The north wind carried fine snow particles, making the treetops rustle.
The leaves haven't had time to fall yet, and some branches even have a hint of residual green. However, this first snow fell indifferently.
Almost overnight, winter was announced.
The north wind is not strong, but it is as cold as a small knife, which can penetrate through armor and winter clothes and dig into the seams of people's bones.
The snow can't be considered heavy, and it's not as light as fluttering goose feathers. It's like frozen raindrops or hailstones the size of sand, thin and dense, endless.
This kind of snow, commonly known as "graupel" north of the Yellow River, is the most torturous.
As the saying goes, if it doesn't snow, it will become cold. If the heavy snow does not melt, it will have a certain insulation effect and will not even condense into ice easily.
However, graupel melts as it falls, quickly taking away the heat and distributing chill. It freezes all the remaining green on the treetops and fields, making people shiver with cold.
In this kind of weather, families with houses to protect them from the wind and rain and charcoal pots for heating can still survive. But the people who have just fled to the south of the Yellow River are in miserable condition.
The snow had not stopped overnight, and more than 300 corpses were found in Huazhou City alone. And they were not too old. It was just that they had no relatives or friends in the city to seek refuge with, and the clothes they were wearing were not taken with them because they had fled in a hurry.
foot.
And the number of people who were blocked by the officers and soldiers from entering the city and disturbing the officials of the Song Dynasty was more than 100,000?
Most people simply built a straw shed on the south side of the city wall to block the increasingly cold north wind. They also relied on the government's temporary porridge shed to provide two meals a day.
Suddenly, they were showered with snow all night long. How could the victims survive without enough food in their stomachs?
Before the government could open the city gates to hand out breakfast porridge the next morning, many of the victims, who were slightly weak, fell into the mud with their eyes wide open.
Yin Fang, the prefect of Huazhou, still had his conscience and discovered that a large number of people were freezing to death inside and outside the city. He quickly organized his subordinates to gather the corpses for burial to avoid causing a plague. At the same time, he hurried to his original state government office, which is now the temporary palace of the Song Dynasty officials.
, begging to see Zhao Heng and complaining in person.
Zhao Heng, an official of the Song Dynasty, couldn't stand the snowy weather. Even though he was wrapped in a thick brocade mink fur and sitting in front of a silver charcoal stove, he was still so cold that he couldn't straighten his back.
After listening to Prefect Yin's plea, Zhao Heng felt even more chilled to his bones. He frowned and pondered for a long time, and then asked in a low voice to the people around him, "Liu Chenggui, go check how much food is left in the official treasury, and whether it is enough to meet the needs of the front line for half a month.
If there is enough, take out the extra food and increase the amount of porridge. Let the people eat more, and then arrange for someone to take them south. I remember that Wang Qinruo said that the winter in Suzhou should be warm.
There are many, and the people are rich, so people will not starve to death easily."
"I obey the order!" Dou Shenbao stepped forward and bowed to accept the order. Then he motioned with his eyes to Taishou Yin to follow him and not to cause any more trouble to the officials.
Zhao Heng was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the inner team he had always relied on knew that Liu Chenggui was still on the verge of life and death because he was burned by the fire.
Although Dou Shenbao is also a veteran who has been on the battlefield and is loyal to him, his ability is far behind Liu Chenggui. He can't do it. When he mentions the amount of military rations, he immediately counts them all.
A hint of regret quickly passed through Zhao Heng's heart. If he had known that Liu Chenggui was so inflexible and would rather burn himself than protect Concubine Liu and his son from escaping the imperial city for the future, he would definitely not have sent this person.
People go back and sit in charge.
At the same time, the hatred for Zhao Yuanfen in his heart became deeper and stronger.
Obviously, he should have solved the serious problem of Kaifeng Mansion first, and then it was his turn to attack the imperial city. But at that time, he almost "dropped from the sky" with a large group of troops.
Who would have thought that Zhao Yuanfen, an idiot, would leave Kaifeng Mansion alone as a thorn in his side and attack Xuande Gate at all costs...
"The official family is generous, and most of the people who fled did not bring winter clothes. Even if they have a full stomach, if they continue to walk south in this weather, many people will freeze to death on the road." Just as Zhao Heng was so angry that he secretly gritted his teeth.
At this moment, Prefect Yin Fang's voice rang in his ears at an inappropriate time.
"If you don't have any clothes, we'll work with you to find a solution. Don't bother the officials anymore with this little thing. The officials have a lot to deal with every day. If we need to personally deal with even this little thing, we and you guys with humerus have to deal with it."
What are you doing?" Dou Shenbao's voice sounded immediately, very low, but just enough to be heard by Zhao Heng.
This is where Dou Shenbao is not as good as Liu Chenggui in the second category, although he also has good intentions.
Zhao Heng sighed quietly and ordered in a low voice, "Dou Douzhi, please step aside first and let Governor Yin finish what he has to say. He is a local official and he knows the local situation far better than you and I do!"
"I obey the order!" Dou Shenbao trembled in his heart and quickly released his fingers from Yin Fang's arm.
"Thank you so much, officials." The prefect Yin Fang was a literary scholar with a weak body. He felt a faint pain from being caught by Dou Shenbao, but he didn't bother to argue with this man. He quickly bowed and saluted Zhao Heng again, and then whispered, "If
Without enough clothing and tents to keep out the cold, many people would fall ill even if they had enough food to eat. If a plague occurred, it would spread wherever it went. Therefore, Wei Chen thought that even if he moved south, he would have to wait until next spring at least.
After that, and now, it is better to place the victims nearby in several prefectures and cities along the Yellow River..."
"Place them nearby. Didn't you just say that many victims froze to death in the city?" Zhao Heng frowned and retorted in a low voice.
"That's because the cold wave came too quickly and the victims had nowhere to hide. Although it was cold inside the city, the city wall was there to block it." Yin Fang reacted quickly and immediately gave an explanation and answer, "In addition, if the official
The family issued an order to free up Taoist temples, temples, and official schools, and then asked the big families in the city to donate livestock sheds and empty houses, or mobilize some tents from the army..."
Huazhou is not a big city, but there are many sons and nephews of wealthy families in the city. They all fled a few months ago on the pretext of visiting relatives and friends to avoid the war.
Therefore, there are actually many empty houses in the city, but the owners of the houses are either rich or noble, and the victims cannot break through the obstruction of the slaves and enter to avoid the cold.
The reason why a large number of victims gathered outside the city was because the imperial court was worried that Liao Xizuo would mix among the victims and assassinate officials of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, only a small number of victims were allowed into the city, and most of them were kept out of the city gate.
.
If Yin Fang's method is followed and another 50,000 disaster victims are resettled in Huazhou City, it shouldn't be a big problem. Several other nearby cities also follow the same plan, and most of the victims will have the opportunity to be dispersed and resettled in the city to endure the winter without being frozen.
The number of people who die or die of illness on the road will be much reduced.
However, Zhao Heng listened to his suggestion, but did not respond for a long time. It was not until Yin Fang became impatient and raised his hand to add a new reason. Zhao Heng coughed and shook his head, "Ahem, cough, what Yin Qing said is not true.
It makes no sense. However, I can temporarily divert some of the military rations for emergency use. If we use military rations to help the people for several months in a row, how will the rear be able to supply them? Therefore, in the long run, it is better to evacuate them southward in time. In this way, I
Then issue an order to ask the wealthy families in the city to donate some clothes, and then transfer 3,000 tents from the army. You and Dou know both, and we will discuss the matter."
When Yin Fang heard this, he was like a basin of ice water, poured directly into the pit of his heart. Just as he was about to argue, he heard a guard on duty loudly announced, "I am reporting to the official family, Shengzhou Prefect Liu Yuan, I am worried
The army was short of food, so he personally escorted 100 meters and 100,000 stones to Huazhou. Wang Qinruo, the political counselor, was grateful for his hard work and specially brought him to see him." (Note: Shengzhou is now Nanjing.)
