Hunger, disease.
The road was filled with corpses and the dead bodies of the starving were piled up side by side.
There was no green in the vast wilderness. Hundreds of refugees were numb and slowly moving in a certain direction. On this road, from time to time, a corpse covered with rotten flesh could be seen. Flies and mosquitoes were circling, maggots were crawling, and a child with skinny and sunken cheeks squatted beside them, swallowing his saliva and reaching out to grab a few and stuffing them into his mouth. His eyes were as fierce and resolute as a lone wolf.
Suddenly, a kick came.
She was caught off guard and fell forward heavily.
The strange thing was that she didn't look back to see who kicked her. She ignored the pain on her forehead and crawled forward with her hands and feet together. The person who kicked her didn't seem to expect her to react like this. She stood there in a daze for a moment. The next moment, she reacted and strode forward to chase after him.
“Don’t run!”
"Little bastard!"
"Stop right there!"
Although the two were very different in size, the child, driven by the desire to survive, somehow burst out with potential and jumped very fast. Her heart was beating like a drum, and she didn't dare to stop at all. Because she knew very well what would happen if she was caught!
She would be like the neighbor brother who was exchanged, turned into pieces of delicious roasted meat and a pot of delicious smelling soup.
"Don't run—"
"Damn, that little bastard runs fast!"
The man was so skinny that he looked like a skeleton covered in human skin. He hadn't had a full stomach for a long time, and his last meal was the day before yesterday. He didn't have enough physical strength, and was worried that grabbing the little girl from behind would cause her to struggle violently, wasting his energy in vain, so he attacked from behind and kicked her hard. He thought that this kick would make the girl unable to get up, but unexpectedly, the girl jumped faster than a rabbit.
"Bah! You're lucky!"
This scene was also seen by a group of refugees.
There was no adult around the little girl. She was either lost or the adult had an accident. No one cared about such a missing child. If their lives were stable, they might be willing to come out and be good people, but now they are all in trouble, how can they have the energy to pay attention to other people's affairs? Haha, out of sight, out of mind.
The line of numb people was still slowly moving.
As they fled, their belongings were either lost or looted by soldiers and bandits countless times, and they had no food left.
At first, they could still get some food, but as the refugee group grew larger, it became harder and harder to get food. In the end, they ate grass roots and tree bark, and drank water when there was nothing else. Some strong young men would secretly get up in the middle of the night, disappear for a few hours, and come back before dawn. They didn't say it, but everyone knew it in their hearts.
Everyone was becoming increasingly pale and thin, so hungry that they didn't even have the strength to speak, but these people still maintained a certain rosy complexion.
Until I was really hungry.
Exchange children for food, and eat to fill hunger.
But this approach doesn’t last long.
The refugees looked at each other with ferocity and wild-animal hunger, but no one dared to break the balance first. Because no one could guarantee that they would be the fastest and might become a meal. People died of starvation and disease one after another.
Their deaths prolonged this delicate balance for several days.
finally-
The atmosphere was still broken.
But it's good news.
A long-lost refugee returns with good news.
There is a place nearby that is recruiting soldiers. If you are selected, you can eat as much as you want! They want both men and women, both the elderly and children. As he said this, he took out a lot of dry food from his arms and spread it out for people to see: "These are all you can eat!"
Gudu-
The loud sound of swallowing saliva fell into everyone's ears. They thought it was someone else's, but it was actually their own.
A child who was so dirty that his original appearance could not be recognized stretched out a pair of black hands and snatched two pieces of his dry food in a flash. He stuffed them into his mouth and chewed them hard with a ferocious expression. Seeing this, the refugee was so angry that he wanted to slap them.
The little girl opened her eyes with a pair of sinister and fierce eyes, dodged his hand that was about to tear her apart, and shouted with a smile: "You have eaten as much as you can, so what's wrong with me eating a piece of you?"
When she called out, the refugee was unwilling to stop, his teeth rubbing in anger as he squeezed out the words: "Yes, eat as much as you can... But you are an uneducated child, born by a mother but not taught by her. This is to be shared with everyone, how can you snatch it?"
The little girl stared and said nothing.
Patting his chest, he finally slapped the dry food stuck in his throat. Other refugees were also given a few small pieces. These dry food had been stored for a long time and tasted a bit sour, even more tasteless than mud, but many people were moved to tears.
The refugees took out their dry food and spoke comforting words.
"Why are you crying? Come with me, and we can all have a full stomach together! Mr. Chen, you know Mr. Chen, right? He lacks everything except food. The tyrant was still alive before, and he robbed all our food. Wasn't he the one who shared it with us? Have you forgotten, fellow villagers? You can have a full stomach by following him!"
Then, the refugee described vividly how he was treated after he joined the army. He had enough food and good clothes. He would not change his life even if he became the king! There were also people from Yanzhou in the crowd. They knew that Chen Tang had gritted his teeth and allocated food to help the victims when the war was at its most tense! The man in front of them spoke enthusiastically, and they immediately believed him 60% to 70%.
At this time, it was the little girl who raised doubts.
"You said you were well dressed?"
The refugee said, “Yes!”
"Then why are you still wearing such tattered clothes?"
The refugee who was questioned almost had a heart attack. He looked at the girl secretly with a murderous look in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down. He was also quick-witted. He thought of a reason before everyone wavered and became suspicious, and even turned the tables: "If I wore the good clothes given by Mr. Shen, I would have been robbed a long time ago. If there is a benefit, I will naturally focus on my own people first. What's wrong with you, kid? Can't you see everyone doing well? You have a bad heart!"
Although the girl realized something was wrong, she was still young and didn't know what to do when faced with so many people looking at her with disgust.
She was aware of the malicious gazes around her and chose to remain silent.
Without her jumping out to argue, the blueprint drawn by the refugee successfully attracted a group of people who were so hungry that their eyes were black and their bodies were weak, and the only thing on their minds was to fill their stomachs. Most people had a herd mentality, and seeing more and more people choose to believe, they followed suit. The little girl wanted to run, but a skinny and strong hand grabbed her shoulder tightly.
"Let me go—"
"Kid, it's too dangerous for you to be alone."
Having said that, he took her away without further ado.
She struggled in vain and was pinched secretly, and was threatened in a low voice: "If you don't behave, I will do it now!"
The refugee was satisfied when he saw the fear in those eyes.
Perhaps because they had hope, these people finally had some smiles on their numb faces. For the sake of food, they were eager to know everything about this good man, Mr. Shen. Some people, out of vanity, made up false news.
At first, fake news was quite normal.
For example, they would not disturb the people during the war and would provide food to the refugees.
After that, the style of painting changed in an outrageous direction.
For example, there was not enough food and medicine. In order to save his mother, a filial son risked his life to stop Shen Jun in the street and ask for help.
Lord Shen felt pity for the common people, so he ordered someone to bring a knife, cut the flesh from his wrist and take blood. The filial son cooked the flesh and blood and gave it to his mother to drink. The next day, the mother was full of life.
"Hiss—this is fake, right?"
Some people feel pain in their hands just thinking about cutting meat with a knife.
Someone immediately jumped out to refute it.
"How can it be fake? I saw it with my own eyes. The village next door was infected with plague and everyone was about to die. Then Mr. Shen gave a bowl of blood and poured it into the well water! Guess what? The whole village drank the water from the well and they all recovered in a few days!"
"Yes, yes, yes - I've heard that too." Another refugee echoed, telling a similar story.
Then some people said that Shen Jun could turn into food.
"With a wave of his hand, a granary was filled!"
"Really?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false?"
As more and more people said, "My neighboring village is like this and that," "My relative is like this and that," "I heard about someone on the road," ... everyone completely believed that Mr. Shen had the ability to feed them and clothe them well.
Even if they took up arms and went to the battlefield, they would only be killed. But a Lord Shen with three heads, six arms, ten feet tall, and muscles all over his body could fill hundreds of granaries with hundreds of thousands of stones with just a wave of his hand. How could he be stingy with their food
As the rumors became more and more outrageous, no one questioned them anymore.
No, some people still have doubts.
The girl huddled in the corner bit her lower lip, her eyes rolling around, trying to find a way to escape. She didn't believe in Mr. Shen. Food was so precious. Those nobles didn't have enough for themselves, so why would they share it with the lowly people? The adults around her were full of lies. Some of their words didn't make sense, and only a fool would believe them!
Before she could think of a solution, a sound of horse hooves approached.
The refugees suddenly became nervous and their nerves were on edge.
The refugees who had brought dry food to recruit soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, without any sign of panic on their faces, and walked forward with a smile on their faces. The tough soldiers gradually relaxed their expressions, glanced at everyone, and said, "Well done!"
After praising the man, she turned back.
"You can rest assured!"
Although his tone was harsh, he was not as fierce as those soldiers and bandits.
These mounted soldiers did not rob them, and sent someone to lead the way. Seeing this, the refugees cried with joy. With hope in their hearts, their weak steps became more firm. Half an hour later, they saw a camp.
The camp was not very large, and there were soldiers patrolling everywhere.
The refugee recruiting soldiers pointed ahead and said in a sonorous voice: "It's right here. Go in and everyone will have food!"
"There's food..."
"Woo woo woo, there's food..."
The camp did not stop them. When they heard that they were here to recruit soldiers, they let them go. They were then divided into two groups, male and female, and sent to different areas. The endless supply of dry food that everyone was looking forward to was not delivered, but was instead sent to a pool.
"My Lord, when can we eat?"
The soldier looked everyone up and down and said, "Wash them first."
There was undisguised disdain in his eyes.
The weather has been hot recently, and the stench of the people can be smelled from a few feet away. Faced with disgust, they did not dare to question the soldiers holding weapons. One by one, they took off their clothes and went down to the pool. The pool was very large, but not deep.
Adults sat in water just up to their necks.
There was no one guarding nearby, so everyone could wash and scrub without worry.
The water in the pool was not very clean, but it was cool and refreshing. After taking a bath, I felt refreshed. In order to avoid being criticized for being dirty, I put my clothes into the pool to wash them, wrung them half dry and put them back on. Soon, another soldier came to lead the way.
"Sir, where are we going?"
"When can we eat?"
The soldier scolded everyone impatiently, his eyes were vicious: "Shut your mouths, don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask!"
Everyone was frightened like quails and dared not say a word to urge them.
Soon, everyone was sent to a huge tent.
The tent was quite large, and could hold 100 to 200 people. When everyone came over, there were still about 20 people inside. Everyone didn't understand why, but they still cooperated. I was bored and started chatting with the people next to me.
Fearing that the other party would not pay attention to him, he poked him with his elbow and asked curiously: “Is the food given by Mr. Shen delicious?”
The man glanced weakly.
The next moment he turned his eyes away again.
"Why are you ignoring me?"
These twenty or so people were too quiet, and their expressions were even more numb than before, which made everyone smell something bad.
So he asked again: "Have you eaten yet?"
Finally, the other party responded, and started with an unfriendly curse: "Eat, eat, eat. Why don't you eat your parents? It will be your turn to be eaten later. Your noise is so annoying!"
As soon as these words came out, it was like thunder exploding in my ears.
They couldn't believe what they heard.
What does it mean to "take their turn to be eaten"
"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!"
There was a noisy noise coming from the camp in the distance.
"Let me out, I don't want to stay here anymore!"
But after a few screams, the noise died down again. Even though everyone knew what happened without seeing what happened, their faces were pale and silent.
Everybody has been deceived!
The little girl was so scared that she shrank behind the crowd.
Not long after, a group of soldiers came in and carried the man out. No matter how he struggled, it was useless. The soldier had a fierce look on his face and stabbed the man in the chest with a knife. He grabbed the man's hair and dragged him out like a dead pig, leaving only bloody drag marks.
It wasn't long before it was the little girl's turn.
She was grabbed out like a chicken.
At this moment, although her mind was full of thoughts of struggle, her limbs were as stiff as wood, and she did not move at all. She was thrown into a pottery jar in a weird and funny posture. A big fire was burning under the pottery jar.
After an unknown amount of time, she felt she had control over her limbs again.
He struggled to climb out by grabbing the pottery jar.
The guarding soldiers heard the noise and came over with weapons in hand.
"court death-"
Just as the weapons were about to fall, there was a commotion outside the camp.
The explosion caused the gravel on the ground to tremble.
"Flood the Seven Armies!"
A white shadow came walking on the waves.
The wall of culture energy that rose up in the camp was no match for the water column that turned into a dragon. The water dragon raised its head and crossed the wall of culture energy, rushing down with an unstoppable momentum. For a moment, the waves surged.