I Became a Sugar Mama to an Ancient General during a Famine! - Chapter 3 Part 1

Zhan Chengyin pushed the meal boxes into their arms, declaring, “The gods will provide more for this general. Take this.”

The ten deputy generals exchanged glances, hesitant to accept, but thoughts of their starving families weighed heavily on their minds.

These boxes felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in their arms!

Wu Sanlang, whose young child was on the verge of starvation, was the first to accept.

Kneeling on one knee with tears in his eyes, he said, “Thank you, General. May I take this home first? My wife and child are dying of starvation.”

Zhan Chengyin nodded. “Go quickly!”

Wu Sanlang snatched up the meal box and rushed home.

The remaining nine deputy generals hid the meal boxes under their cloaks and hurried to their families.

Zhan Chengyin instructed them to return early to share a meal of porridge.

Though small, each box of rice and dishes could be made into porridge to feed a family for two days if carefully rationed, staving off starvation for a while longer.

If mixed with tree leaves and grass, it could last even longer.

Half an incense stick later, the ten commanders returned, faces tense and eyes reddened.

As soon as they sat down, Uncle Li brought in a pot of porridge.

He had cooked half a box of rice into porridge and added half a box of side dishes.

The porridge was neither too thick nor too thin, just right.

With the added vegetables, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

Uncle Li produced eleven small bowls, ladling a portion for each, and placed them before the deputy generals.

Seeing this, Zhan Chengyin said to him: “Uncle Li, join us! You haven’t eaten in days.”

Uncle Li, who had resorted to eating Guanyin clay, was already suffering from abdominal bloating.

Tears streamed down his face as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“General, there’s no need. You and the deputy generals are our leaders; you need more strength to fight the enemy.”

Zhan Chengyin scooped the last small bowl of porridge from the pot’s bottom and placed it in front of him.

Cradling the warm bowl, Uncle Li wept with joy and withdrew, his eyes reddened.

Each person received a small bowl.

Though insufficient to sate their hunger, the flavor was exquisite; the white rice porridge was truly fragrant.

After finishing, they licked their bowls clean, the taste lingering on their lips and teeth.

Reluctantly, everyone set their bowls aside

They wondered whether the gods, knowing of their dire need for water and food, could be petitioned for more supplies..

Eight meal boxes were far from enough to share!

Twenty thousand soldiers and eighty thousand citizens still suffered from severe water and food shortages.

Desperation drove people to unthinkable acts.

On their way back, deputy general Chen Kui had seen two women, crying as they exchanged their dead children for food, a horrific act born of extreme hunger.

In some households, the elderly had taken their own lives, imploring their descendants to consume their bodies so the family might survive.

These tragic scenes, one after another…

They feared not death in battle, but the sight of people starving, forcing loved ones to consume each other’s flesh and bones.

Their hearts ached as if cut by knives.

If only they could beseech the gods for more water and food, such human tragedies might be averted!

Zhan Chengyin clenched his fists!

He knew not the source of this food and water.

Nor did he truly believe in the existence of gods.

If gods existed, his family, who had devoted themselves to the country, would not have been executed by the emperor.

His Zhan family army of two hundred thousand would not have been decimated to a mere fraction.

But with nowhere else to turn to, all his resentment, unwillingness, and pent-up frustration could only be directed at seeking help from the supernatural to resolve the current crisis!

He implored the gods to bestow water and food, to save all the people in the city.

He vowed to construct temples and offer incense for generations.

Even if it meant sacrificing all his military achievements and devoting himself to tending incense burners, he earnestly begged the gods to save the people of the world!

He unfolded a piece of paper and brush, and penned his prayer:

「To the gods above!」

「In the third year of the Great Qi Dynasty, I, Zhan Chengyin, general of the Zhan family army, bearing the title of Marquis of Ningguan, first rank, stationed at the southwestern Zheng Guan Fortress, record this plea. For a thousand li, the southwest has seen no rain for many days. The earth is parched and cracked, riverbeds have run dry, vegetation withers and dies. A thousand miles lay barren, and grievances rise to the sky!

I beg the gods to grant water and food, to save the twenty thousand soldiers and eighty thousand citizens of Zhenguan. This General, in deepest humility and fear, implores the gods to take pity on the suffering of the common people. I vow to build temples, tend the incense burners personally, and offer incense for generations!」

After writing, he asked Uncle Li for three sticks of incense and lit them.

He raised the incense, bowed thrice before a flower vase, and inserted them into the incense burner.

Then he burned the prayer and sent it forth.

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