Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 91

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

"Master Huijun, we are grain merchants in Fengyang Mansion. We heard of the famine in Huaibei, so we came here to sell grain to save the people."

In Suining County, Huai'an Prefecture, when a convoy escorting more than [-] carts of grain arrived in Suining, it was immediately blocked by soldiers.

The leading grain merchant took out a document and said with an embarrassed smile: "We are selling grain according to Governor Yang's order of water transportation, and I hope it will be convenient."

After finishing speaking, he handed out another piece of silver, and Bing Beidao, who got the silver, weighed it and suddenly smiled and said:
"Where are you going to transport the food in these carts? How much will it cost?"

"Master Huijun, these grains are going to be transported to Pizhou, and the price will be [-] Wen a catty..." The grain merchant replied.

"What?! Twenty Wen?!" Hearing Twenty Wen, the guard's voice immediately became louder.

"Uh... fifteen cents per catty is fine..." The grain merchant thought he had said too much, so he couldn't help but report a number in his guilty conscience.

In the end, the garrison kicked his grain cart directly:
"Who told you that there is a shortage of food in Huaibei? Let me tell you! Huaibei is very good now, and the famine has long been quelled by the court!"

"Er... this... but Caomin just received a letter from his uncle three days ago, saying that the famine in Huaibei has not been resolved for three months, and the food has risen to [-] yuan now..." The grain merchant was unknown, so he thought it was in Huaibei's clan uncle lied to him.

"Hehe... Didn't I say that there is no shortage of food in Huaibei, tell your people to go back!" The guard sneered contemptuously, mocking the grain merchant.

But at this time, a steward next to him seemed to see something tricky, and then he made money from the people behind him, and after he got together fifty or so taels of silver, he stepped forward to flatter him and said:
"Defense, in fact, we just want to transport food to store food. Where is the great hunger in Huaibei? Take a look, why don't you make it easier?"

"Hmm..." After weighing more than fifty taels of silver in his hand, the guard smiled and said:

"Right, how could there be a famine in Huaibei? But I think you guys are not food, but... beans! Right?!"

"Yes, sir, you are right, this is obviously a bean." A deputy guard next to him said with a smile, and then the guard also said with a smile:

"Huaibei is short of beans right now, you can go in and sell them, but remember, it's not twenty cents a catty, it's fifty cents a catty!"

"If the sales are low, other grain merchants will find the county magistrates in various places. Don't say I didn't remind you when the time comes."

"Remember, remember, fifty Wen a catty, fifty Wen a catty." The grain merchant's eyes lit up, and he immediately flattered him.

After the compliments were over, the grain carts rushed towards Pizhou under the lead of the grain merchants.

However, the scene of what they did was heard clearly by the people in bunts who followed the car.

After the grain cart was far away from the checkpoint, one person raised his bamboo hat and said to the people beside him:
"Brother, these dog officials, in order to make money, now actually say that there is no shortage of food in Huaibei."

"Outside of Huaibei, grain costs only three renminbi a catty. We sell it for [-] renminbi, which is a sky-high price. They actually want us to sell it for [-] renminbi."

"Can ordinary people afford it?!"

His indignation had no other meaning to the ears of the person next to him. The person raised his bamboo hat, revealing Lu Jianxing's face.

"They are guilty of fooling the court and the people of the world, but second brother, what we need to do now is to earn enough money and hand it over to His Highness."

"Only when the Yumajian has money, can His Highness raise soldiers, wipe out the prisoners, and deal with these corrupt officials in the south of the Yangtze River."

Lu Jianxing is very clear, to put it bluntly, even if Zhu Youjian knows about this kind of thing, it is useless.

It has been almost half a month since they came to Jiangnan, and Jiangnan and Suncheon are not the same place at all.

In the south of the Yangtze River, there is no money, no relationship, it will not work at all.

Just now, I spent more than fifty taels to bribe the keeper, but they only spent more than sixty taels for the more than [-] grain trucks and more than [-] catties of grain.

Is the bribe much money?many!But worth it.

More than [-] taels of grain and more than [-] taels of bribes, the result was that he took more than [-] catties of grain to Pizhou, and then earned [-] taels of silver.

Lu Jianxing had already divided his people into ten food teams, so that he could earn [-] taels of silver in half a month.

And this is just to explore the way, as long as the way is right and the officials in Huaibei are negotiated, then he will be able to transport grain to Huaibei in a steady stream.

He still has [-] taels of silver in his hand, even if he used all of it to buy grain, he would buy at most [-] shi of grain.

How many people are there in Huaibei?Let alone a million people, and no matter how little food a million people eat, they still need to eat [-] shi a month.

In just two or three months, he can use two hundred and sixty thousand taels of silver to earn millions of taels.

Even if the price of grain drops later, he can earn seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver.

As long as you earn seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver, you can buy two or three million shi of grain when you take it to Sichuan to buy grain.

In the south of the Yangtze River, even if it is only four hundred Wen a stone, you can earn more than one million taels.

A profit of [-]% is enough for him to earn two to three million taels in the next year by relying on the two hundred and sixty thousand taels of silver.

At that time, as long as half of the silver is handed over and the other half is left to buy grain and shipped to Liaodong, he will be able to complete the tasks His Highness entrusted to him.

At that time, he will not only get a Jinyiwei Qianhu, but may even be a pacifier from the fourth rank.

Thinking of this, Lu Jianxing clenched the handle of the knife excitedly.

But he also knew that he was able to do all this not because of his personal ability, but because of his identity as a royal guard and the care of His Highness.

Without the identity of Jin Yiwei, he would not be able to obtain the documents from Yang Yipeng, the Governor of Water Transport, and he would not be able to come to sell grain, let alone get this good job that can earn money.

But he also knew that what he earned was money against his will, based on the premise that millions of people in Huaibei starved to death.

But he has no way, this world is like this, he has no way to save everyone.

Even if he exchanged the [-] taels of silver for grain and sold it to Huaibei, it would not last long.

The situation in Huaibei can only be resolved by next year's summer harvest.

"Ah! What is this?!"

There was a sudden, noisy and terrified sound, and Lu Jianxing and the Jin Yiwei next to him jumped into the grain carts and looked into the distance.

But at this moment, the two of them froze in an instant, their hair standing on end...

On the road in front of them, countless corpses piled up several meters high, looking from a distance, they looked like hills.

These corpses were as thin as sticks, and fell on both sides of the road. Even though it was cold winter, the corpses had already rotted, and the corpse water mixed with snow water gradually gathered into a trickle.

After seeing this scene, everyone realized how terrifying the Huaibei Great Famine was, and how abominable those gentry officials who made money from it were.

Even Lu Jianxing, who had been in Jinyiwei for more than ten years, couldn't help being in a daze when he saw this scene.

After a long time, he came back to his senses, sheathed the long knife, and comforted himself in his heart:
"I made money for the imperial court. Only when the imperial court has the silver to settle Jianlu will it have the mind to manage Jiangnan."

"The more grain I transport, the lower the price of grain in Huaibei, and the people in Huaibei can get out of this purgatory as soon as possible..."

After comforting him, he shouted to the people in front:
"Don't stop, keep going to Pizhou!"

Under his urging, this group of cowardly people, full of fear and uneasiness, marched towards Pizhou with food.

It's just that I don't know how many corpses of people starved to death because of corrupt officials.

There are no cocks crowing for a hundred miles, the roads are full of corpses, no bones are collected, and passers-by have no children...

This is often an unimportant passage in books, but in the northern part of Huai'an Mansion, it is actually happening.

Along the way, Lu Jianxing watched the scrawny refugee couple exchange children with others, and exchanged children for food.

There are also those hungry people who are scrambling for bean stalks and gnawing crazily, like wild animals, they are no longer human.

It is hard to imagine that such a tragic situation in the world would happen in this land in the south of the Yangtze River, where grain is available three hundred miles to the north, two hundred miles to the west, and four hundred miles to the south.

This is not a natural disaster, but a complete man-made disaster...

This is a purgatory created by corrupt officials, gentry and merchants.

Near the city of Pizhou, more and more hungry people died on the roadside and in the wilderness.

This is extremely frightening to think about. Not far from the corpses of the hungry people, there is still a small river flowing, which is enough to prove that there is no drought in Huaibei.

In the absence of drought and water cut-offs, millions of people fled from the famine, and hundreds of thousands were starved to death by the roadside.

Even Lu Jianxing couldn't bear this scene.

But no matter how unbearable they were, they finally reached the city of Pizhou.

"Documents."

Dozens of soldiers standing at the gate of Pizhou city faced Lu Jianxing and others as if they were looking at ordinary people.

But judging from the expression of the other party, it just makes people feel that it is the same as usual.

But on the road behind Lu Jianxing and the others, there were dead bodies all the way, and there were no less than thousands of dead bodies.

The entrusted grain merchant turned pale, and handed over the document. At the same time, the guard in charge of the defense of the city looked at it, but didn't respond, just kept looking at the document.

Reluctantly, the grain merchant turned around and got out of the carriage, took down a fist-sized piece of silver and handed it over.

Seeing Yinzi, the guard smiled and said:
"Okay, there is no problem with the documents. Governor Yang has notified our county magistrate a long time ago. Now, please transport the grain to the county government. There, the county magistrate will collect the grain according to the price."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Upon hearing this, the pale grain merchant commanded the grain truck to drive towards the county government.

When they walked through the long corridor, they also saw bloodstains on the wall tiles and the ground.

And when they entered Pizhou County, the entire Pizhou County was empty, like a ghost town.

It's just that in the air, there was a faint, rustic meaty smell, but it was disgusting.

Everyone understands that what they are seeing now is not only Pizhou, but also the tragic situation in the counties in Huaibei.

All the officials, businessmen and gentry are using the lives of Huaibei to make money.

Some people eat grass and squeeze out blood, and some people are born to be responsible for squeezing blood.

"It seems that the matter here really needs to be reported to colleagues."

Lu Jianxing frowned, he didn't expect that Huaibei had already developed to the point where it would be easy for children to eat, and the smell of meat in Pizhou city made him nauseous.

The greed of Jiangnan officials has exceeded Lu Jianxing's imagination, but he instinctively felt something was wrong.

Because the scale this time is too small, it does not refer to the scale of the victims, but the scale of the silver taels that can be earned.

Based on the number of people in the Huaibei area, even if a catty of grain sells for [-] Wen, at most two to three million shi of grain can be transported to survive until spring.

Two to three million shi of grain, of which the profit may be [-] to [-] million taels, but it is divided among hundreds of merchants selling grain, and each person is at most a hundred thousand taels.

This money looks tempting, but if the court traces it, it will be a great crime for the Yi tribe.

Unless it's not just about making money, but also...

Thinking of this, Lu Jianxing was terrified, and then pulled Jin Yiwei next to him and said:

"Second brother, after leaving the city this time, you go to Changping to go to Changping and tell His Highness directly about Huaibei."

"But... Brother, didn't you say that you don't need to say it?" Jin Yiwei had a cold face, a little tangled, and a little puzzled.

"That was before, but you have seen the appearance of Pizhou." Lu Jianxing frowned and said:
"If you don't report this kind of thing, you and my brothers will be implicated in the future, and I think this matter is not simple."

"What do you mean?" The young Jin Yiwei frowned, and Lu Jianxing explained:
"Do you still remember that when we went south to the south of the Yangtze River to visit Yang Yipeng, none of his ships were in the water outside the yamen, and at this time, it is reasonable to say that the grain and silver should be transported north."

"Autumn tax, extra money, how could this money go to thousands of boats, how could it disappear out of thin air?"

"Besides, such a thing happened in the south of the Yangtze River. Why didn't officials come forward to organize disaster relief?"

"If there was a disaster like this in previous years, I'm afraid Nanjing would have allocated grain and water to help the disaster before the capital could speak."

"Now that there is no more grain and no disaster relief, they are using the Huaibei famine to make money."

With Lu Jianxing's pointing, the young Jin Yiwei also reacted:
"Brother, what do you mean to say that the officials in Jiangnan used the Huaibei famine as an excuse to intercept Caoliang and Caoyin, but in fact Caoyin and Caoliang had been embezzled long ago, and Huaibei was just a cover, the real Caoyin and Caoliang disappeared gone?"

"That's right!" Lu Jianxing nodded:

"That's why I said, this matter must be clarified with His Highness, and it will be handed over to you!"

"Don't worry, brother!" The young Jin Yiwei nodded, and then couldn't hold back any longer. After looking around, he clenched the knife at his waist.

At this time, the grain merchant also brought everyone to the Pizhou county government office.

When you get here, you can see the sparse crowd, as well as the county magistrate who is in charge of checking grain at the gate of the yamen.

Lu Jianxing and the others did not act rashly, but watched the county magistrate inspect the food.

"This grain is of good quality, is it from Fengyang Mansion?"

The magistrate of Pizhou County, dressed in official uniform, checked the grain, took it to his nose and sniffed it, and then told the origin of the grain.

Seeing the other party's appearance, the grain merchant also held a small box and handed it over, flattering:

"Yes, yes, my lord is really astute. These are some local products of Fengyang Mansion. Please accept them, and treat them as the fish and water of the officials and the people."

"Then I won't be polite." The county magistrate glanced at the small box, which at most looked like a hundred taels of silver, which was much less than other special products from grain merchants he had received these days.

However, no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. He still accepted the small box from the scribe next to him, and then said to the grain merchant:

"If you leave Pizhou, and someone from outside asks how Pizhou is, what should you say?"

"Pizhou is as usual. The famine and other things are all nonsense made by the people." The grain merchants seemed to be very honest at this time.

At the same time, the county magistrate said to him:

"Pizhou still lacks a lot of soybeans. As long as they can be transported and as many as there are, the price cannot be determined."

"If you luck enough next time, this number can be more."

After all, the county magistrate said again:

"Your batch of grain is pretty good, fifty cents a catty, let's get it right!"

His words were spoken to the grain merchants in the first part, and to the subordinate officials in the county in the last sentence.

Under the hands of more than a dozen subordinate officials and more than [-] civilian husbands, the grain brought by Lu Jianxing and the others was weighed and sold at a price of [-] Wen per catty.

More than [-] catties of grain, and a total of [-] taels were obtained. After deducting the money eaten at various checkpoints, Lu Jianxing made a net profit of [-] taels.

However, when they walked out of Pizhou City and the grain merchant handed over the silver to him, he looked at the box of silver in front of him, but felt heavy in his heart, as if what he held was not silver but a human head...

"Ugh……"

With a long sigh, Lu Jianxing said to the young Jin Yiwei next to him: "Second brother, go north and tell His Highness what happened."

"it is good!"

Hearing this, the young Jin Yiwei asked someone to give up a horse, then got on the horse himself, and said to Lu Jianxing:

"Brother, take care!"

"Go, be careful..." Lu Jianxing said worriedly, but he got the nod of the young Jin Yiwei, and then the back view of riding away...

"Director, let's..."

"Continue to sell food."

When Lu Jianxing looked at Shen Lian's back, the businessman in charge of selling grain came to ask, and Lu Jianxing answered without thinking.

If he reported the Huaibei incident, Huaibei would soon be noticed by the court.

In this way, he will not have much time to earn money.

For his future, he must earn more silver in the shortest time...

"drive!"

When Lu Jianxing continued to sell food for his own future, the young Jin Yiwei rode his horse and headed north.

Along the way, everywhere he saw were starving people.

In the frosty winter, they fled to the south. All of them were wearing tattered cotton clothes, or they were pulling a cart behind them, with dying parents lying on it, or they were holding children in their arms, their faces numb.

This is the Huaibei that the young Jin Yiwei saw in his eyes, and he is Lu Jianxing's second brother, Shen Lian.

He led the horse away, and saw the starving people who were looking at him with numb eyes, braving the wind and snow and heading south.

At this time, a fifty-year-old man pulling a cart ran to the middle of the road, Shen Lian reined in his horse, and the horse "Xi Lulu" raised its hoof, fell heavily, and smashed into the snow, causing the slush to splash.

He subconsciously put his hand on the handle of the knife, and the old man was holding a little girl in his arms, with a tattered body, and two girls, one old and one young, were lying on the back of the cart.

The old ones are sixty or seventy years old, and the young ones are twelve or thirteen.

"Master, may I ask if there is still a way to survive in the south?"

The old man's voice was weak, and the little girl in his arms couldn't even cry out.

His question is sharp, is there still a way out in the south?

Have it?Shen Lian didn't know how to answer this question.

Who would have thought that the "Wanli New Style" that was praised by the people and officials more than ten years ago would now be like a prison in the world?
"Let's go north..."

Shen Lian said these four words with difficulty, but he didn't want the old man to bow his head and say in a daze after hearing it:
"I was driven back from the north. I went to the west and the west, and I went to the north and the north. Now I have not been to the south."

"If I can't go to the south, I'm going to die anyway, then I'd better go back to my hometown and return to my roots."

The old man's words made Shen Lian grit his teeth, wishing to draw his sword and ask the northern officials to let them go and the victims to enter.

But he is just a small general banner and does not have that much power.

Besides, once he reveals his identity, he might be hunted down and killed.

At this time, Shen Lian suddenly felt a chill on the tip of his nose. After reaching out to touch it, he looked up to the sky, and saw that the fluttering snowflakes had started to fall again.

"Go north and see if I can take you out with some money."

Shen Lian was only in his early twenties, even though he was used to being in Jinyiwei, he still couldn't bear the starvation of these people.

But as soon as he said this, the hungry people around him surrounded him.

"Take me, sir, I can be your tenant, I don't eat much."

"Master, I'll sell my wife to you and take me out."

"Take me out, I still have three hundred coins with me, I can make up some money."

"Take me..."

The hungry people from all around rushed forward, almost overturning Shen Lian's draft horse.

"bass!"

"Stand back!" Shen Lian had no choice but to pull out his knife, aiming at the group of hungry people he once pitied.

When the hungry people saw the knife, they backed up one after another, but their helpless eyes looked at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian's heart trembled unbearably, but the old man pulled the cart and walked behind Shen Lian and said:
"Master, they are all hard-working people, let's go."

Although they are all hungry people, everyone hopes that they can survive, and there is nothing wrong with what the old man did.

He was responsible for himself and his family. After Shen Lian heard this, he turned his horse and walked north.

He was riding in front, and the old man was pulling the cart behind. The people standing there watched their figures heading north and slowly disappearing into the wind and snow. Their eyes gradually lost their vitality, and they continued walking towards the south numbly.

What can I do if I don't leave?Are you starving?
If you leave, you can live; if you don't, you can only die.

The vast land is covered with white snow, only the black like a black line of hungry people, walking to the south, full of dead silence.

Shen Lian took the old man and others to a piece of wasteland that had been eaten by people and only had tree pits left. He tied up the cart with spare bridles and ropes, rode on the horse himself, asked the old man to sit on the cart, and pulled the cart. Go forward with the cart.

Shen Lian's speed was slowed down quite a bit, but he was not out of a mindless act of kindness.

With his appearance of being single-handed and carrying a knife, he will definitely be stopped when he reaches the checkpoint, and the old man and others can also be used as witnesses.

Therefore, he took out three omelets from the package under his seat, and threw a bag of water to the old man directly.

"When you're full, tell me that I'm your business son in Beizhili when you pass the checkpoint."

"I know, I know!" As soon as they saw the pancakes, the drowsy old woman and young girl grabbed the pancakes one after another, gobbled them up, and the old man did the same.

But after taking two bites, he immediately poured a little water on his hand, broke off a piece of pancake and put it in the water, after it became soft and glutinous, he fed it to the little girl in his arms little by little with his fingers.

Seeing the little girl subconsciously licking her fingers, he said to Shen Lian:

"My name is Yang Lu, Yang from Wanli Yang. I walk on the road. I am fifty-six years old. I am a scholar in Wuhe Town, Pizhou County. I live in Six Households, Three Lanes, Wuhe Town."

He pointed to the old woman and said, "This is my wife, Mrs. Yang Li, fifty-three."

Immediately afterwards, he pointed to the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl next to him and said, "This is my second daughter, Yang Yuanai, who is thirteen years old."

After finishing speaking, he gestured to the girl in his arms and said, "This is the daughter of my eldest son Yang Fu, named Yang Ai."

Yang Lu could tell that the person in front of him was not an ordinary person, so he tried his best to explain everyone's information clearly, and also explained the news about his son Yang Fu clearly.

As long as Shen Lian remembered these and the old man's guidance, no one would suspect that they were not a family.

"Aren't even scholars allowed?" Hearing Yang Lu's words, Shen Lian felt a chill in his heart.

If even scholars are not released, then more ordinary people without fame will only have a dead end.

"I can't let it go..." Yang Lu said weakly with a lonely face:
"Except for Juren who can pass the customs, everyone else will be driven back. They said that the government will provide disaster relief soon, but we all know that there is only one word of death when we go back."

"My eldest son starved to death, and so did my daughter-in-law..."

He looked down at the baby girl in his arms, and said with tears in his eyes, "I can think of a way to escape and see if I can survive."

"If you can't escape, you're dead..."

It was uncomfortable to hear these words, Shen Lian could only reply:

"Don't worry, since I'm taking you out, I'll find a place for you to stay."

"In the Changping area of ​​Northern Zhili, the Yumajian recruited refugees in Fatian. People from your family used to divide the land into four mu according to the head of one mu."

"Really?" Hearing Youdi, the scholar stopped crying.

Although the title of scholar was well passed down in later generations, in fact, in the late Ming Dynasty, the number of scholars had exceeded hundreds of thousands.

If there are too many people, it is worthless, and the same is true for talents.

Only Juren is really valuable, and only they can escape all kinds of man-made disasters, so Fan Jinzhong is so crazy after Juren.

Walking like this, before dark, they saw the outpost in the distance, and Shen Lian also skillfully cooperated with Yang Lu and the others to slip through the soldiers blocking the way in Shandong.

After crossing the checkpoint, Shen Lian spent some money and led his people towards Changping. At the same time, Zhu Youjian didn't know that the Huaibei famine he had heard about was so serious...

　Two changes today

　　
　
(End of this chapter)