The cowhide drum sounded again, and the assembly horn sounded.
When the two brothers Afu and Agui heard the sound, they both threw down the reed poles in their hands. The two brothers were fifteen and twelve. They had just cut two large bundles of reed poles from the river today and were about to weave reed mats. This thing
Once they are compiled, they can be sold at the Daqiu Market for some money. Although the brothers are not very skillful, they are always worth two cents when they are done.
"We've assembled again. Let's go and have a look."
Since Uncle Twelve became an official member of the Red Spear Team, the family's conditions have improved. Half a stone of food per month can make the porridge for everyone on the big family's dining table change from thin enough to show people's faces.
Those who can stand live with chopsticks, and Uncle Twelve actually bought some chickens to raise, and even though my grandmother would always save up and go to the market to exchange for the eggs they lay.
But when Uncle Twelve was at home, he would always cook one for each of the children. Even if they could only eat it once every three to five days, it still made them feel happy.
Even Ah Fu and other children's faces have improved a lot.
On the drying ground.
Ah Fu saw Uncle Twelve from a distance and waved happily to say hello.
"Uncle Twelve, you are back."
"Well, I just came back from Suizhou with my senior brother," Chen Twelve said, taking out a dried lotus leaf bag from his arms and opening it. There was actually soy sauce beef that had become dried. "In Suizhou, Xu Twelve
I ate some of the reward from the admiral and left some for you."
Agui took it happily and gave a little to his brother first. He only shared a little to eat. He wrapped most of the rest and left it for his sister.
"This is beef, it's so delicious,"
After finishing the little bit of sauced beef, the brothers couldn't help but lick their fingers.
"Uncle, the rally call has been blown again. Is this another mission?"
"Well, big task."
Ah Fu, who never spoke much, asked Chen Twelve, "Uncle, can you take me with you when you go on a mission? I've grown up."
"You are only fifteen and you are so thin."
"I have strength. I have become much stronger recently. I want to do tasks and earn food."
Agui smiled beside him and said, "Uncle Twelve, you don't know, my brother has a lover."
"Oh?" Chen Twelve was surprised.
Ah Fu was a little embarrassed.
Agui said it out of the blue. It turned out that there were many refugees coming recently. Under the arrangement of the old master, Daqiu also took in many refugees and set up several refugee sites. Under the leadership of the old master,
He also gave it to the bachelors in the Red Gun Club to marry and beg for wives in the refugee camps.
At this time, many refugees were desperate, and when faced with the old master's offer of marriage, they all wished for nothing.
No betrothal gifts are required, just three to six dou of grain is enough.
Although some of the members of the Red Spear Association are older bachelors, they are all strong and healthy after all, and they have food supplements. Daqiu has been stable for a while, and they just harvested this year, so they all still have some food at home and have not suffered from bandits or the government.
Robbery, life is okay.
These days, it is very good to have enough food and clothing.
The old master came forward, and this thing was done beautifully. Recently, in Daeqiu, women in the refugee camp are getting married to members of the Red Gun every day. There are no weddings. The drum team of the Red Gun team comes to the door to play, and then the groom gives it away.
A basket of cakes was served, tea was served, and the bride was taken home.
It's so simple and unpretentious, there are no banquets, because no one is rich, they just come to see the bride, say a few congratulations and auspicious words, and have a drink of water, that's all.
No one would think of having a meal at someone else's house at this time, and they wouldn't be able to afford it.
At present, the official members of the Red Spear Club are the most popular among the girls in the refugee camp, because they are young, strong, and in good condition. If they marry, they will not have to starve. They can even get a few buckets of food for their own family, which can at least temporarily save their lives.
, I can still have someone to rely on and a place to stay.
Girls with good looks, tall and strong bodies, especially those with double natural feet, are the most popular among the Red Spear members. Girls whose feet have been bound, even if they are not very powerful, will not be the first choice.
.
For some who are petite or even sick, it is even more difficult.
Of course, there are more and more refugees, and many people hope that by marrying off their girls, they can get back three to five buckets of food to save their lives.
There are only so many official members of the Red Spear Society, so many refugees are not so picky. Ordinary villagers are willing to marry as long as they can afford a few buckets of food.
Later, a large number of refugees still came with their daughters after hearing the news.
The old master couldn't resist it, so he finally thought of a way. He gave a girl six measures of grain to take it, and sent the Red Spear Team to the south. In fact, it was sent to the imperial camp in the south.
Since last year, the emperor has been marrying wives for the soldiers in the imperial camp. As long as the soldiers in the imperial camp meet certain conditions, they can wait in line to get wives.
The emperor paid them betrothal gifts and even bought some simple dowries for the girls, which was a very good benefit for the soldiers in the imperial camp.
This benefit also adds a lot of expense burden to the imperial camp, so the imperial camp also tries its best to find girls from poor mountainous areas to marry, or find girls from refugees.
There are many refugees in Huaibei now, and a few buckets of grain can be exchanged for a girl. Even though food is quite expensive now, it is still much cheaper than that in the south of the Yangtze River.
The old master contacted the imperial camp in Huainan, and after telling the story, he immediately received strong support there. The generals also knew that their soldiers would be more stable after they married wives.
Send someone to quietly deliver salt, money, cloth, etc. to the old master and ask him to send more girls south.
As a result, the old master's matchmaking business grew bigger and bigger. He not only arranged marriages for the local Red Spear Club members, but also arranged marriages for the soldiers in the imperial camp.
To the outside world, the old master said that he was proposing to the red gun team in another place, and he directly gave six bushels of wheat and even a piece of cloth. This extra condition made the refugees very excited, although some people doubted whether the old master had tricked the girl into selling her abroad.
, but now Huaibei is full of refugees from Huainan, and people starve to death every day.
At this time, in fact, many traffickers come directly to buy people, and it is very straightforward to sell them to brothels and other places. Some large households even buy them directly to be slaves, concubines, etc. But what choice do the refugees have?
They have all reached the point where they are exchanging their children for food.
Valley irrigation
On the way to escape famine, those who starved to death often did not survive for more than a day. Even if they were buried by their relatives, they would soon be dug up and eaten secretly by others.
Hunger can make people crazy.
However, there are some exceptions in Chen Fu's case.
He doesn't have six measures of food to say goodbye to, and there are many people in his family, so it's not his turn yet.
When Chen Fu went to cut reeds by the river, he rescued a hungry girl who fainted and gave her half a piece of cake. The girl survived. The girl was probably a little older than Chen Fu, sixteen.
A family of six fled the famine and lived on the river embankment in desperation.
Ever since Chen Fu rescued the girl that day, he had visited her often, and every time he would bring some food with him, which he left over from his meals.
Even with his guarantee, the girl's family was able to live in a refugee camp.
It's just that there are too many refugees, and even if they can settle down, it's still very difficult to survive.
Even if they give out porridge in the refugee camp, they can barely survive.
Over time, it is easy to die from lack of nutrition.
He and Miss Li became friends in times of adversity. The girl regarded him as a savior, which also aroused his desire for protection. When the girl's parents found out about this, they also supported it, but hoped that he could provide six measures of wheat as a bride price.
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The girl also had three younger brothers and sisters, all of whom were so hungry that they turned into big-headed babies.
If Ah Fu cannot produce six buckets of grain, the Li family can only send their daughter to the old master and marry her out of town, in exchange for six buckets of grain and an extra piece of cloth.
Ah Fu is very anxious.
But my family didn't agree.
Because there are so many people in the family, we can barely get enough food and clothing now. Moreover, if you want to get married, you have to be Ah Fu's uncle. Brothers, it's not his turn yet. After all, he is only fifteen, and his twenty-five-year-old uncles are still single.
Yes, you have to come one by one.
But Miss Li's family can't wait any longer. After all, the opportunity to exchange six buckets of grain for one piece of cloth will not come forever, and the children at home are so hungry that they can hardly hold on.
Chen Twelve was a little surprised when he heard that his nephew Afu, who was usually sullen and sullen, was so precocious. He also knew that the family did not like Afu very much, after all, he was not a real member of the Chen family.
"You really like that girl?"
"Well, I promised to marry her." Ah Fu said.
Twelve Scythes patted the nephew and said, "This is a good thing. Marrying a girl for six tons of grain is worth it no matter what. People in troubled times are not valuable, but in these troubled times, for ordinary people like us, the most valuable thing is people."
"I will provide this food."
"Uncle, you are not married yet, and grandma will definitely not agree to it. Grandma also wants to send her sister to the old master in exchange for six measures of grain and a piece of cloth." Agui said.
My niece is just over thirteen years old. She is a thin little girl with yellow hair. She is usually very sensible and hard-working. But because she is not a descendant of the Chen family, she is not welcome. His mother even had the idea before that she wanted to let the girl
When she grows older, she will marry Twelve directly, but how can Twelve accept this?
Now I heard that my mother wanted to marry off my niece in exchange for food and cloth, and I became even more helpless.
"I told your grandma about this, Lianxiu is still so young, how can she be willing to marry out of town?"
While he was talking, the assembly call sounded again. Chen Twelve patted the two brothers and said, "You don't have to worry about these things. I'll take care of it. I'll go to the queue first. I'll tell you at home after we're dismissed."
Chen Twelve went to assemble the formation, and the Ah Fu brothers felt much more relaxed.
When Uncle Twelve came back, they felt like they had a backbone.
After gathering and lining up, Senior Brother Zhao Zhongyi came.
At this time, he was riding a majestic horse, and the armor on his body was even more powerful. He stood on the review stage and spoke to everyone. In fact, he was mobilizing the Red Spear members of Daqiu and the common people to accompany them to fight against Mangdang Mountain.
Black House Village.
This operation was negotiated by Zhao Zhongyi with Xu Dingguo in Suizhou. After he and Fatty Wang returned to Yongcheng, they gathered their troops and first swept down the Mangdang Mountain in the northeast of Yongcheng and cleared out several villages in it, and then went north to the Yellow River.
They merged with the two sides, crossed the Yellow River and entered Yanzhou Prefecture, and raided half of Yanzhou Prefecture east of the Yellow River and west of the canal.
Join forces with Liu Zeqing from Shandong to attack the local forces in Yutai, Chengwu, Juye, Jiaxiang, Caoxian and other areas.
Xu Dingguo asked Zhao Zhongyi and Fatty Wang to attack Heilou Village on Mangdang Mountain first, perhaps because he wanted to test their combat effectiveness.
Although Mangdang Mountain is not high, it is very famous. It is said that it was a quarry during the time of the Yellow Emperor in ancient times. The Yellow Emperor once visited this place and Chi You was active here.
Liu Bang once led his army to fight the Qin army here for three days. Chen Sheng was killed after the uprising, but he was also buried in Mangdang Mountain.
When Liu Bang started his army, he was also appointed as the governor of Dang County by King Huai of Chu, and was granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an, and commanded the army of Dang County.
At this time, Heilou Village, the largest earth village in Mangdang Mountain, was occupied by a group of thieves. It was very powerful, had strong soldiers and horses, and gathered many refugees, so it was known as the Ten Thousand Crowds.
In addition to Heilou Village, there are dozens of large and small earth villages in Mangdang Mountain.
Zhao Zhongyi stated to Xu Dingguo in Suizhou that the Red Spear would be very strong, but it was not really strong. Xu Dingguo had to see their real combat performance.
Zhao Zhongyi stood on the stage and was very direct, saying that he was going to destroy Heilou Village. All the Red Spear members went out and asked the common people and hungry people to follow them to grab food and property.
There is no compulsion, just follow your own free will, and those who go will have a share when the time comes.
After the people below heard about it, they were still excited. In troubled times, it is usual practice to rob large households. What is missing is the leader to call. As long as someone calls, everyone will obey. After all, they want to survive.
Zhao Zhongyi is willing to take the lead with the Red Spear Club, so what else do the people not want to do?
For a while, everyone shouted yes, and after the meeting, word of mouth spread. Soon the news spread like the wind throughout the countryside. Countless people and hungry people began to gather in Daqiu. In a short time, it was already