Chapter 97: The Situation in the North

Chen Dashan looked puzzled, shaking his head, “No, didn’t you wash up?”

After more than two years outside, he had been really dirty at times, almost as dirty as a wild person. But now he was clean, right?

Shen Lie felt relieved, “Alright, I’ll go back then. I only ate half of my meal.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Just then, Chen’s grandmother came out of the Shen family’s courtyard. Chen Dashan hurried over and asked quietly, “Grandma, what about A’Lie’s wife?”

Chen’s grandmother smiled at the mention of Shen Lie’s wife.

With just one word, her eyes lit up, and she said with a smile, “A’Lie’s wife, ah…”

With that, she bent over and whispered to her grandson, nodding towards the Shen family’s courtyard, “Those two haven’t done anything good, but this is a blessing in disguise!”

The old lady was happy. She didn’t have to worry about arranging another marriage for Sang Luo’s child or feel guilty about it anymore.

Chen Dashan looked at his grandmother, who was laughing so hard her eyebrows were about to fly off, and asked, puzzled, “That good?”

Chen’s grandmother laughed, “Good! It couldn’t be better. There’s no one better than her!”

She felt sorry for her good little wife, who had been a widow for so long. She had even thought about persuading her to remarry, but if it weren’t for Shen An and Shen Ning, she would have done it a long time ago.

Now it’s just a relief, fortunately nothing has happened yet, and Alie has returned safely.

Thinking of this, I can’t help but think of Shi Dalang again, and I couldn’t help but sigh, but it was just a light sigh. Being able to come back alive is already a great blessing; how many people have been buried in distant places?

Chen’s grandmother couldn’t help but squeeze her grandson’s arm again. Her grandson Dashan is also blessed, surviving death and returning home safely.

—

Shen Lie returned to the mountainside, and before entering the courtyard, he went to the spring next to the mountain stream to wash his hands with the water that had thawed and was flowing down.

Sang Luo and the others had already finished dinner, but his portion had been kept warm on the stove because the weather was too cold.

Shen An and Shen Ning were waiting in the courtyard for their big brother to come back. When they saw Shen Lie return, they eagerly wanted to fetch his meal for him. However, Shen Lie stopped them, saying, “Don’t bother bringing it back and forth. I’ll get it myself. I’ll eat in the kitchen.”

Shen An and Shen Ning agreed, and they followed their big brother to the kitchen like little tails.

But when Shen Lie arrived at the kitchen, he froze at the door.

He had never seen a kitchen so packed with things: shelves, pots, jars, as well as a millstone and a wooden frame for who knows what.

Sang Luo was washing dishes and heard the conversation between the three siblings in the courtyard. She turned to look and saw him staring blankly into the kitchen. She said, “These are some of the family’s livelihood. We’ve been living off of these things before. Our family fortune was also accumulated this way.”

She nodded towards the kitchen and said, “The food is warming in the pot. Help yourself. I’ll heat up the big pot to boil water for you to wash up later.”

Shen Lie hadn’t realized what livelihood meant in this context. But hearing Sang Luo’s words, he instinctively followed suit, took the pot off and placed it on the side table, then scooped some water into the pot, replaced it on the stove, filled it up, and then looked at the stove, adding wood and kindling. The whole process was smooth and seamless.

Sang Luo glanced sideways and thought to herself that it was good that he was efficient and didn’t have the typical attitude of expecting to be waited on hand and foot like a master.

As Shen Lie was busy downstairs, Sang Luo was also contemplating what to do next. Should she talk openly and honestly, propose a friendly separation and division of the household registry, start afresh in the dilapidated house on the west side of the village, or should she wait until after this winter and observe first? Sang Luo couldn’t make up her mind.

After making a decision and reaching an agreement, she would have to interact with Shen Lie inevitably. It was important that he didn’t make her feel repulsive.

Shen Lie had no idea what Sang Luo was thinking. He only heard Shen An mention grinding beans, and pushing the mill was no easy task. He said, “I’ll take a bath later and then go to Chen’s house. If it’s okay to do it later, I’ll grind the beans when I come back. Will you wait for me?”

Feeling like he hadn’t explained himself clearly, as if he was avoiding work, he added, “The situation in the north is not good. I’ve asked Dashan to invite the Shi and Lu families, as well as Mr. Zhou, to discuss and inform everyone. Would you like to come with me?”

The “you” here naturally referred to Sang Luo.

Upon hearing this, Sang Luo finally stopped her calculations. Her movements paused for a moment as she looked at Shen Lie, “What’s the situation in the north?”

As she asked, Shen Lie naturally had nothing to hide. He said, “The conscription and levies have been too harsh in recent years, especially the expeditions in the past two years. The casualties among soldiers and civilians are nearly a million. There is deep resentment among the people, and coupled with disasters in the northern states and the government’s inaction, many people have rebelled. We encountered three forces claiming to be kings on our way back.”

Sang Luo’s grip on the bowl tightened. “Are you saying there’s rebellion?”

Shen Lie nodded. “Those three forces are just the ones we encountered on our return route. There are probably others elsewhere, but it’s hard to say how many.”

Shen Lie glanced at Sang Luo and the others, explaining the situation in the north and the reason for his late return. “At that time, we were in the vanguard on the battlefield, too deep in enemy territory. The rear army retreated, leaving us in enemy territory almost abandoned. Uncle Shi lost an arm, Uncle Lu was seriously injured, and Dashan and I fled with them. The four of us hid in the deep mountains and forests for over two months, recovering from our injuries before daring to return.”

“We couldn’t travel on official roads the whole way, so we had to navigate through the mountains and forests. It took us over a month to return to the territory of the Great Qian Dynasty. By then, some states and counties in the north were already suffering severe disasters, but there were no reductions in rent, taxes, or corvee labor. The people couldn’t survive, so they turned to banditry and rebellion against the court. But these people needed food and drink, lacked discipline, and once their momentum grew, they resorted to looting and pillaging. The north is chaotic now. In order to avoid the rebel army, we had to traverse deep into the mountains. That’s why we’ve only returned today.”

In fact, no matter how they tried to avoid it, they eventually encountered one of the rebel forces during their journey through the mountains. After a fierce fight, that force seemed interested in recruiting them.

There was no choice but to join them or be killed. Shen Lie and the others had no choice but to join them temporarily. After gaining the trust of the leaders in the rebel camp after more than twenty days, they led them out of the mountains to attack a small county before fleeing during the chaos.

Whether they were truly rebelling against the court or not, Shen Lie wasn’t interested in the promises of luxury and titles made by the leaders. They were all people with concerns, just wanting to return home and reunite with their families as soon as possible.

The north was in turmoil, and they had witnessed it all the way. What they feared most was that the south would also descend into chaos. They rushed back anxiously, fearing for the safety of their loved ones. Fortunately, the south was relatively peaceful when they returned.

Sang Luo inexplicably remembered the few people who seemed like refugees she had seen outside the county gate a month ago. She asked Shen Lie, “Are there many people like you who have escaped from enemy territory back to the south?”

Shen Lie shook his head. “There shouldn’t be many. It’s very difficult to escape back in one piece. Those who are closer to the north might have a better chance of returning, but most people wouldn’t dare to traverse the deep mountains and forests to come back here. It’s too dangerous. If they’re unlucky, they’ll end up as prey for wild beasts, with no trace of their bodies left. If they try to avoid the deep forests and travel around the periphery, they’re likely to encounter rebel forces. Coupled with rampant diseases and the fact that the official roads and peripheral paths to the south are blocked, most people either join the rebel army out of desperation or die of disease and starvation on the way back. The number of people who manage to return should be very few.”

As for how they managed to return, it was thanks to Shen and Dashan’s hunting skills. Dashan’s maternal family was originally a family of hunters, and he had been taught these skills by his uncles before their family fled. After fleeing to the south, sixteen-year-old Dashan partnered with fourteen-year-old Shen to explore the mountains. They started by hunting wild chickens and rabbits and gradually ventured deeper into the mountains.

While others in the army relied on meager rations to survive, they often went into the mountains to hunt for food and could even share some with Uncle Shi and Uncle Lu, who were stationed in one place.

With several years of experience, although they couldn’t fight wild beasts head-on, they could at least avoid areas where they were likely to appear based on experience and hunt for food. This was how the four of them managed to return safely.

Of course, they had encountered dangerous situations as well. The wolf pelts they wore to keep warm were obtained through such encounters, a testament to their near-death experiences.

After hearing Shen Lie’s words, Sang Luo couldn’t help but think that the few people they encountered a month ago might have been part of the minority who had escaped from enemy territory.

She nodded, tentatively asking Shen Lie, “Do you think the south will descend into chaos?”

Shen Lie hesitated. “It’s hard to say. Life in the south is still relatively better than in the north. Most people won’t have rebellious thoughts as long as they can get by. But if the rebel forces in the north have a chance of winning, various regions may echo their sentiments, and if there are too many rebels, it’s hard to say.”

Currently, it was the people in the north who couldn’t survive and those who had returned from the enemy territory only to find their families dead or exiled who were rebelling. But what about the aristocratic families? Did they really have no ambitions?

They were probably all just waiting and watching.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, including the dynasties before it, many emperors had come to power through usurpation by aristocratic families. Therefore, the transition from noble to emperor was something that was easily accepted in this era. Even Shen Lie, a commoner, had heard about such things from storytellers in the county.

Once those people thought the timing was right, it wouldn’t be a matter of whether the common people followed suit.

Moreover, the current emperor wasn’t known for his benevolence towards the people. Who knew how many peaceful days were left?

Sang Luo fell silent for a while before saying, “Life in the south isn’t easy either. This year, there have been four rounds of corvee labor and two rounds of taxes. They’ve even pre-emptively collected taxes for next year. If the court sets such a precedent, will they pre-emptively collect taxes for the year after next if there’s a shortage of grain next year?”

Shen Lie was stunned. “They’ve collected taxes twice?!”

Shen An nodded beside him. “It’s not just twice. Even those who died in battle have to pay taxes because they haven’t received death certificates from the government, but none of us have them.”

While he and his brothers had returned, the others in the village hadn’t. They still had to pay taxes.

Shen Lie clenched his fists tightly. He was lucky to have returned, but most people had truly died on the border, with no one collecting their bodies. In such a situation, still demanding taxes from their families was no wonder there were so many rebellions.

Sang Luo sighed inwardly, saying, “I’ll go with you later. Call me when you’re leaving.”

She still needed to listen to the situation outside and the subsequent plans of various families.

As for the divorce and division of household registries, there was no need to think about it. She glanced at Shen Lie

. If things really got chaotic, her chances of survival would be much greater with him than if she were alone.

Sang Luo valued her life above all else. Self-preservation came first.

Shen Lie had no idea that just a few words nearly cost him his wife, but then saved her again. He smiled and nodded in agreement when Sang Luo said she would go with him later.

Sang Luo again instructed Shen An to lend his elder brother his bath towel later, then left the kitchen.

After stepping out of the kitchen, she took a deep breath and glanced at the main house’s door, thinking about how to sleep tonight and how to persuade Shen Lie to postpone being a real couple for now.

Shen Lie was handsome, and his mannerisms and speech were agreeable enough, but being married in name was different from being a real couple. Sang Luo could only accept living together for the time being.