In Heshan Township, Ningyang County, Shandong, dark clouds are rolling in the sky. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe people of Heshan Township looked at the dark clouds in the sky one by one, hoping that these dark clouds could bring some rain to Heshan Township.

Ningyang County has not rained for three months.

Without rain, crops will not survive. Irrigation alone cannot save crops by carrying water from rivers and wells. The rice crops in the field have dried up and turned yellow due to lack of water. If it doesn't rain again in half a month, this year's crops won't be harvested.

If there is no harvest, there will be no food to eat next year, and we will have to flee the famine. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Shandong was a great drought, when several counties in Shandong were starving and the number of people was greatly reduced, and some people even exchanged cannibalism. I didn't expect to survive the drought, it's only been two years, and Ningyang County is another drought.

This time the drought lasted for three months, and it was protracted, how many people will starve to death in Ningyang County this time?

Liu Jiangui, a farmer in Heshan Township, looked at the dark clouds in the sky with his eyes blank, so nervous that he couldn't speak.

Now Liu Jiangui is actually very tired, he was busy last night carrying water to irrigate his fields, carrying water from the Dawen River to irrigate his fields.

The Dawen River is also almost dry, only a little water in the middle of the riverbed, which looks like a small stream. It is not easy to climb from the embankment to the bottom of the riverbed to carry water, Liu Jiangui fell while walking yesterday, and when he fell, he wiped it on the ground, and fell a big hole in his arm.

However, even this hard work can only alleviate the gradual drying up of rice. The Dawen River is three miles from his fields, and he can only pick up two buckets of water at a time. After twenty trips back and forth, he barely watered a shallow layer of water on more than a dozen acres of rice. If you want to get a good harvest, this kind of irrigation is not enough.

Liu Jiangui didn't dare to rest during the day, and after sleeping for an hour, he got up again and prepared to fetch water.

Liu Jiangui's crops are still close to the Dawen River, and he can get water after working hard. What about the fields far from the river?

There are a few men in the village who like to go to the town to listen to the "Shandong Daily", and Liu Jiangui heard them say that the whole of Shandong is in a big drought. In many places, the crops have all withered. Not only were there droughts, but there were also locust plagues in Qingzhou and Laizhou, and those locusts were overwhelming, and even the dry crops were not spared.

Liu Jiangui looked at the dark clouds in the sky with blank eyes, and secretly said that only a rain from the sky could save the people of Shandong.

Suddenly, the second son of the Huang family next door ran over and ran to the door of Liu Jiangui's courtyard and shouted, "Liu Jiangui, go to the Dragon King Temple." Master He put out sacrifices and begged for rain! ”

Did Master He ask for rain?

Liu Jiangui was overjoyed when he heard this, and threw down his flat shoulder and strode to the outside of the Dragon King Temple by the river. When he got there, Liu Jiangui found that hundreds of people had gathered outside the Dragon King Temple. The ragged peasants knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the idol in the temple of the Dragon King.

He Yuan, the largest landlord in Heshan Township, placed a pig's head, chicken and duck offerings on the shrine of the Dragon King Temple, and was offering incense to the Dragon King.

Liu Jiangui also walked in and knelt behind the villagers.

He Yuanwai shouted loudly while offering incense: "Li Zhi caused trouble in Shandong to manipulate public opinion, angered the heavens, and finally caused a great drought. However, we and other people are all innocent, and they are definitely not members of the Li Thief Party. I also ask the Dragon King to show mercy to the people of Heshan Township, manifest his spirit, and rain down to save the people of Heshan Township from famine in the coming year. ”

Liu Jiangui was stunned when he heard He Yuanwai's words, and secretly said What does this drought have to do with Jin Guogong? This member hated Li Zhizhi and forced the drought to the Duke of Jinguo.

However, the people begged for rain at this time, and they were very respectful of He Yuanwai who paid for rain, and no one came out to refute He Yuanwai. He Yuanwai chattered for a while in front of the divine case, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and inserted the three pillars of incense into the incense burner.

As soon as He Yuanwai wiped the incense, there was a rolling thunder outside the temple.

Thunder? It's going to rain?

The people in the temple became excited, and they all looked at He Yuanwai in front of the god case. He Yuanwai was a clever man, kneeling in front of the god case and shouting loudly: "The dragon king has a spirit!" If the dragon king resents the Li thief, he can bring disaster to Tianjin. The people of Shandong are by no means Li Thief Party, and I hope that the Dragon King will send down Ganlin to save the people on my side. ”

After He Yuanwai said this, he kept kowtowing to the statue of the Dragon King. The people kneeling inside and outside the Dragon King Temple also followed He Yuanwai and kowtowed vigorously to the statue.

As if he was very disappointed with He Yuanwai's words, the rolling thunder suddenly stopped.

No matter how reverent the crowd was, the thunder never sounded again. Liu Jiangui looked up at the sky, but saw that the dark clouds were getting lighter and lighter, and they were gradually cracking. A desperate ray of sunlight pierced the scattered dark clouds and fell to the parched earth.

Liu Jiangui was greatly depressed in his heart, and suddenly fell helplessly on the ground.

There is no harvest this year, and next year we will starve to death.

"Shandong Daily" said that Henan is also in a big drought this year, and the harvest in Nanzhili is not good. Even if you go out to escape the famine, I am afraid that you will die in a lifetime, and if you can't say it, you will die in another country.

The sunlight shattered the illusions of many people, and the people looked at the blue sky in despair, one by one dumbfounded and speechless. After a while, some people hugged each other and began to cry.

Liu Jiangui sighed and was about to get up, but suddenly saw a panicked young man running in the distance.

"Oh no! The Dawen River is broken! The Dawen River is dry! ”

Finished.

Liu Jiangui seemed to be punched in the chest, and he couldn't react for a long time. He only felt that it was a little difficult to breathe, and suddenly he fainted in the darkness in front of him.

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"There was a great drought in Shandong in March, and the red land was thousands of miles. The people's crops have all dried up, and next year's food ration may have been wiped out. The locusts in Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou cover the sky, and there is not a single grass left in the places they pass..."

In the early morning of the Emperor's Palace, Zhu Youzhen, the Son of Heaven, looked at the civil officials who reported the situation and sighed.

Shaanxi and Henan just had a drought last year, and this year Shandong has a drought and locust plague, and this Ming Dynasty has survived to the 16th year of Chongzhen, and it is becoming more and more difficult. Although it is said that the famine in various places is largely caused by the abandonment of water conservancy facilities, the famine in the past two years has been too dense, which makes Zhu Youzhen feel a little breathless.

After last year's severe drought in Shaanxi, famine is everywhere this year, and although the rich families have accumulated grain, they are unwilling to take it out for disaster relief in vain, and the small people have no food and are starving all over the wilderness. Li Zicheng seized this opportunity to make trouble in Shaanxi, led the hungry people to attack the county seat and opened the granary, and in the past few months, he has captured eight county seats.

The situation in Henan is not very peaceful, Henan also suffered from drought last year, and this year is also due to a shortage of food. Luo Rucai, Ge Zuo 4th Battalion and Li Dingguo and other thieves also plundered in Henan. Last month, Zhu Youzhen sent Cao Bianjiao and Wang Pu south to suppress the thieves, but the thieves ran away when they saw the officers and soldiers coming, and Cao Bianjiao and Wang Pu's more than 30,000 soldiers and horses could not suppress the whole of Henan.

If Shandong is in chaos again, how many people will starve to death. How many thieves are going to take advantage of the situation and break through how many states and counties?