Outside the county office, through the two students of Wen Daoyi School, the onlookers heard almost every sentence and every sentence of Zhang Shou in the hall. Although they don't understand some of the crepe's words, among the people who come to see the excitement today, it is not only ordinary people, but also scholars, and even talented people who have won the examination.

Under their explanations, even those illiterate people who can't read a word can understand the meaning of every sentence, such as Ge Yong's passage from Lao Tzu, before he could explain, an old Xiucai shook his head and commented on it in simple words, at this time, no one laughed at him for dropping his book bag, and people even had to be distracted and listen to the explanations of those students at the moral school.

When Ge Yong explained again, Lao Xiu immediately shut up. And the little peanut who was mixed in the crowd, who was so nervous that he clenched his fists at first, burst into tears of joy at this time because he learned that Xian Yunhe didn't have to die, especially when he heard Zhang Shou's sentence that his crime should be punished and his feelings were pitiful, he couldn't help but grab the old salted fish's arm and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, what do you mean by this?" ”

Although Lao Xianyu said that he took over three spinning workers who were burned down like Xian Yunhe from Ah Liu, he was rescued by Ah Liu, and brought people here this morning to make a strong noise, but he was still not so sure in his heart what Zhang Shou would judge. As soon as he heard that people avoided the important and lightened it, and set the final punishment on the cane and confiscation, he was also as excited as Little Peanut.

However, he waited until he listened to all of Zhang Shou's words and found that he had really accepted his proposal to plant trees, and the big stone fell in his heart, so he smiled and said: "Their crimes should be punished, and their feelings are pitiful, which means that according to their sins, they should be put to death, but according to the reasons and circumstances of their crimes, they are worthy of mercy." ”

He has already realized that Zhang Shou cleverly reversed the sentence "his feelings are pitiful, and his crimes should be punished", and the sentence is no longer cold and hard, but a little more compassionate. Even if the previous verdict reaches the DPRK and China, it may cause an uproar, but these eight words may be enough to impress some officials.

But no matter what, he really owes a lot of favor! Maybe only by taking out the last thing he treasured can he repay Zhang Shou for offending a lot of people and saving Xian Yunhe's life!

The other people watching the excitement on the side understood the explanation of the old salted fish, and then saw that he was wearing a shirt that was not a scholar, and couldn't help but praise: "The old brother is amazing, can you understand the words of this crepe?" Then tell me about it, this is the capital of Qiongzhou...... Which corner of Qiongzhou Mansion is it? Could it be that people did not die in Cangzhou, but died outside? ”

Seeing that many people were waiting for his answer, the old salted fish was silent for a moment, and then smiled, the serious style just now disappeared, replaced by the usual pompousness.

"The place in Qiongzhou Mansion is the southernmost place of my Ming Dynasty, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the southernmost place. In the Song Dynasty, Dongpo monks were once demoted to the official Qiongzhou Mansion, leaving an allusion to the ends of the earth there, where Cangzhou is far away, more than 10,000 miles away, the climate is humid and hot, and there is no winter in all seasons, which is completely different from Cangzhou......"

Before he finished speaking, the man who had just asked widened his eyes and said, "Is it really so far?" However, it is a good place to go without winter, we have to wrap in cotton jackets and leather robes every winter, and if you can't afford to buy charcoal for heating, it will be too cold to sleep at night, and how much more will it cost you every year! Speaking of which, every winter, how many beggars who sleep in the open freeze to death! ”

"If this is changed to Qiongzhou Mansion, then at least you don't have to worry about the cold, right? Hot is better than cold! ”

Although Little Peanut has not lived with the old salted fish for a long time, he still knows a lot about his uncle's temper. As soon as he heard what the old salted fish said just now, he knew that Qiongzhou Mansion should not be too bad. At this time, the man who asked the question was already enthusiastic and said that hot is stronger than cold, and he couldn't help muttering.

This guy can't be specially invited by his uncle to fool people, right? But he also had a part in running errands before, and he was often with the expressionless sixth brother next to Dr. Zhang, why didn't he find this person?

He glanced at the unexpected guy a few more times. Then he heard the old salted fish say, "Isn't it? In Qiongzhou, most of the time you just need to wear a pair of pants. No matter how cold it is, most of them are just single clothes and pants, which really saves the boss's expenses. And there are few people there......"

Even Little Peanut didn't know that in the past, the old salted fish walked the Wa Kingdom and Goryeo, and the Nanyang line didn't go much, so he never went to Qiongzhou Mansion. At this time, the old man talked endlessly according to the rumors from hearsay, and when he saw that there were more and more people surrounding him because Zhang Shou's side had already completed the case, he spoke more energetically.

When he had enough free play, Lao Xianyu smiled and said, "But speaking of which, Qiongzhou Mansion is actually a good place to grow cotton." The old-fashioned spinning wheel and loom in the past, you think he is slow now, but if you put it a hundred or two hundred years ago, it was the most powerful thing, and only the people in Qiongzhou Mansion knew how to use it. ”

"I think if it weren't for Huang Daopo who brought back better textile appliances from Qiongzhou Mansion, where would so many people in our Central Plains grow cotton, spin and weave? It's still broken and slow there, and I can't spin much yarn or cotton cloth for half a day. Moreover, I heard that the weather and land in Qiongzhou are the most suitable for growing things, and the rice can be harvested twice or even three times a year......"

Although not all the people who grow cotton know the Huang Daopo one or two hundred years ago, as long as someone has heard of it, after talking about it in twos and threes, they will understand what kind of place Qiongzhou Mansion is. As for those who do not grow cotton or spin or weave...... I have also heard of the rice that southerners love to eat, and many people have already drooled when they learn that it can be harvested twice or even three times a year.

Of course, the four words of uprooting are indeed a ditch that most people can't jump over in today's era, so people are just envious. There are those who are envious, and naturally there are those who are not convinced: "I have heard of that Dongpo layman, isn't it the Dongpo of Dongpo meat?" If this is so good in Qiongzhou Mansion, how can he be assigned there? ”

"Of course, it's not all good." The old salted fish shrugged his shoulders and said with a sigh on his face, "Every year from July to October, there are sometimes sudden strong winds and rains over there. In addition, there are many insects, damp and hot, and there are always people who are not accustomed to the water and soil, so ordinary people really can't stand the weather over there, and one is not good to be entangled in miasma, that is, it is really fate! ”

Malaria!

Almost instantly, the people who were still a little curious and longing for Qiongzhou Mansion were all frightened and immediately retreated. Northerners may yearn for the warmth and bountiful harvest of the south, but they are absolutely insensitive to the diseases that can be fatal. As a result, in an instant, Qiongzhou Mansion was full of miasma and prone to vicious diseases, and this rumor spread faster than just now.

And since they heard that the miasma in Qiongzhou Mansion was rampant, most people no longer inquired about the interest of Qiongzhou Mansion. In addition, when they heard that the county government would not be executed today, the people scattered one after another. And the little peanut who couldn't hold back for a long time immediately stepped forward, grabbed the sleeve of the old salted fish, and asked in an anxious voice: "Uncle, there is a miasma rampant over there, what ......if Uncle Yunhe goes here, what if he goes?"

"Stupid!"

The old salted fish was angry and funny, and flicked his finger directly on the door of the little peanut's head. At this time, there were gradually fewer people at the gate of the county government, and the pestle was too conspicuous here, so he dragged the little guy back to his shop on Shuishi Street in a hurry.

When he arrived at a place where there were no people, he whispered: "Think about it, Yunhe is exiled, and they are not allowed to enjoy happiness, if it is really that Qiongzhou Mansion has no winter all year round, warm and comfortable, even if it is thousands of miles away, do you think this can still be a place of exile?" Even if there is miasma, from the early years of our dynasty, whether it is Yungui, the southwest border, or Qiongzhou Mansion, there are not many people. ”

Nowadays, the places with the most sinners are Liaodong, Gansu, and outside the mouth, and they are all kinds of places that need manpower to fight wars with the northern captives. Of course, now that the Northern Captives have been defeated again, perhaps those places are no longer suitable as places of exile for sinners......

Little Peanut's eyes lit up at this time: "Then uncle, what do you mean is that what you said about the miasma is fake?" ”

"Nonsense...... It's all true! ”

The old salted fish flicked the little peanut again, and when he saw that people were holding their heads and looking at him with a shocked face, he sighed and said: "That disease is actually called malaria, not only in Qiongzhou Prefecture, but also in the humid and hot and woody places in the south. And when I first traveled to Haidong, I also experienced it once. That time it was malaria, a boatload of twenty or thirty people, and eight died. ”

Six of them died of illness one after another, and the remaining two were not. At that time, many people on the ship were infected with such falciparum malaria, and if they hadn't bumped into the "prophet" from the Ming Dynasty, they would have survived. They were given a valuable medicine called cinchona, but even this precious medicine could not save everyone's lives.

Two eventually died, and two others nearly lost their sight from taking medication...... However, this result was much better than what he had heard of when the captain had to leave the man to his fate on a small island after contracting the malaria.

It was precisely because he still had this medicine in possession and was sure that people could get the seeds, so he would ask Zhang Shou to plant trees in Qiongzhou Mansion before, which sounded outrageous.

If rubber trees can be planted in Qiongzhou, then cinchona trees should also be planted in Hainan, right? If he can, this kind of medicine that can treat malaria, he may be able to let Zhang Shou dedicate it to the emperor, and it can be regarded as a little favor for him!

As for the risk of Xian Yunhe going to Qiongzhou Mansion, compared to losing his life, getting sick is nothing at all. Moreover, compared with the distant Haidong, he believed that the Qiongzhou Mansion should be more livable, otherwise the imperial court would not have set up a full three states and ten counties in the Qiongzhou Mansion!

Of course, Little Peanut didn't know that the old salted fish had thought so much for a while. His face turned pale and he wanted to continue to ask if the malaria could be cured, but he received another blow to the head.

"Anyway, don't ask, kid. You know, I first proposed the idea of planting trees in Qiongzhou Mansion to Dr. Zhang. ”

Little Peanut was stunned for a moment, and didn't ask any more questions, but then suddenly remembered another more important matter, and immediately became nervous again: "By the way, uncle, Uncle Yunhe, they still have to suffer a hundred rods, can they stand it?" Why wasn't the execution carried out on the spot? Will you turn back and make a fuss about the torture rod......"

"With Yunhe's current body, can it withstand a hundred rods?" The old salted fish snorted lightly, and then said lightly, "People will transfer from the palace to the Cangzhou County Ya, and those people in the Ruiqi camp will no longer be able to retaliate against him." ”

Of course...... Zhang Shou may also offend the soldiers of the Rui Cavalry Battalion because of this!

In this sense, his cinchona tree doesn't know where to fly, and the so-called cinchona frost only has a small weight, and it may not be enough to repay Zhang Shou.

Changlu County Ya, after two short judgments, as Lao Xianyu said, Zhang Shou did not immediately order the execution of the cane, but ordered the servants to take Xian Yunhe and others to prison.

For this unexpected scene again, Du Heng suddenly frowned, and couldn't help but ask again: "Why, Xian Yunhe's eight people are no longer detained in the palace?" ”

Seeing Zhu Tingfang smiling, but he didn't respond to Du Heng's questioning, Zhang Shou was not in a hurry, until the new batch of servants in the soap class escorted Xian Yunhe and the others away, although Du Heng's face was very ugly, but there was no substantial obstruction, so he opened his mouth to explain with sincerity.

"Before, the prisoners were detained in the palace, which was originally a matter of urgency, not a long-term plan. After repeated clean-up of the county government before, from the third-class officials to the six-room officials, the gap is very large, and there are still many people in the county government prison because of Xu Cheng's bad government. ”

He paused for a moment and said with a smile: "As for now, with General Zhu's unremitting efforts to clean up the prison, all the unjust, false and wrongful cases in Cangzhou have been clarified, and the cases that have been broken for a long time have also been resolved, so the county government prison has been empty for more than half of it, and they are only eight people, and they can be locked up." And most importantly ......"

This time, Zhu Tingfang said: "The third class of officials has changed a group of newcomers, and those guys who used to only deceive their superiors and subordinates, bully and dominate the market, and extort have all been cleaned up, and replaced by children recommended by various martial arts families, who are innocent and have good martial arts." Since there is no longer a problem with the garrison of the county government, there is no need to bother the sharp cavalry battalion to do the affairs of the prison camp. ”

Prison camp? Is this sarcasm, or is it just a statement of facts? Du Heng suddenly raised his eyebrows, and he was just ready to say something to ridicule him, but he couldn't say it. Especially although Ge Yong didn't speak, he just sat on the side with a smile on his face, but this old lady's seniority and status were all there, and he was completely insufficient to compete.

So, he could only stand up with a calm face and said, "Since this is the case, it seems that there is no need for sharp cavalry battalions and horses in this Cangzhou City." Then I will play the emperor and ask to return to Beijing. ”

What he said was not so much a retreat as an angry remark. But at this time, he only heard Zhu Tingfang ask very abruptly: "General Du used to be the commander of the Linhai battalion of the navy, according to what you see, the Linhai battalion is divided into Cangzhou, is this matter feasible?" ”