Mo Dongyang

In the 11th year of Jiahe, the sky was abnormal and a severe drought was approaching.It has been early summer since the beginning of spring, and now it is about to enter midsummer, but except for a few heavy snowfalls in January and February, it can be said that rain and dew are scarce.There has been no rain in the north for more than four months, and there is very little rain in the south. Since the spring plowing, all parts of the country can only rely on well water, rivers and streams, and barely irrigate the cultivation. However, this is not a long-term solution. The river water is used for fields, industry and commerce, and people's needs. In addition, the clouds and rains that the gods have not rained for a long time have caused many rivers to dry up, fields to dry up, and crops to die.The inland area of ​​Northwest China has been dry and rainless since ancient times. Now that the drought has worsened, not to mention the agricultural harvest, the problem of drinking water has caused the death of more than [-]% of the residents and livestock in the poor areas.In the southern region, on the one hand, the scarce water resources are in the hands of local tyrants, and on the other hand, officials and businessmen collude to privately sell drinking spring water at high prices for huge profits.Ordinary people can't afford to buy it at all, and can only watch helplessly as the farmland harvest that the whole family depends on for a year goes to waste, and even watch their relatives die due to hunger and thirst without being able to do anything.As for the imperial court, it failed to show empathy for the people, so it was nothing more than appropriating funds for disaster relief. The emperor actually listened to the letters submitted by the ministers and asked the Ministry of Industry to increase the taxation of the people on the grounds that begging for heaven and offering sacrifices to the gods and praying for rain at the ancestral temple cost a lot of manpower. corvee.

For a time, public grievances arose everywhere, and violence and chaos continued.Soon, peasant uprisings all over the country were surging, and they stood up the banner of overthrowing the tyranny and government, and confronted the imperial court.In mid-July, officials and wealthy businessmen in several counties were killed, and their mansions became the local power of the peasant uprising, and the court was in crisis.

Everyone thought that this would be an unprecedented disaster in the country, but this peasant riot, which had never happened before in the country, was quickly suppressed by the court. It lasted less than half a month, and uprisings in various places were successfully suppressed Tens of thousands of people were entrusted to Caishi Street to be beheaded, and the corpses of several important uprising leaders were flogged. After the corpses were hung neatly on the high wall of the east gate of the imperial capital, they were exposed to the scorching sun and their bones were dense.

Killing chickens to scare monkeys is what the imperial court wants to warn the people—the sky and the dynasty can never be overthrown, and the consequences of overreaching are just like those unrecognizable corpses on the city gates, which are only based on personal imagination.Because of this riot, the deterrent power of the imperial court has been greatly enhanced. When the people passed through the east gate, they did not dare to raise their heads. The reason why they dare not speak out is because the concept of "heaven and pilgrimage country" has gradually become deeply ingrained in their hearts-heaven and pilgrimage country can never be destroyed.

But they didn't think about why the peasant uprising army perished so quickly. Is this really the powerful deterrent force of heaven and dynasty?Obviously not, the peasant uprising army was forced to participate in the war just to make a living, and the slogan of "overthrowing the regime" was so general, they didn't know what to do after the war was won?When the local government is established, their wishes are fulfilled. They are just some ignorant street townspeople, and their wish is only to be able to fill their stomachs in their lifetime.So when faced with those land-produced jewels robbed from officials and merchants, those money that they could never earn in their lifetime, of course they would be tempted, and of course they wanted to take it for themselves.Therefore, their ending can be guessed. The uneven distribution of property brings internal conflicts, followed by division, fighting, killing each other, and people's hearts are scattered. Before the suppression army came to encircle and suppress, they were already defeated. The attacking rebels are dealt with by the court, so it is naturally easy.

Just how many people can think of these?Perhaps it is limited to those literati who have compiled historical annals and anthologies for their descendants.

Finally, at the beginning of September, God was merciful and merciful, and heavy rains began to rain continuously in various places, as if to completely wash away the grievances and sins left over from the brutal killings, so that the nearly six months of natural and man-made disasters will not continue.

As for the palace, because it is separated from the world, everything remains the same, calm as usual.

At the beginning of October, as usual, I was wrapped in a quilt and leaned against the wide wall between the beds. I looked at the darkness in front of me, and I was in a daze. As the night deepened, the cold air around me made me shiver. I stretched out my hand She squeezed the brocade quilt around her neck.

"Why don't you sleep? It's almost the second watch."

Li Shu yawned softly, turned over and sat up, gathered the quilt around her body, and leaned against me.

"For some reason, I can't fall asleep thinking about something. It's almost late autumn, and the time has passed in the blink of an eye. At this time a year ago, we were still so unfamiliar. You are the master, and I am the servant. Neither of us has melted into each other. In my daily life, but I never thought that today, one year later, we could be so close to each other under the same bed tent. It’s just that one year has changed so much. Then next year, we will be together again. What will it look like?"

I can't help but wonder.

Li Shu beside me stretched out her hand and poked my cheek with a puff, and her giggling broke the silence of the night.

"Why do you love to think about things so wildly? Where do you get your wild ideas every day? No one knows what will happen in the next year. All I know is that our relationship will still be as close as it is now, and will never be. will change."

"Lishu?" I turned my head and called her name.

"Ok?"

"If, if there is such a day, we both go out of the palace and live in the outside world, where does Li Shu want to go?" I asked.

"En..." Li Shu thought for a long time and replied, "I want to go to the southwest border. I heard that there are hills and valleys, surrounded by mountains and water, evergreen all the year round, isolated from the world, like a fairyland, and there are many ethnic minorities. Most of them coexist peacefully, and the tribes have lived together for generations, and the customs and habits are very different from those in the north, so it should be a livable place.”

"Then will Lishu marry?"

I don't know why this question makes me feel a little uneasy, but I'd love to hear the answer.

"Where is Qi Xin, will you marry?"

Li Shu didn't answer, but asked me back with a smile.

"will not."

I answered without thinking.

"Me neither, Qi Xin is enough."

Li Shu's warm hand groped and held my wet palm tightly. Although we couldn't see each other in the dark night, we still turned our heads and smiled at each other involuntarily.

"If one day, there are only the two of us, hiding in the mountains and forests, plowing and weaving farms and mulberry, having fun, that would be great."

I can't help but sigh.

Li Shu smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder without saying a word, and the surrounding fell into silence again.

The night continued, and at about four o'clock, I was awakened by a noise, but at the moment my head was blurred, and I couldn't tell the source of the noise at all.

"What happened?"

Li Shu next to me pushed me and asked.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes, got up and picked up the coat hanging beside the bed curtain, put it on while yawning, and walked towards the west window in a daze.As soon as I opened the wooden window, I was shocked by what I saw.

The Zhilan Hall is located on a relatively high ground, and I can see the entire area of ​​the Front Hall, Tai'an Hall, and Zhaoyang Hall from my position, which is where the Holy Lord had his early court, meetings, and gatherings.Although the distance is far away, I can still see the dense army soldiers moving quickly, shuttle forward, and surround the entire Zhaoyang Hall.Thousands of torches were held high, and the jumping flames almost illuminated the entire palace. The sound of scolding, shouting, horseshoes, and the clash of swords came intermittently from a distance, and the surrounding air became tense instantly.

"Assassins are coming from the palace."

Li Shu had already stood behind me at some point, squinting at the shadow of swords and flames in the distance.