The sun was scorching in the sky, and the sunlight shone on the bare loess plateau. Among the thousands of ravines, there was almost no trace of green.
The drought in Shaanxi has lasted for nearly five years, but there is still no sign of relief! In northern Shaanxi, where the drought is most severe, it has not rained for two months since February of the fourth year of Chongzhen. Almost all the crops in the fields have died, and this year's summer wheat harvest will definitely be lost! If the drought continues, the autumn grain harvest will also be cut off.
God really doesn’t give the farmers in northern Shaanxi a way to survive!
God does not provide a way to survive, so the farmers have to seek survival on their own. Large groups of hungry people were crowded with refugees who had gone south to seek survival from Yan'an Prefecture, Qingyang Prefecture, Yulin Town and other places that were hardest hit by the disaster. Supporting the old and young, with only a little possessions, they fell step by step on the bumpy official road. Some of them were already skinny and skinny from hunger, and it would be difficult to get up again after falling... You can always see lying corpses on the loess soil on both sides of the official road.
There were also some refugees who looked relatively strong, gathering together in groups, all holding sticks in their hands, a few holding swords, and some leaders even had horses to ride on. These strong refugees either opened the way in front of the team, or held down the formation behind the team. Leading and driving large groups of hungry people rolling forward.
Every time they pass through a closed state or county, these strong refugees will hug their leader and go to the city gate to "beg for food"... Although northern Shaanxi has been experiencing drought for several years, It’s not like there is no harvest every year, or else there will be no living people left long ago. Now those who have no way of living and have to go south to beg for food are only the poor peasants at the lowest level. The middle peasants, rich peasants, and landlords in northern Shaanxi still have food to eat. And in the cities of various states and counties, where the rich, wealthy, officials and gentry are concentrated, there is still a lot of food stored.
The officials in these prefectures and counties also received documents from the Shaanxi governor's office early in the morning, asking them to guard the city... No matter what, they must not let the refugees into the city, and at the same time, they must try their best to help these hungry people who are about to starve to death. , don’t push them into a hurry and turn them from refugees into bandits!
Despite Bi Ziyan's order, officials in various states and counties were still reluctant to take out the food in the city and distribute it to the refugees outside the city.
Everywhere in northern Shaanxi looks like it's the end of the world. Who is willing to hand over the food to survive? If you hand it over, what should you do if you don’t eat it?
Of course, the refugees outside will not leave without giving them anything... It’s not that they won’t leave, it’s that they have nothing to eat and can’t leave at all!
Therefore, the officials and gentry leaders in various states and counties inevitably had to bargain with the refugee leaders passing by outside the city...
At this time, on the road north of Luochuan County, tens of thousands of refugees from Ansai, Yanchang, Suide, Mizhi and other prefectures and counties in northern Shaanxi were rolling southward, approaching the small Luochuan County.
Zhang Cai, the newly appointed magistrate of Luochuan County, a talented scholar from Taicang, and one of the two Zhangs in Loudong, looked at the hungry people outside in the mountains and valleys, shook his head, gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice: "Zhang Punong! Only Xiaobi Yangzi... is harming people! He is harming people!"
He was scolding Zhang Pu, a Jinshi from his hometown, the same Zhang Pu who led the public to write a letter, and was also known as the second Zhang of Loudong with him! Because he was lured to northern Shaanxi to be the county magistrate by Zhang Pu and Lou Dong.
This Zhang Cai was originally the county magistrate of Linchuan County, Jiangxi Province. Jiangxi Province in the Ming Dynasty was a good place. Not only was agriculture developed, but the handicraft industry was also very developed. Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital, is located in Raozhou Prefecture in Jiangxi Province. Although Linchuan County is not the porcelain capital, it is a famous iron smelting town in the Jiangnan region. Being a county magistrate there was a good job, but when Zhang Cai was doing his job well, he suddenly received a transfer order, asking him to take over the errand of Linchuan County Magistrate and go to Shaanxi Province to be the Luochuan County Magistrate!
Zhang Cai almost vomited blood when he saw the official documents. What kind of place is Luochuan County? The drought lasted for four or five years. Not to mention the oil and water, even the water was almost gone... Wouldn't it be a breeze to be a county magistrate there?
Zhang Cai, who was not willing to be a miserable county magistrate, quickly took the money to the capital and went to the capital to clear the relationship, hoping to get a better job. As a result, after asking around, I found out that he was implicated by Zhang Pu, a talented fellow from the same town!
Although Zhang Cai and Zhang Pu were talented men from the same hometown and were called two Zhangs together, they were not comrades in the same boat. The leader of Zhang Pu Fu Society and the successor of Dong Lin. Zhang Cai did not join Fushe, nor was he a member of the Donglin Party. When Zhang Pu organized the restoration of society, Zhang Cai was already happily serving as the county magistrate in Linchuan County, so there was no need to go into the muddy waters.
However, Jiangnan Shilin called Lou Dong Erzhang easy, so he regarded Zhang Cai as the leader of the restoration society.
As a result, Emperor Chongzhen asked the "heroes" of Jinyiwei to investigate Zhang Pu's accomplices. How could the "heroes" figure out the complicated relationship between Shilin in the south of the Yangtze River? When he heard the name "Lou Dong Er Zhang", he regarded Zhang Cai as Zhang Pu's accomplice.
Zhu Youjian regarded Zhang Cai as an accomplice of Zhang Pu in his previous life, and he did not correct himself in this life. He continued to regard him as the leader of Fushe. However, he did not dismiss him from office, but instead issued him a Luochuan County magistrate. when.
Zhang Cai had no choice but to ask Donglin leader Qian Qianyi. And Qian Qianyi is no one. He actually warned Zhang Cai not to disgrace the Donglin Party, otherwise... haha, can he still reap the rewards of offending the Donglin Party in Jiangnan?
Forced into desperation, Zhang Cai had no choice but to grit his teeth and go to Luochuan to become the county magistrate. Only when he arrived did he realize... Luochuan's pit was deeper than he thought.
Not only are you poor, but your life is in danger!
Because the poor farmers here in northern Shaanxi are going crazy with hunger... But the imperial court didn't know the bad idea of the traitor. Instead of opening the warehouse to release grain, they helped the victims on the spot, and actually let them go to Xi'an to eat by themselves!
This turns hungry people into refugees!
Northern Shaanxi is a vast and sparsely populated place with thousands of ravines. Transportation is inconvenient and the population is not easily concentrated.
If we hadn't gone to Xi'an to eat, at least tens of thousands of hungry people would not have flocked to Luochuan City at once!
Tens of thousands of hungry people!
There are many brave and strong men among them, and they seem to be carrying sticks and swords. If this happens in Luochuan, can the small county town resist it?
However, there is not much food in Luochuan County, and it cannot supply so many hungry people outside the city... Moreover, the officials, gentry and people in the city still need to eat, and they have to give it to those poor people. In Luochuan City, What should people do? Are they all going to flee?
If everyone runs away, what will he, the county magistrate, do?
And there are things more dangerous than this!
A civil uprising broke out here in Luochuan County in the first year of Chongzhen! The two big thieves, Wang Hu and Heisha Shen, raised troops in Luochuan to respond to Wang Er!
Baishui County, south of Luochuan County, is the first place of Wang Er's rebellion.
At present, the three thieves Wang Er, Wang Hu, and Heisha Shen have not been arrested, but their gang members are still active in the Luochuan and Baishui areas.
If these gangsters unite with this group of hungry people, they will be in big trouble... If Luochuan County is captured, he, the county magistrate, will die for his country!
But if you don't hand over the food... Zhang Cai took a look outside the city and saw a grown man wearing a white robe and a white felt hat, riding a horse and leading a large group of people. They didn't look like hungry men crowding outside the moat.
This man calls himself a "refugee commander" and is here to beg for the 100,000 refugees in northern Shaanxi!
If Luochuan County does not provide 10,000 shi of food, then these 100,000 refugees from northern Shaanxi may cause some trouble, and even he, the "Refugee Commander", may not be able to restrain them!
Ten thousand shi... one share for 100,000 refugees, only a dozen kilograms per person, but for the more than 10,000 people in Luochuan County, it is just a few months of rations!
"Your Majesty, you can't hand over the food!"
"Your Majesty, the food in the city is not enough to feed so many people..."
"County Lord, only when there is food can there be regiments, and only when there are regiments can there be a county. If all the food is handed over, and those hungry people rebel again, we will not be able to defend Luochuan City!"
"Yes, without food, there would be no Luochuan City!"
A group of gentry leaders from Luochuan County who surrounded Zhang Cai all unanimously opposed handing over the grain, and even threatened Zhang Cai with the threat of losing the county seat.
"But, but..." Zhang Cai looked up into the distance. The refugees kept coming like a flood!
"The county magistrate," an older Wu Xiucai with a gray beard and a rather burly figure said to Zhang Cai at this time, "you can give 500 shi of wheat to appease him first, and then you can talk to Zhang Cai." The Xi'an government is asking for food... Luochuan is only more than 300 miles away from Xi'an, and there are heavy troops stationed in Xi'an!"
"Heavy troops?" Zhang Cai looked back at Wu Xiucai, "Liu Yuanwai, what do you want to do?"
Liu Yuanwai snorted: "My lord, haven't you noticed? This group of refugees outside the city is unusual! There are too many people gathered, and the leader calls himself a refugee commander... so The plotter is great!"
"How is it possible? The Holy Emperor is in court now...How dare they rebel?"
"Hey," Liu Yuanwai shook his head, "The county magistrate has read poetry and books. You should have heard the ancient saying, 'If you want to be an official, kill people and set fires to be recruited.'? With so many people, even if they cause trouble, they will still be recruited. ! But we are in dire straits..."
"Then, what should we do?" Zhang Cai suddenly ran out of ideas.
"Just tell Bi Futai," Liu, who is also a ruthless person, said with a sneer, "Just tell Bi Futai that you have discovered that the leader of this group of refugees is raising strong men and has evil intentions. He has revealed his evil intentions. Please ask Futai to send troops to Luochuan to shock people! "
Revealed in reverse? To be honest, Zhang Cai couldn't see it, but he knew what Liu Yuanwai was thinking - Liu Yuanwai had been taking martial arts examinations all his life, but had not been able to get an official position, so now he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to quell the chaos. Live a life of official addiction and at the same time keep your family's granary...
