Along the way, it can be described as shocking.
Only after leaving the bustling place of the capital did I realize how serious the disaster is today.
The rivers and canals are dry, and the land is dry and cracked. The situation gets worse the further you go west. When you enter Shanxi, and occasionally pass through the farmland, you can see that the crops in the farmland are sparse. Shanxi mainly grows sorghum and wheat, and the tassels are dry and shriveled. Even the king of Wei, who is not good at farming, knows that such crops can't harvest much food.
Even so, many farmers are scrambling to harvest, and many people are crying while harvesting food. What's more, in places where the disaster is serious, the crops will be pulled out by hungry people to fill their stomachs to satisfy their hunger before they can be harvested. Only the bare poles are left standing there.
It is conceivable that they could not stay for long, because they saw hungry people fighting for a few sorghum stalks.
Seeing this situation made the whole group feel sour, and when the meal was made on the spot at night, King Wei ordered the meal to be halved.
The emperor was not hungry and sent soldiers, so they brought a lot of food with them when they left Beijing. In addition, the prefectures and counties they passed along the way, even if the local county officials were hungry, they would eat and drink enough for the imperial envoys, so it is There is no shortage of meals.
After receiving the order, the soldiers who were ordered to protect the imperial envoy did not complain, and no one in the personal entourage brought by King Wei this time said anything more, which saved a lot of trouble.
However, on this matter, a man named Shu Yongtai in the entourage advised King Wei a lot on how to deal with things. At that time, after the king of Wei heard this, although he had never encountered such a situation, but the situation was unclear, it was prudent to be cautious, so he gave orders.
Facts have proved that Shu Yongtai's suggestion is very reasonable, because after walking west for another day, a large number of hungry people came to stop the car.
I don't know who leaked the news, these hungry people actually knew that this was an imperial envoy for disaster relief, so they blocked the road to let them go, crying and begging that since they were imperial envoys, there must be food, and begged the imperial envoy to donate some food to save their lives.
These starving people were all so hungry that they looked like they would fall if the wind blows. Compared with these people who came from the capital, there was a world of difference.
With such a tragic situation and such a stark contrast, many people softened their hearts.
This time the King of Wei went out of Beijing, Emperor Jianping not only ordered Ruan Chengyou, the servant of the Ministry of Industry, to be the deputy imperial envoy to assist the King in handling disaster relief matters, but also selected a hundred people from the Beijing Daying and Jinyiwei, led by two hundred households, to accompany the imperial envoy to protect the safety of the imperial envoy. .
There are two hundred households, one surnamed Wang and one surnamed Zhang. Wang Baihu is from Beijing Daying. They are tall and strong, and they are typical of those from the green camp, bold and generous. And Zhang Baihu is a white-faced middle-aged man, he is not dressed like a Jin Yiwei, but like a scribe, but just looking at his smiling face and his sinister eyes, you can tell that this person is very difficult to mess with.
However, no one dared to offend Jin Yiwei. They all knew that these masters were the kings of Hades, and they could not be offended.
At this time, Wang Baihu and Zhang Baihu quarreled.
Seeing the pity of the hungry people, Wang Baihu thought that these soldiers would not starve to death even if they did not eat for a few days. There are food supplements. Unexpectedly, this matter was blocked by Zhang Baihu. Wang Baihu scolded Zhang Baihu for being inhumane, but Zhang Baihu kept a sullen face and did not refute it, saying that it was an order issued by the imperial envoy.
The two quarreled in front of King Wei.
In fact, the words were indeed sent by King Wei, and they were related to Shu Yongtai's remonstrance.
One of Shu Yongtai's remonstrances is that the victims should not distribute food at will.
"Wang Baihu has probably never encountered such a situation. We have important business to do, so we can't delay on the trip. These hungry people are in communication with each other. If you treat these people, there will be people in a short distance. When the next game comes, these people will not give up unless we squeeze out our food. And once the food is exhausted, some people will not get it, and they are afraid of causing conflicts and stirring up small groups of people."
Shu Yongtai was over forty years old, with a slender figure, a goatee, and a bookish look. If it is not stated clearly that he was born as a master, I am afraid that no one will associate him with the cunning and shrewd master.
They are also the black sheep among masters. As masters, they have always been close to their masters, and their masters do evil. This masters will inevitably help the tyrants and abuse them. They claim to have access to the world and control the yamen. It's because there is no one in his eyes, which has caused a lot of infamy for the system of the master.
Wang Baihu was a little unconvinced after hearing Shu Yongtai's words.
"How to say it as if you have seen it before!"
Shu Yongtai smiled: "The old man has indeed seen a lot, Wang Baihu just listens to it, if it is not for the imperial envoy's own judgment, he will not listen to the old man's words."
Seeing the mention of King Wei, Wang Baihu immediately fell silent.
From the beginning to the end, King Wei didn't say anything, and it was his turn to speak at this time, and he didn't say much, he just said to act according to Shu Yongtai's words and rush to Taiyuan Mansion as soon as possible.
After the order was issued, the two hundred households, Wang and Zhang, went down to do it.
For a moment, the front of the team was crying and howling, and some people even rolled around on the spot, refusing to leave. This made Wang Baihu, who has always been upright, very angry, so he ordered someone to drag these people away.
In the end, I ordered people to drag these people away, because otherwise, they would have no way to move forward. I am afraid that this is not the first time for these hungry people to do this. They don't eat hard and soft food. They just want food, so how can they get away without resorting to any means.
It is not without benefits to do so, at least for a while, there will be no hungry people blocking the way.
Even if someone saw this team coming, they hid behind the trees and watched from a distance, not daring to go forward.
Just being looked at by these green eyes, the soldiers of the Beijing camp, who are as brave as the capital, couldn't stand it anymore, and couldn't help but want to rub their arms, only to feel the chills stand on end.
"Don't look, be careful, they will pounce on you and drag you away."
It was an older soldier who was frightening the younger soldier walking beside him. This young soldier was only about seventeen or eighteen years old, tall but with a childish face. Hearing this, he just trembled, and his next reaction was that the other party was lying to him.
"It's fine if you don't believe me." The old soldier pouted.
He is also not in a good mood. Being looked at like this, I am afraid that everyone is in a bad mood.
Most of these soldiers came from poor backgrounds, and they had suffered hardships before they joined the army. Therefore, when Zhazuo had a meal at night, many wicked people who wanted to scare people told stories to the people around them, such as changing children to eat, such as people eating people. kind of thing. If you say it with a nose and eyes, even if some people say that they don't believe it, most of them believe it in their hearts.
No wonder those people looked at them with that kind of eyes, as if they were looking at 'meat'.
There is no benefit in doing so much, usually the cooked rice is not enough to eat, but there is a lot left today, just saved for tomorrow morning.
Now the imperial envoys only eat two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Everyone knows that even if they pass through the prefectures and counties, the local government may not be able to provide them with much food as supplies.
Even in Taiyuan, it is still unknown whether there is food.
However, within less than four days after entering Shanxi, what they saw and heard along the way cast a layer of haze on everyone's hearts.
They guessed right.
In the counties that passed through next, not only did they not have food for them as supplies, but instead they went to the imperial envoys to complain about the lack of food and all kinds of difficulties.
Looking at this kind of momentum, it looks like a show, but what they saw and heard along the way made everyone understand that even if it was a show, it probably didn't add much water. However, the imperial envoys had just arrived and did not know much about the situation in the territory. Only when they went to Taiyuan could they see the overall situation and come up with specific disaster relief policies according to local conditions.
It's hard to hide your embarrassment when you set off again. If you meet people who don't know, you will think that they are fleeing.
In fact, it was no different from running away from the desert. Although Wei Wang didn't show it on the surface, he was anxious inside. He was anxious to reach Taiyuan, and even ordered to reduce the time for camping and rest, and move forward as fast as possible.
Another two days passed, and it was about two days away from Taiyuan.
So far, the food that the imperial envoy and his party carried with them is running out. They ate dry food at first, then half-dry food, then watery food, and now they can only eat gruel to satisfy their hunger.
Not to mention the meat, there is not even a trace of vegetable leaves. Most of these soldiers eat a lot, and they will not be happy without meat.
But if you can't bear it, you have to stand next to each other. Didn't you see the imperial envoys eating the same meals as them
Some people can endure it, and some people can't. So after setting up camp that night, some people searched around for something to eat, such as a wild rabbit and pheasant, while they were burying pots and cooking.
Everyone is about to gnaw on the bark, but can you still have wild rabbits and pheasants? So after going out all the time, they all returned in vain, only one person came with a bag wrapped in his clothes, with a happy face, as if he had picked up some great bargain.
"Han Shuanzi, what are you enjoying, what did you pick up?" Someone greeted him.
The man didn't cover up either, and lifted the corner of his clothes to reveal it to others.
"Hey, let's eat together later."
"Hey!" The other party let out an exclamation, not knowing whether it was surprise or joy. Someone nearby saw it and shouted, "Can this thing be eaten?"
"Why can't you eat it? It's delicious. When the pot is free, put it in the pot and roast it. Sprinkle some salt. Make sure you swallow your tongue if it's delicious."
This soldier named Han Shuanzi has grasshoppers in his arms.
There are not many things, just like two adults, and I don't know how he got them.
Still alive, green with beige tinges.
This thing is not uncommon in the countryside, and many children even catch it to play with. Many people know that they can eat it, but no one will catch bugs to eat unless they have to.
Seeing this scene, some people grinned their teeth to express their dislike, while others probably showed great interest after having tasted it. After drinking gruel for so many days, the birds can fade out of the mouth, and it is good to have some meat to beat the teeth. So a few soldiers also moved their minds and walked aside, presumably with the same attention as Han Shuanzi.
It's also strange, usually there are not many grasshoppers, and they only took half a cup of tea, and everyone gained a lot. A few people got together, and it looked like a small pot, so they went to find the soldiers who made the rice to help them make it.
Some people know that grasshoppers can be eaten, while others don't. Most of them think that eating insects is a rare thing. After the grasshoppers are cooked, many people gather to watch the fun.
After it was out of the pot, no one let it go, and those who dared to eat stepped forward to take it and threw it into their mouths.
It tasted really good once I tasted it, and I quickly ate it even more anxiously, so those who dared not eat it also got started.
The bustling here was naturally known to the tent, but most of them didn't take it to heart.
The weather was too hot to stay in the tent, and the sun was about to set, and finally there was some wind, so Shu Yongtai went out of the tent to look around.
Most of what he observes are trees and grass, as well as land, wanting to see the local drought situation. The more he looked at the frown, the closer he frowned, and suddenly he heard a burst of laughter, and his eyes shifted to that place, originally out of focus, but the next moment his eyes focused.
He walked over quickly and asked, "Where did this come from?" He pointed to a lot of grasshoppers left in the pot.
Eating bugs at this time is very shocking to the world, and it is even a bit of a shameless behavior. Don't look at the fighting among these soldiers, it makes outsiders feel a little embarrassed to see it.
They also knew Shu Yongtai, and knew that this master had attracted His Royal Highness Wei Wang's attention recently, so they didn't hide it, and described the general situation.
After hearing this, Shu Yongtai didn't say anything, turned around and looked around, picked up a fire stick from the earthen stove, and went to the side. After walking about ten meters, he stopped suddenly and used a fire stick to dig the soil under his feet.
It was not convenient to use the fire stick to dig the soil, so he dug for a while before turning the soil up.
Looking at the densely packed insect eggs in the soil, his face suddenly turned pale.