Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Although the drought in northern Zhili was not very serious, it was unable to withstand the continuous influx of disaster victims.

In the past, whenever a place was hit by a disaster, the local people who had no land would flock to the city where they could beg or even receive disaster relief food.

Over time, some people began to feel that even suffering from disasters was a good thing, so they hid in these cities, living a life like wanderers. When there was no disaster, they begged on the streets, and even gathered together a group of people to monopolize the begging business.

What's worse, some people will arrest beggars and use them to make a living.

Zhang County wasn't a large one, but the number of victims passing through it was increasing. Even if the imperial court offered disaster relief, it wouldn't reach such a small area. The local county government only gave out porridge to a few hundred people each day as a pretense, then drove them off to the next location.

"We won't be giving out porridge today. You have to wait until tomorrow. After you've eaten today, go to the next county town. Don't stay in one place." The clerk at the city gate shouted at the top of his voice.

Many disaster victims had just arrived near the porridge shed and burst into loud wails when they heard the news. Occasionally, if there were hungry people who pestered them, the petty officials would wave their iron bars and beat them mercilessly.

Occasionally, there would be people in the city dressed in gorgeous clothes, who would come under the guise of recruiting maids and servants, and would take them in at low prices. As for what they were doing in the city, no one knew.

Such things happen every day and people outside the city are used to it.

Before dark, Zhao Shicheng, his wife and son rushed to the outside of the city, where they lived with thousands of refugees and found it difficult to enter the city.

"Oh! If only Zhao Sheng were here. He is a royal relative and must have a royal identity badge on him." Zhao Shicheng regretted at this moment that he should not have left Zhao Sheng and his daughter behind. It was all his own woman's fault for coming up with such a bad idea.

Fortunately, they had eaten something in the morning, so even though they had nothing to eat in the evening, they were not that hungry.

It is said that the Sixth Prince, who was carrying Zhao Zhen on his back, walked and stopped many times, and after walking for dozens of miles, he still had not seen the gate of Zhang County when it got dark.

"I saw a dilapidated temple ahead. If we can't do it at night, let's rest here."

In fact, Zhao Sheng felt that this place should be not far from Zhang County, but it was difficult for them to enter the city at this late hour. Moreover, there were so many refugees outside the city. If they saw him eating here, some people would definitely covet him.

If you want to protect yourself in a disaster year, you need to stay away from the disaster victims.

A starving person is no longer considered a human being at this time. When a person is starving, human flesh is a good thing.

Just as Zhao Sheng and Zhao Zhen were about to enter the dilapidated temple, they suddenly heard someone talking inside the temple.

"Brother, there's no free porridge in Zhang County. We, dozens of brothers, can't stand going hungry every day like this!"

"Then what do you say we should do? The people outside the city are all poor and miserable."

"I heard that some people sold their children for food and money, and then had to find a place to live."

"These fools, how long can that little bit of food last? It's not even enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of their fellow villagers."

"Hahaha! Big brother is right. If you still stay among the disaster victims when you have food, you are a bunch of idiots."

Zhao Sheng heard that there were quite a few people here, and none of them were good people. He really didn't want to provoke them. Just as he turned around to leave, he suddenly heard a loud shout:

"Who's that person outside? Stop right there!"

When Zhao Sheng heard this, he thought to himself that it was not good and he had been discovered.

……

"Old Eight, you're such a ruthless person! Those two disaster victims had nothing, yet you still had the guts to kill them."

"What happened to the disaster victims? How many days do you think they can survive? Let's go to Zhang County tomorrow to take a look and visit the county government office."

"There are quite a few people guarding the county office now. It is estimated that there are 500 people guarding it."

"What do you mean, big brother? Where should we attack?"

"Let's go south and attack Gou Town. The Cao Gang members there have all left, and the remaining ones are merchants who can't reach the town because the water level is too shallow. We can go there and catch some autumn wind..."

Zhao Sheng, who was hiding in the dark, had been listening to the conversation between several bandits in the ruined temple. Zhao Zhen was pinned under him and dared not move.

"Let's go." Zhao Sheng said in a low voice.

Then he carried Zhao Zhen on his back and quietly walked in another direction.

After walking for several miles, we came to a dilapidated village where almost all the houses had collapsed. We finally found a slightly better house, but it didn't even have a door.

"It looks like the gate has been stolen. I'm going to go see if anyone can live inside. Please wait outside for a moment."

Zhao Sheng found a bundle of straw, lit it with a flint, and entered the house holding a torch.

"It's okay inside. Although there's no door, there's a dirt bed. It's no problem to spend the night there."

One advantage of dry weather is that the houses are very dry and even mosquitoes are rarely seen.

Mr. Zhao brought a large coat and used it as a cushion for Zhao Zhen to sleep on.

"Brother, where are you going to sleep tonight?" Zhao Zhen spoke in a low voice.

"You sleep peacefully. I can't sleep at night. I need to guard the camp!"

Zhao Zhen didn't know what guarding the camp meant, but she knew that the big brother in front of her would definitely be by her side.

With her big brother around, she can sleep soundly.

The absence of mosquitoes does not mean the absence of wild animals. After all, this place is close to the mountains and forests. Zhao Sheng used the moonlight to pick up some sticks and branches, and also prepared some hay so that they could be ignited at any time.

The gate is blocked with wooden sticks and branches, which can serve as a warning in case of an incoming wild beast.

Zhao Sheng's worries were obviously unnecessary. No living creatures appeared until dawn. Only then did he lean against the corner of the wall and take a nap.

When he woke up, Zhao Zhen had already packed up his things.

"Zhen'er, there are two more cakes. Did you see them?"

"I saw it, brother!"

"Take it out and eat it!"

Last night, Zhao Sheng took the cake from his thigh and placed it next to his bag, waiting to eat it in the morning.

"Brother, I'm not hungry, you eat!"

I didn’t have dinner yesterday, so it would be a lie to say I wasn’t hungry. Zhao Sheng didn’t waste any time talking to Zhao Zhen. He tore a piece of bread in half and each of them took half.

The bread was dry and hard, and their water bags were empty, so it was difficult to swallow such bread dry.

After struggling to eat a few bites, Zhao Sheng really couldn't eat anymore. Seeing that Zhao Sheng didn't want to eat anymore, Zhao Zhen didn't eat anymore either.

"Without water, you can't eat!"

"No, I'm just not hungry!"

Well, the girl has said several times that she is not hungry anymore. If I continue to persuade her, it will seem like I am being pretentious.

"I wonder if your parents have gone to the city?" Zhao Sheng suddenly asked.

"They left early, they should have gone into the city!" When Zhao Zhen said this, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart. She felt that her parents had abandoned her.

In other words, her father gave her to Zhao Sheng, but she didn't know why.

The only thing she could do was to follow her brother closely, hoping that he would not abandon her again.

……

Outside Zhang County, the early morning sun shines directly on a sea of ​​people.

From time to time, bursts of screaming and crying could be heard.

"Maybe someone has starved to death again!" A hungry man nearby said weakly to the sky.

"He's dead, so why are you crying? Are you trying to send a message to those people?"

"who?"

"hey-hey……"

The two did not continue talking. Zhao Shicheng, who heard the conversation, could not help but shudder.

"We have to find a way to get into the city today. If that doesn't work, we have to leave here. We can't stay here for long."

Zhao Shicheng lowered his voice and spoke to his wife.

When Zhao Wangshi heard what her husband said, she felt the same way. They were very careful along the way and chose remote places with few people and difficult to find when camping at night.

While resting outside the city last night, Zhao Shicheng felt that everyone's eyes were full of cannibalism. He was really worried that if he wasn't careful, he would become food in someone else's mouth.