Chapter 100 Southward Advance
Song County has been thoroughly cleaned up by Gao and You. Even the city gates have been removed. From the county magistrate to the captives who were killed by miscellaneous soldiers, there is no threat. Guan Shengyun and Luo Yonghao let the army pass directly through the city. After crossing the Yishui River and stationed on the east bank, the two of them brought several personal guards and moved into the Qi Family Courtyard with the support of Luo Shifan.
Early the next morning, Guan Shengyun and Luo Shi's father and son also crossed the Yishui River, and the army headed for the Funiu Mountain base under the guidance of Tang Qi, who was left behind by Gao Tengdou along the way.
The temporary base set up by the two pioneers Gao and You was in the heart of the Funiu Mountains and near the birthplace of Feishui (now Baihe). This place is Baihe Town today, a little due south and west of Song County, about 150 miles away in a straight line, but there were only a few scattered families living there.
Like Gao Tengzu You Futian, Guan Shengyun's large army had no way to go south directly. It was unimaginable that tens of thousands of people would plunge into the uninhabited Funiu Mountains. Even if they could find wild trails in the mountains, there would be absolutely no way for large and heavy vehicles to pass through. People living in modern times are far less aware of the dangers of high mountains and dense forests than the ancients. In that great Patriotic War, it was not the Japanese army in Burma that really caused huge casualties to the First Expeditionary Force, but Savage Mountain! Facing the menacing Japanese army, Du Yuming, who had a bad start, was panicked and led the main force of the expedition into the vast mountains and forests... In the end, only twenty-three out of ten were able to struggle out - this is because various support technologies are far superior to those of the ancients. Nearly modern elite army! On the contrary, the ancients, who did not have all kinds of modern technologies to rely on, had a much higher respect for nature than people today. Both General Gao You and Guan Shengyun first went upstream along the Yishui River to the west, and then marched south. After reaching Luanchuan Town (today's Luanchuan County), they turned back to the east. The marching route was like a less than number ( "<").
The hinterland of Funiu Mountain is bustling with activity. After the two armies joined forces, due to terrain restrictions, the camp of 50,000 to 60,000 troops stretched for more than ten miles. In terms of food and grass consumption, a hill was eaten every day. Guan Shengyun's extortion and looting all the way from northern Shaanxi can no longer be described as extremely rich. After taking the seizures of Hangu Pass and Xin'an County, it is no longer enough to rely solely on auxiliary troops, and even part of the military needs to be mobilized. Soldiers assisted in transporting grain, grass and baggage. Even so, seeing Luo Yonghao's consumption of statistics every day still makes my heartache. Fortunately, the more than 10,000 auxiliary soldiers sent by Guo Qinglin to Second General Gao You are all good soldiers. Over 600 boats and rafts have been built recently, and nearly 800 more are about to be completed. It is estimated that it will take another two or three days. Everything will be ready.
The raft is used to carry people, and the worst thing is that the pantyhose will get wet. The grain and grass baggage must not be exposed to water, and horses and other livestock must also be transported by ship. It stands to reason that building a wooden boat is a tough technical job and should never be done carelessly. For the wood alone, it takes several years to prepare: the big tree that has just been felled cannot be used. It must be left in a cool and ventilated place to dry for two or three years. During the drying process, the wood will definitely crack. The problem is No one can tell where it will crack! When the time comes, according to the cracking situation, it will be sawn into usable boards. Use them wherever you can, and as much as you can use. If new wood is launched directly into the water, such a ship can only last for a year at most: during this period, the wood will slowly deform. When the deformation tension exceeds the riveting force of the ship's nails, it will fall apart on the spot for you to see! However, Guan Shengyun did not need to build a permanent river fleet at this time. They were disposable items anyway. These rafts completed their historical mission when they arrived in Huguang. There were many rivers there, and there must be many ships that could be "requisitioned". Therefore, no one cares about its durability.
More than twenty professional shipbuilding craftsmen kidnapped from Ansai County, Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanzhou Prefecture and other places finally found a place to put themselves to use. Each one of them strolled around the temporary shipyard with their hands behind their backs, stopping from time to time to give lively instructions. With. There were about two hundred people on the shore, sweating profusely, waving mallets and smashing canes - those old canes soon turned into lumps of rough hemp, piled on the ground to dry in the sun.
When a new ship was launched, the auxiliary soldiers who were building a ship for the first time had another false alarm: water was seeping from almost every seam! In less than half a day, the water in the bottom of the boat was ankle deep. The old boatmen looked at it and laughed: "Don't do anything, the wood will swell after soaking, and you can plug the small cracks tightly. Then you can just wash out the water in the cabin." While talking, he asked people to tamp the burlap into the larger gap. The dried burlap also swelled up, sealing the leakage tightly.
After a few days, everything was ready. The army left the shore and boarded boats, heading towards Nanyang along the Feishui River. In the Ming Dynasty, there were no decent villages and towns directly north of Nanyang Prefecture. Especially after Qian Yuchuan's years of pretentiousness, not even Shiqiaobao (today's Shiqiao Town, about fifty miles north of Nanyang) was left. At that time, there was no Yahekou Reservoir, so Guan Shengyun's army of boats and rafts went down the river end to end, winding its way for more than ten miles and heading towards Nanyang Mansion.
Yin Erwu woke up from hunger again.
The bright sun hung high in the southern sky, and it was almost noon. Yesterday afternoon, before the sun had set, Yin Erwu went back to the shabby house to sleep early - he and a large group of Tao Shiliu and Meng Youcai dug in the fields in vain for most of the day and found almost nothing. No wonder, hundreds of thousands of people have been sifting through the northern slope for so many days. What kind of food can you expect to find? It's better to go to bed early so that you won't feel hungry when you fall asleep. Moreover, if you move less and lie down as much as possible, you will feel less hungry.
Yin Erwu was born on July 25th, so like many people, he was naturally called this name.
Yin Erwu, who woke up from hunger, did not get up. He stared at the uneven earth wall and thought about something.
Yin Erwu really lived a good life like a fairy for a few days. The snow-white steamed buns are filled with tremblingly plump white meat. Bite it down hard, and the fat drips down the corners of your mouth. Then take a bite of crispy pickle lumps...the taste is simply indescribable! Thinking about the life of the Jade Emperor in heaven, this is what it was like, right? At that time, dogs on the street followed people all day long - people's poop was particularly attractive to dogs when they were well fed.
It's a pity that such good days did not last long.
After the wealthy gentry and wealthy households outside Nanyang Prefecture fled to death, in less than half a year, it would be difficult for Yin Erwu and others to eat meat again. Well, those dogs' good days were shorter and they were quickly killed and eaten. Occasionally, wild cats can be seen on the street, but no one dares to touch them - Mr. Qian said, these are mythical beasts! Before the rich people died, they could be seen walking in groups everywhere in Nanyang Prefecture, looking as if no one was around. It was really like that. But later, all the rats and sparrows were eaten by hungry people, and their good days came to an end. Except for those who died of illness and starvation and were eaten by their companions, the remaining ones were all covered in skin and bones and staggered around, like those who had escaped from the underworld. , looking so numb in broad daylight.
Mr. Qian is really a good man. If it weren't for Mr. Qian, wouldn't Yin Erwu and the others have to live half-starved and half-fed all their lives? First there was the locust plague, which was terrible. The locusts that covered the sky seemed to suddenly emerge from the cracks in the ground, and they fell from the sky in overwhelming numbers. When they rose again, the land was as bald as a scar. Pieces of green crop fields turned into burnt yellow in the blink of an eye, without any grass growing. Every ten years or so, God will do something like this to this place. Many of the parents of Yin Erwu and his companions were starved to death not long after the last locust plague.
After the locusts left Nanyang, the wealthy households in the city and the countryside set up porridge shacks as before. Those poor people who didn't even have any seed grains left could drink half a bowl of clear soup almost every day, which was so thin that it could even illuminate people's shadows. Little water. Yin Erwu can guess what he is like now when he sees other people's faces. I knew in my heart that after a while, even if I barely survived starvation, I would definitely become like a living ghost. However, I still feel grateful to these wealthy households from the bottom of my heart - their food is not stolen, they are used to make porridge for you to keep you alive. This is a kindness! Besides, no one can say how long this disaster will last. If there is a drought or flood in the coming year, it will be impossible to protect everything. With so many people affected by the disaster, I can't afford to give you all my wealth to eat up in one go.
However, Yin Erwu's gratitude quickly evaporated.
While queuing up to receive porridge, I listened to the comments from others. Master Qian made a notice saying that the locusts did not fly away on their own, but that the Jade Emperor sent the magical cat and raccoon to drive them away! Yang Yuanwai, who was standing aside to watch the housekeeper Yang Bo distribute the porridge, spat and said that it was nonsense. He was embarrassed to talk about auspiciousness after a natural disaster and did not open a state warehouse. The civet cats were probably not eating locusts but money. conscience!
Ma Laoqi had already received a portion of porridge. After finishing it in a few gulps, he went to queue again and pushed people around. When Officer Yang looked at him, he took it out and pushed him out. He also told Uncle Yang that he was not allowed to eat porridge tomorrow. He became angry. Ma Laoqi then went to see Zhang Mazi, the yamen servant. Everyone in Yangzhuang knew that the buckets Zhang Mazi brought when he came to collect food last year were privately made. The farmers made a noise, and someone invited Yang Yuanwai. The grumpy old man gave everyone a slap on the spot and made them kneel in the wheat field for two full hours with a homemade bucket on their head*...
The next day, Mr. Qian personally led the soldiers to raid the Yang family compound! At first, some of the young and old men in Yangzhuang really wanted to stop him. Mr. Qian raised his voice and said that the man named Yang was treasonous and slandering the court. Anyone who stopped him was an accomplice and they would be beheaded together! Zhang Mazi and several others shouted, "When the master of Futai captured the criminals and distributed the hidden food to everyone, no one came forward anymore."
The officers and soldiers carried the boxes and cages and escorted the Yang family men away. Ma Laoqi, Meng Youcai and others took the lead and rushed into the Yang family. When they came out with bags of food that probably weighed more than a hundred kilograms, everyone onlookers no longer remembered what kindness was. At first, they hesitantly moved towards the yard, and soon their eyes were full of red eyes. Got in...
From then on, all the wealthy households with no strong backing were remembered one after another as having slandered the imperial court...
Good times are coming for Yin Erwu.
* Land taxes in the Ming Dynasty were often collected by the gentry and handed over uniformly. Being a yamen servant is a despicable job. Under normal circumstances, it is normal to bully the villagers who have a dark look on their eyes, but they would never dare to do anything wrong to the gentry, especially those with fame (such as scholars). When Zhang Mazi collected the grain, he brought a privately made big bucket with him. When he returned to the Yamen for business, the extra money fell into his own pocket, so he was beaten by Yang Yuanwai.
