*

The vast sky was full of red clouds, and a chaotic turbid sun barely showed an orange-red irregular outline among the dense clouds, revealing a little dull brilliance.

On the muddy suburban avenues, the surrounding scenery gradually becomes obscure as the sun sets in the west, and only the majestic city gate standing in the distance and the huge inscription "Pingzhou" painted vermilion on the city gate can make people know where they are.

One person and one rider are galloping on the avenue. The horse was brown, short in stature, but with well-developed tendons and long mane, and from the appearance of its mouth half open and its tongue sticking out, it seemed that it had run for quite some time without rest, but the feeling of its hooves on the ground was still very strong and strong. Those who are familiar with horses can tell at a glance that this is a southwestern horse from the Yunnan-Guizhou region. They are not fast running speed and weak explosiveness, but they are very good at walking mountain roads with heavy loads, and are very able to bear hardships and stand hard work, so they are often used as pack horses in the army, specializing in transporting grain, grass and baggage.

The man on horseback was wearing short boots and a training robe, and sure enough, he was also wearing a soldier's clothes, but the clothes and leather armor on his body were already torn and uneven, and the neat wounds showed that they had just been cut by sharp weapons. His clothes were soaked with large patches of blood, and blood-red wounds could be seen in the flesh at every opening. He lay half-naked on the horse's back, the horse's reins were wrapped around his wrists twice, and then he dragged on it, his legs hung down weakly, and he could hardly step on the pedals, and the blood and sweat flowed down the horse's back little by little, and he seemed to lose his strength at any time, and rolled and fell under the horse on the bumpy horse.

The horse ran to a few dozen meters away from the city gate and slowly stopped, and the man on horseback had no movement or sound.

At this time. The gates were closed, and the soldiers patrolling the city knew from afar that the horseman's clothes looked like their comrades, and that they were in such an extraordinary time, so they hurriedly reported to the officials guarding the city. Ordered the gates to be opened a crack. Several of the guards of the city were ordered to run out and lead the horses, and carried the men off the horses.

"And gas!" A soldier reached out to probe the man's snort, and hurriedly beckoned, "Quick." Carry him in and heal! ”

At this time, they could clearly see that this was not a soldier stationed in their place, and from the shape of the robes and armor, it should be a regular army in the nearby barracks. However, because he did not see the saber by his side, and he did not have time to look for other identification documents on him, it was difficult to determine for a while.

"Grain ......"

As soon as the rescuers carried the uncertain man into the city, the man's chapped lips suddenly opened slightly. Make a faint sound.

Everyone was wondering if it was not hot at this time, but it was far from being cold, especially if a horse like him who seemed to have been riding for a short time was unlikely to feel "cold".

"Grain ......," the man said with difficulty, "the ...... of the Sanyong military camp Drop-off ...... Military rations ......"

"What?" As soon as I heard the words "Sanyong Military Camp". Everyone couldn't help but look surprised. They all know that ten days ago, His Majesty issued an order to send 10,000 stone of military rations to Pingzhou for relief to the victims in Yongzhou, which is 300 miles away. According to common sense, the military rations for disaster relief should be delivered within two or three days.

"How's the rations?" A soldier couldn't help but ask.

"Military rations...... The robbed ...... "the seriously injured man struggled to get a few words out of his mouth, as if his whole body was trembling and exerting force," brothers...... All...... All killed......"

As soon as he spat out the last word, the man went limp with a twitch.

*

At this time, in the outer hall of Pingzhou Taishou Mansion, there were two people sitting opposite each other.

One of the people sitting on the chief had a sallow-complexion. The figure is thin and straight, the face is thin and slender, and a few strands of long beard hang down to the chest, which is quite a bit of a fairy style, this person is Dong Lin, the disaster relief supervisor and counselor. But at the moment, his expression was not relaxed. Instead, he sat upright, listening carefully to the words of the man opposite him with a serious expression.

"Tell the errand," the person who spoke was forty or fifty years old, wearing a five-grade official uniform, with a round body and charitable facial features, which was the Taishou Shi Guoliang of Pingzhou, "So far, five porridge factories outside the city have started work, and they make a fire to boil porridge every day to help the victims, and give porridge once at noon and once at unitary time. Two other porridge factories are under construction. According to the instructions of the superiors, there are strict requirements on the proportion of rice and water in the 'disaster relief porridge', so as to prevent the possible deduction of disaster food, and ensure that the victims can fill their stomachs and no longer starve to death. In addition, a number of shacks have been completed for temporary accommodation for the victims, and are now able to accommodate more than 4,000 people temporarily, and the rest are being built in a hurry. ”

Dong Lin asked again: "What is the pledge of the wealthy households in the city?" ”

Shi Guoliang touched the short beard of his chin, his already slender eyes narrowed into thin slits, and his round lips curled slightly: "Go back to the upper cha, the method taught by the upper cha to the lower officials really worked." As soon as the wealthy families heard that if the donated money and food were insufficient, they would open the city and let the victims go to the city to collect food and drink from their homes, and they all said that they would do their best to provide disaster relief. More than 260 wealthy households in the city have pledged a total of 200,000 taels of silver and 30,000 stones of grain. ”

Dong Lin nodded, "The 200,000 taels of silver, tomorrow people will be scattered to nearby states and counties to purchase food and winter clothes, and transport them back as soon as possible to help the victims." In this way, it can support more than a month. ”

"Do as you are told." Shi Guoliang nodded and pondered for a moment, then sighed, frowned, and said, "It's just...... Xia Guan was worried that once the warehouse was opened here for disaster relief and the rich households were called on to donate money and grain, the nearby disaster victims would continue to pour into Pingzhou, fearing that the disaster food and materials would run out soon. Once the victims fled from Danzhou, they all gathered in the southern suburbs of our county. Now there are more than 8,000 victims in the southern suburbs, and based on the daily consumption of these 1,000 victims, the food in the city is no longer enough to support a month, and even if the 10,000 stone military rations transferred from Sanyong are added, I am afraid that they can barely survive until the early winter. At that time, the disaster county has not been rebuilt, the embankment has not been repaired, and the grain will be replanted, and we will have to wait for next year's spring ploughing. Unable to return to their places of origin, the victims will only be flooded from all directions in an area that is bound to be unsustainable. ”

Dong Lin took a deep breath, as if he had already deeply experienced the severity of this, but his expression quickly relaxed, and he stroked his long hair and said, "Shi Taishou doesn't have to worry too much. On this trip, the official first went to Danzhou, where the disaster was most severe, to learn about the extent of damage to houses, acres, and water conservancy projects, and then went to the surrounding prefectures and counties to inspect them. Nowadays, Pingzhou is not the only county in Pingzhou to open warehouses to release grain and provide relief to the victims, and many relatively wealthy counties such as Yudong, Xinlong, and Changhua are adopting similar policies to open warehouses for disaster relief. At present, we are only waiting for the money and grain allocated by the imperial court to arrive one after another. Therefore, the victims of the disaster will definitely be diverted, please don't worry too much about Shi Taishou. ”

Shi Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief a little, smiled and arched his eyes and said, "The superior is wise." ”

Dong Lin waved his hand and said: "Although this official is ordered by the imperial court to supervise the disaster relief, when it comes to the experience of disaster relief, some places are far inferior to the people who have experienced this catastrophe. Many of my officials' ideas were inspired by my interactions with them. Otherwise, it will be more of a law for predecessors, which is not praiseworthy. Shi Taishou, it is you who have led the officers and soldiers to give porridge and repair sheds under the scorching sun these days, sparing no effort, being conscientious and working tirelessly. When the disaster relief is completed, the official will definitely report the matter to the imperial court. ”

Shi Guoliang was busy and said humbly: "Praise the difference!" Shi Guoliang first thanked the messenger for his great kindness. ”

At this time, a person hurriedly walked in from outside the door, ignoring the number of etiquette that was passed on, strode in front of Dong Lin, and said with a solemn face: "Sorry to disturb the two, the lower official has something important to report!" ”

The person with reddish-brown skin, very convex eyebrow bones, and a thick nose, and a somewhat strange appearance was none other than Tuoba Shou, a free-rider who came with Dong Lin for disaster relief.

"Lord Tuoba, please speak quickly." Dong Lin could see from Tuoba Shou's anxious expression that things were extraordinary.

"Lord Dong, when the lower officials were ordered to patrol the security in the city just now, they met the officials guarding the city and hurriedly went to the Taishou Mansion to report." Tuoba Shou looked anxious and said: "The lower officials saw that he looked abnormal, so he asked, and after asking, he realized that they had just rescued a soldier who claimed to be from the Sanyong military camp. According to the soldier, all the grain and grass transferred from the Sanyong military camp were robbed! Except for him, who had to flee here to report the news, none of the officers and soldiers survived! ”

"Huh? How could such a thing happen?! Shi Guoliang was so shocked that he almost snapped the case, "What kind of thief is so rampant and unscrupulous!" ”

Dong Lin also frowned and asked, "Do you know where you were robbed and who was robbed?" ”

Tuoba Shou sighed regretfully and said, "The strong man who delivered the letter was already dying when he came to the city, and he died of his injuries as soon as he entered the city gate. Therefore, we know very little about the looting of grain and grass. ”

As soon as these words came out, the room suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere became extremely solemn.

Shi Guoliang lowered his head, his voice was full of frustration and grief, "The disaster relief food is about to run out, and the 10,000 victims and the officers and soldiers of the whole city are looking forward to the transfer of military food for emergency relief, just like the hope of a long drought and the hope of a baby's parents, who would have thought ...... Unexpectedly! At this, he sighed bitterly, "...... This time, the imperial court ordered the Sanyong military camp to transport 10,000 stone of grain and grass, and the first batch of military grain to our Pingzhou also had 500 stones, no less than 200 military horses were transported, and more than 150 soldiers were escorted...... It's really sad that this army has been wiped out! ”

"Lord Dong," Tuoba Shou raised his eyebrows, hugged his fists at Dong Lin and said, "It's dark today, and everything is not appropriate." Early tomorrow morning, the lower officials will check the people and horses, go back to the place where the grain and grass were robbed, and at the same time send someone to notify the Sanyong military camp, vowing to find out the truth! ”

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*(To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )