Back To The Beginning Of Ming To Do Charity

Taizhou and Gaoyou are very busy throughout the winter. Many people feel that they are two worlds from the outside world. Many poor people outside have no food, no clothes, and live like savages. In winter, they can only rely on tree bark and underground Many people will not survive the next spring at all.

After knowing that Taizhou and Gaoyou can fill their stomachs, many people outside have embarked on a wandering trip, relying on their own legs and feet to travel long distances. They don’t even know the specific conditions of Taizhou and Gaoyou, they just think they have a chance to survive hope.

"Be good, eat." The sallow and thin woman handed the bark to her short and thin son. She wanted to smile at her son, but she didn't even have the strength to smile. They wandered all the way, she is a widow, the child is a posthumous child, and the father-in-law and mother-in-law left their hometown less than a month after they left their hometown. Life.

The woman has no choice but to be with the bachelor in the village in order to keep herself and her son.

But she felt that she couldn't take it anymore, she might die here, and then go to see her husband who died early, and her in-laws, but what about the children?

She stroked the head of her son who was eating the bark with her skinny hands, thinking in her heart that she couldn't leave him alone in this world, when she was about to leave, she had to send him away first, and the whole family could be with her reunion.

The bachelor from the same town walked up to her. They grew up as childhood sweethearts, but the bachelor was too poor to marry a wife. After he escaped, he would know what it was like to be a woman. When they are not full, they have to take care of their mother and child.

"We'll be there soon." The bachelor said weakly.

The widow nodded, they had been reassuring themselves for months that they would be there soon.

But this "soon" is too far away, as if it will never reach the destination.

The widow stretched out her hand, and the bachelor held her hand. The two sat quietly, watching the boy eat the bark hungry, as if it was some kind of delicacy.

The bachelor said again: "Soon."

The widow forced a smile.

The sun rose, and they were about to continue their journey. The boy took his mother's hand. They walked in the snow, taking one step at a time. They didn't freeze to death, nor did they starve to death. There are only a dozen people left.

After walking for a while, the boy couldn't move anymore, and the tip of his nose was red, and it would turn black and purple if it was cold, and then he would face death.

The bachelor carried the boy on his back and covered his back with animal fur, which would ensure a greater chance of the boy surviving.

No one spoke, they were silent and walked quietly.

Silence can lead to low spirits and slow hopelessness.

But they had no strength to speak.

Just as they stopped to eat the snow, someone suddenly shouted: "The city wall! I see the city wall! God! I see the city wall! Here we are!"

The widow was stunned, she stood motionless, like an ice sculpture in the snow, she hurriedly hugged the son on the back of the bachelor, she lifted the thin layer of fur, she reached out to touch the son's face, To feel his son's breath.

still alive.

The widow opened her mouth, and she could only make a gasping cry. She squatted down holding her son, inhaling non-stop, she was almost out of breath, and the bachelor hugged their mother, and many people were crying. He ran wildly with his feet and ran towards the city wall with his last strength.

The idea of ​​living has never been clearer than it is now.

The bachelor picked up the boy again, and the widow and the widow supported each other and walked towards the city wall.

But before they reached the city wall, they were shocked by the scene in front of them. Outside the city wall, there was a not-so-small outer city. There were many people walking on the street. They were wearing thick clothes, because of the cold Their faces were slightly red, but they were all smiling. Many people were setting up stalls to sell things.

There are also shops selling cooked food, they can smell the noodles, and someone is selling noodles.

There are also people selling yellow-faced buns.

It's the smell of food, not bark, not grass roots, not meatless worms, but real food, food that can fill one's stomach and make people feel happy.

There was no snow on the ground in the outer city. They saw people shovel snow onto wooden carts, and then pull them aside to boil hot water. Many people went to fetch water.

The bachelor and the widow stood among their fellow countrymen. They were afraid that these people would not accept them and drive them away, but even if they were afraid, they would not leave.

"Boss Zhou! There are escapees coming!" a peddler shouted.

The steward who was sitting on the side of the road warming up by the fire stood up, wrapped his scarf around his neck, rubbed his hands and walked out of the stall.

The refugees are also ordinary people. They are afraid of officials, and when they hear the word "management", everyone's face is like an enemy.

Zhou Guan counted the number of people in advance, and then wrote it down in a notebook, first writing the date, then the number of people, and then said to the people next to him: "Give them hot water, take them to the house, and then go buy some steamed buns."

The people next to him led the order to go down, and Manager Zhou rushed to the refugees and said, "Follow me."

The refugees had no other choice, they didn't dare to speak, and followed Manager Zhou with their hands tied.

Manager Zhou took them to a hut with a charcoal fire inside. Unlike the cold outside, it was as warm as spring inside. The refugees' frozen bodies were able to stretch out, and their numb skin seemed to finally wake up.

Manager Zhou pointed to the bench in the room and said, "Sit."

These talents sat down one by one.

Manager Zhou: "Report your names one by one, and where did you come from, what places did you pass along the way, where is safer and where is more dangerous, the more detailed the better."

The refugees reported their names one after another, and Zhou Guanshi recorded them in his notebook, and then began to record their hometowns and places they passed by.

When Zhou Guanshi recorded, the person who was sent to buy the steamed buns returned and distributed the steamed buns and hot water to the refugees.

The refugees devoured the steamed buns, unable to speak a single word, and buried their heads in hard work, until they ate up the three steamed buns each person was given and drank a bowl of hot water before raising their heads again.

The momos were warm, nicely done, soft and easy to swallow, they didn't even chew.

Manager Zhou began to measure the height of each of them, look at their teeth and record their more obvious characteristics, and then handed out a small wooden sign to each of them: "You guys keep this, you will need this for buying a house and doing work in the future, if it is worn out, come here and replace it .”

He explained in detail where he was going to sign up for work. After signing up for work, he would be allocated a house, but it was not free of charge, and would have to be deducted from their wages in the future.

Manager Zhou asked them, "Any more questions?"

Everyone was taken away with a dazed look on their faces. The manager said that they should register first, and then they will be assigned a house. They can rest for three days before going to work. During these three days, they will be provided with food and hot water. After going to work, one month's salary will be advanced in advance for daily life.

When registering, the bachelor said that the widow was his wife and the boy was his son.

After getting along for a long time, the boy has already called him his father.

The three of them arrived at a hut, and a curtain separated the room from the main room, which was enough for a family of three.

And single people can only share the dormitory with others.

After staying in Gaoyou for seven days, they have already integrated into the place. The officials and masters never ask them to be filial, and they will never come to them when they have nothing to do. The neighbors are very friendly, and no one looks down on them.

The widow now starches and washes clothes with her neighbors every day. In a big warm house, there is full of hot water inside so that her hands and feet will not get cold or frostbite. The children are put in a nursery, where there are special staff to look after the children. They will also teach the children some simple knowledge of numbers, and they are very relieved.

"Use this to wash." The man next to him said to the widow, "This will wash cleanly."

She asked the widow to carry the ashes, and after mixing them with water, the clothes could be washed very clean.

The widow smiled gratefully at the other party.

When resting, women will take out needles and threads to mend their own clothes.

The widow asked softly, "How long have you all been here?"

The women answered in one go.

"The outer city is full of outsiders. I have been here for half a year. I used to be in the inner city. Later, Nan Bodhisattva said that the outer city wanted people, so my family and I came out."

"Me too!"

The widow wondered, "Isn't the inner city better?"

The women laughed: "The inner city is crowded!"

The widow said again: "But the inner city has walls..."

There is no city wall in the outer city, what if there is danger?

The women said again: "There are people patrolling every night, and the barracks are outside. If something really happens, the soldiers can come out immediately, and they are safe!"

The widow was relieved at last.

Women began to ask how she escaped to Gaoyou.

The widow said: "In my hometown, the village head was killed by bandits. We were afraid that the court would send people, so we had to flee. There was no food left at home. If we stayed any longer, we would die."

The women sighed.

It is not a last resort, who would like to travel long distances away from home to a strange place to start a new life?

The women began to comfort her.

"It's good to come here, the adults above never trouble us, and don't ask us to be filial."

"As long as you work hard, you can find a job, and we women can also have private property! Work hard, you won't starve to death!"

"Yes, the treatment at our laundry bureau is quite good, and we can even get meat during the holidays."

"You can buy whatever you want."

"We send our children to nursery without paying."

After comforting her, the women educated her again:

"Nan Bodhisattva is a living god, you can't do anything wrong to Nan Bodhisattva."

"Otherwise God will punish you."

The widow was brainwashed for seven days after working in the laundry bureau for seven days and became a faithful believer.

The same goes for bachelors, even children.

The family of three even saved money to buy a statue of Nan Bodhisattva.

The carving is not fine, but to them, this is already the best statue they have ever seen.

Lin Yuan is not only their ruler, but also their spiritual leader.

Every refugee who goes to Gaoyou will experience such a baptism.

In modern parlance, this is the cult of personality.

They do not identify with any leader except Lin Yuan.

What Lin Yuan said was the truth and the oracle.

Knowing this, Lin Yuan was in a very complicated mood. He thought that this phenomenon and people's fanatical pursuit would slowly diminish over time, but now it seems that there is no sign of diminishing at all, and instead it is becoming more and more vigorous.

Song Shizhao thought it was a good sign.

"Boss, next spring, the time will come." Song Shizhao is very excited. He has become more confident recently. He believes that it is only a matter of time before this momentum continues. Not as good as them.

Look at those people who rushed to Gaoyou almost across most of the territory, doesn't this just represent the hearts of the people?

Lin Yuan said to Song Shizhao: "Liu Ji, Song Lian, and Luo Guanzhong, have these three replied?"

Song Shizhao quickly said: "Song Lian and Luo Guanzhong have sent letters and are on their way here. Liu Ji's side..."

Lin Yuan sighed: "It seems that it is not the time yet."

Liu Ji's spirit is higher than that of Song Lian and Luo Guanzhong, and Lin Yuan also understands.

Song Shizhao whispered, "Why don't I send someone to tie him up?"

Lin Yuan smiled: "Do you think it's so easy to tie? Besides, you know which is more useful, coercion or sincerity."

Song Shizhao sighed.

"How's the military preparation going?" Lin Yuan recruited Yang Zi'an, who had been used to the military reserve during this time.

Including dynamite, siege engines, trebuchets and weapons such as swords and halberds, as well as armor.

They still have no way to replace all the armor with iron, but Lin Yuan asked someone to make a batch of helmets. If the opponent's weapon is relatively blunt, the attack on the body may not be fatal, but the attack on the head may not be fatal.

Helmets can save some lives.

Yang Zian sat aside. He was very tired and hadn't slept well for several days. He could only drink a sip of strong tea to keep his mind clear. He said to Lin Yuan, "It's enough. The food and grass can last for two years. The weapons are called People re-polish, not to mention nitpicking, but sharp enough, the explosives are rushing these days, and the women have not closed their eyes for several days."

Lin Yuan nodded: "It's been a long time."

Yang Zian shook his head: "It's not your hard work, just look into your eyes."

Lin Yuan touched his bags under the eyes, he had been suffering from the bags under his eyes recently.

Sometimes Lin Yuan felt that the emperors in ancient times were really pitiful. They were as busy as dogs during the day, and at night they went to find concubines.

Sometimes being a fool is happier than being a wise one.

Faint king can enjoy happiness.

Mingjun wants to bring happiness to others.

Lin Yuan leaned back on the chair, but didn't dare to close his eyes, for fear that he would fall asleep once he closed his eyes.

"It will be fine after this period of time is busy, and I will work hard next year." Lin Yuan smiled at Yang Zi'an.

Yang Zian let out a long breath.

"More than 400 new refugees have arrived, and all of them have been resettled in the outer city." Song Shizhao said.

Lin Yuan nodded: "How many prisoners are there recently?"

There are still criminals, and they are all in Laurie now.

Song Shizhao: "More than 1000 people."

Lin Yuan: "Take them all out to build the city wall."

Song Shizhao nodded: "There are a little few people."

Lin Yuan: "You can also recruit people. The salary for building the city wall is higher, and someone will always go."

There must be a city wall, otherwise the outer city will become a fragrant bun.

-

Compared with Gaoyou, Taizhou, the winter in Changshu is not so easy. Rich people can also burn charcoal and have meat in their meals, but ordinary people can only make ends meet no matter how much work they do. An Laosi wears silk and satin , Pretending to be a businessman, knocked on the gate of Zhizhou with grain. The name of the prefect was Suhebalu, a Mongolian. After seeing the grain brought by An Lao Si, he quickly asked his servants to bring An Lao Si to him. .

An Laosi pretended to be a businessman from Hangzhou, and in addition to food, he also brought exquisite gold, silverware and jade.

There is also a beautiful girl beside him, and this beautiful girl is Tian Xiang, but now Tian Xiang and An Laosi are partners, and the two do not have a physical relationship like before.

Tianxiang was in charge of dealing with the female relatives, and got the words out of their mouths, but because she was Mei Ji, all she could get in touch with were concubines, not the mistress.

But compared to the mistress, the concubines know more news.

Because gentlemen will not bring their wives to certain occasions, but concubines don't have so many worries.

And most of the concubines have no education, and they don't know what to say and what not to say, Tian Xiang said a little bit, and they revealed everything they knew.

On the contrary, on the side of Mr. An, the gentlemen were not easy to pry their mouths, and there was not much useful information under side-talking.

The two exchanged news in the room in the middle of the night, and An Lao Si could write, and An Lao Si wrote letters to pass on.

He also has a book in his hand. Different characters in this book correspond to special symbols. He needs to use symbols to write letters, so as to ensure that even if the letter is intercepted, no news will be leaked.

If you find something wrong, just burn the book in your hand.

Tian Xiang told An Lao Si the news he had inquired all day. After An Lao Si finished writing the letter and handed it to his followers, he said to Tian Xiang, "Did you say anything when Nan Bodhisattva sent you here?"

Tian Xiang drank tea: "Nan Bodhisattva told me to watch you carefully, lest you do anything bad."

Fourth An laughed dryly.

He asked again: "Anyway, a one-night couple and a hundred days of grace, can you be a little more polite to me?"

Tian Xiang pouted: "What are you being polite about?"

Fourth An said in a low voice, "Otherwise, you will be my concubine?"

Tian Xiang's eyes widened: "You have a good idea. I think you are like a toad riding a kite. I don't know how much you weigh!"

Fourth An quickly said, "It's a joke, it's just a joke, don't take it seriously."

Tian Xiang snorted: "What Nan Bodhisattva asked you to inquire about is that you have inquired all about it?"

Fourth An sighed, with a sad look on his face: "Those people's mouths are too tight."

Tian Xiang: "A useless man."

Tian Xiang rolled his eyes: "Next time, you take me with you."

Elder An wondered, "What are you taking me for?"

Tian Xiang: "Men, it's only on the bed that you can pry your mouth open."

"Grandma, please don't make trouble for me." Fourth An said helplessly, "If Nan Bodhisattva finds out about this, he will have to take off my skin."

Besides, if he was caught out by Tianxiang, wouldn't he be compared to the mud?

He is not even as good as a woman?

Unable to speak on the big man, An Laosi could only focus on the little official below.

Unlike the rich and big men, the monthly salary of the petty officials is not much, they can only rely on the common people to search for money to maintain their dignity and life, and the common people are now so poor that they can't search even if they want to How much, if more people die, they still have to be responsible, so it's easy for An Laosi to throw money at them.

But they don't know much, at least they can't ask for more confidential information.

But they are very clear about the positions of the arsenal and granary, but the distribution of troops is not clear.

In addition, the biggest achievement is that they have connected with their colleagues in Changshu.

Unlike Zhizhou, this Tongzhi is a Han Chinese, named Jiang Zheng, 25 six, a rare young man who can sit in this seat, the young man is not so vigilant, he knows that the little officials under him After seeing the benefits of An Lao Si, he asked someone to call An Lao Si to him.

It might be a bit difficult for An Lao Si to deal with Suhe Baru, but it is much easier to deal with such a fellow who has his desire for profit written on his face. He took a set of pure gold tea sets and another Visit with a set of jewelry made of fake jade.

When Jiang Zheng saw the pure gold tea set, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

Tongzhi is only from the sixth grade, and Changshu is from Zhongzhou, so the Zhizhou in Changshu is the fifth grade. The administrative division and the rank of local officials in the Yuan Dynasty are divided according to Shangzhou, Zhongzhou, and Xiazhou.

In Changshu now, Zhizhou Suhebalu is living a happy life that ordinary people can't even imagine. Jiang Zheng who is by his side naturally sees it, and it is normal to have greed and extravagance.

"Brother An is really amazing." Jiang Zheng gave Jiang's mother the set of jade jewelry given to him by the fourth brother An, and accepted the gold tea set himself. After he received this gift, he never used anything else for tea. tea set.

An Laosi flattered: "It is said that heroes come from young people, but I think Jiang Tongzhi is a young hero."

Jiang Zheng said with a smile: "If I had known that I had such an affinity with Brother An, I would have invited you here."

The two chatted for a while, and finally Jiang Zhengxian couldn't help it anymore, and asked: "Brother An is so generous, I don't know what kind of business he is doing."

Fourth An's eyes lit up: "What? Jiang Tongzhi is also interested? My business is simple. If Tongzhi can make it easier for me in Changshu, we..."

Jiang Zheng didn't let go easily, he just asked, "Did Master Zhizhou mention it to you?"

Fourth An: "Master Zhizhou is so busy, how can he value my small business."

Suhebaru was smarter than Jiang Zheng, so he didn't take the bait from this. Besides, as long as Mr. An came to do business, he would definitely pay respect to him. Why bother to cause trouble for himself?

Jiang Zheng is different from Suhebalu. He is not as powerful as Suhebalu. He wants more money. Of course, he can't directly ask An Laosi for filial piety.

Even if you want it, can you get more than Sukhbaru?

Fourth An said: "I'm doing business for the nobles. There are always some nobles who are having a hard time these days and sell their property. Once I accept the price at a low price, they turn around..."

Jiang Zheng smiled: "Sell it at a high price, but those people don't know that they are selling it cheap?"

An Laosi winked at Jiang Zheng: "I don't know, I don't know, An has some face outside, and they have to sell it if they don't sell it."

Jiang Zheng was finally moved: "Brother An, tell me carefully, so that I can learn more."

Fourth An smiled.

The fish is hooked.