Zhong Jinwei didn't know about the misfortune of the great traitor's family, otherwise he would have laughed, drank and celebrated. He wished that all the traitors in the world would be like the great traitor Fan, and let's see how many people would be willing to become traitors again.
After resting for a night, he led the army to escort the leader of the peasant army, and headed for Yulin Town with military pay and businessmen.
Because there were not so many prison cars, the leaders of the peasant army were simply tied up and thrown into a few large cars without having to walk. Zhong Jinwei solved a big problem in the Ming Dynasty and was in a particularly happy mood. This is really an eye-opener for God.
He led the white-poled army to encounter the peasant army who was fleeing and preparing to flee to Shanxi. The benefits brought by him were greater than the five million in later generations.
He walked for a while, thinking about the peasant army, and suddenly had the idea of interviewing the leaders of the peasant army, so he ran to the front of the team.
Although these peasant army leaders were not gagged, they did not speak. No one could blame anyone for what happened yesterday. They could only lament their own bad luck.
If they were not captured, then those leaders who surrendered to the Ming army would basically have a way to survive, even if they were Governor Yang, as long as they did not encounter that Hong Shatou. There is a precedent for this.
But now they are defeated and captured. In this case, they will definitely die. They just don't know how to die and where to die, these are the details.
No one feels good if they know they are going to die.
Just when they were each feeling depressed, they heard the sound of horse hooves coming from behind, and they all subconsciously turned their heads to look.
They saw Marquis Zhongxing leading his group of guards towards them, still smiling, which made them particularly dazzled, so they all turned around and stopped looking at that face.
As expected, the sound of horse hooves turned to a steady "de" sound when they reached their side, and then came a "Good morning" greeting.
The leaders of the peasant army looked at each other, feeling a little speechless. Is this sarcasm? None of them turned their heads to pay attention to him. Zhong Jinwei felt bored, but he thought about it. If he were one of them, he would probably
I won't pay attention to it.
So, he was quiet for a while and then said: "I asked you why you chose the path of rebellion. If there is nothing to eat in the fields, go to the mountains to find food. If there is nothing to eat in the mountains, go to the river to find food. There is no food here.
Just look for food in another place. If the government does not provide disaster relief, it will go to the next place. You can always find food. If not, you can learn from Shanxi merchants and do some business and make money in exchange for some food. No matter what, it is better than rebelling.
, do you know that you are causing harm to other people by wandering around?"
Zhao Sheng, the lamplighter, was not stunned when he heard this. He sneered and said: "The wine and meat of the Zhumen are smelly, and there are people freezing to death on the road. How can you, a dog official, know the suffering of the people? You can stand and talk without pain in your back!"
Gu Baichuan listened next to Zhong Jinwei and scolded: "Don't be rude."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this Tang poem that Dian Dengzi said, he thought of the resentment he felt towards those dignitaries when he read it in the textbook when he was a child, but he didn't expect that now it would be used against him.
He was not annoyed and continued to ask: "I know that the drought in Shaanxi is serious, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes. I really don't know. How about you tell me?"
At this time, not only Li Dengzi was looking at Zhong Jinwei, but many people turned their heads and looked over. From Zhong Jinwei's tone, they could not feel the condescension and indifference of the officials they met before.
Dian Dengzi looked at Zhong Jinwei's sincere face, felt his sincerity, and felt a little better, so he said: "In Sinmin's hometown, there has been almost no rain in the past few years, the grass and trees are withered, and the fields have no harvest. I have begun to look forward to it.
We borrowed some money and food from rich people to survive the famine years. But who would have thought that God has no eyes and there has been no rain. Your official opened his mouth and said that we would go up the mountains and down the river to get food. Do you think we are stupid?"
When Zhong Jinwei saw this man talking, his expression was sad, obviously recalling the unbearable things he had done in the past.
He didn't pay attention to the sarcasm in Dian Dengzi's words, and asked kindly: "How?"
When Dengzi saw that the Marquis had a good temper, he felt more favorable in his heart, so he continued to narrate: "The sinful people at first picked grass from the mountains and ate it. The grains were like chaff, and the taste was bitter and astringent. The sinners
After the people ate it, they could only keep their stomachs full until they died. They were all sallow, thin, and weak. Eventually, all the fluffy grass was eaten, and they had no choice but to peel off the bark of the trees and eat it."
At this point, Dian Dengzi suddenly laughed at himself and asked Zhong Jinwei: "Do you know which kind of tree bark has the best taste?"
Before Zhong Jinwei could answer, Dian Dengzi said again: "You don't know, you officials will never know. Let me tell you, elm bark has the best taste, and eating it mixed with the bark of other trees can also make us taste better."
If I don't die, I will waste my time with God, hoping for rain to alleviate the disaster."
When Deng Dengzi said this, he was completely immersed in memories, and he said that he had changed from a sinner to the most accustomed me.
What you see in books is never as good as what you hear with your own ears. The smile on Zhong Jinwei's face dropped. Looking at the sad expression on this person's face, he suddenly felt a little apologetic in his heart for complaining about them just now.
"God is blind and cannot see the suffering of us grassroots people. Even though the bark of the trees has been eaten up, the day has not yet waited for the disaster to ease. The government and the rich are not hungry, but they don't care about us. The timid and obedient people are the hope in your mouth
People like that dig out green leaf stones from the mountains and eat them. This kind of green leaf stone has a fishy and greasy taste. You will feel full after eating a little bit, which can ward off hunger. But if you eat it for several days, you will suffer from abdominal distension and death.
"
When Lan Dengzi said this, he shed two lines of tears from the corners of his eyes. Apparently, a relative died in this way.
He looked at Zhong Jinwei and suddenly raised his voice and asked: "Master Guan, if it were you, would you rather starve to death like this or gather together to fight for food?"
Zhong Jinwei was speechless. If this was really what this person said, what would he choose? Zhong Jinwei knew that he would definitely not be willing to starve to death.
"You said we rebelled, but that's not right! In fact, we were just here for a bite to eat. Even if we were killed because of this, at least we would be dead ghosts!"
When Deng Dengzi said this, he turned his head towards his companions, glanced at them, and said loudly: "Are we rebelling? We just don't want to starve to death!"
The leader of the peasant army heard this clearly and couldn't help but nod.
A loud voice sounded in the crowd: "I used to sell horses for a living and traveled to many places. The things I saw are things you, an official, will never see in your life!"
Zhong Jinwei looked over and recognized Gao Yingxiang, so he asked, "What did you see?"
Now that Gao Yingxiang had spoken, of course he would not hold back. He recalled: "To the west of Ansai City, there is a place called Yicheng, where one or two babies must be abandoned every day. The family cannot support them, and I can't bear to see it in person."
They did this after seeing them starve to death. Some of those babies couldn't speak yet and could only cry; some could speak and cried for their parents. No one cared about them. They only ate their own feces when they were hungry, but by the third
The next morning, these babies were all dead. But new babies would be dumped here, and the human tragedy would be repeated day after day."
When Gao Yingxiang said this, he glanced at Zhong Jinwei, then glanced at the guards around Zhong Jinwei, and continued: "This is not the worst."
There was a young son in Gu Baichuan's family. He was shocked and asked, "How do you say that?"
"The disaster became more and more serious. In the end, if there was a young man or a person who went out of the city alone, he could no longer be found. My cavalry team once saw someone outside the city using human bones as firewood and cooking human flesh to satisfy their hunger. Only then did they know
Those who disappeared out of the city all ended up like this. And those who ate people, after a few days, their faces would be red and swollen, and they would die of internal fever. The final result was that dead bodies were everywhere outside the city, and the stench filled the sky.
The people in the city had to go outside the city to dig pits to bury the remains. Each pit could accommodate hundreds of people. By the time I left that place, there were more than three pits full. There were no burial sites further away from the city.
I don’t know how many there are.”
Gao Yingxiang said so much in one breath before he stopped. At this time, no one around the prison car made a sound, only the sound of horse hooves.
After quite a while, Zhong Jinwei asked with a heavy heart: "Doesn't the government care about it? Is there any way to save the people?"
As soon as Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, the leaders of the peasant army burst into laughter, some of them burst into tears, as if they had heard a big joke.
This time, no one scolded them, they just watched them vent their emotions quietly.
"Let me tell you how the official did it!" This time it was Wang Jiayin who spoke.