There are 12 provinces in the Central Plains, each of which has eight counties (prefectures), and the richest place is Jiangnan Province, where nearly one-seventh of the annual grain field taxes that fill the treasury come from Jiangnan Province, and Yangzhou in Jiangnan Province is the foundation of the Celestial Empire and the lifeblood of the Yangtze River.

Outside the city of Yangzhou, the mountains and rivers are vertical and horizontal.

How many miles the Grand Canal stretches, there are a few clusters of reeds, a few bends of villages, and it is so beautiful and welcoming.

"Childe, we walked very fast last night, I'm afraid we walked dozens of miles, is this?"

Li Ji, who was five big and three thick, asked in a bull's throat.

Xu Ping'an was seven feet tall, his clothes were half exposed at this time, he looked around with a weed, and then jumped off his horse and said.

"After walking all night, I'm afraid I've reached the boundary of Yangzhou, you ask me where this is, how do I know, our brothers are going out for the first time. ”

"Boom!"

At this time, a long and loud bell rang suddenly, as if separated by several mountains, making the listener have a sense of empty valley and orchid, plausible.

"Let's go, go over and have a look. Xu Ping'an casually tied up his black hair, with a smile on his delicate face.

After walking some mountain roads to the place where the bell rings, this should be a deserted market, backed by the mountains and leading to the official road, flat and a little empty.

There is a large bell in the center, which should have sounded from the bell just now.

Here, hundreds of men, women and children in ragged clothes and unkempt face gather here. Like a refugee in a war, his pupils were full of confusion and numbness, even mixed with some despair.

It's not an exaggeration to call it The Walking Dead.

However, it was also orderly, quietly queuing up to receive gruel and steamed buns to eat.

The person who distributes the food is somewhat conspicuous and instantly recognizable.

Most of their robes are uniform, not luxurious, but they are definitely average, and at a glance they know that they are the servants of the rich and noble.

Xu Ping'an looked at it twice, it turned out to be a good deed, making porridge to help the people.

"No, since the new emperor ascended the throne, the country and the people have been safe, the four seas have surrendered, and most of the Central Plains are rich, not to mention Yangzhou, which is extremely prosperous and has the hub of the country!"

He frowned, and in front of him there was a little girl with a yellow face and thin muscles, a dirty dress with many patches, and her lips were chapped and bloody.

His hair is tied with a pair of small horns, which is very cute, but it is very distressing.

Li Ji said: "I once heard the master say that the water conservancy in Yangzhou is smooth, and the first Grand Canal of the Celestial Empire started from here. ”

And Yangzhou is the most prosperous place in the states of the Celestial Empire, close to Haizhou, Yancheng and other Huai salt producing areas, becoming the Huai salt distribution center and salt merchant gathering place, and there is an endless stream of traders and ships. ”

"That's why it has nourished the existence of many green forest rogues and water bandits, they are all murderous people from the rivers and lakes who gather together, often go down the mountains and rivers, sweep the villages, and rob women and food!"

"Presumably, these refugees are the ones who are like this. ”

Xu Ping'an frowned, he couldn't see these tragic things.

"Go, bring the dry food and distribute it to these refugees!"

Although Li Ji is five big and three coarse, he is even a simple child.

But after hearing this, his movements were swift and tight, walking back and forth like flying, and he took a large bag of dry food from the tethered horse pile.

I opened the package and took out a few coarse dough cakes, which were still a little meaty.

He bent down and handed it to the little girl with pigtails next to him.

"Sister, my brother will give you something to eat!" he looked kind, afraid of frightening the little girl who was wandering around.

The little girl was stunned, timidly afraid to take it, but she seemed to smell the smell of meat, there was a look of longing in her flawless eyes, and her little black hands were kneading each other.

Xu Ping'an's heart suddenly entangled, what kind of day can make a piece of bread worth such a look? !

At this time, with a "swish", a thin shadow rushed over, obviously a refugee wanted to grab the cake to eat, but it was directly lifted up by a big hand, and he didn't get close at all.

Li Ji is a master among the masters, don't look at other people, it's not an exaggeration to say that he is a tiger and a leopard, how strong he is Anyway, Xu Ping'an doesn't know, he only knows that he is "very strong"!

"Uncle, uncle, you spare your life, the little one is just too hungry. ”

"Please, let me go!" The thin man exclaimed in surprise, and hurriedly begged for mercy, wanting to kneel but was held to death by Li Ji.

He frowned, motioned for Li Ji to let him down, and gave him two more dough cakes, and the thin man tore the dough cakes on the spot, devouring them like a tiger and a wolf, and thanked him vaguely in his mouth.

I was so hungry.

Xu Ping'an's brows frowned even more.

The movement was quickly discovered by the refugees who had gathered to receive the gruel. Someone shouted, "Where can I eat meatloaf!" and suddenly the refugees poured in like locusts crossing the border.

"Meatloaf!"

The crowd frightened the pigtailed little girl, who seemed to have no adults around, and timidly retreated, not daring to grab bread from the refugees.

Li Ji opened his hands widely, directly stopped all the refugees, and shouted: "Don't rob, I'll send it to you!"

Where he was in chaos, the hungry refugees panicked, tearing the package in Li Ji's hands, and he couldn't make a move, so he could only let the refugees loot on the ground.

Later, Xu Ping'an brought the little girl to his side, sat cross-legged on the bluestone slab, and gently combed the little girl's hair.

Seeing the little girl holding two pieces of dough in her hand and not daring to eat it, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Eat, my brother gave it to you, you can eat it. He whispered.

He said this no less than ten times before the little girl slowly put the patty into her mouth.

She took a bite, moving slowly. Then she ate faster, perhaps because the smell of meat made her even hungrier, and devoured one bite after another, as if she had been hungry for days.

On the other side, by the desk where the porridge is in need.

"Miss, you see that those two people really don't understand the rules, and when they come, they will disrupt the order that we have managed to maintain! You see that those refugees are still picking up scraps on the ground to eat!" The person who spoke frowned slightly, a little annoyed.

The "young lady" turned her head and glared at her, her eyes were as clear as water, with a sense of agility, her facial features were delicate and reserved, and there was a heroic spirit between her eyebrows.

There are several of them, so that people can never forget them for the rest of their lives.

"Xiaoying, how many times have I told you, don't call me Miss when you go out, call me Childe!"

The little warbler let out a whispered "oh" when she heard this, and after being criticized by the young lady, she looked at Xu Ping'an and her eyes more and more dissatisfied.

"Grandpa Liu, go and take a look, don't let those refugees trample together, those dough cakes are not enough to divide or you have to drink porridge, you go and arrange it." The young lady turned to an old man behind her.

"Yes, Childe. "That Grandpa Liu has kind eyebrows, especially when he looks at the girl dressed as a man, he has a strong love color, just like his own granddaughter.

Xu Ping'an didn't pay attention to what was behind him at all, anyway, there was a man who was tall and powerful to block things, and at this time, his eyes were very loving, and he finally watched the little girl with pigtails finish eating the bread.

"Brother... Brother, thank you... Thank. The little girl finally dared to speak, and her voice trembled intermittently.

Xu Ping'an's heart trembled twice, helped up the little girl who wanted to kneel down to thank her, and said slowly, "Sister, what's your name?"

"Demon. ”

"Where's the Daimyo?"

"No, my mother said that I didn't dare to take it, and the nickname was easy to feed. ”

"What about your mother?" As soon as the words came out, Xu Ping'an secretly scolded himself, this question was too poor, and he usually laughed at Li Ji for being stupid, and he was even more stupid.

The demon's eyes turned red in an instant, and her shoulders trembled slightly, like a heavenly elf who accidentally fell into this mortal world, stained with mud and dirt, and had no support.