Chapter 133 Why is it so necessary to kill someone?
Chapter 133 Why is it necessary to kill someone like this?
Author: My heart is still the same
Chapter 133 Why is it necessary to kill someone like this?
August.
The harvest season, which should have been glorious, turned out to be devastated in Yongzhou.
Starting half a month ago, the limited county government power was completely insufficient to maintain order outside the city.
Some people have begun to flee to other places regardless of the threat of the epidemic.
It seems as if they can get enough food if they can go far enough.
Those who chose to stay began to search for food all over the mountains and plains.
The first things to be eaten up are all kinds of living creatures except humans.
Rabbits, snakes, deer, birds, mice...
Then there are various insects.
Dead bodies of spiders, centipedes, leeches, locusts...
Finally, there are the rhizomes, epidermis, leaves of various plants...
Don't worry about the smell, don't worry about whether it's poisonous or not.
People who are extremely hungry won't care about this.
They only care about one thing - whether they can swallow it.
As long as you can swallow it, no matter what it is, you can get rid of that crazy hunger.
The west corner of the city.
A simple low shed built with branches leaning against a boulder.
The women sat inside, facing the corner.
Her clothes were open and she was feeding the swaddled baby.
The baby kept crying and didn't cooperate at all.
A half-grown child leaned on one side weakly, his eyes dull, turning a blind eye to the baby's distress and the woman's coaxing.
"Big boy, bring the water."
The woman said weakly.
The young man moved slowly, climbed outside the shed, and dragged in a broken earthen jar.
It's not that he wanted to be so slow, but that he really didn't have the extra strength to support him to go a little faster.
He hasn't eaten anything for three days.
The woman turned slightly sideways and took the earthen jar, first took a sip herself, and then took another sip in her mouth.
When the water is warm, lower your body and feed the baby drop by drop.
The baby's crying finally subsided a little.
But the slight frown showed that he didn't like this kind of 'food'.
"Mom."
After a while, the young man leaning to the side called out, his voice extremely hoarse.
"Um?"
The woman tilted her head slightly.
"Can Daddy get some food?"
the young man asked.
A little hope appeared in his godless eyes.
"..."
The woman's back froze slightly.
When a natural disaster was approaching, she, a weak woman, would not be able to survive to this day with her two children, one large and one young.
Her real reliance is on the man who is the head of the family.
However, the head of the family, who used to go out to look for food, would come back within the same day regardless of whether he found it or not, this time he did not come back for two full days.
Two days...
Still alive?
The woman wishes to be alive.
But hope is just hope.
If nothing else, the head of the family is already dead.
Either they starved to death outside, or they were beaten to death fighting for food.
This is the greatest possibility.
Therefore, when faced with the eldest son's question, the woman didn't know how to answer.
"Will dad...will...not come back..."
The young man spoke again, his voice getting weaker and weaker.
"...No way."
The woman's voice was a little trembling, "Your father... your father is the head of the family. In order to find food for us, he went to farther places. When he comes back, he will definitely bring a lot of food."
The young man managed to cheer up.
"Are there any pancakes?"
"some."
"Are there any steamed buns?"
"some."
"That's good, that's good..."
The boy slowly raised his lips, "With steamed buns and pancakes, my mother will be full. If my mother is full, my brother will be full... It's... it's really good..."
The woman bit her lip tightly, and the crystal drops fell. The baby in her arms pursed her lips, and the frown relaxed a little.
Outside the shed, the man gritted his teeth, seemed to have made some decision, and left quietly into the distance.
Not long after, a muffled hum sounded that was extremely depressing and lasted for a whole stick of incense.
After another half an hour, the man limped back.
"I'm back."
"..."
The woman suddenly turned her head and her eyes turned red instantly: "It'll be good when I'm back, it'll be good when I'm back..."
"Here, look what I got."
The man's face was a little pale, but he raised his hand with a smile.
"This is...meat?!"
The woman couldn't believe it.
"I found the bison thirty miles away. I spent a lot of effort to get just this small amount."
The man gasped and sat down.
"Okay, okay... you hold the baby, and I'll light the fire."
The woman handed the swaddling clothes to the man and took the meat from the man's hand.
When he was about to get up, he suddenly saw a lot of blood stains on the man's trouser legs.
"...You are injured?!"
The woman shuddered and reached out to open her trouser legs.
The man waved away the woman's hand and said nonchalantly: "It fell while grabbing meat. It's no big deal."
"real?"
The woman was a little suspicious.
"Don't worry, if the injury is really serious, how can I run past them and bring the meat back?"
The man's eyes were very steady, and although his face was a little pale, it was normal since he hadn't eaten for a long time.
So the woman didn't ask any more questions and bowed her body out of the shed.
Not far away, two people stood expressionless.
Jiang Zhihong and Xu Chong.
The two of them witnessed the man using a rusty knife hidden in his waist to cut off the calf flesh bit by bit, tearing off a stained sleeve, and bandaging the calf bit by bit.
.
This process took a stick of incense to complete.
Back to the shed, which was only a few dozen feet away, I also used a stick of incense.
Although it was cruel, it was already the most heartwarming scene they had seen today.
After all, in the face of death, there are only a handful of people who can hold on to the end.
More and more people have gradually given up on morality and ethics.
For a leaf, a son can knock his old father to the ground.
A wife can push her husband into a ditch for a piece of bark.
"It turns out we were all wrong."
Jiang Zhihong sighed faintly, "Back then, the person who troubled Lou Youzhi was not a political enemy at all...but the imperial court, or rather, the late emperor."
Lou Youzhi alone will never be able to suppress the public opinion of the government and the opposition and sit back and watch the tragic situation in Yongzhou.
In other words, no one can do this.
Except the royal family, except His Majesty.
The same can be said for the Bingzhou drought that year.
"In a few days, when there is no food at all, cannibalism will happen."
Xu Chong said expressionlessly, "And as long as it happens once, it will cause a chain reaction... By then everyone's morality will be completely lost."
"No, it has already happened, in other places in Yongzhou."
Jiang Zhihong said numbly, "I went out yesterday and saw with my own eyes what it means for people to eat each other."
"Eat the old and the weak first, then the women and children."
"The first time they eat it, they will vomit. The second time they eat it, they get used to it."
"There are even people who are obsessed with the taste of human flesh and are obsessed with killing people and getting their flesh..."
Jiang Zhihong remembered what Xu Chong once said, "You are right, the victims of the disaster are not human beings at all."
Xu Chong was silent.
He also saw everything Jiang Zhihong saw, and even saw it earlier than Jiang Zhihong.
To be honest, it was far less cruel than the inner demons he had experienced.
But this is reality after all.
"Someone gave me a message, telling me to hold on for another month. The court is urgently preparing supplies and they will be delivered in a month."
As he spoke, Jiang Zhihong showed disdain, "One month? One month later, how many people in Yongzhou will be alive?"
"It seems that my guess was correct."
Xu Chong nodded slowly, "The imperial court is controlling the number of deaths."
"I guessed it too, but I still don't understand."
Jiang Zhihong narrowed his eyes, "If you want to kill someone, why do you need to use this method? With a large army approaching and labeled as a rebel, you can kill millions of people in one day. Even if you want to massacre the entire Yongzhou, how much effort will it take?
?”
"possible."
Xu Chong shrugged, "Simple massacre will not bring any benefits."
"Does it have to be due to a natural disaster... It seems that this is the only explanation."
Jiang Zhihong slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
"I will protect those people in Canglong County."
Xu Chong suddenly said, "Please forgive me for my inability to do more."
With the Hua family’s heritage, can the entire Yongzhou be saved?
Xu Chong didn't know.
But even if it could, it would definitely hollow out the Hua family.
The Hua family has no reason to do this, and they won't do it at all.
But if there were only a mere 10,000 people in Canglong County, the Hua family would not refuse.
This is Xu Chong's plan.
However.
"No need."
Jiang Zhihong waved his hand, his eyes suddenly turned cold: "That time in Bingzhou, there were buildings and knowledge, but this time, there is me!"
"what you up to?"
Xu Chong's expression changed slightly.
Jiang Zhihong didn't answer, turned around and started walking, "Yesterday I contacted a few people who are still willing to help me. They will secretly transport food to the Yongzhou border at night... Please help me look after Canglong these days.
, I’ll go receive this batch of food.”
Off-field assistance...
Xu Chong sighed secretly and said nothing more.
Indeed, Jiang Zhihong has been an official for so many years and has also sat in the position of Zuodu Yushi. He must have had a few friends who have passed away.
Even if there is off-field assistance, how much will it be?
For the tens of millions of people in Yongzhou, it is only a drop in the bucket.
Just like that, Jiang Zhihong left.
Xu Chong did not sit in charge of the county government, but climbed to the top of the city and walked on the city wall.
He doesn't have the patience to deal with the rebellious residents in the city.
Since half a month ago, the city gates of Fenggu County have been closed.
This was done deliberately by Jiang Zhihong.
One is to lock people in the city and prevent them from leaving.
The second is to create an illusion for people outside the city that there is still food in the city, leaving most people within Fenggu County.
No matter whether it was crying, begging or cursing, Jiang Zhihong turned a deaf ear.
Because he knew that after leaving Fenggu County, there would be no food.
The existence of the epidemic makes other places much more dangerous than Fenggu County.
So a scene like this was formed.
The people inside the city desperately wanted to get out of the city, and the people outside the city desperately wanted to enter the city.
If the city gate hadn't been strong enough and the city wall high enough, I'm afraid there would have been a quarrel long ago.
What Xu Chong needs to do is to stabilize the city inside and outside the city and prevent large-scale riots during Jiang Zhihong's absence.
In this way, three days passed quietly.
In three days, there were fewer people left outside the city.
Some died, some left.
Those who didn't leave were not holding out hope, on the contrary, they were in complete despair.
Only those Canglong people, even if they haven't eaten for several days, are much more stable than others.
Until the evening of the third day, a vehicle loaded with goods appeared at the end of the road.
One car after another.
Surrounding the convoy was a huge refugee force.
Densely packed people.
Even if he stood on the top of the city, with Xu Chong's eyesight, he could not see the end at a glance.
He only recognized the man at the head of the convoy.
Magistrate of Fenggu County, Jiang Zhihong.
"Grain! That's grain!"
I don’t know who shouted it first, and then it started a chain reaction.
The refugees who had stayed outside the city began to rush toward the convoy like crazy.
"--presumptuous!"
An angry shout was like a roar from the sky.
The huge sound echoed, shaking everyone's heart.
"This county magistrate has shipped food, enough food for you to survive!"
"From now on, we will set up porridge shacks and provide unified rationing to everyone."
"But there are looters, no matter male or female, no matter their status, they will be kicked out and their life and death will be left to their fate!"
After frightening everyone, Jiang Zhihong spoke again and again.
After a while, the unrest that was about to break out was finally suppressed, and the convoy continued to move forward.
Relief work is in full swing.
When the lid of the first pot of gruel was opened, hot steam rose up, and the refugees knelt down in groups.
"The little old man doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. He calls you a dog official. His crime deserves death. His crime deserves death!"
"For saving my life, I will repay it as a cow or a horse!"
"..."
To the west of the city, a knowing smile finally appeared on the man's face, and he knelt down tremblingly, pressing his forehead to the ground.
The woman holding the young child beside him and the half-grown eldest son also knelt down.
However, after kneeling down, the man could never stand up again.