Rebirth: Pampered by the Lord-Chapter 1715: Famine Strikes

Long Rui’s brow furrowed more tightly. He knew that last year Shuangxing County’s Tunkou Town was struck by famine. At that time, The Emperor had sent the Fourth Prince down to supervise the government office’s opening of the government stores to distribute grain. Additionally, for each family, one tael of silver would be provided per person to help villagers survive the famine.

But now, hearing the villagers say nothing like that happened, he wondered what was going on?

Long Rui frowned and asked, "Didn’t the government office distribute relief grain? How could people have starved to death?"

Upon hearing this, the bandits exchanged glances before loudly proclaiming their innocence, "No, Master. If the government office had distributed relief grain, we wouldn’t have turned to banditry! We were forced by desperation, with elders and children at home. Even my old mother starved to death."

After speaking, they all broke into sobs.

Alas, it’s said that men shed tears sparingly unless deeply saddened.

Recalling the tragic situation in the village, they couldn’t help but cry.

"Master, you don’t understand. Most people in our village starved to death. Some families were so desperate they couldn’t even bring themselves to bury their relatives’ corpses."

Xuexue: "If corpses are not buried, there will be epidemics after a long time."

The bandits, upon hearing, instantly dissolved into tears, saying repeatedly, "No, no, no, there are no epidemics; everything has gone to stomachs."

"What do you mean?" Xuexue listened, bewildered.

"They ate, they ate, they ate them all." At this point, the bandits were sobbing uncontrollably, as they truly had no other choice but to become bandits.

The situation in the village was indeed miserable—it was still fresh in their memories!

Xuexue and Long Rui were shocked to discover how severe the famine situation was in Tunkou Town.

Long Rui furrowed his brow and said, "Now that spring has arrived, shouldn’t you return home to farm? In a few months, you’ll have a harvest, and won’t need to live in fear here."

"Master, you make it sound easy, but how can we afford seeds without silver? Plus, the government office’s taxes are heavy, barely leaving us enough grain after dues! Farming isn’t sustainable; the government office is leaving us no way to survive."

Xuexue glanced at Long Rui and said, "Do you know who this Master is?"

"Who?"

The bandits were at a loss.

Long Rui shook his head.

Xuexue gave him a reassuring look, then addressed the bandits, "He is the Personal Bodyguard of the War Prince. If you have grievances, you can tell him. When he returns to the capital, he will report to the Prince, who will then help resolve your issues."

Xuexue didn’t reveal her identity, allowing Long Rui to calm down, nodding repeatedly in agreement, "Yes, you can all return home to farm with peace of mind. It won’t be long before the Prince sends someone to handle this matter."

The bandits, upon hearing this, cheered loudly, "Wonderful! We don’t have to be bandits anymore. We can go home! Wife, child, and a warm bed—that’s the real life, no longer living in fear here."

Afterward, Long Rui instructed Long Yi to distribute two taels of silver to each of them, for buying seeds and cultivating, lest they miss the spring tilling season and face hunger again.

They expressed their gratitude profusely. As for the few dead bandits, the villagers explained they were the real bandits, usually persuading them to murder and loot—not obeying meant suffering a beating.

Additionally, they had been bandits in the area for over a decade.

When the villagers were desperate, they were drawn in by the lure of food, which led them down this path.

Only then did Long Rui and Xuexue realize the truth: no wonder those few bandits were tyrannical; they had gotten used to killing.