In the first year of Tiansheng in the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the stability of the country, Huaiyan was able to grow. At that time, there were 7 salt farms in Lianghuai Zhitong and Chu 2 prefectures, 8 salt farms in Taizhou, 3 salt farms in Banpu, Huize and Luoyao in Haizhou, and 1 salt farm in Lianshui Army, a total of 26 fields, with a maximum annual salt output of 244.68 million catties.

Lianshui Army is located on the north bank of Huaishui, close to the sea, less than 100 miles away from Chuzhou. Since the Jin people went south, ravaged Lianghuai, and local bandits broke out, the life of the people on the ground has become even more difficult.

As a native of Lianshui, Chen Ping lives on the salt works at the mouth of the sea and on the banks of the Huai River.

The salt ships in the salt works come and go, which drives the prosperity of the local food and commerce of the Lianshui Army. Hotels, teahouses, and restaurants abound along the shore.

The Jin people went south, and the defenders of the Lianshui Army collapsed in one day, and the former prosperity was gone, turned into a broken wall, and was depressed. The people either took refuge in the harbors crisscrossed by the river, or fled south along the canal, to the south, Huguang and other places.

Chen Ping's grandchildren have relied on his own hotel on the shore of Huaishui for generations, and the fresh fish supply in the store is usually obtained by him from the turmoil of the seaside. With the help of the salt industry of the Lianshui Army Salt Factory, it is enough to supply guests and live and work in peace and contentment.

In a dilapidated house on the shore, Chen Ping and his wife are surrounding a fire, and fish soup is simmering in a pot.

It's summer, and the two of them are still in a cotton coat, and they are already in tatters, but they are both barefoot, and they are all covered with mud. The heavy rain for several days had already left their shoes dirty and soaked, and they were roasted by the fire.

There was a dark and dead silence between the heavens and the earth, the rain was heavy, and the river was surging wildly, and even if you sat in the house, you could hear the huge sound of rushing waves, rolling towards the sea mouth to the east.

The dilapidated house was already muddy. Rainwater was constantly pouring down from the rotten parts of the roof, and even when there was a pot for water, the rain was muddy all over the ground.

Chen Ping and his wife stayed in the only dry part of the house, and the cold wind kept blowing in from outside, even though it was late at night, it was also bitterly cold.

"Official, I haven't eaten or drunk, how will I live in the future?"

The wife was dressed in a cotton garment, and the rags inside showed a lot of skin, and her face was flushed, and two lines of snot flowed out, and her nose sucked vigorously, and she did not know it.

"Lady, drink some fish soup and warm your stomach. When the day dawns and the rain is lighter, I will go to repair the boat, and sleep on the boat in the future, and my heart will be more steady!"

Seeing his wife's old and haggard face, Chen Ping felt a sudden pain in his heart. Since the Jin soldiers went south, burned, killed and looted, and their parents and two sons were killed, his wife has been silent and emaciated.

Chen Ping understood that the death of his two young sons had hit his wife too hard, making her turn white overnight at a young age, and her people became chaotic.

Coupled with hunger and cold, hunger and fullness, people are completely depressed and old.

"Xianggong, if I can't bear my bones, you have to take care of yourself!"

Chen Ping smiled bitterly and said softly: "Don't say stupid things!" We're all going to have to live well!"

The fire swayed, and the husband and wife leaned on each other and slept against the broken cotton mattress at the base of the wall.

In a daze, the sound of rain in his ears disappeared, and Chen Ping opened his eyes, and the sky was already bright.

In the morning, I didn't hear the uncomfortable sound of the huqin that Chen Xiaoyi, an old bachelor in the village, was used to, and it seemed that he was also very lucky, and he died of starvation and illness.

The fire in front of him had long been extinguished, leaving only a pile of green ashes, Chen Ping looked to the side, but his wife was no longer in the house.

Chen Ping was shocked, his wife was confused for a while, where could she go early in the morning?

Chen Ping picked up the short knife, ran out of the house, and looked around, the early morning field was overgrown with weeds, as high as his chest, and there was no end in sight. Chen Ping looked carefully, and a series of eye-catching footprints in the mud in front of the broken house stretched all the way to the river.

Chen Ping was so anxious that he ran towards the river in the mud.

The footprints stretched to the shore and were never seen again. Chen Ping was filled with grief and indignation, and searched downstream along the shore. After looking for about five or six miles, in the cold shallow water, he saw the familiar cyan cotton jacket, he "chuckled" in his heart, and hurriedly ran over.

He plunged into the water, brushed away the debris around the tree, and carefully pulled his wife's body up.

The wife's face was calm and seemed to be walking peacefully. Chen Ping put the knife back into his waist, carried his wife's corpse on his back, and hurried back with difficulty.

Along the way, from time to time, I came across refugees who came out to forage for food, and many of them were on the shore, looking for debris washed down upstream, to see if they could find something to eat.

When they met Chen Ping, who was carrying his wife's corpse on his back, most of the refugees were expressionless and pale. In the past few years, no one has died in the family, and everyone has long been numb.

Several refugees came up, followed Chen Ping, and kept talking to Chen Ping. Chen Ping shook his head constantly, and finally even scolded angrily and pulled out his knife.

"They're all dead people anyway, change it, everyone has something to eat!"

"If you drag it back like this, everyone will starve to death sooner or later!"

"My daughter has just been out of breath for two days, and she is fresh. How about a change"

Chen Ping turned around, pulled out his knife, and roared loudly.

"Don't get out of the way yet!"

Seeing Chen Ping's big shoulders and round waist, his strength and strength, and the sharp blade in his hand, several refugees left in a hurry.

A small grave was erected outside the ruined house, next to the grave of the parents and son. Chen Ping kowtowed a few times, and then stood up slowly.

In troubled times, human life is like a mustard, even if the dead can be a hundred, the living have to find a way to live no matter what.

Chen Ping's eyes were red and he stood up. He stepped into the dilapidated house and sat down against the broken wall. In the past few days, he has to keep an eye on his wife's grave, so that his wife's body will not be dug out and used as food.

I don't know how long it took, in a daze, an earth-shattering shout suddenly sounded outside, and Chen Ping's closed eyes opened suddenly.

He stepped out of the dilapidated house and looked ahead. I saw countless refugees rushing to the shore from the ruins and reeds all over the river.

On the banks of the Huai River, many refugees knelt in the muddy water, kowtowing their heads incessantly, as if they had met a savior.

The sky was still overcast, and there was a light fog on the river. Looming, several tall oil sails came into Chen Ping's eyes. Although the distance was still far away, Chen Ping also clearly saw the characters "Wang" and "Song" on the flag.

"It's the Loyal Rebels coming! It's Wang Xianggong's team here!"

The shouts filled the entire field, and on the banks of Huaishui, countless Song people cried and knelt on the ground. And not far from the shore, there are refugees all over the mountains and fields, dragging their families and struggling to the shore.

Chen Ping was caught in the crowd of refugees, staggering, frantically moving forward, not afraid of the cold. He resisted the excitement in his heart, and as if his heart was about to jump out, he strode towards the place where the ship was.

"Hurry up and send soldiers to maintain order, prepare to boil porridge, and help the people."

Li Bao got off a big boat, stepped on the wet and hard ground on the shore, and couldn't help but widen his eyes as he watched the countless ragged and crying people rushing across the strait.

Oh my God, how can there be so many refugees?

These people had unkempt hair like weeds, yellow faces and thin muscles, and their clothes were tattered, and many of them were still wearing single clothes in the cold, and they did not know what kind of suffering they had endured in the ruins of this shore

This time he was ordered to go south, aiming to open up a sea route, meet the sea ships sent by Huang Shishun from the coast of Fujian, occupy a port, and build a navy.

Needless to say, he also knew that what Wang Song wanted was the Huaihai estuary, as well as Liuqiu, a base for going south and north.

It is said that the Ryukyu Islands are thousands of miles long, and there is a lot of sulfur on the island, and Wang Song also painted several places in them.

Although he had a sketch in his hand, Li was also up and down in his heart. Whether it is Liuqiu or the thousands of miles long Ryukyu Island, it is not easy to find the source of sulfur.

Wang Song granted him the post of envoy to the coastal areas of the seas, and asked him to deal with all the wars related to the sea.

Seek the history of thorns, take the north and look south. Wang Song attaches so much importance to it, and he must use troops against Jiangnan and even overseas.

Along the way, along the canal, the warships of the loyal and righteous army relied on the strength of their ships and guns, and by the way, swept away dozens of naval warships of the pseudo-Qi on the river, and pacified the inland river north of Huaishui in one fell swoop.

As long as the Lianshui Army marches eastward, in less than an hour, it can enter the sea, or go north to Shanghai and Mizhou, or south to Yangzhou and Mingzhou, and there are as many as five or six seaports suitable for the navy.

Go south to occupy Liuqiu, form a naval base, if you go north, there will be no conflict with the Song Dynasty, Haizhou and Jiaoxi Bay, are excellent harbors for the navy to station.

If you go south, you can control the Huaiyan in Chuzhou, Taizhou, and Tongzhou, and completely solve the problem of the salary and silver of the loyal and righteous army.

The soldiers on the shore were busy making pots and cooking on the shore, and countless refugees gathered around, sitting, lying or standing, but the rules were in order, and no one dared to come forward to disturb the noise.

Anyone can see that these guys are shouting warmly, but the military discipline is strict, revealing such a murderous aura.

It is no wonder that the loyal and righteous army has killed countless thieves, just by looking at this army, you know that it is worthy of its name.

"After eating, transport these people to the vicinity of Gyeonggi, or Hebei and Hedong, so as not to lose their lives!"

The soldiers were all indignant, shaking their heads and sighing. The land of Lianghuai is three crops in two years, or even two crops in one year, and the people have always lived and worked in peace and contentment, without worrying about food and clothing.

Who knew that as soon as the Jin people came, they burned, killed and looted, and did all kinds of evil. Local bandits are rampant, like hell on earth.

"Whoever has been to sea, who has been to sea, can immediately get on the ship and join the Loyal Army!"

Li Zhuang shouted, and the refugees came out, densely packed.

"General, the villain has been out to sea!"

"The villain has been out, he has been to Goryeo!"

Many of the men who grew up on the seashore are experts at sea, and sailors and leaders abound.

Chen Ping often sails to sea, so he naturally does not live behind.

"Brothers, are you all willing to fight against the Jin people?"

Seeing a group of refugees in ragged clothes and different faces on the shore, Li Bao asked in a deep voice.

"As long as you can follow the loyal army to kill the Jin people and avenge the dead family, the villain will be a cow and a horse, and he will be willing!"

"The villain is willing, as long as he eats for his mouth!"

Li Bao nodded and said, "I can accept you." However, the military order is like a mountain, once you are in the army, you must accept the military regulations and military law, otherwise you will be severely punished!"

Everyone bowed together and said, "Thank you, General!"

Li Bao nodded. Leaving the river boat to lead a group of soldiers to occupy Chuzhou, garrison the Lianshui Army, build river embankments, build dock shipyards, and the other warships continue to go south, and wait until Liuqiu, these newly recruited people have to be trained well.

Suddenly, the cry of a baby sounded in the crowd of people on the shore. Some people shouted loudly in the crowd, and they were obviously overjoyed by the people around them.

Chen Ping's heart trembled, and it was Chen Yuanwai's family in the village who thanked others, and it seemed that Chen Yuanwai had a grandson. That baby was supposed to be his grandson of three generations, and he didn't expect to be born in this stormy season.