Everyone knows that the royal family of this dynasty is originally from Jiading, and Jiading is under the jurisdiction of Shanghai government. The tide disaster in Shanghai Prefecture has suffered heavy casualties, and the news has already spread all over the world. The scholars in the capital, whether they are local or from other places who come to study and rush to take the exam, will inevitably discuss in private.

But it's one thing to hear, it's another to see.

For those who have never been to Shanghai, what is Nanhui Port? How prosperous was it once been? They have no concept at all, only that it is a new seaport in recent years, and many foreign merchant ships dock there, but the number of ships is far less than that of a thousand-year-old port like Guangzhou. They just think: it's just a slightly more lively port, just like the ordinary port towns on the way to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

But knowing that the two new paintings in the library let them know for the first time that Nanhui Port was like this before the disaster. The ship is docked in the harbor and there is no end in sight. There are so many shops and people on the wharf, as well as nearby streets, warehouses, inns, and houses...... It's just a bustling port. The ports along the canal are nothing like this.

They could also see the old embankment on the edge of the harbor, and they naturally remembered how the embankment case had happened. The embankment, which was repaired more than 10 years ago, is no longer sustainable after years of sea water erosion and must be rebuilt. However, those corrupt officials and corrupt officials embezzled the money used to build the dam, and they manipulated the original dam, making people mistakenly think that it had already been repaired. When the government rebuilt the dam after they were caught, they had to shovel off the hands and feet they had done and rebuild the dam, but before they could close it, a tidal disaster occurred......

The viewer involuntarily turned to another picture of the aftermath of the disaster. If the first picture depicts the prosperity of the world, the second picture depicts hell. Even in this hellish scene, they could still make out the traces of the previous picture. The wreckage of the ships on the docks, the ruined houses, the streets that were once lively......

Zhao Xiu specially chose the same angle for the two paintings, and this intuitive contrast can make people feel the difference between Nanhui Port before and after the disaster, and also better understand what this tidal disaster means to the disaster area of Shanghai Prefecture.

Some people will inevitably think that fortunately, the sea dam in Jiading is built strongly, otherwise the emperor's ancestral tomb will be washed away by the tide, and the emperor's relatives will also suffer, and there will be many people who die at that time.

But there are also more people who think that this kind of thing is too miserable, why is the dam in Nanhui being built so slowly? Who is to blame? And the criminals in the dam case, too, are too hateful. Even if they really want to be greedy for money, they can't be greedy for the dams that affect the lives of so many people!

In the month of Layue, there are not many students who still insist on coming to the Mingzhi Library. Those who come from large families, even if they come to borrow the anthologies of famous writers, will not choose to abuse themselves in the cold winter season. The people who stayed, in addition to the local poor students, or the hard-working scholars, were only the people who came from other places to take the exam and came to admire them. They either care about current affairs, or they don't know the inside story of the tide, or they are kind-hearted and compassionate, and they always like to discuss in a low voice around these two pictures when they are resting, and they will ask students from Jiangnan if they are familiar with the situation in Shanghai? Is the disaster area really as miserable as depicted in the picture?

Zhao Kun is the new deputy director of the library, and he is from Fengxian in Nanhui neighboring county, and he is also quite kind, so he is the most popular object of inquiry. He was an honest man, and he told the truth about everything he knew.

The eighth old lady led the children of the clan who did not need to participate in this year's township examination to participate in the relief everywhere, and he must not be absent as a son, so he knew a lot about the situation in Nanhui. The situation after the disaster is indeed miserable, and it is even more miserable than the picture drawn on this post-disaster map, but after a month of rectification and cleanup, it has been much better. The victims of the disaster can be fed and clothed, they have houses to live in, and the acting county magistrate also led them to rebuild their houses. By the time he left home, the port had begun to resume its operations, and new merchant ships had arrived carrying all kinds of grain, cloth, and timber, and although it was not as prosperous as it had been in the past, there was at least hope for revival.

After answering the students' questions, Zhao Kun also warned them earnestly: "This is all because of the corruption and laziness of officials, and all the monarchs are the pillars of the imperial court, and I hope to take it as a warning." ”

The students naturally echoed one after another, but in fact, there were some people who responded with their mouths, but they didn't think so in their hearts. Who could have predicted such a thing as a natural disaster? This time, if it weren't for the king of Guangping who uncovered the embankment case, and happened to encounter a tidal disaster that is rare in a century, the dam would have been repaired badly, and it would not have caused such a severe consequence. What is ten years of hard study for? What is Qianli being an official for? Isn't it the word "rich"? What official didn't do that? It's just that the ones that happened badly this time were particularly unlucky.

At this moment, Shang Qiong came in from outside the door unhurriedly and said in a loud voice: "Zhao Juren said it well. If it weren't for the local officials who betrayed the trust of the imperial court and embezzled public funds, they would not have tired nearly 10,000 people to die tragically. If they commit such a crime, they will not end well. If you become an official in the future, you only need to think about who lives in the prison of Dali Temple now, and you will know what to do. The gentlemen have studied hard for ten years, but they didn't end up like that. ”

Hearing this, all the students changed their complexions. Although everyone thinks that Shang Qiong's words are too unlucky, he is the son of Taifu, the emperor's junior brother, and a famous scholar, and his status in this library is transcendent, and he gives them a lot of guidance on weekdays.

With Shang Qiong's appearance, these two paintings were steadily recorded in the library. I usually roll it up and put it on a special bookshelf in the "Geography and Terroir" category, but there are always people who borrow it. The focus of the students' discussions was also uneven, some discussed natural disasters, some discussed clean government, and some discussed the dam case - why did the trial take so long and still not be concluded? So many people have been killed, and those people should have been sentenced to death a long time ago!

It didn't take long for more people to rush to the capital to prepare for the examination to be held in February. Among them, there are lifters from Shanghai Prefecture, and one is even more amazing - he is the only lifter from Nanhui County who came to take the exam this year.

The main man is here, he is a native of Nanhui, and he must know the local situation better than Zhao Kun. The students in the library carefully inquired about him and found that he had no relatives who died in the tide disaster, so they asked him about him with confidence.

Unexpectedly, this question made the man so excited that he burst into tears on the spot. No relatives died, but his family business was completely ruined. He was originally a son of a rich family in Nanhui, his parents died early, he married a good wife, gave birth to two children, the whole family lived in a big house, held a hundred acres of fertile land, and more than ten shops and warehouses for rent, and lived a rich and comfortable life. When the tide disaster occurred, he took his wife and children to Fengxian's father-in-law's house to save relatives. Overnight, he had nothing, his house and shop were washed away, his fertile land was destroyed, his servants were scattered, and he didn't even know where his parents' tablets went. He can only live in his father-in-law's house with his wife and children, relying on his father-in-law's family for all the grass and paper, and the travel expenses to Beijing are still barely made up by relatives and friends......

He also mentioned that there were dozens of students in Nanhui County who were eligible to participate in the township examination this year, but less than 10 people participated in the end. Those who did not show up have either lost their lives in the tide disaster, or they have the pain of bereavement and need to keep filial piety. Throughout July, his wife sent out 58 memorial ceremonies for him, many of whom were classmates and close to the teacher......

He hated the criminals in the dam case, and sneered: "After the bad news of the previous Nanhui County Commander, his family lived in the courtyard of a wealthy family, and they were still well-fed. But so what? When the tide came, the big family could not protect itself, his wife and children were all killed, and his servants were scattered, leaving only an old mother, who broke her leg and broke her head, and was carried to the resettlement center to eat relief porridge with other victims. After being recognized, the victims hated her son for harming the people of the county, and they were unwilling to deal with her, and she almost starved to death! It was the county magistrate of the neighboring county who was kind and ordered the official to send her some food, so that she was able to live. Now she is begging on the streets of Nanhui County, but who doesn't know her identity? There was no one to give her alms at all, and she still had to rely on the two steamed buns given by the officials every day to survive. But no matter how kind Tao County Ling is, he is just a substitute. When the new county magistrate takes office, who cares if she lives or dies? This is retribution! ”

The other students were terrified when they heard this, not because of his hatred for the culprit of the embankment case, but because they discovered that in the face of natural disasters, it was not only the people of Li who would lose their lives. Those who have the same status as them, lifters, and even officials, officials, and families, none of them can escape. Just like the former Nanhui County Commander involved in the case, what is the use of being greedy for more money? He was in prison, his wife and son died, and his mother fell to the point of begging for a living, and life was worse than death. It's better not to be greedy at the beginning, and still be able to keep the family rich and reunited.

They began to look at the disaster in a different way: if I had met ...... Then everyone shuddered in unison, and they didn't dare to think about it anymore.

The students discussed these matters in private, and inquired with concern about the trial of the dam case. They visit their classmates, teachers, relatives and friends, and then their classmates, teachers, relatives and friends visit their classmates, teachers, relatives and friends...... By the time of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the group of readers gathered in the capital had already become extremely interested in the case when the emperor and the imperial court did not know about it. As more and more people go to Beijing to take the exam, this kind of discussion will slowly spread to the whole country.

At this time, Zhao Xiu no longer made any interference. She only needs to make a start, and the rest of the things are not something she can control.

The New Year is coming soon, and there are still many things to take care of in the Jiannan Hou Mansion, and the New Year's gifts have been sent out, and many New Year's gifts have been received. Zhao Xiu is still busy registering these things.

In this year's New Year's Day, grandmother Zhang must enter the palace to see the Queen Mother, and Zhao Xiu will also accompany her. For this reason, all three of their grandparents had to make a few new clothes, and there was also a Chinese New Year's Eve ancestor worship. There are clansmen in the three, five, and sixth rooms in Beijing, and this year's ancestor worship will be held in a big way.

In this busy schedule, Zhao Xiu did not forget to pay attention to the movements of the Guangping Palace. King Guangping still stayed in the palace to treat his eyes, but Gao Zhen, the son of King Guangping, returned to the palace a year ago. (To be continued.) )