In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 856 I don’t know how high the sky is and how high it is

Upon hearing this, the elders in the house looked at each other, none of them able to come up with a good solution.

The army outside the city is estimated to number nearly 100,000. They may not be able to force their way into the Lu family manor, but the Lu family's own troops also dare not leave the city to fight the Yang family army in the field.

Because they were facing not only Yang Zheng's army, but also the Great Wall Army, which could arrive outside the city at any time!

In this situation, how could they possibly come up with a plan to repel the enemy?

"Master of the house."

An elder thought for a moment and asked, "I wonder if the barbarian tribes are willing to send troops to help?"

"The Barbarian King has agreed."

Lu Shengyan nodded with a pained expression and said, "After I promised some benefits, the barbarian king has agreed to send troops. Soon the barbarian army will be at the Great Wall, forcing the Great Wall army to return to its aid!"

He mentioned some benefits, but you could tell from the pained look on Lu Shengyan's face that the benefits he promised to the barbarians were definitely more than just a little bit.

What distressed Lu Shengyan the most was that the barbarian reinforcements he had secured at great expense could not directly resolve the Lu family's predicament.

Because the barbarian army wanted to enter Youzhou, the Great Wall was an insurmountable barrier, and with the Great Wall Army guarding it, it was clear that the barbarian army would not allow itself to cross the Great Wall.

Therefore, the only effect of the barbarian army was to force the 100,000-strong army led by Chang Yong to return to the Great Wall. The army led by Yang Zheng outside the city could only be dealt with by the Lu family themselves.

"Excellent! With the help of the barbarian army, our tribe's crisis will surely be resolved!"

The elders inside the house instantly relaxed, their furrowed brows unfurrowing slightly, as if they regarded the barbarian army as their savior.

However, Lu Shengyan poured cold water on everyone's hopes with a clear head: "Elders, don't be too happy yet. The barbarian army may be able to hold back the Great Wall Army, but we still need to deal with Yang Zheng's army outside the city ourselves."

As soon as the words were spoken, the look of surprise on the faces of the Lu family elders vanished instantly.

Whether the barbarian army could force Chang Yong to lead his troops back to reinforce the city was a question, let alone help them deal with the Yang family army outside the city.

"What should I do?"

An elder, looking bewildered, said, "If we let Yang Zheng besiege the city, the entire Lu family will probably be trapped inside the manor."

The other elders also looked worried, completely unable to come up with any solutions.

"Master of the house."

At this moment, an elder spoke thoughtfully, "I wonder how things are on the Ancestor's side? Is it possible to carry out the decapitation operation?"

The decapitation operation was a plan that the Lu family had previously discussed.

Throughout history, assassinating enemy generals has been one of the simplest and most direct ways to defeat enemy forces.

The Lu family knew that Yang Zheng was the soul of the entire Yang family army, and that as long as Yang Zheng could be beheaded, the army outside the city would surely collapse.

However, beheading Yang Zheng was not an easy task. After all, as the commander of an army, Yang Zheng's tent would certainly be heavily guarded. Even a first-rank martial artist would find it almost impossible to assassinate Yang Zheng under the protection of tens of thousands of troops.

Therefore, the Lu family plans to invite their clan elders. If one first-rank martial artist can't do it, then two, three, four, or even five will do it!

No one believed that five peak-level first-grade martial artists couldn't assassinate Yang Zheng!

"The ancestors have already agreed."

Lu Shengyan suddenly laughed: "The ancestors will emerge from seclusion soon, and then..."

Lu Shengyan made a throat-slitting gesture: "Behead that arrogant cowherd outside the city!"

"really?"

"Excellent! With the Ancestor's intervention, Yang Zheng will surely never return!"

"Hmph! That lowly cowherd Yang Zheng, this time I'll make sure he dies in Youzhou!"

"..."

The people present undoubtedly had great confidence in the ancestors that Lu Shengyan mentioned. So when they learned that the ancestors were about to make a move, relaxed smiles instantly appeared on their faces, as if they could already see the wonderful scene of Yang Zheng being beheaded and the army outside the city collapsing.

…………

…………

As the sun begins to set in the west, just before its descent.

In the northern part of the Lu Family Manor, Xu Sanyang, having finished a day's farm work, sat down by a tree, feeling utterly exhausted.

The Lu Family Manor is as large as a small county town. With such a large area, it is impossible for it to be entirely composed of the exquisite buildings where the Lu family members lived.

In reality, the Lu family only lived in that small area to the south, while the rest of the area was filled with farmland and thatched huts.

These thatched huts were naturally inhabited by the Lu family's serfs.

"I wonder when this will ever end!"

After a day of farm work, Xu Sanyang leaned lazily against a tree, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

For serfs like Xu Sanyang, leisure time was probably only from afternoon until sunset.

During the day, they had to work hard in the fields tending to the crops, and at night they had to stay in their houses to prevent any disturbances from breaking out on the estate.

That is to say...

Xu Sanyang had almost no time for himself. In the twenty-odd years he had lived, the only area he had ever lived in was this small piece of farmland in the northern part of the Lu family manor. As for other places, the Lu family did not allow serfs like Xu Sanyang to set foot in.

Occasionally, Xu Sanyang would gaze at the exquisite buildings belonging to the Lu family to the south, and a sense of envy would rise in his heart.

All we can do is envy them!

Xu Sanyang knew very well that a serf like himself would never be able to live in such a fine house in his entire life. The house he lived in could only be a dilapidated thatched hut. Whenever it was windy and rainy, a lot of rainwater would flood into the thatched hut. Even though the rainwater made him feel wet and itchy all over, he had to force himself to fall asleep.

If you don't sleep, you will be extremely tired the next day, and being tired will delay your farm work.

The consequence of delaying farm work... is often death!

The farmland within the manor was frequently overseen by the Lu family's foremen to monitor the work of Xu Sanyang and the other serfs. If any serf dared to slack off, they would be whipped until their skin was torn open, or even executed on the spot!

Xu Sanyang had seen many serfs collapse in the fields due to exhaustion, and these serfs who collapsed would not receive any sympathy from the Lu family, but would instead be punished by them.

Under such immense pressure, no serf dared to slack off. Even if they were exhausted, sick, or weak, they had to do their best to complete their farm work, or they would face certain death.

Xu Sanyang has lived this kind of life, which others find completely inhuman, for twenty-five years. He has grown tired of it and has even considered escaping the Lu family.