In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, this year from March, there is only one word "drought" in the north and south of the river, often for three or four months, or even five or six months without rain, in history, this year is the year of the rise of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other rogues, in the final analysis, it is because of the drought that has caused millions of people to lose their livelihoods, and millions of people have become a steady stream of soldiers for the rogues.

These displaced people became the last straw that crushed the Ming Dynasty.

Since the beginning of April, a stream of displaced people has been moving in Shaanxi, Henan, Beizhili and other places, leaving their hometowns and begging along the streets, hoping to survive. I don't know how many people have starved on this road, and I don't know how many people have died on the way to flee the famine.

It is even more common for Yi Zi to cannibalize and sell himself to bury his father, and the so-called lucky few have also become slaves, more have become starving, or become bandits, and those who are lucky enough to survive in the future have become members of Li Zicheng's army.

In fact, Da Ming does not mean that he has always turned a blind eye to them. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang set up almshouses in various places to accommodate the victims, to help the orphaned, poor, disabled and helpless, and to set up a mound to bury the corpses. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, porridge factories were also set up all over the country to help the victims. However, this kind of benevolent government reached the end of the Ming Dynasty, as the imperial treasury became more and more difficult, there was no weakness, even if the imperial court squeezed out thousands of taels or tens of thousands of taels of silver, but for millions of displaced people, such a little silver was just a drop in the bucket.

Either starve to death, or rebel.

It seems that there are only two ways for displaced people to go, at least historically, they have only had two choices.

But now, the displaced people seem to have another choice - I don't know when, especially after the rumors spread that merchants from all over the country spread that De Shizi opened a porridge factory in Shandong and could survive if he went, thousands of displaced people walked towards Shandong from all over the country every day.

On the official road leading to Shandong, you can see groups of begging homeless people everywhere, they drag their children and daughters, carry broken empty bowls with their families, beg along the way, and walk towards Shandong.

To the boundary of Shandong means to be born! Meant to live!

Of course, they can't go directly into Shandong, I can't enter Shandong from the official road, there are homeless settlements on both sides of the road, but no one will avoid it because there will be food.

Because there are so many displaced people, the soup in the resettlement center is only gruel, but it is only gruel that hangs for life. But even if it is a bowl of clear pea porridge with a bottom, it means life and hope for the homeless.

In fact, for the displaced people, the resettlement center can not only provide gruel for hanging life, but also very safe, there is no royal law among the displaced people, in order to survive, people can do whatever it takes, the strong bully the weak, rob property, and even rape widows and orphans in public, it is very common.

When people are in a desperate situation, they never know what they will do. After all, human beings are inherently evil.

However, here, not to mention bullying the weak, even to receive porridge must be lined up, if you see someone cutting in line, those township soldiers will directly pick up the spear in their hand, and use the hardwood gun to step forward is a beating, without mercy.

Almost every day, people who take the lead in robbery are beaten, and if they dare to resist, it is not as simple as adding sticks, and they will even be directly corrected on the spot.

“…… Those who gather in the settlement center to make trouble, behead! ”

The village soldier on horseback shouted loudly as he rode through the ranks of the displaced people, and the spear in his hand was holding a bloody head.

Troubled times with heavy canons!

In order to prevent the homeless from becoming outcasts, an iron fist is the only option to protect the vast majority of people, and it is even the best option.

Faced with the bloody heads, most of the displaced people outside the resettlement center were frightened and honest. Even those who are unruly can become docile, after all, in the face of power, the vast majority of people choose to remain silent.

First register and then get the number plate, and then line up to eat, because the supply is abundant, so there is no need to rush. Therefore, the displaced people can also consciously queue up.

"Name, where did it come from?"

"Li Liujin, Nanzhili Huai'an Mansion ......"

……

When the displaced people registered in the resettlement center, there were several scholars next to the resettlement center, looking at the scene in front of them with solemn expressions, watching the displaced people enter the resettlement center in an orderly manner.

They just watched so quietly, but it was as if they were looking at something incredible, with disbelief and even incredulity in their eyes. After being silent for a long time, Huang Zongxi asked.

"If everyone in the world sets up resettlement centers and resettles displaced people like Shandong, how can there be the current scene of "thousands of miles of red land, millions of displaced people, and thieves swarming"? ”

Qian Bangqi nodded and sighed.

"But even so, there are still arguments in various places that the son of virtue helps the people and buys the hearts of the people."

"With my Ming clan, you have to abuse the people to be considered a clan?"

Huang Zongxi sneered.

"If my Ming clan is like the son of Deshizi, how can the situation in this world be like this! You and I went all the way north from the south to the south, and there is no place in this world, like Shandong, although there is a great drought, there are no thieves swarming, and there are no displaced people everywhere......"

"Hey, but there's only one Shandong."

Qian Bangqi's long sigh, so that several scholars around, all shook their heads and sighed, as scholars, they don't know why Shandong is so different, if there is no virtue Shizi in Shandong's arbitrariness, I am afraid that the current Shandong is also a swarm of thieves, and the homeless people are everywhere.

"It's a pity ......"

Huang Zongxi couldn't help but sigh, maybe only he knew in his heart why this sigh came from.

"yes, it's a pity......"

A few people sighed, and continued to continue to go north along the official road, in fact, to see the north to the capital is to take the canal, but now because of the drought caused by the canal cut off, they can only go north along the official road, but because of this, they have to see Shandong like a big construction site.

Because the official road is being renovated, you can see it everywhere along the way, where huge stone rollers are dragged to ram the people of the official road, and the continuous grass huts on both sides of the official road are the residences of craftsmen, and the laughter of women and children can be faintly heard between the grass sheds.

When passing by the "village", they paid special attention to the women and children in the "village", compared to the yellow-skinned homeless people in the resettlement center, although they were in the same shabby clothes, their faces were a little bloody.

After walking around the "village" for half a circle, Huang Zongxi, Qian Bangxin and others came to a tea stall on the side of the road, and after asking for a few bowls of tea, Qian Bangxin asked while serving tea.

"Uncle, how much do these people get paid for a day's work on the construction site?"

"Wages?"

"Just say they won't be paid on this construction site?"

"Wages, is it useful to pay wages?"

The old man selling tea was stunned and asked rhetorically.

"Childe, do you know what the price of food is on this street now?"

"The price of food?"

Qian Bangxin was stunned, and Huang Zongxi on the side said:

"At least three or four stones."

Speaking of this, he stopped, stared at the people who were working on the construction site, and said in surprise:

"Could it be that the people on this construction site don't pay their wages? Porridge only? ”

"It's not soup kitchen, it's food, one and a half pounds of food a day!"

The old man who sold tea looked towards the construction site and sighed.

"These people, they have met good people, if it weren't for the benevolence and righteousness of our prince, they would have been able to get so much food, one and a half catties of grain a day, this is a person's salary, it is obviously rations for them to support their families, you see......"

The old man pointed to the wooden planks in the distance and said.

"If someone's family needs silver, take the grain over there and sell it, a pound of grain can be sold for fifty or sixty yuan, a few sons, these years, you can exchange the grain for silver, but you may not be able to exchange the silver for food!"

The old man's words made them silent for a while, at that time, it was true that money could not be exchanged for food, but it was just ......

"I suddenly got a little worried."

Suddenly, Huang Zongxi said.

"If one day the prince runs out of all the food, what will these people do then?"