There is a girl in the village

Lu Yuanchang and his party hurried to Linchuan City at dusk.

Looking from a distance, I found that many people were crowded at the gate of the city. These people were ragged and unkempt, needless to say they were disaster victims.When I walked in, I found that there were twice as many soldiers guarding the gate of the city than usual. Whenever the victims approached, the soldiers pointed at the victims with long grass, each with a high air, but the victims were indignant.

"We are untouchables, but no matter how lowly we are, we have to give us a way to survive. We have come all the way, and the weather is freezing. Why don't we let us enter the city!"

"That is, you officials, what kind of food and clothing are not taken from us, why do you have enough food and clothing, but we have to suffer from cold and starvation!"

"It's fine for you to be domineering, but now that you've suffered a disaster, if we can live on, we won't come to the city. The officials, please show mercy and let us go to the city."

"Get out of here, you bastards. The general has an order that anyone who enters the city must pay the city tax. If you can't pay it, get out!" Seeing the victims rushing forward, a small military officer grabbed the long man in his hand. For a while, the victims were in a mess, and those who were unfortunate were stabbed and blood flowed all over the ground.

Lu Yuanchang and Yang Rong glanced at each other, and they couldn't help sighing. Aren't the government afraid of causing a civil uprising by doing this?No disaster relief, no relief, but to prevent the victims from entering the city and cut off the way of life. Seeing this group of passionate people, if they continue, they will not be able to force the people to rebel?

No matter how sympathetic Lu Yuanchang and the others were to the victims, they were powerless to help them. The group walked silently to one side of the passage, which was specially set up for those entering the city, but when the city tax was paid, people were shocked again.

Eight coins per person, thirty coins for vehicles!

Now Lu Yuanchang finally understands why the county magistrate wants to reduce the head tax this winter. It turns out that the wool comes from the sheep. The head tax is reduced, and other taxes are increased. Silver food, why not do it!

Yang Rong didn't want to conflict with the soldiers, he led Yang Ming to go to the city to buy food for the villagers, and he couldn't go on business, so he obediently paid the money and went into the city.

During Chinese New Year in previous years, the market would always be closed late, the streets were crowded with people, there were constant hawkers, there were jugglers, couplet writers, and new year sellers all over the street, which was very lively.

When I entered the city today, the streets were deserted, pedestrians were in a hurry, and there were expressions of concern on their faces, there were no buskers singing ditties and telling stories in the restaurants, and the shops on the street closed early, which is very unusual.

"Brother, do you feel something is wrong?" Lu Yuanchang asked with a frown.

"Well, did A Yuan notice that there were too many soldiers on the street?" Apparently, Yang Rong also felt a little abnormal.

"Not only that, brother, look, these shops are very prosperous on weekdays, but now even the shops are covered with dust, presumably they have been closed for a long time. And the population of the city seems to have decreased a lot." Lu Yuanchang said.

"Let's not scare ourselves, find an inn to stay and then go to the market to inquire." Yang Rong was not as impulsive as usual because of the burden of the village on his shoulders.

"Then go to Linchuan Inn, the manager there is familiar with me."

Lu Yuanchang didn't want to say anything more, wrapped his clothes tightly around his body, and led a group of people to Linchuan Inn.It's just that when they arrived, they found that the Linchuan Inn was also closed, and it seemed that people had left for a long time.

Seeing this, Lu Yuanchang had a bad premonition in his heart.Although Shopkeeper Yan is not a local, he has opened an inn in Linchuan City for many years, and he is quite concerned about the business. If there is no major incident, he will not end the inn business in such a hasty way. At least, Lu Yuanchang brought him three months ago At this time when Gu Xiaofu came, shopkeeper Yan had no plans to close the inn.

However, shopkeeper Yan once said that if there was a real war in the north, then he could only reluctantly return home.

"A Yuan, this Linchuan Inn is closed, where should we stay now?"

Yang Rong's voice brought back Lu Yuanchang's thoughts. She was still not sure what happened, and she didn't want to say more, for fear of scaring Yang Rong, she said: "Go to the market in front, there are many inns over there. , let’s pick one at will.”

A group of people walked quickly against the cold wind. They were tired and hungry after a day of driving. Fortunately, there was only a little snow today. Otherwise, they would not have lasted until now.However, it was obviously difficult to find an inn. The group managed to find a small inn when it was dark.

"Hey, please come to the guest officer, do you want to stay at the tip or stay in the store?" Seeing a lot of people coming, the shopkeeper hurriedly greeted a few people to enter the door.

"Please give us an upper room, four common shops, a table of food and wine, and eight bowls of Yangchun noodles." Lu Yuanchang said, clasping his hands.

"Guest officer, please wait a moment. The food will be arranged immediately. I don't know if it will be delivered to the room or used in the hall?" The shopkeeper saw that Lu Yuanchang and Yang Rong were well dressed and brought four servants, so he knew that they were in the bag. Quite rich, he asked attentively.

"Use it in the hall." Lu Yuanchang said, and gave Yang Rong another wink.

Seeing this, Yang Rong understood, and led the people to sit down in the hall.

It was freezing cold, and they were hungry all day. Seeing the hot Yangchun noodles, the four tenants ate them in big mouthfuls. Lu Yuanchang sympathized with the tenants' hard work, and specially ordered two bowls for each of them, probably because they were hungry. It was hard, the tenants not only ate up the noodles quickly, but also drank up the soup.

"You guys have worked hard today, and you should rest early. Tomorrow, I will be transporting food and pressing it. I can't do it without a little strength."

Lu Yuanchang saw that the tenants were standing there waiting for her instructions after eating, so he said a few words of encouragement casually, and asked the shopkeeper to boil some hot water for them, and the tenants returned to the room gratefully.

"Ah Yuan, drink some wine to warm up your body." Yang Rong poured wine for the two of them, and without waiting for Lu Yuanchang, he took a big bowl and drank it himself.

"Brother, let's drink less today, so as not to miss a major event in the village." Lu Yuanchang narrowed his mouth slightly and persuaded.

"Brother, I'm in a panic. It's rare to come out on an errand. Who would have thought it would be like this. A Yuan, I know you know something, and you don't have to hide it from me. Tell me quickly." Yuan Chang grew up together, looking at Lu Yuanchang's words and deeds, he always found some flaws.

"Brother, I'm not sure yet, just hold on for a while." Lu Yuanchang persuaded Yang Rong, and seeing the shopkeeper thinking about his calculations, he asked the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, most of the inns in the city are closed. There are less than two or three left in the past, how can you still operate here?"

"The old man's whole family is in Linchuan City. Wherever he can go, he might as well stay in this city." Seeing that Lu Yuanchang had something to ask, the shopkeeper got up and walked over.

"Shopkeeper, please sit down. We are also from Linchuan County. We are fellow villagers, so you are welcome." Lu Yuanchang clasped his hands.

"That old man disturbed the guest officer with his old face." The shopkeeper replied.

"The shopkeeper is being polite, let's have a sip of hot wine together." Seeing Lu Yuanchang's wink, Yang Rong greeted the shopkeeper with a smile on his face.

The three of them chatted while drinking, and chatted for a while.

"We are from Luoxi Village, and we came to the city to buy new year's goods. I also went to the city a few months ago. At that time, the city was very lively and the shops were also flourishing. When I entered the city today, I found that it was very different from the past. Even I've been looking for an inn for a long time, but I don't know what's going on in this city?" Seeing that the time had come, Lu Yuanchang asked tactfully.

"Hey, guest officer, you've come here for nothing. How can you still buy new year's goods now? The city can't survive the year." The shopkeeper sighed again and again.

"Shopkeeper, where do you start with this? The Chinese New Year is coming up in a few days. How can there be no New Year's goods in the city?" Lu Yuanchang pretended to be stupid and asked.

"Hey, guest officer, you don't know something. Three months ago, the price of grain in the city kept rising, and everyone thought it was a business method of grain merchants from other places. The Chamber of Commerce in the city organized the grain merchants to unify the grain price and adjust the grain. It is about to fight with foreign grain merchants, thinking that they are foreigners, so they can't stay here for too long."

"I was also selling grain in the city at the time. This matter is already known. Could it be that there is a mystery in it?" Lu Yuanchang asked.

"Isn't that right? At that time, after one month, the foreign grain merchants really couldn't hold on, so they took it as soon as it was good, and sold all the grain they brought to the local grain merchants, but who would have thought that the grain in their hands was extremely Little, it can't be compared with normal years at all."

"How can there be so little? There is a lot of grain in the south. Don't those grain merchants transport it to the north every year?" Yang Rong asked suspiciously.

"Guest officer, don't worry, just listen to the old man speak slowly." The shopkeeper said with a worried old face: "At that time, the local grain merchants received the grain from the southern grain merchants, and found that the grain was very scarce, so they asked the southern grain merchants, but They all avoided talking. The local grain merchants already had very little grain, and now they bought some grain at a high price. Those who came back did not bring back a large amount of food, but brought back a piece of news."

"What news?" Lu Yuanchang's feeling of uneasiness became more and more obvious.

"All the food from the south has been transferred to the north by the emperor. I'm afraid there will be a war! It's not a small fight, but a big fight with Rong Di!" The shopkeeper said solemnly. If there was a war, he would I'm afraid the inn will not be able to keep it.

"Is this serious?!" Yang Rong couldn't help worrying about Lu Yuanchang when he saw Lu Yuanchang's sullen face.

"It's absolutely true! Ever since the news spread, the wealthy households in this city have moved to the south one by one. The county magistrate specially designated corvee labor as building the city wall this year. Recently, there has been a snowstorm, and people who leave There are more, and the ones left in the city are either the old people who have lived here for generations like the old man, or the poor families who cannot afford to move, and it is too late to save their lives, so who wants to celebrate the New Year!" It's Qi Qiran.

"Since the city is empty, why doesn't the government allow the victims to enter the city?!" Lu Yuanchang asked angrily.

"It makes no difference whether you enter the city or not. There is not much food left in the city. Even if the victims enter the city, they will suffer from cold and starvation. Moreover, the city is firmly controlled by General Bo. Even the county magistrate has no control over it! The county magistrate He also suggested that the victims of the disaster be allowed to enter the city and participate in the construction of the city defenses, but General Bo disagreed, saying that he was afraid of being mixed up in the fine work, and kept the victims out of the city gate and left them to fend for themselves. People outside the city froze and starved to death every day. How pathetic."

Lu Yuanchang and Yang Rong looked at each other in blank dismay. They never imagined that the situation would become so severe.

Seeing that the two of them understood the situation in the city, the shopkeeper got up and left.But Lu Yuanchang and Yang Rong drank silently.

The wine is cold, the dishes are frozen, and the night breeze is blowing, but no matter how cold it is, it can't cool the chill in my heart.

Yang Rong was a little drunk, he propped himself up and looked at Lu Yuanchang, and said, "Ah Yuan, I'm afraid you won't be able to hide this time."

"It was originally destined. In the past, I was not afraid of joining the army. I was able to avenge my father when I went to the battlefield, but now I am not at ease. If I leave, what will happen to my wife?" Lu Yuanchang raised his head and drank. After drinking the wine in the bowl, he said dully.

"You are my brother, my mother and I will take care of her. As long as there is the Yang family, there is the Lu family." Yang Rong said righteously, not to mention that Yang Ming and Lu Zhengfeng are brothers who worshiped. He and Lu Yuanchang also grew up together, and they were like brothers, how could the Lu family suffer.

"I have called you Big Brother since I was a child, and I called your parents Godfather and Mother. In my heart, you are my only relatives in the world. It is enough to have the words of Big Brother." Lu Yuanchang held up the bowl Confronted with Yang Rong, the two of them raised their heads and gulped it down, but the bleak aura enveloped the two of them thickly.

The wine was about to run out, and the two felt depressed, so they left the inn together and wandered around the city together.Silk and satin shops, rouge shops, grain and rice shops, wine shops, teahouses, restaurants, and familiar shops have all been covered with a thick layer of dust, exuding the atmosphere of the end of the song.

At the end of the street, there was a shop light that was on. Lu Yuanchang approached and found that it was the pharmacy that healed himself that day. Lu Yuanchang raised his hand and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, the shop door opened.

"What's the matter, guest officer, the shop is closed." The one who came out to answer the door was the drug boy from that day.

"I want to buy some supplements for women, but the supplement store has long since disappeared, so I have to disturb your store." Lu Yuanchang said, cupping his hands.

"Guest officer, please sit inside." Yaotong still remembered Lu Yuanchang's face, so he let him in. It was because she and Gu Xiaofu were so cute that day, and Yaotong still remembered it vividly.

After entering the door, Yaotong went to the backyard and called the doctor over. When the doctor saw Lu Yuanchang, he smiled and said, "Little Lang, are you here all right?"

"Mister, you are polite. My wife and I are very good. This time I am looking for you to buy some supplements and my wife." Lu Yuanchang cupped her hands and said, she had a good impression of this doctor.

"Teacher, take the tortoise shell I treasured to Mr. Xiaolang, and then weigh some angelica and donkey-hide gelatin for Mr. Xiaolang." After the old man ordered Tong Hua, he said to Lu Yuanchang: "My lady's tonic that day It is estimated that there is not much left, why don't you prescribe another dose?"

"That's great, thank you sir, but there's one more thing I want to ask sir." Lu Yuanchang blushed a little when he said this.

"What's the matter?" Seeing Lu Yuanchang's shy look, the doctor became curious for a moment.

"Yes... yes..." Seeing that Yang Rong was also looking at her, Lu Yuanchang couldn't say anything.

"A Yuan, you are a man, can you speak more quickly? You look like a woman, you must be suffering from a secret disease!" Yang Rong spoke more rough than before because of his drunkenness.

When Lu Yuanchang heard the words, he immediately became angry from embarrassment, but Yang Rong was her eldest brother, and it was inconvenient for her to lose her temper with him, so her face flushed red from embarrassment and anger.

The doctor looked at Lu Yuanchang's youthful look, and couldn't help laughing to himself, the young man was really very interesting.