The army passed through many villages along the way in the past two days, but this was the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty and the area with the strongest dominance. The people were stable and trusted the court, so they did not panic too much. This was a good thing.
Every time Zhu Biao passed through a village, he would ask people to ask for help and talk to the local village elders to see if there were any orphans, widows, or extra young people in the village. The court was now moving people to farm, and when they got there, they would distribute acres of land per person.
The cultivated land in a village is limited. If the population is large, it is normal that it cannot support them. However, after passing through seven or eight villages, there were only a hundred orphans, more than ten young adults, and no women.
They still don't trust the army, otherwise this number will not be much even if it doubles. No one cares about the orphans and would like to send them away. The young men are afraid of being caught as young men. Needless to say, the widows, how dare they think that they are all men.
's military camp.
Zhu Biao went to see them in person and found that the children were both boys and girls, but mostly girls. Most of them were under ten years old, dark and skinny.
Zhu Biao asked the imperial doctors to take a look and found that there were more than 20 children with disabilities. Most of the villagers were incest marriages. It was not surprising that there were still children with disabilities. It was good that they were still alive. Poverty in the countryside had its own set of cruel laws.
, I am afraid that the vast majority of children with disabilities are killed at birth.
The remaining seventy or so people have no serious problems, but are too thin. There is a young man who is the same age as Zhu Biao, but his height only reaches Zhu Biao's chest. He is as thin as a hemp stalk.
Zhu Biao frowned and looked at them, and ordered the kitchen to take care of them. The imperial doctor also gave them some medicine. It was easy for them to suffer from malnutrition, but this disability really gave them a headache.
There is no pressure to feed them. These children are very sensible and carefully observe everyone's faces, especially the disabled children. They dare not eat more for fear that they will eat too much and be left behind.
Zhu Biao didn't feel good about it, so he had to give them a good place before leaving. It would be best if they had skills and enough food to eat. If they knew how to unite and support each other and learn from each other's strengths, they would be able to survive.
When the army was stationed, Chang Mao came back with his Qingqi and ordered Zhang Fan to properly arrange the people he brought back. He walked up to Zhu Biao and saluted. Zhu Biao put his hands behind his back and said, "How about this time?"
Chang Mao replied: "There is a Wangjiazhuang nearby. They all have the same surname. They only took in thirteen children with disabilities. There was also a widow with a young girl who asked to be taken away. Originally, the village was not willing to let them go.
Yes, hehe."
After hearing this, Zhu Biao also became energetic. Everything is difficult at the beginning. If you have one, you will have two, and it will be easier to talk about in the future. The widows in this village have always been a vulnerable group, not to mention being bullied, because the ignorant prejudices in each village are also very difficult.
Marrying again is an extremely troublesome thing for Zhu Biao.
As for why this widow is so determined, it is not difficult to guess. A widow has only one little daughter, which can be regarded as destitute. Since Wangjiazhuang all have the same surname, those relatives will not miss the opportunity to be destitute. If they are not forced to have no other way out,
No one will get here.
Zhu Biao ordered: "Be careful. No one can disturb them easily. Give them independent tents. Let her sit with the young children during the march and ask her to help take care of them."
Chang Mao nodded in agreement, and Zhu Biao calculated that he would arrive at Luzhou Mansion tomorrow. There must be a thousand people begging for food there. Zhu Biao planned to take them all away, treat the sick, and recuperate the young.
Disabled people are also given things they can do.
If he is a lazy and scoundrel, then he will be embarrassed and taken away by force. If he does not work in the fields, he will be beaten. If he is beaten and works as hard as a donkey, he will be given land. If he is not satisfied, he can rebel.
When we arrived at Luzhou Prefecture at noon the next day, its officials of fourth rank and above had already gone fifty miles outside the city to wait to see His Highness the Crown Prince, and were also preparing to invite His Highness into the city to take a rest.
Zhu Biao had written to them the day before yesterday, so the orphans and beggars in the city, as well as some orphans and widows who could not survive, had already been brought here, saving Zhu Biao the need to send troops into the city.
Zhu Biao spent an hour having a meal with the local officials and got to know each other. Although Zhu Biao did not want to waste time by going to the city, these officials were also the pillars of the imperial court. Since they took the initiative to express their feelings to him, Zhu Biao naturally did not want to go to the city to waste time.
It would be too cold.
Then the army set off, and Zhu Biao also received the letter left by Zhu Xi and Zhu Di. They had checked the granary in Luzhou Prefecture and found that there was nothing wrong with it. They had already set off for other places.
Zhu Biao was not surprised either. Luzhou Mansion was too close to the capital and they could respond immediately if there was any disturbance. Even if there was a deficit originally, they had to make up for it out of their own pockets after hearing that His Highness the Crown Prince sent King Qi of Jin to investigate.
After walking for another two days, the army stopped. It encountered a heavy rain. Fortunately, Chang Mao found an abandoned village and finally had a shelter from the rain. After Zhu Biao settled the children, he placed food and medicinal materials.
Waiting for valuables, something will happen if these get soaked.
Naturally, a small village cannot accommodate so many people and must be rebuilt. Fortunately, the army brought a lot of raincoats. Taking advantage of the rain, the soldiers hurriedly opened the walls and collected materials to expand the roof. Their tents had shelter.
It has the effect of rain, but it still can't withstand this kind of heavy rain, so there must be a shelter above the head.
Fortunately, the 30,000 elite troops were very efficient in whatever they did. In addition, the houses in the village were not far apart. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, Zhu Biao hurriedly ordered a fire to boil water. Each house had a stove and placed
After the military cauldron was made, the imperial doctors put some ginger slices and other cold-repelling herbs in it.
Nearly an hour later, more than 30,000 people finally had a place to shelter from the wind and rain. The village had also been transformed into a strange shape. Zhu Biao was naturally fine, but the soldiers who took off their raincoats could not stop shivering.
, I touched the rain on my face and took a sip of ginger soup.
Zhu Biao led the people around and told Li Jin on the side: "Let's cook, make more soups, and ask the imperial doctor to add more cold-repelling herbs. Don't be stingy.
Li Jin took the order and left. Fu Zhong from outside came in and said, "Your Highness, the horses have been placed and the roof of the shed has been repaired very solidly."
Zhu Biao stepped forward slightly, smiled, patted his shoulder and said, "Go and drink more ginger soup."
Fu Zhong nodded cheerfully. He was tall and tall, but the military raincoat was too small for him. He was almost wet. Although he didn't feel too cold, he drank as much as His Highness asked him to.
Zhu Biao walked over to the women and children again. Two imperial doctors were watching. The women and children looked at Zhu Biao with awe and dependence. To them, the prince's identity was like a god, and he was truly the son of God.
Moreover, they could also feel that Zhu Biao was taking care of them everywhere, which made them particularly touched. The Wang family from Wangjiazhuang was considered to be relatively knowledgeable and courageous. She knelt on the ground holding her daughter: "I am waiting for the prince."