Liu Xi naturally put on a fawning smile in front of the Mongolian commander.
"It's great that Commander can obtain this. Didn't we accomplish what we discussed with King Shunyi? This proves that we are the most trustworthy. After this, we will take over these businesses again. We will have to rely on King Shunyi to take care of us! Hahahaha! "
The leader looked at Liu Xi and his lips curled into a cold smirk.
"However, these people don't have a lot of food in their homes!"
Liu Xi smiled nonchalantly, "How can there be a lack of food? These families all dig cellars in their homes to store food. Marshal, you might not know this, but even if the imperial army has no food and the peasants starve to death, they won't have no food. Even if it doesn't rain for three years, they won't starve to death! "
"No, no, we found the food in their cellars. It's indeed a lot, but for the hundreds of thousands of people under King Shunyi, it's still too little."
Liu Xi felt that something was amiss.
"Commander, what do you mean?"
The leader recalled what King Shunyi had told him and sneered.
"Why don't you give some food to the King as well? With more food, the King will be able to survive the winter and do business with you better, right?
I heard that your families not only hide food in their homes, but also in the mountains, right? There's more in the mountains than in your homes! "
Liu Xi was stunned, then a deep sense of fear engulfed his heart.
"This … Who's talking nonsense? We, we also suffered a disaster and don't have much food! "
This kind of confidential matter was usually only known by those with status in the family. Ordinary people didn't know, so how did these Mongolians know? And from what they said, could it be that …
Sure enough, the leader laughed and kicked Liu Xi to the ground. He then pulled out his dagger and placed it against Liu Xi's neck. The cold touch of the dagger stimulated Liu Xi's skin.
"Stop pretending. How much grain do you have? You might be able to fool your officials, but you can't fool our King. Our King said that this time, we'll bring back all of Datong's grain. That way, we can guarantee that we won't kill your people. Otherwise, we'll kill everyone, including your people. We'll find the grain ourselves!"
"What … This … That's not what King Shunyi said!"
"That's exactly what I said! You want to dismiss us with such little food? Why are you Han people so cunning and despicable? Mr. Liu, tell me, if I were to throw you into that fire, would the tar that you roasted be even more than the one with the surname Ma? "
When he said that, Liu Xi's body and soul instantly froze. Just now, the leader of the Ma Family was tied up by these Mongolians. Two spears were pierced from his shoulders to the soles of his feet, and he was forcefully turned into a roasted pig or lamb. Then, he was placed on the fire and roasted …
Liu Xi was gloating. Now, he was regretting that he was born into this family.
"Men, put him on the grill!"
The leader did not waste any time and was about to put Liu Xi on the grill. Immediately, a few Mongolian soldiers walked over with sinister smiles. They tied Liu Xi up and carried him on their shoulders. Another two Mongolian soldiers raised their spears and walked over, aiming at Liu Xi's shoulders.
"I'll give you one last chance. Are you going to talk or not? Do you want food or your life? "
Liu Xi's entire body trembled, unable to utter a single word.
"Stab him!"
The leader gave the order without hesitation.
Liu Xi completely broke down.
"No!!!! I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Don't kill me!!! "
After wailing like a ghost and howling like a wolf, Liu Xi obediently told the leader the location of the valley and cave where the Liu family stored their food, as well as the other places where the other families stored their food.
Those valleys and caves were inaccessible mountains. Cold winds blew all year round, and there was little rain. Digging a cave to store food was the best choice.
Usually, the food could be stored for ten or twenty years. When there was a big buyer, they would sell it. If there wasn't, they would hide it and not pay taxes. Even if they were discovered, they could settle the matter. However, it was better to avoid trouble. Bribing the officials also required investment. Why not choose a safer way to store the food?
Even if Mei Guozhen wanted to search everywhere, he wouldn't be able to find anything. This was because the Liu family didn't have much food stored at home. It was all hidden in the valleys. Those who didn't know the truth wouldn't know that the barren mountain was actually a real mountain of food.
Very soon, the leader led the thousands of Ming captives and Han Chinese captives along the way, pulling along the carts, cows, horses, and other animals to search for food. The dejected Liu Xi pointed out the caves where the food was hidden. When the leader entered with a torch, he was instantly shocked.
Those were really a mountain of food!
That was calculated in terms of thousands or tens of thousands of dans of food! The food stored in any random valley was enough for the Ming Army or the Tumed tribe to survive the cold winter. And there were many more valleys like this. This was just Datong, not all of Shanxi.
If it didn't rain for three years, there would be tens of thousands of dans of food. This was not an exaggeration, but true confidence. Without this confidence, who would dare to say such a thing?
The leader immediately laughed wildly. He immediately sent someone to report to La Like, who was organizing the attack on the town of Datong. When La Like came to see, he also laughed wildly. He pulled Liu Xi over and scolded him jokingly.
If you had given some of the food here to that woman, I wouldn't have been able to bring the entire tribe over. You are really my lucky star! Hahahahaha!
La Like took in the huge amount of food stored in five valleys. It was the savings of the dozens of families here for more than ten years. In one day, it all fell into La Like's hands. After La Like received the food, he immediately straightened his back. Originally, he wanted to take down Datong and leave. But now, he didn't think so.
He had already betrayed the Ming court, completely betrayed them. The Ming court would never forgive him again. If he continued to stay here, it was hard to say if he wouldn't face the Ming court's bloody revenge in the future.
It was better to take this opportunity to shift their base with a large amount of food and run to other places to live happily. With so much food and slaves, it was enough for them to attack a few small tribes and take their territories. Then why should they stay here and wait for the Ming Army to take revenge?
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