Chapter 2080 Equivalent exchange, wave of refugees


    South of Wuguan and north of Zhuyang.


    ?This area was originally largely deserted and sparsely populated, but now, it has changed again.


    ??No one knows which family the once-abandoned Wubao in front of them originally belonged to. The place where the lintel should be placed in Wubao is not known whether it was because it was taken away or was chopped down later. Anyway, there is no sign of the county name, hall, etc.


    ? Zhuge Liang probably belongs to the Yuan family, but he may also belong to other Runan noble clans. After all, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there were many noble forts in Runan County.


    ??The damaged walls of Wubao are being continuously raised, and the walls of Wubao that have exposed rammed earth are also being re-consolidated and then sealed with stones. However, these stones are basically not polished, and various edges and corners are exposed. The trenches around the fort are also being re-excavated to clear out the clogged silt, but no water has been drawn yet.


    Whether it is repairing the wall of Wubao, digging ditches, or quarrying stones and transporting soil from the surrounding areas, manpower is required, and these manpower are the continuous influx of refugees from Jingzhou.


    ??The soldiers on duty inside and outside Wubao are hussars and horses, with bright armor and fluttering flags. Even if they see them from a distance, they know they are not to be trifled with. These hussars are orderly controlling the refugees, either recruiting laborers, allocating rations, and distributing some working tools. It is precisely these hussars and horses who are in charge. Although these refugees are not as rigorous as the military formations, they are not bad at all. At least they still have goals and orders.


    Most of the refugees still have some desire to live, and they want to struggle to survive in the misery. However, they often lose hope as they go, and then all kinds of problems break out, so when these refugees feel that there is hope When you can live a good life, some dirty and unbearable things will be reduced accordingly.


    Some slightly stronger refugee men were following the orders of the hussar soldiers for transportation and repair. They also built some simple shacks on the dry ground outside the dock, which were roughly triangular in shape and looked like doghouses. An ordinary simple shack.


    Most of these homeless men are doing it while they can''t help but turn their heads to look at the place where the smoke is rising inside the Wubao. Sometimes they can''t help but lift their noses to smell it, even though they are so far away. Basically, they can''t smell anything, but those multigrain pancakes and a bowl of thin wild vegetable hot soup that can make their throats sore are their biggest cravings at the moment.


    At least, when facing the food cooked by the hussar soldiers and cooks, it can be proved that they can still act like a human being, eating human food instead of eating those things... and at the same time, they can also act like a responsible man. Live as usual, shouldering the burden of the entire family and bringing hope to the young and old in the family.


    Strong women, old and young, if they could move, basically received their errands, and then went around to collect supplies, such as a bundle of dry firewood, a bag of soil, a handful of wild vegetables, or something they picked up from nowhere. A tiny bird''s egg can be replaced with a bowl of hot soup. Although there is no actual food in the hot soup that can satiate the stomach, at most it is some porridge of wild vegetables that can make a person''s face, but it will warm the stomach. It can also restore humanity and rekindle the flame of life.


    You will gain only if you pay.


    There is food only when there is work.


    ?Will this fort become an important defensive location in the future? Maybe, maybe not.


    ??It is equally uncertain whether the craftsmanship in building a fort must be superb or how beautiful the repair must be.


    Zhuge Liang is here not to issue so many errands to make these refugees work, but to inadvertently bring back the refugees whose order is on the verge of collapse through a very simple exchange rule. Normal, or relatively normal rules of human society.


    At the same time, in the process of continuous work, these refugees also learned how to build simple shacks, how to collect various foods in the wild, how to make some simple tools, etc., which will naturally make them more confident for the rest of their journey. There is some protection.


    ?This may be more important than simple relief.


    Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and stood on the wall of Wubao Village, wearing an ephedra gray robe, mixed in among the soldiers. If he hadn''t looked carefully, who would have known that he was actually in charge of these three or four thousand refugees, and that there would even be more in the future. It was just such a young man who came with so many refugees?


    If you come, you will naturally leave.


    "Zhuge is ready to do his work..." A chief came forward to report.


    『I remember, your name is...Wang Dahu? Zhuge Liang smiled and nodded, "Do it well and be careful along the way." Let''s set off. 』


    ?Chief Commander Wang Dahu was a little excited, straightened his back, loudly accepted the order, then turned around and went down.


    Wang Dahu passed through Wubao and arrived at the north side of Wubao. He stood in front of a group of refugees who had assembled. He looked at the dozen or so soldiers under his command, then turned to look at the refugee queue behind the soldiers and shouted loudly: "Follow it!" Follow along! They are all honest, I guarantee that nine out of ten people can enter the pass alive! Do you see those who are cheating, those who are deliberately sabotaging? ! 』


    ?Wang Dahu took out his knife and chopped a wooden stake next to him into two pieces. "I don''t rub sand in my eyes, and I don''t recognize anyone under the knife!" Do you understand? ! 』


    ?There were sparse responses from the refugees, and more of them opened their eyes in fear and huddled up.


    Everyone has it! Wang Dahu shouted loudly, "First team, turn around!" Set off! The second team and the third team follow! 』


    ?A team consists of one hundred people, which means that Wang Dahu, with a team of ten people, will lead these more than three hundred people through Wuguan and into Chang''an in the next process.


    ‘Follow everyone, don’t fall behind! 』


    “When we arrived in Guanzhong, there were fields and farm tools! 』


    『After walking ten miles, you can rest for a quarter of an hour, and you can only have something to eat when you reach the end of the field! 』


    ‘Let’s go, let’s go! Whose child is over there? Bring it back..."


    ?Wang Dahu led him all the way and walked away slowly. After such a trip, as long as he can lead well, Wang Dahu will accumulate a lot of leadership experience, and the day when he will be promoted from a low-level commander to a non-commissioned officer is naturally just around the corner...


    "Mother..." In the queue, a young and somewhat thin child raised his neck and asked, "Where is Guanzhong...?" Will it be good? 』


    "Yes, it will be good...there will be food, land, and maybe even cattle..." the woman murmured, with hope in her eyes, "it will be fine...everything will be fine..."


    …（）…


    At the same time, there were also a large number of refugees in another place.


    Zigui.


    Qu Yuan had a wise sister. When she heard that Yuan was exiled, she also came back, so she was called Sister Gui.


    There is Qu family in Zigui, who also has a huge manor. And now, outside the manor, there were refugees all over the mountains and plains, which made everyone in the Qu family feel frightened. In Qu''s Manor, all the villagers and villagers, as well as those who could afford sticks and spears, stood on the walls of the village to patrol. Even so, no one felt safe. More and more refugees gathered. Makes everyone extremely scared. So many half-starved and half-fed refugees gathered in the cold wind. If something went wrong, there would be chaos. These thousands of people can drown everything around them in the blink of an eye!


    At that time, these refugees will not care whether the Qu family is the descendant of Qu Yuan or not, whether the Qu family is a good person or a bad person. The Qu family''s barn will be robbed, the Qu family''s men will be killed, and the women will be humiliated. If that moment comes, life would be worse than death!


    ??The steward of Qu''s Manor stood on the wall of the courtyard, looking at the crowds of people that kept coming with a pale face. These were all refugees who had fled from Jingzhou Nanjun. Their clothes were in tatters, and they seemed to have wrapped everything they could carry or find around them, dragging them around like zombies wrapped in strips of cloth. There are at least one or two thousand refugees gathered outside Qu''s Manor. Although the number of people does not seem to be very large, the gathering of hedgehogs in one place is already quite visually impactful. Among the crowd, many were staring at the manor. The hunger revealed in their eyes, and the madness hidden under the hunger, made the steward''s eyelids twitch while standing on the wall.


    If the Han Dynasty had a stable society, these people would certainly not dare to do anything. But let alone the Han Dynasty, even Jingzhou is finished. The original ruling system has lost its deterrence to these refugees. In order to survive, These refugees will struggle wildly, tearing apart and devouring everything in their way!


    It would be fine if these refugees were all ordinary farmers, but now there is a lot of fighting in Xiangyang and Jiangling in Jingzhou. Not all the soldiers in Jingzhou before may have died in battle or surrendered. Some are missing, and these who have seen bloodshed A human soldier, if he has a single thought...


    ??Qu''s Manor is not a Xiongguan-type defense system, or in other words, most of the manor''s defense capabilities are not very good. Because of Qu Yuan''s reputation, the Qu family was also quite famous in Zigui and was willing to do charity. However, she did not expect that this good reputation in peacetime would now become a source of disaster.


    "Go to the Qu family. The Qu family has money and food, but I have nothing..."


    "Mr. Qu is kind-hearted and will definitely give you food. Look at me, I am so poor that I am reduced to chaff..." "It''s not that I won''t give, it''s just that the harvest this year is really not good... Mr. Qu even built roads back then. You guys Think about it, if you don’t have money or food, can you repair it? 』


    please go, I won''t even be late and you''ll be eaten up...』


    "roll! There is nothing here. If you come back again, I will kill you! 』


    …


    Regardless of whether the surrounding places were intentional or unintentional, countless refugees were flocking to Qu''s place. Gradually, various noises began to rise. Some people said that there were three hundred stones of food and grass in Qu''s manor. , but the next day it became a thousand stones, and now it has become tens of thousands of stones...


    ?Hungry eyes stared intently at the manor and fortress in front of them, with walls only one foot high and an unknown amount of grain and rice stored inside.


    『We really don’t have that much food in the village! ” The steward of Qu’s manor almost burst into tears, “No, I’m not lying to you! Really not! 』


    『Liar! If there is really no food, why not let us go in and take a look? 』


    "right! Let us in! 』


    "Please, Master Qu, be kind and give me some food..."


    …


    ?Chaotic shouts came one after another, and the steward of Qu''s Manor was breaking out in cold sweat. He knew that even though these refugees were still somewhat wary of the spears and clubs of the villagers on the wall, this would definitely not last long...


    Just when the steward of Qu''s Manor was pleading to no avail, the refugees surrounding the outer circle seemed to be a little restless. Soon, a group of soldiers seemed to have broken through the waves and opened a path among the refugees. Arriving in front of Qu''s Manor.


    Currently, a person is wearing a suit of armor that is not old. The iron plates on the armor are blue and black. There are red tassels floating in the air on the armor. Under the armor, he is wearing a bright red battle robe. The corners of the clothes are in the air as he marches. Blowing in the wind. In his hand he held a swallowing ring-headed sword, with red silk fluttering at the head of the ring, and some red paint as decoration on the black scabbard.


    Even though he did not recognize the flag, the steward of Qu''s Manor still dared not slack off due to his outfit. He quickly raised his hands and saluted on the wall of the manor: "I wonder which general is coming?" May I ask your name? 』


    Nowadays, copper and iron are hard currencies that can be used as general equivalents. Even the county lieutenant in Zigui County may not be able to get this armor together. If another war horse is added, then the manor manager will probably have to leave immediately. Go down to the village wall and kneel on the ground...


    Wang Sheng also thinks so. If he can have another horse... By the way, Wang Sheng has changed his name now, from birth to double, because on the one hand, he wants to make a clean break with his previous life and start riding horses again. Starting his new career, on the other hand, he feels that this is his second life...


    『No noble title, my surname is Wang! ” The newly renamed Wang Shuang laughed loudly, “Where is the head of the Qu family? Good things are coming! 』


    ??The steward of Qu''s Manor slowly straightened up, the flattering smile on his face gradually faded away, and his waist straightened a little: "Do you have any position?" What''s the good thing? 』


    ?Wang Shuang couldn''t help but be stunned for a moment. In just one sentence, the change was too big, wasn''t it? Wang Shuang was not a member of the noble clan, and he did not know the rules. Before he opened his mouth, he was well-dressed, but when he opened his mouth, his skills were immediately broken, and the manager of the Qu family immediately knew Wang Shuang''s details.


    ?Wang Shuang suddenly felt a little angry, stared and shouted: "I came here on the order of the general of Hussar''s army to conquer Shu!" Let the head of the Qu family come to see you! Come on, show your flag! 』


    Behind Wang Shuang, someone pulled the tricolor flag from his arms, put a set on a spear, and then raised it high. Suddenly the tricolor flag fluttered fiercely in the wind...


    ??The manor steward''s legs suddenly went weak. If he hadn''t been holding on to the manor wall with his hands, he would have collapsed all of a sudden. "Hero, don''t be joking..."


    That one is just kidding you! Wang Shuang pointed at the three-color flag and shouted, "Are you blind?" Don''t see what this is? ! Stop talking! Move faster! 』


    ??The manor steward swallowed and felt his head buzzing.


    Although Zigui is far away from the battlefield in the Central Plains, and if it hadn''t been for the turmoil in Jingzhou, there would have been very few sword fights. However, after so many years, the war in the Heluo North area of ??the Central Plains is somewhat known.


    The great Han Hussar rose up like a miracle and fought in the north and south. Some people say that the Hussar troops are all ferocious, while others say that they are all heroes and heroes. But no matter what, there is a basic argument for the combat effectiveness of the Hussar army, that is, compared with The county soldiers who are as big as Han are many times stronger...


    Suddenly hearing the news, the manor manager''s face turned pale. Looking at Wang Shuang and others outside the manor wall, he couldn''t help but gasp when he saw the soldiers standing among hundreds of refugees but still looking calm. Regardless of whether it was true or false, the manor manager said, "Wait a moment, good man... I will go and report it right away..."


    In the manor, Qu Cheng, the head of the Qu family, was sitting in the hall and seemed to be at peace, but in fact his face was pale and his hands and feet were shaking. He had sent someone to ask for help from the magistrate of Zigui County, but after a few days, what happened? There is no news, only that there are more and more refugees outside the manor, and their mood is becoming more and more unstable...


    Master! 』


    ??The steward of the manor rushed over panting and was shocked, "What''s wrong with the refugees?" Are you about to take action? 』


    "Uh..." the manor steward said after a breath, "This... this is not yet..."


    “Huh…” Qu Cheng’s pale face began to have some color, and he was obviously relaxed a lot. He tremblingly picked up the tea on the table, “Then… what’s the matter? 』


    ‘The Han Hussars General has sent people...’ the manor steward said in a low voice.


    咒咒咇! "Qu Cheng''s hand shook and he couldn''t hold the tea bowl. It fell on the wooden floor in the hall, leaving a large stain of tea, like a spilled blood, which made Qu Cheng feel a little dizzy. His eyes were spinning, "What...what?" ! 』


    『Han Hussar...ah? The head of the family? Head of the house! Before the steward of the manor had finished speaking, he saw Qu Cheng rolled his eyes and fell backwards. He was so frightened that he immediately shouted, "Someone is coming!" The owner of the house fainted! 』


    Suddenly there was a commotion...


    ??The manor manager is also a little at a loss. The owner of the manor, Qu Cheng, is not in good health. This is something everyone knows, but at this juncture...


    ??There are not only thousands of refugees in front of this gate, but also big Han Hussars soldiers who don’t know whether they are real or fake. If no one makes up their mind, this will really be a disaster!


    Are you afraid that God will destroy the Qu family?


    "Uncle De..." Just when the manor manager didn''t know what to do, a slightly childish voice sounded from behind him, "What happened outside?" 』


    ??The manor steward quickly turned around and said, "Ah, Master, this..."


    “Father is unable to take charge now...” Qu Cheng’s son, Qu Huang, said, “When father wakes up, will there be a delay?” If it''s an emergency, just tell me first..."


    ??The steward of the manor hesitated for a moment, but quickly told what had happened in the manor.


    Under the general''s command? Qu Huang frowned and said, "Let''s go see the last one..."


    (End of this chapter)