Yijia originally intended to eat these things after entering the mountains. Who would have thought that Craftsman Li was so impatient and wanted to go into the mountains so early, so these things he prepared could only be eaten as breakfast.
Before setting off, Prince Du sent someone to deliver a cart of things. In addition to tents and other items needed for going up the mountain, a large bag of food was also prepared.
Dry food, dried meat, medicine for knife wounds, etc. are all available.
Qin Wan smiled as she looked at these things: "Prince Du's preparations are indeed thorough."
After dinner, the group set foot into the Shiwanda Mountains. The further west they went, the more humid the air became and the more lush the vegetation became, until they could hardly see the sky when they looked up.
They walked from dusk to dawn and then to dusk again, and went into the mountains. The mountain road was rugged and they walked for most of the day. It felt like they had walked quite far, but in fact they had only walked a few hundred meters. The road suddenly became very far away, and they could only concentrate on hurrying on, not looking at the road ahead, not looking at the sunlight, and not realizing how time passed.
Xie Qing's journey over there was even more difficult.
He had just stepped into Shen County, where there was no one in the wilderness, when he was assassinated.
The guards protected Xie Qing as they fought and retreated. After repelling one wave, they faced another the next day.
Xie Qing's purpose of this trip was to investigate the disaster and provide disaster relief. However, since he was being hunted, the disaster relief work could not be carried out at all.
So, Xie Qing took a few people with him, disguised themselves and went on a secret visit, while Xiao Luzi followed the main group, serving an empty sedan chair and pretending that the prince was still there. Only then did they get rid of the pursuers.
However, the situation in Shen County is very bad.
At least in Shenyang City, there are still wells that have not dried up and can be used to draw up some muddy water.
In several western counties, people can go to Qingquan Mountain to fetch water to alleviate the drought.
Shenyang is located in the south, bordering southern Xinjiang. Ling County to the east is farther away from Qingquan Mountain, so the disaster is naturally severe. Further east is Nan'an, and several counties bordering Ling County are also suffering from severe disasters.
The people in several counties are living a hard life. They are waiting for relief from the court, but the county magistrates are not human beings and they see no hope.
If there is no food, you can drink some water and pick some wild grass to fill your stomach.
But without water, we can’t even cook. It’s true that even the best cook cannot cook without water.
In places where the situation is slightly better, wealthy families have wells at home and can still get some water. Some families even open their wells and provide water to the people for free.
But some people charge money.
Xie Qing didn't rush forward to accuse him. Instead, he stopped an old man who was buying water and asked him about the situation: "The water from Qingquan Mountain is free. It's just a matter of walking a little bit to get a truckload of water. Why do you have to pay for water?"
Seeing Xie Qing's good clothes and the fact that he spoke with an accent that suggested he was from another place, the old man replied with a bit more respect: "You don't know, it's too far from here to Qingquan Mountain. I'm old and can't move. Besides, it took a lot of effort to get there and back. Shouldn't I eat more food?"
"The family of the official is kind and used to give us water for free. But after being bullied, he got angry and asked people to line up and pay a penny for a bucket of water. Now, a bucket of water can save lives! A penny is not much!"
Xie Qing felt relieved and asked again, "Delivering water is a good deed, why did you get bullied?"
"That scoundrel," the old man said with a bitter heart, "the official's family was kind enough to give someone water, but the scoundrel went back and said his mother died after drinking the water, and he extorted fifty taels of silver from the person! It was really embarrassing. Everyone in this village knows that his mother didn't have much time to live. If the official hadn't brought her a bucket of water every day, she would have died long ago!"
Xie Qing looked into the bucket: "This water..."
The old man sighed, "It's getting more and more turbid. At first, we only gave them a bucket of water, but now we're only giving them half a bucket and no one wants it. I can only persuade them to drink less."
Xie Qing frowned, thanked the old man and left.
He said to the guards around him, "Pass the order down to Shen County. Anyone who sells water from their own well within the county, no more than a few coins per bucket, will be spared. The people are suffering, but we can't let good people lose heart. However, if it's not a private well, selling water is strictly prohibited! Kill without mercy!"
"yes."
Xie Qing continued to move towards the next village, but the road became more and more desolate, and he even saw people dying of thirst on the ground!
Xie Qing ordered his men to collect the body and go to the village to inquire.
An old farmer shook his head and sighed, "Everyone in the family has died. There's no one left. We can't afford to keep anything. The weather is too hot. No one dares to move for fear of thirst."
The old farmer's mouth was so dry and cracked from the sun that whenever he spoke, blood would come out. He licked the blood clean carefully.
Xie Qing quickly offered his water bag: "Come, old man, have some water."
The old farmer's eyes lit up when he saw the water, and he quickly took out his own bowl and filled it with half a bowl. Xie Qing wanted to pour more, but the old farmer waved his hand and said, "Enough, enough! Are you just passing by? Go away! Otherwise, if people know you have water here, it will bring disaster!"
The old farmer got the water, but he was reluctant to drink it. He just took a sip to moisten his lips, then walked to the cellar with the bowl, opened it and went down.
Xie Qing became curious and followed.
The guard was worried: "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Qing waved his hand and followed the old farmer down to the cellar. He saw him go to the darkest corner of the cellar, take out a jar covered with a plate, and pour water into it.
Xie Qing was surprised: "Why don't you drink?"
The old farmer put the jar away, licked the still slightly damp bowl with care, and said, "You can't drink it, you can't drink it. You should hand over the water to the headman tomorrow. You can't drink it."
"What to hand over?" Xie Qing thought he had misheard.
The old farmer looked outside, but didn't rush back up. He lowered his voice and said, "The village head told every household to give him a bucket of water every ten days. If they don't, they have to pay ten cents."
Xie Qing was shocked: "When did it start?"
The old farmer's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It started in the twelfth lunar month. It was still cold then. Although there was no water, the temperature fluctuated between cold and hot in the morning and evening. There were still some water droplets in this cellar. I could save them and think of a way to make some. There would always be enough for me to drink."
"If you can't pay for the water, you have to pay for it in silver. Even mountains of gold and silver can't fill the gap!"
Xie Qing looked at the dry cellar, his voice dry: "So what are you doing now..."
The old man sighed, "What else can I do? Before, I didn't pay for water, I paid for money. Now I have no money left, so I can only pay for water. This is not paying for water! It's paying for my life!"
Xie Qing's throat was so tight that he couldn't speak. After a long time, he loosened his clenched fist and said to the old man, "Thank you for telling me this."
The old man waved his hand. "I heard that the Crown Prince came to provide disaster relief, so I dared to speak a little. You are dressed so well, you must be from the capital, right?"
Xie Qing nodded, but he didn't dare to say that he was the prince. It was not that he didn't dare, but he was ashamed. He was ashamed to use his identity as a prince to face the poor people who were oppressed by corrupt officials.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
