Shang Qing'e and her party all rode tall horses, Li Jun rode a donkey, and held a khaki dog in his arms, with fine skin and tender meat, looking frail.

Out of tune with the entire queue.

Shangluo and other big men did not pay much attention to Li Jun, but Shang Qing'e was overflowing with sympathy. She rode her horse and Li Jun's donkey side by side, chatting with each other, and did not care about the defense between men and women.

But most of the time, Shang Qing'e spoke alone and Li Jun listened.

Shang Qing'e has a beautiful appearance and a pleasant voice, but she has a weak brain and is not defensive about others, so she talks a lot.

Li Jun has a good temper. Even if he was impatient, he didn't show it at all.

He absently observed his surroundings.

However, seeing the abandoned millet in the fields, Li Jun couldn't help but feel a little regretful and puzzled.

Food in this world is very precious. In some places, it is even more precious than gold and jewelry. Jewelry only looks good, but food can actually survive.

Especially after the destruction of Jiuyuan, there are zombies everywhere, so food should be more precious.

Why?

Large tracts of millet were left uncut and rotted in the ground, allowing the grains to germinate due to rising water?

wrong……

Li Jun suddenly realized that something was wrong. The ground was dry and cracked, like the texture of a turtle. The cracks were very deep and devastated. There was a severe drought here.

It's just that the season is in late autumn and the weather is cool, so Li Jun didn't notice it for a while.

In years of severe drought, vegetation flourishes and grains germinate without water. These are... ominous signs!

Li Jun, full of questions, sent a voice message: "I always feel something is wrong. Didn't you find that the ground is cracked?"

The dog snorted and said disdainfully: "This is weird, isn't it just a zombie? Zombies have cultivated to the level of drought demon, and can cause thousands of miles of red land. Xingliang's guy is no longer a flying zombie, he is a drought demon."

He San held up his donkey's head and walked briskly while talking: "Sir, if you want it to rain, you can immediately raise the clouds and spread the rain. It can rain no matter how heavy it is."

He San was very pleased with himself and walked side by side with the beauty. He was in a good mood.

However, Shang Qing'e didn't pay attention to the donkey at all, her attention was entirely on Li Jun.

Shang Qingmo sighed.

"When a country is about to perish, monsters will appear. I am a foreigner. Have you noticed anything unusual here?"

After Li Jun was silent for a moment, he asked: "How is the rain this year?"

Li Jun fell into a deep sleep for a long time. He only remembered that there was a heavy rain in Jiuyuan before falling asleep, but he did not remember it after that. According to the degree of dryness of the land, it should not have rained at all.

Did Xingliang really become a Hanban?

Shang Qing'e shook her head.

"There has been very little rain this year, and there has been no harvest in many places. Many people have starved to death. There were many refugees on the official roads who were fleeing famine, but these days there are no more. Alas, monsters are everywhere, and bones are everywhere.

There is also a famine in our Merchant Fort. If it were not for our strong foundation, I am afraid that all the people would have starved to death. The world is difficult and human life is as cheap as a dog."

Li Jun looked at the millet, green grass, tender buds in the field, the lush trees beside the official road, and occasionally hares and pheasants.

"This...famine?"

Shang Qing'e smiled bitterly.

There was helplessness and compassion in his eyes.

"No matter how much food is produced in the fields, it will be in vain if it cannot be brought back. There are zombies and ghosts everywhere. Everyone is afraid to go out. They stay in the fort all day long and eat less and less food."

"Sister Qing'e, you also know that there is chaos outside now, why don't you let the castle master worry? No matter how little food there is in the castle, it will be enough for us to eat for several years. Master Wang will definitely have put down the zombie chaos by then. What are you worried about?

?”

Shangluo suddenly interrupted.

Shang Qing'e chuckled.

"You only care about your own survival, what about those castle farmers? You know better than me what's going on in the castle, and I'm not afraid to tell you that I ran out this time just because I was angry with the castle owner."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything. I just hope that the fort master will send people out to get food so that the people in the fort don't starve to death. By then, Merchant Fort will become an empty frame."

"You want everyone to die?"

"hehe."

Shang Qing'e stopped talking.

Li Jun listened for a long time and understood the meaning.

Merchant Fort is currently closed, and the gate cannot be opened easily.

The castle not only lived in the castle owner's family, guards and other upper-class people, but also inhabited many tenant farmers, castle residents, servants, long-term workers and other lower-class people.

It is said to be a fort, but it is actually equivalent to a small town. Although it is small, it has all the internal organs.

There is no shortage of food in the upper levels of the fort, but the lower level people are on the verge of starvation every day.

However, for the sake of safety, the castle owner not only did not send anyone out to get food, but also did not allow anyone to go out. Even if they starved to death, they were not allowed to leave the castle even half a step.

Shang Qing'e's mother's heart was overflowing, and she couldn't bear to see it, so she ran out secretly. She seemed to be willful and playful, but in fact she was just resisting the castle owner in her own way.

Everyone followed the official road and soon arrived at Merchant Fort, which opened Li Jun's eyes.

Merchant Fort is located about ten miles away from the official road. It covers a large area and the high walls of the loess fortress are hidden among the trees.

Looming, the gate of the fort did not open directly. Everyone walked in along the suspension bridge. As soon as they entered the merchant fort, the environment changed drastically, with an earthy tone, not a single tree, and not a single bit of green.

Under the high earth-yellow wall, large iron pots were set up, with porridge being cooked in them. The porridge was so thin that people could be seen reflected in it. There was a long queue behind the pot, and many ragged fort residents looked at the pot eagerly.

Waiting for soup.

After Li Jun and others came in, they looked over one after another. Li Jun, in particular, received the most greedy looks. If Shangluo hadn't been there, these people would have probably rushed up and eaten him alive.

"Make way, make way, the eldest lady is back."

"Avoid them all and don't look directly at the eldest lady."

Shangluo led more than a dozen well-dressed men in black, holding whips in their hands and swiping at the thin fortress residents with fierce looks. Their eyes were merciless, as if they were looking at a group of beasts. Indeed, in the eyes of the landlord class in ancient times, tenant farmers were not just beasts.

?

Tenant farmers were managed by the landlord.

Since ancient times, imperial power has not been sent to the countryside.

Landlords, especially those who have formed a certain scale, can be called clan officials.

Li Jun feels that the imperial power in this world is very weak. There are Yin gods above who control the lifeline of the dynasty, and there are clans and influence below, and there may even be cultivating sects that govern together.

The Sima Dynasty must have been very miserable, right?

Shang Qing'e lowered her head, not daring to look at these ragged fortress residents. They didn't look like the eldest lady of Merchant Fort at all. They were just like ordinary weak women. Li Jun shook his head secretly.

If this kind of woman lives in a prosperous age, she can be carefree and express her Holy Mother's heart.

It's a pity that in troubled times, there is no room for sympathy and mercy. Li Jun doubts, can she really be qualified to be the next master of Merchant Fort?

Judging from the information obtained so far, the Lord of the Castle must be a ruthless person. Why would he choose a successor with a character like Shang Qing'e?

No matter how you look at it, Shangluo is more suitable?
Chapter completed!