"Where is it?" "Ji Ze Tang."

As soon as these words came out, the smile on Zhou Hui's face stiffened. Wen Wen and Wen Yu were a little confused when they heard this, but they turned their veiled faces to King Wu here, wondering what this Ji Ze Hall was. Wen Yan was also moved when she heard this, but she was not too surprised, she just sneered secretly: This kid is still quite Taoist, and he actually walks in his heart. Li Zesi felt that he was unclear, so he replied on his behalf: "Ji Ze Tang is the government-run soup kitchen. There are all over the country, and this one is the largest in Tianyuan City. ”

Before King Wu came out to confirm, Wen Yan suddenly interjected: "Bu Gongzi will visit Tianyuan this year, and he will inevitably be attracted by that place, if it was last year, he would never have noticed it." Bu Zhu was a little surprised, he felt that there was a thorn in his words, and he was embarrassed to pick up the stubble, so he had to look at Zhou Hui crampedly. King Wu didn't dare to directly confront Wen Yan in speech on weekdays, only he smiled, and simply didn't explain the identity of the second county lord, and motioned with his eyes that although he continued to chat, there was no step system. The latter saw that King Wu didn't mind, and thought that this might be a well-educated person valued by King Wu, so he boldly responded: "But according to bad opinions, the disaster situation in various places has been showing signs since last year, so why didn't it happen last year?" ”

Wen Yan received it quickly: "At this time last year, the gentry in various places were ordered to raise money on the spot and subsidize it with the state treasury. But under the huge profits, there is no supervision, in order to be able to deduct more, almost all the porridge halls are adulterated, and for a time the mud and sand are all down, and some people even replace more than half of the rice with the soil of Zhouse. Moreover, under the catastrophe, the order is chaotic, many old and young, before they can reach the porridge hall, they have already fallen on the road, the strong can get three meals, the sick and the disabled, waiting for nothing all day long - all kinds of disadvantages are undoubtedly revealed, and the good intentions above outweigh the losses.

As the disaster dragged down to this year, the number of displaced people increased, but the above was changed to only exempt from taxes, and at the same time no subsidies, and the gentry paid for it themselves, so that there were people in the rich land who were willing to give to the people, and no one in the barren land responded. Moreover, the exemption from taxes can only reduce the burden on the landed, and the destitute have only a way to escape the famine. Although my dynasty is big, the most worry-free person is only Tianyuan, and it is logical to attract countless refugees. ”

The boring explanation of current affairs, spoken by a cold woman's voice, is even more piercing. Bu Zhu's brows furrowed when he heard this, and he unconsciously argued: "The situation is different in different places, in the land of Yishan, my father has been giving porridge to the people in recent years, and there has been no chaos, and as far as I know, it is not ......as unbearable as this girl said" "As long as there are forty percent of the shortcomings, it is enough to give up food due to choking." Not to mention anything else, as long as a few old ministers cry and complain, the above must consider whether to change to see the effect, if this year is not as good as last year, it is not too late to change back. Such a price is well deserved. ”

Bu Zhu was a little embarrassed by the cynicism in this call. In his life experience, his grandfather and father told him from a very young age: the world is very cruel, but as long as ordinary people do their part, it will definitely get better. Grandpa, who was blind in one eye and could only sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, once took his hand and with the help of his attendants went to distribute porridge to the hungry people who were waiting to be fed. When his father taught him martial arts, he rewarded him with a string of copper coins for every successful step forward, and asked him to give them to the hungry children who were watching outside. Bu Zhu doesn't know much about the disadvantages of the system, the only thing he knows is: as long as you do your best, there will be some people who will be happy because of it.

Tian Yuan made him feel new and troubled at the same time—did the people who kept shouting to cure hunger and poverty personally go to give a bowl of porridge? He didn't want to argue with a woman about it, so he hesitated and fell silent. Wenwen knew that the second sister's annoying argument had committed it again, so he hurriedly pushed Zhou Hui secretly. The latter understood and immediately changed the topic: "The matter of Ji Ze Tang is handled carefully by His Royal Highness the Second Highness, so we don't have to worry about it." In other words, Bu Gongzi is really a good person with a kind heart, not only proficient in martial arts, but also concerned about the people's livelihood. ”

"Where, where." Bu Zhu thought carefully about the wording and said, "I'm not completely worried about the people, but I just saw that Ji Zetang was in order, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, so I felt that there were many sages in Tianyuan. Zhou Hui smiled: "Who is handling Ji Zetang now?" I want to think about it......" Li Zesi didn't speak for a long time, but now he suddenly followed: "Lord Wu." "Oh! That's him. Or do you remember clearly. Li Zesi didn't say anything, he was on the streets, and every day he had to drag his heavy legs to Jizetang to get a bite to eat, of course he was very familiar with the names of the officials in charge. Even if he didn't want to hear it, the cries of gratitude from the refugees around him would force him to remember.

Bu Zhu said: "Actually, before I came, my father told me that if I had the opportunity, I must pay a visit to Lord Wu. "World friends?" "According to my father, they used to be together." Bu Zhu bowed his hand to the void, "They have all been taught under the door of Lord Situ Wen of the current dynasty. The three Wen County Lords present trembled at the same time, and even Wen Yu, who had dozed off just now, woke up. Zhou Hui smiled unconsciously, thinking to himself, step catch, you have to call your life-saving benefactor and debate opponent uncle. "Have you already been there?"

"There is no official visit yet. In fact, in the past month, except for the day of the martial arts exercise, I have passed as long as I have the opportunity, and it is always a coincidence that Lord Wu is not there. It just so happens that I am going to go over today, why don't Your Highness go with Mr. Chu? After saying that, he added, "If the three girls are not interested, forget it." Wen Wen replied on his behalf: "We are accompanying His Highness, it is fine, and it is okay to watch, Your Highness decides." Zhou Zheng thought: This tone is clearly "We're going to see the excitement"! Also let me decide...... However, the location of Ji Ze Hall was not far from the market, so they nodded in agreement immediately, and a few people went out and walked to Ji Ze Hall. Tu Chinese Yan and Wen Wen had slightly worse foot strength, so they called a rickshaw to travel.

After passing through the market, turn two alleys, and you will see a flat land in front of you. But there were no decent buildings, only neat straw huts lined up on them, and then there were thousands of poor people. These people live under the shack, and in the space of two mats, a dozen people, including the elderly and children, are squeezed out, and in the scorching heat, the smell of sweat mixed with the pungent smell of urine wafts everywhere. If you look deeper, you can see the queue for porridge lined up, and the old and weak women and children who could not stand in line are staring at the pitiful shadow in the shed. Seeing the arrival of the group of people, many people were in a commotion, and some bold children ran over directly to stretch out their hands to beg for it. Bu Zhu seemed to be familiar with the way, and immediately took out the scattered copper coins and asked them to go to the market to buy their own food.

Zhou Hui couldn't help but itch his hands, and he also took out alms in his arms. Seeing them so generous, someone suddenly rushed up and stretched out countless thin and dirty hands, trapping them in the core This is beyond the expectations of several people, especially Wen Yan, who turned blue on the horse and looked like he was about to faint. The low-ranking officials, who had maintained order, came with their soldiers, dispersed the crowd with their spears, and finally relieved the siege. The leader was a middle-aged man with a tired look, his eyes were full of red lines, and he could see that he was overworked. He came over to salute Bu Zhu, and then said with a smile: "Bu Gongzi, if you come alone on weekdays, it is lively enough, and today you have brought more nobles, it is just going to make trouble." ”

In order to avoid trouble, King Wu stopped the arrest of his name and simply asked, "Is Lord Wu here?" We're here to pay a visit. The middle-aged man looked embarrassed: "Recently, I have been tight, and adults go out early every day to ask for donations, and they don't come back until late at night, and they are not there." Bu Zhu looked disappointed. Zhou Hui asked, "May I ask what you call your upper and lower levels?" "In Xia Yin Ze, you don't have to see outside, Gongzi is an old adult, and a few are friends of Bu Gongzi, just treat me as a servant." "You're welcome, don't dare, don't dare." After the greetings were over, Yin Zezhen invited Bu Zhu and others to sit inside, and the latter waved his hand and refused: "Since Lord Wu is not here, I won't go in to bother, you are also very busy and tired here." ”

Yin Ze smiled bitterly: "It's just that I'm busy and tired, but it's nothing." It's a pity that it's been a bit of a ...... lately I can't hold it anymore. "What do you mean by that?" "I won't whitewash Sven, just say it, no money." King Wu blurted out: "Ji Ze Hall was organized by His Royal Highness the Wing King back then, how could there be no money?" "This son doesn't know, if it was in previous years, no matter what, Ji Zetang would never be in deficit. In recent years, successive natural disasters, floods followed by droughts, epidemics and locust plagues have occurred in many places, although this is not the case in the whole territory, but about a quarter of the areas have failed to harvest. It stands to reason that the grain accumulated in the previous years of the Guancang can also tide over the difficulties, but His Royal Highness returned to Tianyuan this year, accompanied by thousands of people, and they were busy preparing for the military exercise a while ago, and almost all the reserves that could be mobilized were consumed. And because of the frequent fraud cases in porridge halls in various places last year, the official fund was suspended.

Especially recently, for some reason, a lot of the promised assistance just can't be transported into Tianyuan, and even if there are many pleadings, it can't be resolved. Not only that, many vehicles loaded with grain, even when they arrived at the gate of Ji Zetang, were also seized and confiscated into the official warehouse, and if this continues, I am afraid that it will not be able to support it for a few days...... Although His Royal Highness has the heart to continue to help us, he can't stand all kinds of coincidences rushing together, and he really can't think of any way for a while. "The official family, as long as you plead, you will definitely donate." "Thousands of refugees, no matter how much the rich donate, it is a drop in the bucket, and the large number of people is becoming more and more difficult to manage, fights and provocations almost every day, some rich people come to give porridge, and even will be attacked by the haters of the rich, so scared that they dare not come again."

King Wu and Li Zesi both frowned and listened. "Lord Wu has been running around for days, but it has no effect, and the amount is still far behind, often there is no tomorrow today - hey, I shouldn't complain to the ranks...... "Bu Zhu thought for a while and said: "I'll go to the scholars I know in the martial arts to find a way." Zhou Hui took it and said, "A little charity is useless. Woo-sama should think of something better. "We're all thinking about it, too......" Wen Yan couldn't hold back when he heard this, and interjected again: "The top priority is not to raise more money to support the people, but to use the people, reclaim wasteland, repair water conservancy, and let these people contribute to make a living, so that there can be a turnaround, otherwise this is a bottomless abyss, and there will never be a day to fill it up."

Yin showed an admiring smile: "This young lady has superb insights and admires her." But there is one thing, if we want to break ground in Tianyuan, we can't decide. There was bitterness in his breath. Wen Yan was also choked up for a while, speechless. When it comes to the point where everyone is powerless, the scene suddenly becomes awkward. Bu Zhu felt that it was not interesting to stay, so he took the lead in getting up and arched his hand: "Just do your best to obey the destiny of heaven." Lord Yin is still busy, let's not bother. Yin replied: "It's not forced to stay, I will definitely report again after Lord Wu comes back." "Hard! Then I will take my leave. Yin Ze watched everyone get up, and suddenly asked, "Do you still want to go?" ”

"Exactly." Bu Zhu replied with a smile, "I'm used to it. "In that case, then I will call someone with me." When he went out, Zhou Hui couldn't help but ask, "Where to go?" Bu Zhu replied, "Go and give to some special people." If Your Highness and a few young ladies are tired, please go back. Wen Yu scratched his head: "No!" I'm not tired at all! With her endorsement, Wen Yan, who was already cramping in his calves, had no choice but to be coerced to follow. A few men followed the footsteps, and with a few soldiers carrying baskets of porridge and jugs, they bypassed the main shed where the refugees had gathered, and came to a corner of the vast flat land, which was already under the high walls, and some raincloth had formed a more rudimentary and rough shelter, where some people were lying or sitting, and a stronger stench spread from among them.

Sensing the arrival of someone, these people made strange noises, and the speed of gathering was noticeably much slower. When a few people took a closer look, they realized that these people were not normal people. Some can't walk, some have high humps, some have closed their eyes, and some can only open their mouths without making a sound. They are among the refugees who are sick. Because of their limited mobility, many people have sores on their limbs, festering wounds, and horribly flowing with fluids of various colors, which is how the stench comes out. They were uglier and more pitiful than all the refugees I had just seen, and some of them were lying quietly in the corners, covered in urine and urine, and it seemed that even if they were dead, no one would immediately notice them.

Sanwen unconsciously covered his nose, and Zhou Hui and Li Zesi did not move. Only on foot hunting, without hesitation, went in, and distributed food and water with the soldiers. Quite a few shouted his name in hoarse voices, barely bracing their bodies and scrambling to touch his feet with their hands.