"These disaster victims are really like dogs biting Lu Dongbin, they don't know how kind people are! I am thinking about them, so that they won't fall into the tiger's mouth and be eaten by others without knowing what happened, but they will bite back."
Wang Meng's good intentions in persuading the victims to change direction were futile, and he was instead scolded by the victims. He could not help but get angry.
"Forget it, Lord Wang. We have different perspectives. They are short-sighted. Why bother with them? They are lucky. We are going to Jingnan to eliminate Zhu Ping'an, the corrupt official. It is not a wrong decision for them to go to Jingnan."
Peng Cheng patted Wang Meng's shoulder gently, smiled and teased, and comforted Wang Meng.
"Well, that's true. They have met a noble man like us." Wang Meng said with a wry smile.
The group continued to move forward to Jingnan. The closer they got to Jingnan, the more refugee groups they encountered on the way. Some were local refugees from Taiping County, and more were refugees from other places passing through Taiping County, bringing their elderly and children with them, and their families. The refugee groups came from three directions and gathered together on the official road leading to Jingnan, forming a huge refugee group. Xu Hai and others roughly counted and found that there were more than a thousand people.
Not only that, people are still flowing in from three directions, heading towards Jingnan like ants.
This was not the most shocking thing for Xu Hai and others. What shocked them the most and what was the most unbelievable to them was that these people who gathered to flee to Jingnan were looking in the direction of Jingnan, with trust and hope in their eyes, joy and excitement on their faces, each of them like a pilgrim.
"Look at Jingnan. After passing the foot of this mountain, Jingnan is just ahead!"
"Dad, cheer up, we are about to reach Jingnan, we are saved..."
"Okay, hold on to me, Dad can still hold on."
"Mother, that's great, we are finally getting to Jingnan, we are saved, wuwuwu..."
The disaster victims, who were pale and thin and had suffered a lot, looked at Jingnan which was so close at hand and could not help but burst into tears of excitement.
Strange things happen every year, but there are especially many today!
Xu Hai and the others were stunned when they saw this scene. Why were there so many hungry victims?!
Don't you all know that there is a corrupt official named Zhu Ping'an in Jingnan who doesn't care about the lives of the people, colludes with grain merchants, and drives up grain prices? !
Don't you all know that Jingnan is not a place of hope, but a hell of suffering? !
Don't they all know that once they go to Jingnan, Zhu Ping'an will gnaw them till nothing is left? !
Xu Hai and others couldn't help but feel tears in their eyes when they saw the refugees fleeing to Jingnan like pilgrims.
Zhu Ping'an, the corrupt official, used some unknown method to deceive these refugees. There are so many disaster victims today, but what about yesterday? What about the day before yesterday? How long has this situation lasted? ! How many refugees did Zhu Ping'an deceive in Jingnan? ! They walked into Jingnan with hope, but Zhu Ping'an first robbed them of their gold and silver, then skinned them, and chewed them, leaving not even a bone residue... ...
"Let's go to Jingnan quickly to seek justice for the people who have been harmed! And eradicate a great scourge for the people who are about to be harmed!" Xu Hai immediately firmed his eyes and said to Wang Meng and others.
"Walk!"
The group rode at full speed, passing the large number of refugees and quickly rushed towards Jingnan.
After going around a low ridge, they entered the territory of Jingnan. As soon as they entered the territory of Jingnan, Xu Hai and others were dumbfounded.
Oh shit!
How is Jingnan...
The sky is blue, the trees are green, the grass is green, the river is clear, the green vegetables in the rice fields are swaying in the wind, and smoke is rising in the distance... ... Everything you see is a painting, and everything you see is poetry. This is Jiangnan!
only
How come Jingnan is so... Jiangnan?!
Xu Hai and others had prepared themselves to see such tragic hellish scenes as corpses strewn across the fields and people eating each other's own children. However, what they saw was not such tragic hellish scenes, but the picturesque scenery of Jiangnan with curling smoke from chimneys. It was the Jiangnan they had not seen for a long time. Xu Hai and others could not help but be dumbfounded, and they were all stunned.
"Dear fellow villagers who have come from afar, wash your hands before eating. Don't push or fight. Everyone has a share. Uncle, and that lady, please walk slowly. Don't be in a hurry. We have plenty of porridge, enough... The steamed bread has just come out of the pot, everyone please be careful not to burn your mouth... After eating, everyone please move forward. There are people in front to accommodate you. As long as you work hard, you will not only have food to eat, but also money to earn."
"Please stand up, everyone. We cannot afford to be thanked. If you want to thank someone, thank our magistrate. All this was ordered by our magistrate. We are just running errands..."
Going further ahead, you will see a wide venue with ten large porridge pots lined up in a row, steam coming out of steam baskets, and three bulging grain carts parked on the venue. When the porridge in the pots is finished, you can open the bags and take out grain at any time, and use the stream water to boil the pot... In front of the venue, there are several people dressed in yamen runners' uniforms directing the victims to line up by the stream to wash their hands and faces, and then receive the porridge and steamed bread. The whole venue is clean, tidy and well organized.
The venue was full of refugees who had fled here, holding bowls of porridge and eating steamed bread, with happiness on their faces.
Further ahead, the refugees who had finished their meal went to the resettlement site ahead one after another under the guidance of their guides.
The scenery here is picturesque, there is food and drink, and the people here are full of happiness and hope.
This is not a miserable hell at all! Compared with other places in Jiangnan, especially with Taizhou Prefecture and Taiping County, which are close by, Jingnan is simply a paradise... ... .
Seeing this scene, Xu Hai and others could not help but think of Tao Yuanming's classic "Peach Blossom Spring": In the Taiyuan period of the Jin Dynasty, a man from Wuling made a living by fishing. Walking along the stream, he forgot how far he had gone. Suddenly, he came across a peach blossom forest that stretched for hundreds of steps along the banks. There were no other trees in the forest, and the grass was fresh and beautiful, with petals falling in all directions. The fisherman was very surprised... ...
This is unscientific!
I must have opened it wrong!
Xu Hai and others could not help but shook their heads, closed their eyes, and opened them again. What they saw was still Jingnan, which was like a paradise.
What is going on?! How could this happen?! Is this Jingnan? Did we go the wrong way?!
Xu Hai and the others looked at each other and were stunned! They were all shocked like wooden stakes, staring blankly at Jingnan, a picturesque place with abundant food and a paradise on earth. The worst one among them was the Magistrate of Taiping, whose mouth was as wide open as the mouth of a box.
Zhang Guyi, a captain of the Eastern Depot, was also shocked, but compared with Xu Hai, the magistrate of Taiping and others, he was much better.
Before coming, although Huang Dugong did not say it explicitly, his words were full of hints; coupled with his understanding of Zhu Ping'an, he felt that something must be fishy, but he did not expect that Jingnan's situation would be so good.