Chapter 69: He Took All the Credit
With so many people working together, wasn’t heading to the wastelands just a matter of opening up new land? They were sure they could survive.
However, some people, after much thought, quietly made up their minds to escape.
“The guards have keys on them. Why bother using my dagger? First, go strip the guards of their clothes. For those who lack warm garments, you can use theirs. Also, take back any money they stole from you. Let’s deal with the corpses first. This is the only way to the wastelands. If someone passes by at night and sees this, it won’t end well.”
Reminded by Yu Luo, the others finally snapped out of their daze. Yu Haojie, upon hearing her, was the fastest to act. He quickly found Liang Chao’s corpse in the pile.
He hadn’t forgotten that their Xiao Luo had bribed Liang Chao with a large sum of silver.
From Liang Chao’s body, he quickly recovered the commander’s token, a dagger, a longsword, the silver notes Yu Luo had given him, and other silver notes and wealth he had extorted from other prisoners.
Yu Haojie took out their own silver notes, leaving the rest on the ground. Some people, following his example, only took back what was theirs. Others, less scrupulous, seized the opportunity to make a small fortune.
After all, the fifty guards had each carried some silver with them. As a result, even those penniless prisoners managed to grab a few taels.
With everyone working together, the fifty stripped corpses were thrown off the cliff, carried away by the raging river below.
After cleaning up, the tents became much more spacious. Although the tent previously occupied by the guards still reeked of blood, who cared about that in such dire circumstances?
However, the women who had been taken there were terrified of that tent, still trembling with fear. Most of the men ended up using it instead.
Twenty men put on the guards’ uniforms.
Yu Zhengqing disguised himself as the commander, donning Liang Chao’s armor, hanging the command token at his waist, and keeping Liang Chao’s longsword for himself.
That sword was handed to him by Yu Haojie. After tonight, Yu Haojie could see that Yu Zhengqing’s martial skills were indeed formidable. A sword like that would be most effective in Yu Zhengqing’s hands.
Yu Haojie himself didn’t care to pretend to be a guard. He still had to carry their family’s heavy packs.
However, Yu Zhengqing still chose a guard’s uniform for him, insisting he wear it.
“You’re strong. If we encounter bandits, you’ll have to fight too. Keep carrying the packs. Who would suspect a thing? Once we reach the wastelands, you can take them off.”
Hearing this, Yu Haojie didn’t argue. He put on the guard’s uniform without fuss.
Of the remaining eighteen guard roles, two were given to Yu Zhengqing’s sons, three to Yu Liang’s two sons and a grandson.
On Yu Qiang’s side, three spots went to him and his two sons.
The rest were given to other prisoners willing to wear them.
Because of this arrangement, Yu Zhengqing and Yu Luo discovered that four members of the Zhang family also knew martial arts. Although not as skilled as Yu Zhengqing, they were more than capable of dealing with bandits.
After a long day and everything that had happened, everyone was finally able to get a decent night’s sleep.
This was especially true for the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families. Their journey from home to Pingyang had been grueling, with many relatives perishing along the way.
Now, wrapped in warm blankets, dressed in thick cotton clothing, and sheltered in tents from the snow and wind, they hadn’t imagined that the most terrifying part of their journey would take such a turn for the better.
The next morning, Yu Zhengqing divided all the dry rations the guards had brought among the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families.
Unlike the Yu family, who had been able to stock up on food thanks to Wu Dahai, these three families had relied entirely on the guards’ distribution. Since they were going to share the food anyway, Yu Zhengqing decided to give it all to them.
“Who would’ve thought! To think we’d encounter such good fortune on this exile route. I’ve heard there are two small towns near the wastelands. Does that mean we could stock up on more supplies?”
Zhang Hao, clutching his black bread, was moved to tears, sitting outside the tent wiping his eyes early in the morning.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but think of his two grandchildren who had died of illness along the way. If only they had made it to Pingyang, perhaps they wouldn’t have had to die.
“We’ll see. Yesterday, Liang Chao mentioned we had to reach the wastelands in a month. If possible, I wouldn’t mind dragging this journey out for half a year, long enough for an imperial pardon to arrive.”
Sipping white rice porridge cooked by Lady Lan and nibbling on half a piece of black bread, Yu Zhengqing’s eyes were empty.
He couldn’t help but wonder when the situation with the Second Prince would finally stabilize. Deep down, who would want to go to the wastelands?
Following the guards’ schedule, everyone finished breakfast, packed up, and continued on their way.
In the end, some still chose to become fugitives.
Zhang Hao watched his younger brother’s family, full of reluctance.
“Are you really going to do this? If you make this choice, you’ll probably have to hide in the mountains for the rest of your lives.”
“Big brother, don’t try to stop us. Our family of thirty discussed it all night. We won’t go. Even if it means becoming fugitives, the wastelands are a haven for ruthless outlaws. If we go, we’re likely to die anyway. We’d rather hide in the mountains for the rest of our lives.”
With tears in his eyes, Zhang Hao nodded.
“Alright, alright… This parting may last a lifetime. Perhaps we’ll meet again in the next life. Take care of yourselves.”
Early in the morning, when everyone’s spirits had just lifted, the sight of Zhang Hao bidding farewell to his brother’s family cast a heavy gloom over them.
The fifty guards had five horses—one was Liang Chao’s, two were used to carry guards’ supplies, and the other two were loaded with black bread.
Under Yu Zhengqing’s arrangement, the guards’ supplies were divided among the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families.
After much discussion, they decided to use one horse to pull a cart for the old man Yu, sparing anyone from having to carry him.
This decision was made by the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families. In their eyes, without the Yu family’s intervention, they wouldn’t have survived the night. This was their way of expressing gratitude.
What they didn’t know was that it was actually Yu Luo’s family who had first stepped up to help, not Yu Zhengqing.
Seeing Yu Zhengqing being showered with gratitude, Ye Jiamei sneered.
“Well, isn’t that nice? He gets to be the hero now.”
