The floodwaters in the village have receded, and the muddy ground is emitting wisps of moisture in the sun.^//^There are dark mud and branches, weeds and driftwood everywhere. The crops that have been destroyed by the floods are rotting in the muddy water.
, rotten animal carcasses: chickens, dogs, pigs, sheep, and occasionally humans, scattered in the mud, with bulging bellies and a disgusting stench.
The bird-headed flies arrived as soon as possible. There were flies flying everywhere, and there were several corpses of humans and animals.
In villages and towns that have been hit by floods, many of the houses that did not collapse when the floods hit will collapse as the water recedes. However, the owners of the houses no longer need them and are either dead or fleeing.
This is the Yizhou Flood of 1631. The flood once again swept across the land that had become barren due to frequent natural disasters, sweeping away the people who were barely making a living here - starting from the Year of Tianqi, Yizhou
As well as nearby Shandong, states and counties in the south and north will encounter floods almost every two or three years.
Groups of hungry people stumbled forward on the road, leaving corpses along the way. They headed blindly towards the county town, prefectural city or any other city. The victims knew that only when they reached the city could they have a chance of survival. Otherwise, even if they were not admitted,
If they starve to death, there will be a great plague after the catastrophe, and the plague will harvest the lives more ferociously than the flood. If the local cities cannot accommodate them, they will have no choice but to leave their homes and flee to states and counties that have not suffered disasters.
Driven by hunger and forced to survive, the flow of refugees slowly squirmed on various continents in Lunan. People died every day, and people joined every day. Everything they walked through was eaten up - bark, grass, roots and even
No animal carcasses survive.
The big families in the villages and towns along the way have already escaped. They either entered the provincial capital or went further to the more stable Jiangnan. Since Lunan passed the White Lotus Sect, this place has become very dangerous, and many people with assets have fled.
They fled to the provincial capital or Jiangnan and "escaped".
Some villages and towns have built village walls and practiced village bravery. The hand holding the hoe handle is now tightly holding the whistle stick and wooden gun. Watching the refugees passing near the villages and towns vigilantly - their eyes are red with hunger.
The victims all have the consciousness of "eat until they are full". The little food accumulated in the villages and towns has to be eaten by their own families! The people's hearts are as cold and hard as iron. The landlords who did not "escape" took their own
The servant, the long-term worker, stands on the wall of the village, holding a bow and arrow and a sword. He supervises the village warriors and appears to be "leading by example." After all, he is the richest person in the village. His body, which was originally dressed in silk and satin, is now wrapped in
Cotton armor made in a hurry. It is summer now, but there is not a drop of sweat on their bodies. What they see in their eyes is the dark mass of refugees, and what they think of is the news that came from the past few days: which village, town, and stockade were affected by refugees.
They ate the rich, so-and-so's house was robbed, so-and-so's whole family was killed by refugees. The horrific past during the White Lotus Sect ten years ago seemed to be reappearing in front of their eyes. The head of the house looked at the village heroes shrinking their necks one by one.
Frowning, he stamped his feet and roared:
"Keep an eye on me! Let's eat whatever you want in the pork and vegetable box as a reward tonight!"
Then there was a burst of shouting of "Thank you, Master!", as if singing in an opera. Then there was a shout in a twangy voice:
"Everyone is working hard!"
“Scoop tight!”
"The village is secure!"
"Hold it tight!"
This kind of scene is repeated several times almost every day. On weekdays, not to mention giving it to long-term workers and farmers, even the big households themselves are reluctant to eat white flour and pork, so these days they scoop it out as rewards to win people's hearts.
But while they were distressed, fearful and worried, they were also secretly happy. The floods destroyed the land boundaries and washed away the title deeds, leaving many lands without owners. Even those who still had owners, the owners had to do so in disaster years.
Sell to survive. For some people, it is a good opportunity to expand their industry. As for the farmers who farm, they will die. After the water recedes, those who have not starved to death in the next spring will always come back.
The premise is that they have not been "taken advantage of" by the refugees before, and have not been taken advantage of during the riots.
Regardless of whether it is a prefecture, county or prefectural city, the officials who usually show off their power are unwilling to interfere with the actions of the refugees. The refugees did not rebel, they did not besiege the county town, they killed a few big landlords and killed a few people. It was not a big deal. The big bosses
To protect your own life and property, you have to step forward and lead the team.
In the county town of Zhoucheng, although the city gates have not yet been closed to prohibit refugees from entering the city, bravery training has been held in the city. The young men from Guanxiang and nearby villages have organized themselves and are ready to "suppress" at any time. Several bullets are hung at the gate of the city to serve as a warning to others.
The heads are always fresh and bloody. In the hastily built sheds outside the city, there are pots of "gruel" with a clearly visible bottom and a musty smell. It is this kind of gruel. The refugees gathered nearby are not
Everyone can eat, and the number of "chips" given out every day is fixed, and those who don't get their turn can only starve.
Near the porridge shed is another feeding place for flies. From Jinan Prefecture, and even as far as Shuntian, people from the south of the Yangtze River hide in sedan chairs and mule carts, carefully calculating how many "prey" they can get.
, How many benefits do they want to give to their local counterparts? Some people are wandering around the crowd, looking for people to bribe. Young men and women are their first targets, followed by young women. The number of people with straw tags continues like this.
They were put on mule carts and transported one cart at a time to Linqing and Xuzhou, where they were put on ships and transported to various places for sale.
Zhang Zuochen, wearing a self-designed Taoist uniform, walked through the crowd. He nodded to the people around him from time to time. He practiced medicine and helped people here, and he had already gained the reputation of a "living god". Not only refugees, but also people who maintained food around the porridge.
Many of the government officials and village heroes who maintained order received his medical treatment and respected him like a god.
"Master Fu, you gave me the medicine and my child took it, and it really stopped the diarrhea. You are really a living god." A ragged woman blocked his way, "Please give me some more..."
"Oh? Since the diarrhea has been stopped, life is not in the way." Zhang Yingchen said with a smile, "I want to see a patient now, and I will show your child when he comes back. You give him this packet of medicine first.
"
He walked over with the woman's endless gratitude, and he was almost overwhelmed with such things along the way. Even Dianshi and the county's deputy general manager, who came to the porridge from time to time, had to be polite when they met him.
He knew that the officials and gentry in the city were originally very wary of him. The monks who appeared after the great disaster were for the purpose of practicing medicine and preaching. They almost certainly had "ill-intentioned" intentions. The ruling class had been doing it for thousands of years.
Sufficient experience has been accumulated in the rule of the country.
Along with Zhang Yingchen, there were several so-called "Taoist priests" or "monks" who appeared in the porridge one after another, as well as so-called "divine witches" without any religious attire. They soon attracted the attention of the local government.
These people did not have "ultimatums", and the medicines used to treat diseases were not as effective as Zhang Yingchen's. They soon disappeared completely under the attack of the local government and the gentry.
Zhang Yingchen was able to win in the competition because, firstly, he had superb medical skills and even better medicine. Secondly, he had a formal Taoist certificate and a title card he obtained from a certain Jin gentry's house in Hangzhou. These two things played a big role in protecting his safety.
Function. You must know that the government in this time and space has no concept of human rights. It is common practice to arrest suspicious people and torture them. What's more, these are extraordinary times: many people have their heads chopped off or tortured in the government just because of their suspicious words and deeds.
Some of them died in jails and in cages at the gates of government offices.
He was very careful when treating patients. When treating patients, he only said some ordinary words about doing good deeds and accumulating virtues, but did not preach too much about doctrines. Although he sometimes spoke to the refugees, all of them were from the official Taoist canon.
The content, no matter where it is placed, is upright.
"I wonder what Lao Zhao is doing in Shandong?" He often thought like this when he was busy with these things. You must know that with his current influence, it would be easy to encourage refugees to go to Denglai and defect to Zhao Yingong.
He and Zhao Yingong left Hangzhou at the same time, but he did not leave after arriving in Yizhou, but became active in the same place.
In ancient Chinese society, natural disasters were often a great opportunity for cults to carry out propaganda. One of Zhang Yingchen's main purposes for going to Yizhou was to inspect the activities and instigation capabilities of local organizations such as the White Lotus Sect, the Luo Sect, and the Wenxiang Sect.
.
Now it seems that these organizations are indeed active, but the government is paying great attention to it. After all, the White Lotus Rebellion has not been over ten years, and local vigilance is still there. It is not so easy to use religious means to incite the people.
After he came back from a tour, he found that a young man he had cured a few days ago had been bought by someone from the south of the Yangtze River. He couldn't help but secretly regretted it. This young man was smart and handsome, and he was originally the "Daosheng" whom he was optimistic about.
"Miaozi, now someone is the first to win.
This kind of thing has happened several times, and every time it makes him heartbroken. It is so heartbreaking to watch the good seedlings disappear in vain and be unable to do anything.
But he had already taken in two children as Taoist students, and he originally had the Ming and Qing boys brought from Hangzhou, so it would be too ostentatious to take in more boys by his side.
"You must write to Lao Zhao as soon as possible, otherwise all the best resources will be taken away by these people." He thought to himself and returned to a broken Taoist temple in Guanxiang.
It is said to be a Taoist temple, but in fact there are no Taoist priests, and only one Huoju Taoist lives there, barely making ends meet. Zhao Yingong spent a few small sums of money to rent a house as his base of activities in Yizhou.