1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 494 The Human World ([-])
On the sixth day of October in the 16th year of Chongzhen (November 1643, 11), Li Zicheng's army pretended to be a deserter, tricked Tongguan into opening and closing the gate with the superintendent's flag, attacked Tongguan from inside and outside, and Sun Chuanting died in battle.Five days later, Xi'an fell, and Sun Chuanting's successor, Mrs. Zhang, led three concubines and two daughters to commit suicide by throwing themselves into a well.

Chuan Ting died, and Ming died!The last mobile heavy corps of the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed, and the countdown to the defeat of the Ming Dynasty entered.

On October 1643 (November 11, 30), Li Zicheng changed Xi'an's prefecture to Chang'an, banned the villagers from wearing short coats, charged one or two or three yuan per stone for grain next year, and harvested six thousand catties of grass per stone this winter to be transported to Chang'an.Three hundred mules were sent from each county to requisition millet and thousands of stones. They fought hard and plundered rich houses to help them pay.

In the winter month of that year, after the cold weather in Shaanxi and Shanxi, the weather was extremely cold, but there was no snowfall for several months.

In November (December 1643), the great epidemic in Henan and Jianghuai caused "thousands of Xiao Shu ghosts singing" and "looting by hungry people everywhere", and tens of thousands of people died of the epidemic.

In late November (January 1643), the plague spread to the three major battalions of the capital. Tens of thousands of soldiers died.From August to December alone, in four months, one fifth of the people in the capital died of this epidemic. The count is more than 1."

In October, the Fujianese who served as county assistants after the first division of the capital began to use the "blood pricking method" to treat epidemic diseases, and tens of thousands of patients lined up for treatment every day.Winter came, the temperature dropped sharply, and countless mice died of freezing. Coupled with the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, the plague in the capital seemed to subside.

On a cold winter day, a long convoy arrived in front of the Youwei Army camp in Tianjin. Seeing this, the officers and soldiers of the Guards rushed forward, laughing and begging for all kinds of wine, food, dried meat, and canned food.

"Damn it, I really don't understand whether this group of people are Ming officials or a bunch of beggars!" Yue Zhongwu took off the face scarf that covered his mouth and nose, and took a deep breath of the bitter cold air.

"They belong to the beggar army!" Wu Chaochun also took off the face scarf, and looked at the guards with some sympathy. In this cold weather, there were still several guards in tattered single clothes. , his nose was running from the cold, his hands and feet kept jumping and rubbing, just like those beggars on the streets of the capital.

"If they are hungry, will they rob us?" Yue Zhongwu couldn't help tightening the musket in his arms.

"What's the matter? In our convoy, apart from books, there are all kinds of antiquities and utensils, and they can't eat them." Wu Chaochun shook his head and said: "Besides, the officers of the guard here are all fed by us. Yes, I will definitely not allow my soldiers to cause any trouble."

"Oh." Yue Zhongwu nodded, took out a flagon from his arms, took a sip, and suddenly felt his body warmed up a bit.

Huang Zijia, the envoy of Qi State, sent a letter to Changsheng Island half a month ago, requesting to send armed personnel to meet the convoy from the capital.In a few months, the Qi State Mission used various means to collect tens of thousands of books from Wenyuan Pavilion and the market, as well as a huge number of ancient relics from various dynasties.

After learning that Sun Chuanting was defeated and Xi'an fell, the Qi mission immediately launched the evacuation of personnel and materials.Several escort agencies were hired to transport books and antiquities to Wuqing County, and then, under the escort of more than [-] marines and township soldiers, they went to Tianjin Wei and temporarily stored the vehicles in the military camp of the guard, waiting for ships from Changshan Island to arrive transport.

A few days later, the Qi State Marine Corps and township soldiers who escorted the convoy saw a shocking scene at the pier. Tens of thousands of hungry people were huddled outside the cold corner houses, or even behind piles of dirt and rocks slightly leeward.In the wilderness, there are countless corpses of starving people who died of freezing and starvation.The hungry people, who were still a little bit strong, staggered to the side of the pier, looking expectantly at the several galleys on the shore, hoping that a kind boatman could give them a bite of food, or take them away, so that they could live a happy life. life.

"Why are there so many hungry people?" Wu Chaochun asked in surprise.

"When we came ashore to pick you up, there were thousands of hungry people on the pier. However, they were taken away by our boat. Unexpectedly, within half a month, so many hungry people gathered again!" Yue Zhongwu said with a complicated expression. Looking at those hungry people suffering from cold and starvation, he was just like these hungry people three years ago, huddled in a corner of Haizhou (now Lianyungang City), waiting to die.Fortunately, Hanzhou's immigrant boat came and saved his life.

Seeing the situation here again, he still hoped that Han Zhou, no, Qi State could save these starving people who were struggling to the brink of death.

"There are only eight boats, and they are still small boats. I don't think they can hold too many people." A leading naval officer said regretfully: "When I came, I was ordered to take you and the goods back first. As for the rest You can only take as many people as you can fit in the cabin. Those who can’t be taken away, it depends on whose fate they have to survive this winter..."

Yue Zhongwu and the others were silent when they heard this.The weather is cold and there is little to eat. Most of these tens of thousands of hungry people will die quietly this winter.

"This shitty God!...the shitty world!" Wu Chaochun cursed in grief and indignation.

"That's right, God this thief doesn't give people a way to survive!" Yue Zhongwu murmured.The gloomy sky made the entire dock area extremely dark and gloomy. The cold wind blew past, as if God wanted to take something away, rolling up the garbage and dust on the ground and floating into the air.

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January 1644, 1, Xinhuai'an, Shiba Township.

In the evening, on the earth dam field in Dawan Village, the village chief Yang Guangde was looking through an account book in the afterglow of the setting sun, with a hint of impatience on his face.

"...Zhu Yougen, there are [-] acres of paddy fields. The heavy rain last month caused floods, and nearly [-] acres of rice fields were soaked in water. Well, the officials in the village have decided that your family will be exempted from [-]% of this year's agricultural tax, and subsidize corn, sorghum, etc. Miscellaneous grains for half a year, fifty kilograms per month."

"Village chief, ten acres of paddy fields were destroyed by flood, but the remaining five or six acres cannot be cultivated. Why not exempt from agricultural tax?" Zhu Yougen stretched out his head to look at the account book, for fear that the village chief would read the words on it. Mispronounced.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Yang Guangde pushed Zhu Yougen aside, stared and said, "Although your paddy field has flooded, it hasn't completely destroyed the paddy field. Now that the flood has receded, don't you still Can't you replant some other crops? Don't tell me that you want to be lazy all day long, want to abandon this year's harvest, and rely on the subsidies from the village to fool your own stomach!"

"How can it be!" Zhu Yougen said with a smile: "There is a third child in the family, and we have to get more fine grains to feed them. How dare we be lazy? I just think that if the government can reduce or exempt more agricultural taxes, or subsidize more Fine grains, that would be great!"

"Damn it, I've lived in Hanzhou for six or seven years, and I still don't care about government subsidies and your coarse grains!" Yang Guangde scolded: "If you want to leave it in Daming, in this situation, let alone subsidize your grain, you should The agricultural tax paid must not be in arrears at all. You idiot, let alone eat enough, even if you can not starve to death, that is your fate!"

Zhu Yougen was a little embarrassed by the village chief's reprimand, and he didn't dare to refute for a while.However, what the village chief said was correct. Since coming to Hanzhou, it seems that he has not been hungry. In the earliest days, most of them ate corn, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other coarse grains.Later, as the cultivated land on Timor Island and Weiyuan Island (now New Guinea Island) was gradually developed and expanded, a large amount of rice was transported to the mainland of Hanzhou, and the people's rations began to gradually transition to half coarse grains and half fine grains.

After seven or eight years of continuous improvement and optimization of the cultivated land in Hanzhou, part of the cultivated land close to the river bend valley can gradually grow fine grain crops such as rice and wheat. The grain output in the northern region has increased year by year, and not only has it fully achieved grain self-sufficiency, but it also has a slight surplus.

However, it is impossible to make the native people of Hanzhou rich by growing food alone.With the establishment of various local agricultural product processing enterprises in Hanzhou, economic crops such as sugar cane, sorghum, peanuts, rapeseed, medicinal materials, fruits, and tobacco leaves have also begun to be planted on a large scale.At the same time, the breeding of poultry and livestock such as chickens, ducks, geese, cattle, sheep, and pigs is also expanding year by year.

According to preliminary statistics by the end of 1643, the total number of large livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, mules, and donkeys in the northern part of Hanzhou has exceeded [-] (only), and if the eastern part of Hanzhou is included, the total number should reach [-] (only) ) above, as for chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry and pigs, because the vast majority of farmers have breeding, the number will only increase.

Zhu Yougen borrowed four sheep and two goats from the village two years ago, and now has seven sheep and four goats. The wool sheared each season will bring his family six to eight Hanzhou The silver dollar cash income is a great supplement to the daily consumption of their family of five.

Although he does not have to worry about food and clothing, his small life is not easy. Although the eldest in the family is five years old, he can herd sheep and do some chores, but he has also reached the age when the government requires him to enter school. Go to the village school to study.There are two little ones left, one is three years old and the other is under one year old. They need to be taken care of by their Johor mother-in-law at home.Therefore, the farm work at home basically fell on Zhu Yougen alone.Only when the field is the busiest, the wife will take the two children to the edge of the field to help him do some chores.

Zhu Yougen's biggest hope now is that the children in the family will grow up quickly so that they can help him and support this weak family.

Occasionally seeing new immigrants telling about the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, how it is full of chaos and disasters, Zhu Yougen sighed after listening to it, and felt extremely lucky.In Hanzhou, he had his own house, his own fields, enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and have a wife and children on the kang.

All of it originated from when I was at the seaside, took a piece of pancake, and then boarded a big ship without hesitation, and came to this southern continent.

In the world, there is a little luck, but there are also too many misfortunes, time and fate!
(End of this chapter)