Chapter 97: No one believed the alarm bell

There are many troublemakers in the clan, and it is also his fault that he could not continue to take the imperial examinations because he only had the title of a scholar. He has some status in the clan, but it is not high.

Doctor Xu did not bother with these people. Knowing that the situation was urgent, he bowed to the clan leader and elders, stood up straight, and without looking at the expressions of the troublemakers in the clan, he went straight to the point.

"Clan leader, clan elders, uncles, brothers, and nephews, the reason why we are urgently opening the ancestral hall at night is because of this..."

Doctor Xu was anxious, and he told the bad news he had heard from Cheng Su in a heavy tone without concealing anything. The ancestral hall, which had been noisy just now, fell silent, and everyone was shocked. However, after a few breaths, they suddenly burst into discussion again.

"real or fake?"

"No way?"

"I haven't heard of this!"

"Yes, yes, I just came back from the town this afternoon, and there was no news at all in the town, not to mention the news from the court. I didn't even see anyone fleeing!"

The clan leader, clan elders and village heads all looked unhappy when they heard this. It was unclear whether they were shocked by the news or were unhappy to hear all the murmurs. After they gathered together and whispered, the village head looked at Doctor Xu.

"Guangji, is this news true?"

Doctor Xu nodded solemnly and said, "To answer Uncle Qi's words, it is true. This is what my nephew has just met and I have told him. He is now at my home."

The clan leader frowned when he heard this, "Guangji, since they are new friends, how can you be sure that what they said is true or not? Could it be that they are deceiving you?"

Doctor Xu still shook his head firmly, "No, clan leader, uncles, the other party is the Sixth Master of Zhenwei Marquis Mansion, a powerful and noble person in Kyoto, and he is a sincere person."

When this was said, some people were unhappy.

"Look at what the scholar said, that's not necessarily true!" The troublemaker who had confronted Doctor Xu as soon as he entered the room couldn't help but attack, picking his teeth with his little finger and looking sarcastic, "What Kyoto dignitaries, did you see them with your own eyes? No, did you? It's just the other party's one-sided words, who can prove it? It's just what they say!"

"You! I, Xu Guangji, can guarantee it with my integrity. Moreover, if it is a lie, it will be exposed as soon as it is revealed. Why would they deceive me?"

Do you doubt your own judgment of people? This is not okay!

Doctor Xu argued with reason, but the other party refused to buy it and just laughed at him sarcastically.

"Character? Oh, you, the great scholar and the great doctor, have good character, we admit that, but great scholar, what do you mean by a lie that can be exposed with just one poke? The mountain is now blocked by heavy snow, and we won't be able to get out for a long time. Whether it's a lie or not, we don't know!"

"Yes, yes, Guangji, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that this news is too shocking and hard to believe! How could your majesty abandon the people and the city and run away? It sounds so fake, and how come we didn't hear any news of such great news?
Could it be that the county magistrate and the government office are just there to do nothing?

Furthermore, your twenty-seventh nephew just came back from town today. Didn't you hear him say that everything in town was fine? There was nothing like what you said about the capital being destroyed, refugees scattering, and the Hu Di looting and killing. My son, you must have been deceived!"

At this time, a tribesman in the crowd took up the conversation.

"The friends you mentioned, great scholar, are probably the ones that Wu Dalang's mother brought to your house in the evening?

Ha! If that's the case, you, the great scholar, must have been deceived.

Before I came here, I heard from Wu Dalang himself that his mother said that except for the younger one, the others did not have household registration copper fish tokens, let alone travel permits. They said they were visiting relatives and encountered bandits, but they probably saw you as a foolish scholar who was easy to deceive. They committed a crime themselves, but they lied to you about the incident in Kyoto so that you would lose your composure and not care about them anymore.

Otherwise, you say, they were all robbed by bandits and had nothing, so how could they have spare money to give a reward to Mrs. Wu? Isn't that contradicting yourself? "

Li Yaoguang, who was far away at Xu's house, never expected that his thoroughness would become a reason for the other party to suspect him.

As soon as the troublemaker said this, the clansmen in the ancestral hall were in an uproar and could not help but whisper to each other and talk about it.

This one said, "That's right, where did they get the money after being robbed? Could it be that the bandit they met was a kind one?"

That person said: "Hahaha, how is that possible! One moment they are bandits, the next moment they are Hu Bing, there is no truth in their mouths."

There were also those who thought they had seen clearly and sighed: "Although Guanghe people are muddleheaded, what they just said makes sense."

There were also those who thought they had seen the truth and exclaimed, "Well, could it be that these people are wanted criminals by the imperial court, and they came to our mountain to bully us who have never seen the world and cheat us?"

Everyone suddenly realized, "Oh, it's very likely!"

……

Doctor Xu saw the clan leaders and elders nodding their heads one after another, and he became anxious. He wanted to say that the other party was big and small, injured and disabled, and looked down and out, but his eyes were upright. Although he had lost his household registration and travel permit, he was not a bad person as everyone said, nor a sinner. He couldn't help but try his best to persuade them.

"Uncle clan leader, uncle village leader, and all the clan elders, uncles, and brothers, even if we don't believe them, we should be prepared for the worst. Now that we know the news, it's always right for us to make preparations early, right? Even if we have to go into the mountains and hide first?"

This is true. After all, the old man has experienced a lot and he is not without any plans in his mind.

The clan leader said, "Forget it. Guangji also cares about his clan members." However, the current situation... "It is said that fallen leaves return to their roots and it is hard to leave their family property. Now the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and the road is not easy to travel, Guangji. There are hundreds of people in our clan, old and young. We can't abandon our homes and property to escape disaster in this cold winter just because of a stranger's words, right? The Chinese New Year is just a few days away."

Doctor Xu: "But we can't do nothing just because we are worried about these things. What if, Chief? What if the news is true and Hu Di comes to kill us? If we don't believe it and don't do anything, won't we be trapped in a jar and wait to die? Let's go, Chief!"

He also has a family and a business, but he also has a wife and children. He cares more about the safety of his wife and children than his family and business, so he cannot gamble.

Doctor Xu was as anxious as a trapped beast. He was still trying to persuade and argue with reason, but some sarcastic remarks were made by people below him.

"Oh, great scholar, you are different from the rest of us. Your life is precious! But great scholar, don't you look at the weather now? You are lucky. You don't have any elderly people at home, and you don't lack money, food, and carriages. You can leave at any time. But what about us? Poor us poor people. We have an eighty-year-old mother and hungry children at home. How can we leave in such a cold weather? I'm afraid that before we die under the sword of the invisible Hu Di, we will be frozen to death on this so-called road to escape disaster."

"I think so too. The scholar is just making a big fuss out of nothing. Wu Dalang said that he cared about that family. Some were weak, some were small, and some were injured, so he asked the scholar for help.

I am a rough man with no skills, and I don't care whether what they say about the Hu Di is true or false. Just think about it, weaklings like them can go in and out of the mountains calmly, so why can't we who are familiar with the place and strong and healthy do it?
My family still has more than ten acres of good farmland, which is not easy to accumulate for generations. I will not leave in this cold weather. If Hu Di really comes, I will just carry my parents to the mountains. It doesn't make sense that weak outsiders like them can escape, but we, the local residents, can't!"

When everyone heard it, they felt that it made sense.

"That's right. If Hu Di really wants to kill me, I can just pack up my belongings and run to the mountains. When they leave, I can come back."

"Well, I think it's okay. If there's chaos outside, people will die if they flee from famine or war. I have food at home, so why should I leave? I can just avoid it."

In a word, please vote, dear dear children.