Summing up the concerns of these state capitals, Lingnan, which is far away on the border, has a geographical advantage that is immediately highlighted.

The indecent development of Lingnan was not enough to attract the attention of all forces, and everyone's attention was attracted to the White Plague, rebels, and aliens.

Even the last time I sent a letter to the court to ask for help, everyone left it behind, and no one in the court cared about the follow-up of Annan's disturbances?

The court did not pay attention to Lingnan, but the refugees who fled south by the white plague have their survival instincts, and those who have some ability have been fleeing south.

When Chen Yongtian and Yu Quan arrived in Guiyang County, the two caravans parted ways.

Yu Quan led his caravan out of Guiyang County and headed west towards Lingling County.

Chen Yongtian entered Guiyang County to rest and recuperate, and released the news that a batch of out-of-season vegetables were sold, and many local traders in Guiyang County were moved when they heard it.

Guiyang County is located in the southernmost part of Jingzhou, close to the Nanling Mountains, and although it is separated from Lingnan by a mountain range, the climate of the two places is very different.

The climate in Lingnan is mild, while the four seasons in Lingbei are distinct, and although there is no knee-high snow in Guiyang County at this time, the snow that falls on the ground is not above the ankles.

In winter, the only vegetables here are hardy cabbage and radish, etc., and the out-of-season vegetables transported by the Chen family caravan are fresh, and they are very popular with the local rich and powerful.

As for the price that is more expensive than meat, they expressed their understanding that it is not as expensive as it should be to eat rare summer vegetables in disaster years!

What they lack most in life is not silver, but the material for enjoyment!

The Chen family caravan cleared the supplies in Guiyang County, and further north, the number of refugees on the road obviously increased.

"Leader, there are more and more refugees on the road, if you keep walking, I'm afraid that these refugees will take the opportunity to make trouble!" The handlebar in charge of the lead handed the carriage to the apprentice, and found Chen Yongtian to express his concerns.

Chen Yongtian's face was solemn, he knew better than anyone else the horror of the refugees, and now there were still groups of three or five on the roadside, and he was worried that the further north he went, the more refugees would be on the roadside, and even if the refugees would rob their convoys and kill their mules and horses, they would have no choice but to let these refugees do whatever they wanted.

"Let's gather the team, speed up, come out with desperate momentum, everyone try not to stretch the line too long, and don't show your wealth, no one can eat during the rush!"

Chen Yongtian's order was passed on, and the momentum of the team changed dramatically in an instant, and the team also sped up, so frightened that the refugees on the side of the road unconsciously avoided the convoy, for fear that standing on the side of the road would cause these people to be unhappy and be whipped by them!

"Big brother, we have finally escaped from the boundary of Jingzhou!"

When the team stepped on the unique cement road in Lingnan, Qiu San didn't care about his fatigue, and ran to Zhu Wei's side excitedly and said loudly.

With a breeze blowing on his face, Zhu Wei felt the different climate from Jingzhou, lowered his head and stomped on the cement road, "This is the cement road?" It's really as hard as a stone, but it's smoother than a stone road! ”

The cement road is much higher than the roadbed at the edge, and the men, women and children who are tired of walking in the team sit on the edge of the dry and flat cement road, touching here and knocking there, and they are all curious about what kind of mud can make such a road surface.

When they saw that they were almost done, they began to use wooden sticks to clean the dirt from the soles of their shoes.

"This yellow mud is so sticky, it's stained all the way, and my shoes weigh at least two or three pounds now!"

"Who said it wasn't, it rained, one step and three slips down the mountain, and while going down the mountain, I had to try to keep my body steady, and when I came down the mountain, I didn't feel like my own legs!"

"But, then again, isn't Lingnan called the Southern Barbarian, why do I feel that Lingnan is richer than Jingzhou?"

"Yes, there are no such cement roads in Jingzhou."

Listening to the discussion of the brothers, Wu Zhong, also known as Wu Mole, came to Zhu Wei's side and asked: "Big brother, we have come to Lingnan, should we continue to go up the mountain to be bandits or find a place to settle down and cultivate the wasteland?" ”

If Xia Jing was here, she would definitely hear their voices familiar when she heard the conversations of several people.

This team was the same group of mountain bandits who hijacked her coffin halfway from Gyeonggi to the royal tomb.

Before the snow, the rebels expanded their territory and occupied Yuzhou, and looking at the initial situation, it is very likely that the rebels' troops will be directed at Jingzhou or Yangzhou.

In this tense situation, the rebels seem to be doing well!

The mountain bandits who were active in several nearby state capitals were even called to Yuzhou to join the rebels.

All the bandits on all sides want to make a share of the dragon's work, which Zhu Wei understands very well, but understanding does not mean that he is willing to change his identity from a bandit to a traitor.

As long as the bandit is not heinous and goes down the mountain to be good, he can spend some money to become a good citizen.

On the contrary, the imperial court can be said to hate the thieves who betray the imperial court, and the captives are generally beheaded, or they are in labor for the rest of their lives, digging mines in the mines for a lifetime, and they can only be relieved when they are tired to death.

Zhu Wei didn't want his brothers and descendants to be accused of traitors forever.

He didn't want to join the rebels, but he couldn't stop his brothers from running forward.

In the end, the brothers who were willing to defect to the rebels all went to Yuzhou, while the brothers who were unwilling to take the risk and the rest of their families followed him to Lingnan.

Zhu Wei looked at the old and the young, "Let's find a county seat near Fucheng and settle down first." ”

Wu Mo was not surprised by Zhu Wei's choice, and it can be seen that he was not willing to be a bandit for life, let alone a traitor, in his refusal to go to Yuzhou.

"Big brother wants everyone to settle down and live an ordinary life in peace?"

Zhu Wei nodded, he looked at the children who were sitting on the side of the road resting, "For them, we also have to make changes, although heroes in troubled times don't ask where they come from, but it is also the easiest time for people like us to wash their names." ”

Take advantage of the chaos to find a place to stay, and when the world is peaceful, they will be veritable good citizens.

Wu Mole glanced at the children and grinned, "We listen to the eldest brother." ”

With the cement road, the speed of the team is much faster, and it is much easier for everyone to walk.

"Big brother, I just asked passers-by, and they all went to build a dam near the Qujiang River."

Zhu Wei was surprised when he heard this and asked: "It's all a month, why do you still have to serve in Lingnan?" The government doesn't want the people to have a good year! ”

"Big brother, you misunderstood." Wu Mo chuckled, and when he saw Zhu Wei looking at him suspiciously, he explained: "I asked passers-by just now, and they said that it was not for hard labor, but for the government to recruit workers to repair the embankment, and to take care of two meals a day and pay wages. ”

When Zhu Wei heard this, he said incredulously: "Do you still pay for the meal?" It's a lie, right, how much a day? ”

Wu Mo stretched out a big slap, and he himself felt a little incredible, "Fifty copper plates!" ”

"So tall?"

The brothers who walked by were stunned!

What kind of immortal mansion is this? Do you still pay for your labor?

"Yes, it's so high, it's usually only about 30 yuan to hire a laborer. But this time, I heard that it was because of the construction of the embankment, and sometimes the feet had to be soaked in water, which was considered a winter allowance for the laborers. ”

"Does the government in Lingnan think so much about the people?" Everyone else was skeptical.

These statements are the words of passers-by, who have just come to Lingnan, and no one knows whether this is true or not.

Passers-by don't care whether they believe it or not, at the end of the year, they also came out to repair the river embankment just to earn more copper plates, so that they can add a dish to the family for the New Year and a new dress for their children and daughters-in-law.

In the past, everyone was persuaded to build the embankment, but now the government promises to calculate the wages, and the strong laborers from the nearby villages have come to work on the embankment.

When he met a passer-by again, Zhu Wei took the initiative to talk to him.

"Brother, are you going to work on the Qujiang embankment?"

Erfu heard someone talking to him, turned his face to look at it, and said with a smile: "Yes, take advantage of the year to earn some copper to add two meat dishes to the family." ”

Zhu Wei asked with a smile: "My brother is a good man who takes care of his family, is there really a salary to work on the river embankment?" What if he doesn't pay for the New Year? ”

While hurrying, Erfu glanced him up and down: "I see that you are from out of town, right?" Do you want to work on the embankment? ”

Zhu Wei snorted, "I'm from out of town, so I don't want you to know the situation." ”

"If you come to work on the Qujiang embankment, it is the right time, now the government has no limit on the number of people in order to meet the construction period, the more people who come, the better, the construction period can be shortened and completed as soon as possible!"

Erfu said with a smile, "However, no matter how many people are recruited, the embankments on both sides of the river will have to be repaired until the end of the first month." ”

Zhu Wei listened very carefully, "My brother is very familiar with the river embankment, and it seems that he has come to work a lot. ”

Erfu laughed when he heard this: "I won't hide it from you, the river embankment was built from the section of our village, all the way over, and now it has been repaired to the vicinity of the Qujiang River." Do you think I can't be unfamiliar? ”

Zhu Wei also laughed, and his easy-going attitude brought the relationship between the two closer.

Erfu glanced back at the long line, restrained the smile on his face, frowned slightly, and said: "It is said that the homeland is difficult to leave, and not everyone has the courage to leave their hometown to beg for a living outside." It's not easy for you to come here to beg for a living! ”

Zhu Wei smiled bitterly, and his tone inevitably lowered, "After three years of famine, we only care about whether we can survive or not, we don't care about your hometown, your homeland, you say." As long as there is a heaven and earth that can accept us, so that we can live on our own. ”

Hearing him say this, Erfu's eyes showed sympathy, pity and other emotions, "Then you will wait until you get to the embankment, but you have to work hard, the embankment work is now a day, it is very convenient, and you can also help your family after receiving the salary." ”

Wu Mo followed behind and listened to it in horror, does the eldest brother really want to work on the river embankment?

Although his eldest brother has now disbanded the original mountain bandit team, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and the eldest brother has saved a lot of savings over the years, and it is better to squander it casually than to go to the river embankment to make money now.

"It's a day, I thought it would be the end of the year before the salary was settled." Zhu Wei looked stunned.

The two walked and chatted all the way, feeling that the distance under their feet had become shorter.

It was almost noon, and the group finally walked to the embankment outside Qujiang City.

People come and go on the embankment, it is not lively, there are the sound of workmanship shouting, and there is also the sound of overseer scolding.

Looking at the busy scene in front of him, Zhu Wei thought that he had seen the wrong eye, after all, in a year of famine, which government would make such a big move to work and waste money for the people.

It seems that after coming to Lingnan, what he saw and heard, he couldn't tell that Lingnan came from the disaster year.

Erfu saw his stunned appearance, and originally wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but it turned out that this man was tall, and it was really inappropriate to pat him on the shoulder with his height.

He patted the other party's arm instead, pointed to the tent not far from the embankment, and said: "Brother, that is the engineering office responsible for the construction of the embankment, if you want to come to the embankment to work, you have to go there to register first, and when you register, someone will hand you over to the steward, and the steward is the person who arranges for you to work." ”

"I know, thank you dude for taking care of me."

"Don't be so polite, just raise your hands." Erfu looked back at the long queue, both old and frail, and he didn't know how much they had suffered in the relocation of the village.

If you can help when you go out, you can help it, they are all poor people in the world!

Erfu shook his head and went to report to his steward.

"Big brother, are we really working here?" Wu Mole stepped forward and asked.

Zhu Wei looked back at the team he brought, there were many women, children, old and weak, and when there was no clue in Lingnan for the time being, there was nothing wrong with working on the river embankment, at least it would not attract the attention of the government.

"Work here first, and then decide what to do next!"

The words of the big boss, these people who follow him have no opinion.

The team rested in place, and Zhu Wei took a few people to the tent by the river embankment.

More than 100 young and middle-aged people want to work on this embankment, so they must let the leaders in charge have a psychological preparation.

The steward took the registration form and registered the few people who took the lead in the past.

"If you have craftsmanship, you can definitely eat craftsmanship, as long as you can endure hardships without craftsmanship, life will not be bad, if anyone refuses to work hard and has no ability, then he may not be able to get away from the master for the rest of his life!"

They will always want to lie on the body of the master elder and suck the blood.

Of course, when you come to register, no one will admit that you can't endure hardship, and the steward just smiled and didn't say much.

The group of mountain bandits who were confused about the public settled down temporarily on the Qujiang River embankment.

Building the embankment is very tiring, the stones and cement, and the silt under your feet, the three are mixed together, and it really makes people very embarrassed.

Zhu Wei worked with his brothers all afternoon, and when he finished work in the evening, he was covered in sludge, and no part of his body was clean.

Some brothers who have not done the work they are accustomed to, after working for half a day, they shout that they are tired, lightheaded, have no appetite, and so on.

Wu Mole looked at this situation and was worried!

In the past, when the team reached several thousand, he didn't care about the logistics, but now the team is only about 200 people, is it wrong to let him manage the logistics again?

To put it simply, if the logistics are still in his hands, everyone will inevitably be careful, and he will always not go downstairs to help take care of the children.

(End of chapter)