Most of the counties in Jiangzhou that have city walls have their gates closed, and the city of Gaoli County is no exception. The city walls probably have not been repaired since there has been no war for a long time, so there are a considerable number of bricks that have fallen off, and there are many potholes.
It is enough to make any young man with a little bit of agility climb the low battlements.
There are not many hungry people who have set up shacks outside the city and are waiting to die. However, even in the two counties farthest from Huizhou, there are still so many hungry people outside the city of Gaoli County that the governor of Gaoli County has to wait for at least fifty people.
Only the guards with their swords out of their scabbards dared to go out of the city to offer condolences. Among those waiting to die, there were many people with martial arts skills. They chose to take the risk and climbed over the city wall to steal the grain store of Meili County at night. However, they were captured and killed on the spot by the soldiers guarding the area.
Zhou Tiedan was lying in a pile of straw that had been dug out for a shelter. His body and body were covered with dried straw. He collected any rice he could find by chance, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it until it was chewed into small pieces.
A small puff of rice milk, when swallowed with a mouthful of snow, gives him the illusion that he has just eaten a mouthful of white rice.
He didn't light a fire, but the inside of the straw pile was a little warmer than outside. He just waded here, half asleep and half awake all day long. He didn't have to look up to see his withered belly and bulging ribs under his rags.
, Zhou Tiedan didn't seem to realize how hungry he was.
Zhou Tiedan's stomach was no longer bothered by the growling sounds and labor pains, and his brain was so slow that he had to distinguish whether he was raising his left hand or his right hand, but he still refused to go out to look for food.
He was one of the first people to live in Jiangzhou. He was taken in by a kind-hearted villager earlier. After providing him with more than a dozen meals, hungry people who heard the news swarmed in. Hundreds of them were half begging and half looting.
The villager had eaten all the grain he had saved, and the ungrateful one had relied on his grandmother to keep him full, but he had ruined it for his eldest daughter. After the government officials came, they had no way to find that person, so they could only act on the basis of peace.
In line with the principle of not letting go of killing the wrongdoer, all the men who had visited the farmer's house were taken to the government to be slapped thirty times, but they were not given a chance to eat in jail. They were then taken to the outside of the city and locked up again.
Go up to the city gate.
This pile of straw outside the city at this moment is just worse than being taken in by a local family. It can protect you from the wind and snow and keep you warm. It is much better than the drafty shacks built with rags and tree branches. These are the disadvantages.
Piles of straw as tall as one person were piled in the fields, too far away from the government's porridge shed.
The itching spread all over his body, and Zhou Tiedan could clearly see that the lice and fleas that were originally living in the straw pile were doing it without looking. He knew this from the first day he got into the straw pile, and just went out with it.
Compared with being cold, the itchiness is nothing serious.
"Suck it, suck it, suck it..." He said feebly to the lice with round bellies about the size of soybeans. "If you starve to death, you can feed a group of them. It can be considered a good deed."
Zhou Tiedan turned over and exposed the beaten back to the air. He did not receive timely treatment and the wound was exuding an unpleasant smell of putrefaction. The only good thing was that it was cold, so maggots would not develop.
, just dragging it on like this won’t get better, and it won’t hurt.
Faintly, he smelled the aroma of cooking food. It was probably time to serve porridge again. Those who could grab a bowl of thick porridge were ruthless people. Those who didn't have the ability could only get closer and smell it twice.
The smell of porridge makes me so hungry that I don’t have the strength to move around. I can’t even smell the smell of porridge.
It is not difficult for Zhou Tiedan to drag his steps to the porridge shed, but if he can grab a bowl of porridge with just two moves, it can only be said to be a fantasy. Being able to get closer and smell it can be considered lucky, so there is no need
Air consumption
He has strength, and once he gets out of this straw pile, it won't take more than a cup of tea to be captured by others. The strength he has accumulated in a few days may not be enough to pull him out.
However, it was no longer easy to find the scattered rice in the straw pile. I could not even hold on to the small handful I got after two or three hours of digging through the straw.
Go to sleep, go to sleep, you won't be hungry when you sleep.
He was comforting himself in this way, but the food in his hometown of Huizhou suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. The fragrant broth was sprinkled with green coriander that had just been pulled out of the ground.
Put a mouth full of oil flowers, as well as the glatiao with red chili oil, blanched bean sprouts and peanuts, mix them with chopsticks, and put the golden and thick noodles dipped in chili oil into your mouth.
..
If he was allowed to eat the glatiao now, he would be able to eat at least five bowls, no, ten bowls!
Body fluids appeared in the mouth that had been dry for a long time. Zhou Tiedan thought about the taste of eating in his hometown. While he drained out twenty of the sixty-seven grains of rice that he had hidden earlier and was reluctant to eat, he reached out to grab a handful and mixed them with some.
With the muddy snow, the other hand brought the half-deflated rice into the mouth. The upper and lower front teeth and the tongue worked together to separate the outer layer of chaff that would get stuck in the throat from the white and fat rice inside.
, and carefully spit out the chaff stored between the front teeth and lips into the palm of his hand.
After molar teeth crushed the full or shriveled rice in his mouth, mixed with saliva, a little sweetness came out. After Zhou Tiedan gathered the rice milk on the tip of his tongue, he put his other hand
The snow that had already melted slightly was put into his mouth, and he swallowed it whole. The sand and sand scratched his throat and mouth, causing a little pain, like spicy food.
This moment of satisfaction was followed by coldness. The coolness that swept from his mouth from top to bottom reached his stomach, which caused a cramping pain like a dull knife cutting flesh. His stomach, which had not had anything hard for a long time, could not withstand such rough treatment. Finally,
Make some noise.
Zhou Tiedan was anxious to escape. If he went through this trouble again after being hungry for a long time, he might have to go to see the Lord of Hell. However, the change of color in his stomach and the feeling that something was about to come out behind him did not seem to be fake.
If he doesn't get out, I'm afraid he will have to sleep in his own feces...
In his desperation, he finally found the best idea he could find due to his lack of brain power. He thrust a finger into the place where it was about to come out, forcibly blocking the incoming surging wave.
This extremely difficult job runs counter to the idea of a capable flood control official who advocated that blocking is worse than dredging. However, when it comes to difficulty, it is more difficult than dredging.
The raging wave was restrained by Zhou Tiedan at the narrow exit with great perseverance, and he reluctantly let out a few lamentations before retreating.
He breathed a sigh of relief and planned to withdraw the finger that had made such a great contribution. However, the moment he loosened it slightly, the cunning wave came back again. Zhou Tiedan's slightly lax defense gradually tended to collapse, but he was
Gritting his teeth, he forced the finger forward two inches, and when the last knuckle was penetrated, the wave finally calmed down.
Zhou Tiedan's deeply sunken cheeks were covered with a hard-won smile and cold sweat. His mind was completely attracted by this, and he completely failed to notice the approaching footsteps.
The straw he used to cover the hole on the side of the straw pile was scattered with a sword scabbard. Zhou Tiedan, who felt the chill coming from outside, cursed a few words in his native dialect, but it was limited to two sentences, because no more curses would be eaten before he could eat them.
The twenty grains of rice were probably eaten in vain.
"Block it, block it..." He said two more words in an inaudible voice.
"Disciples of Songfeng Mountain, I'm here to bring you food." The man who poked the straw pile with his sword scabbard spoke. He was full of energy and didn't sound like he was starving at all. Zhou Tiedan thought about it, and there were rumors from outside.
It's a fragrance that I haven't smelled for a long time.
The thin barrier of the straw pile was pierced, and the stinking odor rushed towards the face. The disciple of Songfeng Mountain who always attached great importance to cleanliness immediately wanted to cover his nose and leave. He remembered the strict order from the mountain master from the new outer mountain steward before leaving the mountain gate.
He could only hold back his laughter and said:
"Two pancakes per person and a bowl of porridge, don't worry it won't be enough." After saying that, he gently threw the pancakes in his hands and placed the bowl of steaming white porridge at the entrance of the cave.
The two round pancakes rolled onto the face of the emaciated hungry man in the straw pile. The latter grabbed him, tore off half of the pancakes with his mouth, and stuffed them into his mouth. The dry and cold pancakes were hard to swallow, so he choked.
But he still tried his best to stuff his mouth with the pancake that many people didn't want to take a look at.
"Eat slowly, eat slowly, there won't be enough for you." Disciple Songfeng lowered his body, as if to persuade him, but he was just pretending.
Zhou Tiedan in the straw pile swallowed the pancake, sobbed, shook his head, held the pancake with his ten fingers, and kowtowed to the Songfengshan disciple at the entrance of the straw pile, mumbling some words of gratitude.
.
The Songfengshan disciple stood up with a smile, turned around and looked at the scene behind him. The pancakes on the cart were stacked as high as the hill, and the wooden barrels that required two people to hold each other contained steaming white porridge. The Songfengshan disciples' costumes were surrounding the cart.
The men raised their swords and blocked the hungry people who were carrying some pots and pans from the cart, leaving only a way for one person to step forward. One of the two people standing on the cart handed out pancakes and the other held a gourd and gourd.
The bowl in the hands of the hungry man next to the car was filled with white porridge, and two pancakes the size of two palms were placed on top before going to greet the next person.
The arrival of large carts from Jiali County, Wuhang City, Qishan County, Yuyin County, and Songfeng Mountain gave the hungry people in Suzhou and Huizhou a greater chance of survival. There were more than 500 carts, including
Many of them were pulled by oxen, which was extremely disgraceful, but they brought life-saving food.
Gao Xu, the master of Songfeng Mountain, had an almost unpredictable ability to purchase rice grains at high prices during the autumn harvest in Jiangzhou. No one knew why this newly promoted co-owner of Jiangzhou Jianghu needed such a large sum of grain.
But no one would have trouble with money. Since most of the money was obtained through loans, Gao Xu had hoarded hundreds of thousands of shi of food when the news of the famine in Huizhou, Suzhou and Jiangzhou first reached Jiangzhou.
For this reason, most of the output of Songfeng Mountain was sold.
This move was even known to Emperor Lie in the capital. Gao Xu was given the name Gao Yuntian and was known to Emperor Yao. In addition to the latter's great joy, Gao Xu's identity as the co-owner of Jiangzhou was also known.
The emperor approved it.
Hundreds of thousands of stones of grain are exchanged for a co-owner of Jiangzhou and Jianghu.