Three officials dressed like beasts were sitting on a high platform in the porridge shed.
The table was made of fine wood and covered with thick blankets. There were several tables with fine wine, delicacies and seasonal fruits and vegetables on them.
If it weren't for the large pots cooking porridge next to it, as well as the emaciated victims looking at it with eager eyes, one would have thought that this was not a porridge shack, but a brothel and restaurant on Yong'an Street.
These three officials in gorgeous official uniforms were frequently raising their glasses to drink and feasting, causing the victims around them to swallow their saliva. There were also many children standing in the distance eagerly, licking their lips. finger.
Only frightened by the long knives in the hands of the patrolmen of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division, the victims could only watch helplessly, quietly waiting for the time to put out the porridge and give it to them.
Fortunately, they still have one last bit of hope.
On the high platform in the porridge shed, several officials who were drinking and having fun had another pastime, which was to check the appearance of the female victims who were sent over.
Every time a woman is presented, several people will examine her with their eyes first. If they feel that the appearance is not enough, they will stretch out their hands to touch the woman's waist, chest, buttocks, and then open her mouth to look at her teeth.
It seemed as if what they were inspecting were not living people, but animals.
The one they selected was pushed casually, and immediately several servants and officials serving nearby came over and pulled the woman into a shack nearby.
Those who were not selected waved their hands, and someone dragged the unselected women away.
The ones who were selected were all smiles, and their parents, husbands, children, and family members were all very happy. They followed a few officials to the shack on the side to get a bag of things, and some of them just opened them and ate them on the spot.
But it is corn in the shell.
Those who were not selected were directly driven out of the porridge shed. A few of them had quick eyes and quick hands. They picked up some broken bones and fruit cores from the ground and stuffed them into their mouths. Their throats stretched and contracted as they swallowed, attracting the sticks of the officials and the officials. and the laughter of the soldiers below.
Li Yun got off the carriage and stood on the roadside watching from a distance, his face expressionless, neither happy nor sad, as if he was looking at a picture of human tragedy.
Xiao Guangzi on the side quickly came over and whispered:
"Sir, these three are all officials responsible for providing porridge and disaster relief. The middle one is the head of the Gyeonggi Province Cleaning Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He is in the sixth rank. His name is Xu Jiyuan. I have met him before in the Douzhiyuan... The other two, judging by their attire, one is an official from the Ministry of Revenue, and the other should be from the Wucheng Army and Horses Department..."
Li Yun did not speak, but turned his head and looked around at the victims present.
Hundreds of thousands of victims were covered in darkness. Everyone looked sallow and thin, suffering from long-term malnutrition. They were all skinny and light.
What's more, there are some children who are obviously dying and are held in the arms of their thin mothers without saying a word.
Hundreds of thousands of victims were waiting silently. In the porridge shed guarded by hundreds of soldiers, three officials on the high platform were still drinking and having fun.
But no one, whether it was the victims, the soldiers, passers-by, or even the officials, thought there was anything wrong with this scene.
As if this is a matter of course.
Li Yun waved his hand to signal Zhou Quan and the other spies not to follow too closely. He led Xiao Guangzi to the group of victims and asked an old man with white beard and hair:
"Old man, how come this porridge shack hasn't given out porridge yet? And why are those women sent in?"
Although the old man, a victim of the disaster, was wearing clothes full of patches, he was well washed and had a plain scarf on his head. He seemed to have some knowledge.
Hearing Li Yun's words, the skinny old man turned his head, looked at Li Yun also, and said:
"Is this official the master of the capital? Tsk tsk, this capital is full of wealthy families, so it's normal for the officials not to understand..."
Then he grinned and continued:
"Those women were all sold by their parents or husband-in-law. If you sell one person, you can exchange for two kilograms of brown rice, two kilograms!"
As he spoke, the old man stretched out two fingers to make a gesture, with a smile on his face that was uglier than crying.
"After being sold, their families will be able to have a full meal, and they will not have to go hungry in the future... It is said that the officials in this soup kitchen have connections, and the women who are sold can enter the capital! "
"Either I'll be sent to a brothel, or I'll be picked over by some dignitaries in the capital and become a bed-warming slave. Hehe, I'm not born beautiful, but I don't have such a great blessing. !”
Little Guangzi on the side whispered:
"The Ministry of Household Affairs has set up a porridge soup bureau and dispatched personnel to take care of the porridge soup..."
Li Yun frowned and asked the old man:
"Didn't the imperial court set up a porridge soup bureau to provide porridge for disaster relief? At least everyone has enough to eat, why would they sell their daughters and wives?"
The old man chuckled, looked at Li Yun and said:
"You are Mr. Jing, how do you know the sufferings of our Hedong Road victims... Just watch it carefully later..."
Then he said with a somewhat unspeakable sneer:
"After chatting with you for a while, the old man has spent all the energy he saved. I don't know if he can still hold on until he gives out porridge..."
Li Yun immediately made a gesture to Xiao Guangzi who was standing aside. Xiao Guangzi quickly ran back to the carriage. When he came back, he took out an oil paper bag from his arms and quietly stuffed it into the old man's hand.
The old man quickly squatted down and carefully held the thing in his arms, fearing that other victims around him would see it. Then he carefully opened the oil paper package and saw two oily sesame sesame cakes.
He burst into tears and carefully wrapped the sesame sesame cake and stuffed it into his arms. Then he picked up the only fallen sesame seed from the ground, stuffed it into his mouth along with the dust, and chewed it carefully.
While chewing, he stood up tremblingly, bowed his head to Li Yun and said:
"Thank you, Master! You are so kind and kind, I will never forget it!"
Li Yun helped the old man up and sighed:
"I think I want to give this cake to my family."
The old man said in a trembling voice:
"To tell you the truth, I have a grandson who is sick and is lying nearby. It's okay for the little old man to be hungry, but the child can't bear the hunger..."
Li Yun said immediately:
"lead the way."
The old man turned around and burrowed into the crowd, passed by a field of smelly and dirty victims, and came to the foot of a crooked-neck tree in the leeward side.
All the bark and leaves on this tree have been stripped clean, and a skinny eleven or twelve-year-old child is lying under the tree. There is a woman guarding him next to him, with a numb face.
Seeing the old man coming, the woman nodded slightly to him, looked at the child, and shook her head.
The old man couldn't care about anything else at this time and shook his grandson awake. He quickly stuffed a sesame seed cake into the child's hand and blocked it with his body to prevent outsiders from seeing it.
The child was extremely weak, but when he saw this palm-sized oily sesame seed cake, he quickly devoured it without even thinking about talking.
At this time, the old man stuffed the remaining sesame seed cake to the woman. The woman's eyes were shining, she bent over and took a few bites. Then she suddenly remembered something, tore half of the sesame seed cake into her sleeve, and stuffed it into the old man's hand. , the last piece in her hand was also put away by her.
When the old man saw that his grandson had already devoured that one sesame seed cake, the old man immediately quietly gave the half of the sesame seed cake to the child.
Seeing that the child seemed to be more energetic after eating, and no longer looked like he was dying, the old man burst into tears, bowed deeply to Li Yun again, and said:
"Thank you so much, my benefactor! Otherwise, my grandson might have died of illness here..."
Xiao Guangzi frowned and said:
"Sickness? Are there any diseases among the victims?"
The old man smiled miserably and said:
"What disease? Of course it's hunger disease. This disease is more severe than any other disease..."
At this time, seeing that his grandson was a little more energetic in the woman's arms and still had the strength to call his mother, the old man felt relieved, and then said to Li Yun:
"Young Master is so kind and kind, and the little old man is willing to make a grass ring to repay... The poor little old man is considered a scholar in the countryside. He once had several acres of thin farmland. In the face of this military and man-made disaster, he really has no way to survive. He can only I can come out and escape..."
Li Yun couldn't help but frown and said:
"Military disaster and man-made disaster? Isn't the flood on Hedong Road a natural disaster?"
The old man smiled miserably and said:
"The imperial court and the shogunate of Hedong Province, of course, said it was a natural disaster, but who didn't know that it was Hedong Province's envoy who dug the embankment of the Qinghe River in order to help the wealthy family annex the property?"
"Digming a river embankment and then experiencing torrential rain for ten days, this is worse than any harsh government! As for what kind of disaster it is, hey, the official word is two-syllable, let him say it."
After hearing the old man's words, Li Yun's expression darkened, and murderous intent surged in his heart.
It turns out that this is the truth behind the Qinghe flood!
The old man seemed to realize at this time that he had talked too much, and quickly changed the topic, pointed in the direction of the porridge shed, and said:
"This porridge shed serves porridge once a day in the morning and afternoon. White smoke is already coming out of the chimney. It's time to serve porridge."
At this time, the victims who were sitting or lying got up one after another and squeezed towards the porridge shed.
Obviously they all understand that this is the time to give soup.
A team of patrolmen from the Wucheng Military and Horse Division rushed over with knives. When they saw the victims crowding around, they immediately raised the back of the knife and beat them. Those who couldn't dodge were beaten with blood on their faces. They were herded together and lined up like animals.
At the same time, on the high platform in the porridge shed, Xu Jiyuan, the head of the household department, drank all the wine in his glass, and an official next to him immediately came over to remind him.
Xu Jiyuan put down his wine glass, burped, stretched, and said:
"Everyone, it's feeding time again. It's a good time to watch the scenery, compose poems, and drink wine with this wonderful scenery."
The official on the side laughed and said:
"If there were not living Bodhisattvas like Master Xu, these victims would have starved to death long ago. Master Xu is trying to save all sentient beings this time."
Just as he was talking, he saw that the soldiers had removed the antlers of the horse and deer in front of the porridge shed. Under the vicious gaze of a group of knife-wielding patrols, groups of victims were lining up with broken bowls and pockets in their hands, with eager faces on their faces. He walked to a large pot, was given a spoonful of rice porridge, and immediately ran to the side to eat.
Some of them drank it all in one gulp without waiting to be cooled down. They were so hot that they shouted, but they shouted happily.
The old man didn't care much at this time. He entrusted his grandson to Li Yun and went to get the porridge with his daughter-in-law.
After a while, the old man ran back carefully carrying a broken clay pot and handed it to his grandson.
Li Yun looked over expressionlessly and saw that the porridge in the clay pot only contained a few grains of rice, and there were even withered grass mixed in. It was so clear that people could be seen.
He finally understood the meaning of what the old man said, why there were still people pawning their wives and selling their daughters even though they had opened a warehouse to give out porridge.
Be killed!
At this moment, there was a loud noise coming from the direction of the porridge shed.
A conflict broke out between the victims and the soldiers!
(End of chapter)
