Nanming Engineer

Chapter 475
The weather during the Little Ice Age was either a severe drought or a severe flood. It was extremely cold in winter, and the ground could be cracked in the summer. There was a Luliang Mountain separated by a mountain, and there were two worlds on both sides of the mountain.

It rained for more than ten days on the east side of the mountain, and the water was sufficient to water everything, while on the west side of the mountain, not a single drop of water fell.

This kind of weather has lasted since the last rain in late spring. It has been dry for several months, and nothing has grown in the ground except tenacious weeds.

Several counties in the northwest of Shanxi are already empty. Those who can leave must flee to Shaanxi. Although there are frequent droughts and floods there, it is said that the Duke of Chaoliang is doing disaster relief and opening up granaries. Maybe they can survive. ; or cross Luliang Mountain, go to the rich east of Shanxi, where there are piles of Shanxi merchants, and there are some good deeds of charity, but the Ming and Qing Dynasties are fighting, and the soldiers are wild and chaotic, which is very dangerous.

No matter which side you go, for those who help the old and the young to leave their hometowns, it is a dead end.Man-made disasters such as military disasters, taxes, corvees, etc., combined with natural disasters, have been raging for more than ten years. These two generations of Shanxi people have endured the suffering silently. After Li Zicheng left, the old officials of the Ming Dynasty who ran back a few days ago clamored for the restoration of the country and reopened the Yamen. They came and went, staged a series of big dramas, and the common people watched numbly, listened, and then recited My own bedroll, set foot on the road of fleeing famine.

The road ahead is long, where is my hometown?

Wang Huan stood at the head of Xinzhou city, his face full of worry.

Dorgon's guess was right, the guard of Xinzhou surrendered to Wang Huan immediately, without even firing an iron bullet.

However, Wang Huan was still worried. The news he just received was that the Yellow River in Kaifeng, Henan Province had burst its embankment.

In the 15th year of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, when the peasant army besieged Kaifeng, the Ming army artificially cut off the Yellow River embankment once, hoping to drown Li Zicheng, never thought that Li Zicheng did not drown, but drowned 10,000+ Kaifeng people, and Kaifeng became a ghost city overnight. Ruined walls and ruins, corpses everywhere.

This flood created hundreds of thousands of thieves and enriched Li Zicheng's team.

At this moment, the dike broke again, but it was not man-made.

"It rained for so long a few days ago, I knew that sooner or later the Yellow River would find a mouth to vent its fire." Wang Huan tapped the pillars on the Guanlou with his knuckles, and said in a low voice: "Wanhe River flows in, and the Yellow River flows into it." It's too much."

"The embankment was broken once ten years ago, and it has not been properly rested. It is not surprising that the embankment broke this time." Ma Wannian flipped through a local chronicle, and said: "There have been years of wars, and the local officials can't care about repairs. It's just hard work." the people."

"How many people died?" Wang Huan lowered his voice.

Ma Wannian closed the book and shook his head: "I don't know, Henan is still in Wu Sangui's hands. The guy is stuck on the Henan side of Tongguan and refuses to retreat, waiting to see the outcome on our side. He is guarding it very strictly. Master Chen is not good at calculating the number of casualties in detail."

"Of course King Pingxi won't go to rescue the disaster?" Wang Huan shook his head with a wry smile, looking at Ma Wannian.

"Of course, I heard that they are taking the opportunity to recruit soldiers, and those who are willing to join the army will be given a bucket of rice. If you pass it now." Ma Wannian sighed: "I heard that there are a lot of applicants, and everyone wants to beg for food."

Wang Huan was silent, turned his back, and looked up at the clouds in the sky.

Ma Wannian stood behind silently, counting the ants on the ground with his head down.

"Life is full of life, flowers bloom and fade, and there is a definite number. We are beyond our reach now, and we can't do much." After a long time, Wang Huan said: "Only after a lot of waste is waiting for prosperity, can we make great achievements. It's just a matter of time."

"For bureaucrats, the world changes, but it's a good time to live with a different boss, stand in a good team and follow the right people. As long as you don't take risks, there are very few examples of the family being overthrown. It is the common people who suffer, They are the most helpless people in the world. When the king is angry, he lays his corpse for thousands of miles. Sometimes it is ridiculous to think about it. Why should he lay his corpse for thousands of miles when he is angry? Who gave him the right?"

"Family is the king of the world, why do all the people in the world have to do their best for your family? This kind of model will be over sooner or later. As the saying goes, the rich can't be more than three generations. Why should the king's family be passed down for hundreds of generations? There will be no foolish son in future generations. ? If such a person becomes the emperor, can the world not be chaotic?"

"When the world is in chaos, hundreds of ghosts will be born, and it will be another catastrophe. If you look at the root cause, it is the fault of the family. The dynasty changes. Didn't it flourish at the beginning, and then become depressed after a hundred years? In fact, it is a painful reincarnation in history, without a system. Fundamental change in the world is a dead end sooner or later."

As if talking to himself to the sun for a while, Wang Huan shook his head and saw Ma Wannian with his mouth wide open as if he was in a daze.

Seeing Wang Huan turning his head, Ma Wannian suddenly lowered his head and shook his hands, "My lord, my lord, the last general didn't hear anything, didn't hear anything!"

Seeing him cautiously like encountering ghosts and gods, Wang Huan couldn't help but smile, and scolded with a smile: "What are you afraid of? I dare to say it, but you dare not listen? Such a timid person, go to Li Tingyu and serve as a soldier for a few years Come back again!"

Ma Wannian raised his head immediately, and his smile gradually spread: "That's kind, my lord, you mean what you say."

Wang Huan had no choice but to point to his nose and said, "Don't be so impatient. When you reach the age of 21, you will be released to serve as a soldier. Now, let's finish the errands in a down-to-earth manner!"

Ma Wannian happily agreed, thinking of Wang Huan's words just now, he couldn't help being aroused by the young man's curiosity, and asked in a low voice: "Well, my lord, what did you say just now that you want to get rid of the family and the king of the world, so if you get rid of it, you can replace it with the king of the world." What? Could it be possible to let several families rule the world, and the emperor take turns? Isn’t this the Wagang Village in the legend of the Tang Dynasty?”

Wang Huan was taken aback for a moment, but he didn't expect the young man to have a lot of associations. He couldn't find a suitable word to explain it to him in a hurry. After thinking about it for a while, he became annoyed, and shouted: "Where did Dorgon go? Why haven't you heard about it yet?" News? Hurry up and ask!"

Ma Wannian fled in despair, and went in a hurry.

……

Su Le hadn't eaten for a long time.

He hid in the grass, like a cheetah waiting for an opportunity, quietly watching a group of Ming soldiers in the distance shouting and passing by. As he walked, he pushed and kneaded the unkempt Qing soldiers. The Qing soldiers were discharged. They were wearing armor and strung together with ropes. They were all bloody, and they seemed to be Mongolians.

The Ming army was in a mess of clothes and armor, and they seemed to be local warriors.

A team of village braves was able to capture the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty alive, which was impossible in the past.

Su Le was already very tired. He closed his eyes and lay down on the ground, letting the weeds cover his figure. After running for several days, he really wanted to take a rest.

Of course, the long knife in his hand, which drank the blood of an unknown number of people and whose blade was crumbled like a jagged blade, was still tightly held in his hand.

While half asleep and half awake, there was a slight sound, Su Le's eyes suddenly opened, he jumped up lightly, squatted on the spot, his eyes were exhausted, glowing like a wolf.

A figure gropingly came over from the haystack, as if he didn't realize that there was someone hiding here, Su Le held his breath, as still as a rock.

The figure was under the eyelids before he suddenly realized it. Before he could react, Su Le rushed forward, pinching the hand that was touching the knife with one hand, and choking the neck of the visitor with the other.

The palm of the hand was like an iron clamp, which made the man roll his eyes.

The sky is still clear, the sun shines on the grass, bright and bright.

There was a golden light in the man's arms, causing Su Le to let go of his hand.

"The regent's cloak?" He growled, grabbing the man by the collar: "Who are you?"

The man coughed for a while, then stared at Su Le with resentful eyes, sized him up, saw clearly that he was dressed as a bannerman, and asked angrily, "Who are you?"

Su Le said solemnly: "The general inlaid with a yellow flag, Lazhang Jing Sule, followed the regent to fight against the rebels. He was defeated and exiled here. Who are you? Why do you have the regent's cloak?"

The man's complexion changed, he didn't expect to meet a bannerman general, he quickly changed his face, and said respectfully: "I am Taijiduo Belen from the Chahar Department of Mongolia, and I am headed towards Xinzhou by the regent's order. Exploring the way, I unexpectedly met the Ming army, fought fiercely, and lost all my subordinates, I came here to avoid disaster, but I did not expect to meet the general."

Su Le frowned. This man is so incompetent, and the soldiers he leads can't even defeat some countrymen, so it's really useless, but what he cares about is another matter: "Where is the regent now?"

Doberun turned his hand back and pointed: "The regent, the guards and others are in the mountains behind, deliberately heading west, preparing to leave the Great Wall in the west to avoid the sharp edge of the Ming army."

"Walk west?" Su Le was surprised, then admired, and went the opposite way, not to mention the army, even his own people would never have guessed the direction Wang Huan wanted to catch Dorgon.

Holding the long knife in his hand, Su Le wanted to go west, and asked the Mongols: "The Ming army is in front of us. You can't get through it. Why don't you go back with me to protect the regent?"

Mongolian Taiji hurriedly said: "No, the regent ordered me to go to Xinzhou to deliver orders, how can I disobey?"

Su Le narrowed his eyes at him, and said goodbye. The Mongolian Doberen waited for him to go far away, huddled in the haystack and said to himself: "Fool! It's more difficult to go west than to go east. Forget it, you want to die. How can I delay you? Let you go!"

……

On the west side of Luliang Mountain, between Luya Mountain, a winding official road turns around from Xinzhou.

This place already belongs to Wuzhai County. Zhujiachuan, a tributary of the Yellow River, runs through the whole area. This river is usually not as deep as knees. At this time, due to the long rain in the upper reaches, the river is soaring and the depth is beyond human head. However, Wuzhai County has been dry for several months. It has formed a spectacle of long drought and flood.

Wuzhai County is built along a river. At the moment, most of the county is submerged in water. The officials and people in the city have long since fled due to the drought. It was useless, as soon as the flood came, they also ran away.

A group of men with blood in their armor appeared outside the county seat, looked at the raging flood from a distance, and then walked along the official road to the distance.

They had no horses, and the horses had long since given up in escaping from the pursuit of the Ming army. It was too much trouble to lead the horses, so they could only walk at this moment.

On the desolate dirt road, there is no one there, and the feet step on the loess that has been softened by the scorching sun, and the smoke and dust raised can cover the top of people's heads. Walking in it, it is like walking in a thick fog. Traces of this group of people can be found.

Dorgon didn't care, there were no wolves in this area, let alone people.No matter how high the smoke and dust are raised, they are not afraid.

(End of this chapter)