Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 119 If the disaster victims can be relieved, then they should be relieved; if that is not possible, then the border troops should be protected first.

On the 28th day of the fourth month of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, a large cavalry caravan traveled alone across the land of northern Shaanxi. Under the crimson sky, the caravan stretched for miles, seemingly endless.

Despite the sheer size of the group, the silence was palpable. The howling winds and swirling sand created a chilling atmosphere of desolation throughout the world.

Sun Chuanting sat on horseback, his mouth and nose covered with hemp cloth, leaving only his eyes exposed. The rest of the group were dressed similarly. In the capital, they had polished their armor to a gleaming shine for the city entry ceremony, but now it was all dusty and unrecognizable.

Perhaps it was the sandstorm, or perhaps it was thirst, but no one in the group had any desire to speak. The army of three thousand was unusually quiet, except for the poor horses, which were unprotected and constantly choked by the sandstorm, coughing incessantly.

This invincible elite force, which had never shown fear even when facing thousands of troops, now felt a sense of unease as they marched in silence. They vaguely remembered taking the same route they had come by, but why had everything changed so drastically in just over a month? The landmarks had become blurred.

If it weren't for the comfort that comes from being together, they would all be worried that they had taken the wrong turn and wouldn't be able to get home.

The Wuding River in Yansui Town is named so because it frequently changes course due to floods, making its course unpredictable. Seeing the Wuding River also means they are not far from returning to their old stronghold, Yulinwei.

The Wuding River basin was once a lush and fertile land, and Sun Chuanting and his men were now located in the lower reaches of the Wuding River. The Yulin soldiers often sneaked over here to graze their horses, only to be driven away by the herdsmen of Suide County and the garrison of Suide Guard. Sometimes, the disputes escalated to the point that the lawsuits would reach Yansui Town.

But now even the grass roots are gone, leaving only endless yellow sand. They are starting to wonder if they are in Shaanxi or have accidentally wandered into the Hami Desert.

Their last water supply came from the Yellow River three days ago, and now the water is almost gone. They had planned to replenish their water supply from the Wuding River, but now only a dry riverbed remains. Where have all the people gone? Why haven't we seen any signs of life for so many days?
The atmosphere among the elite cavalry of Yansui grew increasingly tense. Without water supplies, they would have to kill their horses and drink their blood. But while men could drink horse blood, what about the horses?! They had fought so hard to acquire some spoils of war; were they really going to just abandon them like that? Wouldn't this entire battle have been fought for nothing?!

After discussing the matter, Sun Chuanting and Deputy Commander Du Hongyu decided to abandon the official road and march along the river, hoping to find a water source. They walked along the dry riverbed for another half a day before finally spotting other people besides themselves. There were seven or eight emaciated civilians, whose genders were indistinguishable, squatting in a circle on the riverbed.

The arrival of the army pulled them out of their own world. Sun Chuanting squinted and saw several civilians half-squatting up, each clutching a half-dried, half-wet dead fish crawling with maggots and swarming with flies, putting it into their mouths. They stared blankly at the imperial army, their eyes filled with numbness.

Ugh! Upon seeing this, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but gag. Even having witnessed battlefields strewn with corpses, he found it difficult to bear the shock of this scene. At the same time, an uncontrollable anger, or perhaps self-reproach, welled up within him.

This is within Yansui territory, and he is the governor of Yansui. He has only been away for a short time, so why has Yansui become like this? What are the officials of Suide Prefecture doing?!

The two sides stared at each other for a while, the dried fish slipped from their mouths, and expressions gradually appeared on their faces, changing from numbness to panic.

"Father, run! The government troops are coming!!!" A hoarse cry of alarm rang out, and several civilians scattered like birds. Sun Chuanting's face stiffened, and his raised hand froze.

He was about to speak with the people when he realized they feared the imperial army like tigers. Yansui was a military town, unlike ordinary places. The people here lived alongside the border troops year-round, and many were even military dependents. They shouldn't be so afraid of government soldiers. Du Hongyu lightly pulled on the reins, and he and his horse galloped off, followed by a dozen or so riders. The starving people, weak with hunger, naturally couldn't outrun the warhorses and were quickly captured and brought back.

"Sir, spare us! Sir, spare us! We didn't join the bandits, and we have no food at home. Please don't kill us!!!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting froze on the spot. After a long period of reassurance and conversation, he finally understood the situation. The reason they were so afraid of the government troops was because border soldiers were posing as bandits to rob the people or kill innocent people to claim credit.

The starving people formed grain-hunting teams to raid landlords' manors and village strongholds, plundering grain and property.

The severe drought in northern Shaanxi had already begun last year, but the displaced people were powerless to resist the imperial court and were ruthlessly suppressed. The weather turned cold and snow fell, and they survived by digging up trees, plucking grass roots, and eating dirt. Those who couldn't endure it died, and those who rebelled were also killed. They had hoped for a good harvest after the heavy snowfall, but unexpectedly, after the snow melted, another drought struck.

In the Yansui garrison area of ​​northern Shaanxi, all rivers except the Yellow River dried up. At first, the people fought fiercely over water resources, but later the rivers dried up completely, and wheat, millet, and sorghum seedlings all withered and died.

Forget about crops; there was no water to drink, and people were dying of thirst. Everyone was in utter despair. With no food and no water, people had no choice but to flee to survive.

The people left their homes and became refugees, trying every means to find food; the gentry were attacked by the disaster victims and trembled with fear, so they could only use their connections, coercion and bribery, to seek help everywhere; the government was powerless to provide disaster relief, but in order to complete the collection of taxes, it did not want the people under its jurisdiction to run away, so the refugees were surrounded and intercepted by the government troops, and were either captured or killed.

The civil administration of Yansui was actually under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission. However, given that the governor's position was superior to that of the provincial administration commissioner, it was actually under the jurisdiction of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Shaanxi.

But what good solutions could Hong Chengchou possibly come up with? He was now struggling to maintain order in Shanxi and trying to stop the refugees from northern Shaanxi from migrating south and affecting more areas.

Southern Shaanxi is a rice-growing region, and some areas are doing alright, but if these refugees cause trouble, the entire Qin region will be doomed.

Hong Chengchou had submitted memorials to the court multiple times, requesting that the court allocate funds and grain for disaster relief. However, the court only offered him words of encouragement, but no funds or grain were actually allocated.

Sun Chuanting also felt despair. He suddenly remembered the emperor's instructions to him. He hadn't taken them seriously at first, but now, upon closer examination, they sent chills down his spine.

Before departing from the capital and returning home, the emperor said to him: "If the disaster victims can be relieved, then provide relief; if things cannot be done, then prioritize the preservation of the border troops; if the border troops are also difficult to preserve, then the elite troops must be preserved; if even the elite troops cannot stand firm, then lead the army to withdraw to Shanxi."

(End of this chapter)