Dao Fruit

"Master, please do me a favor and give me something to eat!"

"Uncle, my daughter has been in good health since she was a child. Do you think I'd like to sell her to you as a maid?"

"Kind master, please give me a drink..."

Hebei Road is where ancient Youzhou was located. It has been developed for thousands of years and was once one of the imperial granaries. However, in the past two years, there have been constant natural disasters and severe droughts. The crops have not been harvested. Most of them died of drought. The limited reserves have been destroyed. The landlord holds it in his hand and refuses to open a position easily.

The Changping Cang and Huimin Cang established by the imperial court were burned down in several fires. The imperial court sent people to conduct thorough investigations but could not find any clues. In this way, how could the situation be improved?

In addition, it is located on the border, and there are often raids and plunder by the prairie people. When natural and man-made disasters happen, it becomes a tragedy in the world.

The loess soil on this road is cracked everywhere, and there is no water source in sight, but skinny people can be seen begging along the way. Many people have tanned skin, are as angry as a gossamer, and dragging their heavy bodies.

Looking into the distance, you can see someone lying under the dead tree trunks, silently, with flies gathering, and you don't know whether they are alive or dead.

There are also "big-headed dolls" that carefully follow their elders around due to lack of nutrition, which makes people feel pity when they look at them.

The carriage Qiu Yan was riding in was moving forward in this environment. People came to block the carriage one after another. Some came to ask for food, and some wanted to sell their sons and daughters. Of course, there were also many people in groups. Come here and want to plunder.

The Meng family has arrangements for these people, but Qiu Yan has his own plans for the people sent by the Meng family. His name is Meng Wei, and he is a son of his family. He was less than thirty years old, but he was highly valued by the Meng family and he was also smart. After noticing Qiu Yan's plan, he took the initiative to hand over the decision-making power to Qiu Yan.

In fact, the Meng family is prepared for these. The aristocratic family has a lot of staff and think tanks. Once they decide to make friends with someone, there will be a group of people to collect intelligence, analyze preferences, and list out how to deal with it in advance.

Things in the world are like this. If someone shows courtesy, the person being sacrificed is not you. It is inevitable that people who are courteous are too swaying and are despised, but if the person being offered is themselves, they will feel that that person is sensible, eye-catching, and discerning. That person is pleasing to the eye no matter how you look at it, and it also affects the person behind the person. family. It will also create a good impression.

This method has been circulated for a long time and has been tried and tested. Of course, the Hua Meng family is also familiar with it, so after the staff guessed Qiu Yan's personality tendency. Supplies had already been prepared in the carriages and convoys coming to pick up people, after Qiu Yan made arrangements. Someone immediately came forward to distribute it to the refugees.

But when the surrounding victims saw it, they immediately came and swarmed up, and there were signs of a stampede.

However, Qiu Yan had already expected this, and had arranged for the Meng family's guards to be prepared in advance, so that order could be maintained in a timely manner, which was considered stable. When Qiu Yan handed over military power, he did it very simply, not even a single None of the guards stayed behind, and he entered the gate alone. Apart from Qiu An, there was only Fairy Lingxiu accompanying him. Later, considering some things, even Fairy Lingxiu temporarily disappeared.

However, as time went by, more and more people gathered, and the carriage moved slower and slower. In the end, it was even difficult to move an inch.

In the car, Meng Wei was not surprised. He was still talking to Qiu Yan about the customs and customs of the Three Jin Lands. However, when the carriage shook, his expression changed slightly. He called someone over to ask for the reason. He knew that there were hungry people coming to think about it. They wanted to rob, but this time there were too many people and the guards had not enough manpower, so they could not stop it, but it has calmed down now.

However, after this chaos, more and more people around him had different intentions and were ready to take action.

This kind of disaster most reveals human nature. Whether you are kind or ugly, whether you are waiting for death or risking your life, or using the lives of others to save yourself, all can be done in a single thought.

The emotional changes of these people also passed into Qiu Yan's heart with slight fluctuations.

"Master Xiu Zhuan, it's better to accept it as soon as you see fit." After listening to the report, Meng Wei came to Qiu Yan and suggested, "The hungry and hungry people are really pitiful. Of course we have to help if we can, but after all, we are not the imperial court. In this kind of age , take out food with good intentions, but if you are not careful, you may cause chaos and do bad things with good intentions. "

Hearing this, Qiu Yan nodded and said, "What you said is right. Let's reduce it appropriately and distribute as much as possible, but we can't ignore our own safety." Qiu Yan did not insist. He had expected that this situation might arise. But there are some things that you can't just stop doing because you're afraid of the consequences, but you can't use the lives of the Meng family to pave the way for yourself.

Moreover, when there was a military disaster in Yuanning and the victims entered the city, Qiu Yan had also given porridge. Naturally, he was aware of the possibility of mishaps and knew that Meng Wei's words were not alarmist. The fact that the Meng family could do this was enough to prove their sincerity.

With Qiu Yan's words, Meng Wei felt relieved and immediately went out to make arrangements. His command was in an orderly manner. Although there were inevitable relapses among the hungry people, it did not cause any major chaos.

Not long after, the carriage drove into the midway county town. The scene in this city was different from the outside. Although the disaster could be seen, it was relatively more orderly. People setting up tents and serving porridge could also be seen on the streets in the city.

The carriage came to a stop in front of an inn and everyone got out of the car. They will spend one night here and continue their journey tomorrow.

There was not much to talk about during the check-in process. During dinner, Meng Wei asked Qiu Yan for advice. It was obvious that this son of the Meng family was very knowledgeable and knowledgeable.

Qiu Yan had discovered this during the day. He could see that this person could see things clearly and deal with things decisively. What was even more rare was that he was also good at allocating people and was a rare talent.

Any aristocratic family would be eager for talents like this. Such people are also indispensable for maintaining a large aristocratic family. From a side perspective, it is not easy for the Meng family to be able to cultivate such talents.

The conversation continued until the end of dinner, after which Meng Wei reluctantly left, saying that he did not dare to disturb Qiu Yan's rest.

After sending Meng Wei away and returning to his room, Qiu Yan took out his book and read silently. His two classics originally went to the capital with the chamberlain in charge of the summons when the military power was handed over.

There were countless people in the capital who were looking forward to seeing the true appearance of the classics. There were even many great Confucian scholars and masters who worked tirelessly to come from all over the country. It was vaguely a grand event, but there was no need for him, the author, to appear.

Not long after, the baby ginseng and other items in the package started making noise again, but it did not affect Qiu Yan at all. After looking at it for a while, he raised his hand to grasp it, and the thoughts of sustenance gathered in his body suddenly appeared.

These are the people's wishes brought by him after he ordered the distribution of supplies and food during the day. Compared with Yuanning's porridge, it is richer and more mellow.

However, Qiu Yan shook his head, rubbed his wishes, and turned them into a ball of luck. With a flick of his finger, the luck dispersed and returned to the hungry people who had placed his wishes on them, strengthening their luck, which could improve their luck. Chances of survival.

Although Qiu Yan has great magical powers and is considered a master in cultivation, he cannot reverse the changes in humanity in one fell swoop. He cannot save all the victims by himself. Long Ting must come forward to do it. Having said that, , if he really used his magical power to solve the disaster on his own, that might be the beginning of the disaster.

However, this does not prevent him from helping where he can.

After doing this, Qiu Yan was about to blow out the lights and recuperate, but was disturbed by a burst of noise coming from outside the window.

A few breaths later, Meng Wei came and knocked on the door and told the whole story.

It turned out that a student who had traveled far away came back and saw that the people in the city were sleeping peacefully while the hungry people outside were suffering from cold and starvation. He made an impassioned speech in the city, which resonated with many people and caused a chaotic situation.

"This man called on merchants and gentry to donate their remaining wealth to alleviate the suffering of the people. He also sent people to notify the residents of this inn, asking us to donate all our things to accumulate some bad virtue..." Meng Wei There was quite a bit of disapproval when he spoke.

"I see," Qiu Yan nodded and asked, "Since I have returned from a study tour, and my family is here, have I set an example by breaking up my family and saving others?"

Meng Wei sneered when he heard this: "Here's the problem. Although this man's ancestral home is here, and he also has a house in Hebei, his father is from a feudal territory, and most of the family property, property, and land are in other places. Even if it is donated, What's the use of a house? Besides, what the hungry people need is food. If they are given a house, the government won't let them into it easily. What's more, this person can't speak at home, and he can't decide what happens in the house. of."

The Meng family has its own sources of information, and Meng Wei has already figured out the background of the person who started it.

As he was talking, he suddenly asked: "By the way, the villain came here this time to ask for advice on how to deal with this matter?"

"It's better to do less than to do more. Give him all the extra rations, but leave enough for the bodyguard." Qiu Yan ordered this. In fact, he also saw that Meng Wei had a plan. The reason why he came to ask was to reflect respect.

"That'll be easy..." Meng Wei smiled and left.

However, things did not develop as smoothly as he expected. Although they did not want to cause trouble, trouble came to their door—

Early the next morning, Qiu Yan met the sponsor in the hotel lobby.

This man was indeed handsome and talented. He was born in a local scholarly family, named Kong Sanwei, and his father was the Lingnan Road Observer.

"I've heard about Brother Qiu a long time ago, and I've been thinking about it for a while." As soon as the Third Master Kong opened his mouth, Meng Wei and others were slightly dissatisfied with what he said.

You must know that Qiu Yan is no longer as unknown as he was back then. Even if the border army generals saw him, they would still call him "Xiu Zhuan", and the gentry would even address him as "Sir".

But this Kong Sanwei, who only had the reputation of being a civil servant, had a vague air of being superior to him in terms of etiquette and title, which was unpleasant.

PS: Thank you to "Xiao Wu's dad" for your monthly vote!