Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

14th February 1674

Li Jian was completely scared,

'If more refugees come, will there still be food to eat?'

He was panicked,

"Old man, what you said is true?" He called out in his hoarse voice, and it could be seen that he had not spoken for a long time.

When Li Jian asked this question, a few people who were squatting on the ground nearby looked at the old man who had mentioned the news.

The old man, looking at all the worried and apprehensive faces, let out a bitter smile."It is true, I mistakenly heard the soldier who came in the morning to give us porridge mention it while he was talking with another soldier,"

'It's over,' 'Ancester! Please... what do I do now?' Li Jian collapsed onto the ground, clenching his head in desperation. The people around him were no different; some had already started to cry in a low voice,

As time went by, more people got to know about the news, and the atmosphere of desperation slowly spread throughout the camp like a virus.

"sob"

"sob"

Suppressed cries of women and children echoed faintly, as if they were the embodiment of hardship and pain. Even though they tried their best to muffle their voices, the sound reached Li Jian's ears as if they were screaming directly at him. The feeling was suffocating—it left him breathless.

A man who seemed to have reached the breaking point stood up with a growl, shouting, attracting the attention of the surroundings.

"No, we have to resist, there are already more than 10,000 refugees living here, if more come, how can we live?"

"We have to demand fairness from these soldiers, we are descendants of Yan and Huang as well, they have to at least give us a way to live."

Hearing the shout, Li Jian turned back, only to see an excited young man who looked red with anger. He had a lean body, almost like he would be blown away by the wind, but his eyes radiated determination and hope, hope that Li Jian had already lost.

"Come on, everyone, there are so many of us here, if we all go together and demand for fairness, do they dare to kill us all? Not to mention...the only thing we need is a place to live, some food to eat, is it too much to ask?"

Li Jian's eyes lit up.

''It makes sense."

"Yes, yes."

The people around him started to wake up from their stupor and looked at the young man as if he were the light at the end of the tunnel.

As time went by, people in the camp started to agree with the young man; they gathered around him and formed a group. A few brave ones among the group even started to raise their voices and spoke with some energy in their voices, echoing the young man's ideas to speak with the soldiers about their requests.

Li Jian was moved as well. he was about to stand up and join the group, but he hesitated after looking at the son in his arms.

'Not everyone has joined the group yet. What if the soldiers get offended and kill all of these guys to kill the chicken and scare the monkey?'

'No, I can't be too hasty, let's wait and see.'

He stopped his impulse and waited. If the Ming Guards didn't take action, then he would join at the last, but if they did take action, then he and his son would not be implicated. 'Maybe if these guys are killed, more food will be left behind,' he was extremely ashamed by the thought, but going hungry for so many days and losing his beloved wife had forced him to think for himself and forced him to be cunning when needed.

Slowly, the group began to increase in size, nearly half of the people in the camp had already joined, and more people were joining every moment. The people like him who wanted to wait and see were sitting around, while those who had seen enough had already decided to join.

When all this was happening, a group of military officers finally came from the city carrying guns.

A soldier pointed the gun towards the sky and shot it, its sound deafening.

The group immediately scattered in panic; their unity didn't last long.

Unfortunately, his son, Li Bai, woke up crying from the sound of the gunshot.

All their problems had begun with gunshots like this back in Chenzhou. It wasn't just his son even he carried the shadow of those echoes in his heart.

Li Jian felt sad, but looking at the soldiers who looked at them like they were a bunch of cattle and sheep, he covered the mouth of his son tightly and bent his head, appearing as unassuming, unimportant, and inconspicuous as possible.

In the end, only a few people were left in the group. Surprisingly, the young man who brought everyone together actually walked forward despite the gunshot and bowed in front of the soldiers.

"Sir, we have not eaten properly for a long time, our bodies are becoming exceedingly weak, please, we need some food, it doesn't matter if you ask us to work for you, we will do it like an ox or a cow, please sir, give us a way to live."

The soldier with a black mark on his face was surprised by the eloquence of this guy, but looking at the dried-up faces and shrivelled-up bodies of the people around him, he felt a little pity.

It was not like he was punishing these people; it's just that they needed all the grain for the war. The talk among the higher-ups is that the war will last for a long time and there will be no chance to harvest more grain in the meantime, so everything has to be used on the edge of the knife.

However, thinking about the news he brought with him, he felt a little relaxed.

He looked from right to left and then from left to right.

"Listen, everyone, His Majesty Zhu is benevolent. He is extremely worried about your condition."

"Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty is at war with the traitorous Wu warlord, so we cannot spare you any food."

"However, he has negotiated with the Bharatiya Empire to accept you all, provide you with jobs, homes to live in, and food to eat."

Li Jian was stunned; he was not the only one. They never thought that the higher-ups would actually let them leave the mainland and go to another nation to make a living.

An uneasy atmosphere set in, even though almost everyone knew the might of the Bharatiya Empire, no one wanted to leave the mainland. It was the place where their ancestors and their ancestors lived and died, after all.

A few people who were unwilling looked towards the young man who had stood up for them before, but to their surprise, the young man actually didn't speak out against it. Instead, he kept kneeling silently. Without any other option, the people went forward with humble steps, pleading to let them stay.

Unfortunately, the plea was shot down immediately with a smack from the soldier, whose sound reverberated throughout the crowd.

"We're not here to negotiate. Although all of your situation is pitiful, there is nothing we can do. There are too many refugees coming in from the north, and more refugees are about to flood into our southern provinces. If we really take care of the lot of you, then the battle cannot be fought."

"So obediently move to the Bharatiya Empire, don't worry, they don't treat people like slaves like the White Devils do, in fact, you may all live better lives."

"So quickly eat your fill, which might be your last meal provided by us, and pack up. You will all be leaving in a few hours."

Li Jian understood that there was really no way to escape from the situation. He could once again run back towards the north, but he didn't want to get embroiled in the war again, especially not with his son.

With the hope that what the soldiers said is true, he quickly finished the rich porridge, which had more rice in it, in a few mouthfuls. He fed his son after some coaxing and finally went into the house to pack up all the things he thought were important.

He picked up some clothes, the antique knife left behind by his ancestors, the silver ring of his wife, which was the only thing left to remember her by, which he hid in his body as deeply as possible. He finally got out of the tent, he was directed to get on a carriage along with everyone else, and he did so without any resistance because he had already seen a few people get beaten due to resisting at the last moment.

The travel took the whole day. Li Jian could already smell the salty sea breeze; they were in Zhanjiang.

They were once again asked to stay in the tents for the night. Thankfully, the food for the night was very rich as well, and there were even a few pieces of vegetables in the broth.

For the first time in many days, he and his son slept like actual humans.

He heard some people talk that the food was actually provided by the Bharatiyas, and the soldiers who had brought them had long left.

"Maybe moving overseas is not a bad idea," he muttered.

To Be Continued...