When Liu Ce and his men appeared in front of the refugees at Wanjiacun with a large quantity of supplies, a thunderous cheer erupted from within the village, with many people shedding tears of excitement...

  "Xu Hui, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get someone to unload the goods. Everyone has been hungry all day. Quickly instruct Qing Shu to set up the pot and boil some water. Lets have a hearty meal today. Make the rice porridge thicker, first to nourish our stomachs, and we can eat dry food in two days."

  "Liu Dage, its really great that youre okay!" Apart from his parents, Xu Hui had always respected Zeng Cong and Liu Ce the most. Seeing Liu Ce safe and sound, he couldnt help but be overjoyed to tears, with both eyes turning red.

  Liu Ce stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Alright, whats the point of crying? A man should be strong and courageous, crying like a child is shameful. Are you not afraid of being laughed at? Hurry up and put down your things."

  Under Liu Ces urging, Xu Hui wiped away his tears and tried to control his emotions, ordering everyone to pull nearly a hundred carts into the courtyard...

  That night, the empty space in the village was filled with the aroma of rice and sweet potatoes. A group of people were chatting and laughing around the bonfire, drinking fragrant rice porridge with roasted sweet potatoes and pickled radish, feeling that life was so comfortable. A wounded refugee spoke spiritedly about todays battle, and when he reached the exciting part, the surrounding crowd couldnt help but erupt in cheers. Of course, not everywhere was festive like this. The families of those refugees who had died in battle were grief-stricken upon learning of their loved ones deaths, but they gradually calmed down with Liu Ce and others consolation.

  Looking at the crowd on the field, Qin Mo and Ye Bin each held a bowl of porridge in their hands, speechless for a long time.

  "I didnt expect that Liu Ce, the young brother, could actually snatch food from the bandits hands and even annihilate them at such a small cost. Its really beyond my expectations! Qin brother, you understand military affairs, our Great Zhou has never had such an achievement against the bandits?" This morning, when Liu Ce went out to battle, Ye Bin didnt think much of this campaign, but unexpectedly, Liu Ce won and only suffered twelve casualties, making Ye Bin even more curious about him.

  "I, Qin Mo, have witnessed many battles between the imperial army and the bandits, but its not uncommon for a smaller force to emerge victorious. However, what I saw today was truly unprecedented - over a hundred poorly trained and lightly equipped refugees defeating eight hundred ferocious bandits? Its unheard of! If I hadnt seen it with my own eyes, I wouldnt have believed it, even if those refugees were elite soldiers from the Thunderbolt Army." Qin Mo let out a sigh, what he saw today had far exceeded his expectations.

  "I wonder if that young Liu Ze has any other plans, why dont we help him achieve something in this chaotic world? You see..." Ye Bins voice suddenly became softer as he asked Qin Mo tentatively.

  Qin Mo sank into deep thought for a long time, then shook his head and said: "Lets take another look. Although it is now the autumn of many events, the power controlled by the scholar-officials is still unbreakable. Without the courage and vision to overwhelm the mountains and rivers, it is fundamentally impossible to shake this solidified class."

  "Brother Qin, dont forget that we both come from a scholarly family background." Ye Bin said with a hint of amusement.

  Qin Mo smiled and said, "From the moment Qin Kun drove me out of the Shi family gate, I have completely cut ties with the Shi family. Now I am just a commoner, what does the honor or shame of the Shi family have to do with me?" After finishing speaking, he drank the thick porridge in his bowl in one gulp, then picked up a piece of cured meat from another bowl and started chewing on it, "Brother Ye, dont you want to try some of this meat? Liu brothers specially prepared it for you..."

  …………

  "Up! Up! Up! Use force! Ha!" In the middle of the scene, a table was beside two men, each grabbing Feng Qiu Nians wrist with both hands, using all their might to try and flip him over. However, Feng Qiu Nian didnt budge an inch. The surrounding refugees cheered on the two men, but as soon as Feng Qiu Nian bent his arms slightly, the two men were easily flipped over by him.

  "Alas..." A sigh echoed around, Feng Chou let out a cold snort and said, "Whos next?" As soon as the words fell, two more men were pushed out by the crowd...

  "How about it, do you admit defeat?" On the other side of the scene, a group of craftsmen sat in a circle, engaged in a heated discussion about a certain technical aspect. These people were all skilled workers who made a living by their hands, although they were considered extremely humble in the eyes of the aristocracy, but among their peers, they were all proud and arrogant. Since fleeing from disaster, they had been struggling to survive, unable to even eat their fill, so naturally, they hadnt had the time or energy to communicate with each other. Now that everyone was finally somewhat settled, they took the opportunity to gather together to compare skills and techniques.

  The old man who had just joined the Wan family village drew a rough outline of a farm tool on the ground with a branch and explained some relevant knowledge, which made several craftsmen around him nod in amazement. The old man felt satisfied in his heart. However, Feng Ying on the side looked disdainful, pointing out a lot of shortcomings one by one, and those who supported Feng Ying also nodded in agreement.

  "Youd better not underestimate me." The old man wiped away the rough sketch on the ground with his hand, "In a few days when we start working on the furnace, Ill let you see what I can do. As for fighting and killing enemies, I know Im no match for you, but when it comes to crafting weapons, Ill make sure you lose so badly that youll be convinced."

  "You just boast, at your age you dont even know shame, dont think that just because you modified a few broken cars today you can really consider yourself something......" Feng Yings eyes were wide with discontent, her face full of unwillingness, deciding to wait until after the furnace was opened and ironwork was forged before properly competing with him.

  "Liu Ge, what should we do from now on?" On the wall of the village, Xu Hui and Liu Ce sat side by side, looking at the jubilant crowd below, and Xu Hui couldnt help but ask.

  Liu Ce was taken aback and said, "Xiao Hui, take a look at them." He pointed to the crowd below with his hand. "Do you think theres any difference between them and before?"

  Xu Hui looked around for a while, shook his head and said slowly: "It seems to be much happier than before, after all, there is food to eat now."

  Liu Ce closed his eyes and said, "Yes, the common people are very simple-minded. As long as they have enough food to eat, new clothes to wear, and a place to call their own, theyre content. How simple is that... But why is it so hard to achieve such simple things?"

  Xu Hui heard this and scratched his head, unsure of how to respond.

  "For a mouthful of rice, many families were forced to flee and fall into the turmoil of war. For a mouthful of rice, not a few people sold their sons and daughters just to make ends meet. For a mouthful of rice, they became like dogs, humble and obedient, waiting to be slaughtered...” Liu Ce leaned against the wall, closed his eyes and recited a string of cruel words, then suddenly opened his eyes, “Of course, there are also those who for the sake of a mouthful of rice, for the sake of their families not going hungry again, can survive in this war-torn world, and dare to stand up and challenge this unjust fate!”

  Suddenly, Liu Ce stood up, gazing at the floating crowd below, his eyes firm: "What we need to do is give them dignity! Live with dignity! Die with dignity!"

  Xu Huis blood was boiling on the side, and he couldnt calm down for a long time...

  …………

  At dawn the next day, Liu Ce led more than 400 people to the bandit camp to replace Yang Kai Shan and transport supplies. Xu Hui was among them. The remaining old soldiers and refugees who had experienced war were left in the village to maintain order. Yesterday, a large group of 17- or 18-year-old girls had just been taken in, and he couldnt guarantee that some men in the village wouldnt do something unmentionable with their lower bodies when he left. Feng Ying and Gao Lao Han led a group of people to an abandoned coal mine five or six li away, where there was a lot of scattered coal that no one paid attention to...

  "Whats wrong with you? Have you encountered bandits attacking the village?" As soon as they arrived at the bandit camp, they saw Yang Kai and others covered in mud, with dusty heads and faces.

  "No, didnt you say we should clean up the corpses? We worked all night and dug several holes to dispose of these bodies." Yang spat out a mouthful of mud and suddenly felt that this job was not so good after all.

  "Can you all see at night?" Liu Ce knew that among these people, only Yang Kai Shan and Yang You Huai were not suffering from night blindness. The difficulty of starting work at night was imaginable, and he suddenly felt a little guilty.

  Yang Kaisan laughed and said, "Nonsense, I can still see clearly with a few torches. How about it, Brother Liu? Nothings going on in the village, right?"

  Liu Ce? The "Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu" you are currently reading, the 28th chapter of Zhuang Zhu has only a small half. To read the full version, please Baidu search: () and then search again: Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu