Shunchang County has become a sea of white at this moment.
Licun is more than ten miles outside the city. There are more than 300 households in the village, and most of the houses have collapsed.
Dai Xian's family huddled outside the collapsed house, shivering.
The eldest son, who is eleven years old, is holding his two-year-old sister, and his wife, Chen, is supporting the old mother when she comes back from the ruins of the kitchen with half a bag of food in her hands.
"Chop wood and burn!"
Cun Zheng shouted outside, "Chop your own wood."
But most of the villagers have mud houses, and only the beams are made of wood.
Moreover, the beams are buried underneath and are difficult to get out.
Dai Xian only pulled a few times and couldn't stand it anymore. He gritted his teeth and persisted. When his hands were red and swollen, Chen came. The couple finally cleared a section, but how to chop?
Finally we got some firewood, and after lighting it, the whole family gathered around. My mother got a clay pot to cook the batter, but my wife had frostbite on her hands from previous work.
The gain outweighs the loss!
But seeing the color on the faces of his mother and two children, Dai Xian felt it was worth it.
However, these wood will not burn for long.
On the second day, when the last spark went out, Dai Xian despaired.
He went to the village to ask for help.
But which family is better than others?
"Five old people froze to death last night."
Muramasa Liangshu's face was livid, and his hands were red and swollen.
"Muramasa, if this continues, most of us will freeze to death tonight!"
A villager whimpered.
"yes!"
"The snow is so thick on the ground. Without firewood, how can we still eat wheat flour raw?"
"Without anything in your belly, you will freeze to death faster."
"Shut up, everyone!"
Liang Shu stopped everyone, but in an instant he himself was trembling with cold, "This matter...who will go to the county to ask for help?"
An old man said: "Mr. Ma, there is nothing the county can do!"
"Yes! That year there was a natural disaster here, and the county was hiding from it. Who cares?"
"Muramasa, we can only save ourselves!"
A villager ran over and said, "The village leader, Wang Laowu's mother... has gone."
Liang Shu stamped his feet, "Hey! What a wretched world! Why don't you give us poor people a way to survive!"
Dai Xian said: "Murmasa, if you continue to endure this, I'm afraid there won't be many people left in the village tomorrow."
It's useless to have a house. Without firewood, it's a death in such cold conditions.
Liang Shu stamped his feet, "Mother, where can I find firewood at this time of year?"
Under normal circumstances, villagers will squat at home to spend the winter in winter. The word "cooking" here is not a complimentary word for comfort, but a derogatory term.
Nest, it explains the truth inside.
The whole family huddles at home, covering themselves with quilts when nothing happens, and trying not to move. In this way, the consumption is small and the hunger is slow.
This is Wo Dong.
An old man said: "I see, hurry up and go home. Take a look at the situation at home. Get ready for everything that needs to be prepared."
Someone asked: "What are you preparing for?"
The old man said: "Prepare something for yourself to hold the body. Otherwise, when the government comes to collect the body, there won't even be a torn mat, so it would be unseemly to just throw the person into a pit."
The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.
Dai first thought of his mother, and then of his children.
I am getting older. If I and my wife go there, our two children will not be able to bear it.
In this way, the whole family was wiped out.
He couldn't help but choked up.
When he cried, he infected many people.
The young people cried, the old people cried, and finally Liang Shu, the village leader, also had tears in his eyes, "I am incompetent and can't help everyone. Look outside, it's completely white, where can we go? We can live in the village for a while longer."
It's early enough to talk to your family if you have anything to say.
Until next time, it will be underground.
This guy died so quickly that he couldn't even catch up.
Go back! Go back, everyone!"
Everyone stood up.
Someone said: "Muramasa, I seem to have heard that there is a drum god."
"What do you mean?" Liang Shu's eyes lit up.
In this desperate time, he was willing to try anything that could bring a glimmer of hope.
"It is said that the drum god can protect us."
"oh!"
The villagers came back again, all huddled together, stamping their feet and shrinking their necks.
"Talk about it."
The villager put his hands in his sleeves and sniffed, "The natural disasters this year are caused by someone going against the grain. As long as we can..."
"Who?" Liang Shu asked.
"Say... deputy envoy."
"Dog thief!"
Liang Shu rushed over and punched the villagers, while the villagers lay on the ground and howled, "That's what they said."
Liang Shu gasped, looked at the villagers with different expressions, and said: "Without the deputy envoy, how could we have a good life? Without the deputy envoy, how could we dare to open up wasteland? Without the deputy envoy, how could we survive this life?"
As a human being, you must be conscientious!"
A villager shouted: "The village leader and deputy envoy are good, but now we are all going to die!"
"Yes! What's the harm in believing in that big drum god? He might be able to save us."
"yes!"
"What does the drum god look like? How to pray?"
Liang Shu scolded: "That's an obscene sacrifice!"
"Sacrifice to those who are obscene and worthy of sacrifice, and those who can help those in distress should be sacrificed well!"
"That's the truth!"
Dai Xian was hesitant. He was very grateful to the deputy envoy. Without the deputy envoy, his family's harvest would not have been that big this year.
But what if the drum god can really bless a family?
Then should I listen to the drum god or the deputy envoy?
At one moment he felt that he should believe it, and at another moment he felt that he should not believe it.
Liang Shu saw that something was wrong, pointed outside and shouted: "If you believe in such evil spirits, the government will come to arrest you!"
But his last resort was laughed at.
"The government, where is the government?"
"Yes! We are all about to die. Those great men are still sleeping at home warming their beds, with their beautiful maids warming their bodies beside them, and they have good wine when they wake up. What do we have?"
Dai Xian was suddenly startled and rubbed his eyes, "Hey! Muramasa, Muramasa!"
"Shouting the soul!"
Liang Shu was getting angry.
"Look, then...is that a human being?"
Liang Shu's eyes were shaken by the snow for a long time and were a little blurry. He rubbed them and looked again.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Everyone was happy to hear him and went to the entrance of the village.
There is such a crowd!
I was huddled at the entrance of the village, watching the black shadow in the distance, heading this way.
"There is a horse!"
"There's a big car!"
"There are many more sergeants."
"Muramasa!" Dai Xian was so happy that he was going crazy, jumping up and down, pointing at those people and shouting: "The government is coming, the government is coming!"
He didn't know when he burst into tears.
Look at everyone, everyone is like this, cheering, jumping for joy, and wiping tears from time to time.
More than ten large vehicles and hundreds of sergeants.
Most of them were actually cavalry.
Have all the cavalry from Shunchang County come here?
While everyone is happy, they are inevitably confused.
Song Bo, the county lieutenant of Shunchang County, is in front.
Muramasa saw him and said happily: "It's Mr. Song who is here."
Song Bo turned sideways and said very respectfully: "Deputy envoy, this is Licun."
The young man came up.
The plainclothes man, with a smile on his face? Pulled down and said, "It's not too late!"
"Deputy...deputy envoy?"
Muramasa looked at the fierce men behind the young man, got excited, knelt down and said, "I've seen the deputy envoy."
The deputy envoy actually came to our village?
The villagers couldn't believe it, and Liang Shu cursed: "You're still not polite?"
Yang Xuan shook his head, "No need."
He didn't have that thought at this time.
"What a deputy envoy!"
An old man knelt down and cried loudly, "The deputy envoy is here, the deputy envoy is here, we can be saved!"
Yang Xuan went over to help him up, "I'm late."
The old man cried uncontrollably, "It's not too late, it's not too late!"
Dai Xian looked at Yang Xuan, knelt down, and shouted nervously: "Deputy envoy, we are going to freeze to death."
"I know, so I came."
Yang Xuan turned around and said, "The cart is full of firewood. Move it home quickly. Every household... Where is Muramasa?"
"The villain is here." Liang Shu got up and limped over.
"Being able to stabilize the village shows that you have a high prestige. Distribute firewood to each household."
"yes!"
Dai first got his own firewood, carried it and ran away.
"Quick, make a fire!"
When Mrs. Chen saw him coming back with a bundle of firewood, she came over to help and asked, "Where did it come from?"
"Is the master here?"
Dai turned around first and knelt down, "Quick, everyone kneels down."
Yang Xuan came in and said, "Everyone, get up."
Dai got up first and supported his mother, "Mom, this is the deputy envoy."
"What?"
"Deputy Envoy, Deputy Envoy Yang from Tao County."
The whole family suddenly became panicked.
"Du Ansheng, I'll come and take a look."
Yang Xuan looked at the situation of the Dai family. They had food, but the biggest problems were two.
"Firewood and a house. Without firewood, a family will die of cold and hunger. Without a house, firewood is wasted." Dai Xian said respectfully.
"Don't worry, these will be solved."
Yang Xuan touched the child's forehead and found that it was okay and there was no fever.
He left Dai's house and visited several other houses, and he got a good idea of the situation of the people affected by the snow disaster.
He called Song Bo.
“I brought a lot of sergeants with me on this trip, and there will be more to follow.
I took a look and found that what the people need most now is firewood, followed by rebuilding their homes.
If there is firewood anywhere in the area, go find a guide and take the soldiers to chop wood. Then rebuild your home."
Groups of sergeants followed the local guides and walked into the mountains.
Large cars came from all directions.
"This is……"
The Dai family received several more bundles of firewood. Looking at the soldiers whose hands were red and swollen from the cold, he warmly invited them to come to his home to warm themselves by the fire.
"No."
The sergeants were very well-behaved and even ate outside.
"The pigs at home are frozen to death, let's eat them together!"
Liang Shu came to invite the sergeants to the village for dinner on behalf of the villagers.
"No."
The general leading the team said: "The deputy envoy has an order. Normally, the people support us and we protect the people. Today, when the people are in trouble, we should take action."
On the second day, a group of sergeants entered the village.
"Clean the rubble and get out the valuables."
Dai Xian's family watched the soldiers cleaning up the ruins of their home, piling furniture and other items beside them from time to time.
The old mother asked worriedly: "How much do you want to pay?"
Dai Xian shook his head, "I don't know."
Mrs. Chen went over and asked with an apologetic smile: "May I ask, how much does it cost to do something like this?"
A sergeant turned around and said, "No money."
"ah!"
Liang Shu came to inspect and saw this and said: "The deputy envoy said that we are all one family and don't talk about two families!"
The old mother trembled and said, "My wife, go and boil the water. I will get some wheat flour and I will make a paste."
A clay pot of batter was ready, and the old mother scooped out a few bowls and sent them over tremblingly.
"We can't eat it!" the sergeant refused.
This is the rule.
Dai Xian's mother stared at her, "We all said that we are one family and don't talk about two families. Why are we separated now?"
The sergeant was dumbfounded, "This..."
Yang Xuan stood outside the village, and news kept coming.
"Deputy envoy, the local government offices are in place and the garrisons are in place."
"good!"
Yang Xuan turned around, looked at the smoke in the village, and said, "Second brother."
"Why!"
Wang Laoer was busy and had frostbite on his ears. The old thief laughed at him for wasting his practice, so he came over rubbing his ears.
"Go to Taoxian County and tell your wife to take the lead."
"yes."
"Deputy...Deputy Ambassador."
Behind him, there was the timid voice of a little girl.
Yang Xuan turned around and saw a four or five-year-old girl holding a coarse porcelain bowl in both hands. The pancakes in the bowl were still steaming.
The girl looked up at him and said, "Deputy envoy, here you go."
Yang Xuan looked up and saw a woman standing in front of him. When he looked over, the woman was blessed.
Yang Xuan leaned over and smiled, "Why are you feeding me?"
The girl holds the porcelain bowl high.
There was more joy in a pair of pure eyes.
"Thank you."
…
Taoxian County.
When Wang Laoer arrived, he happened to encounter the city giving porridge.
Seeing how cold he was, the porridge man shrank and said, "Second brother, have a bowl to warm yourself up."
"No shame in drinking!"
Wang Laoer rode his horse to Yang's house.
Zhou Ning got the news and said, "It has been prepared for a long time."
Then the door of Yang's house opened.
Large carts drove out, loaded with money and food.
Lin Qian and Sun Xian were walking around on the street. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere, Lin Qian said, "Taoxian County does have some charm."
Sun Xian said: "This has always been the case. The world is hungry and cold, but Chang'an will not. Otherwise, the emperor will not be able to sit still.
The same is true for Northern Xinjiang. If Northern Xinjiang is in chaos, Taoxian will not do so, otherwise the Jiedushi Palace will be burned down by the people."
"Yang Gou said he was going on inspection, and he never came back. Don't be... beaten to death by the people!"
"He has good hands around him. Who can kill him? He has just taken over Northern Xinjiang. If countless people down there freeze and starve to death, I bet that he will be in a state of distress next spring."
"Hey! Whose big car is that? Are you moving or something?"
Large cars passed by slowly.
Ahead is the Jiedushi Mansion.
The money and food on the carriage attracted attention.
The leading cart stopped in front of the gate of the Jiedushi Mansion, and the officials came out.
As soon as he rode up, it was Zhang Xu.
He has a majestic body and a loud voice.
"My wife said that auspicious snow heralds a good year, but it can also cause disasters from time to time.
We enjoy food and warmth at home, one is to dedicate to the people, and the other is to protect the soldiers.
There is no love for natural disasters. On this occasion, we, the housebound women, can't do much, so we sorted out the money and food at home and donated it to the Jiedushi government. We hope to handle it properly and help the victims."
Large trucks began to unload.
The pedestrians stopped and watched quietly.
Lin Qian gritted her teeth and said, "Pretending."
Sun Xian shook his head, "What are you trying to do, set an example? But whose money was picked up for free, why should I give it to him? It's a dream!"
Among the crowd, someone slowly walked out.
He took out his money bag and put it on the steps, turned around and left.
The officials who came out to hand over were stunned for a moment, and a junior official asked: "What are you..."
The man didn't turn around and said: "There is no love for natural disasters."
A woman came over, took off the silver hairpin from her head, put it next to the money bag, pressed her hair with one hand, turned around and left.
A person comes up, maybe a few pennies, or jewelry...
When a child placed his half-eaten pancake on the steps, an official couldn't help but put his money bag beside him.
Liu Qing thought of Yang Xuan's words: I want to take this opportunity to make a difference to the world!
He took off his money bag and walked over slowly.
Put it on the steps.
Looking up, he saw more and more people and more and more carts heading towards the Jiedushi Mansion.
"Some people say that Zitai wants to win over the people, but they are wrong. What Zitai wants is not just the people's hearts, but... the unity of all people!"
"The snow has stopped! The sun has come out!"
Someone is cheering.
Liu Qing looked up.
The snow stopped quietly at some point. The sun broke through the haze and shone brightly on the city.