In early autumn, there is already a bit of coolness. Thick clouds hang tightly in the sky, making the dull sky look even more oppressive and gloomy.

Li Yi was riding on horseback, followed by ten horse army guards led by Zhu Qilong. After half a day of running, everyone's clothes were covered with brown soil, and their sharp eyes were full of bloodshot eyes.

, showing a tired look.

"Sir, this is already the boundary of Zhending Mansion, do we still want to go south?" Zhu Qilong reined in his horse and approached Li Yi and asked.

Yesterday afternoon, Li Yi led a team of people to check the entry status of the disaster victims. The Fuguo Society had already sent more than ten teams to serve. Li Yi kept going south to learn as much as possible about the situation so that he could be prepared.

No matter what the estimate is in my heart, it is far less shocking than the reality.

Li Yi stared silently at the field a mile away, where the official road between Zhending Mansion and Baoding Mansion was occupied by a group of ragged victims who looked like zombies.

The straw huts next to the official road were already crowded with victims. Some people took out straws to cook and gathered in a group to watch their companions around them. Some victims, who were skinny and stooped, stared at them with dull eyes.

The people cooking porridge made dry coughing hissing sounds in their throats. They wandered back and forth like this, watching the appearance and disappearance of every grain of food with eyes mixed with despair and longing, accompanied by the swallowing of their Adam's apples.

After swallowing a mouthful of slightly dry and sticky saliva, Li Yi jumped off the horse and said: "Rest where you are, we will go back today."

Upon hearing this order, not only the guards behind him, but also Zhu Qilong breathed a sigh of relief.

The guards dismounted one after another. Zhu Qilong took out the water bottle on his horse and handed it to Li Yi.

The cool water soaked his throat. Li Yi looked at the dark crowd in the distance and narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Ten days have passed since the Yellow River burst its banks. Except for those who stayed in Henan and waited for government relief, the rest of the victims went north, passing through Huai'an and Zhending, and fled towards the capital. Two days ago, some victims entered Baoding.

within the territory.

The Fuguo Society has hoarded the first batch of money and grain, and built new straw sheds next to the original disaster area, preparing to receive the victims. However, after observing along the way, Li Yi's mood became heavier and heavier, because the Fuguo Society expected

The number of victims admitted was 30,000, but apart from the scattered victims at the front, the largest wave of victims in front of him numbered more than 10,000, followed by several even larger teams of victims, so dark that it was impossible to

Countless people.

The influx of victims has far exceeded Fuguoshe’s estimate.

The rest of the Fuguo Society's servants were constantly passing on the news. Only Li Yi's group kept going south. Facts have proved that the situation was as Li Yi expected.

The government not only passively provided disaster relief, but also concealed the severity of the disaster.

Li Wensheng was also dragged to the capital, and Wang Zhixian was too low-level to have access to higher officials, so Li Yi was not reminded in advance. This seriously affected the preparation level of the Fuguo Society and also caused greater pressure.

Thinking that in the entire Baoding Prefecture, only the thin and stubborn Wang Zhixian was running to provide disaster relief, Li Yi became less and less confident about the next situation.

Now we can only hope that the officials and gentry in Baoding Prefecture can discuss it as soon as possible and mobilize money and food to purchase Anxin's technology, so that Li Yi can have more confidence.

"Brother, can you give me some food? I'm so hungry."

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps in the distant grass, and several messy little heads emerged.

These are a group of children, short and thin, wrapped in linen clothes whose original color cannot be seen clearly, and wearing straw sandals with a few rag strips wrapped around their feet.

These are two boys and one girl. Although they look only ten years old, from the tone just now, they should be twelve or thirteen years old.

Long-term malnutrition has made each of them very short.

Li Yi turned his head and looked at the guards around him. They had already taken out steamed buns and fried noodles and were eating them. The three children were not considered a threat in their eyes, so they naturally ignored them.

"Brother, can you give us something to eat? Please." The girl with a dirty face glanced into the distance and asked timidly after summoning her courage.

Li Yi followed her gaze and saw an old woman there, who should be the elder of these children. She had gray hair and was hunched over, holding a wooden stick in her hand to support her tired body from falling.

This is a wise elder who uses the pity of a child to beg for food in order to obtain life-saving food.

Looking at the longing eyes of three children and an old man, Li Yi shook his head.

He refused, he would not give them food.

This shaking of the head instantly turned into despair, reflected in those three pairs of innocent eyes. They lowered their heads, and the eyes of the girl who just spoke were already filled with tears.

Narrator: A guard suddenly stood up, looked at Li Yi with surprise and anger, walked towards the three children, and gave them all the two steamed buns and a bag of fried noodles in his hand.

This sudden surprise made the three children look surprised and anxious. They carefully and quickly took the food and were about to leave.

At this time, the thick arm stopped them. Zhu Qilong took the food back from the child's hand with an expressionless face and walked to the guard.

"Brother Zhu, what are you doing?" the guard said angrily. He couldn't believe that Zhu Qilong would do this and take back the food given to the victims.

He was answered with a heavy fist. The guard screamed and fell to the ground, with blood already flowing from his mouth.

He looked at Zhu Qilong with panic and anger, struggled to get up, and said loudly: "What are you doing? Why do you hit me?"

He was answered with a fierce kick. Zhu Qilong looked at the guard lying on the ground with cold eyes and said solemnly: "The punch just now was to punish you for disobeying the master's order and doing things without permission. This kick is to punish you for being so close."

Kill us."

"When will I kill everyone? Why do you frame me?" the guard shouted unconvinced.

"Look at the situation around you and ask me why?" Zhu Qilong's burly figure faced the crowd in the distance.

Only then did the guards realize that the victims who had stopped had slowly gathered around them, staring longingly at the guards who were eating.

Every disaster victim knows that only by getting close to those who have food can they get food, and Li Yi, a team of people with horses and food, is exactly the target they want to get close to.

When the guard handed the child food just now, he didn't notice it at all. Every movement he made was watched closely by the victims. These hungry people were all looking forward to it, and it was him who was looking forward to getting food.

The other party can give these children food, and maybe there is some extra for themselves. Once this idea takes root, it will grow into a towering tree in an instant, stimulating the desire and madness in the heart.

This is why Li Yi shook his head and rejected the three children, because as a former refugee, he understood the psychology of these hungry people best.

The entire surrounding atmosphere became tense instantly. The guard who was still shouting just now returned to the team in despair. The guards all took out the muskets and waist knives on their horses and watched carefully.

Disaster victims approaching.

The deterrence of force has obviously been effective. These victims did not dare to come closer and wandered far away.

A man came over, stretched his neck to observe the steamed buns and fried noodles in the guard's hands, and smelled the air vigorously, as if he could smell the aroma of the food. In fact, these dry and cold foods had no aroma at all.

"Get on the horse, let's leave." Seeing that the victims were no longer approaching, Li Yi ordered.

This time, no one hesitated at all. They all mounted their horses one after another. Under the leadership of Li Yi, they cut through the scattered victims like sharp swords and rushed straight to the north.

As for mercy and charity, facing such a group of victims and a group of people who are going crazy with hunger are just a joke.

The more chaotic the situation, the more reason and means are needed.

The cavalry galloped, Li Yi waved behind him, and Zhu Qilong immediately chased after him.

"Send the order and ask Sun Yaowen to integrate the guards and closely protect each soup kitchen. Sun Ce will lead all the managers who can be mobilized in the Fuguo Society to respond to the victims, divide them into registers, and make sure there is no chaos." Li Yi said sternly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qilong quickly went to the guards to deliver the order.

The disaster was so serious that it was difficult to cope with it just by relying on the Fuguo Society. It was necessary for Li Yi to go to Anxin. There was also the matter of selling technology. Although these technologies were all thought up by Li Yi, they were very important to Anxin and must be

Go back and explain.

As soon as Li Yi arrived in Anxin, before he had time to meet the old patriarch, Wang Zhixian, who was tired of work, had already arrived, followed closely by Wang Jin who was transferred to his command.

Li Yi was surprised when he saw Wang Zhixian coming to him.

The two had just met a few days ago. At that time, Wang Zhixian had already lost a lot of weight, but it was fine under the generous official uniforms. However, just a few days later, Wang Zhixian was already skinny and skinny, and his official uniforms were too thin.

Very dirty and old.

Seeing Li Yi, Wang Zhixian didn't bother to sit down and shouted: "Zizheng, do you have anything to eat here? I'm so hungry that I feel faint."

A dignified county magistrate was so hungry that it was considered a joke, but Li Yi felt a sore nose.

If we want to say who is busiest and most tired during this period, it is not me, not the people who assist the national society, but the parents and officials of Wangzhi County, Baoding City.

The imperial court was passive in disaster relief and did not allocate money or food, and the county government's treasury was poor. In order to prepare for the relief of the victims, Wang Zhixian tried his best during this period and went to the homes of various officials and gentry to persuade them.

For a scholar, it is undoubtedly a very humiliating thing to beg those wealthy businessmen, but Wang Zhixian still put his dignity behind and was willing to accept this humiliation.

He was thankless and worked against the court. The officials and gentry in Baoding said he was crazy.

There was no one at home, so Li Yi went to fill up a bowl of leftovers from the morning.

Wang Zhixian didn't mind it either, holding the bowl and wolfing down the food, which was sad to see.

After finishing the meal, Wang Zhixian put down the bowls and chopsticks and bowed his hands to Li Yi. He was too hungry just now, so he didn't talk, and the host didn't say he wanted to eat. It would be a bit rude to just eat and drink like this, so he naturally wanted to express his apology.

.

"Let Zizheng laugh. I went to see the victims yesterday and slept there that night. I rushed here early in the morning and didn't have time to eat." Wang Zhixian said apologetically.

Li Yi waved his hand and said: "The county has worked so hard for the people, so hard. Yi can only admire him, how can he laugh at it?"

Wang Zhixian looked at the empty bowl and said with some melancholy: "I was in a hurry and still had a bowl of food to eat, but the victims were left without a meal. I asked for a check yesterday and found that many victims ran to the mountains.

I look for food everywhere and eat anything, as long as I don’t starve to death.”

"This is normal in disaster years. Don't be too sad, county magistrate." Seeing that Wang Zhixian was a little sad, Li Yi comforted him.

Wangzhi County Jinshi, who studied sages' books diligently, can be said to be a good official, but not a capable official. Now that he has no support from the court, he has no hesitation and wants to shoulder the burden of disaster relief. It can be said that he is a good official but not a capable official.

Idiots talk about dreams, and it can also be said that he sacrificed his life for righteousness. As a person, he has already done a great job.

Seeing that he had made the atmosphere heavy, Wang Zhixian waved his sleeves and said: "Don't talk about this. Zizheng, just after the disaster victims entered the country, you asked Fuguoshe to set up a porridge shed on the official road. You acted really quickly. I have seen you.

Everyone is ashamed."

"Yi said he would provide relief to the victims, and he would naturally not break his promise. Although there were many victims fleeing the disaster this time, they were scattered in several ways, some going south and some going north, and they are still coming one after another. As long as we have enough manpower
To be continued...