Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 33 Searching
"Are these elite soldiers?" Liu Daogui was stunned as he looked at the more than 200 people standing in front of him.

They were all dressed in rags, unkempt, and smelled terrible. It seemed as if they hadn't washed in ages. They all looked listless and worn out, completely unlike the word "capable".

If you didn’t know, you would think they were a group of beggars who ran out from somewhere.

Seeing them, Liu Daogui could already imagine what the other Chinese soldiers looked like.

In this world, only the noble families can live a happy and romantic life. The common people have a hard time, and the soldiers in the army have a hard time too.

After the Battle of Feishui, the Di Qin that unified the north fell apart, and the Jin Dynasty was also on the decline. The General Zhenglu's Office was responsible for guarding the north of the Yangtze River, and it was almost the last line of defense in the north of the Yangtze River.

It has declined to this extent...

Gao Xun said awkwardly, "To be honest, the army is short of everything. We have no food or winter clothes. It's not easy to feed these brothers. These are the old soldiers of the Northern Palace that I saved with great difficulty."

Liu Daogui was speechless for a while, but he knew that he was telling the truth. Soldiers were also human beings and they also needed to eat and drink water to survive.

"Thank you all." Liu Daogui bowed, but an inexplicable sadness welled up in his heart.

These people sacrificed their lives for the Jin Dynasty and China, and defeated the 850,000-strong army of Di Qin with only 70,000 troops, saving the lives of the Sima family and the noble families, allowing them to continue to live in peace in Jiangzuo.

But now, the imperial court treats them like this. With the threat from the north gone for the time being, they abandon them like a piece of trash...

From this point of view, the Sima family's luck has really come to an end.

It's not that they don't have money. Just Ru Qianqiu, a minor official under Sima Daozi, amassed tens of millions of dollars. And then there's the Diao family in Jingkou, who seized mountains and swamps, and vast tracts of fertile land, forcing the common people into desperation...

If they had just scraped a little out of their teeth, the soldiers wouldn't have been in such a dilapidated state.

"We are willing to join the army and serve!" Everyone shouted in unison, full of energy and spirit.

A penny can make a hero fall. Even the bravest soldiers will become weaklings if they don’t have enough food for a few years.

"I want you to go through the entire Guangling, especially the warehouses, granaries, and cellars, to find out whether there have been large quantities of grain and grass coming in and out in the past two months." Liu Daogui first wanted to find out one thing, whether the 3,000 stones of grain were still in Guangling City.

Guangling is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and is the hub of the North-South Canal.

Although there are countless merchants coming and going, grain is a strategic material. Such a huge amount requires people to load and unload it. It is impossible to move it silently and will always be seen by someone with ulterior motives.

"Don't worry, soldiers. We will turn Guangling City upside down." Someone responded immediately.

"You are Ji Nu's brother, so you are my brother!"

"My family also followed Liu Taigong all the way to Jingkou to gain a foothold decades ago!"

"We are all family, and we will never let anyone down."

Everyone was talking to each other, and they were very friendly.

When fellow villagers meet, their eyes are filled with tears. These days, the gentry care about family background, while the common people care about their place of origin. As long as they are neighbors, they will be extremely united.

It has been more than seventy years since the migration of the elite to the south, and the overseas Chinese in Jingkou have long been integrated into the society. Since the emergence of Liu Lao, the Liu family of Pengcheng has greatly gained prestige and reputation.

"Thank you all very much." Liu Daogui was very grateful.

It’s easier to get along with these honest men.

Gao Xun took everyone there.

Just now I thought these people were dressed in rags and didn't look like the elite of the Northern Palace at all, but now I think this disguise is the opposite and it will be easier to get information.

Beggars are better at hiding from others.

"What should we do?" Liu Zun, seeing everyone leaving, couldn't help but wonder, "We can do both. They can do theirs, and we can do ours. We can go and ask the military households."

There were a total of 4,000 military households under the name of the General of Conquering the Enemy, concentrated in Yandu and Huaipu counties.

In theory, these two counties have dense river networks, fertile soil and water, and with the soldiers stationed there, it would not be difficult to support the entire General Zhenglu's Mansion.

However, the two counties also have overseas Chinese counties of Yanzhou and Jizhou, and their jurisdictions overlap with each other. In addition, there are refugees who have moved south in the past two years, living together in clans, with villages scattered across the plains, destroying the original farmland and canals.

Under the guidance of several old soldiers, Liu Daogui and his group finally found the military households.

Eighty percent of the grain they grew was collected by various government offices, leaving less than 20%.

It is already late autumn, and many people don't even have clothes. They are covered with straw mats and barefoot, with dazed and helpless eyes, and with the naivety that is common in this era.

However, he was actually stronger than the soldiers in the General Zhenglu's Mansion.

Liu Daogui was greatly surprised. People these days generally did not have enough to eat and were often hungry, but they seemed to be living a good life and their faces did not look pale.

"Military officer, you may not know this, but Yandu is close to the sea. We often go fishing so that we don't starve to death." The village headman did not hide it.

Live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the sea, eat by the sea.

The noble families could monopolize the mountains, rivers, and lakes, but they could not monopolize the sea, nor could they stop them from going to the sea to survive.

Moreover, going to sea is extremely risky. Children from wealthy families cannot bear such hardships, so they prefer to stay on land and lie down to exploit the people in the country for their own comfort.

"The Tianshi Dao built cities on the islands, cultivated rice fields, and fished at sea. The fleeing military households did not want to surrender to the Hu people, so they went to them," said another younger military household.

"Tianshi Dao?" Liu Daogui's heart moved. These people are simply omnipresent, and their shadows can be seen everywhere.

Glancing at the surrounding military households, he saw that several of them were wearing scarves on their heads, which was obviously the standard attire of the Tianshi Dao.

"Do you know where the island where the Tianshi Dao resides is?"

"Our boat is small and can only go out to sea for twenty miles. We can't go further. I just heard about it."

Liu Daogui nodded without asking any further questions.

Even if they knew where the Tao was, they would not tell the authorities.

"General Liu's name contains the word 'Dao', which means he has a connection with the Taoist sect. How about joining our sect? We can live in eternal bliss together." The soldier's eyes were burning and his face was full of enthusiasm.

Liu Daogui then remembered that names containing the character "Dao" or "Zhi" were all related to Taoism.

The Tianshi Dao had a huge influence, and my father Liu Qiao must have been influenced by it when he chose this name.

The northern country was lost, and the people moved south. China was weaker than ever before. Metaphysics, Taoism, and Buddhism became popular, and countless people believed in them.

However, having these two characters in the name does not necessarily mean that one is a member of the Tianshi Dao.

Taoism is a widespread and loosely held belief among the people, much like ancestor worship during festivals. It's practiced in both the north and south, but some are trying to stir up trouble by exploiting the Heavenly Master's Way...

"No need to join the church. We have official business to attend to. So, we'll take our leave."

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information, Liu Daogui took everyone away.

After visiting three or four other villages, he didn't find any clues about the three thousand stones of grain, but he did find out a lot about the Tianshi Dao.

The power of Tianshi Dao had already taken root in Guangling.

(End of this chapter)