Chapter 23: The Horrifying Southern Barbarians
Lord Chen also chatted with Zhou Yu. All they needed was a pot of wine and a plate of peanuts. If they kept talking, they would almost become sworn brothers.
Even Zhou Yu was reluctant to leave and repeatedly said that he could come to him if he had any problems in the future.
"Dad, what did you say to him that made him fool you like this?" Chen Xue was a little curious.
"Go away, who fooled him?" Lord Chen was a little dissatisfied. "I was just hinting that we still have a chance to rise. Yamen runners like them who want to climb up the ladder will naturally take the bait..."
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Zhou Yu had been a yamen runner for several years and knew very well that even though these officials were exiled, no one knew whether they would be reinstated the next day. This kind of thing was not uncommon.
On the contrary, he has seen a lot.
For example, the prime minister of the current dynasty had been exiled several times, but he was still reused by the emperor the following year and served as prime minister again.
Only those who lack vision would step on these exiled officials. Anyone with a little vision knows that as long as these officials are not dead, they may rise again. Therefore, if you can avoid offending them, do so, and if you can establish good relationships with them, do so.
Furthermore, Xu Tian, a yamen runner with a strong background, kept saying every day that Lord Chen was wrongly accused. Although Zhou Yu and the others had seen this kind of situation many times, they also knew that injustices would always be investigated and made clear. In other words, Lord Chen still had a chance to rise to prominence.
That's why Zhou Yu wanted to establish a good relationship with the Chen family.
"So, besides using both kindness and force, there are many other methods..."
Lord Chen taught Chen Xue some of his experience in officialdom. Although his daughter was not going to be an official, it would not hurt to learn more.
boom!
Thunder sounded above everyone's heads, and everyone's faces changed immediately.
“Speed up!”
“Bang!”
"Hurry up and get going if you don't want to get soaked!"
"The post station is not far ahead. You can rest when you get there."
The yamen runners looked at the darkening sky and felt the howling wind, and suddenly became anxious, waving their whips to urge them on.
The prisoners were also a little anxious. If they didn't find a place to shelter from the rain quickly, they would all get wet.
Getting wet is no big deal, but if they get sick, the yamen runners won't be kind enough to help them find a doctor.
Everyone in the Chen family also quickened their pace. Although they had a carriage to shelter from the rain, they did not have any servants. If a servant fell ill, it would be a problem.
boom!
It’s a pity that man proposes, God disposes.
Everyone quickened their pace, but still could not reach the post station before the rain. In desperation, the officials had to return to the carriage to shelter from the rain, and the prisoners could only hide in the woods.
Crash!
Raindrops as big as beans fell from the sky and hit the ground. Then, a howling gale came, blowing up the dust and leaves on the ground and roaring at everyone.
The prisoners all huddled together under the trees, trying to minimize the area exposed to the rain, and even sheltered the elderly and children inside.
The pouring rain soon enveloped the entire world, and the prisoners huddled under the trees, shivering like a group of quails.
boom!
Thunder flashed and the huge sound scared countless children into screaming.
Fortunately, no lightning struck.
"Every autumn rain brings a chill!"
Lord Chen looked at the rain outside and couldn't help but sigh. After the rain, the weather became cooler.
Because it was raining heavily, the officials had all gone to take shelter, so there was no need to hurry, and the Chen family members also huddled in the carriage.
"Today is the second day of exile. Although it's still early, we still have to consider our plans after exile to the Nanman..."
Although Lord Chen had never been to the Southern Barbarians, he had heard about them. "The environment there is extremely harsh, filled with miasma, and full of snakes, rats, and ants..."
In a word, the people exiled to the southern barbarians, with their poor mountains and bad waters, basically died of illness within a few years.
Although Chen Xue had never been there, she could refer to the ancient south in her previous life. The environment at that time was almost as harsh as the barbarian environment here.
The southern barbarian area is very humid and difficult to live in, not to mention the various dangers, miasma, snakes, rats, insects and ants... there are even occasional harassment and invasions by the southern barbarians.
These people were exiled to the land of the Southern Barbarians, partly to develop the area and make it habitable, and partly to defend against the Southern Barbarians.
Of course, they were not asked to fight with the Southern Barbarians, after all, they would not be able to stop them even if they went, but to provide logistics support.
These exiled prisoners were placed in exile towns and villages, where they were asked to reclaim wasteland, grow crops and pay grain to sustain the lives of the garrisoned soldiers.
Those soldiers are busy training on weekdays and have no time to farm. Moreover, the mountains there are high and the roads are long, so there is no way to buy food, so they need these exiles.
"So, I asked Xu Tian..." Lord Chen looked at his wife and daughter, "Our destination for exile is Xinxiang Village, a village built last year. The previous batch of exiles lived there..."
"The environment in Xinxiang is extremely harsh. It's said that 300 people were exiled last year, but this year the number is less than 50..."
"Hiss~"
Everyone couldn't help but gasp. Out of three hundred people, only fifty remained. What did such a high death rate mean? It meant that the situation over there was really terrible.
"Although I don't want to scare you, the facts are probably quite grim..." Lord Chen sighed. Those border guards would definitely lie about the situation for the sake of their reputation and official positions.
So, maybe even fewer people survived in Xinxiang.
"Why is the death rate so high... Dad, have you found out the reason?" Chen Xue was a little nervous. She thought the road to exile was scary enough, but she didn't expect that the journey was just an appetizer.
"Food, disease, barbarian invasions... these are all problems!" Lord Chen sighed. "Especially food... Once we get there, they won't provide us with food. At most, they'll provide us with some grain, but we can't eat the grain. If the harvest doesn't meet the requirements next year, we'll be driven out and starve to death in the mountains..."
Only then did Chen Xue understand the situation over there. After they went there, they would be arranged in the village, and the yamen runners would only provide them with grain seeds, and they would have to find ways to get food themselves.
When we were first exiled there, there was no food at all, so we had to look for it in the wild. But the environment in the South was really bad... There were mountains and forests everywhere, and snakes, rats, insects, ants, tigers, leopards, jackals, all in groups.
Many people either starved to death, were eaten by tigers, leopards, jackals, or died from bites by snakes, rats, insects, and ants.
In short, over there, nine lives are not enough to die.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry!"
Just when everyone was feeling heavy-hearted, Chen Xue spoke up, "I still have several thousand kilograms of food in my sleeves, so we don't have to worry about food at all..."
"It's not just food." Lord Chen thought further, "Miasma is also a major problem. The reason for such heavy casualties is because of miasma..."
"Also, snakes, rats, insects, and ants are also a problem. The creatures over there are not like those here. They are extremely wild, bloodthirsty, and cruel..."
If these problems are not solved, it will be very difficult for them to survive in Nanman.
Chen Xue also had a headache, but suddenly she thought of something and her eyes lit up. There was an exchange system in her space.
As long as you have money, nothing is a problem.
Miasma, she can exchange it for detoxification pills, etc.
She can exchange snakes, rats, insects and ants for realgar, pesticides, etc.
All these can be done as long as you have money. Moreover, the Nanman area has not been developed at all and has a variety of medicinal materials. It is simply a treasure land.
As long as she picked herbs and let the system recycle them, she would earn contribution points, and then use the contribution points to exchange for things like pesticides, and the cycle would continue...
You can live a carefree life in Nanman without spending any money.
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