The mountain is here and the tomb is here, and the water is here and the water is here, creating the thousand-year-old city of Yiling (now Yichang City). From Yiling City up the river, not far away is Nanjin Pass (Note 1).

Nanjin Pass is the exit of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and the entrance of the Three Gorges, Kuimen, one east and one west, echoes each other from afar.

I saw that the Guancheng stood on a narrow huge rock protruding from the center of the river, and under the limestone of Qingzhang, the turbulent torrent roared out of the door with the power of ten thousand jun, and entered the Jingchu land of Pingchuan. Suddenly, it was cheerful, so that the river unloaded all its strength. In an instant, the width of the river jumped from 100 zhang to 1,000 zhang. And that Jiang Shui, like a reckless and violent strong man, made a gorgeous turn in front of thousands of audiences and transformed into a gentle and amorous girl.

It is precisely because of the unique geographical location of Nanjin Pass that most of the ships going up the river take this as the end of their voyage. Many shipowners who could not bear the dangers of the Three Gorges unloaded their cargo here, and transferred their goods back to Shu by safer land. The cargo went to the empty ship, and the ship had to be sold on the spot or even dismantled. Over time, a large wharf was formed at the confluence between the Yangtze River under the Nanjin Pass and the Huangbai River on the north bank.

The large wharf meanders north for miles along the Huangbai River, with berths for boats and timber, shipbreaking or ship repair shops of various sizes. Of course, the larger businesses are diverse, including ship breakdown, ship repair, ship and timber trading, as well as hotels, restaurants, brothels and dart board escorts.

Recently, however, business at these shops has plummeted, and many have had to close their doors. Because from the beginning of the first month, a large-scale wave of displaced people surged from the east, occupying all the gaps in the Nanjinguan wharf.

Many of these displaced people whose families or even their families have moved westward are penniless, what should they do if they eat, drink, and Lazar? The meek beggars for a living, and the wicked go to steal and rob. On weekdays, these shops are not afraid of homeless people at all, because they are backed by the gentry or the super-wealthy. But now, these shops cowered and trembled. Because the number of displaced people is not tens of hundreds, but hundreds of thousands!

There are 10,000 people, and there is no boundary.

The human head, at a glance, is still the human head, and the human head cannot be seen. The crowds are still coming, with tens of thousands and thousands of miles a day. No one knows when the crowd will subside.

Nanjinguan Wharf has become a sea of people.

Since hearing that Shu land was divided according to the number of people, those displaced people who had no food, clothing, land and land began to migrate westward. Shu is like a fantasy paradise, arousing the endless yearning of the homeless. They turn the suffering of the real world into a vision of a better life.

In order to have a chance to survive, the homeless people exposed the positive and negative sides of ugliness and goodness in human nature. Some families sheltered lonely women and children along the way, and gave the little food they had left to their mouths. Some families fought for a place on a ferry, pushing other homeless people into the river and drowning. More displaced people belong to the silent majority. They endured cold and hunger, and surrendered their fate to the heavens; They begged for the gods and Buddhas, and prayed that a huge ship would take them out of this boundless sea of suffering.

“…… Master Zhang, you can't wait like this! The grain ships did not know when they would arrive, but the stock of grain was getting smaller and smaller day by day. After waiting for a few more days, there will be no food to be provided in the state warehouse. At that time, the homeless people made a fuss, and it was a great disaster! ”

The person who is anxious and ruthless is Chen Youfu. The Lord Zhang in his mouth is Zhang Dazhong, the governor of Yiling, who is seated in the main hall of the Yamen of Nanjin Pass.

On the evening of February 9, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, after nearly 20 days of journey on board, Chen Youfu led more than 2,000 people from Lin Yan, Li Sixian, and Jingchu Task Force to Yiling. Before he could reach the shore, he saw a sight that shocked everyone.

The crowd is like a sea, and the people are hungry. Chen Youfu is also a homeless person, and he knows what the homeless people will do when they are hungry. Therefore, he immediately ordered Lin Yan, Li Sixian and others to continue to go east to Wuchang for a blind date as originally planned, and he led Wen Yangzheng, the logistics minister of the cadre regiment, to visit Nanjin Pass early the next morning. Coincidentally, in addition to a garrison and more than 100 soldiers in Nanjin Pass, there is also Zhang Dazhong, the governor of Yiling, who has just arrived to sit in the town.

Zhang Dazhong Engong was born, is the fifteenth governor of Yiling Prefecture in the fifteenth year of the Chongzhen Dynasty, and his predecessors were Lu Zhi, Liu Bingwen, Yang Chunxia, Yang Chuansong, Lin Xin, Wan Jiankun, Fang Danran, Xiang Zongshun, Yan Jingyu, Wu Sunyi, Wu Congzhe, Yang Yuanying, Yu Yan, and Jing Guoguang. The origins of these predecessors include Jinshi, Juren, and Bagong; Origins include Shanxi, Guizhou, Jiangnan, and Henan; The term of office can be as long as three years, and as short as a few months, in short, just like other local officials in the Chongzhen Dynasty, they are exchanged like a marquee.

Zhang Dazhong is a pleasant person in Jiangxi, calling himself Wujing, Chongzhen took office for thirteen years, and became a governor for two years. In the Zhizhou Yamen, he was quietly nicknamed "the fourth junior brother" by his subordinates, because his self-title and the three apprentices of Tang Seng were all "enlightened". He also learned his nickname from someone, but Zhang Dazhong, who has never been in the wild history, has been taking this long test for a long time, but he never knows its origin.

The year before last, as soon as Zhang Dazhongfu took office, it was just in time for Yang Sichang, who was given the imperial gift of "General Yanmei", the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, and the scholar of Dongge University, and Yang Sichang, who was stationed in Yiling Prefecture and commanded the provincial armies to suppress the thieves. Zhang Dazhong, who did not have a high diploma, was busy under Yang Sichang, and was very appreciated by Yang Sichang. Seeing that it was about to rise, who knew that the thief valley city would be reversed, and Inspector Yang waved his army into Sichuan. Say goodbye to the wine outside Yiling City, and when you say goodbye, you will be a zombie!

Zhang Dazhong turned to the court to report the funeral, but did not dare to say that Yang Sichang committed suicide in shame, but only said that he was angry and became ill, and the decoction was ineffective. In his pen, Yang Sichang's image has changed from a defeated general who was played by thieves to Qu Yuan, who worries about the country and the people but has no way out. The emperor, who had very personal feelings for Yang Sichang, was very satisfied with Zhang Dazhong's knowledge and understanding, and his name entered the top field of vision.

Zhang Dazhong recently received reliable information from Jingshi, saying that his evaluation of the triennial exam was "Zhuo Wei", that is, the best. With this evaluation, the recent transfer and promotion is a sure thing, but where to serve and what official to serve is more important than the promotion itself. If Zhou Yanru is assigned to other provinces or other provinces, such as Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, or Yunyang Mansion, Xiangyang Mansion or Huangzhou Mansion in Huguang, it is better not to be promoted. So recently, Zhang Dazhong not only asked his family to increase their operation in Beijing, but also took special care not to make a little mess at this juncture of the rise.

But things in this world are just so coincidental, the more afraid you are, the more he will come. The large-scale tide of displaced people from Anqing, Huizhou, and Chizhou quickly spread through Nanchang, Raozhou (Note 2), Jiujiang, and Nankang (Note 3) in Jiangxi, and Huangzhou, Wuchang, Hanyang, Chengtian, Yuezhou, and Jingzhou in Huguang.

At this time, any slight mistake will be mercilessly swallowed by the waves.

……

The words of the Shu army against the hard Bangbang did not make Zhang Dazhong, who was good at officialdom, chaotic.

He made a gesture to invite tea for a long time, moistened the hot tea in his palm into his throat, and then slowly said in an affectionate tone:

General Chen's words hit the nail on the head, but it made the official hesitate. To tell you the truth, General Chen's name is a big name, and the lower officials have heard of it for a long time! In the Battle of Changping Mountain, General Chen shocked the whole Sichuan. The lower officials heard that Liao Fu had repeatedly promoted General Chen, but the Shu Wangfu was not allowed. That being the case, presumably His Royal Highness the Prince must have greater expectations for General Chen! Now the prince sent General Chen to Yiling to receive the displaced people, which shows that His Royal Highness the prince is kind to the people, and also shows the trust of the general!

At the moment, I am a wanderer in Jingchu, and the ** of the ten is driven directly from the south; And the people of the south have ten ** rushed to the boundary of my Yiling land! Yiling, a house under Sanzhouer! Although there are thousands of stones in the state warehouse, it is only a drop in the bucket for hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The official had already ordered his subordinates to ask the displaced people, why did they stay in this state and not go? They all said that they would go to Shu to divide the fields. It's just that the road ahead is long, the road is far and near, the mountains and rivers, they should not know. At the same time, he had no food to spare, so he did not dare to move forward rashly.

The subordinate once admonished his own official, why not drive him away with soldiers? The official said: The official is benevolent! This official is a herdsman on behalf of the sky, such as the shamelessness of Zheng Eryang in Anhui, and the official disdains it! General Chen's arrival here is to solve the urgent need of his own officials. This official must clear the warehouse to feed the people of Shu, so that they can set off as soon as possible! ”

Zhang Dazhong's dignified and upright official words, Chen Youfu only understood it at the end:

The words of these dog officials should be listened to in reverse!

It's not that Zhang Dazhong doesn't want to drive the displaced people away, but he has more than enough strength to do so, and he is even more afraid that forcibly driving them out will cause riots. Now that Chen Youfu is here, he is in his arms! For this reason, he would rather lose the grain in the warehouse!

But if something happens, he doesn't take any responsibility. The one who bears the son can only be the Shu Wangfu and the prince!

……

Chen Youfu understood, and Lao Wen beside him also understood.

Wen Yangzheng's light boat departed from Yazhou, a few days later than Chen Youfu, and the road was even farther, so even if he traveled day and night, it was not until the day before yesterday that he met the brigade at a shoal in Xiling Gorge.

Lao Wen is the person Chen Youfu asked for in front of the world. Chen Youfu wanted Lao Wen because although Lao Wen didn't have anything outstanding in training and fighting, and he didn't like to speak, he was loyal, very popular, always smiling when he saw people, and was very good at dealing with those soldiers who were born poor. Lao Wen also has a strength: because he was born poor, he is careful in everything, and he belongs to the kind of person who breaks a penny in half and is a logistics material.

Regarding Chen Youfu's request for dignitaries, Zhu Pingjin did not agree at first. He has two concerns, one is that Lao Wen is sitting in Yazhou and is already a big member of the party. If Lao Wen is transferred, he must be equipped with suitable cadres in Yazhou. This disrupted some of his recent arrangements; The second is that Lao Wenyuan is the leader of a company and a squad, and if he is placed next to Chen Youfu, an old superior, will Chen Youfu form his own group of forces in Jingchu?

But Chen Youfu finally persuaded him for only one reason: Jing Chu is lonely outside the Sichuan, and logistics must establish an independent system.

At a glance, Lao Wen, who knew that he was born in hardship, rarely took the initiative to speak:

"Lord Zhang, from here to Kuizhou, you have to climb a few mountains and walk more than 700 miles of mountain roads. Last night I went among the people to check on them, and there were many old people, women and children. They can walk thirty or forty miles a day to reach the sky. In this way, a person's trip for a month must prepare at least thirty catties of food. Otherwise, there will be no food on the mountain road, and a lot of people will starve to death. I don't know how much grain can be taken out of the warehouse relief that Master Zhang just said? ”

was directly hit by Lao Wen to hit the bottom line, and Zhang Dazhong was immediately very unhappy. But he was old and sophisticated, and he didn't show it on his face. He just cooperated very well to summon Master Qian Liang in the curtain and asked Master Qian Liang to report the number.

The master is over half a hundred years old and a little short-sighted, so his forehead has almost touched the account book when he counts.

"Dong Weng, generals, the grain stored in the official warehouse in the state was originally 1,793 stone and 3 catties. In the past few days, 561 stones have been given to the porridge, and there are still 1,232 stones left! ”

"1,200 stones, 30 catties per person, only enough for 4,000 people. Lord Zhang, I don't know if this year's autumn grain will be harvested. The last general thought, if you can use the state's Mid-Autumn Festival grain first, then ......"

Wen Yangzheng's words were not finished, because Zhang Dazhong and his master Qian Liang had already laughed.

Zhang Dazhong said with a smile: "General Wen doesn't know that Huguang's autumn grain is collected in accordance with the rules of the imperial court. There is only folded color, and there is no true color. The tax money should be handed over to the Jingzhou government, and then transferred to the political secretary yamen for dumping and then handed over to the Nanjing household department yamen......"

Wen Yang was being ridiculed by the adults in the seat, but he was not annoyed. In his life, he has been ridiculed, blinded, insulted and even beaten many times, and this time is not bad.

Wen Yangzheng calmly said his thoughts: "Lord Zhang, grain can be exchanged for silver, and silver can also be exchanged for food." Don't hide it from Master Zhang, General Chen and I are both from homeless backgrounds, and we know the taste of hungry food! Without the great kindness of the Son, we will either starve to death in the wilderness, or we will already become thieves! Now many of these displaced people are gathered under the gate, and they are short of food and clothing. A little accident can lead to a rebellion at any time! The Shu clan can take the displaced people away, but without food, the displaced people can't leave if they want to! ”

Note 1: This Nanjin Pass is not the Nanjin Pass on the other side of Langzhong City.

Note 2: Raozhou Mansion has jurisdiction over Poyang County (Yikuo), Yugan County, Leping County, Fuliang County, and Wannian County.

Note 3: Nankang Mansion has jurisdiction over Xingzi County (Yikuo), Duchang County, Jianchang County, and Anyi County.