I

The officers and soldiers guarding the bridge witnessed all this, but no one was willing to come and help.

Not only that, but they raised their swords and killed any starving people who tried to cross the bridge.Whether it is starving people or horse bandits, it is a big problem for Tianjin!

Zhao Zhenfang's voice was hoarse, but her parents still did not respond.She knew that her father and mother were asleep. A month ago, the eldest brother also fell asleep and did not wake up.

The little girl was so hungry that she stood there blankly.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Zhenfang walked towards the nearby corpse.There was a fire that had not been extinguished, there was porridge in the broken earthen pot, and some rice grains were sprinkled on the ground.

Carefully plan the rice grains stained with blood into the crock pot.Zhao Zhenfang imitated her mother, collected water from several earthen jars, and knelt there waiting to cook porridge.

She didn't know if it was cooked or not, Zhao Zhenfang couldn't bear it, she sobbed with tears and swallowed her saliva, holding the earthen pot out of the fire with her hands.

"what!"

The little girl's hands were scalded with blisters, but she reluctantly did not throw away the crock pot, but carefully placed it on the ground.

Then, she stood there in a daze, turned to look at her parents, and stood dumbfounded until the porridge was cold.

Suddenly, Zhao Zhenfang suddenly picked up the earthen pot, came to her parents, shook her father's body and said, "Daddy, don't sleep. Get up and drink porridge, you won't be hungry after drinking porridge."

Father did not respond.

She went to shake her mother's body again: "Mother, drink porridge, you won't be hungry. Mother, get up and drink porridge... woo woo, wow wah wah..."

A great fear struck, and the little girl began to cry.

Gradually, I became tired of crying and lost the strength.

"Water, water, so thirsty..."

The little girl turned her head to look, but Zhao Han was struggling to speak.She wiped away her tears and rushed over with joy: "Second brother, second brother, get up and drink porridge!"

Chapter 002 [Grab a dog-beating stick at the beginning]

Zhao Han was in a daze, and he didn't wake up completely. He just felt hungry and thirsty.

In a trance, his lips and teeth touched the crock pot, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to drink water.

The cold porridge with dirt and gravel poured into his belly like this, so he helped Zhao Han recover, and he opened his eyes to see a girl lying beside him.

"Second brother, are you awake?" Zhao Zhenfang laughed happily, tears in her eyes, her confused eyes instantly glowed.

"I..." Zhao Han struggled to speak, but after only one word, his throat hurt like a tear.

He wanted to support himself to get up, but he felt powerless, like a ghost pressing on a bed.He was clearly conscious, but he couldn't control his body, he couldn't even move his fingers, as if he didn't belong to him from the neck down.

Gradually, Zhao Han fell asleep again.

Zhao Zhenfang was also very hungry, so she stayed by her brother's side like that, ate the rest of the gruel, and even licked it with her tongue while holding the crock pot.

Finally, officials in the city of Tianjin organized people to cross the bridge to collect the corpses.

It is summer now, and if hundreds of corpses are not disposed of, it will easily become a plague.

Those responsible for carrying the bodies were all officers and soldiers from Tianjin City.

Due to the serious fleeing of the sergeants, the Tartars expanded in Liaodong again, and the Tianjin New Army was formed in the last years of Wanli.

The new army has a battalion system, which is not part of the guard system and is allocated by the central government.Excluding the "Zhenhai Battalion" and other coastal defense forces, there are more than 6000 new troops inside and outside Tianjin, but only in the past ten years, only two or three thousand have escaped.

And of the two or three thousand new troops, none of them can fight, and they have long since become slaves.

In addition, there are thousands of guards in various parts of Tianjin, who serve as serfs to the generals from generation to generation.

Inside and outside, tens of thousands of officers and troops nearby were scared by dozens of horse bandits and dared to come here now.

"Little fifth brother, this one is still panting."

"If you can't survive, you will be dragged to the mass grave together."

"I'm not injured, I'm just hungry, I can still survive with half a bowl of porridge."

"You give him porridge?"

"I can't get enough to eat myself, how can there be porridge for him?"

"Then what are you talking about?"

Regardless of whether they live or die, they are all loaded onto trolleys and dragged to a nearby barren cemetery for simple burial.

After going back and forth several times, I finally came to the Zhao family's side.

Zhao Zhenfang threw herself on her father's body and screamed, "Don't touch my father!"

Seeing her young age, a soldier couldn't help but said pitifully, "Oh, she's already dead, we'll bury your father."

Zhao Zhenfang shook her head and said, "Daddy isn't dead, Daddy is asleep."

The soldiers ignored it and moved to carry Zhao Chen's body instead.

"mother!"

Zhao Zhenfang rushed over again like crazy, seeing these soldiers shaking their heads again and again.There were only two corpses, the little girl wouldn't let them move, so they could save trouble.

Zhao Zhenfang managed to protect her parents' bodies, and when she saw the soldiers walking towards her brother, she hurriedly shouted, "That's my second brother!"

A soldier sighed: "The co-author is a family, it's very miserable."

The soldier next to him said: "This little brother is not dead, his chest is still moving."

The soldier before leaned over and touched Zhao Han's forehead, shook his head and said, "The fever is so bad that I have nothing left."

The soldiers left the Zhao family alone and ran to carry the other corpses.Seeing that it will be dark, this is the last trip, and there are hundreds of corpses left to talk about tomorrow.

The sun is setting, and the sky is twilight.

Six-year-old Zhao Zhenfang growled with hunger.She supported her thin body, dragged her second brother to the middle of her parents, and then stood there silently waiting for the dawn.

Zhao Han woke up from hunger in the middle of the night, his head was dizzy, his stomach was hungry, and his whole body was weak.

It was difficult to get up, and through the dim moonlight, the little girl next to him was faintly visible.She seemed to be so hungry that she curled up even when she was sleeping, her small hands were covering her stomach.

This is the little sister, Zhao Han suddenly remembered.

No, I'm an only child, where did you get your sister from?

Zhao Han shook his confused head and looked down at his clothes.I don't know what material it is made of, but it feels rough to the touch, and there are old patches everywhere. This kind of clothes doesn't even look like a horse bandit.

In the first year of Chongzhen, the new emperor ascended the throne?

Zhao Han sat on the ground slumped, looking at the bright starry sky in ancient times, the absurdity was so absurd that it was difficult for him to accept it.

He was born in an ordinary family in New China, and his academic performance was not bad since he was a child.Reluctantly admitted to a key high school, but unfortunately did not get admitted to a key university, and could only read an ordinary undergraduate.

Because he dreamed of becoming a soldier since he was a child, Zhao Han resolutely joined the army and became a college soldier when he saw the recruitment banner at school.

After two years in the army, Zhao Han did not apply for a promotion, but retired and returned to school to continue his university studies.

Seeing that he is about to graduate, he is thinking about whether to take the postgraduate entrance examination, or choose to take the civil service examination, why did he come to ancient times?

And it is the first year of Chongzhen!

The Chongzhen Dynasty seems to be only 17 years old, Zhao Han is not very sure, anyway, it is not far from the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhao Han knew about the history of the late Ming Dynasty, but had forgotten many details.

His major is Chinese language and literature. He has studied ancient literature, philology, and classical philology, but unfortunately he has not studied ancient history in depth.

His body was really bad, and his fever didn't subside, so Zhao Han fell asleep again in a daze.

Awakened from hunger again in the morning, Zhao Han crawled through the nearby corpses, but did not find any food.

The remaining hundreds of corpses have been turned over several times, not to mention the money and food left, and even the slightly better clothes have been picked up by the officers and soldiers responsible for collecting the corpses.

But Zhao Han was really hungry, his eyes were red from hunger, his stomach was hurting like a knife, and he had the urge to bite people's flesh.

Looking at the corpses, Zhao Han really wanted to pounce on them and take a bite.

"Second brother, I'm hungry..."

Zhao Zhenfang didn't know when she woke up, maybe she was hungry, maybe she was frightened yesterday, and she was very lethargic at the moment.

Zhao Han still remembered that when he was awake yesterday, the little girl had fed him porridge.Whether it was out of the remaining family affection, or to repay the other party's life-saving grace, he should also take care of this sister, and immediately comforted: "Don't be afraid, the second brother will find you something to eat."

Couldn't find anything to eat!

The bark of the nearby trees has long been stripped away by the hungry, and even the weeds on the banks of the river have turned yellow.Most of the water in the canal had dried up, revealing the mudflats of the riverbed, and a large gap as wide as a palm was cracked.

Zhao Han wanted to find insects and add some protein, but there was nothing but mosquitoes.

The ground was so dry that it was difficult for a hoe to dig, so don't even think about earthworms.

Zhao Han picked up two broken crock pots and dragged his sister to the center of the official road, trying to meet passersby begging for food.

After standing for only a few minutes, Zhao Han's body was obviously unable to hold it up, as light as a gust of wind could blow it away, he simply knelt down and pretended to be pitiful.

Zhao Zhenfang suddenly reminded: "Second brother, Dad said that the husband is alive, only kneeling down to the master and teacher of heaven and earth, not kneeling for any food."

"The food is coming." Zhao Han corrected.

Zhao Zhenfang said, "Yes, it's just the food that comes from the mouth."

Zhao Han asked back, "Did Dad ever say that a man should be able to bend and stretch?"

Zhao Zhenfang shook her head.

Zhao Han sighed and said, "Standing is stretching, kneeling is bending. Kneeling now is to be able to stand in the future. Kneel, we don't have the strength to stand firm anyway, so let's just take our knees and rest."

The two brothers and sisters returned to the official path side by side, each holding a broken earthen jar, and the morning sun gradually rose.

After about two quarters of an hour, a caravan came out of the city, because the canal was dry and it was difficult for boats to sail, so they used mules and horses to go north.

Zhao Han, who had never been begging before, saw the caravan getting closer, and hurriedly knelt down and held up the crock pot in his hand.

But he didn't say a word, and after all, he didn't have the embarrassment to open his mouth to beg.

"Go away, don't get in the way!"

The person who speaks is the escort escort. Due to the rapid development of business, the world is not very peaceful, and the dart industry has become increasingly prosperous in recent decades.

Zhao Han was still holding the crock pot high, and a strong escort came over, grabbed him and his sister's collars, and threw them to the side of the road like a chicken.

Zhao Han reluctantly got up, completely let go of his shame, and knelt down and shouted, "Do well, gentlemen, give me something to eat!"

No one responded, all turned a blind eye, and a long caravan passed in front of them.

Not long after, another team came from Tianjin City.However, the canal was dry and water transportation was cut off, and the imperial court pushed hard, and the water transportation was transferred by land.

The soldiers and civilians who transported the water were dressed as shabby as Zhao Han, and some of them simply had only a piece of loincloth, pushing and pulling the grain cart under the scorching sun.

The general in charge of water transportation, who was in charge of transporting the grain, seemed to be smooth and slippery. He rode a healthy horse leisurely, and from time to time he took out a water bag and took a few sips to quench his thirst.There are [-] family members by his side, and the armor is complete, so he is not afraid of small bandits robbing food.

"Second brother, I'm hungry."

Zhao Zhenfang was hungry and thirsty, and was still exposed to the sun. She was already weak, and soon fell into a semi-conscious state.

The Tianjin soldiers went out of the city to collect the corpses again, but Zhao Han did not stop them and watched them remove the corpses of their parents.

This body is only ten years old. Zhao Han carried his sister up on his back with difficulty. After several attempts, he was so tired that he knelt down.

So hungry, no energy at all!

Finally, Zhao Han crouched on the ground and said to Zhao Zhenfang, "Little sister, climb onto the second brother's back, let's go to the city to get food."

Zhao Han was lying on the ground, and his little sister was lying on his back, crawling towards Tianjin on a load, like two wild dogs walking in a woeful way.

It may be easier to go to the city to beg for food.

The fundamental right now is not to make a long-term plan, but to fill the stomach and survive first.

Tianjin City was built at the mouth of the Sancha River, and it had to cross the canal to reach the moat.

More than 20 years ago, there was a flood in Tianjin, and the north and south walls collapsed by more than [-] feet. Until now, the government has no money to repair the city.

Because the canal was dry, a large number of ships ran aground, and grain and commodities were in urgent need of land transportation.Therefore, the North Canal, which originally had no bridge, is now a temporary wooden bridge.The government was afraid of the refugees and bandits crossing the river. Soldiers guarded the bridge, and they also set up equipment such as horse-rejection.

Zhao Han, carrying his sister, finally climbed to the edge of the Canal Bridge, and the bridge guards kicked her over: "Go away, where's the beggar!"

He was about to faint from starvation, but Zhao Han couldn't express his anger. He only supported the younger sister who had fallen and squeezed out a pleasing smile.

The soldier laughed inexplicably, put his hands on his back, and spread his legs: "If you want to cross the bridge, you can go under my crotch."

Zhao Han was silent, his eyes were red, his fists clenched, and then loosened.

Suddenly an officer came over, pushed away the soldiers who were deliberately making things difficult, and scolded: "Well, you Wei Si, is it a good man to bully children?"