grass will be delivered. But the people in the disaster area need to eat, take medicine every day. If this continues, public resentment will spread, and the Holy One's country will not be stable. The most important thing is that I am afraid of these people , will all become victims.

"Although this method of attacking large households is cruel and involves casualties, it is the method with the least casualties compared to the situation where all the common people starve to death and end up exchanging money for food."

Qin Yining lowered his head and murmured: "If I come up with such a cruel method, I may end up in the eighteenth level of hell in the future."

"Sister Yi, don't say that." Pang Xiao smiled, hugged her shoulders comfortingly and said, "I understand what you mean and what you think. Just like when I killed people on the battlefield, in fact, I was The knife cannot be removed, because the opponent is also a human being. Maybe everyone has someone in their family waiting to go home. If my knife is used, it will cause a family tragedy.

"However, I still can't hesitate when it's time to take action. Because if I don't kill, they will not only kill me, but also kill more people. If I don't kill, the troubled times will not end and the people will not live in peace. The good old days. Sometimes killing hundreds of people feels cruel and bloody. But when I think about it, the sacrifices of these people can bring happiness to more people, so it is worth it.

"As for the sins committed, whether you go to the eighteen levels of hell after death, it doesn't matter. After all, there is a saying in Buddhism, 'If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell?'"

When Qin Yining heard this, he couldn't help but murmured: "If I don't go to hell, who will? Yes. I came up with such a sinister method. As long as more people can survive, the sacrifice of these few people will be worth it, even if Even if you go to hell, you will admit it. Moreover, such an action can serve as a warning to other big households in other cities and counties. After hearing about the fate here, they will not continue to bite the price. We are not trying to rob them. We just want a fair price for the food."

The more Qin Yining spoke, the more determined his thoughts became, and his eyes gave up the weakness just now and became firm and wise.

At this time, everyone present understood what Qin Yining meant.

They thought about it carefully, and indeed, without soldiers and horses to suppress it, the only way to reduce casualties and keep most people alive was to incite a riot and let the victims seize food from large households.

If the law does not punish everyone, how could the Holy Spirit pursue the actions of a large group of victims?

It's just that in this matter, those victims were pitied. Those old and weak women and children from wealthy families. After all, they are not decision-makers, but they have to pay for their lives for nothing.

When everyone looked at Qin Yining, their eyes changed.

How smart and decisive is a woman who can think of such a decision? She has compassion and feels guilty for those who are about to lose their lives, but her purpose is to save as many people as possible. Although the method is cruel, who can blame him?

That night, Qin Yining fell asleep.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. One moment, the scene in front of her eyes was a scene of mobs rushing into wealthy families, burning, killing, and looting, and the other was a miserable scene of women and children being tortured.

I finally fell asleep, but was awakened by a nightmare.

Pang Xiao was awakened by Qin Yining's scream in her dream. Seeing the tears on her face, she couldn't help but hold her tightly in her arms.

"Sister Yi, you did nothing wrong. There is nothing wrong with your method. If there is a mistake, the culprit is the one above, not you."

"But someone will die because of my method."

"But most people will survive because of your methods. Not only the people in Yang County, but all the people in the rest of the disaster area can survive because of your methods."

Qin Yining leaned on Pang Xiao's shoulder, closed his eyes and nodded.

In the face of cruel reality, only by putting away our weakness can we move forward.

Early the next morning, the victims learned about the unkind practices of wealthy households: Prince Zhongshun went to buy grain, which was half sand and half brown rice, but the price increased to twelve taels of silver and one stone. They also learned that Prince Zhongshun had been turned away several times because he had not enough money. There was no way to buy rice locally, and the people suddenly became angry.

After noon, news came that the victims rioted and rushed to the Ding family and the Pei family.

At the same time, Huzi carried a tied-up man in front of Pang Xiao and Qin Yining.

"Back to your lord, after careful interrogation by those two people yesterday, they recruited them. It was indeed someone who ordered them to deliberately incite the emotions of the victims, which caused the victims to have such a big riot like yesterday. This person is the mastermind behind the scenes."

The two of them lowered their eyes and looked at Mrs. Lu, who was lying on her side on the ground with a piece of rag stuffed in her mouth, with complicated expressions.

Qin Yining said in a deep voice: "Why is it you? Didn't you go back to the village? Why are you here doing that kind of thing? Do you know that because of your actions, what happened during the riot yesterday? How many people died in the stampede?"

Mrs. Lu bit the rag and glared angrily.

Qin Yining said: "Take it off for her and let her talk."

"yes."

Huzi immediately took the rag away.

Mrs. Lu was like a huge cicada. She sat sideways for a long time with all her strength. She looked up at Pang Xiao, then at Qin Yining, and said, "I just want the victims to survive. What's wrong with me!"