Qian Tong originally prepared a banquet for a few people, but the three of them were not in the mood to eat. They wanted to go look around quickly and come back to discuss countermeasures.
Finally, the three soldiers were divided into three groups. Zhang San went to check the disaster situation outside the city, Yu Mingsheng went to check the distribution of water areas, and Xu Changliang went to the granary and various grain merchants in the city to check.
Qian Tong called Wang Liyuan, the clerk in charge of the water conservancy project, and Ding Sheng, the clerk in charge of the warehouse, to accompany Yu Mingsheng and Xu Changliang to check around. As for Zhang San, he was going to look around by himself. Originally, Qian Tong was planning to accompany him in person.
, but was declined by Zhang San, Qian Tong was also indifferent at this time, and naturally he did not force it.
After everyone came out of the post station, they dispersed. Zhang Fu drove a carriage, Erwazi, and Zhang Quan rode out of the city with Zhang San.
"Sir, everyone in this village has left. The house is full of dust. It seems that they have been gone for a while." After leaving the city, Zhang San and others came to a village. Seeing the dilapidated houses in front of them, Zhang San felt very sad.
It's emotion.
"Sir, the wells in the village have also dried up. These people may have fled without water." Erwazi came back and reported.
"Alas! This is much more serious than imagined!" Zhang San said with a sigh.
"Yes, sir, along the way, all the crops in the fields were dried up, and the roads were full of people fleeing famine." Zhang Quan said seriously.
"Natural disasters are merciless! Come on, run a little further and take a look. Genzi, let me ride your horse. You go in the carriage. Don't look carefully inside the carriage." Zhang San said to Genzi.
"Sir, you'd better take the carriage! I..." Genzi replied a little embarrassed.
"Go if I tell you to, and be gentle. Sir, I can ride more slowly." Zhang San ordered.
"Genzi, come on up!" Zhang Fu knew Zhang San's temperament, so he asked Genzi to get in the car.
Zhang San got on his horse and rushed forward with everyone. Because they had to take care of Zhang San, everyone did not run fast this time. Zhang San also had to carefully check the disaster situation along the way.
Zhang San and the others did not run far when they came to a forest and saw many refugees lingering there, so they stopped to ask about the situation.
Everyone protected Zhang San closely, fearing that the hungry victims would do something extraordinary.
Zhang San heard a childish voice, "Daddy, I'm hungry!"
Following the direction of the sound, Zhang San saw a middle-aged man in ragged clothes holding a five or six-year-old child in his arms. The child's face was dirty, his lips were chapped, and his speech was weak.
Zhang San came to the father and son. When the man saw Zhang San and his group dressed in unusual clothes, he was very vigilant and guarded the child behind him, on guard.
"Don't be nervous, we are not bad people. This is for you to eat." Zhang San took out a steamed bun and reached out to hand it to the child.
Seeing that there was food, the surrounding victims suddenly became commotion. Zhang Fu and the others clenched their weapons tightly and were on guard nervously. Fortunately, these people still had some sense. Seeing that Zhang Fu and the others were armed, they did not dare to act rashly.
action.
He just kept looking at the steamed buns in Zhang San's hands.
The child's father grabbed the steamed bun and gave it to his child. When the little boy saw the steamed bun, he immediately became energetic and stuffed it into his mouth, fearing that the steamed bun would disappear if it was too late.
"Thank you, noble man!" The man expressed his gratitude to Zhang San in a hoarse voice.
"You're welcome, eat slowly and drink some water first, don't choke." Zhang San handed over the kettle again.
The child choked on the steamed bun and turned red. The man took the kettle and hurriedly fed it to the child, then patted the child's back repeatedly before he recovered.
"You eat this. I'm going to ask you something after you finish it." Zhang San handed the child's father another millet steamed bun.
The man glanced at Zhang San gratefully and started eating.
The reason why Zhang San gave food to the father and son was mainly because he had only this much food when he arrived. Secondly, there were about twenty refugees in the woods, but this man was the only one with the child. Zhang San didn't want to
Guessing the reason, he gave the food to the father and son.
Manpower is sometimes very limited. Zhang San cannot save everyone, he can only help one person.
There were sounds of swallowing from all around, but Zhang San didn't look at it, because if he looked at it one more time, he would have to endure an extra torment.
These victims, who were a little bloated from hunger, gave Zhang San too much impact.
"Where are you from? Is there anyone else at home?" Zhang San asked when he saw the father and son finished eating.
Hearing Zhang San's words, the man's eyes turned red instantly, and he swallowed: "The villain is from Xiao County. At home... we are the only two people left in the family. My parents and my wife all starved to death on the road."
The man was so heartbroken that tears flowed down his cheeks, leaving two lines of tears on his face.
Zhang San could not calm down for a long time. He looked at the child behind the man, who was hiding behind his father to peek at Zhang San. There seemed to be tears in his eyes, but the child did not cry or make trouble at this time.
"Please express your condolences. Since you survived, you must live well. There are children behind you who need to rely on you to survive." Zhang San didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only say this.
"Can you still live?" the man asked, his eyes dull.
"Of course, as long as you have the belief to live, you will definitely be able to!" Zhang San said seriously.
"Didn't the magistrate of Xiao County take care of you victims?"
"Haha, no matter what, there is not a grain of grain in the county's granary, and the crops are all dead. Everything that is edible has been found and eaten, even the bark of the trees is not spared; we have no choice but to run for our lives."
The man complained sadly.
"Since the disaster is so serious, why didn't you report it to the court earlier?"
Zhang San asked. Of course, the man could not answer this. The man looked at Zhang San and remained silent, as if he was also accusing the official of his inaction.
"You all listen up. I was appointed by the imperial court to help you get through this difficult time. If you can persist, go to Xuzhou City. Tomorrow, they will be giving porridge outside the city." Zhang San stood up and looked around.
the victims said.
When everyone heard this, they quickly knelt down to Zhang San and said, "Master Qingtian, help us, help us!"
Hearing the feeble shouts coming from all around and looking at their hesitant and helpless eyes, Zhang San felt very painful in his heart.
"Stay alive and go to Xuzhou City. I believe that the imperial court will definitely rescue everyone." Zhang San repeated it again, and after finishing speaking, he gritted his teeth and walked out of the forest.
More than 20 refugees followed behind them, walking unsteadily. Zhang San did not dare to look back, nor did he say anything to the father and son. At this time, Zhang San felt that the heavy burden was weighing him down and he could not breathe.
"Sir, are you okay?" Zhang Fu asked with great concern when he saw Zhang San's depressed expression.
"It's okay, let's go. Don't look any further. The disaster here is out of control. Let's go back to the inn!" Zhang San said a little tiredly.
Zhang San did not ask to ride a horse this time and sat back on the carriage.
"Zhang Fu, after you go back, you have people go home and tell Muramasa and Xiaoyu to bring all the money and food we can raise." Zhang San said to Zhang Fu who was driving outside.
"Okay, Sir, I will make arrangements when I get back." Zhang Fu replied.
Zhang San sat in the carriage and fell into deep thought. This disaster was far more serious than he expected. It was the first time he encountered such a thing, which was very challenging for Zhang San.