The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

Some of the timid people in the team were so scared that their legs went weak, and they kept up with the team with shaking legs, fearing to fall behind.

Lu Tianming also saw it. He didn't expect to see the tragic scene of cannibalism at such a close distance. He suppressed his inner panic and asked everyone to take up their weapons and speed up their journey.

At this time, the refugee group also noticed the people from Lujia Village. Seeing so many people passing by, they subconsciously became alert.

This group of refugees consisted of men, holding tools like hoes and hatchets in their hands. They stared at people not as if they were looking at their own kind, but as if they were looking at food.

It was not until the Lujia Village team had gone far away that these people put down their weapons and started adding firewood to grill meat.

At this time, a refugee couple who had been following the Lujia Village team behind them sped up and almost ran to catch up, and the distance between them and the team in front was shortened to 20 meters.

The woman hugged the child tightly in her arms, and couldn't help trembling when she thought of the way those people looked at them just now.

When those people saw the children in their arms, their eyes lit up green, and many of them licked their lips.

Some people even chased forward a few steps, only to stop when they were stopped by people behind them.

The woman looked at her husband behind her and saw that he was also frightened, but he was protecting her and the child firmly. Tears flowed unconsciously.

The couple were from a village near the provincial capital. When the barbarians attacked, the entire village fled in panic.

There were many people in the village, and at first no refugees dared to attack them, but there were many conflicts within the team.

One night, the team was completely scattered when they were attacked by refugees.

Originally, the couple ran away with several other people in the village, but they were attacked from time to time along the way, and only they and their child escaped.

These days, they have been in an environment without water, food and may be killed at any time.

They can only survive by eating grass, eating insects, grabbing water, begging and other ways they can think of.

The woman's emotions were already on the verge of collapse, and now she was so frightened that she couldn't control her tears.

The man looked at his wife with tears streaming down her face, wiped her tears silently, and helped her continue walking forward.

In front, the people of Lujia Village were frightened and unconsciously sped up. The people at the back of the team kept urging those in front to go faster.

A feeling of tension and fear spread throughout the team. Almost everyone was worried that this group of desperadoes would catch up with them and capture them to become their food.

Lu Qingqing's heart sank to the bottom. She just saw those people with red eyes and big blisters on their mouths, which was obviously caused by eating too much human flesh and getting a sore throat.

She had also heard historical records that people exchanged their children for food during famine years, but the reality was even more cruel than what was recorded in history books.

"Ming History, Five Elements Records III" records a famine in Shaanxi in the first year of the Chongzhen reign of the late Ming Dynasty. There was a severe famine in Taiyuan, with people eating each other. In the ninth year, there was a severe famine in Nanyang, where a mother cooked her daughter. In the tenth year, there was a severe famine in Zhejiang, where fathers and sons, brothers, and even husbands and wives ate each other.

Cannibalism, just three short words, but how many lives are involved!

During the journey of fleeing famine, Lu Qingqing saw many refugees, who could be roughly divided into three categories.

One kind is like them, who carry their belongings and food, and have weapons to fight back. They do not provoke others along the way, nor allow others to rob them.

There was another type of people, like the refugees following behind their team, who did not have much food and had to rely on wild vegetables and tree bark to survive along the way.

This type of person usually travels alone or with a few others, has the hardest life, and may even become food for others.

The last type is the refugees we just encountered. They prey on their own kind in order to survive, as long as they can survive.

On the road to escape famine, everyone is afraid of encountering the last type of people, who will do anything to survive.

Everyone in Lujia Village hurried all the way until the lunch break, when they felt they had run far enough and everyone slowly relaxed.

Each family takes turns to go to the toilet, and after returning, they start to eat.

The weather is hot now and time is tight at noon, so people in the team generally don't fire and just eat dry food.

At night, when it's time to rest, the villagers would heat up their dry food by the fire, and a few families would light a fire in their homes to cook.

The whole grain pancake in Lu Qingqing's hand was just taken out from the space in the morning. It was not as fragrant as when it was first made, but it was still better than the ones that the villagers had kept for many days.

After traveling for a whole morning, Lu Qingqing was tired and hungry. She took a bite of pancake and a bite of pickles, and unknowingly finished two pancakes. She ate too fast, so she only felt a little full now.

This was after he had eaten a pancake in the morning and sneaked into the carriage to secretly eat a steamed bun in the middle of the morning.

If I hadn't eaten that steamed bun in the morning, I would probably have eaten three pancakes by now.

Qin Lang next to him ate even more, he had four or five pancakes in one meal, and he had to eat some more while he was on the road.

The saying that the little brat is eating his father out of poverty is absolutely true.

In fact, it wasn't just Lu Qingqing and the other person; everyone in the team got hungry very quickly.

This kind of long-term escape from famine consumes too much energy, and the food they eat will be consumed before it lasts long.

However, most families do not have much food, and only the laborers in the family can eat until they are 60% to 70% full, while the rest of the people only eat enough to stay alive.

At this time, at the front of the team, Lu Tianming and Yao Xiancheng were eating cakes. Lu Tianming said:

"We're almost in Gaoyuan County. We hope to get some water from the city. Most of the families in the village are out of water, and it's hard to keep going any further."

Yao County Magistrate spoke with a sad face:

"I'm worried there will be too many refugees and the county won't let them in! And I don't know if Gaoyuan County will have water. I think this drought looks like it's widespread."

When Lu Tianming heard this, he looked up at County Magistrate Yao and asked in confusion:

"Brother Yao, do you know any news?"

"Hey, the Magistrate of Gaoyuan County is the brother-in-law of the Prince of Lu. I heard he's quite arrogant and looks down on those of lower rank than him. If the county doesn't allow us to enter, I'm afraid they won't accept us even if we have our private seal."

"But if we can't get into the city, we'll have to take a long detour. I'm afraid the barbarians behind us will catch up."

The two discussed it, but there was no good solution, so they could only go to the county town to see the situation.

After a short rest, the team set off again.

It was extremely hot at this time. The sun was high in the sky, scorching the earth mercilessly.

Due to severe water shortage, most people in the team could only drink a few sips of water a day to stay alive, which caused most people to have chapped lips and dry throats.

At this time, everyone in the team was dizzy from the sun, but seeing that the people in front were still on the road, the people behind were afraid of being left behind, so they could only lift their legs tiredly to keep up.

After walking for a while, an old man in the team was the first to lose his balance. He felt dizzy and fell down.

His son hurried over to help him up. Seeing his father's pale face and chapped lips, he knew he was dehydrated, so he took out a water bag and fed him a few mouthfuls before stopping.

There is not much water left at home. Even now, he cannot feed too many. The whole family depends on this little water.

After feeding the old man water, he was still unconscious. His son could only unload some of the luggage at home and let his wife carry it, so that there was room for the old man to be put in the car.

When the third elderly person in the team felt unwell, Lu Tianming had to stop and the Lujia Village team stopped to rest in the shade of the trees on the side of the road.

At this time, the couple and child following behind encountered new troubles.