Chapter Thirty-Five: In Years of Great Famine, People Eat One Another

In the year 190 AD, a severe drought struck Yuzhang Commandery. Within a radius of a hundred miles, not a single blade of grass survived.

Drifting yellow sand filled the sky, and the land was strewn with countless corpses, the victims of famine. Almost every doorway along the road hung with white mourning banners, and one could hardly see any children or elderly people left. The elderly, being the most frail, were the first to starve; families without rations would exhume the bodies of the recently buried to dismember and consume them. Then came the unweaned infants. With mothers unable to produce milk due to malnutrition, the babes were destined to perish, leading families to trade their children for food.

The displaced were no longer human.

"In a year of great famine, men ate one another." These six words, written so dismissively in historical texts, were now vividly unfolding before Liu Xie. As a young man who had traveled back in time from the twenty-first century, he had never experienced famine at such close quarters. Watching the tragic scene outside his carriage, a flicker of pity crossed his face. Throughout this journey, Liu Xie’s disposition had changed in ways he himself had not fully realized.

"Yuzhang is an ancient commandery, Hongdu a new seat of power. The stars align with the mansions of Yi and Zhen, the land connects to Mount Heng and Mount Lu. It is girdled by three rivers and belted by five lakes, controlling the southern tribes and drawing from the Ouyue lands. The region is rich with treasures of heaven and earth, its dragon light shining upon the constellations; it is home to outstanding people and spiritual energy, where Xu Ru once descended to greet Chen Fan. Grand prefectures stand like mist, and brilliant talents gallop like stars. The towers and moats sit at the intersection of the barbarians and the civilized, where guests and hosts embody the beauty of the Southeast."

Liu Xie silently recited these lines, a passage celebrated through the ages. He had expected Yuzhang to be a place of exceptional beauty and talent, but he had never imagined that his first day here would reveal such horrors.

Liu Xie lowered the carriage curtain, falling silent. His expression grew increasingly somber, lost in thought. He simply could not bear to look any longer.

After traveling for some time, the carriage train slowly came to a halt. He heard Zhou Yi call out from the front to stop the column.

"We have arrived!"

Liu Xie lifted the curtain and slowly stepped down. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was so shocked by the sight before him that he was left speechless.

"Is... is this your village?" Liu Xie asked, unable to believe his eyes.

Indeed, the scene before him could hardly be called a village of a hundred households; it looked more like the slums of later ages—and even worse than that. Standing there, Liu Xie truly witnessed a living hell.

In front of the carriage, there were about a hundred makeshift shacks built from withered branches and wooden boards. Inside lay refugees in rags, some still moaning incessantly. Looking closer, one could see they were suffering from a fever, groaning in agony. This was nothing more than a refugee camp.

The entire camp was permeated with a foul, putrid stench. Er Niu and the guards behind Liu Xie could not help but frown; the smell was truly unbearable.

Liu Xie, however, seemed not to notice. Apart from a pale complexion, there was no other sign of distress. Seeing Liu Xie’s reaction, Zhou Yi glanced at his fellow villagers with a look of profound sorrow and spoke slowly.

"The village is long gone. Ever since the fever broke out, the powerful gentry from the neighboring manor drove us out and burned our homes, claiming they feared our fever would spread to them."

"How dare they! What about the local officials? Why didn't you resist?"

Liu Xie’s inner fury was nearly impossible to suppress. In broad daylight, such bullying was occurring within his own empire.

"The officials? They dare not intervene. That powerful gentry family are descendants of the Marquis of Yue. With a Marquis in their lineage, how could local officials possibly dare to interfere? Besides, their manor is guarded by men with weapons. How could we, armed only with farming tools, possibly stand against them? They simply do not view us as human."

Zhou Yi spoke with a face full of despair; a grown man, he could not stop himself from sobbing. The refugees behind him were equally filled with grief. To see one's home burned to the ground, with officials doing nothing and having no strength to protect one's own kin—the agony of such a state could only be understood by those who had lived it.

Liu Xie’s face remained dark, but he restrained himself. He turned to Er Niu and said, "Er Niu, take all the food and supplies from the carriages and distribute them to the villagers."

"Young Master, should we give them some gold as well?" Er Niu asked, looking at the refugees with sympathy, the sight reminding him of his own hometown.

Liu Xie shook his head. "Do not give them gold. It would only bring them harm. You may give them some Wuzhu coins."

Seeing Er Niu’s confused look, Liu Xie explained, "An innocent man is innocent, but holding a treasure can be a crime. A group of refugees holding so much gold without the means to protect it? They would not live to see tomorrow."

Er Niu immediately understood, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. He had almost caused the very people he wished to help to be killed. "I understand, sir. I will arrange it at once!"

"On behalf of my fellow villagers, I thank you for your great kindness, Young Master! We are willing to serve you like cattle or horses! We only ask that you save the villagers who are ill!" Seeing Liu Xie directing the guards to distribute the supplies, Zhou Yi knelt before him, unable to hold back his tears.

Liu Xie, however, kept his face cold and stared at him. "Is this all it takes to make you kneel? A grown man, weeping and wailing—what kind of decorum is that?"

"Others may not treat you as human, but you must not fail to treat yourself as such!"

"You are a person! A man who stands tall! No one has the right to make you serve them like cattle or horses! Not even I!"

"I can help you for a moment, but I cannot help you for a lifetime! A man must strive to be strong!"

"If you suffer injustice, swallow it! Remember those who mocked and insulted you! Make yourself strong enough to strike back!"

"Do you understand?"

Upon hearing Liu Xie’s words, Zhou Yi felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning; he stood there, stunned. It was true—under the oppression of the officials and the gentry, he had endured nothing but disdain and humiliation, and at times, he truly felt he was no longer human. Only today had Liu Xie’s words awakened him.

You are a man! No one can make you serve them like cattle or horses!

Zhou Yi wiped the tears from his face, stood up, and bowed respectfully to Liu Xie. "I understand, benefactor!"

Seeing the flicker of resolve growing in Zhou Yi’s eyes, Liu Xie nodded with satisfaction. "That is more like it."

"Please, let me follow you!"

As Liu Xie turned to leave, he stopped upon hearing Zhou Yi’s plea. With his back to him, he said, "Then come with me to the commandery seat."

Though puzzled, Zhou Yi agreed without hesitation. "Yes! I will do whatever you ask, benefactor! But... why are we going there?"

Liu Xie’s voice turned icy, laced with a murderous intent.

"To see how many heads the Administrator of Yuzhang has."