Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 186 The Year of Catastrophe
In May of the 50th year of Qianlong, the drought in Henan continued.

Since the summer and autumn of the previous year, 65 counties in Henan suffered from severe drought. In the spring of the second year, there was still little rain, and the drought continued to show its power. [-] prefectures and counties in the province suffered from drought.The disaster situation developed in depth, the people had no food to store, and ten rooms were empty.

On the [-]th day of April, a dark wind blew in Yongcheng County, Shangqiu in the afternoon, and the surrounding area of ​​the county was like a dark night for tens of miles.On April [-]th, hailstones the size of eggs actually fell; but at this time, the crops in the fields had already died of drought, so there was no mention of hail disasters at all.

By mid-May, the locusts came again!
Just after the morning of this day, the guards standing on the city wall of Shangqiu found that some small khaki-colored bouncing suddenly appeared on the ground outside the city, and then more and more, the paved ground outside the city and inside the city were everywhere. .

Immediately afterwards, from the direction of Beisha River, clusters of dark clouds floated over like low-altitude clouds.

The young soldier watched the things that were torn into pieces gradually approaching in the distance, and asked the veteran beside him, "Uncle, what is that?!"

The old soldier rubbed his eyes, his pupils suddenly dilated, his face showed a frightened look, and he yelled, "Locusts!"

Swarms of locusts covered the sky blackly, making the clear sky suddenly dark.They are like violent wind and rain, and between the ups and downs, the land is empty.In the few paddy fields outside the city, the flakes of millet were eaten in a blink of an eye, and not a single one was left, even the stalks and slender leaves of the millet disappeared.The fields where there were not many crops left were eaten up and turned into white land.

From the city to the outside of the city, it is almost like encountering Bingxuan (pronounced with the same pronunciation).Where the khaki locusts passed by, all the trees turned into bare branches in an instant, leaving only the shiny and sticky insect saliva and black droppings all over the trunk.

The entire land of the Central Plains became difficult for the people to eat and drink, and the villages were withered, and hundreds of thousands of families were suddenly in danger of dying!

The harsh tide of famine hits, even if the body is strong, it will not be immune to decline.Dead and wounded, and starved to death.In order to survive, the hungry refugees will do anything and everything.Among the hungry people in Zhengzhou, Xinyang and other places, cannibalism has already appeared.The people's livelihood is at stake, human relationships are at stake, and the world is weeping!

It has to be said that the Qing court in this era also responded very quickly to disaster relief.

In February, Yuqi, the Governor of Water Transport, made a play, requesting that 30 shi be retained in the grain grains of Henan and Shandong provinces to be allocated to Henan.It is requested that households with arable land of less than [-] mu in Henan Province be loaned five cents of seed silver per mu from the chief secretary's treasury to fund cultivation, and the loan will be repaid after the autumn harvest.

At the beginning of March, Qianlong decreed to agree.At the same time, it was ordered that the 23 prefectures and counties in Henan who had not paid all the money and grain in the previous year, and those who had applied for money and grain for 50 years, should postpone the payment until after the autumn harvest this year.Among them, there are areas that have suffered from severe drought and successive years of floods that have caused poor harvests, and additional rations for January will be added.

In April, Qianlong decreed that among the 23 disaster-stricken prefectures and counties in Henan, the six most affected counties were exempted from levy, deferred levy, and outstanding debts over the years; , Exempt one-third; other states and counties in the province, no matter how light the disaster is, postpone the collection until after the autumn harvest.

(As an aside, sweet potatoes have been introduced to China since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It was because of the catastrophe in the 50th to 51st years of Qianlong that they were introduced from Fujian to the north for planting. Before that, northerners did not eat sweet potatoes. Is it surprising?)

The Qing court originally thought that the disaster relief measures in Henan were complete, and just about to relax, who would have thought that in the middle of May, news came from Shandong. Since last September, there have been 78 prefectures in Shandong. The county is arid with little rain and snow; the drought became more serious after spring, and there was no rain until May, and the wheat harvest was hopeless!

In order to complete the task assigned by Zhao Xin, Lu Shoushan, Xu Dayong and Wang Changsheng began to show their abilities since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Lu and Xu first went to Funing, and through Luojiao's local relationship, they bought saline-alkali wasteland along the river and coast in Sheyang County, and bought farms.By mid-March, the two of them had bought [-] hectares of saline-alkali land locally.With the wasteland for camouflage, the next step is the sandship.It depends on Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng bought five [-]-stone old sand boats in Shanghai through Luo Jiaowei San's relationship.After that, he recruited [-] Shandong sailors from Cao Ding, and drove these sand boats to Sheyang Lake to dock secretly.

Ever since Lu Shoushan learned of the Qing government's disaster relief order, he understood that this would be a "war against people" against the clock.He, Xu Dayong, and Wang Changsheng each led their troops and divided into three groups to start the operation.

First of all, Lu and Xu took the registration certificate issued by the Funing County government, went deep into Henan, spent money to buy the servants of the local government in Shangqiu and Kaifeng, and the book office responsible for registration and stamping. The local people are buying people in the market.If the refugees had any doubts, they would only say that they went to the Sheyang Lake area in northern Jiangsu to cultivate land and open up wasteland.

Secondly, Wang Changsheng asked Wei San to introduce several Yamen from counties and counties along the canal. In the name of reclaiming wasteland, he asked them to buy refugee families from Henan fleeing famine and transport them to farms near Sheyang Lake for delivery.By mid-May, the three of them had bought nearly 3000 people and temporarily settled them in the farm for farming.

At this time, the news of the disaster in Shandong came. Lu Shoushan ordered people to go south quickly to inform Wang Changsheng, and asked him to recruit a large number of disaster victims in Shandong under the pretext of recruiting sailors through the relationship of Luo Jiao.

"Pfft!" A large locust with a red belly was trampled to pieces by the sole of the shoe.Xu Dayong scolded the soles of his shoes while rubbing them on the ground, "Damn it!"

The tooth man on the side smiled and said: "Master Xu, why bother to get angry with a grasshopper. This way please."

This is a people's market five miles outside Kaifeng City. Since the beginning of spring, more and more disaster victims have gathered outside Kaifeng City every day.Because of hunger, many people came to this market to sell their sons and daughters, or to sell their families.With the prosperity of the people's market, many local wealthy households in Kaifeng and businessmen from Shanxi were also attracted.

In a famine year, everything is cheap except food.Faced with the harsh situation, ordinary people pawned their fields and sold their houses and land in exchange for food for survival.When the family property was sold out, pawning the children or even the whole family became the last resort.

Every time like this, it is the time when the servants, secretary offices, dental matchmakers, and bully helpers of the county government in various places make a fortune.There is no other reason, whether it is a red deed or a white deed, someone needs to be guaranteed. (In slave and maid transactions, guarantors are generally seldom referred to as "middleman", "shuohe", "broker", etc. "Media" and other names appear.)
Xu Dayong walked around the market for a while, and soon chose a family of four.Then he took the family of four to a mat shed not far away to sign a contract of selling themselves.In less time than a meal, the deed of sale has already been written.

The county government secretary who took Xu Da's two hundred catties of grain and acted as a middleman read:

"Sell the family papers immediately. The person Li Erkui, the same wife Zhang, the eldest son Li Dashuan, and the second son Li Xiaoshuan. Due to the poverty of the family and the hardships of life, the four members of the family are now sold as slaves in Xu Dayong's house in Funing County, Jiangsu Province. It is used by others. It is stated face to face that the selling price is 50 yuan. The money is collected by Li Erkui himself, and there is no shortage. After the sale, he will be disciplined by Xu's house. Panting) wrong and so on, have their own insurer to take care of it. Fear of future failure, this sale of characters is used as proof. Li Erkui is a villager in Shahekou Village in the northwest of Xiangfu County. Wang Shucai was the representative of the characters. On May 22, the [-]th year of Qianlong, The prostitute Li Erkui, his wife Zhang, his eldest son Li Dashuan, and his second son Li Xiaoshuan. The guarantor Wu Liang."

After reading, the book office said to Li Erkui's family: "Do you have any objections?"

Li Erkui sighed and said: "There is nothing, it's all up to the master."

The secretary said: "Then you wait and come to make a bet."

"Sir, our whole family is illiterate."

"Then make a fingerprint. Come one by one."

After Li Dakui's family pressed their fingerprints, they first signed with the book office, and then the dentist who accompanied Xu Dayong.So far, a prostitution transaction is completely completed.All four members of the family sold their bodies in exchange for twelve pennies, which is enough to buy two stones of millet in Xiangfu County.

After accepting the deed of sale, Xu Dayong asked his subordinates to take Li Dakui and his family to wait in a big car shop outside the city. When 50 people were gathered, they would hire a chariot and horses to transport them to the farm in Sheyang Lake.

It's helpless to say that before the people are transported to the farm, they can't be fed enough, otherwise they will really run away secretly.Xu Dayong had met him twice before, and he didn't want to go to the county government to sue the officials for chasing them. , You can’t run away if you’re hungry.

He wandered around the market with that jerk for a while, and was about to go back to have lunch, when he heard someone not far behind him suddenly say loudly: "You sick bastard is so ignorant, I bought your sister, and I bought it for you." Not you."

Xu Dayong turned around and walked over to take a look. A middle-aged man with the appearance of a businessman was arguing to a man who was more than seven feet tall. Behind the man was a little girl who was hugged back with his arms.

"Master, my brother and sister have depended on each other since we were young. Cough cough~~ I beg you to buy me together, lead the cows to feed the horses, and help you with errands. I just ask for a bite to eat. Let my sister in the future Find a good man to marry."

The man kept bowing and begging, while turning his head to look at the girl behind him.

The merchant said: "This is so unreasonable. Just now I asked her in advance, she said she pawned herself, so that you can buy medicine and cure your illness in exchange for money. Why didn't you admit it in a blink of an eye?! Besides, it's based on your current situation. Sick, what can I do? I'm afraid I'll have to spend money to seek medical treatment and buy medicine when I go back, I'm not losing money!"

The man let go of his arms, knelt down on one knee and said, "Ahem~~Master, it's fine if you're from Xiangfu, but you want to take her to Shanxi. It's going to be difficult for my brothers and sisters to travel thousands of miles. Meet each other. When the parents were dying, the villain swore to protect the younger sister until she got married. Ahem. Please, master, buy the villain together."

When the surrounding audience saw what the man said, they burst into tears and felt sympathy, so they persuaded the Shanxi businessman to carry out his good deeds to the end.Unexpectedly, the merchant from Shanxi sneered and said: "It's hard to be a good person nowadays, and no one's food is blown by the strong wind. I bought this girl to take home as a maid, why bother to bring a consumptive ghost! Besides, you see Look, she is a natural foot, if I can buy her, I am already a good person!"

When everyone heard this, they all looked at the woman.The girl bowed her head deeply in embarrassment, and knelt down on the ground with a plop, her feet shrunk straight down.

Xu Dayong sneaked into the crowd at this time, and saw that although the man was tall, his face was dark and his body was thin. His bare legs and arms were full of joints. It seemed that he had been hungry for a long time.

Looking at the girl behind him again, her complexion is black and yellow, but she is quite handsome; her head is wrapped in a rag, her upper body is wearing a shabby blue cloth gown, and her lower body is a pair of trousers full of patches. It looks like a man's clothes .Under the trousers, a pair of big muddy feet wearing straw sandals are particularly eye-catching.Although this girl is not short in stature, she is as thin as a bamboo pole, and the blue cloth jacket is dangling on her body.

No matter how hard the man begged, the Shanxi businessman would not let go.Seeing this, the man turned around and knelt down to the people around him, and begged, "Who would be so kind as to buy my brother and sister together. As long as my sister can be fed, I can do whatever I want."

Seeing the girl seeing her brother like this, she also cried and knelt beside her and kowtowed to the people around her.

The merchant from Shanxi sneered: "With your ghostly appearance, who dares to ask for it? Huh! I put my words here, and no one will buy her except me."

Xu Dayong suddenly asked the man, "Young man, how old are you?"

The man straightened his upper body and said, "23."

"Where's your sister?"

"sixteen."

"How much are you two worth?"

When the Shanxi businessman on the side heard it, he immediately yelled at Xu Dayong: "What are you going to do? I have already taken my fancy on this woman, and I have already asked someone to go back and invite her!"

Xu Dayong sneered and said, "I've been listening to it for a long time. The brothers and sisters said they want to buy together, why do you want to break up the family! Besides, you wrote the deed of sale? Pledged the painting? What the hell are you talking about? !"

"You!" The Shanxi businessman's face turned blue from anger, and he said angrily, "What kind of onion are you?!"

"I can't stand you like this! What's wrong? Try not to accept it?" Xu Dayong was angry, and the pirate's nature was revealed.With a pile of flesh all over his face, he stared fiercely at the other party.

Seeing that the Shanxi businessman was frightened and stopped talking, Xu Dayong continued to ask the man, "How much are you two worth?"

The man said: "As long as the master can feed my sister, I will find a good man to marry in a few years. I don't want a penny, I will work for the master for a lifetime!"

Xu Dayong calmed down, and said: "It's not a problem if you are full, and it's not difficult to find a good family for your sister."

"Toad yawned, what a big tone!" the Shanxi businessman sneered.

"None of your business! Get out!" Xu Da scolded with a glare.He turned back to the man and said, "My farm is in the east of Xuzhou, hundreds of miles away from here, do you two want to come with me?"

"Thank you, master! The villain will be a cow and a horse for the rest of his life to repay the master's kindness!"

The man's younger sister raised her head slightly to look at Xu Dayong, thinking that although this man has a savage face, he is not kind to look at.But listening to him talk, he is not a bad person.

"Okay, get up. Come write the deed with me. Let's write down all the conditions, so you can rest assured."

The crowd of onlookers dispersed, Xu Dayong and Yaren took the brother and sister to the book office again, and helped to write the deed and draw the deposit.

During the questioning period, I learned that the brother and sister were surnamed Chen, from Wen County.The eldest brother is called Chen Jishan, and the younger sister is called Chen Erya.The parents of the brother and sister died early. Because of the drought, they had to sell the remaining two acres of Susukida in March, thinking of going to Jiangsu to survive.Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Kaifeng, Chen Jishan contracted a cold and fell ill.I thought it would be over in a few days, but it got worse and turned into pneumonia.

Not to mention eating and staying in the hotel every day, the brother and sister spent a lot of money on medical treatment and medicine for Chen Jishan.After coming and going again and again, the little money I got from selling the land in my hand was spent completely, and the disease has not been cured yet.The two brothers and sisters ended up living on the streets, and had no choice but to go to the market to sell themselves.

After Xu Dayong brought Chen Jishan brothers and sisters back to the big car shop, he asked his subordinates to ask the doctor to prescribe medicine for the doctor, and asked the former Li Erkui's family to take care of them.

After three or five days like this, it seems that another fifty victims have been bought.Xu Da used this to hire chariots and horses, and with the bought population, he headed for the farm in Sheyang County.

By this time, the severe drought that occurred in the 50th year of Qianlong had expanded to 29 counties in Zhili, and Xuzhou and Haizhou in northern Jiangsu were also drought-free for a long time, causing food prices to soar.

(End of this chapter)