"Stop! What do you guys do?! ”

"Master Huijun, we are grain merchants in Fengyang Mansion, and we heard that there was a hunger in the north of Huaibei, so we came to sell grain to save the people."

In Suining County, Huai'an Prefecture, when a convoy escorting more than 60 truckloads of grain arrived on the way to Suining, it was immediately blocked by soldiers.

The grain merchant led by him took out a document and said with an embarrassed smile: "We are here to sell grain by the words of Governor Caoyun Yang, hoping to make it convenient."

After speaking, he handed out another piece of silver, and the garrison of the military garrison who got the silver also smiled suddenly after weighing it:

"Where are your truckloads of food going to go? How much does it cost? ”

"Master Huijun, these grains are going to be transported to Pizhou for 20 wen a cat......ty," the grain merchant replied.

"What?! Twenty Wen?! "Hearing Twenty Wen, the guard's voice immediately became louder.

"Uh...... Fifteen wen a pound is also fine...... "The grain merchant thought that he had said too much, so he couldn't help but falsely report a number.

As a result, the guard kicked directly on his grain cart:

"Who told you that Huaibei is short of food? I tell you! Huaibei is very good now, and the famine has long been quelled by the imperial court! ”

"Uh...... This...... But the grass people only received a letter from the clan uncle three days ago, saying that the Huaibei famine had not been resolved for three months, and the grain had risen to 60 wen at present...... "The grain merchant did not know why, and thought that the clan uncle in Huaibei had deceived him."

"Hey...... Didn't I say it, there is no shortage of food in Huaibei, so ask your people to go back! The garrison sneered contemptuously at the grain merchant.

At this time, a person in charge next to him seemed to see that he was tired, and then he made up the people behind him, and only after making up more than fifty taels of silver did he come forward and said:

"Garrison, in fact, we just want to transport grain to store grain, where did the great hunger come from in Huaibei, take a look, or do it make it convenient?"

"Hmm......" weighed the fifty taels of silver in his hand, and then the guard smiled:

"Yes, how can there be a famine in Huaibei? But I see that you are not food, but ...... Bean! Right?! ”

"Yes, yes, my lord, you're right, this is obviously a bean." One of the deputy guards next to him smiled and spoke, and then the guard also smiled and said:

"Huaibei is short of beans now, you can go in and sell them, but remember, it's not twenty a catty, it's fifty wen a catty!"

"If you sell less, other grain merchants will find county orders in various places, don't say that I didn't remind you when the time comes."

"Remember, remember, a pound of fifty wen, a pound of fifty wen." The grain merchant's eyes lit up, and he immediately flattered him.

After the compliment was over, the grain trucks were led by the grain merchants and rushed towards Pizhou.

However, the scene they did had already been heard clearly by the people in short beats who followed the car.

When the grain truck was far away from the checkpoint, one of them raised his hat and said to the man beside him:

"Big brother, these dog officials, in order to make money, now they actually say that there is no shortage of food in Huaibei."

"Outside of Huaibei, the grain is only three yuan a catty, and it is already a sky-high price for us to sell 20 wen, and they actually want us to sell 50 wen."

"Can ordinary people afford to eat?!"

His indignation had no other meaning in the ears of the person next to him, and the man raised his hat, revealing Lu Jianxing's face.

"They are guilty of making the court and the people of the world, but second brother, what we need to do now is to earn enough silver and give the silver to His Highness."

"Only when the Imperial Horse Supervisor has the silver, can His Royal Highness raise soldiers, pacify Jianju, and rectify these corrupt officials in Jiangnan."

Lu Jianxing is very clear and to put it bluntly, this kind of thing, even if Zhu Youzhen knows, it is useless.

It has been almost half a month since they came to Gangnam, and Gangnam and Suncheon are not the same place at all.

In Jiangnan, without silver, it won't work at all without relationships.

Just now he bribed the guards to spare more than 50 taels, but they spent more than 60 taels on more than 60 taels of grain for more than 60 taels of more than 20,000 catties of grain.

Is that a bribe of silver? Many! But it's worth it.

More than 60 taels of grain and more than 50 taels of bribes, the result was that he went to Pizhou with more than 20,000 catties of grain, and then earned 1,000 taels of silver.

Lu Jianxing had already divided his men into ten grain teams, so that he could earn 10,000 taels of silver in half a month.

And this is just a way to explore, as long as the road is explored correctly and the officials in Huaibei are negotiated, he will be able to carry a steady stream of grain to Huaibei at that time.

He still had 260,000 taels of silver in his hand, and even if he used all of them to buy grain, he would buy 550,000 stone of grain at most.

How many people are there in Huaibei? Not to mention that there are millions of people, and even if a million people eat less, they need to eat 300,000 stone a month.

In just two or three months, he could use 260,000 taels of silver to earn millions of taels.

Even if the price of grain drops later, he can earn seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver.

As long as you earn seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver, when the time comes, you can use it to buy grain in Sichuan, and you can buy two or three million stone of grain.

When you get to Jiangnan, even if you only have 400 wen and 1 stone, you can earn more than 1 million taels.

Twenty percent of the profit is enough for him to earn two or three million taels in the next year by relying on these twenty-six taels of silver.

When the time comes, as long as half of the silver is handed over, and half of it is left to buy grain, and it is shipped to Liaodong, he will be able to complete what His Highness has given him.

At that time, what he will get is not just a Jinyi Wei Qianhu, and it may even be a pacification envoy from Sipin.

As soon as he thought of this, Lu Jianxing clenched the hilt of the knife excitedly.

But he also knows that he can do all this, not because of his personal ability, but because of his identity as a brocade guard and the care of His Royal Highness.

Without the identity of Jinyiwei, there is no way to get the documents of Yang Yipeng, the governor of Caoyun, there is no way to come to sell grain, and there is no way to get this good errand that can earn silver.

But he also knew that what he earned was silver against his will, and it was silver based on the premise that millions of people in Huaibei starved to death.

But he can't help it, this world is like this, he can't save everyone.

Even if he exchanged 260,000 taels of silver for grain and sold it to Huaibei, it would not last long.

The situation in Huaibei can only be resolved by next year's summer harvest.

"Ahh What is it?! ”

Suddenly, noisy and frightened and harsh sounds sounded, Lu Jianxing and the brocade guard next to him jumped into the grain cart and looked into the distance.

But at this moment, the two of them instantly froze, and they were terrified......

On the road in front of them, countless corpses were piled up several meters high, and from a distance, they looked like small mountains.

The corpses were scrawny and lay on both sides of the road, and even in the cold winter, the corpses were already decomposing, and the corpses mixed with the snow gradually converged into a trickle.

Seeing this scene, everyone realized how terrible the Huaibei hunger was, and how hateful the gentry officials who relied on this to make money were.

It was Lu Jianxing who had been in Jinyiwei for more than ten years, and when he saw this scene, he couldn't help but be in a trance.

After a long time, he came back to his senses, put the long knife back to its sheath, and kept comforting himself in his heart:

"I earned silver for the sake of the imperial court, and only when the imperial court has the silver to solve the Jianyu, can I have the heart to manage Jiangnan."

"The more grain I transport, the lower the grain price in Huaibei will be, and the people of Huaibei will be able to get out of this purgatory ......as soon as possible."

After comforting him, he yelled at those in front of him:

"Don't stop, continue to set off to Pizhou!"

Under his urging, this group of timid people carried all kinds of emotions of fear and uneasiness and marched towards Pizhou with food.

It's just that I don't know how many corpses of people starved to death because of corrupt officials ahead.

There is no rooster crow for hundreds of miles, the road is full of corpses, no one collects the bones, and passers-by are all Yizi......

This is often an unimportant passage in books, but in the northern part of Huai'an Province, it is really happening.

Along the way, Lu Jianxing watched the skinny homeless couple exchange children with others, and they were easy to eat.

There are also hungry people who compete for bean baskets and rhombic stalks and eat frantically, like wild beasts, no longer human.

It is unimaginable that such a tragic situation in the south of the Yangtze River, where there is grain 300 miles to the north, 200 miles to the west, and 400 miles to the south, will happen.

This is not a natural disaster, but a complete man-made disaster......

This is a purgatory jointly promoted by corrupt officials, gentry and businessmen.

Near the city of Pizhou, there were more hungry people dying on the roadside and in the wilderness.

Not far from the corpses of the hungry people, there is a small river flowing, which is enough to prove that there is no drought in Huaibei.

In the absence of drought and water cuts, millions of people fled the famine, and hundreds of thousands died of starvation on the roadside.

In this meeting, even Lu Jianxing turned his head a little unbearable.

But no matter how unbearable they were, they finally arrived at the city of Pizhou.

"Paperwork."

The dozens of soldiers standing at the gate of Pizhou City were looking at Lu Jianxing and the others as if they were looking at ordinary people.

But judging from the other party's expression, it only makes people feel the same as usual.

But on the road behind Lu Jianxing and them, there were dead corpses all the way, and there were no less than thousands.

The entrusted grain merchant turned pale and handed over the paperwork, while at the same time, the other party's garrison in charge of guarding the city looked at it, but did not respond anything, just looked at the paperwork vigorously.

In desperation, the grain merchant turned around and took a piece of silver the size of a fist from the carriage and handed it over.

Seeing the silver, the guard smiled and said:

"Okay, there is no problem with the paperwork, Governor Yang has already informed us of the county, and now please transport grain to the county office, where the county will collect grain according to the price."

"Yes, yes......" Hearing this, the pale grain merchant commanded the grain cart to drive towards the county office.

As they walked through the long corridor, they saw blood stains on the bricks and the ground.

And when they entered Pizhou County, the entire Pizhou County was empty, like a ghost town.

It's just that in the air, there is a faint smell of rustic meat, but it is disgusting.

Everyone understands that what they are seeing now is not only Pizhou, but also the tragic situation in Huaibei counties.

All the officials, businessmen, and gentry are all using the lives of Huaibei to make money.

Some people eat grass and squeeze out blood, while others are born to be responsible for squeezing blood.

"It seems that the matter here really has to be reported to the same knowledge."

Lu Jianxing frowned, he didn't expect that Huaibei had developed to the point where Yi Zi could eat, and the smell of meat in Pizhou City made him even sicker.

The greed of Jiangnan officials had exceeded Lu Jianxing's imagination, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Because the scale of this time is too small, it does not refer to the scale of the victims, but to the scale of the silver taels that can be earned.

With the number of people in the Huaibei area, even if a pound of grain is sold for 50 wen, at most two or three million stone of grain can be transported, and it will be able to survive until spring.

Two or three million stone of grain, the profit may be one or two million taels, but it is divided by hundreds of merchants selling grain, and each person is only a hundred thousand taels at most.

This silver looks tempting, but if it is traced by the imperial court, it will be a great sin for the three clans.

Unless it's not just about making money, it's about ......

Thinking of this, Lu Jianxing was terrified, and then pulled the Jinyi guard next to him and said:

"Second brother, after leaving the city this time, you rode north and went to Changping to tell His Highness about Huaibei directly."

"Yes...... Big brother, didn't you say you don't need to say it? Jin Yiwei's face was cold, a little tangled, and a little puzzled.

"That was before, but you also saw the appearance of Pizhou." Lu Jianxing frowned tightly and said:

"If this kind of thing is not reported, you and my brother will be implicated in the future, and I don't think this matter is simple."

"What do you mean?" The young Jinyi Wei frowned, and Lu Jianxing explained:

"Do you still remember, when we went south to the south of the Yangtze River, we went to place Yang Yipeng, and none of his ships were in the water outside the yamen, and at this time, it stands to reason that Cao grain and Cao silver should be transported north."

"Autumn taxes, additional silver, these silver are thousands of ships at every turn, how can they disappear out of thin air?"

"Besides, if something like this happened in Jiangnan, why didn't any officials come forward to organize disaster relief?"

"If there was such a disaster in previous years, I am afraid that before the capital could open its mouth, Nanjing would have already allocated grain for disaster relief."

"Now there is no more grain, and there is no action for disaster relief, but I am using this Huaibei hunger to make money."

Lu Jianxing pointed out like this, and the young Jinyi Wei also reacted:

"Big brother, do you mean to say that the officials in Jiangnan used the Huaibei hunger as an excuse to intercept the grain and silver, but in fact, the silver and grain have long been misappropriated, and Huaibei is just a cover, and the real silver and grain have disappeared?"

"That's right!" Lu Jianxing nodded:

"That's why I said, this matter must be clarified by His Highness, and it will be handed over to you!"

"Don't worry, big brother!" The young brocade guard nodded, and then he couldn't help it, looked around and tightened his grip on the knife at his waist.

At this time, the grain merchant also brought everyone to Pizhou County.

When you get here, you can see the sparse crowd of people, as well as the county magistrate who is responsible for checking the grain at the gate of the yamen.

Lu Jianxing and the others did not act rashly, but watched the county check the grain.

"This grain is in good condition, it's from Fengyang Mansion, right?"

Pizhou County, dressed in official uniforms, checked the grain, sniffed it before getting it to his nose, and then said the origin of the grain.

Seeing the appearance of the other party, the grain merchant also held a small box and handed it over, and said flatteringly:

"Yes, yes, my lord is really wise, this is some local products of Fengyang Mansion, please accept it, it will be regarded as the official and civilian fish and water situation."

"Then you're welcome." The county man glanced at the small box, at most it was a hundred taels of silver, which was much less than the other grain merchant specialties he had received these days.

However, no matter how small the mosquito is, it is still meat, so he still accepted the small box from the scribe next to him, and then said to the grain merchant:

"If you leave Pizhou, and an outsider asks how Pizhou is, what should you say?"

"Pizhou, as usual, famine and everything are nonsense from the people." The grain merchant seemed very good at this time.

That is, at the same time, the county Cheng said to him:

"There is still a shortage of soybeans in Pizhou, as long as they can be transported and how many are needed, the price cannot be set."

"If you get enough next time, this number can be more."

After that, the county Cheng said:

"Your batch of grain is good, fifty wen a catty, let's weigh it!"

His words were said to the grain merchants in the front, and to the officials in the county in the latter sentence.

Under the hands of more than a dozen officials and more than 30 people, the grain brought by Lu Jianxing and them was weighed and sold at a price of 50 wen a catty.

More than 20,000 catties of grain, a total of 1,320 taels were received, and after deducting the silver eaten at various checkpoints, Lu Jianxing made a net profit of 1,100 taels.

However, when they walked out of Pizhou City, and the grain merchant handed him the silver, he looked at the box of silver in front of him, but his heart was heavy, as if he had not silver in his hand, but a human head......

"Alas......"

With a long sigh, Lu Jianxing said to the young Jinyi Wei next to him: "Second brother, you go north and tell Your Highness about the matter." ”

"Good!"

Hearing this, the young Jinyi Wei asked someone to give up a horse, and then turned over on the horse himself, and said to Lu Jianxing:

"Big brother, take care!"

"Go ahead, be careful......" Lu Jianxing said worriedly, but he got a nod from the young Jinyi guard, and then rode away on his back......

"Boss, let's ......"

"Continue to sell grain."

When Lu Jianxing looked at Shen Lian's back, the merchant in charge of selling grain came to ask, and Lu Jianxing replied without thinking.

He reported the matter of Huaibei, so Huaibei would soon be noticed by the imperial court.

As a result, he will not have much time to earn money.

For the sake of his future, he must earn more silver in the shortest possible time......

"Drive!"

When Lu Jianxing continued to sell grain for the sake of his own future, the young Jinyi Wei rushed to the north with dust and horses.

Along the way, everywhere he looked, there were hungry people.

In the cold winter frost, they fled to the south, all wearing tattered cotton clothes, or pulling a cart behind them, with their dying parents lying on the car, or holding their children in their arms, their faces numb.

This is the Huaibei that the young Jinyiwei saw in his eyes, and he is Lu Jianxing's second brother Shen Lian.

He led his horse away, and saw the hungry people who were looking at him numbly, braving the wind and snow to go south.

At this time, a fifty-year-old man pulling a cart ran to the middle of the road, and got up from his horse, and the war horse "sighed and reined in" and raised its hooves, fell heavily, and smashed into the snow, causing the slush to splash.

He subconsciously put his hand on the handle of the knife, and the old man was holding a little girl in his arms, her body was in tatters, and there were two women, an old man and a young woman, lying on the cart behind him.

The old ones are sixty or seventy years old, and the young ones are twelve or thirteen.

"Master, is there a way to live in the south?"

The old man's voice was weak, and the little girl in his arms couldn't even cry.

His question is sharp, is there still a way to live in the south?

Have it? This question is called Shen Lian, and I don't know how to answer it.

Who would have thought that more than ten years ago, the "Wanli New Wind", which was still praised by the people and officials, would now break out such a tragic situation in the world?

"Let's go north......"

Shen Lian said these four words with difficulty, but he didn't want the old man to bow his head and lose his mind after hearing it:

"I was driven back from the north, to the west to the west, to the north to the north, and now only the south has not been there."

"If I can't go to the south, I'll die both horizontally and vertically, then I'll go back to my hometown and return to my roots."

The old man's words made Shen Lian grit his teeth, and he couldn't wait to pull out his sword and ask the northern officials to let him go, and let the victims enter.

But he is just a small general banner and does not have so much power.

Moreover, once his identity is revealed, he may be surrounded and killed.

At this time, Shen Lian suddenly felt a chill on the tip of his nose, and after reaching out to touch it, he looked into the sky, and the fluttering snowflakes began to fall again.

"Go north, and see if I can get some silver and take you out."

Now he is only in his early twenties, and even if he is used to staying in Jinyiwei, he still can't bear this group of people starving to death.

But as soon as he said this, the hungry people surrounded him.

"Take me with you, master, I can be a tenant for you, I eat little."

"Master, I'll sell my inner man to you and take me out."

"Take me out, I still have 300 yuan on me, I can make up a little."

"Take Me ......"

The hungry people swarmed all around, almost overturning the horses under Shen Lian's crotch.

"Zeng!"

"Get out of the way!" Shen Lian reluctantly pulled out his knife and aimed it at this group of hungry people he once pitied.

When the hungry people saw the knife, they all stepped back, but their helpless eyes looked at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian's heart couldn't bear to tremble, but the old man pulled the car and walked behind Shen Lian and said:

"Master, they are all hard-working people, let's go."

Although they are all hungry, everyone hopes that they can live, and there is nothing wrong with the old man's approach.

He was responsible for himself and his family, and after hearing this, Shen Lian turned his horse's head and walked towards the north.

He rode in front, the old man pulled the cart behind, and the people standing in place watched their figures go north, slowly disappearing into the wind and snow, their eyes gradually lost their life, and they continued to walk towards the south numbly.

What can you do if you don't leave? Starving to death?

If you go, you can still live, and if you don't go, you can only die.

The vast land was covered with snow, and only the hungry people, who were black like black lines, walked south, full of dead silence.

Shen Lian took the old man and the others to a wasteland that had been eaten and only a tree pit was left, tied the cart with spare reins and ropes, rode on horseback himself, asked the old man to sit on the cart, and pulled the cart forward.

The speed of Shen Refining has been dragged down a lot, but he is not brainless and kind.

With such a single-handed appearance and a knife, he will inevitably be stopped when he reaches the level, and the old man and others can also be used as witnesses.

Therefore, he took out three egg cakes from the package under his seat, and a bag of water and threw them directly to the old man.

"When you're full, when you pass the checkpoint, say I'm your son who is doing business in Beizhili."

"I know, I know!" As soon as they saw the cake, the old woman and the girl, who were originally groggy, grabbed the cake and devoured it with great gusto, and the old man did the same.

But after eating two bites, he immediately poured out a little water in his hands, broke off a piece of the cake and put it in the water, and after it was soft and glutinous, he fed it to the little girl in his arms with his fingers little by little.

Seeing that the little girl began to lick her fingers subconsciously, he said to Shen Lian:

"My name is Yang Lu, Yang Wanli's Yang, walking road, fifty-six years old, I am a Xiucai from Wuhe Town, Pizhou County, and I live in three lanes and six households in Wuhe Town."

He pointed to the old woman and said, "This is my insider, Yang Li's family, and fifty-three." ”

Immediately afterwards, he pointed to the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl next to him and said, "This is my second daughter, Yang Yuanai, thirteen years old." ”

After that, he motioned to the girl in his arms and said, "This is the daughter of my eldest son Yang Fu, called Yang Ai." ”

Yang Lu could see that the person in front of him was not an ordinary person, so he tried his best to explain everyone's information very clearly, and also made the news of his son Yang Fu clear.

As long as Shen Lian remembers these things, plus the road guide that the old man carried, no one will suspect that they are not a family.

"Don't even Xiucai let you go?" Listening to Yang Lu's words, Shen Lian felt a chill in his heart.

If even Xiucai is not allowed to go, then more people who have no fame will have to die.

"I can't let go of ......" Yang Lu looked lonely and said weakly:

"Except for the people who can pass the customs, everyone else will be driven back, they say that the government will soon provide disaster relief, but we all know that there is only one dead word when we go back."

"My eldest son starved to death, and so did my daughter-in-law......"

He looked down at the baby girl in his arms, and said with tears in his eyes: "If you escape, you can still think of a way to see if you can live." ”

"If you can't escape, you're a dead ......"

Hearing these words was uncomfortable, Shen Lian could only reply:

"Don't worry, since I took you out, I will find you a place to stay."

"In the area of Changping in Beizhili, the Imperial Horse Supervisor recruited displaced people in Fatian, and the people of your family went over, according to the head of one person and one acre, and they could be divided into four acres of land."

"Really?" Hearing that there was a land, this show stopped crying.

The name of Xiucai, although it was also very good in later generations, but in fact, in the late Ming Dynasty, the number of Xiucai had already exceeded hundreds of thousands.

If there are too many people, they are not worth much, and the same is true for Xiucai.

The only thing that is really valuable is to lift people, and only they can avoid all kinds of man-made disasters, so Fan Jin will be so crazy after lifting.

Walking like this, before dark, they saw the outpost in the distance, and Shen Lian also skillfully cooperated with Yang Lu and others, and passed the soldiers blocking the road in Shandong.

After crossing the checkpoint, Shen Lian spent some silver and led people to Changping, but at the same time, Zhu Youzhen didn't know that the hunger in Huaibei that he had heard about was so serious......