Upon hearing that there was food, the refugees instantly rushed towards the area like madmen.
Seeing that chaos was about to break out, Xuan Yuanzhan immediately raised his blood-stained longsword again and shouted, "Don't panic, listen to me."
With the intimidating presence of the long sword, coupled with the shock of Xuan Yuanzhan's few sword strikes that had just killed so many bandits, the refugees instantly stopped moving. However, their eyes never left the bag of dry rations in Xuan Yuanzhan's hand.
Xuanyuan Zhan, holding up the bag, shouted to the refugees, "I know you are all very hungry, but I came in a hurry this time and did not bring much food. I can give you all the food, but you must not scramble for it. Everyone must line up obediently, with women and children in front, the elderly and the disabled next, and strong young men in the last place."
The refugees looked at each other in bewilderment; there were very few healthy young men among them.
All the healthy and capable men fled with their families, leaving behind only those who had no other options.
However, judging from the fact that this person didn't bring much food, with so many people sharing, those at the back of the line might not get any.
Xuanyuan Zhan understood their thoughts and said frankly, "Indeed, I didn't bring much food this time, and those who are at the back of the line may not get any. But don't worry too much, I came from the capital. I heard that the imperial court sent a holy king to provide disaster relief, and the relief food distributed by the court will arrive in a few days. At that time, the government will open the granaries and distribute the food, and no one will starve to death. Just wait patiently."
Upon hearing this, the refugees instantly became excited.
"Is it true that the imperial court sent disaster relief grain?"
"Great, we're saved."
"But even if the imperial court sends disaster relief grain, it is not certain that that disaster relief grain will be distributed to us."
"I heard that the disaster relief food is exploited at every level, and we don't know how much will be left when it reaches us, or even enough to survive!"
"Yes, I heard that Zhongjing also suffered from famine before. The imperial court distributed relief grain three times, but many people in Zhongjing still starved to death!"
Hearing the refugees' words, Xuan Yuanzhan frowned.
Central Disaster Relief?
Isn't that something Xuanyuan Yu is responsible for?
Only Xuanyuan Yu is such a pushover. Even the disaster relief grain could be embezzled by his subordinates. If it were him, who would dare to touch the disaster relief grain? He would cut down all the way to the north. He didn't believe anyone would dare to covet the disaster relief grain!
Xuanyuan Zhan raised his hand again and said loudly, "Everyone, believe me, there will definitely be relief food, and then everyone in the entire northern land will be able to survive!"
Seeing his confident demeanor, someone couldn't help but ask, "Young master, who exactly are you?"
Xuan Yuanzhan's face stiffened, and he immediately felt that he had said too much and revealed his identity. He quickly covered it up by saying, "I am just a merchant living near Kyoto."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately felt that his words lacked credibility: "Then how can you guarantee that the disaster relief grain will definitely reach the north!"
Xuanyuan Zhan was embarrassed again. He coughed lightly and said, "I have heard that the Holy King is a man of great authority. He will certainly not allow his officials to embezzle disaster relief grain."
Xuanyuan Zhan spoke up for himself, then said loudly, "The Emperor and the court have not abandoned the North. Please believe in the Emperor, believe in the Holy King, and believe in the court. Moreover, given everyone's current state, there is probably no other way but to believe in the court!"
Some people felt that what Xuanyuan Zhan said made a lot of sense: "This young master is right. There's no use worrying about this now. We can only trust the emperor and that holy king."
The refugees, however, didn't care about the emperor, the holy king, or the disaster relief food. All they cared about was the bag of dry rations in Xuan Yuanzhan's hand: "I think it's all pointless to talk about these things. We don't know when the disaster relief food will be delivered to us. The dry rations in this young master's hand are much more practical."
These words instantly reminded the refugees.
"Yes, yes, young master, let's line up and give me some rations."
"Everyone line up!"
"According to this young master, women and children should be in the front, the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the middle, and men in the back!"
The refugees were starving and all wanted the dry rations in Xuan Yuanzhan's hands, so without Xuan Yuanzhan having to call out again, they all obediently lined up as he asked.
Seeing that they had all lined up, Xuan Yuanzhan looked at the long line that resembled a dragon and immediately became worried about the dry rations in the cloth bag.
I don't know if there will be enough to go around.
In order to ensure that everyone gets a share, Xuan Yuanzhan looked at the dry rations in the cloth bag and had a general idea of how much each person would receive.
The rations were personally distributed by Xuan Yuanzhan, with each person receiving a small piece about half the size of a palm.
Even though it was only such a small piece, the people who received the rations held it in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe that this unfamiliar young master would actually be willing to share such precious rations with them.
After confirming that the rations were genuine, the first woman to receive them knelt down before Xuan Yuanzhan with a "plop": "Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"
"Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"
Afterwards, everyone who received the rations kowtowed to Xuanyuan Zhan while holding the rations.
"No need to be so polite, no need to kowtow." Xuan Yuanzhan didn't feel that just because he shared some rations with them, they needed to kowtow to him.
Little did he know that while these provisions might mean little to him, they were a lifesaver for these refugees, giving them hope for survival.
So even though Xuan Yuanzhan didn't need them to kowtow, they all kowtowed to him earnestly.
Xuan Yuanzhan had a good eye; the rations were distributed from beginning to end, and although each person didn't get much, everyone truly received a little.
Women and children received more, the elderly, the weak, the sick and disabled received less, and men received the least.
But in their current situation, just having something to eat is a blessing; even a small amount can save their lives. Moreover, many of the women, children, and elderly people in front are family members of these men, and the men are even happier to see their families receiving more than they do, more than they themselves.
"Thank you, young master! You truly saved our lives!"
The refugees knelt down before Xuan Yuanzhan once again.
Xuanyuan Zhan stepped forward and personally helped an old man to his feet: "Get up, all of you. Hold on for a few more days and wait for the imperial court's relief grain to arrive."
For some reason, perhaps it was the magic of that bag of dry rations, the refugees now believed everything Xuan Yuanzhan said.
Everyone inexplicably trusted Xuan Yuanzhan.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter!" The sudden sound of galloping hooves came again, and the refugees turned pale with fright.
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