Sixty miles west of Yongning Prefecture, there is a Yellow River Ferry called Jikou Ferry, which is the junction of Shanxi and Shaanxi. Since ancient times, it has been an important ferry crossing between merchants and military travelers and troops through the Yellow River.

The boundary of Shaanxi in Hexi is Wubao County. Wubao City is an ancient stone city and a military fort. It is made of stone, with tigers standing on the top of the mountain, overlooking the canyon, guarding the key transportation links between Shanxi and Shaanxi. It is a military center of all ages. Because it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it has been known as the Tongwu Fort since ancient times.

There is a Ming army stationed in the fort all year round, with more than 1,000 people often, and only one or two hundred at a young age.

Jian Guoning, the magistrate of Wubao, was a rare honest and capable official. In the third year of Chongzhen, when the Mizhi bandits broke out, Jian Guoning "dressed in common and had food, had no money left, and asked for light labor, and gathered in many places." He led the gentry and people in the city to prepare for the right imperial guards, so that Wubao could escape the disaster.

After most of the bandits entered Shanxi, the three-sided governor Hong Chengchou strengthened his defenses in Wubao. Now a garrison officer and the Eight Hundred Ming Army were stationed in the city.

After the bandits, Wubao couldn't calm down.

Jian Guoning's reputation for petitioning for the people to reduce labor taxes, open warehouses and provide disaster relief, and invites rural gentry in the city to set up porridge sheds to help hungry people has long been spread. After hearing about it, many hungry people from nearby prefectures and counties flocked to Wubao County.

A small Wubao naturally cannot accommodate tens of thousands of hungry people, and countless people are still starving to death. Last year, a heavy snow froze thousands of hungry people to death. There are corpses everywhere in and outside the city, and there are hungry people who cut their flesh from the corpses to eat, as if they are a hell on earth.

Even so, there were still a steady stream of hungry people coming to Wubao County. After some of them could not get food in Wubao, they crossed the Yellow River and entered Shanxi, or died directly in the river.

The other part who cannot walk or who is lucky will continue to stay in Wubao.

Wubao City was already overcrowded, and the gentry and gentry went to the county government every day to complain. Jian Guoning sent several memorials to the capital in a month, begging, but in just one year he got older and more than ten years old.

Finally, the relief censor Wu Yan brought 300,000 silver to Shaanxi and allocated silver to various prefectures to provide disaster relief. However, after layers of exploitation of the prefectures above, Wubao County finally only received 800 taels of silver.

This amount of silver is like a drop in the bucket for tens of thousands of hungry people. Moreover, it is now in chaos, so it is difficult to buy food.

Jian Guoning turned white in one night.

In the early morning of April 18th in the sixth year of Chongzhen, Jian Guoning climbed the East City Gate as usual, looking numbly at the corpses everywhere outside the city and the villagers burying the bodies, as well as the hungry people wandering around like ghosts.

In the distance, there were twenty or thirty boats gathered on the other side of the river, including the ferry at the Chikou Ferry and nearby fishing boats. There were many figures on the shore carrying something on the boat.

Seeing this situation, Jian Guoning frowned and asked to the narrator: "Why don't you report any abnormal movements on the other side of the river? Have you checked the origins of those people on the other side?"

A city garrison beside him replied, "Report to the master, I sent someone to cross the river and ask at dawn, saying that it was the Shanxi merchant gang and wanted to transport these things to us."

"Business Gang?" Jian Guoning frowned again, "Now the war is in chaos, are there still merchants who sell goods?"

"I don't know if I'm young."

"Go to inform the guard Deng, let him close the city gates and strengthen the city defense."

"yes."

When the defenders of Wubao City were nervously strengthening their city defense, dozens of ships on the other side moved, and drove off the shore, slowly heading towards Wubao Ferry on the river surface.

Each ship had a deep drip and must have loaded a lot of things. You could still vaguely see the people and horses gathered on the ship.

Not only does it carry a lot of goods, but it also has a lot of people.

The hungry people outside the city also discovered the fleet, like a group of walking corpses, slowly rushing towards the ferry.

The hungry people in the city heard that there were fleets crossing the river, and they became restless, so there must be food for anyone on the boat.

However, the city gate had long been closed and no one was allowed to enter and exit. Countless hungry people had to squeeze near the city gate and beg for a series of begging.

Not long after, the fleet landed and the sampan was not built, a group of people jumped down with swords and guns, set up formations on the shore, and were ready for the ghostly hungry people.

The hungry people saw clearly that the ship was loaded with countless sacks, and most of them were food.-->>

Suddenly, thousands of hungry people rushed towards the ferry like crazy.

However, more and more people holding swords and guns jumped off the dozens of ships, with more and more swords and guns in hand, protecting the shore.

More than a dozen hungry people rushed over regardless of the hunger, while the people on the shore raised their swords and guns without hesitation.

After more than a dozen screams, the hungry people fell into a pool of blood without exception. The hungry people behind were awakened by the bloody scene, and stopped and did not dare to move forward even an inch.

At this time, a little old man jumped out of the boat, grinned with a mouthful of yellow teeth, and shouted loudly: "My fellow villagers, we are here to serve porridge. Please step back and help us pick up some firewood. We want to make a fire to make rice."

"The villagers just line up. There will be porridge in a while, and you are not allowed to grab it or squeeze it. Everyone has a share. If you have trouble or rob, you will be beheaded."

Hearing these words, the hungry people present seemed to be quiet, and then a strange burst suddenly broke out. I don’t know whether it was a crying or laughing sound, and then rushed towards the ships on the shore.

The old man with yellow teeth suddenly pulled out a long knife, snatched it in his hand, and shouted: "Friends, I'll say it again. Those who want to eat porridge should hurry up and pick up firewood. Those who dare to make trouble will be beheaded!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man Huangya suddenly took a step forward, and the long sword in his hand dripped like a month and a half. The head of a hungry man who was rushing to the front fell to the ground.

The four or five hundred people next to him, holding swords and guns, suddenly stepped forward a few steps, and the hungry people rushing in the front row fell down in a row in the blink of an eye.

The hungry people behind were shocked again, retreated tremblingly, and soon dispersed again and ran to collect firewood.

The little old man in yellow teeth was Lao Huang. After wiping the long knife in his hand off the blood on the corpse, he sighed helplessly and said, "Discharge all the food." Five hundred Guandi soldiers behind him stepped onto the sampan and started unloading the food.

Not long after, several sheds were set up next to the ferry crossing on the shore, dozens of large pots were set up in the shed, burning flames, and boiling rolling millet porridge.

There were dozens of messy long queues of hungry people in front of the porridge shed. Some of the Guandi army guarded the front of the porridge shed with swords and guns, while the other part shuttled between the various groups to maintain order.

A Ming army came out of the city, with about thirty or fifty people. They approached the porridge shed carefully, asked a few questions and ran back.

Soon, the thick city gate creaked open, and hungry people inside rushed out like a tide, rushing towards the porridge shed.

When it was noon, thousands of hungry people like ghosts took broken bowls, bamboo tubes, gourd ladles, wooden bowls and other things, and then fed them into their stomachs regardless of the hot water of the porridge.

Jian Guoning walked out of the city gate under the escort of dozens of Ming troops and yamen runners, and was excited and walked quickly towards the porridge shed.

After seeing this group of people, Lao Huang came over.

"The old gentleman is grateful to Wubao, and Mr. Jian thanks Mr. for the people."

From afar, Jian Guoning wrote a compilation with both hands and bowed to Lao Huang.

"Oh, Lord Jian, please get up quickly. You are a tragic young man. You can't bear such a great gift." Old Huang also hurriedly bowed down.

Jian Guoning stood up and asked gratefully: "May I ask the old man's name? Whose enlightened gentry comes from?"

"I don't have the surname Huang, so I can call me Lao Huang. I am not a clan member of the enlightened gentry. I am just a small family soldier under the command of the Shanxi guerrilla general Qin Chuan and Qin."

Jian Guoning was stunned: "Guerrilla General Qin?"

"Hehe, my master just took office. It's not surprising that you haven't said it."

"So that's it. Where is Lord Qin?"

"My adult was recuperating from Loufan. I heard that there were many hungry people in Wubao, so I sent my young man to help these poor villagers. It happened that there were many wastelands in Jingle County and Lan County of Taiyuan Prefecture, which was just enough to bring them back to Loufan and farm for them to support themselves."

Hearing this, Jian Guoning's face was turbulent again, and he bowed toward the direction of Luliang Mountain to the east.
Chapter completed!