After making all preparations, the group set off back to Ningxiang.
The entire journey was far calmer than imagined, except for the occasional refugees.
Of course, this may also be because Pei Wende and his party took the official road. Ordinary robbers would not dare to appear near the official road to rob.
Even so, those refugees with empty eyes, like walking zombies, refreshed Pei Wende's impression.
If the refugees Pei Wende met at the beginning were pitiful enough, then the refugees he met along the way could no longer be described as "poor".
Because most of the people who can walk to Anxiangyi are strong young adults.
The old, weak, sick and disabled who are too tired to walk are the real main force among the refugees.
During the not-so-long journey from Weishan to Ningxiang, Pei Wende saw what the real "purgatory on earth" was.
The desperate old man collapsed beside the official road, and the immature children cried silently...
Wherever Pei Wende could see, there were refugees who had exhausted their physical strength and gave up their struggle.
Even in some places that deviated from the main road, Pei Wende's keen eyesight even saw some scavenging vultures and jackals, lingering near the official road for a long time.
There is no doubt that these scavengers smell death.
And judging from the number of scavengers along the way, they have long been accustomed to all this, and regard this official road created by humans as a "buffet" running water mat.
In addition, as a practitioner, Pei Wende also felt a desperate desire.
——All living beings have aspirations, and all suffering is vision.
——If you wish to do good, you will be the true god of Buddha; if you wish to do evil, you will be evil ghosts and monsters.
This is a fact that Pei Wende only learned after practicing the "Power of Mantra", and it is also one of the biggest reasons why demons appear in troubled times.
In peaceful times, the wishes of sentient beings will be concentrated in behaviors such as belief and prayer, and most of these wishes are biased towards good intentions.
But in today's troubled times, human despair will give birth to evil spirits.
In addition to the evil spirits transformed by those who died tragically, the demons that usually hide among humans will also take the opportunity to appear, devouring human flesh and blood and growing in resentment.
[This is the real end of the dynasty...]
Before today, although Pei Wende knew that the era he lived in was the Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion, the era after the Tang Dynasty flourished and declined.
But he never thought about what the end of the dynasty meant to ordinary people living in this era.
In layman's terms, when the dust of the times falls on an individual's head, it becomes a big mountain.
And this era of the end of the dynasty has fallen on the people living in this era, which is the despair caused by various natural and man-made disasters.
"Brother, is this the world you see?"
Walking alone as a wandering monk in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, Hui Ji must have seen more despair than Tanzhou now.
On the other hand, Pei Wende has been living under the protection of Zen Master Lingyou since he started learning to walk, and his living scope is limited to the villages, towns and counties near Weishan.
Two completely different lifestyles have led to Pei Wende never really seeing through the tragedy of this era.
"The nine-story platform starts from the base of the earth, and the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..."
Pei Wende, who had already silently made up his mind, after reciting this famous sentence, drove the BMW under his crotch closer to the carriage beside him.
Button button...
With a crisp knocking sound, the carriage window was slowly opened.
"Is something wrong?"
Pei Hong looked at Pei Wende who took the initiative to approach him with a surprised look on his face, not hiding his astonishment at all.
On the contrary, Zou Qiwu, who was sitting inside, remained silent as if he had expected it. He was not surprised at all by Pei Wende's initiative to talk to him.
"I want to save those people."
There was no unnecessary nonsense. Pei Wende, who was riding a horse, looked around at the nearby refugees and said in a decisive tone.
"Save them?"
The surprise on Pei Hong's face instantly turned into shock, because he never expected that Pei Wende's first conversation along the way would be under such circumstances.
"Save them? Who do you want to save?"
Not understanding what Pei Wende meant for a while, Pei Hong paused briefly, and then glanced at the refugees outside the window with a puzzled look.
"Everyone, I want to save them all."
As soon as these words came out, Pei Hong fell silent, and the shock on his face suddenly turned into helplessness.
"Are you dreaming?"
"Didn't I tell you before? This is simply not a problem that one person can solve."
Pei Hong was telling the truth. There were so many refugees wherever he could see that it was simply not something that one person could save.
Even if Pei Wende could save one, he would never be able to save so many.
"That's why I'm looking for you, because you are the parent officer of Ningxiang County."
It was unclear whether it was ridicule or helplessness, but Pei Hong's voice suddenly dropped.
The joy that his brother was finally willing to talk to him turned into extremely harsh words at this moment.
"Do you think your parents are gods?"
"With so many people gathering together, just food, clothing, housing and transportation are a big problem, not to mention the chaos they may cause!"
"I also want to save them, but the problem is that I can't save them at all!"
The deep voice was not hoarse, but the meaning behind Pei Hong's words was a bit hoarse.
"I know what you think!"
"You people always think that officials only know how to fight for power and shirk responsibility."
"But in fact, as long as I have a little bit of spare power, I will not sit back and let these refugees do nothing."
"Because my original intention in taking the imperial examination was that I didn't want to see more people displaced. Otherwise, I could have followed my father to Changsha to enjoy the blessings."
"The current situation is not at all a question of whether I want to save people, but if I save these refugees, the people under my rule will also become refugees."
Looking at Pei Hong in silence, Pei Wende waited for the other person to finish speaking before speaking slowly.
"I know that this is indeed not a problem that a parent official can solve, or even an emperor."
"This is a malady of the times, a chronic disease that has persisted over time..."
There was a slight pause in his tone, and Pei Wende's eyes swept over Zou Qiwu, Butler Zhong, Zhang Chusheng, and Yue'er in the carriage one by one, until finally they rested on Pei Hong's face.
"But I still want to save them, even if it's just one person."
"As long as you agree to my request, after this incident is over, I will go back with you... to recognize my family."
—Recommendation ticket—/—Monthly ticket—
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