PDLP Chapter 745 Resonance
Chapter 745 Resonance
This teahouse is not the elegant indoor teahouse one might imagine. It's a large, drafty shed, and the tea sold inside is made from the lowest quality tea leaves. You can buy a bowl for just one penny, and you can even get a refill.
It was less of a teahouse and more of a shed for laborers to drink water.
In a teahouse with such an environment, those who can come in and spend money are naturally poor people.
It was precisely because the people in the teahouse were all poor that they resonated with what the bald man said.
The impact of the cold disaster had already caused great distress to the people of the prefecture, but after the natural disaster came man-made calamities.
To support the Qingzhou army, the Qing King imposed all sorts of exorbitant taxes and levies, and later Zhu Changhe went even further, causing widespread suffering among the people of the prefecture.
What's even more terrifying is that under Zhu Changhe's rule, the people are already living in misery, and now a large army is besieging the city, causing grain prices inside the city to skyrocket, rising higher every day.
If this continues, I'm afraid that before the army outside the city even gets in, most of the people inside the city will starve to death.
"Soon I won't even be able to afford tea anymore."
A middle-aged man took a sip of tea and found it even more bitter than before. His family's food supplies were almost exhausted. Once the food ran out, he, his wife, and his children would starve, or even die.
"Me too! We don't have much food left at home, and the price of food in the city is so high right now. I don't know where to find food to fill my family's stomachs."
"Hmph! We can't even get enough food, but those landlords and officials eat fish and meat every day. You know Master Lu, right? Yesterday when I passed by his house, I saw his servants feeding the guard dog with leftovers. There were not only bones in the food, but also meat!"
"Damn it! We can't even eat a bite of meat all year round, but these landlords and officials can feed meat to their dogs."
"Alas! We're not even as good as the dogs in those rich people's houses!"
"If you ask me, we might as well let the army outside the city invade sooner rather than later. Anyway, our lives won't be any worse than they are now, right?"
"That's right! With the life we're living now, it can't get any worse than this."
"I heard that Yang Zheng from Liangzhou loves killing corrupt officials and landlords. He especially likes to storm into the city and kill all the lords there!"
"..."
As they talked, the eyes of everyone in the teahouse couldn't help but turn red.
The thought that the lords in the city could feed meat to dogs while they couldn't even afford their own food fueled their boundless rage. They even wished that the Yang family army outside the city would immediately storm into the city and kill all the lords who had oppressed them so much!
In fact, it's not just the poor who are angry.
At this time, the Qingzhou army was also short of food!
The grain reserves in Qingzhou Prefecture were not large to begin with, and grain needed to be transported in from outside the city on a daily basis to ensure that everyone had food and water.
But now that the city is besieged by the Yang family army, it is impossible for grain to be transported in from the outside.
Without external food supplies, the Qingzhou army's rations became increasingly scarce.
When the King of Qing was still alive, the Qingzhou army could have three meals a day. Although they ate staple foods, they were able to fill their stomachs and support the energy consumed during daily training.
After the death of the Prince of Qing, Zhu Changhe took over the throne. Zhu Changhe, who had never valued the Qingzhou Army, deliberately reduced the food standard for the Qingzhou Army for his own benefit, changing the standard of three meals a day to two meals a day.
This has already caused considerable resentment among many soldiers in Qingzhou.
However, things are far from over.
As the Yang family army besieged the city, food became scarce, and the Qingzhou army's rations decreased further, although they were still able to maintain two meals a day.
However, even though they both eat two meals a day, the quality varies greatly.
Previously, their two meals a day consisted of dry rice or steamed buns, but now...
The soldiers of the Qingzhou Army were fed either thin porridge so watery you could see your reflection in it, or a greasy soup with more water than dough...
"Fuck him!"
At this moment, in the kitchen of the Qingzhou army, a soldier took a big gulp of gruel, his face fierce as if he were drinking Zhu Changhe's blood, not gruel.
"That damned Zhu Changhe, he's fat and bloated, spending his days squandering money in brothels, yet he feeds us this stuff that even dogs wouldn't eat!"
After saying that, the soldier picked up the gruel again and took a sip. Even dogs would dislike this stuff, but having something to eat was better than having nothing at all.
"that is!"
The soldier's words seemed to resonate with the others in the mess hall. A soldier not far away chimed in, "We risked our lives to defend the city for Zhu Changhe, but in the end we can't even get a decent meal. Zhu Changhe is a son of a bitch."
"Damn it! Zhu Changhe eats lavishly in brothels every day, with beautiful young women by his side, while we can't even fill our stomachs. This world is so damn unfair."
"I'm starving all day long, and I'm still guarding this damn city. I might as well let the Yang family army break in."
"Shh! You can't say that, it'll get you beheaded!"
"What are you afraid of? Does Zhu Changhe dare to chop off my head right now?"
"This life is worse than that of the brothers who deserted from the army!"
"I've really had enough! I'm working myself to the bone all day long, and I can't even get a decent meal!"
"..."
Normally, the soldiers of Qingzhou Army would never dare to utter such words, but at this moment they could not care about such things.
They were already under a lot of pressure facing the Yang family army outside the city, and now they were starving and hungry all day long.
Anyone would find this unbearable.
Many soldiers even considered letting Yang's army into the city, since Yang Zheng had said that he would not harm a single soldier or civilian in the city after entering. As long as Yang Zheng was a man of his word, their lives would be safe.
However, they could only dream about it. They were just ordinary soldiers, the lowest rank in the army, and had no ability to open the city gates and let the Yang family army in.
Zhu Changhe was aware of the grievances of the lower-ranking soldiers. In the past, he would not have cared about their dissatisfaction.
But things are different now. He needs to rely on these soldiers to defend the city, so he dares not ignore them. He doesn't even dare to punish those who speak recklessly. He can only send people to appease the soldiers while frantically visiting wealthy families in the city, hoping to get some grain from them to supply the army.
However, after visiting several wealthy households in succession, Zhu Changhe's expression became even more unpleasant.
These wealthy families in the city made Zhu Changhe realize what selfishness meant. Even with the enemy at the gates and the Yang family army's sword hanging over his head, these wealthy families in the city were still as stingy as misers!