0p0 Chapter 191 Want to drive them down the mountain
Chapter 191 Want to drive them down the mountain
Chu Xi's practice of concentrating resources and redistributing them has improved the current situation of many people. Those poor people who really have no bedding or clothes to wear finally don't have to shiver in the cold.
The food we had at night was not very good. It was not easy to prepare meals for tens of thousands or nearly a hundred thousand people in the wild.
Besides, it was raining non-stop and we had to go up the mountain overnight, so the food we could bring with us was limited.
In order to ensure that there would be no food shortage in the next few days, they could only reduce their food consumption and meals... Everyone ate porridge with some wild vegetables in it.
As for the dishes... there was no need to think about the big fish and meat, even pickles became a luxury. Hundreds of soldiers and the women who volunteered to help made steamed buns.
It is not easy to make hundreds of thousands of steamed buns. It takes about three or four hours just to knead the dough and steam the buns. I start preparing dinner after lunch.
Zhou Yichen had dinner with Rong Qingzhu, Chu Xi and others. Neither Zhou Yichen nor Rong Qingzhu had ever eaten... such a simple meal.
No, to say it is simple is an exaggeration. To be frank, in the past, even the servants in their families would not eat these!
"Your Highness, please forgive me for inconveniencing you for a few days. Before the flood recedes, you can only eat these meals with us." Chu Xi said this sincerely and was not just being polite.
Given Zhou Yichen's status, no matter how unfavored he is by His Majesty, he would not eat these things!
Zhou Yichen picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, and was indeed a little uncomfortable with it. Then he heard Qi Bai's words and forced himself to swallow the hard bun.
"When do we need to say something like this between you and me?" Zhou Yichen cleared his throat and glanced at the kettle beside him. Worried that Chu Xi would think he couldn't endure hardship, he decided not to take it.
He paused and continued, "If you can eat it, so can I."
In terms of status, he never felt that he was more noble than Qi Bai. In his heart, Qi Bai was his "brother". Whatever Qi Bai could eat, he could also eat.
Chu Xi noticed Zhou Yichen looking at the kettle, and couldn't help but curl her lips. She took the initiative to open the kettle for him and handed it to him, "Take a sip first. This steamed bun is a little hard, and it may be a little hard to eat it suddenly."
In fact, not to mention Zhou Yichen, who was used to a life of luxury, even she, who came from the future, was not used to such hard steamed buns.
In order to save food, the steamed buns were not allowed to be made too soft, and even the firemen in the army did the same when cooking.
There would always be some deductions in the military pay issued by the imperial court, no matter at which stage the deductions were made. If the food for tens of thousands of people was not saved, even if there was no war, it would be difficult for them to survive until the imperial court paid the military pay next year.
As everyone knows, Your Majesty is wary of generals who hold military power, and values civil officials over military officials. Perhaps it is because all successful rebellions in history have required the support of military power.
Therefore, they can withhold military pay unscrupulously, because even if this matter is really exposed, they will have their own explanation!
Of course, those who dare to do such things and are not afraid of being discovered...
Naturally, there are bigger "officials" backing them up behind the scenes. As for who these officials are, they are just those few!
Chu Xi smiled and glanced at Rong Qingzhu, who was also not used to it and was chewing a steamed bun silently without saying a word.
"Most of the food prepared by the army is like this. It is difficult to make it more delicate and delicious. Their main purpose is to fill their stomachs."
Only if you get used to it early, you won't feel uncomfortable eating due to the sudden decline in food quality when you go to the battlefield.
Zhou Yichen paused, stared at the kettle for a while, then looked at the smiling boy. He had no intention of taking it, but he stretched out his hand for some unknown reason, "Yeah."
Both Zhou Yichen and Rong Qingzhu had a "very impressive" meal. For the first time in their lives, they learned a lesson.
After dinner, Rong Qingzhu looked at Chu Xi with a slightly unnatural expression, "Have you been eating meals like this since you joined the army?"
There were two steamed buns and a bowl of wild vegetable porridge for each person, but he couldn't finish it in the end.
Although he said that he didn't have a big appetite, in fact, he knew that he couldn't get used to the food.
Normally, he never felt that he was spoiled and felt that he could endure hardships. But when he really got here, he realized his shortcomings in just one day.
No matter how nice the words sound, they cannot cover up his own shortcomings. Compared with many soldiers who are younger than him, he... was born in a wealthy family, used to fine clothes and delicious food, but he is not as good as those people!
Chu Xi laughed, "Yeah, maybe in the future, when I go to the battlefield and fight the enemy, I may not be able to eat such food."
Her original intention was not to make Rong Qingzhu feel guilty, but she felt that compared to the situation where she couldn't even eat this, this was already pretty good.
Rong Qingzhu looked guilty, "I will report this to His Majesty when I return to the capital."
Chu Xi was amused and helpless. In her opinion, Rong Qingzhu was just like a simple college student in later generations, always holding some unrealistic ideas. Perhaps this was the case for a newcomer who had just entered the court and whose innocent heart had not yet been wiped out...
That's a naive idea.
She smiled and said, "You want to report this to His Majesty, and you want to report that too. Aren't you afraid that by the time you finish reporting, His Majesty will think you are an accomplice of me and the Third Prince?"
In response to Chu Xi's well-intentioned teasing, Rong Qingzhu did not respond, but just smiled slightly and suddenly changed the subject.
"This time you stepped forward and asked those wealthy businessmen to donate bedding and clothes. The money you had must not be enough. I brought some, but it might not be enough, but it was my intention."
He rarely has the opportunity to enter such a lower class and see the real suffering of the people. Even if he can only use the existing money to buy some bedding and clothes and distribute them to those people, it is a good thing.
"Okay, then I won't refuse." Chu Xi could see that Rong Qingzhu really wanted to do something for the people, so he smiled and nodded in agreement.
They were having a good time together. Although Zhou Yichen didn't say anything, he just watched them quietly.
In fact, they came here this time to build the river dam. The court had given them enough silver, but no one dared to touch the money easily.
"The city has suffered a disaster this time, and the imperial court will definitely send people down for subsequent reconstruction." Rong Qingzhu pondered.
Disaster relief funds will certainly be issued.
However, I am afraid that the officials who take on this task will take this disaster relief money as an opportunity to enrich themselves...
"Isn't that a good thing?" Chu Xi heard the hidden meaning in Rong Qingzhu's words, but since the other party didn't point it out, she also kept an ambiguous attitude.
Rong Qingzhu shook his head helplessly, "I hope it's a good thing..."
Suddenly, Chu Xi heard a commotion outside and walked out of the tent. "What's going on? Why is it so noisy outside?"
"General, several children have a fever..." The soldier heard Chu Xi's question and hurried forward to explain, "Some people started making a fuss, saying that they were afraid that the disease would be contagious, and wanted to drive them down the mountain!"