“…… Edited and managed Enzhou [now Qinghe, Hebei] ......"

In the process of going to court again and again, Zheng Xia has become numb, and when he heard the final verdict, he only noticed four words in it.

Yu Shitai was convicted and handed over to Kaifeng Mansion for distribution, and Zheng Xia's case had a result without alarming anyone.

Turning a deaf ear to the words of Sun Yong, the prefect of the court, Zheng Xia said in a low voice: "What about going to Shamen Island?" ”

At the beginning, Shilinzhong's support for him was still very high. When he was not taken into the Imperial History Tower, many people privately praised him for his courage, and even his old acquaintance Wang Anguo came to meet him.

But after the rainstorm before the festival on the same day, Zheng Xia knew that the wind in Shilin was definitely about to turn.

Linked to Han Gang's performance in the palace, Zheng Xia sat down on the charge of bullying the king, making it difficult for him to argue.

Who can believe now that he really gambled with his life?!

In these days, he was not tortured in Yushitai Prison, and he was not investigated for any comrades during the interrogation, and he was not detained in eating, drinking, and living, but Zheng Xia was still very painful in his heart.

For him, fame is more important than life.

It's good to say that his reputation in Shilin is lost, but his fierce loyalty is exchanged for the misunderstanding of the Son of Heaven, which makes Zheng Xia feel even more sad. Instead of going to Enzhou, Hebei Province to stay up for amnesty, it is better to live in Shamen Island [now Miaodao Islands], which is like a ghost gate.

According to the criminal law, the heavy one is attached to the Shamen Island Village, followed by the Lingbiao, and then 3,000 miles to the neighboring states. In other words, in the punishment, exile to Lingnan is heavier than exile of 3,000 li, and exile to Salmon Island is even heavier than Lingnan.

As for the so-called arrangement, even the official status is still maintained, but he is confined to the city and is not allowed to leave the city, and the correspondence is subject to inspection.

When Sun Yong announced the verdict, he said in his mouth that this was the emperor's grace. It's just that Zheng Xia doesn't want the mighty emperor's grace, so he can suffer a little more.

After leaving the city alone without one, Zheng Xia still chattered from time to time.

"Zheng Guanren, Shamen Island really can't go!"

The old man who led the escort to Zheng Xia talked to Zheng Xia kindly. He is an old official in Kaifeng Mansion, and he knows the importance of the Dao, don't look at Zheng Xia's reputation now, and he was driven out of the capital, but a bad reputation is also famous, as long as the wind in the court turns, or to put it a little more rebellious - the emperor and Song Dynasty change hands, maybe he can turn over immediately.

"How?" Zheng Xia retorted angrily, "Do you dare to celebrate the story on Salmon Island?" ”

There were only felons on Salmon Island, and some death row inmates were also sent to Salmen Island after being pardoned for capital crimes. Due to the increasing number of allotments, which gradually increased to more than 1,000 people, and the ration quota for prisoners on Shamen Island was only 300, and it could not be increased, Li Qing, the owner of the village in charge of the prison city on Shamen Island at that time, threw the surplus prisoners into the sea. In two years, as many as 700 prisoners were thrown into the sea and died. It wasn't until the second year of Xining that when the case was revealed by Ma Mo, the governor of Dengzhou, it immediately shocked both inside and outside the court, and everyone in the world was shocked.

The old man rode a horse and followed behind Zheng Xia to accompany him: "Even if Li Qing hangs the beams of the house, Shamen Island is still a ghost gate, and he goes a lot, but few come back." ”

"Virtue and politics are not cultivated...... Zheng Xia burst out four words from between his teeth, which made the old man feel frightened and dare not say any more.

Zheng Xia's official body is still there, and he still has horses to ride and cars to sit on. After he went north from the capital, he got on a stagecoach, and the Hun family, who accompanied him, took a car and went all the way north.

The group went out of Beijing to the north, stayed in Fengqiu County for one night, and got up early the next morning to travel. It was May, the sun was hot, and by noon, there were no pedestrians in sight.

"Zheng Guanren, it's already Baima County, let's take a break when we get to the shop in front."

Zheng Xia ignored it, looking at the roadside and the sky on horseback, from time to time he could see a small group of locusts flying around, snorting coldly, "Locusts are all over the field, and now they are still clamoring for whether to repair the river embankment......

'Repair the embankment ......'

The old man looked at Zheng Xia and watched the expression on his face change. From this tone, presumably this Zheng official even if he was in Taiwan prison, he still heard about this discussion that shocked the court, and it was clear that it was set off by Han Yukun, who put him in Taiwan prison.

The husband has been in the yamen of Kaifeng Mansion for decades, and he has seen too much intrigue in the officialdom. No matter what Zheng Xia said, he was defeated, and the resentment in his stomach didn't need to be thought about.

But what I saw in front of me was indeed as Zheng Guanren said, as the gatekeeper said, at a glance, the ground was full of locusts, and there were even roads in a dense area. There were also quite a few locusts that flew up and went on a rampage through the air, even hitting the centaurs. However, in the fields beside the road, flocks of chickens and ducks ran happily, but the most of them were people. Men, women, and children, each holding a large broom, struck hard in the fields.

Watching the people of Baima County exterminate locusts in the field, Zheng Xia and his party walked forward for a while. Finally, a small corner flag with the word "tea" painted on it appeared in front of it, and it was raised high on the side of the road, which was more conspicuous than the flag hung by the military intelligence shop on the side. And where the corner flag falls, is a tea shed. A few pillars propped up the shed, covered with wheat straw, and a shady place below, which made people who had walked in the sun for half a day unbearable.

"Let's take a break...... Zheng Xia said to the few dukes escorting him.

Under the tea shed on the roadside, tea is sold, and cold soup is also sold to relieve the heat. An old man sat with a fan, with a stack of bowls in front of him, and a large copper pot was placed in the jar. When Zheng Xia came over, there was only one foot merchant inside.

Zheng Xia sat down and sold a few bowls of tea and soup, one bowl for himself, one bowl for the Hun family in the carriage, and the rest for the public who escorted him.

After taking a sip of the heat-relieving soup, the taste was much worse than in Tokyo, but Zheng Xia didn't care. I heard the merchant speaking with a Hebei accent, and followed the old man who sold tea to talk: "It's not the right time for this locust to come, and the wheat that has been planted so hard is all over at once." ”

"It's okay, it's okay. Xiao Han Zhi County took money to buy locusts. It's a pity that the seedlings were eaten, but people who exchanged locusts for rice and noodles to eat it were fine. Not to mention, it's really a lot of pounces now, and the four gates of the county are burning. The old man selling tea pointed in the direction of Baima County in the north, and several pillars of smoke scattered into the sky vaguely, "The smoke is rushing to the sky." ”

And not far from the tea shed, a few officials set up a stall for changing rice. Three catties of locusts are exchanged for one catty of rice or five cents. Locusts are extremely light, there can be nearly 100 locusts in a catty, and they can fly and jump, so it is really not easy to catch. But there are so many locusts in the field that a broom can throw down five or six.

Locusts are easy to catch, so that there are a lot of people who exchange rice, so that the rice exchange point sent by the government has a dragon of people, mostly old people or children, carrying bags to exchange rice. A squire dressed in silk stood next to him, holding the line down. A bookseller below sits on a small stool and registers on a booklet.

But there are also those who feel that they shouldn't waste time to change, and the merchant drank tea soup and looked at the line under the scorching sun: "This queue looks at a row that is going to be an hour smaller, aren't you tired of standing in line?" A pound of locusts can be left after being dried, and they can be ground into powder and eaten together, which is also meaty, and you can also look at some oil and water. ”

"Locusts, chickens, and ducks eat happily, and pigs can be fed. How do people eat? Sitting under the tea shed, the old man who sold tea shook his head and drove away flies and insects with a palmetto fan.

"Why can't you eat it?" The smile on the merchant's face seemed to sigh, "The bark of the trees in Hebei has been eaten by locusts, and now people have changed to eating locusts." ”

The old man who sold tea sighed for this world, and said: "Locusts and drought have always been connected, and it takes more rain to get better." It was only before the official's birthday that it rained, and after two days, it rained for a star and a half, and at the end of the month, it rained a little bigger. How to say that this rain is still less, and it does not quench your thirst at all! ”

"There were three rains in Gyeonggi, but there was one rain in poor Hebei. And when it reached the ground, there was no shadow, and there was no trace of rain at all. For seven or eight months of drought, there was a lot of trouble in the court. The Hebei merchant had a somewhat cynical tone, "I heard that your magistrate here is the son-in-law of Wang Xianggong, right?" ”

"It's Xiao Han Zhixian, right? has been promoted to the government boundary point, and now the county affairs are managed by Hou County. ”

"So fast?" The merchant was surprised, "What a worthy son-in-law of the prime minister!" ”

"Xiao Han Zhixian is different from his father-in-law! Don't look at the county has only been done for a few months. Among the counties that the old man has seen for decades, he is the first. The old man who sold tea distinguished Han Gang and gave a thumbs up, "Zhu Zhu Si has been rampant in the county government for 30 years, and he also has a share of the rice price that rose to 135 wen a bucket last winter. What happened later, I was forced to donate 20,000 stone to buy my life! Which public in the county government still dares to reach out and ask for money? ”

"And that thirty-year-old case!" The old man who sold tea waved his left hand with a fan of the palmetto kui, "The two families have been fighting for a piece of sacrificial land for a full thirty years." No matter how many magistrates can't do it, the lawsuits have been brought to the state, and the magistrate only knows that Lu Dao will send the case back. But as soon as Xiao Han Zhixian arrived, in front of the people of the county, the case was solved in a blink of an eye! ”

"That's really a capable officer!" Hebei merchants admired.

"Who's to say it isn't?" The old man who sold tea suddenly sighed again, "It's just that it's done too well, and I've been promoted in just half a year." It would be great if I could work in the county for three years and five years! ”

"Good officials always rise fast!" Hebei merchants said with a smile, "Didn't Han Xianggong of Xiangzhou become a Xianggong in his thirties!" ”

"Most of Xiao Han Zhixian can also become prime ministers in their early thirties, and when the time comes, the people of the world will be blessed." The old man who sold tea sighed again: "It's just such a good official, and there are traitors who scold!" ”

The public who escorted Zheng Xia behind him was regarded as Zheng Xia's entourage. Seeing Zheng Xia sitting on the side, silent, the old man selling tea spoke: "This official came from Beijing, and he must have heard about this incident at first glance." ”

Zheng Xia was noncommittal, bowing his head and drinking tea.