The weather during the Xiaoice River period was either a big drought or a big flood, the winter was extremely cold, and the ground could be sunburned in the summer, separated by a Luliang Mountain, and there were two heavens and earth on both sides of the mountain.

It has rained for more than ten days on the eastern side of the mountain, and the water is sufficient, and everything is watered, while on the western side of the mountain, not even a single drop of water has fallen.

This weather, which has lasted since the last rain of late spring, has been dry for several months, and nothing has grown in the fields except for the tenacious weeds.

Several counties in the northwest of Shanxi have been ten rooms and nine empty, and those who can go can either flee to Shaanxi, although there are also droughts and floods, but I heard that the Ming Dynasty Liangguo Gong was in disaster relief, opened the granary, and may be able to survive; Either cross the Luliang Mountain and go to the rich east of Shanxi, where there are piles of Jin merchants, and there are some good deeds of soup kitchen, but the Ming and Qing dynasties are fighting on both sides, and the soldiers are in chaos, which is very dangerous.

No matter which side you go to, it is a dead end for those who help the old and the young to leave their hometowns. Military disasters, taxes, conscription and other man-made disasters, combined with natural disasters, has been raging for more than ten years, these two generations of Shanxi people, in the suffering silently endured, the Ming officials were driven away by Li Zicheng, the pigtail soldiers drove away Li Zicheng, a few days ago and ran back to the Ming Dynasty old officials clamored to restore the country and reopen the government, come and go, staged a big drama, the people numbly watched, listened, and then carried their own cover rolls, embarked on the road to escape.

There is a long way to go, where is my hometown?

Wang Huan stood at the head of Xinzhou City, full of melancholy.

Dolgon expected that he was right, and the Xinzhou guard would surrender to Wang Huan as soon as possible, without even spending an iron bullet.

However, Wang Huan is still worried, he just got the news that the Yellow River in Kaifeng, Henan Province has burst its embankment.

In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, when the peasant army besieged Kaifeng, the Ming army had artificially cut off the Yellow River embankment, hoping to drown Li Zicheng, but never thought that Li Zicheng did not drown, but drowned more than 300,000 Kaifeng people, Kaifeng became a ghost city overnight, broken walls, and corpses were everywhere.

This flood has created hundreds of thousands of thieves and enriched Li Zicheng's team, which is gossip, and the right is not expressed.

At this moment, the embankment has burst again, but it is not man-made.

"After raining for so long a few days ago, I knew that sooner or later the Yellow River would find an opening to extinguish the fire." Wang Huan tapped the pillar on the tower with his knuckles and whispered: "Ten thousand rivers join in, and the Yellow River can't bear it." ”

"The embankment was once a decade ago, and I haven't had a good rest, and this burst is not unexpected." Ma Wannian flipped through a book of local chronicles and said: "After years of war, where can the magistrates take care of the renovation, but they have only suffered the people." ”

"How many people died?" Wang Huan's voice lowered.

Ma Wannian closed the book and shook his head: "I don't know, Henan is still in the hands of Wu Sangui, that guy is stuck on the side of Tongguan on the Henan side, refusing to retreat, waiting to see the outcome of our side." He guarded very strictly, and Lord Chen was not easy to count the number of dead and injured in detail. ”

"Of course King Pingxi won't go to disaster relief?" Wang Huan smiled bitterly and shook his head, looking at Ma Wannian.

"Of course, I heard that I also took the opportunity to recruit soldiers, and those who are willing to enlist in the army will be given a bucket of rice, and it is now over." Ma Wannian sighed and said: "I heard that the applicants are like clouds, and everyone wants to beg for food. ”

Wang Huan was silent, turned his back, and looked up at the clouds in the sky.

Ma Wannian stood silently behind, looking down and counting the ants on the ground.

"Life is varied, flowers bloom and bloom, there is a fixed number, we can't do anything now." After a long time, Wang Huan said: "A hundred wastes are waiting to be revived, before you can make great progress, natural disasters and man-made disasters, you have survived, it is a prosperous era, and it depends on the length of time." ”

"For the bureaucratic family, the world is changing, but changing the boss to live, standing in line with the right people, is a good year, as long as there is no speculation and risk, there are few examples of the overthrow of the clan. It is the common people who suffer, and they are the most helpless in the world, the king is angry, and the corpse is thousands of miles, sometimes when you think about it, you feel ridiculous. Why should he be angry and lay in wait for thousands of miles? Who gave him the right? ”

"The world is the king of the world, why do everyone in the world have to do their best for your family? This model will be finished sooner or later, as the saying goes, the rich are not more than three generations, why should the king's family be inherited for a hundred generations? There will be no stupid son in future generations? Can this kind of person become an emperor and the world not be chaotic? ”

"The chaos in the world is the birth of a hundred ghosts, and it is another catastrophe, exhaustively investigated, it is the shortcomings of the world, the change of dynasty, that time was not prosperous at the beginning, and it was dull after a hundred years? In fact, they are all painful reincarnations in history, and without fundamental changes in the system, sooner or later it will be a dead end. ”

As if talking to himself to the sun for a while, Wang Huan shook his head and saw Ma Wannian with his mouth wide open and demented.

Seeing Wang Huan turn around, Ma Wannian suddenly lowered his head and shook his hands wildly: "My lord, my lord, the last general has not heard anything, he has not heard anything!" ”

Seeing that he was cautious as if he had encountered a ghost or god, Wang Huan didn't notice it, and scolded with a smile: "What are you afraid of? I dare to say it, but don't you dare to listen? With such a small guts, go to Li Tingyu's subordinates as a soldier for a few years and come back! ”

Ma Wannian immediately raised his head and smiled: "That's a good dare, my lord, talking counts." ”

Wang Huan was helpless, pointed at his nose and said: "Don't be so anxious, when you turn twenty-one years old, I will release you out to be a soldier, now, do your errand in a down-to-earth manner!" ”

Ma Wannian happily agreed, remembering Wang Huan's words just now, he couldn't help but be troubled by the curiosity of the young man, and asked in a low voice: "This, my lord, what did you say just now that you want to get rid of the family and the world, what will it be replaced with?" Is it possible to let several families sit in the world, and the emperor will take turns? Isn't this talking about the Wagangzhai in the Tang Biography? ”

Wang Huan was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect that this young man was quite rich in associations, and he didn't find the right words to explain to him in a hurry, he thought about it on the spot, became angry, and shouted: "Where did Dolgon go?" Why hasn't there been any news yet? Hurry up and ask! ”

Ma Wannian fled in the wilderness and went in a hurry.

……

Souler hadn't eaten in a long time.

He hid in the grass, like a cheetah waiting for an opportunity, quietly watching a group of Ming soldiers in the distance shouting and passing by, pushing and kneading as he walked, holding an unkempt Qing soldier, the Qing soldiers were unarmed, strung with ropes, all with blood, as if they were all Mongols.

The Ming army, with chaotic clothes and armor, seemed to be a village warrior.

A team of village warriors can actually capture the Qing Dynasty soldiers alive, which is impossible to happen in the past.

Sole was already tired, he closed his eyes, lay on the ground, let the weeds cover his body, he ran for days, and wanted to rest.

Of course, the long knife in his hand, which had drunk the blood of an unknown number of people and whose blades had broken like jagged teeth, was still held tightly in his hand.

Half-asleep and half-awake, there was a slight sound, and Sule's eyes suddenly opened, jumped up gently, and squatted in place, his eyes exhausted and glowing like a wolf.

A figure groped its way through the haystack, not seeming that there was anyone hiding here, and Souler held his breath, as still as a rock.

The figure was not until it was under his nose, and before he could react, Sule pounced, pinching the hand that touched the knife with one hand, and choking the neck of the person who came with the other.

The palm of his hand was like an iron clamp, and he pinched the man and rolled his eyes.

The sky was still clear, and the sun was shining brightly among the grass.

There was a golden light in the man's arms, and Souler let go of his hand.

"The Lord Regent's Majesty?" He growled, grabbing the man by the collar, "Who are you?" ”

The man coughed in a low voice for a while, and then glared at Su Le with resentful eyes, looked at it, and saw that it was a flag man dressed as a bannerman, and asked angrily, "Who are you?" ”

Su Le said: "This will be inlaid with a yellow flag and a chapter of Jing Sule, who will follow the regent to crusade against the rebels, and the army will be defeated and scattered here, who are you?" Why is there a regent in the big hat? ”

The man's face changed, he didn't expect to meet the banner general, and quickly changed his face, and said respectfully: "I am the Mongolian Chahar Department Taiji Duobelen, on the order of the regent, to explore the direction of Xinzhou, unexpectedly met with the Ming army, a fierce battle, the subordinates were lost, I avoided the trouble here, I did not expect to meet the general." ”

Su Le frowned, this person is so poor, and the soldiers he brings can't even beat some villagers, it's really useless, but he cares about another thing: "Where is the regent now?" ”

Dobelen turned his hand back and pointed: "The regent and the guards and others are in the mountains behind, deliberately heading west, preparing to go out of the Great Wall in the west to avoid the Ming army's edge." ”

"Heading west?" Su Le was surprised, and then admired, and did the opposite, not to mention the army, even his own people couldn't imagine that Wang Huan wanted to arrest Dolgon, and he couldn't guess the direction.

Sulle grabbed the long knife in his hand, and wanted to go west, and asked the Mongols: "The front is all Ming troops, you can't get by, why don't you go back with me to protect the regent?" ”

Mongol Taiji hurriedly said: "No, the regent ordered me to go to Xinzhou to pass the order, how can I disobey?" ”

Sule squinted at him and said goodbye, and the Mongol Dobelen waited for him to go away, shrank in the haystack and muttered to himself: "Fool! It is more difficult to go to the west than to go to the east, and if you ask for death, how can I delay you? You can go! ”

……

On the west side of Luliang Mountain, between the Luya Mountains, a winding official road turns over from the direction of Xinzhou.

This is already in the territory of Wuzhai County, a tributary of the Yellow River Zhujiachuan runs through the whole territory, this river is usually not as deep as the knee, at this time because of the long rain in the upper reaches, the river water soars, the depth is not over the head, but Wuzhai County has been dry for several months, forming the wonder of long-term drought and flood.

Wuzhai County is built by the river, at this moment most of the county is soaked in water, the officials and people in the city have long fled due to the drought, there is no one on duty in the county, there are originally some righteous troops who dominate this place, but there is no one in this county, it is useless to dominate, and the flood comes, and it also runs away.

A team of people in bloody armor appeared outside the county seat, looked at the raging flood from a distance, and walked along the official road into the distance.

They didn't have horses, and the horses had long since given up in evading the pursuit of the Ming army, and it was too much trouble to lead the horses to run, so they could only walk at the moment.

On the desolate dirt road, there are no traces, feet on the loess that has been softened by the scorching sun, and the smoke and dust raised can cover the top of people's heads, and people walk in it, as if they are traveling in the fog, and they can find the traces of this group of people from a long distance.

Dolgon doesn't care, there are not even wolves to be found in this area, let alone people. No matter how high the smoke and dust are raised, they are not afraid.

(End of chapter)