Author: Mo Se Jiangnan

Outside the north gate of Datong Prefecture, tens of thousands of victims were sniping at them.

In fact, not only the north gate, but also the four city gates of Datong are now full of disaster victims.

Moreover, thousands of disaster victims gather from various places in Datong Prefecture towards Fucheng every day.

Although these victims also know that the entire Datong area is now covered in red land.

Even if you come to Fucheng, it may not be of any use.

But for them, there is no other choice but to come here.

"Work harder, we'll reach Fucheng in three or four miles." Someone in the crowd said hard.

"As long as we get to Fucheng, we can always get something to eat. Don't worry, it's impossible for the government to just watch us starve to death."

It is estimated that the people who say these words do not believe what they say.

However, if they don't give themselves a little hope at this time, they simply won't be able to survive.

And not everything they said was lies.

Even the brutal Mongolian Yuan Dynasty would provide disaster relief during famine years.

Of course, the purpose of Meng Yuan's disaster relief was not to save the people.

Rather, it is this kind of huge famine that is the most likely to cause riots.

People who really can't survive can do anything.

However, as long as you give them a little bit of food, barely enough to keep them alive, the people will become much more honest.

Rather than deploying a large army to suppress the rebellion, giving some food to the people who are about to die is undoubtedly the best choice.

Of course, all of this has a prerequisite.

That is, the court can at least maintain a basic operation.

By the late Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, the entire imperial court had become a paradise for corrupt officials.

Even if the court really wants to provide disaster relief, the food for disaster relief cannot reach the hands of the people at all.

Under layers of deductions, those at the bottom have no hope of filling their stomachs.

That's why there is a stone man with one eye, dancing in the Yellow River and the world reacting.

Rebel armies from all walks of life rose up, and Meng Yuan was completely driven out of the Central Plains.

Therefore, no matter how bad the court is, whenever possible, it will try its best to ensure that the people will not starve to death.

What's more, today's Ming Dynasty has just been founded and is officially prospering.

No matter what, it's better to go to a big city than to be in a village where they eat all the bark and leaves of the surrounding trees and can't find anything to eat, right?

The common people supported the old and the young, with empty eyes, just walking towards Datong Mansion indifferently.

In fact, many of them have experienced famine.

According to their past experience, the government will indeed provide disaster relief.

However, the government's relief is not unlimited.

When there was plenty of food, they could drink some fairly viscous gruel every day.

However, if food is tight, they can only drink some rice soup with almost no rice visible.

If there was less food, I might not even have rice soup to drink.

At this time, if they still have the strength, they will go to the next place to see if they can find something to eat.

If you don't even have the strength to walk.

There is actually only one fate waiting for them, and that is starvation.

Originally, even when they arrived in Fucheng, they were just like all refugees, using the sky as their bed and the earth as their bed.

Just like a beggar, struggling to survive outside the city.

Although the people in the capital will give away food, they will also guard against them like thieves.

In most cases, they, the victims, are absolutely not allowed to step into the city.

Apart from giving away food, those officials would not do much, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Only this time, the situation is a little different.

Just when they were about to see the city walls of Datong City, a voice attracted all of their attention.

"We're hiring, we're hiring, we're paying thirty cents a day, and we'll take care of a meal!"

"If you want to eat enough by your own strength, come here!"

On a small dirt bag, there was a man holding a trumpet made of iron sheets and shouting at the top of his lungs.

His voice spread so far away that it was hard not to notice.

At this time, many people were already standing under the hill.

These people were all in ragged clothes, with yellow faces and thin muscles.

You don't need to ask to know that they must be refugees from the disaster near Datong Prefecture.

Someone reluctantly yelled and asked: "Sir, it's not that we don't want to support ourselves with our own strength."

"It's just that we have been hungry for so many days now, and our hands are too weak to do any work at all."

For these refugees, some things are simply unsolvable.

It's not that many of them don't want to put in their efforts.

But what they are facing now is an unprecedented drought.

On the way to Datong, they had eaten up everything they could eat.

But even so, those things still can't fill their stomachs.

After being hungry for so long, they can hardly even stand here, let alone do any physical work.

The recruiter held up a loudspeaker and tried to explain to them.

"You don't have to worry about this. No matter what job you go to, you don't have to do any heavy work two days before the start of the job."

"And, we will also provide you with three meals a day for free."

Upon hearing this, there was a buzzing discussion among the fleeing people below.

"Did I hear you right? You don't have to do any heavy work, but you still have to take care of three meals a day?"

"It must be a lie. How can there be such a good thing in the world?"

"I heard from people of the older generation that when the Mongols conquered the world, they called us Han people two-legged sheep. This means that we are actually similar to sheep. After the sheep are fattened, they have to be killed for meat.

.”

"No wonder he's so nice to us, he actually wants to eat us!"

We can't blame these fleeing people for thinking too much.

The welfare package was really so good that they couldn't believe it.

Now is the time of famine, and food is simply more precious than gold.

At this time, someone is willing to give them food for free.

Of course, it is not free, but requires them to work.

But in the eyes of these people, this is no different from free?

There must be some ulterior motive for being so nice to them.

The person who stood on the small soil bag to recruit workers was actually an official from Datong.

Hearing these words from the common people, I immediately felt dumbfounded.

It was good for them, but it turned out that something went wrong.

However, this is not the first time he has encountered this situation, and he is quite experienced in handling it.

He didn’t make any pretense and went straight to the point: “Fellow folks, you don’t have to worry. We are looking for you to work on behalf of the imperial court.”

"Don't think that the imperial court is doing you a favor. The reason why they give you food is just to build up your strength so that you can work better."

Although these words were all about Hong Guoguo's interests, the people finally listened.

To put it bluntly, they just don't believe that someone would be so kind to them for no reason.

Now that they have a purpose, they feel relieved.

When the Datong official who recruited workers saw this, he immediately continued to persuade: "What's more, there are so many people coming to Datong this time. If the imperial court really wants to do such a thing, how can it be hidden from everyone in the world?"

The people looked at each other in shock, feeling more and more that what the official said made sense.

Of course, the reason for this is that the people are at the end of their rope.
To be continued...