In May of the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, the drought in Henan continued.
After 20 counties in Henan suffered from severe drought in the summer and autumn of the previous year, there was still little rain in the following spring, and the drought continued to show its power. 65 counties and counties in the province experienced drought. The disaster is developing in depth, and the people have no food to store, and nine out of ten houses are empty.
On the 10th of April, a dark wind blew in Yongcheng County, Shangqiu, in the afternoon. The entire county was like dark night for dozens of miles, and it did not light up until the evening. On April 12, hail as big as an egg actually fell; but by this time, the crops in the fields had long since died of drought, so there was no hail disaster at all.
By mid-May, the locusts finally arrived!
Just after midnight that morning, the guards standing on the wall of Shangqiu discovered that some small earth-yellow pods suddenly appeared on the ground outside the city, and then more and more, and they were everywhere on the paved ground outside the city and inside the city. .
Immediately afterwards, from the direction of Beisha River, groups of dark clouds that seemed to be traveling at low altitude floated over.
The young soldier watched the torn pieces in the distance gradually approaching, and asked the veteran beside him: "Uncle, what is that?!"
The veteran rubbed his eyes, his pupils suddenly dilated, his face looked frightened, and he shouted: "Locusts!"
Swarms of locusts covered the sky with black crows, making the clear sky suddenly dim. They are like violent storms, and between their ups and downs, the ground is completely empty. In the few paddy fields outside the city, the vast tracts of millet were eaten in a blink of an eye, and not a single grain was left. Even the millet stalks and the slender leaves disappeared. The fields, which had few crops left, were turned into white fields.
Going from the city to the outside of the city is like encountering Bingxuan. Wherever the khaki locusts passed, all the trees instantly turned into bare branches, leaving only the shiny, sticky insect saliva and black feces all over the trunks.
The entire Central Plains became difficult for the people to live in, and the villages were in ruins. Hundreds of thousands of families were immediately in danger of being destroyed!
The harsh tide of famine hits, and even a strong body cannot avoid decay. Deaths, injuries, and displacement occurred everywhere, and starvation and death occurred everywhere. In order to survive, the hungry refugees do whatever they can to survive. Among the hungry people in Zhengzhou, Xinyang and other places, cannibalism has already occurred. People's livelihood is in crisis, human relations are in crisis, and the world is crying!
It has to be said that the Qing government in this era also responded very quickly to disaster relief.
In February, Yu Qi, the governor of water transport, requested that 300,000 shi be withheld from the canals of Henan and Shandong provinces and transferred to Henan. It is requested that households with cultivated land of less than 20 acres in Henan Province be loaned 5 cents of seed silver per mu by the Chief Secretary's treasury to finance farming, and the loan will be repaid after the autumn harvest.
In early March, Qianlong issued an edict and agreed. At the same time, it was ordered that those in the 23 prefectures and counties in Henan who had not paid the full amount of money and grain in the previous year, as well as those who had applied for money and grain for fifty years, would postpone the payment until after this autumn harvest. Among them, areas that are severely affected by drought and have experienced poor harvests caused by successive floods will receive an additional one-month ration of relief.
In April, Qianlong issued a decree that among the 23 counties in Henan that were hit the hardest, the six most severely affected counties would be exempted from tax collection, deferment, and accumulated debts over the years; the six counties with the second worst severity would be exempted from half; and again Level 1, one-third will be exempted; other states and counties in the province where the disaster is less serious will have their collection postponed until after the autumn harvest.
(As an aside, sweet potatoes have been introduced to China since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It was precisely because of the great disaster from the 50th to 51st years of Qianlong's reign that they were introduced from Fujian to the north for planting. Before this, northerners did not eat them. Sweet potato. Is it surprising?)
The Qing court originally thought that the disaster relief measures in Henan were complete, and they were just about to feel relieved. Who would have thought that in mid-May, news came from Shandong that since September of the previous year, there were 78 people in Shandong. There is little rain or snow in the counties. After spring, the drought becomes more serious. There is no rain until May, and there is no hope for the wheat harvest!
In order to complete the tasks assigned by Zhao Xin, Lu Shoushan, Xu Dayong and Wang Changsheng began to show their talents since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Lu and Xu first went to Funing, and through Luo Jiao's local connections, they purchased saline-alkali wasteland along the river and coast in the Sheyang Lake area and purchased farms. By mid-March, the two of them had purchased 500 hectares of saline-alkali land locally. With the wasteland used as camouflage, the next step is the sand ship. It all depends on Wang Changsheng.
Through the relationship between Luo Jiao and Wei San, Wang Changsheng purchased five 2,000-stone old sand ships in Shanghai. Afterwards, he recruited 300 Shandong sailors from Caoding and drove these sand boats to the Sheyang Lake area to dock secretly.
Since Lu Shoushan learned about the Qing government's disaster relief order, he understood that this would be a "war for people" against time. He, Xu Dayong, and Wang Changsheng each led their troops into three groups and launched the operation.
First, Lu and Xu took the registration certificate issued by the Funing County government and went deep into the local area of Henan. They spent money to bribe the officials of the local government in Shangqiu and Kaifeng and the book office responsible for registration and sealing. The local people went to the market to buy people. If the refugees had any questions, they would just say that they were going to cultivate land in the Sheyang Lake area in northern Jiangsu.
Next, Wang Changsheng asked Wei San to introduce Ya people from several counties along the canal. In the name of reclaiming wasteland, he asked them to buy refugee families from Henan who had fled famine, and then transport them to the farms in the Sheyang Lake area to go through the delivery procedures. By mid-May, the three of them had bought nearly 3,000 people and temporarily settled them in the farm to farm.
At this time, news of the disaster in Shandong came. Lu Shoushan ordered people to go south quickly to inform Wang Changsheng, asking him to recruit a large number of victims in Shandong in the name of recruiting sailors through Luo Jiao's connections.
"Poof!" A big red-bellied locust was trampled to pieces by the sole of the shoe. Xu Dayong rubbed the soles of his shoes on the ground while cursing: "What a bastard!"
The tooth man on the side smiled apologetically and said, "Master Xu, why bother getting angry with a grasshopper? Please come over here."
This is a human market five miles outside Kaifeng City. Since the beginning of spring, more and more victims have gathered outside Kaifeng City every day. Because of hunger, many people came to this market to sell their sons and daughters, or to pawn their families. With the prosperity of the human market, many local wealthy households in Kaifeng and businessmen from Shanxi were also attracted.
In years of famine, everything except food is cheap. Faced with the harsh situation, ordinary people pawned their fields, sold their houses and land, and traded their businesses for food to survive. When all the family property is sold, selling off the children or even the whole family becomes the last resort.
Every year like this, it is the time when county government officials, clerks, dental agents, and bullies make a fortune. There is no other reason. Whether it is a red deed or a white deed, someone needs to be the guarantee. (In slave sales transactions, the surety is generally rarely called "the middleman", "the peacemaker", "the broker", etc. in the contract like in the land sales contract. Instead, it is often referred to as "the matchmaker", "the broker", etc. Names such as "Media" appear.)
Xu Dayong wandered around the market for a while and quickly selected a family of four. Then he took the family of four to a mat shed not far away and signed a contract of prostitution. In less than a meal, the deed of betrayal was already written.
The county clerk, who received two hundred kilograms of grain from Xu Da and acted as a middleman, read:
"I'm selling the whole family. I made an appointment with Li Erkui, his wife Zhang, the eldest son Li Dashuan, and the second son Li Xiaoshuan. Because the family is poor and struggling to survive, the four members of the family are now sold as slaves in Xu Dayong's house in Funing County, Jiangsu Province. For the purpose of such use. He made it clear to his face that the price of selling his body was twelve cents. Li Erkui collected all the money with his own hands, and the well was not owed much. After the sale, he was subject to the discipline of Xu Zhai. If he was not disciplined, he would be beaten to death. If he ran away and abducted property, he would be in trouble (same pronunciation) Panting) Wrong and other sentiments, we have our own guarantor to take care of it. Fearing that he would have no proof, he sold this calligraphy as evidence. Li Erkui was a villager at Shahekou in the northwest of Xiangfu County. Wang Shucai was the person who wrote the calligraphy. On May 20, the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, On the second day, Li Erkui, a prostitute, married his wife Zhang, his eldest son Li Dashuan, and his second son Li Xiaoshuan. The mediator was Wu Liang."
After reading, the clerk said to Li Erkui's family, "Do you have any objections?"
Li Erkui sighed and said: "No, it's all up to my husband."
The clerk said: "Then you can come and sign it later."
"Sir, our whole family is illiterate."
"Then just press your fingerprints. One by one."
After Li Dakui's family took their fingerprints, first the clerk signed it, and then the dental man who accompanied Xu Dayong signed it. At this point, the transaction of selling oneself is completely completed. It took a family of four to sell themselves for twelve ounces of money, which is enough to buy two shi of millet in Xiangfu County.
After Xu Dayong accepted the deed of betrayal, he asked his men to take Li Dakui and his family to a large car shop outside the city to wait. When he had gathered fifty people, he hired carriages and horses to transport them to the farm in Sheyang Lake.
It was helpless to say that we couldn't feed these people before they were transported to the farm, otherwise they would really escape secretly. Xu Dayong had met Xu Dayong twice before. He didn't want to go to the county government to sue the officials to pursue him. He could only gain wisdom by eating every pit; before he arrived, each person could only be given half a palm-sized cornmeal pancake every day. , you can’t run away until you starve to death.
He walked around the market with the tooth man for a while, and was about to go back for lunch when he heard someone not far behind him suddenly said loudly: "You are so ignorant, I am buying your sister, not you." .”
Xu Dayong turned around and walked over to take a look. A middle-aged man who looked like a businessman was arguing with a man who was more than seven feet tall. There was a little girl behind the man, who was hugging him with his arms.
"Sir, my brother and sister have been dependent on each other since childhood. Ahem~~ Please do me a favor and buy me together. I can lead the cows, feed the horses, and help you run errands. All I want is a mouthful of food."
The man couldn't help but bow and beg, while looking back at the girl behind him.
The merchant said: "What you said makes no sense. I asked her beforehand, and he said that he would give up his body in exchange for food and let his brother live. Why did he deny it in the blink of an eye?! Besides, you are such a sick man now. , what can I do? I’m afraid I’ll have to spend money to seek medical treatment and buy medicine when I go back, and I’ll be at a loss!”
The man let go of his arm, knelt down on one knee and said: "Ahem~~ Master, it's fine if you are a native of Xiangfu, but you want to take her to Shanxi. After traveling thousands of miles, I'm afraid it will be difficult for my brother and sister in this life. Meet each other. When my parents were dying, the villain swore to protect his sister until she got married. Ahem. Please, sir, buy the villain together."
When the onlookers saw the man bursting into tears, they all sympathized with him and advised the Shanxi merchant to do his best. Unexpectedly, the Shanxi merchant heard this and sneered: "It's hard to be a good person nowadays, and no one's food comes from the strong wind. I bought this girl to take her home to be a maid, so why bother bringing a consumption girl! Besides, you see Look, she is a talented person, and if I can buy her, I am already a good person!"
When everyone heard this, they all looked at the woman. The girl was so ashamed that she lowered her head and fell to her knees on the ground, with her feet pulled directly under her body.
Xu Dayong got into the crowd at this time and saw that although the man was tall, his face was dark and his body was thin. The joints on his exposed calves and arms were all visible, and he looked like he had been hungry for a long time.
Looking at the girl behind him, her complexion is dark and dull, but she looks quite delicate. Her head is wrapped in a rag, her upper body is wearing a shabby blue cloth gown, and her lower body is wearing a pair of patched trousers. At first glance, she is a man's clothes. . Under the trousers, a pair of big muddy feet wearing straw sandals are particularly eye-catching. Although this girl is not short in stature, she is as thin as a bamboo pole, and the blue cloth gown is dangling on her body.
No matter how hard the man begged, the Shanxi merchant would not let go. Seeing this, the man turned around and knelt down to the people around him, begging: "Would you be kind enough to buy my brother and sister together? As long as my sister is fed, I can do anything."
Seeing that her brother was like this, the girl cried and knelt beside her, kowtowing to the people around her.
The merchant from Shanxi sneered: "With your looks, who dares to buy her? Hum! If I say this here, no one will buy her except me."
Xu Dayong suddenly asked the man: "How old are you, this young man?"
The man straightened up and said, "Twenty-three."
"Where's your sister?"
"sixteen."
"How much are you two worth?"
When the Shanxi businessman on the side heard this, he immediately shouted to Xu Dayong: "What do you want to do? I have taken a fancy to this woman and have already sent someone back to invite the winner!"
Xu Dayong sneered and said: "I've been listening for a long time. The brother and sister both said they wanted to buy it together, why did you break it up! Besides, did you write the deed of sale? Did you pledge the painting? What the hell are you talking about? !”
"You!" The Shanxi businessman turned blue with anger and said angrily, "Who are you?!"
"I can't stand you being like this! What's wrong? Don't you want to give it a try?" Xu Dayong was angry, and his true nature as a pirate was revealed. His face was full of flesh, and he stared at the other person fiercely.
Seeing that the Shanxi businessman was frightened and stopped talking, Xu Dayong continued to ask the man: "How much are you two worth?"
The man said: "As long as the master can make my sister have enough to eat, she will find a good family to marry in a few years. I don't need a penny and will work for the master for the rest of my life!"
Xu Dayong's expression softened and he said, "It's not a big deal if you have a full meal, and it's not difficult to find a good family for your sister."
"The toad yawned, what a loud tone!" the Shanxi businessman sneered.
"It's none of your business! Get out!" Xu Da glared and scolded. He turned back and said to the man: "My farm is in the east of Xuzhou, hundreds of miles away from here. Are you two willing to come with me?"
"Thank you so much, master! I will work hard all my life to repay my kindness!"
The man's sister raised her head slightly and looked at Xu Dayong, thinking that although this man had a rough face, he looked bad. But listening to what he said, he was not a bad person.
"Okay, everyone, get up. Come with me to write the deed. Let's write down all the conditions, so you can rest assured."
After the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Xu Dayong and Yaren took the brother and sister to the book office again, where they helped write the deed and draw the pledge.
During this period, I asked and learned that the brother and sister's surname was Chen and they were from Wen County. The eldest brother is called Chen Jishan, and the younger sister is called Chen Erya. The brothers and sisters' parents died young. Due to the drought, they had no choice but to sell the remaining two acres of thin farmland in March, thinking of going to Jiangsu to make a living. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Kaifeng, Chen Jishan contracted a cold and fell ill. I thought it would be over in a few days, but who knew it would get worse and turn into pneumonia.
Not to mention the daily food and accommodation for the brothers and sisters, Chen Jishan spent a lot of money just to see a doctor and buy medicine. After going back and forth, the little money I got from selling the land was spent completely, and the disease was not cured. The brother and sister ended up living on the streets, and had no choice but to come to the market to pawn themselves.
After Xu Dayong brought the Chen Jishan brothers and sisters back to the car shop, he asked his men to ask the doctor to see the doctor and prescribe medicine, and asked the Li Erkui family from before to help take care of them.
After three or five days of this, fifty more victims were bought. Xu Dayong then hired carriages and horses, and headed towards the farm in Sheyang Lake with the purchased population.
By this time, the severe drought that occurred in the 50th year of Qianlong's reign had expanded to the 29 prefectures and counties in Zhili. The Xuzhou and Haizhou areas in northern Jiangsu were also experiencing prolonged drought without rain, causing food prices to soar.
(End of chapter)
