Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Disaster

The fourth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng (AD 1344) came. At the beginning of this year, the heads of the Yuan Empire received two news. First, the Yellow River flooded, and hundreds of thousands of people along the coast of Shandong and Henan became refugees.Even if the common people are not treated as human beings, it is necessary to prevent them from rebelling, so repairing the embankment of the Yellow River has become a must. But what is surprising is that in Yuan's government, there were actually two different opinions, one thought that it must be repaired, and the other thought it could not be repaired.Looking at it now, this seems unbelievable. If the Yellow River floods and is not repaired, is it necessary to allow the Yellow River to divert and drown so many people?There are too many incredible things in Chinese history, and this one is no exception.

Objectively speaking, in such a matter, as far as maintaining the rule of the Yuan Dynasty is concerned, those who mainly cultivate are not necessarily loyal officials, and those who oppose the cultivation are not necessarily traitors. What is the mystery?It won't be known until seven years later. The one who strongly advocated the revision was Tuotuo, the famous prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty. He can be said to be the last famous official of the Yuan Dynasty. What comes to mind is that his strong advocacy has already planted a big explosive bag for the Yuan Dynasty, pulled the fuse, and is only waiting for the faint fire.

The other is the severe plague and drought along the Huaihe River. For the Yuan government, this is relatively simple. Anyway, if you die of starvation and disease, you will have no trouble. Of course, you still have to do superficial work. However, the senior officials of Zhongshu Province want to contact grain and silver, of course, it is understandable for them to take the opportunity to get some.Disaster relief items were allocated to various roads (local administrative units in the Yuan Dynasty), and local governors left some, followed by prefectures and counties.Layer by layer, the chaff is left in the hands of the common people.Then local officials at all levels wrote letters to express their gratitude to the emperor. As usual, they also said some words of gratitude to heaven, and compared the historical Yao, Shun and Yu soup with the emperor. The emperor saw the report and felt deeply that he had done a great deed. So I made a note for myself in my heart.

Everyone is happy, everyone is happy, everyone is satisfied. But the common people are not satisfied, many people are not satisfied. Zhu Chongba must be one of those extremely dissatisfied people. After the disaster came, Zhu Chongba's father died of starvation on the sixth day of April, his elder brother died of starvation on the ninth day of April, his elder brother's eldest son died of starvation on the twelfth day, and his mother starved to death on the 22nd day. If this is a diary, it should be one of the most tragic diaries in the world. Zhu Chongba's wish is not too much, he just wants a home, he wants his own children, he wants to give a hard life, never bullied others, honest parents, a peaceful old age, at least something to eat.

Although his family is small, the family members are harmonious and depend on each other. Although his parents are poor, they still bring Chongba surprises every day when they come back from working in the field. Sometimes it is a small bamboo dragonfly, and sometimes it is a pig’s head that the landlord’s family does not eat. Meat, this is Zhu Chongba's home, but now there is nothing left. Zhu Chongba's elder sister is already married, and the third brother went to the door.Except for Zhu Chongba's second brother, there are no other members of this family. Seventeen-year-old Zhu Chongba watched his relatives die one by one, but he was powerless.The greatest pain in the world is nothing more than this!

His only way to vent is to cry, but after crying, he still has to face an important problem, to bury his parents, but there is no coffin, no shroud, no cemetery, so he can only go to the landlord Liu De, beg Liu De Seeing that his father had been a tenant for him all his life, he found a place to bury his father. Liu De rejected him cleanly, the reason is simple, your parents are dead, none of my business, work for me, I also gave him food. Zhu Chongba had no choice but to cover the corpses of his relatives with straw mats with his second brother, and then carried them around with door panels, hoping to find a place to bury his parents.But although the world is vast and there are lands everywhere, none of them belong to them.

Fortunately, some kind-hearted people saw that they were really pitiful, and finally gave them a place to bury their parents. "The soul is lingering and finds no parents, and the aspirations are down and down." This is the emotional memory of Zhu Yuanzhang, who was able to eat enough later. Zhu Chongba didn't understand that his parents had cultivated the land all their lives, but they couldn't even burrow into the soil after death.The landlord never farmed the land, but he had no worries about food and clothing.Why?But he couldn't think about this question at this time, because he also had to eat, and he wanted to live.

In despair, Zhu Chongba prayed to heaven more than once, from the Taoist Taishang Laojun to the Buddhist Tathagata Buddha, as long as he can know the name, the only content of prayer is to live with his parents and have a meal eat. But the result made him very disappointed, so his young heart began to become cold, and he knew that no one could save him except himself. The flame of revenge began to burn in his heart. Such pain made him from weak to strong. In order to have food to eat, he decided to become a monk. The place Zhu Chongba chose was the nearby Huangjue Temple. In the temple, he was engaged in a job similar to a long-term worker. He suddenly found that the monks treated him not much better than Liu De except that they had no hair. These monks had land of their own. , can also get married (Yuan Dynasty), and if you have more money, you can also open a pawn shop.

But they also need someone to do chores for them. The monks there don't recite scriptures, don't worship Buddha, and don't even wipe the Buddha's golden body. These tasks are naturally done by Zhu Chongba, who has just entered the temple. Zhu Chongba has been patient, but in addition to doing these rough jobs, he also has to work as a cleaner, warehouse keeper, and oiler (eternal lamp).Even so, he was often scolded. When the monks were drinking and eating meat, he had to scrub the floor where the pilgrims stepped on. Every lonely night, he could only sit alone in the woodshed, looking at the sky outside the window, thinking of The parents who have only been with him for more than ten years.

He is already very content, he can eat enough, that's enough, isn't it? However, fate seems to temper his will. Only fifty days after he entered the monastery, due to the severe famine, all the monks had to go out for alms. Go and make some fasting.As the saying goes, Wukong, you go and beg for some food.I once investigated the issue of almsgiving, and found that Comrade Zhu Chongba was bullied even for alms.Because there are many monks, there is often a definition of the places for alms. If the places are rich, the relatives of the leaders will be assigned to go, and if the places are poor, Comrade Zhu Chongba will be arranged.

You should starve to death anyway, who made you Zhu Chongba. Zhu Chongba was assigned locations in Huaixi and Henan.This is also the main area of ​​famine, who can give it to him? However, from here, the god of fate smiled on him. In Youfang's life, Zhu Chongba can only walk and has no rides, so he is a veritable donkey.As he walked, he begged for food, crossed cities and villages, went door to door, and slept in the mountains. Every time he knocked on a door, it was a test for him, because what he faced was often just white eyes, cynicism, and Zhu Chongba. , knocking on that door may mean insult, but not knocking on that door will starve to death. Zhu Chongba has no parents, no home, all he has is a little bit of self-esteem, but the life of begging makes him lose the last protection.There is no dignity in begging. Which is more important, the dignity of life or the pressure of survival? Yes, Zhu Chongba, only when you lose everything can you understand your own strength and greatness. Zhu Chongba is different from other beggars, and it is precisely because of the difference that he has not been a beggar (please pay attention to this sentence). While begging for food, he carefully studied Huaixi's geography, mountains, and customs. He broadened his horizons, enriched his knowledge, and met many heroes (in fact, they were also beggars).At this time, he still has his own religious belief - Mingjiao. He believes that when darkness covers the earth, the great Maitreya Buddha will definitely come to the world.In fact, in terms of his life experience, it is hard to say whether he really believed in Maitreya. We have reason to believe that the real Maitreya in his heart is himself. But Zhu Chongba's most important achievement is: he has changed from a child who can only helplessly watch his parents die, a handyman who can only hide in the woodpile and cry softly after being bullied, into a man who can face the world with strength. A fighter against all odds.A warrior armed to the heart. A long-term difficult life can best hone a person's will. Many people can only blame others and muddle along after encountering difficulties, while others have to bow their heads in the face of difficulties, but their hearts have never yielded. With continuous efforts, I believe that we will be able to achieve the final victory. Zhu Chongba is undoubtedly the latter. If we say that before he came out to beg for food, he was still a young man who was at a loss, but when he returned to Huangjue Temple after three years of wandering life, he was already a person who had the confidence to overcome everything. This is a great transformation, and many people may not be able to complete it in their lifetime.The key to transformation is the heart. For many of us, the heart is the weakest place, and it is particularly vulnerable to being hurt. Betrayal of love, loss of family affection, and loss of friendship will all be heavy blows.But for Zhu Chongba, what else is unbearable?He has lost everything, and what could be more painful than watching his parents die with his own eyes and being powerless, fighting for food with the dog in order to survive, being scolded and despised by others!We have reasons to believe that on a certain night of painful thinking, Zhu Chongba turned this most vulnerable place into the most powerful source of strength. Yes, even if you have an enviable appearance, well-read talents, and inexhaustible wealth, it cannot prove your strength, because a strength of heart is the real strength. When Zhu Chongba was about to leave Huaixi, where he was begging, and return to Huangjue Temple, he carefully recalled the place where he had stayed for three years, thought about what he had gained and what he had lost here, and then packed his bags and set foot on the road. On the way home. Maybe I will come back, Zhu Chongba thought so.