The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 26 The Siblings in the Cold Cave
After hearing the old servant's explanation, Jiang Han felt that the situation was quite troublesome.

He chose to return to Anse because he is a local and familiar with the surrounding area.

I originally thought that since there were few people around Ansai, I could survive and develop for a while.

Unexpectedly, the Li family suddenly became a variable.

"Forget it, I have over a thousand men under my command. Do you think I'm afraid of the Li family?"

Jiang Han pondered to himself,

"As long as the Li family doesn't provoke me, I won't bother going to the city to cause them trouble."

Just as Jiang Han was pondering, the old servant of the Ma family led him to an open space covered with straw.

The old servant swept away the straw with his foot, revealing two wooden planks riddled with wormholes:
"General, the cold cave is right below. Just move the wooden planks and you'll see it."

Jiang Han stepped forward and then asked:
"Is anyone still seeking refuge from the winter in this cold cave?"

The old servant hesitated slightly, then shook his head:
"I'm not too sure. Anyway, after we dug up this burial site back then, we just gave it to the villagers to use. I haven't looked into it in detail."

"Besides, this pit is so deep, even my old bones can't climb down."

Jiang Han nodded upon hearing this, his gaze falling on the deep pit beneath his feet.

This cold cave is not a cave dwelling dug in the mountain, but an underground space similar to a cellar.

A faint stench emanating from the area made Jiang Han frown.

Jiang Han sighed inwardly:
"It seems that many people died down there, and even hiding in the cold caves couldn't survive the winter."

In fact, the ancients did not simply light a fire and wear more clothes to get through the winter.

For ordinary people in ancient times, winter was the season of death, the most difficult time of the year.

During the late Ming Dynasty, hundreds or even thousands of people would freeze to death in a single county after a heavy snowfall.

Winter supplies were extremely scarce, and many ordinary people did not even have a decent piece of clothing. Cotton-padded clothes were a luxury, and a single garment could be passed down for generations.

To keep warm, the poor could only use reed catkins, willow catkins, and scraps of needles, thread, hemp rope, and cloth that they had saved up. They would pound these together like rice and stuff them into the lining of their hemp clothing.

For most poor people, burning firewood and charcoal is simply a pipe dream.

Turning the pages of history books, one frequently encounters phrases like "many people froze to death," not to mention the late Ming Dynasty, which coincided with the Little Ice Age.

Even in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the most prosperous place, every year a large number of poor people could not bear the severe cold and committed suicide by poisoning themselves, which is why there is a saying that "there is no year-round shelter in the capital of the Ming Dynasty".

To escape the severe cold, people in ancient times would typically dig a pit about ten meters deep in the ground and build an earthen platform inside to serve as a bed.

Before using it, light a few fires in the pit, then lay down some dry grass, and you can go in to spend the winter.

This deep pit is known as the Cold Kiln in Shaanxi.

Jiang Han glanced down and then reached out to lift the wooden board to see the situation inside the cold cave.

The moment the wooden plank was lifted, a strong stench of decay hit us.

"Holy shit!"

Jiang Han was so overwhelmed by the smell that he almost lost his balance and nearly fell into the pit.

Fortunately, Dong Erzhu, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and grabbed Jiang Han.
"Second Brother Han, many people must have died in this cold cave. Is it still usable?"

Jiang Han stared at the deep pit beneath his feet with disgust, his brows furrowed.

"The stench is so strong, I wonder how many people have died inside."

"It's also a lot of work to clean up."

Dong Erzhu covered his nose and said in a muffled voice:

"Let's just set it on fire and burn everything down there."

"It stinks so badly, no one would dare stay down there anymore."

Jiang Han shook his head:
"The air doesn't circulate well down there, so even if it burns, it probably won't burn completely." "We still need to find someone to clean the inside thoroughly."

Having said that, he turned to look at the old servant of the Ma family standing to the side:

"Alright, sir, could you please find some villagers and have them help clean it up?"

“I can pay wages or provide food.”

The old servant nodded in agreement, turned around and hurried back to the village, while Jiang Han and Dong Erzhu went back to get some grain and silver.

Before long, the old servant of the Ma family brought the three men to Jiang Han.

The three men looked pale and swollen, their eyes filled with fear.

One of them looked cautiously at Jiang Han and asked in a low voice:

"Sir, I heard that you can get rations for working here?"

Jiang Han nodded, then took out a few pieces of bran cakes from his pocket and waved them in front of the group:

“That’s right. Move all the corpses out of these two cold caves, and I’ll provide you with three full meals a day.”

Upon seeing the grain, the men's eyes lit up, and they all crowded forward, trying to snatch it.

Upon seeing this, Dong Erzhu immediately drew his knife and stood in front of the group.

But the three, driven mad by hunger, had lost all reason. They paid no heed to the knife in Dong Erzhu's hand, their eyes fixed on the bran cake in Jiang Han's hand, filled with longing.

As long as I can eat a bite and not starve to death, what does it matter if I die by the knife?

Seeing this, Jiang Han sighed and handed the pancakes to the people in front of him.

He sighed inwardly, thinking to himself, "I'm so hungry, I don't know if I have the strength to go down and move the corpses."

The group wolfed down the biscuits, then grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into their mouths to quench their thirst before collapsing to the ground, their faces showing a long-lost sense of satisfaction.

"Did they choke to death?" Jiang Han's heart skipped a beat when he saw the three people collapsed on the ground.

Before Jiang Han could even step forward to check on them, the group covered their faces and burst into tears. This was the most hearty meal they had eaten in a while.

The three people cried and kowtowed repeatedly to Jiang Han, which made Jiang Han feel a little sad.

"Alright, you've eaten your fill. Now get up and get to work."

"There will be plenty to eat in the future."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately scrambled to their feet and rushed into the pit, fearing that if they were too slow, they would miss out on food.

Jiang Han shook his head as he watched this scene, then turned to Dong Erzhu and gave him instructions:

"Zhu Zi, don't go down. Stay up here and keep an eye on them. I'll go find some firewood so we can burn the bodies together when we bring them up."

But just as Jiang Han returned with the firewood, Dong Erzhu suddenly shouted loudly:
"Second Brother Han, come quick! There are still people alive down there!"

Upon hearing Dong Erzhu's call, Jiang Han immediately dropped the firewood he was holding and ran to the cold cave.

Dong Erzhu stood at the edge of the pit, holding his breath, holding a boy in one hand and a girl in the other, and pulled them out of the deep pit.

The two children, around eleven or twelve years old, were wearing tattered single-layer clothing, their thin figures shivering in the cold wind.

Upon seeing Jiang Han and Dong Erzhu, the boy immediately shielded the girl behind him, watching the two warily.
"Come at me if you have a problem! Don't touch my sister!"

The boy's voice trembled slightly, whether from fear or from the cold, it was hard to tell.

Jiang Han never expected that there would be living people in this cold cave, and two children at that.

So he crouched down and asked, "Who are you? Where are your family members?"

　Dear readers, please bookmark this page and keep reading!
　　Your continued reading is of utmost importance to me, thank you so much!!!

　　Some parts need to be foreshadowed to facilitate the development of the plot later, so please be patient.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)