The men were eating meat and drinking wine outside to discuss things, and the sound of talking faintly penetrated into the house, Gu Huanxi sat cross-legged on the kang, listening and eating calmly, she had a Zhang Yumu kang table in front of her, and there were several small plates, braised pig water, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pig's trotters, and a plate of fried vegetables, and drank thick millet porridge, with two spoonfuls of brown sugar added to it.

Gu Xiaoyu sat opposite her, eating politely.

Gu Huanxi was more casual, and when she gnawed on the pig's trotters, she didn't care about whether this action was elegant or not, but she didn't look rude and ugly when she asked her to do it.

Gu Xiaoyu asked, "Mother, do you really want to escape from the famine?" ”

Gu Huanxi said "um", raised his eyes and asked him, "You don't want to?" Or is there something else? ”

Gu Xiaoyu thought for a moment and shook his head, "My son can't think of any other way to go, the big families with enough money and food can go to Qingzhou City for a while, as long as the drought passes, there is no need to flee from the crowd, ordinary people can't do it, now the food has risen to the point that they can hardly bear, and in the absence of relief, they will definitely not survive next year, either sell themselves into slavery or escape the famine." ”

Gu Huanxi asked casually, "Then do you think the imperial court will send someone to help?" ”

Gu Xiaoyu was silent for a long time this time, and after half a sound, he said gloomily, "It should be...... I won't send people here, Tartar Koubian, and the food must be close to the soldiers in the northwest first. ”

Gu Huanxi said calmly, "Yes, so I can only sacrifice the people of the more than a dozen state capitals in the Central Plains." ”

Hearing this, Gu Xiaoyu's face changed, and he subconsciously said, "It's just a temporary helpless move, if the border can't be guarded, and the Tartars drive straight in, it will be the people of the whole world who will suffer at that time." ”

Gu Huanxi curled the corners of her lips mockingly, "Then whose problem do you think this is?" ”

Gu Xiaoyu's dry defense, "Drought is a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster, even if there is a talent that has passed through the heavens and latitudes, it is difficult to control, it can only be said that the luck is not good......"

Gu Huanxi interrupted, "Wrong, the drought is indeed a natural disaster, but it is not impossible to deal with, Qingzhou and the nearby state capitals, in the past few years, it is not that there has been a drought, why did the local people not flee the famine?" ”

"In the past, the imperial court would allocate grain for disaster relief, but this year ......"

"I can't allocate grain this year, and the grain is all requisitioned and transferred to the northwest, right? But do you find such a reason convincing? How much military rations can the Northwest need? Why is it necessary to mobilize the strength of the whole country? Jiangnan is the land of fish and rice, can't it be requisitioned for grain relief? What about the capital? The capital is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, the powerful families do not know how many, the rich and large families are most of the cattle hair, the land under their names is often tens of thousands of acres, and the surplus grain saved is enough for them to squander for a few years, and they can't buy a little grain from their hands? Even if the imperial court wants to go to war, there is not so much silver to mobilize for the time being, but if the above really has the heart, there will always be a way to raise food. ”

At the end of the day, it's just unintentional.

Or, they feel that the people in these places are not serious enough to make them pay attention to the point of trying to find a way to help.

After listening to this, Gu Xiaoyu's face was already a little pale, "So, you mean, there are natural disasters and there are also ...... Man-made disaster? ”

Gu Huanxi didn't speak, just looked at him calmly.

Silence is acquiescence.

Gu Xiaoyu lowered his head, and his whole person was shrouded in frustration and sentimentality.

Seeing this, Gu Huanxi brought the topic back to the beginning, "You said that those big families can temporarily take refuge in Qingzhou City and don't need to flee, do you think Qingzhou City will be stable?" ”

Gu Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, nodded, and explained, "Qingzhou is one of the ancient Kyushu, the location is very important, and it has been heavily guarded since it came, unless there is a strong attack by foreign enemies, otherwise it ......."

The implication is that even if there are homeless riots and banditry, they will not affect the city of Qingzhou.

Therefore, only the people at the bottom are unlucky.

Gu Huanxi asked again, "So, there is enough grain in Qingzhou City?" ”

Gu Xiaoyu hesitated, "It stands to reason that it should be." ”

"What about the water source?"

"I heard that there is a river near Qingzhou, which continues all year round, and the well in the city is in drought, and the water level will not be affected too much, and the daily drinking is enough, but it cannot cope with the drought of the crops in the field."

Hearing this, Gu Huanxi was thoughtful.

Gu Xiaoyu asked tentatively, "You don't want to go to Qingzhou, do you?" ”

Gu Huanxi shook his head.

Gu Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief, "Go at this time, I'm afraid it's too late, unless it's a big family with a rich net worth, there is a house in Qingzhou City, ordinary people, if they can't survive, they can only set up a shed outside the city, and wait for the rich families in the city to send kind porridge, but this is the next step, when the weather is cold, it will be difficult for the old and weak women and children to get through, and at that time, if there are too many refugees, the soldiers guarding the city will drive them away in order to prevent them from making trouble, and the refugees are also prone to chaos, which is more dangerous than fleeing the famine......"

Gu Huanxi naturally understood these truths, but what she was worried about was that the other people in the village didn't understand, after all, it was more acceptable for them to be able to ask for food in Qingzhou than to flee to an unknown place.

"Xiaoyu, how do you know so much?"

"What about the mother? Your insight ......"

"I have traveled with your grandfather for ten years, except for the barbarian land that is not suitable for stepping into, as well as the northwest frontier, most of the state capitals, I have been there, including the foot of the Son of Heaven, the prosperity and romance have been seen, the barren and ignorant have been seen, and your grandfather has also given me everything he has learned, I know these things, no matter how ordinary, but you ......"

Gu Xiaoyu pursed his lips, raised his eyes to look at her, and did not dodge or dodge, "Everything my son knows is taught by the gentleman invited by the family, and some of them are seen in books and newspapers......"

Gu Huanxi nodded and laughed, "Let's eat, the dishes are cold." ”

Gu Xiaoyu's eyes flashed, and he asked with a bit of confusion and confusion, "You, don't you continue to ask me ......?"

Gu Huanxi took over, "Do you want to ask about your family background?" Not necessarily. ”

Gu Xiaoyu was stunned, "Why?" ”

Gu Huanxi said in a casual tone, "What's the point of asking now?" You're already my son. ”

"But, but you're not afraid of me, I'll cause you trouble?"

Gu Huanxi asked rhetorically, "If I'm afraid, will you leave?" ”

Gu Xiaoyu choked, and after half a sound, he asked, "Then will you abandon me?" ”

Gu Huanxi said without thinking, "No, unless, you betray this family." ”

Gu Xiaoyu said without thinking, "I won't betray ......"

Gu Huanxi curled the corners of her lips, "Then it's no problem." ”

"But you, are you really not afraid that my identity will cause trouble?"

"It's useless to be afraid, I'm your mother, if something happens to my son, others can find a reason to avoid it, but it's the responsibility of parents to carry it together."

“…… It can also be discarded. ”

"Family, you can't give it up."

Her tone was calm, but she seemed to have the power of ten thousand jun and the momentum of thunder, which instantly made his eyes red, and he only felt full of grievances and sadness, surging out, as if to drown him. (End of chapter)