Three Kingdoms: How did a cube-like person like me become a god?

Chapter 10

010 The End of the Dynasty

The place where Yun Yi traveled through was probably deep in the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains.

He followed Zhao Yun and Zhao Yan and climbed several mountains.

Finally I found a familiar road

Halfway

He also wanted to ask why Zhao Yun took Zhao Yan so far to hunt.

But what he saw with his own eyes along the way told him all the answers

Every time you climb a mountain

The trees on the mountain became shorter, withered and yellower, visibly.

Wait until the outermost part of Taihang Mountains

There are almost no towering old trees, and even low shrubs are nowhere to be found.

Only scattered weeds and piles of yellow soil were left on the ground.

Occasionally, I saw a few other people going into the mountains to hunt.

They all looked pale and thin, with hunger written all over their faces.

Those who know think they are going into the mountains to hunt, while those who don’t think they are going to feed the wild animals.

Seeing all this, Yun Yi’s heart couldn’t help but tighten.

He suddenly realized

The simple phrase”a year of great famine” in history books is like an extremely huge mountain for ordinary people of that era.

Outside the Taihang Mountains, the drought is even more severe

At a glance

The farmland that should have been lush and green is now dry and yellow.

The land is full of cracks

The once mighty river is now less than a trickling stream

The old farmer on the ridge of the field ran for miles, carrying water from the river, watering the farmland non-stop.

But this is ultimately a drop in the bucket

The crops wilt and fall to the ground.

Look at the crops that are dying of drought.

The old farmer did not cry

Because there is not a few drops of water in his body.

Just kneeling on the ground, his eyes were almost filled with despair

The crops died of drought and there will be no harvest this year. How are they supposed to survive?

How should they deal with the taxes and corvee labor imposed by the government?

Yun Yi’s heart became heavier

If the drought continues for a few more years

The government imposed heavy taxes

Bandits are rampant among the people

With natural disasters and man-made disasters occurring simultaneously, what should the people do?

Perhaps this was also the original reason for the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

I can’t survive anyway.

It’s better to take a risk and give it a try

Finally, under the leadership of Zhao Yun, Yun Yi came to a village

This is Zhaojiazhuang

As the name suggests

Most of the villagers in the village have the surname Zhao

More than a hundred years ago, the ancestors of Zhaojiazhuang fled here because of famine.

After coming here, they know that only by sticking together can they keep warm.

Building a big family with blood ties as the bond

Jointly reclaim wasteland

So many years have passed

As the Zhao family continued to grow and prosper, the population of the Zhao family also increased, and gradually formed the current scale of Zhaojiazhuang.

There were several hundred people and 3,000 mu of farmland (one mu of farmland in the Han Dynasty was 465 square meters)

Of course, this scale is far from being considered a noble family.

Even in the Zhending County area of Changshan, he was not considered a local tyrant.

I can only say that my family situation is okay.

A wealthy man, eh?

Actually, it’s normal

Poor in literature but rich in martial arts

Ordinary farmers cannot support Zhao Yun’s training in civil and military affairs.

But it’s the same as what I saw on the road before

The villagers of Zhaojiazhuang also carried water to irrigate the fields.

There was no drought before.

Zhaojiazhuang takes advantage of its proximity to the Hutuo River.

When farming, just open the gate to release water

The water of the Hutuo River will continue to nourish the fields

At most, we can find a few people to watch over the crops and prevent the river from drowning them.

But now is different

Two consecutive years of drought have caused the Hutuo River to almost dry up.

Now there is only a trickle of water in the riverbed.

That river water

If the sluice gates are opened to release water, the surrounding land will probably absorb it before it reaches the fields.

For the sake of crops, they can only carry water to irrigate the fields

Doing everything we can to save every crop

Enter Zhuangzi

Different from Zhuangwai

Zhaojiazhuang was eerily quiet, with a feeling of impending storm.

“Third Aunt, where are my father and the others?”

Zhao Yun asked a woman who was weaving at the door:

“The cloud is back”

The old lady raised her hand and pointed at the big tree in the distance.”Your father and your uncle are discussing something. There was a drought last year and it’s drought again this year. Life is almost unbearable.”

“Thank you, Auntie”

After saying thank you, Zhao Yun led Yun Yi all the way to the center of the village.

……… at this time

Under the huge oak tree in the center of Zhaojiazhuang

“Chief, the drought this year is too severe. We villagers dare not rest for a moment, but the crops cannot be saved.”

“We have to save them even if we can’t. We don’t have much food left in the farm. If the crops die from drought again this year, we’ll have to eat the crops we planted.”

“Chief, didn’t the village collect a lot of money to buy things outside?”

Zhao An, the current patriarch of the Zhao family, sighed:

“I’m afraid this money can’t buy much food.”

“How is that possible? This is 100,000 coins, which used to buy more than 2,000 shi of grain.”

Zhao An shook his head:

“Today is different from the past. Drought is not a local problem.”

“We have the Hutuo River, so our situation is better. Do you know how bad the situation is in Julu County next door? I heard that some people have eaten their own children this year.”

“Although the southern states were not affected by the drought, grain dealers were hoarding grain and the price of grain had already skyrocketed.”

“One dan of grain costs more than 500 coins, and 100,000 coins cannot even buy 200 dan.”

Everyone present said angrily:

“Two hundred dan? This amount of food is only enough for our village to eat for half a month at most, right?”

In the Han Dynasty, a jin was only half of what it is today.

Although one stone weighs 120 jin, it is actually equivalent to 60 jin in later times.

During the Han Dynasty, the price of grain was only 30 coins per stone.

But now one stone costs more than five hundred coins

More than ten times

In a good year, we finally saved some money, but ended up buying only enough food for everyone to eat for half a month.

If food prices continue to rise, there will be even less food available.

What despair this is!

Everyone was silent

“Chief, how about we organize a grain team to go to the south to purchase grain?”

Zhao An shook his head helplessly:

“Let’s talk about this later.”

Do you think he has never thought about buying it himself?

But organizing a grain team to purchase food is not as easy as imagined.

Although there is no drought in the south, some places have suffered from floods.

So where is the cheapest food? How do you get there and back? What should you do if you encounter bandits? What should you do if you encounter trouble with the government?

These are all problems

Why can other grain dealers do this?

Of course, it’s because they cooperate with the government

The grain brought in was sold for 500 coins

70% of it was paid as tribute, and the remaining 30% was each family’s own income.

No tribute?

It seems that you have never seen well-equipped and well-disciplined bandits.

They in Zhaojiazhuang also want to cooperate with the government

But given the size of Zhaojiazhuang, it doesn’t even have the qualifications to be on the table.

Although it is possible to buy food secretly

But the risks are also huge

If you are not careful, you will lose everything.