It was raining heavily, torrential rain like pillars, lightning and thunder.

On the road from Jingshi to the south, a group of people in ragged clothes braved the rain to advance. Among them were nobles dressed in fine clothes, scholars in long robes, and many more refugees in plain clothes. The muddy roads have made their clothes lose their original appearance, and no matter whether they are poor or rich, they have become the color of dirt.

After months of drought in the north, the first heavy rain of the year did not bring a trace of joy to passers-by. The woods beside the road had either died of drought or had been eaten and stripped of their bark by the hungry, so that the people who were hurrying did not even have a place to take refuge.

Every year there is a drought, epidemics are rampant, and the disasters of Jiannu and Liukou are overturned, and the whole land of Hebei is ten rooms and nine empty, and there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles. Most of the villages along the road were also burned down, and they could not shelter passers-by from the wind and rain.

The road ahead is vast, and the cold rain in April has made the snow worse, making Wang Yan feel a burst of despair.

From March the emperor left "I died, and I saw my ancestors in the ground without a face, and I took off my crown to cover my face." Let the thief divide the corpse, and don't hurt a single person. ". The mentor Liu Lishun's family of twelve died and died in the community. It has been more than a month since Wang Yan escaped from Beijing, but he is still confused and can't see the direction.

If it weren't for the fact that there was always a voice in his head telling him, "Run!" Escape to the South! Even escaped from China! "Wang Yan may have fallen on the road a long time ago.

"Brother Shiheng!" A somewhat anxious call pulled Wang Yan back from his grief. He stopped, stood in the mud, and followed the prestige, he was indeed the only member of the court in the ranks, and the officials were Xu Zhi.

For this Lord Xu, Wang Yan was not happy in his heart, in his opinion, the situation in the Ming Dynasty had deteriorated like this, and the courtiers had an unshirkable responsibility. Now that the emperor has been martyred, as a minister, it is really difficult to be in awe if he does not die as a king. But along the way, he was thanks to the care of this Lord Xu, so he still turned around and said, "Lord Xu, what's the matter with calling the late life?" ”

"Shiheng doesn't have to be polite." Xu Zhi's carriage walked in front of Wang Yan, he waved the curtain with one hand, raised it slightly with the other, and looked at the soaked crowd again, and said, "This rain is very heavy, and I don't know when it will be closed." If it has been a long time, I am afraid that the disease of typhoid fever will rise again, Shiheng should let everyone avoid it quickly. ”

"Your Excellency is right, but there is no shelter around here." In April, the northern land was already cold, and now everyone was drenched in heavy rain, and after a long time, they would not be able to escape a serious illness. Wang Yan was also anxious in his heart, but the land of Hebei was too dilapidated, and his scholar who had no power to restrain the chicken was also powerless.

"Alas! Last year, the typhoid fever epidemic in Henan rose up and swept through several places, and the imperial army was also gone, resulting in the defeat of Sun Dudu's army. After this heavy rain, how many of us will survive? Xu Zhi couldn't help but feel a little sad, he sighed, and hurriedly said to Wang Yan, "Shiheng is weak, hurry up and get in the car to hide!" ”

"The adult's kindness is understood by the late student, but how can the late born take the same car with the adult, this matter must not be." Hearing this, Wang Yan was slightly stunned, and when he thought that Xu Zhi's only daughter was still sitting in the car, he hurriedly refused in a panic.

"I have a friendship with Shiheng gentlemen, and when it is very important, there is no need to respect that vulgar courtesy." But Xu Zhi didn't listen to him, and stretched out his hand to pull him into the car.

Wang Yan stood by the car, just being caught, but men and women are very guarded, although someone is invited by their father, how can they read the sage books, how can they tarnish the reputation of other young ladies. For a while, his poor and sour anger was fully revealed, and he had to say "No!" Cannot! ”

The two of you pulled me, so that Wang Yan was not embarrassed. Just when he didn't know what to do, there was a sudden commotion in the front team, followed by a cheer "Look! There is a village in front of it. ”

The two of them were slightly stunned when they heard this, and then they were both happy. Xu Zhiyue let go of his hand with some embarrassment, looked at Wang Yan and said, "Shiheng can quickly arrange and let everyone enter the village to take shelter." ”

In fact, there was no need to command at all, the team had instinctively left the post road and rushed towards the village. In this era, if you are sick or have a cold disease, you are basically dead and lifeless. Under the rainstorm, having a temporary shelter will undoubtedly increase the possibility of everyone surviving several times.

On the post road, the official army, the thief army, and the Jiannu wheel turned over the soldiers, and most of the villages on both sides of the road were destroyed, and only in the places far away from the official road, there were still some people living in the villages.

The village they found had long been deserted, but fortunately it had not been burned down, and it was barely sheltered from the wind and rain. He cleaned up a few white bones that had leaked out of the village with his peers, and drove away a few wild dogs with green eyes, then ordered people to keep a sentry and stew some ginger soup to settle down.

When the people were arranged and some food was eaten, it was already getting dark.

At this time, Xu Zhi asked people to prepare clothes for him, boiled hot water, and Wang Yan took a comfortable bath. After more than a month of hardship, when Wang Yan changed out of his long shirt and put on a clean short, where was there still the appearance of a half-cent good son, and he clearly looked like a tenant who was alive and well. Mixed in with the refugees, no one will know that he is a talented man.

In this era, ordinary people have a natural awe of scholars and officials, and many people even deify them, believing that they are immortals descending to earth and the reincarnation of stars in the sky.

Such an idea made Wang Yan's status among the refugees very high, and it was also the reason why he fled all the way, from being alone, to slowly gathering more than 200 people. And the noble lord in the team was unwilling to come into contact with the civilians, so he reluctantly made it difficult for him to be a time-taking leader.

After washing away the dust, the originally tired body suddenly felt a lot refreshed, so Wang Yan held a borrowed broken umbrella and turned around again in the place where everyone was resting. After making sure that he was basically fine, he put his mind at ease and walked back alone.

The place where he rested was very large, and it could be seen that the people who used to live in it must have been rich and noble, but now although it is deserted, it can still accommodate more than a hundred people. But ordinary people were reluctant to come in because of their status, so only Xu Zhi's father and daughter, Wang Yan, and several nobles and family members who fled south lived inside.

When he returned to the courtyard, Wang Yan found that there were already people waiting in front of the house, but it was Miss Xu, who was dressed as a Xiaosi, looking out of the courtyard. When she found Wang Yan coming in, her little face couldn't help but blush, she bowed slightly, and whispered a little shyly: "Wang Gongzi, it's a little cold, Daddy asked me to send a blanket to Gongzi." ”

This Miss Xu is only thirteen years old this year, but she is already very good-looking, and she was born in the family of the official eunuch, so she naturally has a trace of elegance and beauty.

Such a woman should have grown up in the boudoir, learned the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, married a rich and noble family, or achieved a good story of a talented and beautiful woman, but the change of dynasty made her die with her father.

An ill-fitting men's dress was put on her thin body, which looked a little funny, and also made Wang Yan feel a little palpitating, he walked in front of Miss Xu, hurriedly moved, and then took the blanket in her hand and said: "Miss Lao Xu personally sent it, please be sure to thank Lord Xu on behalf of the late student." ”

"Wang Gongzi doesn't have to be polite, Daddy said that they should support each other all the way south!" For the prince in front of her, Xu Yanyan is still very curious.

When she was still in the capital, she had heard of Wang Yan's name, and that song of Liang Zhu made her even more amazed.

It's just that she is different from ordinary women, she has been a knowledgeable person since she was a child, so naturally she is not easy to take the initiative to approach, but she has observed this prince along the way, but now that the two are very close, she doesn't dare to look at it.

Wang Yan didn't know what she was thinking, looking at her shy appearance, she just thought she was a little girl with thin skin, and immediately smiled: "Even so, that night is no longer polite." I have to go tomorrow, Miss Xu, please go back early to rest! ”

Although Xu Yanyan still wants to stay for a while, she wants to know more about what kind of person a great talent who can write such poignant stories and rhythms as Liang Zhu is. But when she heard Wang Yan's words, and it was getting late at this time, she had to bow slightly, and then Yingying retreated.

That night, Wang Yan rolled the blanket and fell asleep on the wooden board. In his sleep, strange scenes resurfaced in his dreams. In the dream, he looked at his other self, in a wonderful world. From birth to growth, every detail is incredible, but it is so real, as if the real world makes him lost and frightened, as if he has become a saint who can see the future!

"What? Da Ming is dead! ”

"Li Chuang failed to become a leader, and Jiannu entered the Central Plains!"

"It's easy to shave your hair, and you don't obey!"

On the moonlit night of the 24th bridge, fireworks went down to Yangzhou in March. The rich land in the south of the Yangtze River has been slaughtered countless times, the blood has stained the Yangtze River red, the corpses are piled up, the survivors have been sent to the left, and China will no longer exist!

Wang Yan woke up suddenly, and on the cold night of April, he was frightened into a cold sweat by the scene in his dream.

But Jiannu is only 200,000, how can he live in the Central Plains? News came from the north that Ping Xibo had already surrendered Li Chuang. There is Shanhaiguan, about Ning Tieqi, plus Li Chuang's four or five hundred thousand horses, how can Jiannu enter the customs? Wang Yan was puzzled! Maybe it's just a dream!

At this time, the heavy rain had stopped, but the sky was not yet bright, but Wang Yan was completely sleepy. He put on a blanket and prepared to go for a walk in the courtyard, thinking about the doubts that the dream brought him. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a tremor in the earth, he had seen the soldiers of the imperial court, and knew that only cavalry could have such a momentum. Now that Beizhili has no official army, it can only be an army or a horse thief.

For a while, Wang Yan was shocked, but it was no longer possible to escape. On the plains, no one can outrun the cavalry, and now they can only defend against danger, and maybe there is still a glimmer of life.

"There are horse thieves! Hurry up and retreat to the hospital! ”

Fleeing outside, everyone was already asleep, and Wang Yan's urgent cry suddenly woke up many people.

At this time, the two young men who were guarding at the entrance of the village also ran back in a panic, and said with a crying voice: "Woo?? Childe, no, we're surrounded! ”

The peaceful village immediately exploded, causing a burst of chaos, some people listened to Wang Yan's words and retreated into the compound, others ran around like headless flies, and even fled outside the village despite their families.

Wang Yan stood on the courtyard wall and saw it clearly, and immediately shouted anxiously: "If you want to live, retreat in!" ”

(Historically, Xu Zhi committed suicide by throwing himself into the water after the Jingshi was broken, and the novel has been changed here.) ）