171: Empty Shiji County?

“Go, to the Quarry!”

Under Chu Qing's command, various gangs drove all the artisans in the county town directly to Shiji Mountain.

Originally, Chu Qing only wanted blacksmiths.

However, to curry favor with him, these gang leaders also incited other artisans.

“The rebels are evil; when they come, they will definitely massacre the city.”

“Only by going to Shiji Mountain, to the Quarry, is there a sliver of hope.”

The gang leaders weren't foolish either; tens of thousands of rebels charging in would surely massacre the city.

Even if they surrendered to the rebels, they probably wouldn't escape the fate of being slaughtered.

Therefore:

They also wanted to infiltrate Chu Qing's team.

Thus, they brought even more artisans.

They even arranged for people to scavenge for food and transport it there.

The first day:

All artisans and many brothel women were all moved to the Quarry.

That evening:

The remaining thirty-odd Fortress Lords Wu and powerful families sat together for the first time.

This was a private gathering for them.

Fortress Lord Lan said, “Chu Qing told me to prepare food and transport it to the Quarry.”

“Everyone, what are your plans?”

A powerful family head sneered, “Food? The Quarry?”

“As soon as Zheng Zhixiang's army arrives, even if he hides in a crack in a stone, he will die.”

Fort Lord Lan whispered, “Everyone, Shiji County will be finished; but Chu Qing might not be finished.”

The Crowd was stunned.

A powerful family head sneered, “Does it matter whether he's finished or not?”

“With the army approaching, what kind of waves can a small Chu Qing stir up?”

Fort Lord Lan whispered:

“The night before last, Chu Qing sent Cui Moyang and others to Heishi County to kill over a thousand rebels.”

“The entire Heishi County was soaked in blood.”

“All the granaries and armories were also burned.”

The Crowd gasped.

Good heavens.

Heishi County had long been rebel territory.

Chu Qing was so ruthless as to send people into rebel territory for a massive slaughter?

And even set fire to their grain?

No wonder Zheng Zhixiang gathered a large army to destroy Shiji County.

If they didn't destroy him soon, wouldn't Chu Qing turn Heaven Flipping?

Fort Lord Lan saw that The Crowd was all intimidated and secretly sneered.

His daughter, Lan Lan, had already recounted Chu Qing's arrangements.

After listening, Fort Lord Lan's first thought was:

Zheng Zhixiang is no good.

The rebels are no good.

Chu Qing is the Heaven of Shiji County.

According to Chu Qing's plan, even if the rebels made Shiji County barren, he would remain calm and collected, not losing a single Skin and Hair.

Especially after learning that Chu Qing actually had a detailed map of the Quarry, and also strategic passes that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, he knew:

Chu Qing had won this time.

Unless Zheng Zhixiang personally made a move, Chu Qing simply could not be killed.

This gathering, he casually mentioned Chu Qing's methods, just to intimidate the various Fortress Lords Wu and powerful families.

At this moment, seeing that the time was about right, he coughed and said:

“Everyone, Chu Qing wants us to deliver food tomorrow.”

“I personally believe that this time, we should not only send food, but also weapons, armor, and even skilled servants.”

“The more we give, the harder it will be for him to act against us in the future.”

The Crowd listened and felt it made sense.

“Yes, he even dared to incite Cui Moyang and the others to wipe out the rebels in Heishi County; he even dared to enter Wu Fort again at night and kill our entire family!”

The powerful families were also scared.

They gritted their teeth and said, “We will also provide provisions and weapons.”

“But we don't have armor.”

The Fortress Lords Wu didn't believe them for a second.

But they were too lazy to care.

The next day:

The Fortress Lords Wu, early in the morning, transported food, weapons, armor, and other supplies.

Fortress Lord Lan, even more resolutely, sent a third of his family's assets.

Carriages rumbled, horses neighed; the convoy stretched for several miles.

Fortunately, there were many Quarry workers, and they received the provisions in an orderly manner.

Cui Moyang's house servants, leading strong men, blew whistles and guarded the granaries.

To prevent anyone from setting fires.

Some servants, according to Zhao Hongxiu's instructions, recorded the quantity of supplies sent by these Fortress Lords Wu and powerful families.

Waiting for future reckoning.

Martial Academy, stone house:

Chu Qing swallowed top-grade bone-refining Secret medicine, seizing the time to refine his Black Gold Bone.

Outside, Martial Instructor and the students were in a chaotic mess.

Under the Vice Dean's guidance, they moved various supplies and sent them underground.

Every Martial Academy had an underground shelter.

Once the entrances and exits were sealed, even a Third Limit expert couldn't get in.

Only when the people inside the shelter received a confirmed safe signal from outside would the shelter be opened.

And the shelter, in times of crisis, could allow dozens of people to survive inside for half a year.

Library:

The Vice Dean said:

“Dean, it's time to go to the shelter.”

The Dean, studying the corpse of the White Jade Capital Outer Sect Disciple, said coldly, “According to the rules, the Dean is not allowed to enter.”

“I will either die in battle or escape.”

The Vice Dean was silent.

After a long while, he said:

“According to the rules: when encountering an irresistible enemy, the Martial Academy is disbanded.”

“Everyone who leaves will carry resources for the next month.”

“The Martial Instructors are also arranged this way.”

The Dean smiled, “You did well!”

“You can succeed as Dean in the future.”

The Vice Dean was stunned, then forced a bitter smile:

“Impossible; after the rebels occupy Shiji County, they will definitely not leave.”

“I will either surrender to the rebels or die in the shelter.”

“There is no other choice.”

The Dean was silent.

After a long while, he said, “You let Broken Arm and Short Leg guard the shelter, and you escape with me into Shiji Mountain.”

“Chu Qing is doing quite well there.”

“If we really can't hold on, we can hide in the bamboo forest and live like savages; after a few years, when a new Empire is born, we can come out again.”

The Vice Dean said solemnly:

“Dean, the Empire hasn't fallen yet!”

“How can you escape?”

The Dean sneered, “It's going to be over soon!”

The Vice Dean... was speechless.

“Oh right, where's Chu Qing?”

“He's in seclusion in the stone house.”

“I'll go see him.”

The Dean casually grabbed a black cloth, wrapped the corpse, and headed straight for the stone house.

The Vice Dean sighed, knowing that the Dean was going to run away.

“Too bad I'm not the Dean; otherwise, I'd run away too.”

The Vice Dean checked every resource sent to the shelter.

Finally, he arranged for his only confidant to deliver a month's worth of resources to Chu Qing, Cui Moyang, and others.

After everything was prepared, he sat there, thinking many, many things.

He didn't want to die.

Nor did he want to surrender to the rebels.

“I hope... Chu Qing has the ability to turn the tide.”

“Otherwise, I really will die in the shelter.”

...Stone house:

The Dean and Chu Qing sat opposite each other.

Chu Qing said helplessly, “Dean, please don't disturb me if there's nothing wrong.”

“The Prefecture City exchange competition is in a few days.”

“I'll improve my strength as quickly as possible and kill Zheng Xilong when he comes.”

The Dean said in astonishment, “Tens of thousands of rebels are about to besiege the city.”

“Do you still have the mood to consider the Prefecture City exchange competition?”

Chu Qing smiled, “The exchange competition has a large amount of Cultivation resources.”

“If I don't take them, Heaven will punish me!”

“So, I must take them!”

The Dean suddenly felt: this young man is incredibly arrogant.

However, he liked it.

The Dean said, “I want to go to your Quarry.”

Chu Qing's eyes lit up and he said, “No problem!”

“Just help me hold down the fort against Zheng Zhixiang.”

The Dean suddenly felt that if he stayed in the Martial Academy, it would actually be better than going to the Quarry.

After all:

If he stayed in the Martial Academy, the rebels wouldn't dare order him around.

Zheng Zhixiang wouldn't dare order him around even more.

Result:

Chu Qing immediately started ordering him around.

What kind of situation was this!

The Dean snorted, grabbed the corpse, and headed straight for the Quarry.

At this time:

It was already dusk.

The Dean discovered;

Many people, with their families, were heading straight for the Quarry, just like him.

A crazy thought surfaced in his mind:

“Chu Qing wants to empty Shiji County?”

“Is he crazy?”