August.

The harvest season, which should have been golden, was devastated in Yongzhou.

And since half a month ago, the limited strength of the county government has been completely insufficient to maintain order outside the city.

Ignoring the threat of the epidemic, some people have begun to flee elsewhere.

It's as if they can get enough food if they can get far enough.

Those who chose to stay began to wander the mountains in search of food.

The first to be eaten were all kinds of living creatures other than humans.

Rabbits, snakes, deer, birds, rats......

Then there are all kinds of insects.

carcasses of spiders, centipedes, leeches, locusts......

Finally, there are the rhizomes, epidermis, and leaves of various plants......

Don't care what it tastes like, don't care if it's poisonous or not.

People who are extremely hungry will not care about this.

They only care about one - whether they can swallow it or not.

As long as you can swallow it, no matter what you swallow, you can dispel that crazy hunger.

A corner of the west of the city.

A simple shack made of tree branches leaning against boulders.

The group of women sat inside, facing the corner.

Her clothes were open and she was feeding her baby in swaddling clothes.

The baby kept crying and didn't cooperate.

A half-grown child leaned aside, his eyes blank, oblivious to the child's distress and the woman's teasing.

"Big baby, bring the water."

The woman spoke weakly.

The boy moved slowly, crawled outside the shed, and dragged in a broken crockpot.

It's not that he wants to be so slow, but he really doesn't have the extra strength to support him to go so fast.

He hadn't eaten anything in three days.

The woman leaned slightly over the crockpot and took a sip of it herself, then another in her mouth.

When the water is warm, lower yourself and feed the baby drop by drop.

The baby's crying died down a little.

Only a slight frown showed that he didn't like this 'food' very much.

"Mother."

After a while, the young man leaning on the side called out, his voice hoarse.

"Huh?"

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Can Daddy get something to eat?"

The boy asked.

In the godless eyes, a little hope emerged.

“……”

The woman's back stiffened slightly.

When a natural disaster came, if she was only a weak woman, she would not have been able to live with two children, one older and one younger.

What she really relies on is the man who is the head of the family.

However, the head of the family, who had been out looking for food in the past, would return within the same day whether he found it or not, but this time he did not return for two days.

Two days......

Still alive?

The woman wanted to be alive.

But hope is just hope.

If nothing else, the head of the family is dead.

Or starved to death outside, or fought with others for food and was beaten to death.

This is the greatest possible.

So, when faced with the eldest son's question, the woman did not know how to answer at all.

"Daddy will ...... Will...... Not coming back......"

The boy spoke again, his voice getting weaker and weaker.

“…… No, it won't. ”

The woman's voice trembled a little, "Your father... Your father is the head of the family, and he has gone farther away to find us something to eat, and when he returns, he will surely bring a lot of food. ”

The boy barely bothered to muster his spirits.

"Are there any pancakes?"

"Yes."

"Do you have steamed buns?"

"Yes."

"That's good, that's good......"

The young man slowly hooked the corners of his mouth, "With steamed buns and pancakes, my mother will be able to eat enough, and if my mother is full, my brother will be full...... True... It's so nice......"

The woman bit her lip and dripped, and the baby in her arms pursed her lips, her frowning brow stretched slightly.

Outside the shed, the man gritted his teeth fiercely, seemed to have made some decision, and quietly left for the distance.

It didn't take long for the muffled hum to be suppressed to the extreme, and it lasted for a whole stick of incense.

After another half an hour, the man limped back.

"I'm back."

“……”

The woman suddenly turned her head, and her eyes turned red in an instant: "It's good to be back, it's good to be back......"

"Well, look what I've got."

The man's face was a little pale, but he raised his hand with a smile.

"It's ...... Meat?! ”

The woman was incredulous.

"I found a bison thirty miles away, and I wasted a lot of effort to grab such a little."

The man gasped and sat down.

"Okay, okay...... You hold the baby, and I'll make a fire. ”

The woman gave the swaddling clothes to the man and took the flesh from the man's hand.

When he was about to get up, he suddenly saw a lot of blood stains on the man's trouser legs.

“…… You're hurt?! ”

The woman shuddered and reached out to uncover her trouser legs.

The man waved away the woman's hand and said indifferently, "It is nothing wrong if you fell when you grabbed the meat." ”

"Really?"

The woman was a little suspicious.

"Don't worry, if it's really badly injured, how can I run past them and bring the meat back?"

The man's eyes were very steady, although his face was a little pale, but after all, he hadn't eaten for a long time, and it was normal.

So the woman did not ask any further questions, but hunched herself out of the shed.

Not far away, two people stood expressionlessly.

Jiang Zhihong and Xu Chong.

The two witnessed the man, using a rusty knife hidden at his waist, to cut off the flesh of his calf bit by bit, and tore off a stained sleeve, bandaging his calf bit by bit.

It took a stick of incense to complete the process.

And back to the shed, only a few dozen zhang away, I also used a stick of incense.

It was brutal, but it was the most heartwarming scene they had ever seen today.

After all, in the face of death, there are always very few who can hold on to the last insistence.

More people have gradually let go of morality and ethics.

For the sake of a leaf, the son can knock the old father to the ground.

For a piece of bark, the wife can push her husband into the ditch.

"So we were all wrong."

Jiang Zhihong sighed faintly, "Back then, the people who knew about the difficult building were not political enemies at all...... Rather, it was the imperial court, or rather, the first emperor. ”

Relying on Lou Youzhi alone, it is absolutely impossible to suppress the public opinion of the government and the opposition and sit back and watch the tragic situation in Yongzhou.

Or rather, no matter who it is, can't do it to this extent.

Except for the royal family, except for His Majesty.

In the same way, the same was true of the drought in Bingzhou that year.

"In a few days, when there is no food at all, there will be cannibalism."

Xu Chong said expressionlessly, "And as long as it happens, it will cause a chain reaction...... At that time, the morality in the hearts of all people will be completely lost. ”

"No, it's already happened, in other parts of Yongzhou."

Jiang Zhihong Muran said, "I went out yesterday and saw with my own eyes, what is cannibalism. ”

"Eat the old and weak first, and then the women and children."

"The first time they eat, they will vomit, the second time they eat, they get used to it."

"Even, there are already people who are obsessed with the taste of human flesh and are bent on killing people for meat......"

Jiang Zhihong remembered what Xu Chong had said, "You're right, the victims of the disaster are not human beings at all." ”

Xu Chong was silent.

He also saw everything Jiang Zhihong saw, and even saw it earlier than Jiang Zhihong.

To be honest, it was far less cruel than the demons he had experienced.

But this is reality after all.

"Someone brought me a message, saying that I should hold on for another month, the imperial court is urgently preparing supplies, and they will be delivered in a month."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhihong looked disdainful, "A month? A month later, how many people in Yongzhou will still be alive? ”

"Looks like I guessed right."

Xu Chong bowed his head slowly, "The imperial court is controlling the number of deaths. ”

"I guessed too, but I still don't understand."

Jiang Zhihong narrowed his eyes, "If you want to kill someone, why do you need to use this way?" The army pressed the border, put on the hat of rebellion, and could kill millions of people in one day, that is, how much effort could it take to slaughter the entire Yongzhou? ”

"Possibly."

Xu Chong shrugged his shoulders, "A simple slaughter won't bring any benefits. ”

"Do you have to die of a natural disaster...... This seems to be the only explanation. ”

Jiang Zhihong slowly exhaled a breath of turbidity.

"I'll keep those people in Canglong County."

Xu Chong said suddenly, "More, please forgive me for not being able to do anything." ”

With the heritage of the Hua family, can you keep the entire Yongzhou?

Xu Chong didn't know.

But even if it could, it would inevitably hollow out the Hua family.

There is no reason for the Hua family to do this, and they will not do it at all.

But if it's just a few thousand people in Canglong County, the Hua family shouldn't refuse.

This is Xu Chong's plan.

However.

"No need."

Jiang Zhihong waved his hand, and his eyes suddenly cooled: "That time, there was a building and a knowledge, and this time, there was me!" ”

"What do you want to do?"

Xu Chong's complexion changed slightly.

Jiang Zhihong didn't answer, turned around and began to walk, "Yesterday I already contacted a few people who are still willing to help me now, and they will take advantage of the night to secretly transport grain to the border of Yongzhou...... In the past few days, you can help me take care of Canglong, and I will go to receive this batch of grain. ”

Off-site assistance......

Xu Chong sighed secretly and didn't say anything more.

Indeed, Jiang Zhihong has been an official for so many years, and he has also sat in the position of the imperial history of the left capital, and he must have a few friends who have died.

Even if there is off-site assistance, how much can it have?

For the more than 10 million people in Yongzhou, it can only be a drop in the bucket.

In this way, Jiang Zhihong left.

Xu Chong did not sit in the county government, but climbed to the top of the city and walked on the city wall.

He didn't have the patience to deal with the sprawling inhabitants of the city.

Since half a month ago, the city gate of Fenggu County has been blocked.

This is deliberately done by Jiang Zhihong.

One is to lock up the people in the city and not let them out.

The second is to create a false appearance that there is still food in the city for people outside the city, leaving most of the people in Fenggu County.

Whether it was crying, pleading, or insulting, Jiang Zhihong turned a deaf ear.

Because he knew that after leaving Fenggu County, he also had nothing to eat.

And the existence of epidemic diseases makes other places much more dangerous than Fenggu County.

And so it was formed.

The people inside the city desperately wanted to get out of the city, and the people outside the city desperately wanted to enter the city.

If it weren't for the strong enough city gate and high enough city walls, I'm afraid that it would have turned the sky upside down.

What Xu Chong needs to do is to stabilize the inside and outside of the city during Jiang Zhihong's absence, and prevent large-scale riots.

In this way, three days passed quietly.

For three days, there were fewer people left outside the city.

Some died, some left.

Those who did not leave were not hopeful, on the contrary, they were completely desperate.

Only those Canglong people, even if they haven't eaten for several days, their emotions are much more stable than others.

It wasn't until the evening of the third day that a vehicle loaded with goods appeared at the end of the road.

One after the other.

And around the convoy was a huge refugee force.

Densely packed people.

Even if you stand on the top of the city, with Xu Chong's eyes, you can't see the end at a glance.

He recognized only the man at the head of the convoy.

Fenggu County Order, Jiang Zhihong.

"Food! That's grain! ”

I don't know who shouted first, and then it led to a chain reaction.

The refugees who had been left outside the city began to rush to the convoy like crazy.

"—presumptuous!"

A roar of rage was like a roar in the sky.

A loud sound reverberated and shook everyone's heart.

"This county order has already delivered grain, enough food for you to live!"

"From now on, there will be another porridge shack, and everyone will be rationed."

"But there are robbers, no matter men or women, no matter their status, they are expelled from the wind drum, and life and death are left to fate!"

Then shocked everyone's kung fu, Jiang Zhihong spoke again and again.

A moment passed, and a looming upheaval was finally suppressed, and the convoy moved on.

The relief work is in full swing.

When the lid of the first pot of gruel was lifted, hot steam rose and the refugees fell to their knees in patches.

"Master Xie Qingtian! Master Xie Qingtian! ”

"Little old man doesn't distinguish between right and wrong, scolding adults for being dog officials, the crime deserves death, the crime deserves death!"

"The grace of saving lives, be a cow and make a Malay report!"

“……”

In the west of the city, the man's face finally showed a knowing smile, and he knelt down tremblingly, and pressed his forehead to the ground.

The woman who was beside him with the young child, and the eldest son, also knelt down.

However, this kneeling, the man was never able to stand up again.

(End of chapter)