The people who had no food to eat began to eat grass roots, tree bark, soil, and cakes made of crushed stones and grass seeds, and the indigestible food hastened the death of the people.

At the same time, it is common to see fallen pedestrians and corpses along many mountain roads, some of which have been torn apart by wolves and stink.

People who are precarious are afraid to go out because they are afraid that they will be slaughtered like animals.

The death toll from typhoid fever and fever has skyrocketed, robbers have become commonplace, and women and children have been haphazardly dragged to the vegetable market to be sold like livestock.

Desperate parents often kill their children with their own hands, and in order to prevent the family from becoming a ration for the mob, they set fire to the house and the whole family is burned to life.

In some remote areas, the sale of human flesh has become common, and at first some mobs only ate the dead.

Later, the flesh of the dead could no longer satisfy their needs, so they killed the living for their pleasure and hunger.

The bandits on the mountain descended one after another, doing evil deeds in the name of the rebels, and all the men were taken away, and the old people and children became their rations.

Before the north came in, the south was already in mourning and miserable, and the population had dropped sharply.

In many villages, there were no rooms, and crows were the most numerous.

…

King Ming, who officially took over Jiangfu, conspired with Tang Yongchang for a long time, and sent his relatives to send a secret letter to King Kang's tent outside the city.

Two months later, the two armies jointly quelled the southern turmoil, brought all the people with lofty ideals under their command, and formed a confrontation with Baili City.

The protected Shi families in the south contributed food and money to support the Ming and Kang uprisings.

One day, Ji Yingfa hurried into the house with a beggar-like person.

"Adult, the little one has something important to report!" Ji Yingfa stood outside the study, bending down respectfully to the closed door.

"Come in!"

Ji Yingfa heard a familiar voice, pushed the door open and went in, and immediately closed the door, and did not let the beggar who followed him go in with him.

"Ji Yingfa has seen King Ming and Lord Futai!" Ji Yingfa, who entered the study, knelt on one knee and bowed his head respectfully.

"Why, what's the matter for you to hurry back!" Tang Yongchang glanced at King Ming, who was half-drooping, and whispered unhappily.

"My lord, the villain just got a piece of news that a powerful force has been discovered in the millions of mountains of Dujiang Mansion.

I heard that the soldiers are strong, the food is sufficient, and the men are all extraordinary in martial arts.

The little one brought back one person to testify that he saw it with his own eyes! ”

"Wow!" King Ming, who was silent with his eyes down, eagerly got up from his seat, not caring about the chair that had been brought down.

"The villain is absolutely not false, Liu Tian can testify."

"Good! Xuan Liu Tian is here! ”

Xiao Hongtu, the king of Ming, slapped his palm on the desk, and now it was a critical juncture when there was a shortage of food and people.

If you can take people for your own use, the chances of winning will be a few points higher, and the certainty of winning the Ninety-Five Honor will be greater.

The cooperation with King Kang Xiao Hongyuan is only temporary, and in the end, it depends on who has the strongest power.

…

Liu Tian, who was guarding outside the door, was so frightened that he heard the words inside, and as soon as he entered the door, he fell to his knees.

Hanging his head, he didn't dare to make any moves, and his eyes were firmly fixed on the flat bluestone slab ground in front of him.

"Raise your head and speak!" King Ming held his hands behind his back with great dignity, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said lightly.

"Thank you...... Bright...... King, the villain has an ugly face, and he is afraid that he will stain the eyes of the nobles. ”

Being able to meet the famous King Ming, Liu Tian only felt that it was the ancestors who were smoking, and he was lying on the ground in fear.

"Start with what you know, and if you are satisfied with this king, you will be rewarded, and you can choose the silver, women, and official positions!" King Ming's brocade robe was lifted, and he sat back at the desk with a look on the world.

"Xie Ming Wang rewarded, the villain Liu Tian is a native of Xin'an County, Dujiang Prefecture.

Xin'an County was robbed by bandits and died, and the villain fled to Dujiang Mansion to do odd jobs for a living.

"A month and a half ago, I met Lord Zhang, the county magistrate of Xin'an County, on the streets of Dujiang Mansion, and the untouchables did not expect to meet acquaintances, so they stepped forward to greet Lord Zhang.

He left in a hurry after learning that I was a survivor of Xin'an County, and the untouchables felt that it was inappropriate and followed him to the docks.

Mr. Zhang got on a big ship called Dawan, and all the people on board were strong.

Merchants in the city brought truckloads of supplies and exchanged them for jerky with the Dawan. ”

Liu Tian thought of the smell of jerky in the blowing wind, and the saliva in his mouth instantly overflowed.

"How do you know it's jerky!" Understand the distrust of authenticity.

What is the situation now, there are very few people in the city who can afford to eat meat, and the farms outside the city are completely destroyed.

The only meat you can see is the fish in the river, which is also hard to find.

"Lord, untouchables have a very smart nose since they were young, no matter what kind of meat, as long as they pass in front of me, they can smell it."

King Ming tapped his index finger on the desk in contemplation, and the sound of tapping echoed in the silent study, intensifying the fear in Liu Tian's heart.

"And then?" After a while, King Ming spoke up.

Based on this news alone, I am afraid it is not worth Ji Yingfa to rush back.

"The big ship is very tightly guarded, and the untouchables can't get mixed up at all, and they can't see Master Zhang.

The untouchables thought that Master Zhang did not want to see him, so they rushed back to Xin'an County overnight.

Unbeknownst to the refugees, they heard that a solid fortress had appeared in the mountains.

The untouchables also went out of their way to see that the only mountain road leading to Kan'er Village had been surrounded by a large stone wall.

Many refugees have set up shacks under the walls to avoid military service.

The untouchables stayed there for three days, smelling the smell of rice and meat every day. ”

is also a native of Xin'an County, and others can live a life without worrying about eating and drinking, but he begs like a dog for a living.

Liu Tian's heart was extremely unbalanced, and when he saw that no matter how the refugees cried, the closed door would not be opened, he felt resentful.

Liu Tian, who knew that he would not gain any benefit if he kept it, resolutely rushed back to Dujiang Mansion.

When he was robbing swill everywhere in Dujiang Mansion, he heard someone say that King Ming recruited troops and horses, so he had this experience.

…

"Come on, bring people down to wash up, and entertain them with good food and drink."

Tang Yongchang, who understood King Ming's face, shouted outside.

"Thank you for the reward of the prince and the lord, the untouchables are willing to lead the way!" Liu Tian, who knew that there was a door, said obediently.

Liu Tian, who was taken down, was entertained with delicious food and drink, and also enjoyed the treatment of being served.

Liu Tian, who consciously jumped from a beggar to a superior person, indulged in the warm fragrance of nephrite and made several contributions to increasing the population.

…

In Jiangfu, in an inconspicuous three-entry courtyard, two women of different ages live in an open house.

There is a special person in the courtyard to serve the food and daily life, and different men come in and out every day.

The house with the door closed was inhabited by a pot-bellied woman, and it had apparently become the base of King Ming's birth.

In the face of death and life, all morality is left behind.

Most of these young women were robbed, and a small number of them came here voluntarily.

Some people were sold here by their families for five liters of grain, and became reproductive machines without freedom.

Famine and war caused a serious shortage of population in the Baiyun Kingdom, and in order to quickly increase the population, this method was widely promoted among the Mingkang rebels.

(End of chapter)