Devastation.

Some of the elderly victims, supported by younger people, staggered to their homes, which they were familiar with. They can't believe that the ruins in front of them are the hometown that was once full of laughter and the people who had devoted their lives to it.

As far as the eye can see, there are wall bricks that have been washed away by the flood everywhere, and there is dense garbage everywhere. Even on the day the rain stopped, they began to salvage the floating corpses and drowned animals in the water, but how could they all be salvaged by manpower?

The corpses of some chickens and ducks, pigs and dogs, and even a few human corpses that had been soaked to the point of blurring their facial features were all lying on the ground where a thin layer of mud was still accumulating, exuding a fishy smell.

Some people couldn't help but start retching again, while others silently wiped away their tears. There were children making noise, women scolding, men cursing. These people, who have lived in Beixian for generations, involuntarily reappeared in front of their eyes the terrible scene at the moment when the flood hit many days ago.

On that day, the relentless rain did not stop for half a moment, and the water rose higher and higher, flowing from the high places to all the low farmlands and vegetable fields, constantly shuttling and swimming rapidly. Unstoppable, it finally broke through the flood embankment and many bridges and culverts.

The flood was like a roaring madman, the roar mixed with people's cries and cries for help, happily mocking the insignificance and fragility of human beings in the face of natural disasters.

However, they didn't have that much time to be compassionate, and all the rice and noodles brought by those officers and soldiers last night had already been eaten. Standing still and cheering up, the survivors encouraged each other, and the houses that had not collapsed had pushed open their musty doors, rolled up their sleeves and began to tidy up.

Those who lost their homes had to continue to stay in the greenhouses in confusion, thinking hard about what to do.

...

"Girl, what about these officers and soldiers?" The jade bottle pinched his nose and said, pointing at the officers and soldiers in front of him who were full of sky-high stench, and couldn't think of an idea for a while.

At this time, she and Chi Jing were standing in the grove near the greenhouse, and all the officers and soldiers were standing straight in two rows, staring at each other with big eyes and a blank expression, and sometimes bursts of thunderous sounds came from their stomachs. Except for the little soldier who was proposed by them to do some light work, the rest of them have quickly lost weight in the past few days, and their shape is like a withered tree.

In addition to the fact that the girl was kind enough to let them rest in batches at night, she was busy doing tired and dirty hard work every day, and could only eat two bowls of rice soup that was so thin that it could not be thinner and had already been rancid...

If it weren't for the fact that Jade Bottle knew that her mother had been humiliated by these unconscionable officers and soldiers before she died, she might have really sympathized.

"Well...," Chi Jing groaned, it seemed that it was really a little tricky.

Now that the water has receded, some of the victims have been able to return to their homes, but most of them still have no place to live. Even if they start farming again today, they will be hungry for a short time.

These officers and soldiers had to be restored to normal, so that they could continue to contact the people of the imperial court to bring food again. But if the hypnosis is lifted, they threaten the victims with food to do this and that...

With that, she buried another hypnotic instruction while untying the hypnosis.

"Jade bottle, you bring me a small packet of medicinal powder in my cloth bag, and I can use those medicinal powders to unravel the poison in these officers and soldiers." Chi Jing lied again, before she unlocked the hypnosis, she had to open the jade bottle first.

The jade bottle went away. It took less than a quarter of an hour to go back and forth between the grove and the greenhouse, and she had to hurry.

Lowering her voice, she murmured, "All of you look up and look into my eyes." ”

...

"Lord Shiro, there is a situation reported in the disaster area of Beixian County."

The untimely report interrupted the harmonious atmosphere of the banquet at this time.

The wine has passed three rounds, and the dishes have passed five flavors. It was a banquet and laughter, and Qi Qi congratulated Duan Gengrong, the head of the household department, on his promotion to the position of the secretary of the household department, and they were all silent after hearing this report.

The little soldier with his head down stood at the door and didn't dare to get too close, and a trace of uneasiness rose in his heart. Before entering the door, he seemed to hear what Shangshu was calling inside, Shangshu? Is it Shangshu? Not a squire? He seems to have said the wrong thing...

"Huh." The prefect of Zhou County and the prefect of Yuan County let out a sneer at the same time.

"You... Whose subordinates are they? Duan Gengban's face was raised, and he was very unhappy in his heart. Could it be that this person was deliberately found by the two magistrates in front of him to touch his moldy head?

"The small, the small one is from the former North County..."The little soldier is really sure that he has caused a big disaster, and the new official has three fires in office, and he must be the one who was used to test the sharpness of the knife. His teeth trembled a little, but he still restrained his fear.

"Alright, alright, I see." Duan Geng immediately interrupted impatiently when he heard this. It turned out to be a soldier from this unfortunate place in Beixian, so blind, no wonder God would arrange a flood for them. "Can you report the situation?"

If you have something to say, let it go quickly, and don't get in the way of him drinking.

"Lord Shangshu." Xiao Bing suddenly became smart, and even though he lowered his head, he could hear Duan Shangshu's satisfied chuckle. He breathed a sigh of relief, "The flood waters in North County have receded. ”

"Oh? Really? I know. Duan Geng said lightly, with a slight smile, and watched the little soldier retreat as if he was about to be amnestied.

looked at the few county officials and subordinates in front of him who kept flattering him and flattered him in every possible way. Except for the little soldier who shouted wrongly, since the moment he was sent by the emperor to Beixian County to relieve the disaster, the proud spring breeze has never left his face.

Let's talk about the prefect of Zhou County first. He offered a pair of warm jade ruyi and a pair of valuable luminous cups, as well as a thousand taels of silver as a meeting gift.

Then there is the prefect of Yuanxian County. What he offered was a hundred-year-old ginseng, and a white jade wrench, which had no willow patterns and no impurities, and he was reluctant to take it off when he put it on, and he loved it very much.

Although he did not attach 1,000 taels of silver like the prefect of Zhou County, only 500 taels of unsatisfactory amount, for the sake of this wrench, he was still happy to give him a few thin noodles to accept.

As for the other subordinates or colleagues, they all offered various gifts or silver, and no one knew that he counted the silver tickets over and over again every night before going to bed, and stroked the jewels until late at night...

In the past few days, he took his own people, and did not set foot in Beixian County for half a step, and only concentrated on accepting the hospitality of the prefect of Zhou County in Zhou County - the Qinglou woman in Zhou County really lived up to her reputation, nephrite was warm and fragrant, and the color and art were both complete, which made him forget the purpose of his trip for a while.

The water in Beixian has receded? That's just right. Several people looked at each other tacitly, and returned to the harmonious atmosphere before being interrupted by the creeps.

Duan Geng gently picked up a piece of roast meat with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, even though the food here was not as many and refined as the dishes of Wuhualou in the capital, but the soft, fragrant and slightly sweet meat still made him feel intoxicated for a while.

Oh, this smell of power.