Chapter 3 of 10

Chapter 3

17 min read4,361 words

As he spoke, Xu Xianzhi looked around for a while before mysteriously handing a small package of dried fruit to Liu Yu: "Big Brother Liu, you can give this dried fruit to the children. In the past two hours, five or six boats have already arrived, all with families. Sigh, those children are all pale and thin, looking pitiful. You can do a good deed and show some hospitality."

Just as he said this, a sound of water came from the riverbank, and a long, drawn-out cry in a Jiangnan accent echoed: "Docking! Lower the plank and let the passengers off!"

Everyone turned to look and saw a large ferry boat dock at the landing, and a large group of people with braided hair and wearing leather robes, clearly dressed like northerners, walked down the gangplank. Xu Xianzhi quickly ran back to his stall and shouted, "Dried fruit, the best dried fruit, Jiangnan flavor, three coins a bag!" All the vendors at the landing began to call out and sell their goods loudly, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

A cold light flashed in Liu Yu's eyes, and he thought to himself: Well, more northerners have arrived. As the village head, I should go and fulfill my duty of welcoming and sending them off. Maybe there are some of the legendary northern scholars among them.

More than thirty people with braided hair and wearing leather robes, both men and women, young and old, walked down the gangplank. As soon as they got off the boat, many of them knelt down and wailed, crying and unbraiding their hair, letting it fall loose, and taking off their left-lapped robes, throwing them heavily on the riverbank.

Although Liu Yu had received many northern refugees before, he rarely saw people dressed like this. The northerners' clothes had the front lapel on the left, called "left-lapped," which was completely opposite to the "right-lapped" clothing of the Han people. Only the people under the rule of the northern barbarians were forced to dress this way.

As for their hair, the Han people wore it in a topknot, while the barbarians from the grasslands braided their hair into small braids, which looked like ropes. That's why the Han people in the south called the northern barbarians "sorolus."

Many Han people avoided being oppressed by the northern barbarians by dressing like them. That's why it's called the "southern migration of the gentry," because only in the land of the Jin Dynasty would there be authentic Han clothing.

A flash of anger crossed Liu Yu's eyes, and he thought bitterly: These sorolus are truly too oppressive, even changing our Han hairstyles and clothing! Hmph, if I can ever return to the Central Plains and reclaim the two capitals, I will make them all dress like us Han, with topknots and right-lapped clothing!

But then Liu Yu thought: The situation in the north is tense, and a large number of Han people are moving south. These people must be Han from the north. They couldn't stay in Guangling or the Huai River region, and only felt safe after crossing the river. They are now discarding the barbarian braids and left-lapped clothing, meaning they can finally be Han again. Sigh, these people have had it tough. I must take good care of them.

With this thought, Liu Yu stepped forward and said to the group of people who were crying: "I am Liu Yu, the village head of Cui Mountain in Jingkou County, Southern Yanzhou, Jin Dynasty. Who are you? State your names and origins!"

The men kneeling at the front exchanged glances, stopped crying, and stood up.

Although there were more than thirty people, old and young, the three men standing at the front were clearly the leaders. Their sharp eyes scanned Liu Yu, filled with doubt and caution.

Liu Yu himself was a tall, strong man, and the three men standing before him were also tall and muscular.

The man on the left was in his twenties, with a dark complexion, a square face, large eyes, and a bushy beard. Behind him were five or six children, all about four or five years old, standing next to three or four women. A child about one year old was being held by one of the women.

They all had white mourning bands on their heads and hemp ropes around their waists, clearly indicating that a relative had died and they were still in mourning.

The dark-faced man said in a deep voice, "I am Tan Pingzhi, from Jinxian, Gaoping, Qingzhou. These young men are my nephews. Their father, my elder brother Tan Xiuzhi, was killed by bandits on the way south."

"Along the way, our Tan family traveled with the Meng and Wei families. We finally made it to Jin territory! When we arrived in Guangling, the officials there told us to cross the river to Jingkou, saying that someone would receive and settle us. Here is the travel permit!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled leather envelope from his chest and handed it to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu's face turned slightly red. He had practiced martial arts and basic literacy since childhood, but he was only somewhat literate. However, he still took the leather envelope, opened it, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, quickly scanning the text. Fortunately, he recognized the words.

Finally, his eyes stopped at the large seal at the end, and he nodded. "Yes, this is indeed an official letter from the Northern Governor's Office. It says that there are thirty-seven people from the Tan family of Gaoping, the Wei family of Rencheng, and the Meng family of Pingchang, and that local officials should take them to the county seat to find the chief clerk for settlement."

Liu Yu looked up at Tan Pingzhi and said, "You are from the Tan family of Gaoping. May I ask which one is from the Wei family of Rencheng?"

Standing next to Tan Pingzhi, a tall, thin man in his early twenties, with a strong build, stepped forward. His features were ordinary, but the most unusual thing was his mouth.

The man's upper lip was as if it had been cut, arching upward to the nostrils, making it look as if it were split, like a rabbit's.

Although Liu Yu had limited knowledge, he knew this condition was called a cleft lip or hare lip.

The man with the hare lip spoke, and as he talked, his three-segmented lips moved, making it look very uncomfortable: "I am Wei Yongzhi, from Rencheng. We heard that the Qin army was going to attack Jin, and my brothers and I decided that we couldn't help the barbarians fight our own Han people, so we moved south together."

"On the way, the Tan family was attacked by the Dingling barbarians from the Central Plains. We and another family, the Meng brothers, fought off the Dingling barbarians."

"Unfortunately, sigh, the elder brother of the Tan family was hit by a barbarian arrow and couldn't be saved!"

At this, tears welled up in Tan Pingzhi's eyes, and the women behind him began to cry.

Liu Yu felt a pang of sorrow and said softly, "I have heard that since the Yongjia Rebellion, Han people moving south have faced countless attacks from barbarian bandits and robbers, and even the troops of the barbarian states would raid these southern-bound Han people. You have truly had it tough. So, this must be the leader of the Meng family from Pingchang, right?"

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