Chapter 785: So Painful That She Wanted to Die
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Song Mingzhao felt that it was a little strange, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this situation was reasonable. The Liao Province in the North was close to the sea, and the sea route was very convenient. Fujian’s trade was also prosperous, so it made sense to go to Fujian to buy.
The ship left the dock.
Yu Youyao thought of what she had seen at the main dock just now and asked, “How’s the situation in Jin County?”
Yin San’s expression was very serious. “The streets are filled with refugees. When they see the old, weak, women, and children, they rush over like crazy to s.n.a.t.c.h from them. I heard that during this period of time, many people have already died. The government office can’t even take care of themselves.”
Yu Youyao frowned.
Yin San said, “In some remote areas in the north, as they suffered a drought, there was a famine. Some were plundered by the pirates and couldn’t survive, so they all rushed into the capital. However, the capital closed the city gate and didn’t allow refugees to enter the city. The refugees had no choice but to rush into the towns around the capital. By the time the nearby government offices reacted, a large number of refugees had already surged into the towns. Riots often happened, and the government couldn’t suppress them.”
No wonder there were refugees openly robbing the docks, and the soldiers slashed at them without any scruples. The order of Jin County was already on the verge of collapse.
Yu Youyao did not look too good. “Didn’t the Imperial Court send disaster relief? Why are there still so many refugees?”
Yin San shook his head. “The Imperial Court’s disaster relief is also selective and targeted. Some areas with more prosperous agriculture and trade are the first areas to receive relief. Most of the remote areas basically just receive a formality. They are only distributed a small amount of money and food. Some are simply left simply to fend for themselves.”
Yu Youyao’s breathing tightened. “Actually, most people haven’t received relief from the Imperial Court.”
Yin San nodded. “The range of the drought is too large. Seven to eight prefectures and provinces, including Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, have disasters of varying degrees. Among them, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei are the worst. However, under the king’s rule, the situation in Shanxi and Shaanxi is better because they’re promoting the planting of sweet potatoes. The situation in other areas is very serious. I heard that so far, more than 400,000 people have died from famine.”
Tens of millions of people were waiting to eat. The treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty was empty to begin with, and the past two years had not been good. The production of food had decreased drastically, and it could not support so many people.
Yu Youyao knew that this was not the most difficult time.
After this winter, who knew how many more people would die of hunger and cold.
By next spring, if the drought continued, the famine would continue to spread. The entire north would be filled with starving corpses, and it would become a living h.e.l.l.
Yu Youyao only felt that it was ironic and ridiculous.
The emperor was busy engrossed in alchemy, the court officials were busy fighting for power, the va.s.sal lords were busy plotting rebellion, and the aristocratic families were bewitched by the illusion of prosperity and peace. They were busy enjoying themselves.
Who would really care about the lives of the commoners?
Song Mingzhao waited for a while, but no pa.s.senger ship came to Quanzhou. He sent Kong Qing to ask for information.
Kong Qing only went for a moment before returning. “It’s a message from the government office in Quanzhou. A group of bandits is killing and setting fire in Quanzhou. All the large and small docks near Quanzhou have to be under martial law. They will immediately start the martial law investigation. The official ship to Quanzhou will be a little late. Young Master, wait patiently.”
Song Mingzhao felt a strong sense of contradiction. “Go and investigate again and ask what happened in Quanzhou, especially regarding the Xie Residence. Make sure to be thorough.”
He felt that this matter was not that simple.
Then, he recalled that everything about Quanzhou recently was related to Yu Youyao and the Xie family. He had a bad feeling.
Time was especially torturous as he waited.
After an unknown period of time, Kong Qing returned. “Other than bandits killing and setting fires in Quanzhou City, I haven’t heard anything else, nor is there any news about the Xie family.”
Quanzhou had changed!
Song Mingzhao’s expression did not look too good. He asked Kong Qing to prepare a brush and ink and wrote a letter to his family, asking the Zhenguo Marquis Residence to pay close attention to the movements in Quanzhou.
After writing the letter, he carefully packed the seal and handed it to a guard accompanying him. “Send it to the Matriarch at full speed.”
They waited until it was dark before Song Mingzhao finally boarded the official ship to Quanzhou.
That night, Song Mingzhao had a nightmare.
In his nightmare, he was sitting in a carriage. He opened the window of the carriage and looked at the market not far away. Yu Youyao fell to the dirty ground and hugged a b.l.o.o.d.y head as she broke down and cried.
As she cried, she cursed loudly, “Song Mingzhao, you won’t die a good death…”
Song Mingzhao suddenly woke up from his dream. His heart seemed to be blocked. He coughed hard and spat out dark red blood on the snow-white handkerchief.
He stared blankly at the shocking ma.s.s of blood, and his body gradually turned cold.
In the past few years, he had had many muddle-headed dreams on and off. At first, they were just blurry fragments. Only the sound of the girl crying and cursing was clear.
Later on, he gradually could see the girl’s appearance in the fragmented dream.
It was Yu Youyao.
Yet, it wasn’t Yu Youyao.
In the nightmare, Yu Xiyao was scrawny and thin. It seemed to be caused by him.
Later on, there were more and more fragments of the dream.
Song Mingzhao was very clear-headed. The person in the dream wasn’t him, but those nightmares were too real, as if everything had really happened. Every time, it hurt so much that he wanted to die.
How was that possible?
Even if Yu Youyao did something wrong to him, he would at least let her off on the account that she had once saved his life at the Precious Peace Temple.
That wasn’t him!
It couldn’t be him!
… .
After the merchant ship left the dock of Jin County, Yu Youyao’s body became more and more energetic day by day. The people from the Xie family finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Old Madam Xie’s heart ached. “The next dock is in Liancheng, Liao Province. After entering the territory of the North, we’ll get off the ship and turn to the land route. Although the carriage is a little b.u.mpier than a merchant ship, we can stop on the way at any time. It’s a little better than floating on a ship. Look, you’ve finally gained some meat, but you’ve lost weight again.”
Yu Youyao shook her head. “Liancheng is considered a relatively rich area in the North. I reckon many refugees have surged in. It’s even more difficult to travel by land than by sea.”
Although the situation in the North was a little better after the disaster, the resources in the North were not abundant to begin with, so no matter how good it was, it would not be any better.
At most, there were no riots like elsewhere.
Old Madam Xie sighed softly. “This world will be chaotic sooner or later.”
The merchant ship pa.s.sed through many states and provinces. When it arrived at the dock, it had to buy supplies and process the customs clearance doc.u.ment. They also obtained a lot of information.
The north had suffered a drought and was filled with refugees. The richest area on the southeast coast had been burned, killed, and plundered by pirates. There were also many refugees.
Once there were more refugees, there would be frequent riots everywhere. The government could still barely suppress them.
However, if the government could not settle the refugees, there would be more and more of them. At that time, it would only be the officials forcing the people to rebel.