On the same day, Liu Zhang gathered his troops and went to the relief camp outside Nancheng. Before leaving the Mufu, he summoned generals to set up defenses.
"Yang Ren led his army to guard the two gates of the west city, Deng Zhi guarded the east city, and Yan Yan guarded the inner city. All the military leaders of the family should control their troops. All Jingzhou troops and horses were transferred to the generals of Shu."
Liu Zhang thought for a while and said: "The Cai family's troops are not restrained, mobilized, and monitored. Besides, who of you here likes to drink?"
All the generals looked at each other, and Samoko stepped forward and said, "I love drinking."
"Did you also drink at the critical moment?"
"Of course not."
"Then you are not qualified."
Shamoko was depressed.
Yan Yan stepped forward and said: "The last general has a general named Han Dianchen who loves to drink. He has been punished by military law many times because he got drunk and got into trouble. However, he still refuses to change despite repeated admonitions. He was quite brave in fighting. If he hadn't been drinking, I'm afraid he would have lost his temper.
Now that he has been promoted to captain, I wonder if he is the one my lord wants."
"Okay, it's him." Liu Zhang said, "Let him guard the armory and monitor Pang Ming, the treasurer."
"Ah, this..."
"Okay, that's it, Xiao Nao, let's go to the southern suburbs and have a look. Two hundred thousand refugees is not a small number."
Liu Zhang remembered that when disasters occurred in modern times, leaders would immediately go to the disaster area to express condolences to the victims and make emergency arrangements. He also said that if the family members of the deceased were emotionally stable, he should go and see them, otherwise they would not be worthy of the title of the reincarnation of the Red Emperor.
Just then, a girl in yellow jumped out: "Liu Zhang, oh, sir, I want to go too. I also want to go to the disaster relief."
When Fa Zheng saw it was Xu Zhaoxue, he frowned at Liu Zhang and said, "She can't go."
Liu Zhang nodded. He stepped forward and said to Xu Zhaoxue with a smile: "Haha, it turns out it's Miss Zhaoxue. Is Miss Zhaoxue going to tell fortunes for refugees?"
Xu Zhaoxue's face was stern and her eyes blinked, "No, I want to go to disaster relief too."
Liu Zhang nodded: "That's right. Miss Zhaoxue is so lively and kind-hearted, so she should go to the disaster relief. But I guess she has no money and no food around her... But kindness is priceless. When Miss Zhaoxue goes, you can chop wood, light fires, and carry food."
You can also push carts with rice burdens, and the refugee area must be kept clean. If there is a lot of food and phlegm spilled on the ground, you can also use a broom to sweep it. If you can't sweep some things, just use your hands..."
Xu Zhaoxue's pink face changes color.
"Oh. By the way, I heard that there was insufficient preparation in advance and there were not enough toilets in the refugee area. The refugees, especially the elderly and children, might be able to deal with it on the spot. Miss Zhaoxue could also put it in a linen bag and sprinkle it on the fields.
Wash the sacks. There are still red spots on some of them..."
"Ah, that's right." Xu Zhaoxue suddenly shouted: "I almost forgot, there is a statue of Laojun in the west pavilion. I haven't gone to pray for the victims yet. I'll go right away. You go first, don't wait for me.
.”
"Don't wait for me..." Xu Zhaoxue ran away with broken steps.
Liu Zhang smiled. He turned around, waved his hand, and the whole army mounted their horses and galloped towards the southern suburbs.
…
Qu Lingchen lined up in front of the old lady's tent. Last night, there was a drunken man in the bunk next to him. He was snoring loudly and rolling around on the straw. He almost put his big hand on himself several times and blocked him several times. Qu Lingchen
I couldn't bear the dust, so I had to sit up and meditate all night.
Meditation for martial arts students is not to practice internal skills, but to regulate breathing between exhalation and inhalation, freshen the lungs, and is beneficial to health. However, the smell in the tent is really unpleasant. I have been sleepless all night, and now I am very tired.
"Is there any venison to eat today?" A familiar voice sounded from the tent nearby again, the voice of a young refugee.
"The wild ass has just laid eggs."
"Descendants of Huangxiang."
"all the best."
The young refugee and the family who gave alms behind said something else, their voices were very low, and even though Qu Lingchen had sharp ears and eyesight, he didn't hear them clearly. It seemed that besides his own group, there were people who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to harm Liu Zhang.
At this moment, Qu Lingchen heard the two men in front of him whisper: "The people in Xiangyang City are ready. Liu Zhang allowed the family to accept long-term and short-term workers. Many brothers have sneaked into the city. We are lined up in front of this old woman.
what to do?"
The old man and the old lady were busy ladling porridge and adding vegetables with their hands and feet in front of the tent.
The two men also spoke in a low voice, and ordinary people would have difficulty hearing them clearly even if they were close at hand. However, Qu Lingchen studied under a famous teacher and talked for a long time, and his ears were a little better than ordinary people, so he could barely hear the words.
Another thought for a while and said: "Then we have to take action. This old couple is really in the way. We need to find a way to solve it."
At this moment, dozens of fast horses galloped out of the city and slowed down when they arrived at the tent area. The sound of horses neighing attracted the victims. When they looked closely, they saw big "Liu" characters on the flags.
"Uncle Liu Huang is here."
"Uncle Liu Huang is here in person."
First, a few people giving porridge said a few words, and then someone shouted: "Look, everyone, Uncle Liu is here. Uncle Liu is here to see us."
Qu Lingchen recognized Yang Kai's voice. There were so many people that he didn't even know where it came from.
Then "Uncle Liu Huang is here." "Look, Uncle Liu Huang." "Wow, is this Uncle Liu Huang? He looks extraordinary at first glance. He deserves to be the reincarnation of the Red Emperor."
"Everyone, go and pay homage to Uncle Liu Huang."
The voices rose one after another, and the last voice awakened the surprised victims. When a person is in the most danger, he is most grateful to the person who gives him a helping hand at this time, not to mention a person who always thought he would not give, but did so selflessly.
The person who got it.
Some of the victims were from Xiangyang who fled to Jiangxia for refuge, and some were aborigines from Jiangxia County. However, they begged outside Jiangxia City, but never saw the cold city gate open. They even saw their relatives fainting in the rain.
Not a single one of the defenders came out.
When they arrived in Xiangyang, Uncle Liu, who was originally thought to be a murderous butcher and more ruthless than Jiangxia City Gate, actually built tents for them to live in early and prepared meals to satisfy their hunger. When these victims received clean
After sleeping in the open air for several days with clothes and hot meals in hand, many victims could not help but shed tears when they finally settled in a sheltered place.
Seeing Liu Zhang at this time, under the encouragement of thoughtful people, the gratitude in the hearts of these Xiangyang and Jiangxia people was aroused, and they all rushed towards Liu Zhang.
The order of the entire scene immediately went out of control. There was insufficient control of the troops, and they were afraid of hurting the victims. The soldiers who were intercepting the victims were instantly rushed away. Tens of thousands of victims rushed towards Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang and his soldiers hurriedly dismounted and formed an array.
These soldiers were all the elite of the Dongzhou soldiers. They were quickly and neatly arrayed, and their long shields were tightly connected. However, the number was too small. They were not really fighting. Seeing the raging torrent of refugees, they were like a drop in the ocean.
When the refugees were pouring towards Liu Zhang, a few people did not move. Yang Kai blinked at Qu Lingchen, feeling proud that he had successfully encouraged the refugees, and eager to urge Qu Lingchen to act quickly.
Qu Lingchen clenched the dagger in his sleeve and followed the flow of people. As long as he was within five steps, he could assassinate Liu Zhang on horseback with one blow.
Fifty steps, thirty steps, twenty steps.
Qu Lingchen's heart was trembling more and more violently. Some of the victims who were naked around him were excited and squeezed forward desperately. Qu Lingchen moved forward with the momentum. However, whenever those victims with crazy faces came into his eyes, Qu Lingchen
Ling Chen's heart palpitated.
"Do you really want to kill him? Do you really want to kill him at this time? What will happen to these victims?"
Qu Lingchen has never been so nervous about doing things as he is now. He keeps moving forward, but his heart keeps retreating. The palm of his hand holding the dagger behind his back is already sweating.
"I'm sorry, Liu Zhang, I'm sorry, people, just this time. The last time."
Qu Lingchen hesitated, gripped the dagger again, and with his nimble movements, he swung away from the crowd and got within ten steps.
Ten steps, nine steps, leaving other victims behind.
Eight steps.
At this moment, suddenly, the victims in front knelt down. They were the victims who had just ran to Liu Zhang. When they knelt down in front, they also knelt down in front of them. A large area knelt down in front of Qu Lingchen. An old man in front of him cried bitterly.
She shed tears, her gray hair flying with her shaking head, and she slapped her palms on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
"Uncle Liu Huang, I, Mr. Li, am sorry for you. I listened to the rich man Wang and ran to Jiangxia blindly. I didn't know that Uncle Huang is the savior of our people. My wife died in the mud because Jiangxia confiscated her.
Here, poor old man, I have a little granddaughter, and I can’t even collect my wife’s body.
When we arrived in Xiangyang, our granddaughter was also sick. At that time, the old man was still blinded by lard. He thought that the emperor's uncle would not take her in, so he waited for his granddaughter to go. My old man followed him, but he didn't expect it." Li Laosan said.
Weeping uncontrollably: "Uncle Huang not only gave our grandson clothes and warm meals, he also treated my little granddaughter's illness. I, Li Laosan, am sorry for you."
As Li Laosan said this, he kowtowed repeatedly, and a pretty girl next to him kowtowed too.
"Uncle Huang, I, Lai Tietou, once said bad things about you, saying that you were the reincarnation of the Demon King and the evil star of Jingzhou. I was just quick to talk at that time, but now I think about you, you are worse than an animal. In the end, it was Uncle Huang who saved our family's lives.
Tietou is here to kowtow to you."
"Uncle Liu Huang was reincarnated as the Red Emperor and was appointed king by destiny. From now on, we are all the subjects of Uncle Liu. As long as the emperor has his destiny, these fellow villagers and I will go through fire and water." A commoner with some culture shouted.
"Uncle Liu Huang is reincarnated as the Red Emperor, and is destined to be crowned king. Long live Uncle Liu Huang."
A large group of people knelt down in front of them, kowtowing to Liu Zhang's military formation. Liu Zhang and his soldiers were surrounded by the kowtow victims. Qu Lingchen looked around and saw that everyone around him was kneeling down. He was wearing a black gauze hat.
He was so focused that he quickly knelt down.
At this moment, for some unknown reason, Qu Lingchen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fellows." Liu Zhang looked around and shouted on his horse: "I am on behalf of the emperor to defeat the ministers, and to guard the two states of Jing and Yi. As the uncle of the Han Dynasty, all Han people, as long as I am within my ability, will
We will not let any common people suffer from cold or hunger. This is true for the people in Jiangshui, this is true for the people in Xiangjiang, and the same is true for you.
Nowadays, the emperor is in trouble, the country is divided, and national thieves are in power. As the only Han clan member among the princes in the world, how can I be indifferent when seeing the Han people in trouble? What I have to do is to preserve the last strength of the Han Dynasty in the face of rebellious officials and plunder.
What is the last strength of the Han Dynasty is you, the thousands of Han people.
Since the beginning of my official career in Jiangzhou, countless people have been killed, and the rivers are filled with blood. Why? In troubled times, heavy rituals are used. Why is the Han Dynasty divided? Why is the country in trouble? Because the world is dirty and evil people are in power. If they are not killed, the people will not be angry.
, If you don’t kill him, it won’t be enough to uphold the order of the government, and if you don’t kill him, it won’t be enough to vent the hatred of this officer. It will vent the overwhelming hatred of this officer when he sees the Han Dynasty overthrown and the people suffering.
What you heard before is correct. I, Liu Zhang, have killed countless people, and I will kill people again in the future. However, I only kill traitors and traitors. I only kill traitors. I kill people who want to gain wealth at a time when the country is in crisis, exploit the people, and eat away at the big men.
These are moths. I will kill as many of these people as I can, even if their blood fills the mighty river, I will not hesitate to do so.
If this is the case, I, Liu Zhang, will never regret it. No matter I suffer a moment of injustice or suffer a moment of infamy, I believe that the pure will become pure by themselves and the dirty will become dirty by themselves. Even if I am misunderstood by you, them, and the world today, but
Painted history books, future generations and the world will all remember that I, Liu Zhang, was the one who proved the truth for all people."
After Liu Zhang spoke impassionedly, half truthfully and half falsely, Zhang Ren drew his sword, raised his head to the sky, and said, "Promise the truth for all people!"
All Sichuan soldiers raised their spears and shouted: "Support the big man and level the country."
"Support the great man and bring peace to the country."
The sound shook the sky, and everyone turned pale after smelling it. The people who knelt down couldn't help but kowtow and shout: "Long live Uncle Liu Huang."
The people of the family in front of the soup kitchen looked at this scene in surprise. Several old men hid in the tent and slapped them hard. A boy about ten years old said to a young man with white eyebrows next to him: "Brother, have we done something wrong?"
?”
The young man with white eyebrows looked at the scene outside. He took a breath and said, "There is no right or wrong, just different ways. Remember, my brother, there is no turning back when you shoot a bow."
At this moment, Li Laosan, who was originally kneeling, suddenly got up, rushed to a tent nearby, and grabbed a middle-aged fat man in front of the soup kitchen. He suddenly saw that this was the rich man Wang who had tricked him into fleeing.
"Mr. Wang, why did you ask me to flee to Jiangxia? Why did you say bad things about Uncle Liu Huang? Now that my wife is dead and my granddaughter is suffering from illness, I want to die with you."
As he spoke, Old Man Li raised his skinny fist and hit Rich Man Wang. Under such circumstances, Rich Man Wang did not dare to fight back, and the two soldiers beside him hurriedly pulled Mr. Li away.
Liu Zhang dismounted his horse, followed by Fazheng, who was very powerful. Liu Zhang walked over under the protection of the guards and said with a smile: "When Liu Biao was in power, the rich man Wang had no choice, right? Rich man Wang?"
Liu Zhang looked at the little fat man, and Rich Man Wang was stunned for a moment. He immediately woke up, bowed to Li Laosan again and again, and said loudly: "I'm sorry, Uncle Li. I'm extremely sorry, uncle. I had no choice but to do it at the beginning.
In fact, I, Wang Gui, have known for a long time that Uncle Liu Huang is the reincarnation of the Red Emperor and is destined to be the king. He is the savior sent by God to save my great man and thousands of his people. But you also know that this arm cannot bend the thigh. Back then,
Liu Biao sent troops to threaten me to encourage you to flee, so as to weaken Uncle Liu Huang's merits and fulfill his wolfish ambitions. I have no choice but to do so."
"Uncle, please forgive Mr. Wang, don't you think he is here to give porridge? It shows that he still has a heart of repentance."
Rich Man Wang was deeply moved by Liu Zhang's support, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Liu Biao's family, Liu Biao has done many evil things, Liu Qi sent troops to rob Jingnan, Liu Cong even killed his father and was unfilial, the whole family is a big villain, I, Wang Guiren,
After so many years, now Uncle Liu Huang is here and he has finally turned around."
Wang Gui took a deep breath as he spoke, feeling extremely relieved and relieved.
"I was forced to do it back then."
"Me too."
"Me too."
Seeing that the people of the former Xiangyang were searching for those who deceived them, the rich, landlords and gentry all expressed their opinions one after another, "Liu Biao is an evil thief, father and son are all the same, royal scum, and big man worms." The voices kept coming and going.
Fazheng said loudly to the victims in a calm voice: "You have all seen it. What you saw and heard back then were all maliciously fabricated by Liu Biao in order to confront my lord. Liu Biao had sinister intentions and caused this.
Difficulties today.
There are traitors in the world today. Although Liu Biao has been eliminated, there are still countless Liu Biao. You also tell your relatives in other places and Jingyi Prefecture not to listen to the words of the family, otherwise you will harm others and yourself."
"Yes, yes, yes." All the clansmen agreed, and those in front of the tents lined up and bowed their hands to Liu Zhang: "From today on, we will swear allegiance to Uncle Liu to the death and forgive our past sins. If there is any betrayal, thousands of arrows will pierce our hearts.
"
Liu Zhang smiled in his heart, raised his head, and said with emotion: "Okay, all of you are loyal and patriotic people. I hope you will remember what you said today and be consistent. Otherwise, even if I spare you, these people will not let you go."
Pass you."
When all the family members saw Liu Zhang's cold face, they all looked solemn and felt awe-inspiring in their hearts.
"Yes Yes."
"Don't dare, don't dare."
Liu Zhang turned to all the people and said: "The mud is dirty. Everyone, please get up. The fact that these aristocratic families came out to provide disaster relief under the call of my official shows that they have a repentant heart. In the past, it was all under Liu Biao's instructions. You don't have to worry about it. You first
If you live here, I, Liu Zhang, promise to let you live and work in peace and contentment in the shortest possible time, with soil to cultivate, land to plant, and grain to harvest, how about that?"
"Long live Uncle Liu Huang."
After the people knelt down and worshiped, they dispersed under the guidance of the soldiers and lined up. Qu Lingchen also stood up. Qu Lingchen did not have any political intentions, but he would not believe officials' words and only believed what he saw.
But in front of me, Liu Zhang is indeed doing real things for the people. At least he prevents them from sleeping in the wilderness or chewing tree bark. He gives them a place to live and settle down. If it is true as promised, these people can live and work in peace and contentment, with soil to farm and crops to grow.
Land can be planted and food can be harvested, which is undoubtedly a great merit.
Doesn’t it seem too selfish for such an official to assassinate someone for his own personal vendetta?
"But forget it, the assassination failed anyway." Qu Lingchen felt relieved and returned to the queue. At this moment, there was a sudden noise in the front.
"Damn old woman, look at the porridge you served. There's still chaff floating on it. It's yellow like shit."
The young refugee slammed the porridge bowl on the table and the porridge spilled all over the table.
"That's right, do you look down on us refugees?" Another young man echoed: "Look at the porridge they give out, it's all white rice. Look at yours, it has more bran than rice, and it's still wild vegetables. Why are poor people pretending to be big?
Garlic, if you are poor, go back and don’t embarrass yourself here.”
Everyone around me looked unhappy.
The old lady hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we, we didn't mean it."
The old man on the side also said apologetically: "My family is poor, and we only have these chaff rice. Please bear with us. We just want to show our respect to Uncle Liu Huang and General Fan. We really didn't use the chaff rice on purpose."
The old man laughed honestly a few times and looked at the bowl of rice. There wasn't much rice left in it. There was only one layer. He couldn't avoid the chaff on it no matter what. He could only turn around and shout: "Daughter-in-law, put a bowl of white rice in it."
Take out the porridge and pick out the chaff."
"Yeah, okay." A woman inside agreed crisply.
The man went back to pick rice, and his wife wanted to take care of the pot. She called her youngest son, who was about seven or eight years old, who was sorting wild vegetables, and brought out a trembling bowl of white porridge.
Qu Lingchen shook his head. These two young men clearly did not want to receive food in front of this tent. No matter what the old man and the old lady did, it was of no avail.
The old lady quickly took the rice porridge and handed it to the young man with a smile on her face. Unexpectedly, the young man stretched out his hand and knocked it over on the table. The hot rice porridge suddenly spilled on the arm of the old man who was cleaning the table, causing the old man to rush.
Withdrawing his hand, there was a large area of red on it, and he quickly sucked it with his mouth.
"Are you deliberately amusing us and treating us refugees as beggars? Look at that child, he has a dirty face. He hasn't washed his face or hands in a few days? He was picking vegetables just now. When he was carrying the bowl,
You’ve inserted your fingers inside, how else do you want me to eat?”
"It's just too much. Look at the stain on that bowl." Another young man asked.
The commotion here suddenly attracted the surrounding refugees, who gathered around and pointed at the two young men, all of whom were very dissatisfied.
"Oh, look at it." The young man suddenly noticed the old man sucking the skinny hand: "Do you think you are disgusting or not? Who would dare to eat a bowl that a person like you has taken? You mean it?"
Does it disgust us? No, we have to change the porridge shed and no longer receive porridge here."
"That's right, we want to change."
The excessive behavior of the two young men caused a commotion among the people, and the discussion became louder and louder. They were all blaming the two young men, but the two young men gritted their teeth and looked at the old man and the old lady dissatisfied.
The movement attracted the attention of Liu Zhang not far away. Liu Zhang was chatting with Huang Yueying in Huang Yueying's tent. This ugly girl was so eye-catching no matter where she was, but people dared not look directly at her.
Hearing the noise at this time, he rushed over with his own soldiers. Yang Kai, who was in the crowd and was depressed about the failure of the assassination. When he saw this, he immediately found the opportunity. When he saw Liu Zhang and his soldiers separated from the crowd, he immediately shouted, "Everyone
Come and see, there are two idiots here, insulting the old lady who is giving out porridge, they are completely unconscionable, and everyone is angry."
"Yes, everyone, come and see, come and see the idiot." Other people under Wu Jun's command also shouted.
The sound spread far away, and the surrounding people started to stir again, and gathered around the old man and old lady. Qu Lingchen saw Yang Kai giving him a proud look, and saw Liu Zhang about to step in, and his heart suddenly lifted.