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Chapter 328 Riots ()

"...these hungry people come from Wei County in Xiangzhou. They have experienced drought and are already experiencing difficulties, and this year they were hit by a locust plague. The government agencies were unable to provide relief, so they had no choice but to flee the famine."

Less than half an hour later, Song Yuan came back with a solemn expression and reported in a low voice: "There are about three hundred people in the group, only 10% are old, weak, women and children, most of them are young and middle-aged men."

"They didn't have a specific place to go. They came all the way from the official road to the capital. After careful questioning, the general found that they had been escaping for less than half a month and had basically eaten all the food they brought. According to their current speed , it will take at least half a month to reach the capital."

By then, how many of these hungry people will be left?
How many people will starve to death along the way, and how many children and elderly people will be left behind?

Of course the hungry people are pitiful. However, as a princess who was in a hurry to return, it was not appropriate for her to gather her clothes so loudly. If it reaches the imperial court, he will be accused of "gathering people's hearts with ulterior motives" in a blink of an eye. Prime Minister Wang is waiting eagerly for her to make a mistake, and she can't let anyone take the blame.

However, it is too cold-blooded to just ignore and ignore everything that happens.

Jiang Shaohua frowned slightly.

Chen Jinyu was most familiar with Jiang Shaohua's temper. When she saw her silent, she whispered: "Princess, we are in a hurry and cannot take these people on the road."

"Moreover, they went all the way to the capital to escape famine. If we take them in halfway, not only will they not be able to get a good deal, but they will also be accused for no reason." Ma Yaozong quickly took over the words: "I have the courage to speak up and ask the princess to give them some food so that they can Continue to the capital."

Song Yuan also said: "The final general thinks that it is quite appropriate for the Mashe people to deal with it like this."

Jiang Shaohua calmed down and made a quick decision: "Mashe people, go and get some grain and distribute it according to the number of hungry people. Regardless of old women or children, each person will be given five kilograms of grain."

Five kilograms of grain, mixed with water and made into porridge, save some for eating, enough for ten days.

There are more than 300 people and more than 1,000 kilograms of food are needed. The food was not too much, but it was quite troublesome to distribute it one by one.

Ma Yaozong agreed immediately, and after asking Jiang Shaohua for instructions, he took a dozen personal guards to weigh and distribute grain. After the hungry people got the news, they were so excited that they knelt down, kowtowed and shouted: "Thank you so much, Princess Nanyang!"

"Princess Chitose!"

There were also some knowledgeable hungry people, with disappointment flashing in their eyes, and two of them had the courage to rush over, shouting and begging the princess to take them in. Before he even got close, he was stopped by the guards with swords.

These two brave hungry people knelt down and kowtowed with disappointment, then silently retreated.

Jiang Shaohua watched this scene from a distance, turned to Chen Jinyu and said: "I have two hundred personal guards around me, all of whom are riding horses and carrying sharp weapons. The hungry people dare not move rashly. If someone else came out with gold, silver and grain, this would I’m afraid the hungry people will rush over to kill people and steal food.”

Chen Jinyu's hair stood on end when he heard this, and his eyes suddenly widened: "It's just a matter of robbing food, how dare they kill people?"

Jiang Shaohua sighed in a low voice: "People are pushed to the extreme, and they dare to do anything! Think about it, it has been less than half a month since they escaped from Wei County in Xiangzhou. Where did they come from in the past ten days? If they robbed the food, the people who were robbed would not let it go, so they could only kill people and then steal the food."

"Also, they are all young and middle-aged men, and there are very few children. Where have all the children gone?"

The more I think about this, the more terrifying it becomes.

Chen Jinyu's back was covered in cold sweat, and her clothes were stuck to her body with sweat, making her very uncomfortable. Looking at the hungry people shouting excitedly and kowtowing, it's like looking at wild beasts.

"There is no need to be afraid." Jiang Shaohua comforted him softly: "I asked the people in the horse house to distribute food and give them ten days of rations. If they walk faster, they can get closer to the capital and get relief and resettlement from the government. They have a way to survive. There is no reason and courage to fight.”

The most important thing is that there are two hundred strong personal guards. Even if the hungry people are dizzy from hunger, they still have to weigh their ability to grab food. As expected by Jiang Shaohua, the process of distributing and receiving food went smoothly.

Under the watchful eyes of a group of bodyguards wearing swords and looking murderous, the hungry people lined up in a long queue and stepped forward one by one to receive food. After receiving it, he knelt down in the direction of the princess and kowtowed in thanks.

After all the hungry people had received their food, more than an hour had passed. The sun was setting in the west and it was approaching evening.

Song Yuan stepped forward and directed the hungry people to retreat dozens of meters away from the official road. Jiang Shaohua led everyone on horseback.

The hungry people were separated by dozens of meters, but they still couldn't see clearly what the princess looked like. However, they took the life-saving rations given by the princess and were filled with gratitude.

In the corner, the two hungry people who had been driven away were leaning against each other, whispering: "This Nanyang Princess is really rich. Look at the convoy behind. It is full of grain, and there may be a lot of gold, silver and jade. "

"It's a pity that there are too many of them. Those soldiers look very powerful. Even if we swarm them, we are no match."

"We killed people and robbed food along the way. When we really had nothing to eat, we replaced our children with cooking meat and soup. We finally got here. We had to find a way to survive, otherwise we would not be reconciled."

"Forget it, we are given rations for ten days at least. Let's hold on and walk faster, and then we can reach the capital. When we get to the capital, the government can't ignore us."

"What if, I mean what if, when we get to the capital, the city gates won't let us in?"

The tall and thin hungry man among them smiled viciously, with a fierce light in his eyes: "We have no way out. As long as the city gate is opened a crack, I will rush in. Even if I die, I will die in the capital."

……

After such an episode, everyone was silent for the rest of the journey.

Jiang Shaohua took a rare night trip and rode his horse for thirty miles. He made sure that there was no chance that the hungry people would turn around and follow him before he stopped to rest.

If you miss the inn, you will have to sleep outdoors tonight.

The guards set up tents with ease, and the two hundred guards were divided into three shifts, taking turns to keep watch and rest.

Jiang Shaohua ate some dry food and rested on the carriage.

That night, she had a not-so-good dream. In the dream, the group of hungry people, with red eyes and howling, rushed towards the city gate.

Sharp arrows kept flying from the city gate, and each hungry citizen was hit by the sharp arrows. They fell down with pain on their faces, and the blood quickly soaked the ground.

One wave of hungry people died, and the second and third waves of hungry people kept rushing over and were killed.

The ground was full of corpses and corpses, and blood flowed into rivers. It was like hell.

Jiang Shaohua was awakened by the nightmare and suddenly opened his eyes.

Three even breathing sounds came from my ears. Yinzhu Tubai was curled up in the corner, and Chen Jinyu slept soundly against her.

Jiang Shaohua slowly adjusted his breathing, closed his eyes, and slowly fell asleep.