"The people of Qingzhou Prefecture are homeless, and the price of human flesh in every county is lower than that of dogs and pigs..."
"The people in the mountains and fields are hungry, they eat each other, their bones are piled up, and the roads are full of stench..."
In the Wangjiazhuang Baihu Official Hall, Chief Flag Officer Jia Hongyu was reading the newspaper sent by the Lingshan Guard. Liu Yan and all the commanders present looked solemn. No one expected that the locust plague that had broken out as early as this summer would actually It will cause such serious consequences in various parts of Shandong.
According to the news in the Tang newspaper, even the granaries in some places have been eaten clean by locusts. The old wood is like a sieve, gnawed by countless locusts.
After Jia Hongyu finished reading, Wang Wenzhen said in a deep voice: "This summer, locust plagues broke out in many places in Shandong. There were floods of hungry people everywhere, but there was little relief from the local governments. Shangguan officials thought that these hungry people could find their own way out. , as long as the hungry people can survive until next spring, the imperial court will also allocate money and food to provide relief, but it backfires."
Liu Yan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh after listening to Wang Wenzhen's words. He didn't know what those superior officials were thinking. Do they have any brains?
Hungry people everywhere are plagued by locust plagues and have nothing but the scraps of shoes on their bodies. What other options do these hungry people have except starving to death?
In order to survive, those hungry people ate everything they could find and eat. They were like countless "two-legged locusts", constantly migrating and eating everything they could eat wherever they went. The light assimilates the people here into hungry people, and then repeats this process, expanding like a snowball, and finally explodes like a huge bomb under everyone's desperate gaze.
Now, the bomb finally exploded!
According to the Tongbao sent by Lingshan Guard, turmoil has begun in various parts of Shandong. Amidst the biting cold wind, more and more hungry people are living in various places. In many places, hungry people have broken out and attacked government offices, and even looted villages and towns. A civil uprising is already brewing.
After Wang Wenzhen sighed, he said to everyone: "This summer's locust plague did not affect our Wangjiazhuang area. This is both lucky and unfortunate. It is precisely because our Wangjiazhuang area was not affected by the disaster, and even the entire Xiahe Village There are few disasters among the thousands of households in front of us, so in the eyes of the hungry people, our place is food and a way to survive!"
With that said, Wang Wenzhen suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Today, you all will go back to deploy immediately. All the fire road piers will be on full alert. The troops and horses in all the forts will be organized immediately, ready to be dispatched by my officers at any time. You must know that the north is now The hungry people will rush south at any time. Once those hungry people who have gone crazy with hunger rush into Wangjiazhuang, then all of us will be finished together. Every fire road pier and fort will be eaten clean by the army of hungry people, and no one will be spared. !”
Although Liu Yan sympathized with the miserable hungry people, he knew better that what Wang Wenzhen said was right and the truth.
At this time, Liu Yan sighed. If hungry people really attacked Dapanbao, then he would probably have to suppress them ruthlessly. After all, Dapanbao was his own hard work, and it was his base in this troubled world. He could not tolerate any mistakes. .
Wang Wenzhen emphasized the importance of this warning, then waved his hand and said to Liu Yan and other armor commanders: "Okay, everyone, go back and deploy immediately. Once the movements of the hungry people are discovered, no matter who it is, immediately Send someone to report to me!"
"yes!"
Liu Yan and other armor commanders clasped their fists and accepted the order.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside, and then Yue Ming, the flag officer in charge of Wangjiazhuang's money, food and supplies, ran into the main hall in panic.
Liu Yan frowned slightly and saw that Yue Ming's face was sweating profusely, even if there was a cold wind outside. Yue Ming was wearing a half-worn fat coat, but only his right foot was wearing cotton shoes. The cotton shoes on his left foot had disappeared, and he was standing naked on the cold ground.
Wang Wenzhen also frowned and asked, "Mr. Yue Qi, what's going on?"
Yue Ming said breathlessly: "My lord, something is wrong!"
"Say, what happened!"
"Today, my subordinates went to Xiahe Village to deliver political performance money and food to thousands of households. On the way back, they encountered hungry people. A large number of hungry people, boundless, are rushing towards our Wangjiazhuang!"
After hearing Yue Ming's words, everyone stood up in shock. They never expected that the hungry people would come towards Wangjiazhuang so quickly.
And Liu Yan was even more worried. The Ancient Town Inspection Department was still north of Wangjiazhuang. If there were hungry people in Wangjiazhuang, then the Ancient Town Inspection Department would be even more in danger.
"If these hungry people start a riot, then our two trade routes in Dapanbao will be cut off, and Dapanbao's own sales channels will also be cut off!"
Here, Wang Wenzhen couldn't wait any longer, and immediately said to the armor commanders: "Everyone, please go back quickly. If any traces of hungry people are found at the fire road pier, you must be on guard and report to the officer as soon as possible!"
Liu Yan walked out of the Baihu Official Hall worriedly. At this time, people were coming and going at the gate. More than a hundred Dunjun troops in Wangjiazhuang had all been mobilized and were gathering outside the Baihu Official Hall.
Liu Yan paused at the door for a while, and then saw the flag officer Jia Hongyu striding out. At this time, Jia Hongyu was already wearing armor, followed by dozens of armored servants. The number of people had also expanded from the original fifty. There are now seventy or eighty people.
"Brother Jia!"
Liu Yan said hello, and Jia Hongyu gave a few instructions to the servants behind him, and then walked over quickly.
"Mr. Liu is still here, is there anything wrong?"
Liu Yan took Jia Hongyu to a place with few people on the side, and then whispered: "Brother Jia, now the tide of hungry people is coming, you have to give me an accurate answer: What is the regulation of the leader? Treating hungry people is to appease them." Or a purge?”
Jia Hongyu was stunned for a moment, and then said: "General Manager Liu Qi is a smart man. Look around you, don't you understand?"
"well!"
Liu Yan was worried about this, and Wang Wenzhen was indeed ready to suppress him.
Jia Hongyu looked at Liu Yan who was thoughtful, and whispered: "I know Mr. Liu Qi is kind-hearted, but you have to know, how many hungry people are there? As long as we provide some relief here, there will be more and more hungry people. Come here, how much food can we have in Wangjiazhuang? Once you show your kindness, it won’t be long before Wangjiazhuang will be eaten up by the tide of hungry people!"
Liu Yan understood that what Jia Hongyu said was the truth, but he still disagreed with the blind suppression. This was a temporary solution rather than a permanent solution. As long as the disaster was still happening and as long as the court's relief was not in place, there would be no end to the hungry people.
So Liu Yan clasped his fists and said, "I understand, Brother Jia, take care. I'm going back to Dapanbao now."
"Okay, Mr. Liu, be careful on the road."
Liu Yan first went to Wanfu Oil Factory. At this time, both Wang Jing and Wang Yunhe saw Dunjun and Qingzhuang constantly mobilizing in the streets. Their faces were full of worry. When they saw Liu Yan coming back, they went up Ask before.
"Let's go in and talk."
The three of them came to the backyard and sat down. Liu Yan briefly talked about the influx of hungry people, and then said to Wang Jing and Wang Yunhe: "Now the hungry people are coming. I feel that although Wangjiazhuang is the location of the Hundred Household Office, After all, I am not at ease relying on the one or two hundred troops and servants garrisoned by the master of the team. So I want you to go to Dapanbao with me. Although Dapanbao is just a fort, as long as I am here, you will never be able to do it. There won’t be any surprises for you.”
Wang Yunhe naturally had no objection. Since Liu Yan came to propose marriage today, Wang Yunhe's heart has been tied to Liu Yan, and he will naturally listen to Liu Yan's words.
But Wang Jing said: "I appreciate Mr. Liu's kindness. Yun'er will naturally follow Mr. Liu back to Dapanbao. After all, he still has to take care of the wine shop. As for me, an old man, I can just stay here. , Wanfu Oil Factory is here, I naturally want to stay."
Wang Yunhe suddenly became anxious when he heard this, and took Wang Jing's hand to persuade him, but Wang Jing was determined and insisted on staying.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yan knew that Wang Jing had made up his mind, so he said: "In that case, I won't force it. It only takes about half an hour to ride a fast horse from Dapanbao to Wangjiazhuang. When I return, I will ask Ye Bu to collect the flag and stand by. , once something happens here, I will personally bring people over here."
Wang Jing cupped his fists and said, "Thank you then."
Then Liu Yan took Wang Yunhe and set off together. Under the protection of a group of Dunjun troops, everyone quickly returned to Dapanbao.
But what Liu Yan didn't expect was that as soon as he entered the fort with his front feet, an alarm cannon was heard from the observation deck. He saw the Dun Jun on the observation deck in the distance pointing to the north and shouting loudly. Liu Yan suddenly felt a sudden change in his heart. shock.
"All military households in the fort will return home immediately, and no one is allowed to move around at will!"
Immediately afterwards, Liu Yan said to the Dunjun around him: "Let all the Dunjun outside the fort enter the fort to garrison immediately, and ask all the flag officers to rush to the north fort wall immediately!"
After saying that, Liu Yan asked several Dunjun soldiers to send Wang Yunhe back to the residence of the wine shop, and then he quickly climbed up the northern fortress wall.
Liu Yan looked north and saw dense crowds of hungry people rushing towards him in the wilderness outside the fort.
The hungry people helped the old and the young. Although Liu Yan could not see their expressions clearly, he could still feel an inexplicable sense of despair, as if the hungry people were heading towards death without any hope at all.
At this time, five small flag officers, Chen Xun, Wang Bo, Wang Yue, Xu Ming, and Miao Shao, arrived one after another. The small flag officer Zhang Yi was still stationed at the salt drying field for the time being, with more than 70 people under Chu Yunfei. Let’s defend the salt field together.
Liu Yan pointed to the north and said to several people: "Look, those are the hungry people. Now the huge wave of hungry people has entered our Wangjiazhuang territory."
The faces of Chen Xun and others were very ugly. Even though they had fought against pirates, bandits, and the Song family in the ancient town several times before, they showed no signs of timidity. However, now that they saw the large number of hungry people outside, they felt a sense of fear in their hearts.
Who were those hungry people? They were just wearing single clothes, and some were even topless, walking numbly in the cold wind, moving forward without fear.
"Captain A, what should we do?"
Liu Yan frowned and said: "Drive all the livestock outside the fort in first, and later they will become the food of the hungry people!"
Chen Xun immediately said: "I'll do it!"
After saying that, Chen Xun turned around and ran away, calling his subordinate Dun Jun to go drive the livestock.
Then Liu Yan said to the remaining people: "Let Chen Xun lead the people to defend the fort in a while. You gather your troops and follow me out to attack!"
Several people were shocked when they heard this, and Wang Yue stammered: "Captain Jia, there are thousands of hungry people outside. Can more than a hundred of us go out to meet them? Otherwise, we'd better defend the fort and then mobilize A few young men can gather a few hundred people, so it should be no problem to defend the fort."
Liu Yan glared at Wang Yue and said, "What if the hungry people stay outside and refuse to leave? What if the military households in the fort are frightened and cause chaos? What if the hungry people go around and directly loot the salt drying field? !”
Wang Yue looked at Liu Yan's murderous eyes and did not dare to speak any more.
"Don't hesitate, everyone immediately go out and form a team to prepare for the attack!"
