The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 404 Plague? ! (8k large chapter)

Anping State of Jizhou and Julu County are separated by Zhangshui. To the north of Zhangshui is Julu County, and to the south is Anping State.

The thirteen prefectures of the Han Dynasty, no matter whether they are rich or vast, Jizhou is a big prefecture that can be ranked. Jizhou is densely populated and full of powerful families. Jizhou is extremely rich. It is not only the financial center of the Han Empire, but also the hinterland of the Central Plains of China.

It is now mid-October, and it is about to enter November. The water level of Zhangshui is not as high as it was during the flood season. The water surface is gentle and there is no danger.

The ferry on the south bank of the Zhangshui River was crowded with people waiting to cross the river. There were dense crowds of people swarming by the water. Whether you looked to the left, right, or backward, you couldn’t see the end of the crowd.

"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze!"

A military marquis with a yellow scarf tied on his head stood on a temporary low platform, holding an iron horn, roaring hysterically.

Through the loudspeaker, his voice became thicker and spread farther away, allowing those around him to hear his words clearly.

This speaker is actually a simple loudspeaker.

"The Han army can't rush forward, the great virtuous teacher and the god envoy blocked the Han army outside, don't mess up, obey the command!"

Several Yellow Turban soldiers holding wooden sticks worked together to maintain discipline.

"The murderer dies, the wounding and theft are punished!!!"

Not far away, a captain of the Yellow Turban Army with a flag on his back walked through the gaps in the crowd, holding a ring-shouldered knife, followed by ten soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army holding long guns.

Every time they walked a certain distance, the head of the Yellow Turban Army would repeat the decree loudly, alert to changes in the crowd.

Among the migration of millions of people, not all the millions of people are good people, good and evil are mixed, and there are also people with malicious intentions or other thoughts.

Many vicious incidents naturally occur every day, some are robbing or stealing supplies, some are fighting with each other, and there are even many malicious incidents of wounding and killing.

The crowd moved slowly. Under the command of the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army, the crowd slowly dispersed and became orderly. The long-distance transfer has made these people accustomed to obeying these headwear. Soldiers in yellow turbans.

Most of these people are believers in the Taiping Dao, but many of them are ordinary villagers who have lost hope in life, escaped slaves, and refugees and refugees who followed the Yellow Turban Army to make a living.

Among the crowd, a thin child rubbed his eyes with his left hand, and his right hand was held tightly by a slightly larger hand.

The two hands are one big and one small, but the same thing is that both hands are covered with dust and look a little dirty.

"Aniang, are we going to cross the river?"

Holding his mother's big hand, the thin child leaned slightly out of the queue, looking at the wide Zhangshui in front of him, with a trace of excitement on his face, he asked happily.

"What a big river, bigger than the big river near our house!"

"Yeah, what a big river..."

The woman glanced at the Zhangshui River not far away, and finally a smile appeared on her tired face.

She grinned and wanted to smile, but she felt that her breathing was not smooth and her head was a little dizzy.

"Cough...cough..."

The woman covered her mouth, coughed a few times, and looked even more haggard.

In the past few days, she felt that her body was getting weaker every day. A few days ago, she seemed to be suffering from a cold, so she went to find Fu Zhu. After drinking the decoction, she felt much better, but there seemed to be signs of relapse. .

"Auntie, are you okay?"

Seemingly noticing that his mother was in poor health, the child raised his head and looked at her with concern.

"It's okay, just take care of yourself."

The woman was a little relieved. Although her son was only six years old, he looked like a young adult now, and he was born with intelligence.

Thinking of this, she tightened her left hand again. I heard that in Bingzhou, children can still enter the school. The school not only does not take any money, but also takes care of the students' meals.

She has always known that her child is smart, but unfortunately her family is just an ordinary farmer, and it is impossible to enter any school in Yanzhou, and read and write, which is something only a wealthy family is qualified to do.

If he went to Bingzhou, there would be a free school, maybe his son would have a future...

The woman held the child's hand tightly, followed the long queue in front of her, and continued to walk forward slowly.

There was light in the thin child's eyes. He saw too many new things along the way. Although he felt very tired at first, he could sometimes take some cars, or lie on those yellow scarves. People travel some distance on their backs, and over time, he gets used to this kind of life.

Now I can eat two meals a day, which is much better than when I ate at home. At least I can eat half full, and sometimes I can even get some steamed corn rice.

And I heard from those Taoist priests who come here occasionally and wear yellow robes, there will be more delicious and fun things in Bingzhou, and there is no need to worry about not having enough food, and no need to worry about some vicious bad guys breaking into them home.

The child still remembers that just a few months ago, when he was still in his hometown, a group of vicious men with wooden sticks kicked open the door of his house, and then seemed to take something away.

A Niang was also beaten with a stick, lying on the ground for a long time, and did not get up until dark.

"But the river we went back to was bigger."

The child raised his left hand, made a gesture, and said exaggeratedly.

"It's bigger than this river, I remember, we walked for a long time before we got across."

"My son is right, I remember it very clearly."

The woman couldn't help showing a smile on her disheveled face, then she gently rubbed the child's head, and exhorted.

"When crossing the river, remember, you must hold my hand and don't fall into the water."

"Ah."

The child nodded and clenched his right hand tighter.

……

"As long as you cross the Zhang River, there will be no Han army blocking you along the way, and you can enter Bingzhou directly from the well."

A wolf guard hundred household officer wearing a white wolf uniform raised his voice at the side of the queue.

"When we arrive in Bingzhou, the land will be distributed according to the head. Both men and women can get the land. Those who have children at home, and those with more children, can get a little more land."

Because of this sentence, the crowd suddenly became noisy, and some people even wanted to get out of the queue to ask if it was the truth.

Although Fu Zhu of the Yellow Turban Army told him about the benefits of going to Bingzhou early on, they were still a little apprehensive. At this time, they saw a man wearing completely different clothes who looked like a high-ranking official, so they naturally wanted to ask him clearly.

"Line up, line up, don't mess up."

Several wolf guard Tiqi wearing black wolf uniforms who were in charge of maintaining discipline raised their sticks and opened their arms to block the commotion of the crowd.

"This is an order from the great virtuous teacher himself, can you still lie to you?"

"Hurry up and cross the river. After crossing the river, you will arrive at Julu, not far from Bingzhou."

The crowd gradually calmed down. Under the command of Eagle Wolf Guards, a small group of people were arranged to board the ferry, and a small group of people walked onto the pontoon bridge.

The carrying capacity of the pontoon bridge is limited, and too many people cannot walk at one time, otherwise there is a risk of being crushed.

The wolf guard standing on the pontoon bridge dutifully entrusted every citizen who walked on the pontoon bridge. After all, it was too dangerous for ordinary people to cross the river through the pontoon bridge.

On the pontoon bridge, at intervals, there will be eagle wolf guards who are in charge of guarding. They pay attention to the people on the pontoon bridge and remind them to keep a proper distance.

Beside the pontoon bridge on the Zhangshui River, there are soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army sliding rafts or boats. They are also paying attention to the situation on the pontoon bridge. Although it is not a flood season, the Zhangshui River is relatively calm most of the time, but there are also winds. When the waves are rough, it is inevitable that people will fall into the water from the pontoon bridge. Their task is to rescue those who accidentally fell into the water in time.

When the Yellow Turban Army of the four prefectures crossed the Yellow River, the water of the Yellow River drowned many people who crossed the river.

This is also the reason why the Eagle Wolf Guard appeared in the Zhangshui transition this time.

Xu An heard that because of crossing the river, many people accidentally fell into the water and died in the process of crossing the river. They were drowned like this, so they specially sent Eagle Wolf Guards to help the people cross the river.

This time, Xu An not only brought the troops under his command, but also mobilized a considerable part of the wolf guard ti cavalry to join the army, just to deal with such a situation. There are too many troops that need to be transferred. unmanageable.

Even Fu Qi, the Da Nong Ling who was originally staying in Shangdang County to arrange resettlement work and was organizing the people of Bingzhou to reclaim farmland, temporarily put down his work and handed it over to the people in the Department of Agricultural Affairs, and rushed to Julu in person. county.

The Yellow Turban Army who came all the way to the four states died on the way, almost innumerable, tired, injured, the threat of the Han army, the weather...

They are not like those people who migrated northward in Hedong County. They only need to walk dozens of miles, and there are a large number of soldiers to protect them along the way. Eagle Wolf Guards patrol, and special personnel will arrange meals for them.

The daily food and clothing expenses of millions of people are astronomical, and the food is being consumed rapidly. The food and grass carried by the Yellow Turban Army from the four states are almost enough to eat shortly after arriving in Anping Kingdom.

Fortunately, King Anping is a wealthy prince. Xu An broke through the capital of Anping Kingdom and seized a lot of money and food. In addition to the remaining cities of Anping Kingdom and some powerful Wubao, millions of people in the four prefectures still have food for the time being. available.

Zhao Ji rubbed his temples, his head was a little swollen, Xu An transferred him from Jiangyi City to help the people of the four prefectures cross the river.

Since Maoshi is now approaching dusk, he has hardly rested for a moment, even if he eats, he only eats a little dry food. The Han army is not far away, and now crossing the river is really racing against time. down.

"Baihu, why don't you take a rest, it doesn't matter that Zhang Ji and I are here."

Lin Zhong glanced at the exhausted Zhao Ji, hesitated for a while, and finally stepped forward to persuade him.

"Yes."

Zhang Ji, who grew up in Lin Zhongyi's fat, also echoed. Both he and Lin Zhong had rested for a while, and only Zhao Ji kept spinning, almost without stopping.

Lin Zhong has always admired Zhao Ji, the hundred-household official who turned from the military soldier camp to the Eagle Wolf Guard. From Zhao Ji, he saw the shadows of Tiqi who were born in the Yellow Angel.

As long as the task assigned by the superior, no matter what the task is, Zhao Ji will do his best to do it well.

"Forget it, it's going to be dark soon, and there are still a lot of things to deal with in the camp. How can I go to rest at this time, let's talk about it when it gets dark."

Zhao Ji shook his head, and rejected Lin Zhong and Zhang Ji's proposal. There was still about a quarter of an hour, and he felt that he could persist.

The crowd moved forward bit by bit, slowly walked onto the pontoon bridge, and walked towards the north bank of Zhangshui River.

Zhao Ji looked up at the setting sun and calculated the time.

"That's it. The rest of the people will cross the river tomorrow. It will be dark soon, and it will not be safe to cross the river."

Zhao Ji led Lin Zhong and Zhang Ji forward, separating the flow of people.

The people who were blocked were obviously flustered, but Zhao Ji and others were blocking the way ahead, so they didn't dare to go forward.

"The porridge has been cooked in the camp. Now it's getting late and there's no way to cross the river. Let's take another day off today. At dawn tomorrow, I will arrange for the first batch of you to cross the river. The Han army is blocked on the periphery. This place is definitely safe."

Zhao Ji naturally knew the psychology of these people. He had already sent an unknown number of people to the north bank via the pontoon bridge.

The noisy sound only rang for a while and then stopped. They rushed here all the way from the four states and all over the world. Naturally, no one would make trouble. His food and lodging were all settled by these Yellow Turban soldiers.

Zhao Ji beckoned, called a few Tiqi under his command, and asked them to lead the crowd who were still queuing up to the nearest camp.

The aroma of porridge and rice was already in the air, and everyone was actually a little hungry, so they followed the wolf guard's Tiqi and walked towards the camp.

……

The sky is getting darker, and the road will be completely invisible almost immediately. The moon is also showing a bright figure, and the dots of stars are dotted in the dark night sky, looking quite shining.

The crowd slowly marched towards the bright place, where was the simple camp built by the Yellow Turban Army, and the aroma of porridge and rice wafted out from inside.

"It's delicious!"

The child sniffed greedily and stood on tiptoe, as if wanting to see the road ahead clearly. It was almost completely dark, but he could barely see the road.

"Go slowly and don't rush, one after another, if you feel that you hit something, stop and report immediately."

Zhao Ji clenched his fist and pressed it against his lips, and then coughed twice. He blew the wind by the water during the day, but he seemed to be a little sick. He tightened his clothes and felt a little warmer. He spoke to the crowd.

Many people cannot see things and roads at night, and night blindness is very common, which is why Zhao Ji reminded them.

Now that Zhao Ji is a member of the Eagle Wolf Guard, he eats much better food than before. Xu An also specially added some ingredients that can prevent night blindness to the soldiers' recipes as much as possible.

But after all, the ingredients are limited, and night blindness is still relatively common. However, for Eagle Wolf Guards, none of them have night blindness. Because of the nature of his work, the ingredients Xu An arranged for them do not lack those trace elements. .

'"Ahem...ahem..."

There were several coughing sounds from the crowd.

"So many people catch a cold..."

Zhao Ji frowned slightly. This is not a good omen. There are not many medicinal materials in the army now.

Zhang Ji also frowned. He is in charge of medical care, so naturally he is very aware of the current predicament.

"It's been a few months since I came here from Qingzhou. It's October now. I think many people are still wearing summer clothes. The weather is already cold. If they are blown by the Zhangshui River, they may catch a cold."

Zhang Ji thought for a moment, then leaned into Zhao Ji's ear and said.

"Baihu, I'll ask people to boil some ginger soup for them to drink, otherwise so many people catch a cold, and if it becomes a disease, it's not good. There are not so many medicinal materials in the army now."

"Okay, you go first, make more ginger soup, and make sure everyone can have a bowl."

Zhao Ji pondered for a moment. He noticed that there were indeed too many coughing people in the team. He nodded and agreed to Zhang Ji's request.

Zhang Ji cupped his fists to accept the order, and trotted forward.

"and many more."

Before Zhang Ji ran a few steps, Zhao Ji called Zhang Ji to stop.

"What's the matter, Baihu?"

Zhang Ji turned around and looked at Zhao Ji with some doubts. Although it was dark, Zhang Ji still noticed that Zhao Ji looked unwell, even a little embarrassed.

Zhao Ji coughed twice at first, as if he was struggling a bit, he took a while and then continued: "Many people in the place we are in charge of have caught a cold, and the situation in other places should be similar. You will send people to other camps later, and let them They boiled some ginger soup for the people in the camp, and then told them to protect themselves from the cold."

"I understand." Zhang Ji nodded, "Baihu, after the patrol, go to Fu Zhu to get some medicine, I think you seem to be a little serious, and it will be difficult to deal with some diseases. "

Zhao Ji waved his hand, smiled reluctantly and said, "I know, I'll go over after dinner."

When Zhang Ji heard that Zhao Ji agreed, he turned around and ran towards the camp. He wanted to make ginger soup in advance.

……

The crowd walked slowly because it was getting late, and after a while, the sun had already sunk below the horizon, and after the dark night, the crowd walked into the lighted camp.

"You guys have worked hard."

As soon as he entered the camp, a Yellow Turban commander in military uniform greeted him and saluted Zhao Ji.

"The things I have to do are all what I should do. I dare not say it is hard."

Zhao Ji also bowed solemnly and replied.

"Master Xu, let's get busy first, these people haven't eaten yet."

"Okay, it's still the same place, I left some food for you guys, but you're a little late today, I'm afraid it's getting cold."

The head of the village smiled, talked to Zhao Ji for a few more words, then turned and left.

At the porridge shed not far away, porridge distribution also began. The crowd received their porridge and rice in an orderly manner without any noise. This has almost become their habit. They have lived such a life for a long time.

Zhao Ji withdrew his gaze, took Lin Zhong to inspect the camp, and then walked to the military tent where their meals were kept. Lin Zhong opened the military tent, walked in, and took out two small clay pots after a while , In one pottery pot, it is full of corn and rice, and in the other pottery pot is some other omnivorous foods, such as beans and the like.

Zhang Ji also arranged things at this time, and just happened to walk over from not far away, holding a small earthen pot in his hand, and it seemed that the ginger soup had been boiled.

"Baihu, how do you feel now?"

Zhang Ji sat down with the clay pot, and then handed the pot to Zhao Ji.

"I've already had a bowl of the freshly boiled ginger soup. I made a serving of ginger soup for two. You and Lin Zhong should drink some to warm your body."

"Row."

Zhao Ji took the clay pot with a smile. He really felt that his body was a little cold now, and he didn't refuse, so he put his mouth to the edge of the pot and drank.

The warm ginger soup flowed down the throat into the stomach, and Zhao Ji felt a little warmth.

"This ginger soup does have some effect."

Zhao Ji smiled, and handed the ginger soup to Lin Zhong who was beside him. Lin Zhong took the clay pot and quickly drank the remaining ginger soup. Although Yinglangwei's winter clothes are thick, the riverside is also real Some cold.

After drinking the ginger soup, the three of them took a water bag, washed their hands, and then stretched their hands into the earthenware pot containing the food. They didn't use a container to put it in, and just grabbed the corn, rice and beans with their hands and ate it. stand up.

The eating utensils they brought were basically distributed to those people. Many people who came all the way from the four states didn't even have containers for porridge.

Zhao Ji watched those people with his own eyes, and waited until the porridge was cold before going to the porridge shed, and asked the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army to put the porridge in their hands, and then ate the porridge like that.

Speaking of which, they didn't really care about cleaning that much. Zhao Ji never paid much attention to hygiene when he was in the Taihang Mountains before, but according to Xu An's latest regulations, the whole army began to pay attention.

These regulations have nothing to do with combat, but mainly in life and regulations that need to be paid attention to when marching and camping.

For example, try not to drink raw water directly. The raw water that cannot be drunk directly is the water in the wild. The regulations stipulate that if there are conditions, it must be boiled before drinking. If there are no conditions, the scouts must first investigate clearly to see if there is any water source. polluted.

There is also the need to wash your hands before eating, what to pay attention to personal hygiene, in a word, keep clean, whether it is an individual, a barracks, or even the entire camp needs to be kept clean.

Although there are many more rules and regulations, although the people in the army find it troublesome, but because these rules were formulated by Xu An himself, although everyone complained at the beginning, the people in the army still chose to implement them. The implementation in the military is still very smooth.

And these regulations are said to reduce the occurrence of diseases and prevent non-combat attrition.

However, those rhetoric are a bit esoteric, and most of the soldiers don't understand it well. They only implement it because of Xu An's prestige in the army. However, after a period of implementation, many people have discovered that diarrhea and The number of sick people seems to have decreased a lot, not as many and as frequently as before.

This discovery also raised Xu An's already lofty prestige in the army, and everyone no longer disbelieved Xu An's words.

Xu An added some regulations later, and these regulations were not resisted at all, and everyone was earnestly implementing the regulations promulgated by Xu An.

Zhao Ji and the others ate very quickly, and in less than a moment, the three of them finished the food in the crock pot. His long military career made him develop such a habit.

Whether it is Zhao Ji, or Lin Zhong and Zhang Ji, all three of them were born in the army. Zhao Ji is a soldier, Lin Zhong is a scout in the army, and Zhang Ji has been following Xu An. All eaten very quickly.

"Come on, check the ferry and the raft."

Zhao Ji patted the dust off his body, stood up, and said to Lin Zhong and Zhang Ji.

One of their tasks at night is to check whether the ferry and rafts at the ferry are damaged. After all, these things need to be used as soon as the light is released the next day.

Lin Zhong and Zhang Ji stood up together without any delay. Those who came out of the ranks were clean and neat, without the habit of procrastinating, and in a sense, the Eagle and Wolf Guards were actually an army. However, it is not fighting the enemy on the battlefield, but fighting the enemy in the dark, in the interior.

Except for the civil servants and a small number of tiqi who are Fu Zhu of the Yellow Turban Army, the members who make up the Eagle Wolf Guard are basically selected from various armies and included in the Eagle Wolf Guard. Among them, the military spirit is very heavy, and Liu Pi also manages the Eagle Wolf Guard by means of managing the army.

Zhao Ji had just walked a few steps, and when he passed a place without lights, a black shadow suddenly flashed over from a gap between the tents on one side. Although the speed of the black shadow was not fast, it was a little short, but Zhao Ji Didn't notice it at first.

Zhao Ji had practiced on the battlefield for a long time, and he was also a Hundred Household Officer of the Eagle Wolf Guard in Jiangyi City, although his reaction was relatively quick.

But the camp he is currently in is close to the ferry, in the most hinterland, and there are nearly [-] people on the periphery, and he has never heard the news of the Han army's secret operations on weekdays, so Zhao Ji is quite tired these days, both physically and mentally. Relax.

And because he caught a cold, his head was a little dizzy, so his reaction was naturally a bit slower, and he couldn't react in time, so he collided with the black shadow.

Hearing only a muffled "dong", Zhao Ji first felt his knees shake, and then heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

"Who!"

Zhang Ji and Lin Zhong's expressions changed, and they instantly pulled out the Yanling Saber from their waists. They reached out their hands almost at the same time to grab Zhao Ji, pulled Zhao Ji back, and protected Zhao Ji with the Yanling Saber. score.

Jiangyi City is adjacent to the area controlled by the Han army, and the Embroidered Cloth Messenger and the Han Army's secret agents have infiltrated. Zhao Ji has naturally encountered several assassinations. Zhang Ji and Lin Zhong naturally have some experience in responding to emergencies .

Zhao Ji also reacted at this time, and instantly pressed a hand on the Yanling Saber.

"This……"

The three of them came to their senses, and only then did they see the scene around them clearly. The black shadow was not the work of the Han army, nor was it an assassin, but a child.

The child fell to the ground and was touching his head with his hands, with a painful expression on his face. He should have just been knocked down to the ground, but it was strange not to see him crying.

Zhao Ji, Lin Zhong, and Zhang Ji looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment, this was the first time they encountered such a situation.

In the end, it was Zhang Jixian who came to his senses. In a brazier, he lit a portable torch next to him, and then returned to Zhao Ji's side.

Only then did the child see the three people standing in front of him.

The child first took a look at the clothes of Zhao Ji and the three, and he recognized that the three in front of him were the ones who directed the people on the pontoon bridge before, and regardless of being knocked to the ground just now, he suppressed the pain and shouted eagerly.

"My mother seems to be sick, can you help me?"

Zhao Ji was stunned for a moment, but someone immediately reacted, gently pushed away Lin Zhong who was blocking him, and pressed Lin Zhong's knife-holding hand at the same time.

Lin Zhong turned around knowingly, and put away the Yanling Saber in his hand, and Zhang Ji, who was holding a torch on the other side, also put away the Yanling Saber when he saw this.

Zhao Ji looked at the child in front of him, but he thought of his son in Jiangyi City. His son was about the same age as the child in front of him.

"Where is your mother? What's the matter?"

Zhao Ji squatted down, half-kneeling on the ground, his face softened a little, and asked softly.

"I was sleeping with A Niang, but I was woken up by the heat..."

"Aniang is so hot, her whole body is so hot, it's like being next to a fire when she sticks to her body. My name is Aniang, and Aniang ignored me, so I ran out to find someone..."

The child spoke out the outline of the matter intermittently.

Zhao Ji's complexion didn't change at first, but after hearing the child's words, his complexion gradually began to change.

"Where is your mother, take me there quickly."

Zhao Ji looked extremely embarrassed, he pressed the Yanling Saber on his waist, and said to the child.

"It's right next to it, not far away."

The child was also a little anxious. After all, his mother was sick. His father told him when he followed those people wearing yellow scarves that he must take good care of his mother.

At that time, he had promised his father swearingly that a man would keep his promise, and he would do what he said. This was what his father taught him.

"You come with me."

The child beckoned to Zhao Ji and ran to a tent.

Zhao Ji stood up and watched the child run outside a camp. He didn't speak or move.

His heart kept sinking and falling downwards. The temperature was not too cold, but Zhao Ji felt chilly all over his body as if he was standing in the midwinter season with heavy snow.

He thought of an extremely terrifying thing...

It was the same situation back then.

First, someone started to cough in the mountains. Everyone thought they had caught a cold accidentally, but then more and more people coughed, and their bodies became weak.

The people in the settlement that year were ten rooms and nine empty...

(End of this chapter)