002 [Starting to grab the root and hit the dog stick]
Zhao Han was in a daze and did not wake up completely. He only felt extremely hungry and thirsty.
In a daze, his lips and teeth touched the earthen pot, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to drink water.
The cold porridge with dirt and gravel poured into his stomach. Fortunately, Zhao Han regained his energy and opened his eyes to see a girl lying next to him.
"Second brother, are you awake?" Zhao Zhenfang smiled happily with tears in her eyes, and her confused eyes instantly glowed.
"I..." Zhao Han struggled to speak, but after saying just one word, he felt a tearing pain in his throat.
He wanted to use support to get up, but he felt weak all over, as if a ghost was pressing down on the bed. He was clearly conscious, but he couldn't control his body. He couldn't even move his fingers, as if he didn't belong to him below the neck.
Gradually, Zhao Han fell asleep again.
Zhao Zhenfang was also very hungry, so she stayed by her brother's side and ate up the remaining gruel, even holding the earthen pot and licking it all with her tongue.
Finally, officials in Tianjin city organized people to cross the bridge and collect the bodies.
It is summer now, and if hundreds of corpses are not disposed of, it will easily lead to a plague.
Those responsible for carrying the corpses were all officers and soldiers of Tianjin City.
Due to the serious flight of sergeants and the Tatars' expansion in Liaodong, a new Tianjin Army was formed in the last years of Wanli.
The New Army is a battalion system and does not belong to the garrison system. It is allocated from the central government. Excluding the "Zhenhai Camp" and other coastal defense forces, there are more than 6,000 New Army troops in and around Tianjin. However, in the past ten years alone, only a few have escaped.
Two or three thousand.
Moreover, none of the two to three thousand new troops can fight, and they have long been reduced to a slave-like existence.
In addition, there are thousands of guardsmen all over Tianjin, who have been serving as serfs to generals for generations.
Inside and outside, there were tens of thousands of officers and soldiers nearby, but they were so frightened by dozens of horse bandits that they dared to come here now.
"Brother Xiaowu, this one is still breathing."
"If you can't survive, you will be dragged to a mass grave together."
"If you're not injured, you're just hungry. You can still survive with half a bowl of porridge."
"You give him porridge?"
"I don't have enough to eat myself, so how can I give him porridge?"
"Then why are you talking nonsense?"
All of them, living and dead, were loaded onto trucks and dragged to a nearby graveyard for simple burial.
After going back and forth several times, I finally arrived at the Zhao family.
Zhao Zhenfang threw herself on her father's body and screamed: "Don't touch my father!"
When a soldier saw her young age, he couldn't help but said pitifully: "Oh, she's dead. Let's bury your father."
Zhao Zhenfang shook her head and said: "Daddy is not dead, he is asleep."
The soldiers ignored him and moved to carry Zhao Chen's body.
"mother!"
Zhao Zhenfang rushed over like crazy again, making these soldiers shake their heads repeatedly. There were only two corpses, and the little girl refused to move them away, so it would save them trouble.
Zhao Zhenfang finally protected the bodies of her parents and saw the soldiers walking towards her brother. She quickly shouted: "That's my second brother!"
A soldier sighed: "We are the same family, so miserable."
The soldier next to him said: "This guy is not dead, his chest is still moving."
The soldier before leaned over and touched Zhao Han's forehead, shook his head and said, "I have a severe fever, and I only have one breath left."
The soldiers left the Zhao family alone and ran to carry other corpses. Seeing that it was getting dark, this was the last trip. There were still hundreds of corpses left to carry out tomorrow.
The sun sets in the west and the sky becomes dusk.
Six-year-old Zhao Zhenfang's stomach was growling with hunger. She supported her thin body and dragged her second brother to the middle of her parents, and then stayed there silently waiting for dawn.
Zhao Han woke up from hunger in the middle of the night. His head was dizzy, his belly was hungry, and his whole body was weak.
After getting up with difficulty, through the dim moonlight, I could vaguely see the little girl next to me. She seemed to be very hungry, and she curled up even when sleeping, with a pair of small hands covering her stomach.
This is my little sister, Zhao Han suddenly remembered.
No, I am an only child. Where did I get a sister?
Zhao Han shook his confused head and looked down at his clothes. He didn't know what material they were made of, but they felt very rough and had worn patches everywhere. Not even horse bandits would like this kind of clothes.
In the first year of Chongzhen, the new emperor ascended the throne?
Zhao Han sat slumped on the ground and looked at the bright starry sky in ancient times. The situation was so ridiculous that he could not accept it.
He was born in an ordinary family in New China, and his academic performance was pretty good since he was a child. He barely got into a key high school, but unfortunately he didn't get into a key university, so he could only study for an ordinary undergraduate degree.
Because he had dreamed of being a soldier since he was a child, and saw a recruitment banner at school, Zhao Han decided to join the army and became a college soldier.
After two years of hard work in the army, Zhao Han did not apply for promotion, but retired from the army and returned to school to continue his studies.
Seeing that I am about to graduate, I am thinking about whether to take the postgraduate entrance examination or choose to take the civil service examination. Why did I come to ancient times?
And it was still the first year of Chongzhen!
It seems that the Chongzhen Dynasty only lasted seventeen years, and Zhao Han was not sure. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty was not far away from its demise.
Zhao Han knew the general history of the late Ming Dynasty, but he had forgotten many details.
His major is Chinese language and literature. He has studied ancient literature, philology, and classical philology, but unfortunately he has not studied ancient history in depth.
His health was really bad and his high fever had not gone away. Zhao Han fell asleep again in a daze.
Awakened by hunger again in the morning, Zhao Han crawled and rummaged through nearby corpses, but did not harvest any food.
The remaining hundreds of corpses had been turned over several times. Not to mention leaving money and food, even the better clothes were taken away by the officers and soldiers responsible for collecting the corpses.
But Zhao Han was really hungry, his eyes were red from hunger, his stomach hurt like a knife, and he had an urge to bite human flesh.
Looking at those corpses, Zhao Han really wanted to pounce on them and take a few bites.
"Second brother, I'm hungry..."
Zhao Zhenfang didn't know when she woke up. Maybe she was hungry or maybe she was frightened yesterday. She was very depressed at the moment.
Zhao Han still remembered that when he woke up yesterday, the little girl fed him porridge. Whether it was out of the remaining affection in the body or to repay the other person's life-saving grace, he should also take care of this sister, and immediately comforted him: "Don't be afraid, my second brother will find it for you."
food."
There was absolutely no food to be found!
The bark of nearby trees had long been stripped off by hungry people, and even the weeds on the river bank had withered and turned yellow. Most of the water in the canal had dried up, exposing the mudflats of the river bed, with cracks as wide as a palm's length.
Zhao Han wanted to look for insects to supplement some protein, but there was nothing except mosquitoes.
The ground is so dry that even a hoe can't dig it, and earthworms can't even be thought of.
Zhao Han picked up two broken earthen jars and took his sister to the middle of the official road, trying to meet passers-by to beg for food.
After only standing for a few minutes, it was obvious that Zhao Han's body couldn't hold on anymore. He felt so light that a gust of wind could blow him away. He simply knelt down and pretended to be pitiful.
Zhao Zhenfang suddenly reminded: "Second brother, dad said that when a man is alive, he will only kneel to the Lord of Heaven and Earth and his teacher, and will not kneel to ask for food."
"Come on, eat." Zhao Han corrected.
Zhao Zhenfang said: "Yes, it's the food that comes after sighing."
Zhao Han asked back: "Did Dad ever say that a real man should be able to bend and stretch?"
Zhao Zhenfang shook her head.
Zhao Han sighed and said: "Standing is stretching, kneeling is flexing. Kneeling now is so that you can stand in the future. Kneel down, we don't have the strength to stand firm anyway, so just think that we are kneeling to rest."
The brother and sister knelt side by side on the official road, each holding a broken earthen jar, and the morning sun gradually rose.
About two-quarters of an hour later, a caravan came out of the city. Because the canal was dry and it was difficult to sail, they used mules and horses to carry them and headed north.
Zhao Han, who had never begged before, saw the caravan getting closer and closer, and quickly knelt down and picked up the earthen jar in his hand.
But he didn't say a word. After all, he didn't have the nerve to ask for help.
"Get out of the way, stay out of the way!"
The person speaking is a escort escort. Due to the rapid development of business and the lack of peace in the world, the escort industry has become increasingly prosperous in recent decades.
Zhao Han still held the earthen pot high, and a strong bodyguard came over, grabbed him and his sister by their collars, and threw them to the roadside like chickens.
Zhao Han endured the pain and got up, completely letting go of his shame, kneeling down and shouting: "Master, please do me a favor and give me something to eat!"
No one responded, they all turned a blind eye, and the long caravan passed in front of them.
Not long after, another team came from Tianjin City. However, the canals were dry and water transportation was cut off. The imperial court pressed hard and the grain was transferred by land instead.
The soldiers and civilians who transported water were dressed as shabbily as Zhao Han. Some simply wore only a piece of crotch protection cloth and pushed and pulled the grain cart forward under the scorching sun.
The water transport general who was responsible for transporting grain looked smooth and smooth. He was riding a strong horse leisurely. He took out a water bag from time to time and took a few sips to quench his thirst. There were also two hundred servants beside him, all equipped with armor, and he was not afraid of small groups of bandits.
Grab food.
"Second brother, I'm hungry."
Zhao Zhenfang was hungry, thirsty, and exposed to the direct sun. She was already weak and soon fell into a semi-conscious state.
The Tianjin soldiers went out of the city to collect the corpses again. Zhao Han did not stop them and watched them move the corpses of his parents away.
This body was only ten years old. Zhao Han struggled to carry his sister on his back. After several attempts, he was so tired that he knelt down.
I'm so hungry and have no energy at all!
Finally, Zhao Han lay down on the ground and said to Zhao Zhenfang: "Little sister, climb on the second brother's back, let's go to the city to get food."
Zhao Han lay on the ground, and his little sister lay on his back, just like two wild dogs walking in embarrassment while carrying him towards Tianjin.
It might be easier to go to the city to beg for food.
The fundamental thing now is not to make any long-term plans, but to fill our stomachs and survive first.
Tianjin City was built at the mouth of the Sancha River, and you had to cross the canal to reach the moat.
More than 20 years ago, there was a flood in Tianjin, and more than 70 feet of the north and south city walls collapsed. Until now, the government has no money to repair the city.
Because the water in the canal was dry, a large number of ships were stranded, and grain and commodities were in urgent need of land transportation. Therefore, a temporary wooden bridge was built over the North Canal, which had no bridge. The government was afraid that refugees and bandits would cross the river, so soldiers were guarding the bridge and there were also
Get rid of horses and other equipment.
Zhao Han carried his sister on his back and finally climbed to the canal bridge. The bridge guard kicked him over: "Get away, you are a beggar!"
He was about to faint from hunger. Zhao Han couldn't express his anger. He only supported the little girl who fell down and forced out a flattering smile: "Master, please let us go and beg for food."
The soldier laughed inexplicably, clasped his hands and spread his legs: "You can cross the bridge, just get under my crotch."
Zhao Han was silent, his eyes were red, and he clenched his fists, then unclenched them.
Suddenly an officer came over, pushed away the soldier who was deliberately making things difficult, and cursed: "You Wei Si, how can you be considered a good man if you bully a child?"
Wei Si chuckled and said, "Old Liu, I was just joking with them."
Old Liu glanced at the Zhao Han brothers and sisters and ordered: "Let them go, whether they live or die depends on their own fate."
Zhao Han used all his strength to stand up. Relying on the remaining memory of this time and space, he bowed his hands and said: "I dare to ask my benefactor's name. If my brother and sister can survive, they will definitely tie a grass ring to repay the favor one day."
Seeing Zhao Han's courtesy, Old Liu actually returned the greeting solemnly: "It turned out to be a young husband-in-law who was in trouble. My name is Liu Mang, and I am a small management team of the Tianjin New Army."
"Remember the name of my benefactor, we will meet again one day." Zhao Han squatted down with great difficulty and lay on the ground again. He asked the weak little girl to lay on his back and hold on, and slowly crawled forward like a dog.
.
Team Liu thought for a while, took out a few copper coins and handed them to Zhao Han: "Take them to buy some food."
"Thank you, benefactor." Zhao Han was overjoyed.
He bowed his hands and spoke politely, just to attract the other person's attention. Fortunately, it had some effect.
The two brothers crawled away slowly, and Wei Si said: "Old Liu, what are you paying for? These two little ones are so hungry that they can't even walk. They have to crawl through even entering the city. If they are full today, they will be hungry tomorrow.
die."
Guan Dui Liu watched the brother and sister cross the bridge and sighed: "My two children are also of the same age, just for peace of mind. The world... ugh!"
Although Tianjin City is built along the river, the city wall is still some distance from the canal. Outside the four city walls, there are a large number of illegal residences and markets have been formed.
Especially outside the North City, there is the North Canal Dock, lined with shops, extremely prosperous, and the North Moat has even become the inland river of the dock area.
Zhao Han carried his sister on his back and climbed to the streets outside the city, smelling the aroma of food along the way.
When he came to a noodle stall, Zhao Han panted and recovered for a while. He wanted to stand up, but his legs were weak and he fell down. In the end, he could only kneel down on the ground, held out the few copper coins and said, "Eat."
Due to the decline of Spain, a silver crisis occurred in the late Ming Dynasty.
Silver deflation, copper coin inflation, copper coins become less and less valuable.
In addition, it was a famine and grain prices were very high, so these few pennies could only buy steamed buns with grains.
The stall owner took the copper coins and gave Zhao Han a steamed bun. He waved his hand with a disgusted expression and said, "Eat farther away. Don't delay my business."
"Thank...thank you."
Zhao Han reluctantly smiled back, holding the steamed bun in his mouth, then turned around and crawled towards the corner of the street with his little sister on his back.
Before they reached the corner of the street, several beggars suddenly rushed out, snatched away the steamed buns and said viciously: "When you are begging for food in Tianjin, have you ever visited the pier? These steamed buns are considered to be the money to join the gang. From now on, you will pay five cents as a tribute every day. If you don't have any money, you will pay tribute."
, you are allowed to beg for food on Pier North Street."
He was forced to kneel down and beg, his hands were picked up and his feet were kicked, and he was even forced to drill his crotch. Zhao Han endured it all in order to survive.
After finally getting food, he was bullied by a few beggars, and Zhao Han was finally furious. He put down his sister, staggered up and roared: "Give it back to me!"
"You little bitch, you can't even stand still, how dare you play tricks with grandpa?" The beggar leader stretched out his kick and easily tripped Zhao Han down.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The other beggars laughed loudly. They were at the bottom of society, suffered discrimination and bullying all day long, and could only find fun in the weaker ones.
Zhao Han was already dizzy from hunger. At this moment, everyone was seeing double images. He was unable to stand up anymore, so he crawled forward with all his strength, grabbed the beggar leader's ankle and said: "Give me back the steamed buns!"
"Get away!"
The beggar leader was caught with one foot, so he raised his other foot and stepped on Zhao Han's head like an ant.
"Don't hit my second brother!"
Suddenly, Zhao Zhenfang, who was almost unconscious from hunger, rushed forward and bit the beggar leader's leg.
"Ouch!"
The beggar leader felt pain and stretched out his legs to kick Zhao Zhenfang away.
Taking advantage of the opponent's opportunity to stand on one foot, Zhao Han suddenly used his last strength, grabbed the beggar leader's ankle and dragged him up.
"ah!"
The beggar leader fell down and hit the ground on the back of his head. He was immediately dizzy from the fall.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The other beggars were still watching the joke and did not think that the two children could pose any threat to their leader.
There were also some people passing by who stopped here and watched the beggars fighting with great interest, not just pointing and having fun.
"Huhuhu..."
Zhao Han was breathing heavily, and before the other party could react, he had climbed onto the beggar leader and bit down on the beggar's neck that was covered with dirt.
"Relax, quickly relax!"
The beggar leader struggled in panic. He was so frightened that he forgot to ask for help from his companions. He just shouted to push Zhao Han away.
The other beggars finally stopped watching and kicked, hit and dragged Zhao Han. Zhao Zhenfang rushed to help but was kicked away.
Zhao Han hugged the beggar leader and bit him without letting go. He bit the beggar's trachea and broke his arteries. The blood flowed into his mouth without feeling disgusted. Instead, because of hunger and thirst in his belly, he subconsciously sucked blood like crazy.
Finally, the beggar leader stopped moving.
Zhao Han's mouth was full of blood and flesh, and he turned around and smiled ferociously at everyone.
"Killing people!"
Passersby screamed and shouted.
The other beggars were stunned for a moment, and did not want to take revenge on the boss. They picked up the dog-beating stick and the broken bowl and ran away.
Zhao Han picked up the steamed buns on the ground, tore them in half, stuffed half into his mouth, and handed the other half to his little sister and said, "Eat!"
Zhao Zhenfang didn't care so much, grabbed the steamed bun and wolfed it down.
Zhao Han finished half of the multigrain steamed bun before Hengxiu wiped the blood on his mouth. The whole process was like eating raw human flesh.
There was a murder in the street, but no one reported it to the police.
It's just a beggar's death. How can people in Tianjin not starve to death?
Zhao Han regained some strength and began to grope for the beggar leader's body in full view of the public. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything.
He picked up the opponent's dog-beating stick, stood with difficulty leaning on the stick, helped the little girl and said, "Let's go, my second brother will take you to find a place to spend the night."
Zhao Zhenfang grabbed a small piece of steamed bun and was reluctant to eat it, silently following Zhao Han.
After only taking a few steps, the brother and sister became dizzy, so they got down and crawled forward again.
Onlookers and passers-by all avoided and made way for them to watch them leave.
This wasn't a bad start, at least I got a dog-beating stick.
