The floodwaters in the village have receded, and the muddy ground is emitting wisps of moisture in the sun. [No pop-up novel website] There are dark mud and branches, weeds and driftwood everywhere. The crops that had been washed away by the flood were rotting in the mud, and the corpses of rotting animals: chickens, dogs, pigs, sheep, and occasionally humans, were scattered in the mud. Without exception, their bellies were bulging, and they exuded a disgusting stench.
Blow flies arrived as soon as possible. There were flies flying around, and there were several corpses of humans and animals.
In villages and towns that have been hit by floods, many of the houses that did not collapse when the flood hit will collapse as the water recedes. However, the owners of the houses no longer need them and are either dead or fleeing.
This is the Yizhou Flood in 1631. The flood once again swept across the land that had become barren due to frequent natural disasters, sweeping away the people who were barely surviving here - starting from the Year of Tianqi, Yizhou and nearby Lunan, Nanzhibei Counties in every state and county experience flooding almost every two to three years.
Groups of hungry people stumbled forward on the road, leaving corpses along the way. They headed blindly towards the county town, prefecture or city anywhere. The victims knew that only in the city could they have a chance of survival. Otherwise, even if they do not starve to death, there will be a great plague after the catastrophe, and the god of plague will harvest the creatures more ferociously than the flood. If the local cities cannot accommodate them, they will have no choice but to leave their homes and flee to states and counties that have not suffered disasters.
Driven by hunger and forced to survive, the flow of refugees is slowly crawling on the various continents in Lunan. People die every day and people join every day. It eats everything in its path - bark grass roots and even animal carcasses cannot survive.
The big families in the villages and towns along the way have already escaped. They either entered the provincial capital or went further to the more stable Jiangnan. Since Lunan passed the White Lotus Sect, this place has become very dangerous, and many people with assets have fled. They fled to the provincial capital or Jiangnan and "escaped".
Some villages and towns have built walls and practiced village bravery. The hand holding the hoe handle is now tightly holding the whistle stick and wooden gun... paying careful attention to the refugees passing by the villages and towns - their eyes are red with hunger. The victims all have the consciousness of "eat before you die". The little food accumulated in the villages and towns has to be fed to my own family! People's hearts are as cold and hard as iron. The landlord who did not "escape" took his servants and long-term workers and stood on the wall of the village, holding bows, arrows and swords. He supervised the villagers... and it also seemed that he was "taking the lead". After all, he was the richest person in the village. . The body that was originally dressed in silk and satin was now wrapped in hastily made cotton armor. It's summer now, but they don't have a drop of sweat on their bodies. What they see in their eyes are the dark masses of refugees, and what they think about is the news that came from the past few days: Which village, town, which stockade was eaten by the refugees? Whose family is this? They were robbed, and so-and-so's whole family was killed by refugees. The horrific past during the White Lotus Rebellion ten years ago seemed to appear before their eyes again. The head of the house looked at the village warriors who were all shrinking their necks and frowning. He stamped his feet and shouted: "Look out for me! Let's have a treat tonight...you can eat whatever you want from the pork and vegetable box!"
Then there was a burst of shouts of "Thank you, Master!", as if they were singing in an opera. Then someone yelled in a tone of voice: "Everyone, hold on to your swords and guns!"
"Hold it tight!"
"The village is secure!"
"Hold it tight!"
Scenes like this are repeated several times almost every day. On weekdays, not to mention giving food to long-term workers and farmers, even the big households themselves are reluctant to eat white flour and pork, so these days they are used as rewards to win people's hearts.
But while they were distressed, scared and worried, they were also secretly happy. Floods washed away land boundaries and title deeds, leaving many lands without owners. Even those who still had owners had to sell them to survive in disaster years. For some people, it is a good opportunity to expand their industries. As for the farmers, they will not die... After the water recedes, those who have not starved to death in the next spring will always come back.
The premise is that they have not been "eclipsed" by the refugees before, and have not been invaded during the chaos. No matter whether it is a state, county or city, the officials who usually show off their power are unwilling to interfere with the actions of the refugees. The refugees have not rebelled or surrounded them. In the county town, eating a few big landlords and killing a few people is not a big deal. Big business owners want to protect their lives and property, and they have to step in and lead the team.
In Zhoucheng County, although the city gates have not yet been closed to prohibit refugees from entering the city...but bravery training has been held in the city, and the young people from Guanxiang and nearby villages have organized themselves and are ready to "suppress" them at any time. The heads hung as a warning to others at the gate of the city were always fresh and bloody. In the hastily built sheds outside the city, there were pots of "gruel" with a musty smell that could be seen at the bottom. It's just this kind of gruel... Not all the refugees gathered nearby can eat it. The number of "chips" given out every day is fixed, and those who don't get their turn can only starve.
Near the porridge shed is another feeding place for flies. People from Jinan Prefecture and even as far away as Shuntian and Jiangnan hid in sedan chairs and mule carts, carefully calculating how many "prey" they could get and how much benefit they would give to their local counterparts. Some people were wandering around the crowd, looking for people who could be bribed. Young men and women are their first targets, followed by young women. The people with straw tags were loaded onto mule carts one after another, and transported one by one to Linqing and Xuzhou, where they were put on ships and transported to various places for sale.
Zhang Zuochen, wearing a Taoist uniform designed by himself, walked through the crowd. He nods to the people around him from time to time. He practices medicine and helps people here, and has already gained the reputation of "living god". Not only the refugees, but also many of the government servants and village warriors who maintained order around the porridge were treated by him and respected him like a god.
"Master Fu, you gave me the medicine and my child took it, and it really stopped the diarrhea. You are really a living god." A ragged woman blocked his way, "Please give it another look... "
"Oh? Since the diarrhea has been stopped, life is not in the way." Zhang Yingchen said with a smile, "Pindao has to see a patient now, and I will show it to your child when he comes back. You give him this packet of medicine first. .”
He walked over amidst the woman's endless gratitude, and he was almost overwhelmed with such things along the way. Even Dian Shi and the deputy general manager of the county, who came to the porridge from time to time, had to be polite when meeting him.
He knew that the officials and gentry in the city were originally very wary of him. The monks who appeared after the great disaster were for the purpose of practicing medicine and preaching. They almost certainly had "ill-intentioned" intentions. The ruling class had been doing it for thousands of years. Sufficient experience has been accumulated in the rule of the country.
Along with Zhang Yingchen, there were several so-called "Taoist priests" or "monks" who appeared at the porridge, as well as so-called "divine witches" without any religious attire. They soon attracted the attention of the local government. These people did not have "ultimatums", and the medicines used to treat diseases were not as effective as Zhang Yingchen's. They soon disappeared completely under the attack of the local government and the gentry.
Zhang Yingchen was able to win in the competition because, firstly, he had superb medical skills and even better medicine; secondly, he had a formal Taoist certificate and a name post he obtained from a certain Jin gentry's house in Hangzhou, these two things played a great role in protecting his safety. Great effect. You must know that the government in this time and space has no concept of human rights. It is a common practice to capture suspicious persons and torture them. What's more, these are extraordinary times: many people were beheaded or tortured to death in government offices just because of their suspicious words and deeds, and some died in prisons and in cages at the entrance of government offices.
He was very careful when treating diseases. When treating diseases, he only said some ordinary words such as doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, but did not preach too much about doctrines. Although he occasionally spoke to the refugees, all the contents were from the official Taoist canon, and they were upright and upright wherever they were placed.
"I wonder what Lao Zhao is doing in Shandong?" He often thought like this when he was busy with these things. You must know that with his current influence, it is easy to encourage refugees to go to Denglai to defect to Zhao Yingong.
He and Zhao Yingong left Hangzhou at the same time, but he did not leave after arriving in Yizhou, but became active in the same place.
In ancient Chinese society, whenever a natural disaster occurred, it was often a great opportunity for cults to carry out propaganda. One of Zhang Yingchen's main purposes for going deep into Yizhou was to examine the activities and instigation capabilities of local organizations such as the White Lotus Sect, the Luo Sect, and the Wenxiang Sect.
Now it seems that these organizations are indeed active, but the government is paying great attention to it. After all, the White Lotus Rebellion has not passed ten years, and the local vigilance is still there. It is not easy to use religious means to incite the people.
After he returned from a tour, he found that a young man he had cured a few days ago had been bought by someone from the south of the Yangtze River. I couldn't help but secretly regret it. This young man is smart and very good-looking. He was originally the "Daosheng" seedling that he was optimistic about, but now he was the first to win.
This kind of thing has happened several times, and it makes him sad every time. It is so painful to watch the good seedlings lose in vain and unable to do anything.
But he had already taken in two children as Tao students, and he originally had Ming and Qing brought from Hangzhou, so it would be too ostentatious to take in more boys by his side.
"You have to write to Lao Zhao as soon as possible, otherwise all the best resources will be taken away by these people." He thought secretly and returned to a broken Taoist temple in Guanxiang.
It is said to be a Taoist temple, but in fact there are no Taoist priests. Only a Taoist living in the fire lives there, barely making ends meet. Zhao Yingong spent a few small sums of money to rent a house as his base of activities in Yizhou. ! .
< >, reading is a kind of enjoyment, it is recommended that you collect it.
