Chapter 54: Plans Change Faster Than Expected

“I see there aren't many of them. Let's contact the people further back, wipe them all out in one go, snatch the people back, and drive them away too. Let's see how they survive on their own!” Yan Er thought they were only stealing grain; he hadn't expected them to be this wicked.

“We can't act rashly.” Yan Huaiwen was thinking more deeply: “Do these people not have families? Where are their families? Are they in the procession?”

The village elders stopped trembling instantly!

The more they thought about it, the more terrified they became.

“Master Scholar, could this be true?”

Yan Huaiwen said, “It is entirely possible.”

Unless they were originally bandits living by the sword, how could they not have families?

“Then these people... these people are... heartless!”

“So what do we do now?” Yan Er felt like his brain was failing him again.

“First, we must determine if they have weapons.” Yan Huaiwen's voice remained as calm as ever.

The village elders nodded hurriedly.

If these villains had weapons, what else was there to say? They would just have to run!

“They'll definitely have sickles and hoes.” Yan Er even had a crossbow himself, which was quite formidable.

“If we confirm they are farmers, then it's simple. Fathers, sons, and brothers often look alike. Look for those with similar features where the number of males is sparse; those are most likely their family members. Once we have identified them, we can bypass the others and execute the plan...”

Listening to his elder brother planning how to cause a riot, how to rescue the people amidst the chaos, and how to slip away clean after the deed, Yan Er felt quite moved.

Look at that—success is no accident. Even when the old Yans were down and out, they already showed the aura of great leaders!

Yan Yu pricked up her ears.

This time, she wasn't eavesdropping; she was listening openly.

She even whispered to Li Xuemei.

“Mom, look at Dad, he's listening until he's stunned. He probably thinks we have to organize a group to confront them and then shout: 'Release the hostages!'”

Li Xuemei thought: *You're the one who watches too many cop and robber movies.*

“Your father is just awestruck by your uncle.” Li Xuemei hit the nail on the head: “He's probably admiring him in his heart.”

“With Uncle's IQ, tsk tsk!” Yan Yu smacked her lips. “As expected of the male lead. But Dad isn't bad either; he identified the target early on. Sticking close to Uncle is definitely the correct policy, and we must implement it resolutely.”

“Isn't it a bit risky?” Li Xuemei was somewhat worried. No matter how detailed a plan was, mistakes could still happen.

Yan Yu thought seriously: “If it's just ordinary people doing evil, Uncle's plan seems risky, but it actually minimizes the harm.

Think about it, Mom. The reason they starved the men in their families so severely must be because they lacked manpower. Once chaos breaks out, the first thing people think of is always their own family; they will definitely send some people forward to check.

At that moment, when someone else comes to steal the grain, they won't be able to care about anyone else. They'll definitely prioritize grabbing the grain, and by the time they look back, it will be too late.”

Furthermore, the escape route Uncle planned was unexpected. Instead of running forward, they were running backward...

Who could have imagined that?!

Based on their pace, they should be nearing the border between Qishan Prefecture and Leshan Prefecture.

At this moment, the surroundings were nothing but mountains.

If they ran backward and avoided the official roads, their only option would be to head into the mountains.

“But the men from the village have to face those people directly. Isn't there a more secure way?” Yan Er would definitely be going, and she was very worried.

“Mom, you have to believe that our villagers are definitely the fastest runners.” Yan Yu raised her small chin proudly.

“Besides, who says a person has to do the bad work? Don't we have Sanbao? Let Sanbao go!” she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Li Xuemei blinked and suddenly laughed.

That's right! They had Sanbao.

Yan Yu ran the plan through her head with Sanbao included and giggled to herself.

Perfect!

...

Yan Huaiwen set the plan for the midday rest.

At this time, everyone had only been walking for two hours and was quite exhausted.

They had already confirmed that the group behind them were not bandits and had no weapons; their families were indeed in this refugee procession, located in the middle section.

Just as Yan Huaiwen said, they looked for those with similar features where males were scarce.

It was hard to imagine that people with elders to support and children to raise could commit such evil acts.

The weather was dry, so one had to be careful with fire.

Nothing causes a riot more easily than setting a fire.

The elderly and children stayed on the carts and were not allowed to get off.

The village women huddled together nervously.

The adolescents and a few remaining adult men guarded the area near the pushcarts.

Once the chaos started, they would have to run.

The Yan family's double-decker ox cart was too conspicuous, but it was fine; they could dismantle it.

They carried carpentry tools with them, simply because they could be that willful.

Sanbao ran with all its might, and wherever it went, a path was cleared.

After a few trips, Yan Er pulled her family's converted single-layer ox cart away and hid it a short distance away.

All the items from the two layers were piled together; if they switched to a different ox, they truly wouldn't be able to pull it.

Li Xuemei, Da Ya, Er Ya, and several women who weren't fast runners stayed here to guard.

A spark landed in the middle of the procession.

Someone cried out, “Fire! Fire!”

The people who rushed over to extinguish it failed; instead, the fire grew larger.

The scattered dry grass on the ground quickly formed a large blaze.

Before the crowd could react, they saw a group of masked people throwing torches toward them.

“Ah! Run! There are bandits! Bandits!”

Hearing someone shout, more and more people began to scream frantically.

“Everyone, run! There are mountain bandits! They've come to steal people! Grab your elderly, children, and wives and run!”

The front of the procession fell into chaos. Fortunately, everyone had just settled down, so there wasn't much to pack; they could just run.

Seeing the front flee, those in the back grew even more panicked, running around like headless chickens.

Sure enough, several people from that group ran toward the front.

Yan Er, riding the ox, shouted, “Sanbao, charge!”

Sanbao kicked up its hooves and sprinted at full speed.

The village men followed closely with clubs, yet they couldn't catch up to it.

Sanbao's primary target was those villains.

As the ox charged forward with unstoppable momentum, Yan Er shouted excitedly, not forgetting to throw her own torch.

After scattering the people, the ox turned its head and charged toward the grain carts.

At this moment, Qi Si and Qi Wu's height gave them an advantage; with their long legs, they ran faster than anyone else in the village.

They saw that, goodness, this grain cart was originally pulled by mules, but an ox would do just fine.

Why bother carrying the grain sacks? Just take the whole cart!

In that moment, Qi Si and Qi Wu had a sudden stroke of inspiration, and the two brothers looked at each other.

Qi Si swung his club in wide arcs to keep people at bay.

Qi Wu worked with great energy to harness the ox to the cart.

Yan Er was dumbfounded: “Hey, hey! What are you doing?”

This wasn't part of the plan!

Qi Wu said nothing, his movements swift.

When Lao Luo ran over to see, he thought Qi Si and Qi Wu were being incredibly reliable!

“Quick, stop them!”

He began swinging his club, mimicking the others.

Even if those people had sickles, hoes, and axes, it didn't matter—were theirs longer than our clubs?

Qi Wu finished loading the cart.

“Brother Yan Er, run!”

Yan Er: “...”

Weren't we here to rescue the hostages? Why has it actually turned into a grain robbery???