Xiangyang City belonged to the territory of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. After Qin unified the world, the north of Hanshui was Nanyang County, and the south of Hanshui was Nanjun. During the Han Dynasty, Nanyang County, Nanjun County, Jiangling, Changsha and other seven counties were unified into Jingzhou. The Wei and Jin dynasties still followed the Han system.

There is a place called "Embankment" in the northeast of Xiangyang City. As the name suggests, it is a huge embankment built on both sides of the Han River. Passing boatmen come ashore here and stop there.

Over time, the area around the embankment gradually developed into a fireworks area with brothels and liquor stores. Whenever night falls, the lanterns here are tall, shining for ten miles, singing and dancing sleeves, and flying cups. "Embankment" has become a famous gold cave and beauty nest in Jingxiang area.

When you open the Han Le Mansion, there are many descriptions of the prosperity of the "embankment", "there are many beauties in the south, and there are more than the women of the embankment"; "Xiangyang City in the morning, and the embankment in the evening. The daughters of the embankment are dazzling. ”……

Because I have read these strong words and sentences describing the "embankment", before coming to Xiangyang, I was very longing for the "embankment". On the way this time, I have been thinking that I must meet my little flower cat.

It's a pity that we're here for disaster relief. Disaster relief, following the trend always sounds out of place.

In the first three days of arriving in Xiangyang City, we were busy every day. Not to mention going to the "embankment", sometimes you don't even bother to eat.

During the day, he commanded and supervised the "refugee relief center" to do all kinds of refugee resettlement work. For example, two "food collection offices" have been opened to allow refugees to queue up to receive food based on their registration books; A "free clinic" was opened to give free clinics to refugees, and free decoctions were distributed to refugees who were infected with typhoid fever and dysentery——, and the computer station was updated the fastest. At the same time, several "soup kitchens" were opened on the streets. My wife and I go on patrols every now and then. When there are too many people to come, they also help by themselves.

In the beginning, everywhere. The refugees hurriedly kowtowed. There are many times, and I have asked too many times. People stopped kowtowing, just laughed and shouted, "Your Highness, you're here again?" ”

The name of "stupidity" is completely washed away in this disaster relief. Not only that, but it has also gained a great reputation. At least where we passed. People are full of praise for Tai.

Of course, these were exchanged for large quantities of relief supplies. Without these life-saving things, what would you be too for? Just like that day, when they were surrounded by refugees outside Xiangyang City, if they didn't promise to give them food, they could tear them up and eat them.

The number of people stranded in Xiangyang City is far higher than our estimates. After three days in Xiangyang, almost two-thirds of the food we brought with us had been consumed. To make matters worse, it is still a drop in the bucket for those affected. Although there is no longer hunger on the streets for the time being, it is estimated that the little food we give will not be able to manage it for a few days. Wait for us to go. They will still starve to death.

At this time, the price of rice in Xiangyang City had risen to 30 taels of silver and 1 stone, while the usual price of rice was only 3 taels and 1 stone. Other words. The price of rice has risen tenfold.

Taizheng and I discussed the price of rice worriedly and scolded the rice merchants for their black hearts. Zhang Hong said on the side: "The two masters have never been to the people. This Xiangyang is quite a good people. The rice merchants here can be regarded as conscientious. The two of them mainly went to Yangzhou, the hometown of the slave, to know what a profiteer was. According to the minion's estimates. I'm afraid that the price of rice over there has risen to 20 times the usual level. That's it, the rice shop still likes to sell the land, usually only open in the morning, and in the afternoon, it will be closed, and those who line up to buy rice will knock on the door and not step on the ground. ”

"Why is that? Twenty times higher than usual, it's still not sold? He asked in confusion.

"If he continues to hoard land, it may rise even higher in a few days. In the year when the slave entered the palace, the price of rice in Yangzhou had risen to 30 times the original price. ”

"Thirty times? OMG! "My wife and I really don't know the suffering of the world. It turned out that the lives of ordinary people were so difficult that when they encountered a famine, they had to wait for death. They can't afford ordinary cheap rice, let alone this ridiculously high price of rice.

Zhang Hong sighed, "Just because the price of rice is so high, the family really can't support it, so I sent the small one to the palace." Although he is no longer a man after being sent to the palace, his life is still there, and it is better than staying at home and waiting for death. ”

Tai and I were silent.

We also know that most of the eunuchs in the palace are from poor families, who from a good family is willing to send their children to the palace as eunuchs with a crippled body? But in the face of a person we are so familiar with, I still feel miserable in my heart.

At this time, there was a rumor outside, "His Royal Highness King Qi, Mrs. Yang and Lord Guo have arrived." I quickly stood up and stood behind Tai with my head bowed. In the past few days, I have come on the same road, although I have tried to cover it up, but from the way King Qi looked at me, I guess he had already recognized me, but he didn't expose it.

As for Mrs. Yang, I've seen it once or twice at the banquet, but he probably didn't remember what I looked like. How many people attend the banquet each time, to him, I am a junior woman, and he will not pay attention to it. What's more, I'm dressed as a little eunuch again.

Everyone sat together with a sad face and discussed the result, or the sentence must mobilize those rich businessmen and squires to actively donate money and rice to tide over the famine together, and the community is in difficulty.

Otherwise, it won't be long before the little food we bring with us will be unsustainable. And the entire Jingzhou, the granaries of the county and county government offices, have long been emptied.

However, this is easier said than done. In the past few days, Zhang Hong and I have to accompany Tai to the banquets of those rich merchants and squires almost every night, and repeatedly begged them for support during the banquet.

Usually too open-mouthed, they will still promise to give a little. But what they give is so far from what we need.

Poor Mrs. runs around every day, sometimes rushing to several banquets a day like a market. When I came back from a crooked drink, I always lay on my lap and said, "I'm almost a beggar for food." ”

And what made him most sad was not begging for food, but because he was too dignified, he went out to beg for food in person, and he couldn't ask for it.

For example, Liang Jingren, the largest rice merchant in Xiangyang City, we have been to his house three times. But this damned profiteer didn't even buy it, and so far, not a single grain of rice has been donated.