Chapter 0001: The First Year of Chongzhen

Last year, my mother passed away

Six-year-old Zhao Zhenfang suddenly realized something and cried out: "Sister, sister, I want my sister!"

In this day and age, the lives of the common people are difficult

Another bandit blocked the way and said: "Old Seven, enough, are we going to kill the little girl too? It's more important to grab the goods"

The starving people responded in terror: "It is already over"

Zhao Zhengfang rushed over and shook her father's body vigorously

Zhao Zhenlan no longer haggled; she untied the string of the bag, revealing the yellow-brown aged rice, and forced a smile as she said to her mother: "Mother, I am leaving. Please take care of yourself and father."

Zhao Chen said joyfully: "It has come out, it has come out!"

Even for the grassroots, good luck is required to dig it out, as the family suffers from malnutrition and is swollen all over

The North Canal has dried up to the point where boats can no longer navigate. The mother and daughter carefully slid into the river channel, where the water washed clean Zhao Zhenglan's face, which was delicate and endearing, though her cheeks were slightly sunken from hunger

After a while, Zhao Han suddenly cried out in pain and then collapsed on the spot

There is someone cooking porridge over there

Another day passed, and the fleeing group arrived in Tianjin, gazing at each other from a distance across the canal and the city wall

"Han'er, put in a bit more effort!" Zhao Chen held a branch and carefully prodded at his son's anal area.

The bandit sheathed his knife, picked up two bags of rice, tied them to his horse, and continued to kill and plunder.

The situation in his family is relatively good, merely suffering from edema. Some of the starving people have endured hunger for too long, depleting not only their fat but also causing their muscles to atrophy, leaving them emaciated and resembling corpses.

Zhao Chen sighed and said: "Lan'er, this is not a servant from a wealthy family; it is clearly a broker for buying and selling women."

In the evening, the whole family camps out in the wilderness

More than 20,000 starving people stood dazed in place, and the cavalry soon arrived. One person frowned and asked, "Wasn't it said that rice porridge would be distributed today?"

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty thousand starving people have scattered, leaving behind only hundreds of corpses

In Northern Zhili, the land stretches for a thousand miles, with over one hundred thousand starving people gathering in Beijing and Tongzhou

The sound of hooves approached, coming closer from a distance, and all the riders were armed with weapons

Not only that, they also raised their swords and killed anyone who attempted to cross the bridge, whether they were starving people or bandits. Both the starving and the bandits pose a great threat to Tianjin

The father did not respond

Zhao Han squatted on the ground with his pants down, gripping the dry grass with both hands, exerting all his strength, and said with a cry: "Mother, the child cannot come out."

In the cracked and desolate fields, a group of starving people is wandering, lifeless as if they were walking corpses

What is the taste?

However, with only a few hundred people receiving porridge, a minor official shouted: "Today the porridge is finished, come back tomorrow."

Zhao Zhenglan forced a smile: "In any case, death is inevitable. Selling my daughter to a wealthy family, even if she becomes a maid, she can still survive."

Zhao Shilang, disregarding his sorrow, picked up the stick for the journey, attempting to protect the life-saving provisions for his family at all costs

Yet he saw that Zhao and Chen had already been stabbed and fallen to the ground, and the grain had also been stolen by the horse bandits. His eyes were bloodshot with rage as he put down his son and said, "Vile thieves, I will fight you to the death!"

It is still a family of scholarly lineage. The dentist became cheerful.

Zhao Shilang turned to look at Zhao Han, his son was in a coma and had a high fever that showed no signs of abating; if he did not eat soon, he would undoubtedly die

The entire family has long since run out of food, and can only boil some half-dried grass roots, drinking them with hot water to fill their stomachs haphazardly

Bandits specifically target individuals with bags, regardless of what is inside; they prioritize seizing the bags first and asking questions later

Zhao Chen held her daughter's hand with tears in her eyes and said with a choked voice: "Lan'er, Mother will groom you."

Two legs cannot outrun four legs. Zhao Shilang knew he could hardly escape, so he grabbed a wooden stick and rushed back, shouting: "Evil thief, come and take my life!"

The sound of his wife's anguished scream came from behind, and Zhao Shilang quickly turned around to look.

Uncertain whether it was cooked or not, Zhao Zhengfang could no longer bear it. While sobbing with tears in her eyes, she swallowed hard and used her hands to lift the earthen pot out of the fire.

Those who were far away also did not know what had happened, but it was certainly correct to flee along with the crowd. In less than a moment, fear spread rapidly, and more than 20,000 starving people fled in a confused frenzy.

The soldiers guarding the bridge witnessed everything, yet no one was willing to come to the rescue

No one answered

The famished people with daughters approached to inquire, and then took their daughters to jump into the shallow, dry canal to wash their faces

In the northern part of Tianjin, there is a temporarily constructed wooden bridge

Zhao Shilang gritted his teeth and said: "My Zhao family has been innocent for generations, even if the whole family starves to death..."

"It is very noisy." The bandit raised his knife, intending to strike.

In the first year of Chongzhen, the new emperor ascended the throne, and the capital region was a thousand miles of red earth

Zhao Shilang looked at the two bags of rice on the ground, then turned to his crying little daughter, unable to contain his sorrow, and squatted down, weeping and crying in pain

Zhao Shilang struggled to rise, but the bandit struck down with a knife, followed by a few more blows as if venting his anger. Zhao Shilang fell into a pool of blood, no longer moving.

The seedlings have long withered, the wild grass cannot survive, the tree bark has been stripped bare, and to eat a clod of earth, one must toil to find water to swallow it

This year, the eldest son died of starvation

Murder and bloodshed, nearby starving people flee in panic for their lives

Father, the eldest brother is gone, the second brother cannot die, the Zhao family still needs him to carry on the family line," Zhao Zhenlan pleaded, "Father, Mother, please consider leaving your daughter a way to survive; I do not wish to starve to death.

Just a few days ago, a family, favored by providence, unexpectedly found a large patch of foxtail grass by the riverbank

Zhao Shilang carried his son, who was unconscious and feverish, on his back, took a bag of rice himself, and asked his wife to take another bag of rice, while protecting his daughter as they fled in panic

Zhao Zhenglan stepped forward and said to the dentist, "I can read."

Zhao Zhengfang's voice had become hoarse from crying, yet her parents still did not respond. She knew that her father and mother were asleep, and a month ago, her elder brother had also fallen asleep and did not wake up

The tooth extraction master immediately turned around, fixed his gaze on Zhao Zhenlan for a moment, and nodded, saying: "She is indeed a beauty in the making"

Gradually, I cried until I was exhausted and had no strength left

Zhao Zhenglan further stated: "My father is a scholar, and there are officials among my ancestors"

Even if the court intends to provide relief to the people, it does not extend to the Tianjin area. Every day, a few hundred people are merely put on a show for the distribution of porridge, and the little relief funds available have already been embezzled.

At the riverbank, officials and gentry have set up a porridge stall to aid the people, and Zhao Shilang's entire family is lining up for porridge

As night falls, the stars shine brilliantly

Suddenly, Zhao Chen drew a rusty kitchen knife and, like a protective hen, shouted fiercely: "What do you want? Get out, quickly get out!"

Zhao Chen shouted in pain: "Head of the family, do not mind me, quickly escape, quickly escape!"

The little girl's hands were blistered from the scalding, yet she endured the pain and did not throw away the earthenware pot; instead, she carefully placed it on the ground

Once again, a bandit shouted: "Who still has grain, hand it all over!"

Suddenly, a group of people arrived in fine clothes and on spirited horses. The leader shouted: "My master is seeking a righteous daughter, aged between twelve and sixteen, with a beautiful appearance, worth half a dou of rice!"

The little girl, feeling famished, stood in place in a daze

"Lan'er, you must take care of yourself as well," said Zhao Chen, wiping her tears.

"Hehe, three dou of rice? In this day and age, even the daughters of officials are worth at most one dou." The toothless man threw out two bags of rice, each a small bag that could hold half a dou, with each bag weighing approximately five to six jin.

"It's coming, it's coming," Zhao Chen said tearfully, as her son's rectum had already been punctured and was bleeding

Other starving women who sell themselves for rice, if not protected by family or fellow villagers, are often surrounded by nearby starving people. When hunger strikes, they even resort to cannibalism, let alone killing others for rice.

Zhao Shilang and Zhao Chenshi both remained silent and absorbed in thought

Zhao and Chen suddenly let out a long sigh, finally relieved that they no longer had to sell their daughter. However, upon reflecting on the family's lack of food, they immediately fell back into sadness and distress

However, he spent a considerable amount on the imperial examination, and the family business had long since declined. In recent years, there have been consecutive natural disasters, and last year, Zhao's mother fell seriously ill, leading to borrowing high-interest loans for her treatment. In the end, she passed away, and the debts could not be repaid, forcing them to sell land to settle the accounts

Uncertain how much time had passed, Zhao Zhenfang stepped towards the nearby corpse. There was a fire pit that had not yet extinguished, congee in a broken earthenware pot, and some grains of rice scattered on the ground

Father, Father

Zhao Shilang is indeed a Confucian scholar, with generations of his family being Confucian scholars as well, because the household registration of the Zhao family is classified as Confucian (similar to the merchant classification, both being branches under the civil registration)

Ah!

Some were killed by bandits, while more died from being trampled in the chaos. There were also some starving individuals who were so weak from hunger that they had no strength to escape, simply lying in place waiting to die of starvation

Several bandits rushed over upon hearing this and seized the food that the starving people had obtained by selling their daughters. The starving people attempted to resist, but were consecutively killed by the bandits wielding their knives.

A wave of immense fear surged forth, and the little girl began to wail uncontrollably

Damn it, it's not even noon yet, how could it possibly be finished? Are you trying to fool me!

Boil the grass seeds to make porridge, consume sparingly, and it will last for two days

Ah!

At the beginning, it was still possible to borrow money from relatives and friends, but over time, who could endure it? In the eyes of his family and friends, Zhao Shilang was like a plague god, and everyone avoided him.

The entire family cherishes their second son, Zhao Han, who eats the most of the grass seed porridge. However, this has led to adverse consequences, as Zhao Han has not had a bowel movement for several days. The grass seeds have hardened in his abdomen, making it impossible for him to pass them, and he is merely waiting for death.

More than ten years ago, the Zhao family's financial situation was relatively prosperous

In the first year of the Apocalypse, the new emperor ascended the throne, and locusts filled the skies over the capital.

After a long silence, Zhao Shilang turned to gaze at the horizon, closed his eyes, and let two streams of murky tears flow down his cheeks, waving his hand and saying: "Go on."

Water, water, so thirsty...

Zhao Shilang, along with his entire family, mingled among the fleeing crowd, moving forward in a dazed and unsteady manner

I want my sister, I want my sister! Zhao Zhengfang continued to cry incessantly

Carefully scrape the rice grains stained with blood into the earthenware jar. Zhao Zhengfang imitated her mother's actions, collecting water from several jars, and knelt there waiting to cook porridge to drink

Run!

Yet a group of starving people, coveting their two bags of rice, were glaringly surrounding them.

Zhao Shilang took his eldest daughter Zhao Zhenlan to gather dry grass and branches nearby to start a fire. His wife, Zhao Chenshi, continued to assist their son Zhao Han with his bowel movements, accompanied by their second daughter Zhao Zhenfang

The man turned over and dismounted, seizing a starving person and asking: "Where is the porridge being distributed?"

These individuals are bandits; upon hearing that porridge is to be distributed outside Tianjin, they immediately rode over to seize the food

Then, she stood there in a daze, turning to look at her parents, remaining in a stupor until the porridge had cooled down.

Zhao Shilang, dressed in tattered hemp clothing, gazed up at the starry sky and murmured: "The glorious Ming Dynasty, the mountains and rivers have lost their luster, demonic mists abound, the nation is on the brink of collapse. What can we, the Confucian scholars, do about it? What can we do indeed!"

The tooth extractors took the young girl away, while Zhao Chen's wife dragged two bags of rice to meet her husband

The little girl turned her head to look, only to see Zhao Han struggling to speak. She wiped away her tears and joyfully rushed over: "Second Brother, Second Brother, get up quickly and have some porridge!"

But the tooth dealer shouted: "No more, no more, the adopted daughters have all been collected."

Suddenly, Zhao Zhengfang picked up the earthenware jar and approached her parents, shaking her father's corpse and saying: "Father, do not sleep. Hurry and get up to drink the porridge; once you drink the porridge, you will no longer be hungry"

Since the end of the Wanli era, in less than twenty years, disasters such as floods, droughts, and locust plagues have occurred frequently, causing immense suffering for the common people

Even the capital, the most prosperous place, is not exempt from misfortune

Da da, da da da

At the age of fourteen, Zhao Zhenglan said to her parents: "Father, Mother, please sell your daughter. It will save on food, and half a dou of rice can last for several days."

... ...

The six-year-old daughter Zhao Zhenfang silently observed everything, seemingly understanding everything, yet also appearing to understand nothing.

The bandit let out a cold laugh and kicked Zhao Shilang to the ground.

Another rider said: "Brother, we cannot make this trip in vain; let’s see if there is still any profit on the poor fellow."

Zhao Chen's face bore a look of sorrow as she comforted her little daughter, saying: "Fang'er, do not cry, your sister has gone to a better place, your sister has gone to a better place"

She went to shake her mother's corpse: "Mother, have some porridge, you won't be hungry anymore. Mother, please get up and have some porridge... Wuwu, wah wah wah..."

In the summer of the first year of Chongzhen, the capital region experienced a drought, with the land parched for a thousand miles

The area near the porridge stand was suddenly filled with cries, as starving citizens approached and were beaten to the brink of death by the enforcers.

They do not dare to invade the city of Tianjin, yet they have the audacity to steal grain outside the city, as the troops stationed in Tianjin are nothing but cowardly soldiers

Zhao Zhenglan said: "I am worth three dou of rice"