Imperial County Magistrate

Chapter 355 Qingzhou City

The golden wheat was gnawed over a large area, and other crops such as sorghum were not much better.

Zhao Kang had learned before he came that the pest in Qingzhou this time was the most terrifying locust plague.

Once this thing forms, it will be a devastating blow to crops.

They will eat up all available food and are difficult to control due to their strong reproductive ability, ability to fly and polyphagous nature.

The locust plague can be said to be the most severe kind of insect pest. The sight of locusts crossing the border can make people's scalp numb just by looking at it.

Today's Qingzhou has experienced several locust plagues, and crops throughout Qingzhou have been damaged.

The terrible thing is that in a month or two, these grains will be mature and ready for harvest.

How can such a situation not make people hate it with itch?

"Okay, don't look at it, let's go."

Zhao Kang called out, and Xiao Xuance's eyes averted.

They entered Qingzhou yesterday and came directly to Qingzhou City.

Along the way, His Royal Highness gave all the money he had to the victims of the disaster on the roadside.

If Zhao Kang hadn't stopped him, he would have killed the horse and given its meat to the other party.

After being searched by the city guards, the two successfully entered Qingzhou City. They saw green bricks, green tiles, and rippling blue waves in front of them.

There are boats floating on the river in the city, and young girls are sitting on the bows of the boats. If you look carefully, there are some on every boat.

The woman sat barefoot on the bow of the boat, rolled up her pants to reveal her tender lotus-like calves, and her white and tender feet swayed in the green river water, seeming to be secretly conveying some message.

This is the so-called boat girl. To put it bluntly, she is a prostitute.

Usually those who work in this business are the daughters of poor families. For some money, they can board the ship and have a sway with the woman sitting on the bow.

On the street, the people coming and going were well-dressed and did not look like they were in disaster at all. Some people even brought bird cages together to compete with each other to see who could raise the loudest bird.

Zhao Kang held the horse and asked Xiao Xuance to follow him closely, thinking secretly.

After all, Qingzhou City is the hub of Qingzhou and the most fertile place. Therefore, no matter how serious the disasters are in various parts of Qingzhou, the impact here is limited.

It is precisely because of this that many disaster victims wanted to escape and came to Qingzhou City along the way.

He knew it well, but Xiao Xuance on the side didn't understand. He walked closer and asked quietly: "Old Zhao, why does this place feel different from other places?"

When they entered Qingzhou and passed a small town yesterday, the guy's eyes were almost glowing green because of hunger.

In order to buy some rice, people would be crowded in front of the shop. Wherever in Qingzhou City, it looked like nothing happened.

Zhao Kang chuckled: "The horse kings Wu and Qin are all here. It's strange that the people in Qingzhou City are hungry. Besides, Qingzhou City is the place where the richest people gather in Qingzhou Hub. Most of them are rich people. I'm sure Much better than other places.”

"No, isn't it still the same?"

Zhao Kang pursed his lips towards the front left, and Xiao Xuance looked over and saw that it was a temporary shed, with a large pot holding a large pot and steam rising up.

Suddenly, someone was beating with gongs and drums: "Get the porridge, get the porridge!"

While beating, they walked towards the outside of the city. Soon Zhao Kang and Xiao Xuance saw hundreds of people running in from outside the city.

A swarm of swarms came to the shed and surrounded it.Xiao Xuance nodded secretly and said to Zhao Kang: "It seems that there are still good people. This should be a private disaster relief porridge shed, right?"

"That's probably it. Just ask someone and they'll know."

Zhao Kang said, stopping the old man walking by: "Old man, what are we doing in front of you?"

The old man glanced at the two of them and saw that both of them were pulling horses. He smiled and said, "Aren't these two young men fleeing the danger?"

"It's almost time. I've spent almost all my money on this journey." Zhao Kang showed a bitter look on his face.

The old man said, "Young man, what you said is very funny. Over there is the porridge shed set up by the third lady of the Wu family. It supplies refugees with two meals a day. If you are hungry, you can go there and have a bowl, but you have to act quickly, otherwise there will be no food if you are late." ”

"There are four gates in the city, namely, southeast and northwest. If you pay attention, you can see many such porridge shacks."

"The third young lady of the Wu family." Xiao Xuance was confused.

Old man: "You are outsiders, right? Who doesn't know Wu Qingluan, the third daughter of the Wu family, in this city?"

"She looks beautiful?" Xiao Xuance continued to ask.

No matter how you look at it, the smile on the old man's face exudes a sense of vulgarity: "It's not just beautiful, it's simply bubbling with beauty, especially those legs..."

Damn, he's an old pervert.

Zhao Kang couldn't laugh or cry, and Xiao Xuance asked again: "Then why were there no refugees in the city before?"

The old man seemed to be still immersed in Miss Wu San's long legs. When he was interrupted by Xiao Xuance, he said impatiently: "Nonsense, if you want them to enter the city, why don't you rob them? These guys are going crazy with hunger. . Well, you see, those are all guards, just used to keep an eye on this group of refugees."

Zhao Kang understood: "So we usually keep the refugees outside the city and only let them in when the porridge is served, right?"

"Yes, there is no food everywhere now, and everyone is running towards our Qingzhou City. If we don't take some measures, there will be unrest."

The old man sighed and said: "So, the government can only place them outside the city. I heard that the disaster relief minister from the court is coming soon, and I don't know if there can be any improvement."

"Improvement? I'm worried."

A passerby heard the conversation between the three of them and sneered: "This time the whole of Qingzhou was affected by the disaster. It was not as simple as one city or two cities. Dozens or millions of people were hungry. It's okay to say that the time period has only been more than a month. In a few days, as you keep watching, you may not know how many people will die."

was talking.

A pair of men and horses came from a distance, numbering twenty or thirty. The old man shouted happily to Xiao Xuance: "Hey, young man, didn't you ask Miss Wu San earlier? She's not here anymore."

Zhao Kang looked over and saw a woman riding a maroon horse among the pair of horses, wearing a red feather dress, holding a rein in one hand and a whip in the other.

Zhao Kang was far away and could only see some of his clothes, but not his true appearance. Zhao Kang had to look again.

The old man stood aside and greeted them again and again: "If you don't step aside quickly, you are courting death."

Just as Xiao Xuance was about to ask something, the so-called Miss Wu San's men in front had already begun to let passers-by step aside.

People on the street also consciously moved out of the way. Zhao Kang and Xiao Xuance pulled their horses and followed the old man to the side.

The woman approached on a maroon horse, and Zhao Kang could now see her appearance clearly. She had almond-shaped eyes and silky eyebrows, and a cool temperament. She was indeed good-looking, but she was wearing a little too much and couldn't see the legs the old man mentioned.

Xiao Xuance beside him muttered in a low voice: "Is that all? This guy didn't know and thought it was His Majesty who was traveling."

(End of this chapter)