On the second day after returning to Zhongzhai, Shang Cheng organized a pack team of more than 50 people and 120 mules and horses, led by himself, and went to Shangzhai with food, salt, and medicinal herbs under the misty rain and snow.

The condition of the roads is really poor. Although the forty-mile road in the Sichuan Road has also turned over the pulp, but this is the official road that the imperial court spent a lot of effort to build in the early years, and the roadbed is repeatedly tamped with clay fine sand, even if it is lost in maintenance for a long time, there is always a general appearance, and there is a place to settle down no matter how rotten it is, and it is really not possible to step on a sidewalk on the roadside mound. But it can't be done when you get out of the river. The rest of the road is all sheep intestine trails over the mountains. The road in the ravine is full of muddy ponds, and the road surface looks quite hard, but in fact, there is only a layer of crust on the top, and the bottom is full of thin mud, and the cold muddy water is buried directly to the calf. Many places are too scarce to walk, and you have to use dead branches and mats to cross pack horses. It was even more difficult to go up and down the mountain, just after the rain, the road was slippery, and the mules and horses could not stand on their feet at all, so they had to use manual labor to carry the sacks on the packs first, and then come back to drive the livestock. Driving the horses is even more chore, and when you go up the hill it is better, and it can almost be done with a guide in front; But it can't go down the mountain, often two or three people have to be topped and dragged and supported, often the mules and horses have not yet reached the foot of the mountain, and people are already so tired that sweat beads flow down the sideburns and necks one by one......

After tossing for six days and breaking more than a dozen mules and horses, the pack team finally completed the eighty-mile mountain road. When a group of people rolling like mud monkeys suddenly appeared outside the gate of Shangzhai Village, more than 200 people up and down in the village were all stupid.

Several officers here quickly recognized Shang Cheng. More than a month ago, they had met the young boss who had just taken office in Zhongzhai, and they were deeply impressed by Shang Cheng's fierce appearance and resolute work style. But they never imagined that he would come to Shangzhai at this time, and bring so many supplies and supplies. Looking at Shang Cheng, who was no different from an ordinary soldier, several officers were so excited that they didn't know what to say, and Qian Laosan, who had just been transferred to be the sentry commander, even grabbed his big hand full of blood, and cried in shame.

Shang Cheng didn't care about greeting Qian Laosan and them, so he immediately asked them to organize people to carry the materials. This time, he not only brought dozens of loads of grain, wheat and beans, but also brought a large amount of salt, vegetables, oil, dried vegetables, and medicinal herbs, which were not stained with water, and should be cleaned up and put into storage as soon as possible. He even brought two large iron pots and 200 clay bowls tied with wheat straw to Shangzhai. This is all in the military village is in urgent need of things, there is no need for him to order, the border army soldiers welcomed the pack team into the army village as if they welcomed their relatives, even the reins in the hands of the more than ten border households in the pack team and the sacks on their shoulders were snatched by people without saying anything. These border households, who had never been paid attention to in normal times, were now surrounded by soldiers and soldiers, all of them excited and excited, trembling with nervousness, and they could hardly move their feet.

Looking at the things sent by the pack team, the Shangzhai commander's voice was full of gas, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

Shang Cheng took the time to ask them what the situation was in the stockade now, but several officers had water in their eyes, and no one dared to speak. They are afraid that if they open their mouths, tears will not stop flowing. It was Qian Laosan who wiped his tears and told Shang Cheng that there was no shortage of food in the village for the time being, and the little grain stored could be used until after the Lantern Festival.

Shang Cheng's eyes widened in surprise. It's impossible! He remembered the numbers in the account book clearly, the reserve grain in Shangzhai could be supported for another four or five days, and the grain depot would bottom out in the next two days, how could it be possible to support the Lantern Festival twenty days later? If the food was still so rich, what would he do if he rushed over in a panic? And so many mules and horses......

"What's going on?" He asked in a vicious voice, "You dare to conceal the grain storage?" ”

Several officers were so frightened that they hurriedly waved their hands. The commander of Shangzhai stumbled and explained that their rations had been halved 20 days ago, which was also the old rule of the front-line border army village, that is, they were afraid that the snow would block the road and the grain could not be transported......

Seeing Shang Cheng frowning and sweeping his eyes over several officers, Qian Laosan, who knew his temper, hurriedly added that it was not only ordinary soldiers who halved the rations, but also halved the supply of officers, and the food that several officers put into their mouths was no different from that of the soldiers. Afraid that Shang Cheng would not believe it, he also smiled bitterly and said: "No one dares to take one more bite, one by one, the soldiers under him are staring at it." …… On this day, Gao Imperial Court is far away, and thirty miles out is the grassland, killing the officer with the troops and rolling towards the grassland, who can still find them? ”

Shang Cheng believed that Qian Laosan would definitely not deceive himself; Moreover, he could already see that the faces of several Shangzhai officers were not very good, and there was an unconcealable exhaustion and weakness in their smiles, and it seemed that they had indeed reduced their rations like the soldiers below. Only then did he remember that when he was leaving, Zhongzhai's clerk seemed to have mentioned this to him, but he had been so angry by a group of procrastinating guys that he could still listen to it. What's more, what if you hear it? Eating a full stomach is the most important thing, so he doesn't care about any rules and old routines; Even if he knew that he would eat and hang up after doing so, he would still do it! He couldn't let his soldiers go hungry and defend the frontier.

He immediately said to several officers: "Don't do these things again!" Rations as much as they need! ”

Several officers first looked happy, then looked at each other, and finally said in embarrassment to the commander of the village: "Halving the winter ration is an old rule handed down by the border army stockade for hundreds of years, and if it is changed at will, I am afraid of ......."

"West Malaysia has the final say."

The commander of Shangzhai immediately and honestly shut his mouth.

Of course, Shang Cheng knew that he was doing this, and he was actually seriously violating Da Zhao's prohibition regulations. But he can't just starve people, can he? Even if the Border Military Mansion and the Wei Mansion wanted to investigate his responsibility for this and cut his officials, he didn't care. Not only to feed the soldiers, but also to feed them as well as possible. He said to several officers: "When I go back, I will organize another pack team to try to send some more New Year's goods before the Lantern Festival, and we must let everyone celebrate the New Year in a beautiful and beautiful manner." He didn't have time to consider whether this would cause a financial crisis, but he repeatedly told them that the military village should not only take care of the soldiers in the village, but also send the supplies of the four beacons in front of him as soon as possible, and ensure the supply of the beacons at any cost! Don't starve to death!

As soon as this order was given, several officers could no longer hold back and wiped away their tears on the spot. They really didn't expect their fake boss to know the hardships of the border soldiers so well. They are all people who have come from the small soldiers step by step, they have all guarded the beacon tower and the guard post, and they know the hardships of guarding the beacon tower one by one, which is tantamount to redoing it a few times......

At this time, several officers suddenly realized that they had not welcomed Shang Cheng into the stockade. They even let Shang Cheng talk to him at the gate of the village.

The officers immediately took action to correct their momentary negligence, and gave several orders one after another: hurry to boil hot water and ask the adults to bathe, and hurry to get clean clothes for the adults to change; At noon, the room added meat and vegetables and steamed buns with pancakes to catch the wind for the adults and wash the dust for the brothers who worked hard all the way!

Shang Cheng couldn't refuse the intentions of his subordinates. He joked, "Don't eat up all the things I've managed to get on the table," and was surrounded by several officers and walked towards the stockade. As soon as he took two steps, before he even stepped into the gate, he heard someone crying not far away, mixed with the sound of begging for mercy.

He immediately stopped and followed the voice. He had already seen that there were more than a dozen crooked mud and straw houses scattered at the foot of the mountain southwest of the military village, all of which were short and dilapidated. Because there is no courtyard wall, and it is not built to shelter from the wind and rain, the grass roof of two rooms is half missing, and he thought it was a temporary barracks abandoned when the troops were stationed in front. But now a crowd of people had gathered there, and the women were crying and howling, and they didn't know what was going on. Several border soldiers were standing in front of the crowd, scrambling to stop them, apparently they didn't want these people to come.

He only glanced at it cursoryly before turning around and walking towards the group.

The closer he approached the group, the heavier his steps became, and he could barely lift his legs. What a group of people! There are old grandfathers who can't straighten their waists, old women with gray hair, thin men, and women who shrink in the wind and rain; All of them, dressed in tattered and dirty clothes, with only numb and dull eyes on their faces turned blue and yellow from hunger, gathered together tightly, facing the leather whips and sticks wielded in the hands of the border soldiers, neither hiding nor dodging. Several half-sized dolls were so hungry that their heads and bodies were out of proportion, and they looked big, and they were tugging at the trouser legs of the adults in horror, and they didn't even cry......

“…… Autumn Age, Autumn Age......" An old man knelt at the front of the crowd and kowtowed one after another.

Shang Cheng was so panicked that he grabbed the old man in two steps, grabbed the old man, and asked in a loud voice, "What's wrong?" What's wrong? ”

A sideman's bluffing whip came at him, tearing a hole in his shoulder with a snap, and the tip of the whip swept over his cheek, and a blood-soaked wound immediately appeared on his cheek.

"Help, sir! Help me! The old man cried and said, "Have pity on us people, give us a bite to eat......

Shang Chengli ignored the injury on his face, helped the old man up, and asked, "Get up, you get up and talk slowly, what's going on?" ”

"We are a family of five, and we haven't seen a grain of rice in four days...... Help, adults! "The old man's body trembled like a dead leaf that could fall from the treetops at any moment." Adult, adult...... Have pity on my little grandson, he's only four months old......"

Shang Cheng immediately saw a woman holding a baby in the crowd. The baby was tightly held in his arms by his mother with a torn jacket, revealing only half of his gray-white face, his eyelids drooped, and he couldn't tell whether he was alive or dead......

Shang Cheng's face was already purple and almost soaked in blood, so he asked the commander of Shangzhai who hurriedly followed: "What's the matter?!" The deep pain and indescribable anger almost burst out of his eyes, and his voice sounded like a roar bursting out of the abyss of hell, and the commander of Shangzhai was so frightened by him that he took a step back, and stupidly muttered, "They are...... It's a side household. The military village, the military village doesn't care about their food and drink...... They didn't, they didn't have rations......"

Shang Cheng grabbed his jacket by the collar and pulled it in front of him, stared at his red eyes and said dumbly: "I don't care!" Go and bring the grain! Go get your clothes! If there's one person here, I'll let you die! Just go! Go! ”

Shangzhai commanded to crawl to find someone to carry food and clothes, Shang Cheng turned his face to look at this group of "border households" who were already numb to no emotion and no expression. He wanted to say something to these people, but he really had nothing to say to them, and in the end he could only swallow his saliva with difficulty, and said to Qian Laosan: "In the village, is there still an empty house?" ”

Qian Laosan nodded indifferently.

Shang Cheng waved his hand tiredly and said, "Put them all in the village......