Tap tap tap.
More than twenty cold figures on horseback rushed along the official road along the Jijiang River.
"Stop the horse."
"call!"
Xu Mu rode on the horse, turned back coldly, and looked at the scenery behind him. After two or three miles, they calculated the inner city.
The farther away from the inner city, the more chaotic the official roads become. Xu Mu only turned his head and took a few glances before he found at least six or seven dead bodies lying on the roadside.
Some half-dead fleeing people were wailing and passing by. They raised their hands pitifully and reached out to Xu Mu and others to beg for food. In the past, they would not have dared to provoke a strong man, but in these years and with such hunger, they could no longer care.
"Chen Sheng, send me some dry food."
Chen Sheng nodded and took out a dozen grain steamed buns from the horse's belly. Before they were sent out——
In an instant, there were roars all around, rushing toward them.
"Master, there are too many people."
"Those who are only kept for two days will be sent out." Xu Mu's voice was deep.
There was no solid food, and the twenty or so of them had swords, bows, and arrows, so they had plenty of means. However, these refugees were covered in scars, dying, and could not even walk steadily.
"My boss, how come the imperial court doesn't provide disaster relief!" Chen Sheng shouted angrily.
Xu Mu didn't answer, with a sullen expression on his face, he asked more than 20 horsemen and horses to clean up, and continued to move forward.
Behind them, the refugees formed a large circle, frantically scrambling for food.
After driving forward for another journey, without the flow of Jijiang River, the terrain became more and more desolate. Not to mention the trees, even the thorn grass had been uprooted.
An old tree had its bark peeled off, and there were still dense teeth marks on the exposed trunk.
"Boss, those people are digging water chestnuts."
Water chestnuts, also called horseshoes, are buried deep in the soil. It would be extremely tiring to dig them out with just your hands.
At this time, there were hundreds of refugees, a large, dark group, squatting on the drying swamp, crying, picking up dead branches and branches, and digging into the mud. Every time a water chestnut is dug out, dozens of people fight for it.
The person who grabbed it didn't bother to remove the dirt and bit the small black lump into his mouth, leaving his mouth full of blood.
Even so, others kept picking her mouth with their hands, trying to pull it out.
"My boss, I, I can't stand it anymore." Chen Sheng's eyes burst into tears.
"Let's go first." Xu Mu gritted his teeth.
He remembered what Chang Shiro said, the Great Ji Dynasty was not a famine without food, but that 70% of the food in the world was missing.
In troubled times, if you store grain, you will become rich enough to rival the country.
As long as there is still some conscience in the court, it is time to provide relief. The miserable situation of these refugees is so incompatible with the prosperity of Changyang.
"I said leave!" Xu Mu shouted.
More than 20 people on horseback withdrew their silent gaze, only to focus on their riding whips with overwhelming anger, driving the fierce horses very fast.
The journey from the inner city to Laoguan is at least 700 miles. Even if it is faster, it will take three or four days.
As the night got darker, a group of people had no choice but to retreat into the woods, build a bonfire, and rest for a while.
"Longbow, go watch the night in the taller trees."
The bow dog wrapped in gray robe nodded, quickly climbed up a bare old tree, found a branch and sat down.
"The bark of the trees nearby has been stripped off. It's obviously not far from the inner city." On this issue, Chen Sheng was still furious.
Xu Mu sighed in his heart. The closer he got to people like Chang Silang and Yuan Tao, the more he understood how cruel this world was.
"Molly, have a good rest, we have to go on a journey tomorrow."
The group of people nodded, and after arranging the night watchman, they were about to take a rest. Unexpectedly, not long after, Gong Dog, who was enjoying himself in the tree, suddenly raised his head.
Zhou Zun and others who were on duty at night also hurried back.
"What?"
"My boss, there are refugees coming around!"
Xu Mu frowned and headed north for two thousand miles. There were many refugees along the way. He had no hope of traveling all the way. But I never expected that these refugees would be so crazy.
How could it be so easy to deal with twenty big men with swords?
"My boss, we are approaching!" Chen Sheng gritted his teeth and walked to Xu Mu's side.
"Ride away."
"Boss, these people are blocking the road!"
"Raise the sword!" Xu Mu's eyes darkened, and after a low shout, he pulled out the long sword from his waist. When he came from the border, he already knew how crazy it was for refugees to starve to the extreme.
Clang, clang, clang, more than 20 people slowly retreated to the horses and took out the simple knives on their backs.
Bow Dog's only eye shone dimly in the night.
Click.
The sound of dead branches being trampled.
Not long after, the moving figures slowly gathered over.
A bald man, I don’t know what he ate, his mouth was full of oil and water, and his belly was round as if he was pregnant.
He raised his head and wiped his mouth, and his whole face suddenly became greasy.
Behind him, dozens of refugees also had their mouths full of food. Some of them were in the dark, and they were holding a few dying children.
"My boss, people cannibalize people..."
When Zhou Zun was at the border, he once went out to the village to inquire. When he came back, he fell off his horse and vomited.
Xu Mu's palms trembled slightly, not because of fear, but because of pain. Previously in Wangzhou, when I went out of the city to collect food for the first time, I encountered a group of refugees and was almost blocked in the middle of the road.
No matter what the circumstances, evil people will always be evil.
The bald man opposite opened his eyes wide, looked at the horses behind Xu Mu and others, and then laughed sharply.
His eyes were dull and his teeth were black.
"I killed a roe deer earlier to eat, and now I'm going to eat a horse again." The bald head rubbed his belly, and after a while, he suddenly cried out inexplicably.
Emotionally unstable, like a madman.
This bare mountain top has even the bark and grass roots plucked out. Where did the roe deer come from!
"Kill him!" Xu Mu gritted his teeth.
More than 20 young and strong men were already angry. Under the leadership of Chen Sheng and other heroes, they brandished simple knives and attacked the refugee gang.
After just one encounter, seven or eight crazy refugees fell into a pool of blood.
"Eat, eat horse meat, this is horse meat, horse meat is not salty anymore——"
Xu Mu became angry and stabbed forward three times in a row, blood spurting out. The bald man, who was still talking nonsense, cried in pain, seemed to burp, and vomited a piece of meat that looked like a finger, and spit it on Xu Mu.
Xu Mu returned his sword coldly, dusted off the dirt on his body, and stood quietly in the night wind.
The refugee gang, which consisted of dozens of people, was already fearful at this time. After a dozen of them fell down, the remaining people started running forward, crying and shouting.
"Boss, all the children have been rescued." The first few villagers walked back hoarsely, each holding a child.
"Brother Mu, these kids are all sick."
"It's not illness."
"Master, I'm going to get some food." Chen Sheng hurriedly ran around and fetched a few steamed buns, and just handed them to one of the children.
The child hurriedly opened his mouth, but before the steamed bun came into his mouth, he made a "burp" sound, retched and coughed repeatedly, and his face turned pale.
Everyone present felt pain in their hearts.
"Get on, get on the horse and rush to the town ahead." Xu Mu turned his head and glanced forward, only to feel that the night of the entire Epoch was becoming more and more desolate.
