Chapter 758 Untitled

Chapter 758 Untitled

Chapter 758 Untitled
The area outside Anxi County has become a huge gathering place for people.

The people in Zhongshan, Changshan, and Gaoyang counties who had been affected by the disaster basically gathered here after hearing the news. Even people from Dai County under the rule of the Tuoba clan and Fanyang County in Youzhou went south.

By the end of August, the camp was expanded and personnel were evacuated, with more than ten disaster relief camps set up in Anxi, Liwu and Weichang.

Anxi County was the largest. Excluding the soldiers brought by Shao Xun, the number of victims exceeded 12,000.

As a steady stream of food was transported westward from Lukou Town in Boling, the victims gradually recovered and their faces began to show some color.

Unfortunately, many people died on the eve of the arrival of food - mainly the elderly, the weak, women and children.

Many new tombs were built outside Anxi County, and many old tombs were also reclaimed.

Don't expect a starving person to be rational. There are only bones left in the old graves, which are also dug out and cooked by the victims. There is no nutrition for it, and it is mostly just deceiving oneself.

Children's sadness comes quickly and goes away quickly.

Chounu and Chunkui were circling a carriage, laughing and playing.

When the victims with yellow scarves on their heads passed by, they would sometimes stop to look at the two and tease them.

It is hard to imagine that less than a month ago, it was these people who threw the two children into the pot and prepared to cook them and eat them.

It is true that when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette.

Shao Xun asked someone to bring his mount.

The old fellow was nearly butchered and made into jerky.

It might never have imagined that the divine warhorse, which was priceless in the eyes of nobles and generals, would end up in a big pot instead of a battlefield.

Shao Xun went out on horseback for half an hour and came back, looking unhappy.

"I can't farm the land anymore." He found a tree stump to sit on and sighed, "The flood washed away too many things, and it took too long to recover. I can graze, but farming is difficult."

What washed in were mud, sand, rocks, bamboo, wood and even all kinds of strange things, while what washed away were the nutrients in the soil that had been cultivated for many years.

Of course you can just barely farm, but the harvest will be impressive.

Considering that the canal will freeze in two months at most, it will be very difficult to transport food. Can we really support all the victims to live until the autumn harvest of the following year? It is too difficult and the cost is too high.

Perhaps, we can consider allowing some of the strong and healthy people to go to other places to eat and reduce the consumption of precious food.

Those who leave some relatively complete families - if not, then make them complete - spend the entire autumn and winter clearing the land and preparing for next year's spring plowing.

To put it bluntly, there is not enough food and the losses from long-distance transportation are too great.

Although there was no war this year, the consumption of disaster relief was enough to swallow up the wealth production surplus for an entire year, and even that was not enough.

"Your Majesty, General Mao is here." Yang Qin reported softly.

"Let him come over."

"Mao Canjun" is of course Mao Bang.

He was the internal historian of Yan, but he had always been in charge of the staff and had not completely left the central government. The reason was that Shao Xun had high hopes for him and would transfer him back at any time.

He took office as the Internal History of Yan in February of the tenth year of Yongjia, and it has been four and a half years since then.

When Liu Han was around, he was able to do things with ease.

Once Liu Han left, it became very difficult to manage the city. The reason was that the city had no local roots.

If no matter what happens, it's all good for you, me and everyone, then of course you can keep doing it.

If you want to achieve something, it will be troublesome.

Shao Xun had observed him for more than a year and had decided to transfer him out of Youzhou. There was little point in keeping him there any longer.

Mao Er already has insight into the complicated relationships at the local level, has a good understanding of the sentiments of the people in counties and towns, and is familiar with the workings of officialdom. He is no longer an inexperienced rookie. Perhaps we can give him a blank sheet of paper and see what he can draw.

Chounu and Chunkui were tired from playing and threw themselves into Shao Xun's arms.

Shao Xun touched their heads, looked at Mao Er who was walking towards him with big strides, and nodded with a smile.

"Master Shao." Mao Er bowed without looking away.

"How much food did you bring?" Shao Xun asked.

"Sixty thousand hu of grain and three thousand heads of livestock." Mao Bang replied.

"how did it get here?"

"Students begged for it from family to family." Mao Bang said, "When the nobles of Yan State heard that Master Shao was in charge of Zhongshan, they did not dare to neglect him and donated generously."

"You've made some progress." Shao Xun praised.

Many officials from other places really don't have much face in front of the local bosses.

Mao Er was able to obtain so much food and meat, firstly because of the legacy of Liu Han, a famous scholar of Yan State;

Secondly, he made great efforts to get to know some of the sons of some wealthy families, or at least become their drinking buddies, and was able to obtain food and livestock at a critical moment.
Third, it was probably related to Shao Xun's meal in Zhongshan. The Yan nobles were not sure whether he would be angry or vent his anger on others, so they took out some food and livestock to treat it as a beggar, hoping to avoid disaster with money.

"Can the State of Yan continue?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.

"Master Shao, I..." Mao Bang blushed instantly.

"Forget it. It's a bit difficult for you. You have no soldiers, no money, no food. You eat and drink with the children of the wealthy families, sit and talk, and everyone praises you. But if you want to use a knife to them, I'm afraid you will die unclearly first." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "Come to Gaoyang. After the disaster, the internal historian of Gaoyang abandoned the city and fled. His whereabouts are unknown. The state will send people to arrest him in a while. You come to Gaoyang first and tidy up the four counties. This county is not big, the disaster is serious, and the wealthy families have suffered great losses. It is not very powerful. It is easier to open up the situation than you in Yan State. Come to Gaoyang next month."

"Yes, sir." Mao Bang breathed a sigh of relief and replied.

"I'll leave some people for you. Come with me." Shao Xun smiled gently at the two children, "Let's go play for a while."

Chou Nu sensibly took his sister away.

Chunkui was still a little reluctant and tugged at the corner of Shao Xun's clothes. Shao Xun smiled and said, "Forget it."

He bent down and picked up Chunkui, then took Mao Bang to the outer room, pointed to the densely packed thatched huts in the distance, and said, "I'll leave you a few thousand people, half of them are able-bodied men, and half of them are able-bodied women. You can let them farm under Gaoyang City. The men can train during the slack season. Are you worried about a shortage of people? Okay, I'll leave you fifty personal soldiers, and they will lead the training. As long as you farm for two or three years and have a good harvest, you will have money and food. By then, the farmers and soldiers will be almost trained, and you can manage the entire county with ease, right?"

"The students will definitely get it done." Mao Bang said.

"Do you know what to do?"

"Measure the land, register households, collect taxes, and train soldiers."

"That's right." Shao Xun said, "If you can handle these things well, you can make further progress."

There was a wisp of smoke rising from the kitchen not far away.

The victims looked at the earthen jars with sacred eyes, smelling the aroma of rice emanating from the jars, and some of them shed tears unknowingly.

If you have not experienced this kind of hardship, it is difficult to understand their worship of food.

Shao Xun walked into a camp.

The disaster victims who were cooking saw him and bowed to him, saying, "Your Majesty."

"We meet every day, why do we need to bow to each other? It's better to save your energy." Shao Xun scolded with a smile.

Everyone stood up.

"Cook when it's time to cook, eat when it's time to eat, don't worry about me, I'm just taking a walk." Shao Xun said again.

Then everyone dispersed.

Shao Xun stood casually in front of a shabby tent where seven or eight young men were crowded.

"All family members are gone?" Shao Xun found a wooden stake to sit on, put Chunkui on the ground, and asked.

People in troubled times are not so hypocritical. Moreover, after so much time has passed, they can already talk about the sufferings that have passed relatively calmly.

“It was washed away by the water.”

"What are you planning?"

Several people looked at each other and said in unison: "Your Majesty, you saved my life. This is a great favor. I am willing to follow Your Majesty."

"Come with me, it's far." Shao Xun said.

"Grandpa, I'll go with you." Chunkui suddenly raised her head and said crisply.

"Oh? What did you call me?" Shao Xun said with a smile.

Chunkui lowered her head shyly, feeling a little sad.

"Okay, okay." Shao Xun picked her up again and said, "Meeting you during the flood is God's will. God's will cannot be violated, so what's wrong with having another daughter?"

Chunkui raised his head in surprise, his eyes lit up instantly, and when he saw Shao Xun smiling at him, he buried his head in his arms again.

The seven or eight young men looked at the little girl with envy.

Even if they worked hard all their lives, they might not be able to achieve anything rich. But this little girl was lucky enough to become the daughter of King Liang, which might be a peak that they could never reach in their lifetime.

"If you follow me, as long as you dare to fight and fight, you will have women, houses, fields, and money." Shao Xun glanced at them and said, "It is impossible to live a good life without paying anything. After winter, food will be in short supply. It may be difficult to get food in Zhongshan, Changshan, Gaoyang and other counties. Are you willing to follow me to Pingyang?"

"Yes." Several people said loudly without hesitation.

Home, ancestral graves, wife and children, everything is gone. I am all alone, what else is there to hesitate about?
Shao Xun nodded slightly and said, "Let's eat first."

After that, he left the shack and continued to inspect the camp.

Wherever they went, they could hear greetings, shouts, and cheers.

In this camp, some people used to be farmhands, some used to be soldiers, some used to be powerful people, and there were even children of noble families. Now they were all gathered together in a miserable state, without any distinction between them.

At this moment, they have only one identity: the survivors of the famine.

The only one person who allowed them to survive was King Liang of the Jin Dynasty.

For these people, the experiences of this year may be unforgettable until they die.

If you are lucky enough to live to the end of your life, you may be able to tell your grandchildren sitting around the fire: "Back then, my grandfather was stumbling and starving, and when he was about to die, he met King Liang who came down from the sky and survived."

"There was a young man from a noble family who slept on the same straw mat as me and even gnashed his teeth at night."

"There was a petty official who was extremely fierce when collecting taxes. He was eaten by someone after a disaster."

"There was a well-educated and well-mannered rich girl who would only give you half a piece of human jerky if you slept with her once."

If you want to add drama to yourself, you can even brag: "When the King of Liang invited me to join the army, he was very sorry because he missed your grandmother and didn't go. He said he had lost a brave general."

It continued until the old woman could no longer bear it.

Even though I was just bragging, when the night was quiet and everyone was asleep, I couldn't help but shed tears when I recalled the devastating suffering I went through back then.

I don't even know why I'm crying, I just feel sad.

Throughout my life, I have always been terrified by the mention of floods.

In this life, I will never tolerate anyone saying bad things about King Liang.

This life has been one of struggle and pain, and I only wish that my descendants will be prosperous and safe.

On September 15, seeing that the situation in Gaoyang and other places was gradually improving, Shao Xun went south to Julu to inspect the post-disaster reconstruction.

The number of elite and strong men from various counties who followed him southward was no less than 20,000, all of them wrapped in yellow scarves, and people at that time commonly called them the "Yellow-Headed Army."

(End of this chapter)