Whether it is for the emperor to show it or sincerely.

The Thirteen Kuidong families gathered to send troops to Fengyang on the second day.

In terms of execution, Li Laiheng and others really can't find any fault.

This time, Li Laiheng took away all the troops brought by Kuidong Xun to Nanjing, with a total of 50,000 people, claiming to be 100,000. The army rushed towards Fengyang in a vast array.

The territory of Fengyang Prefecture is large enough, so it is naturally impossible for the Qing army to garrison everywhere.

Therefore, when Li Laiheng and others first entered Fengyang Mansion, they did not encounter any resistance.

Even the shadow of the Qing soldiers was not seen, which made Li Laiheng wonder if he had entered a fake Fengyang.

On the way to the march, the Ming army discovered many abandoned villages.

Some of these villages have just been abandoned for a short time, while others have been abandoned for more than a year.

From the outside, it looks extremely dilapidated and even has traces of being attacked.

There are many bones on the roadside, and they have obviously been dead for a long time.

This year, there was a severe drought, and many tenant farmers were destroyed. Even self-cultivated farmers who owned the land could hardly resist such natural disasters.

In addition, the Qing Dynasty was ineffective and local governments did not open warehouses to provide relief to the victims. There were countless victims who died in Fengyang Prefecture.

In order to survive, the people dig wild vegetables and scrape the bark of trees, and even eat them with their children.

Others may not know about these, but Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun and others know them very well.

At the end of Chongzhen, people were living in poverty, and natural disasters and man-made disasters were together, and the people in Shaanxi could not survive, so there was an uprising in Mizhi and other places.

This is true for both Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

The people in Shaanxi are suffering, even more than Fengyang.

The people will rebel only if they can't survive. Who would do this headless thing if they eat a bite?

Liu Tichun felt emotional when he was moved by the scene and sighed: "When the people prosper, the people suffer. When the people die, the people suffer even more. When the dynasties change, the most painful thing is the people."

At that time, only eighteen people were beaten to follow the King of Chuang and hid in the mountains of Shangluo, known as the Eighteen Cavalry of Shangluo.

Even when they were most difficult and difficult, they did not give up because they firmly believed that they could bring a better life to the people.

They originated from the grassroots and stood with the people.

Later, when he was in the King of Break, he took over Beijing smoothly. Only then did Liu Tichun realize that people would change.

The King of Chuang is no longer the King of Chuang back then, and his mind is full of thoughts on how to consolidate his rule.

Although Li Zi succeeded and surrendered the country to the Tartars, Liu Tichun discovered through this incident that no matter who the ruler was replaced, the people were the most miserable.

So as long as you are not hungry and can't survive, stable rule may be the best.

But it is obviously not the case in Fengyang Mansion now!

Through the dry bones on the roadside, you can see how miserable the people's lives have reached.

"Little tiger, there seems to be someone in front of you!"

The sharp-eyed Yuan Zongdi immediately noticed that the grass in front was shaking a little.

Li Laiheng, who was riding on the black horse, narrowed his eyes and waved his hand, signaling the scout to come forward to check.

He felt that it was a bit strange that he had not seen the Qing army. Could it be that the Qing army chose to hide and ambush because of the movement of the Ming army?

Li Laiheng was very cautious and would not easily order the army to advance before confirming that there were no ambushes.

Therefore, everyone stopped and waited. When the scout returned, he brought dozens of ragged and pale-faced and thin victims.

These victims were unkempt and had no eyes, like walking corpses.

"Duke Linguo, these people claim to be local victims of Fengyang."

A scout clasped his fists and reported.

"Oh? Which one is the leader? I have something to ask for."

The Ming army had just entered the territory of Fengyang and was unfamiliar with the place. It may not be a good thing to encounter these victims.

"See the adult..."

An old man with white hair and skinny hair stood up tremblingly and bowed to Li Laiheng.

"I am here to ask you, are you locals? What are you doing here sneakily?"

"Sir, we are from our county. When we encounter a severe drought, the price of grain soars. If we really can't survive, we think about begging in the county. Generally speaking, the government will provide relief. Yes, but these unscrupulous dog officials don't even have a grain of rice!"

This old man is smart. He had long discovered that Li Laiheng and others were under the banner of the Ming army.

Such a huge army came from the south again, so it must be the Ming army.

"So you came out of the county again?"

"Yes, we want to get lucky to see if we can catch some hares and field mice. If we don't dig some wild vegetables, it's okay."

The old man was so sad and angry that he snotted and cried.

"But there is nothing, nothing. Sir, we have been hungry for several days, and we are so hungry that we are dizzy and weak. Just be fine, give us some food."

When Liu Tichun saw these victims, he felt a pain in his skin and said to Li Laiheng: "Little Tiger, give them some food."

Li Laiheng nodded and said, "Come on, give them some cakes."

Immediately, personal soldiers took the cakes used as military rations to the victims.

"Eat it, the Duke of the State will reward you."

The personal soldiers distributed the cake to the victims.

These victims saw the pancake's eyes shining and pounced on them like hungry wolves.

"Give me food!"

"Give me!"

Seeing them scrambling to rob, Li Laiheng whispered: "Don't rob, everyone has a share!"

The victims were startled when he shouted, and then they realized that the other party was a soldier with a knife in his hand.

They shivered and hung their heads, not daring to look at Li Laiheng.

"This is for you."

"This is the cake for you."

"Eat slowly, be careful to choke!"

The personal soldiers distributed cakes to the victims in turn, and soon dozens of people got a portion.

They bit the cake like hungry wolves, and their saliva flowed down their chin.

Although they ate very quickly, they didn't seem to be choking.

Maybe they were so hungry that after eating a piece of cake they actually asked for a second piece.

"Give them some water first."

Li Laiheng said with a frown.

He was so anxious that he was really worried that these victims would be out of breath.

The personal soldiers gave each person a cowhide water bag and asked them to drink some water first.

Not to mention, they are really thirsty.

These victims picked up the kettle and drank it full.

"Ah, it's so cool."

The victims said happily after drinking their fill.

"Sir, please continue to ask if you have any questions. The little old man must know how much he says."

Li Laiheng was very satisfied with their attitude and nodded, "You have just come out of the county town, so I'll ask how many Tartars are there in your county town?"

The victims were stunned.

The question Li Laiheng asked really confused them.

How do they know how many Tartars are stationed in the county town?

...

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Chapter completed!