Quickly wear: I am looking for my owner in the human world

after March.

Southwest of Zhao State, Huai County of Puzhou.

This county is named after the abundant planting of locust trees. In midsummer, the green trees are like umbrellas and the locust flowers blow down like stars like rain. It is so beautiful.

However, this year's Huai County is no longer as prosperous as in previous years.

The sun is scorching, and the sky and the earth are like a kiln.

The heat exposes everything and everything cannot escape.

Outside the county seat, the farmland was burned to a red copper color, and the water in the ditches had long since dried up.The criss-crossing cracks are like the tentacles of hell demons, snaking and shackles from the invisible deep ravine, squeezing hard, vowing to squeeze out the last drop of nutrients in the world.

Large tracts of crops were scorched and dead, leaving only a few half-yellow and green weeds lingering.

In the city, the leaves of the locust trees on the roadside have fallen and turned yellow, and the bark has cracked and fallen off. The roots have been dug deeply around, exposing the roots, which are about to wither.

There was no wind on the road, and there were no pedestrians or animals. The doors and windows of every house were closed, and there was some kind of rotting smell in the air.

It's like a dead city.

"What are you still here for now? Those who can leave have left, and those who cannot leave will all die. What else are you here for?" When Xuan Wei and his party arrived here two days ago, the magistrate of Huai County murmured asked.

At that time, his official uniform was messy and wrinkled, his hair was withered and yellow, his skin was chapped, his lips were bloodless, and his voice was hoarse.

Even though Zhao Yu revealed his identity and purpose of coming, he still looked numb, as if he was completely desperate and didn't care about superiority or inferiority.

"It's been four months! It's been four months! There hasn't been a drop of rain in Huai County!"

The snow disaster at the end of last year did not cause heavy losses in Huai County, but it was not nothing.Disaster relief funds from the state were delayed, so in the end he just used his few savings to make up for the gap.

After spring, the rain was much less than in previous years. He was born in a farm family, so he naturally understood the worries of the farmers, so he wrote to the prefect to request a reduction or exemption of local taxes to appease the people, but he was summarily rejected.

Seeing that the crops were wilting and the people were overwhelmed, he tossed and turned night after night, feeling uneasy. His letters and reports fell into the sea, and his pleas for life went unanswered.

Still haven’t waited.

He didn't wait for the instructions from the court, nor did he wait for the rain from heaven.

It was only after the summer solstice that the severe drought finally started.

Crops dying is just the beginning.

"For a whole month, the wells and springs dried up, and the streams were full of fish and shrimps sunk to death. There was no water source in the entire Huai County! So many people could only dig grass roots and bark, and drink raw animal blood! They all said that human life Like grass, hahaha..."

The county magistrate suddenly laughed hoarsely, but the sadness and anger in his laughter was so heavy that it made people breathless. "Now even the weeds can't survive! They've all been harvested! How can they survive? Huh?"

"How can they survive!" His eyes were red, but his eyes were so dry that he couldn't shed tears at all. He could only cry blood and accuse every word.

"Your Majesty, Third Highness, I am no more than a small official, and I speak lightly, but the dead people I have seen in the past month could pile up into a mountain!"

"Have you ever seen an old man in his seventies who killed himself trying to save some water for his grandson? Have you ever heard of a woman who couldn't breastfeed and could only hold her seriously ill baby in her arms and cry for help, but where is the water? Farmers are now fighting for grass. They fought desperately and beat people to death, and they... they even dared to drink human blood!"

He retreated as he spoke, and finally sat down on his knees with a plop, his voice as weak as burnt ashes.

"The people begged me to save them, but what could I do?"

"Even if we leave here, how much better can other places be now?"

"The refugees are wandering the streets and the fields are full of hungry people. Since God has punished them, how can we continue?"

The county magistrate shook his head like a demon, half-crying and half-laughing, and said intermittently, "My husband's country is surrounded by mountains and rivers. If the mountains collapse and the rivers are exhausted, the march of death will be...a crime, a crime..."

Such disrespectful words came out of his mouth, but Zhao Yu just remained silent.

Three months ago, their group entered the country from the southeast of Zhao State and went all the way north to the imperial city.

The situation in many states and counties along the way is worse than they imagined.Officials are corrupt, refugees are fleeing in all directions, and ordinary people are also in panic all day long.

When they discovered this situation in the first county town, Xuan Wei asked, had the government's relief been distributed to those officials?

Zhao Yu affirmed.Although he does not have much real power in the court, he is very familiar with the insulting methods of those people.

The first batch of ministers who handled the matter did not dare to detain them openly. Most of them were sent to the states and counties, but the people below became greedy. They turned a blind eye and accepted "filial piety". If the incident came to light, they could find a scapegoat.

Officials at both the upper and lower levels work together to protect each other. Over time, it becomes very difficult for them to intervene openly, because these people are used to doing superficial things, and they have a way of making false accounts, and they are even better at wrangling.

If there is no direct evidence, it cannot be uprooted, which will only serve to scare the snake away, with little effect.

Xuan Wei said no more.

However, the next day, there were rumors in the streets that a certain county official's house was stolen last night.

The commotion was so great that the official almost turned the entire mansion upside down, but could not find the missing items or the thief.

Someone with good intentions went to inquire, but no matter how they inquired, they could not find out what valuables were missing.The smart master came up with the idea of ​​"offering a reward", but he didn't expect to be scolded bloody.

A certain county official: Nonsense!Can that thing be said openly?What's the difference between that and throwing yourself into a trap?

But he couldn't figure it out, that was an underground warehouse full of stuff!How did it disappear overnight?Even if there is a mole, it is impossible to evacuate without any movement!

What's worse is that the things in the most secret secret room of his study are also missing!There were letters between him and Zhizhou, as well as some unseen account books.

The county magistrate's head turned gray with worry, fearing that someone would soon threaten him with that thing. He imagined various worst plans, but none of them happened.

It wasn't until the third day that the largest medical clinic in the county suddenly posted posters everywhere. The main idea was: My boss has had a big event recently, and his long-cherished wish will come true. In order to fulfill his vow to the Buddha, he has specially distributed money to give. Tomorrow and the next two days, he will be in Baicao. Xuan distributed rice, flour, grain, oil, cloth and other items free of charge...

After that, the same incident would happen again in every state or county with similar situations.

It's always the officials with evil intentions who get stolen.

But the owner of a happy event may be a medical clinic, a restaurant, a clothing store, a grain store, or even... a brothel and a gambling house.

Madam and Banker: That’s it, it’s off the mark.

S/he should be throwing handkerchiefs/rolling dice, not cutting cloth/pork here!Who knows what their boss is crazy about!

The story became more and more mysterious among the people. Some people said that they saw a kind-hearted fairy in white at night crossing the wall of his house and going to the county government office. Some people said that they were two thieves dressed in black who specialized in robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Others said that it was clearly a living Bodhisattva accompanied by two good-wealth boys.