Chapter 7: Governing the River (10)

As the saying goes, the spring breeze is proud.

While walking and watching, after a while, Chai Rong and others had already entered Jiahe County.

Compared with the dirty and crowded situation a few days ago, the current county environment can be described as earth-shaking. Most of the displaced people sitting on the streets, under the eaves, and under the roots of the trees, have disappeared. A small number of people whose bodies were so weak that they could no longer move on their own were also carried to a sheltered place by Cangzhou soldiers with red cloths wrapped around their arms, and poured rice soup into porcelain bowls in order to get back a glimmer of life. There are also a few sporadic scoundrels who are able-bodied and have decent physical strength, but who refuse to support themselves, and only think of stealing chickens and dogs, are driven around like rabbits by soldiers on horseback.

Far from giving the slightest sympathy to these idle people, the local people took the initiative to stand up and point out the direction of the escape of the "prey" for the cavalry patrolling the streets. While pointing, he kept chanting the Buddha. It seems that those Cangzhou cavalry riding tall horses and wearing finely woven chain mail are all the reincarnations of Arhats who hunt ghosts.

Whenever he saw a scoundrel caught by the cavalry, he wrapped an arm around a rope and tied it to the back of his horse. The local people did not hesitate to applaud and cheer on the sidelines. Almost everyone has a smile on their face. The scoundrels, on the other hand, shook their heads with a wry smile in resignation. Anyway, he was captured by the Cangzhou army, and he only repaired the river embankment with other displaced people, and he could manage two full meals a day. Compared to eating a full meal, it doesn't seem to be too bad to poke people in the backbone every day.

In a blink of an eye, everyone came to the official office of Jiahe County. Far away, there was a big guy who was familiar with the figure, shaking his ass to meet him. With both hands clenched into fists, he bowed and bowed, "Your Highness, why are you here in person?" This county town is dirty and messy, and order has not been restored, in case there are some ill-intentioned people ......"

"Come on, Junzi, ordinary assassins may not be able to get close to me!" Chai Rong smiled and waved his hand and interrupted in a low voice, "Besides, the prestige of your Cangzhou Army is not blown, with you here, who would dare to risk death to come to me!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the compliment!" Li Shun and Chai Rong had already been acquainted, and responded loudly unceremoniously. "Are you here to see the fundraising? Please wait a minute, the last general will go in for a while, and let the county commander and Pan Mei come out to pick up ......."

"No need, Lonely, I'll just take a look. Let's go in quietly and see what spell your Hou Ye has cast to pluck the hair from the iron rooster?" The reason why Chai Rong changed into the attire of an ordinary junior officer was that he wanted to pay a private visit. Therefore, without waiting for Li Shun'er to finish speaking, she immediately smiled and waved her hand.

"That's fine. Your Highness, the last general will take you in!" Li Shun did not dare to disobey, and first clenched his fists and took the order. Then he hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Just say, just say that you are mine, the elders of my clan!" You see, that works?"

"It's feasible!" Chai Rong has never liked to put up a stand in front of acquaintances, so he smiled and nodded slightly.

"That, that, okay, Your Highness, please follow the end of the future!" Li Shun knew Chai Rong's temperament, and he liked to do things and didn't like to be verbose. After thinking about it, he turned around and led the way for everyone.

At this moment, in the lobby of Qinghe County, the guests and hosts were busy bargaining and noisy. Therefore, except for Liu Yingcai, the county commander, no one has the heart to care, who are the surnames of the new low-level officers, and what are the differences from others.

And that Liu Yingcai, only three or four days ago, saw Chai Rong in a hurry. At that time, he only cared about picking up the unfavorable responsibility for himself to resettle the displaced people, and he never had the courage to carefully look at the appearance of His Royal Highness the Prince. Therefore, when he saw Li Shun leading a junior officer dressed as a commander and several soldiers inside, he thought that these people had come specially to put pressure on the local squires. He smiled uneasily, then quickly turned his gaze back to the faces of the squires, his buttocks were slightly upturned, and he said in a somewhat begging tone: "Fellow villagers, fathers and elders, it is not the official who forced you to donate food. Zheng, General Pan under the command of Marquis Zheng made it clear that he was buying, buying at a low price. How much food you take out, how much money they pay, Tong Su is not deceived. ”

"Lord Liu, you may not know that my family's warehouse has long been empty, and it has been lent to those relatives who have been affected by the disaster. A fat-headed, big-eared squire immediately stood up and cried out in a loud voice. "If you can find a bag of excess food, the grass people are willing to be thundered by the sky!"

"No, no, no. Sensei said that it was according to the price on weekdays, that is, according to the price of these days, I have no food to sell at home!"

"Isn't it, the landlord's family has no surplus food!"

"Isn't the food stored by our people all accumulated by sweat beads falling on the ground and falling eight petals? Lord Qingtian, you are okay, let us leave a bite to eat for ourselves!"

"Don't hide it from the county order, our family only eats white rice during the New Year's holidays. On other days, it wasn't the wild vegetables and rice bran that were dealing with it. Last year, when the eldest daughter-in-law was pregnant, she ate an extra bowl of dumplings, and the old man almost let his son divorce him!"

"Yes, yes, I have been working hard and thrifty for many years to save my family money. Master Qingtian, you can't just break the home I'm waiting for!"

......

The rest of the squires followed closely, giving different reasons, but the answer was not the same: not to sell! Resolutely not to sell! If there is no food, there will be one life.

"Nonsense!" Tao Liushun, the commander of the Cangzhou Army and Naval Division, who was sitting beside the county commander, was furious. He slapped his hand on the table and asked loudly, "The surname is Zhang, what did you say when you asked you just now if you had the money to buy land? Isn't it that the family has too much money to spend? And you, the owner of Wang Zhuang, today you bought 3,000 acres of wasteland in one go, how can the family not have savings? And you, surnamed Lu, surnamed Bao, surnamed Gao, you, you rich people, don't you bully Lao Tzu with a knife in his hand not fast enough?"

As soon as the words fell, all the squires immediately knelt on the ground and exchanged tears, "The military master spares his life, I really don't have any food in the house." When the government sold the land just now, it said that it would pay the bill with copper coins and silver, and that it could only pay 30%, and the rest should be paid off year by year within five years. If so, if it is said to use food, we will wait, we will definitely not be able to afford it, we will not be able to afford it!"

"I can't afford it, I can't afford it, Master Jun, even if you kill me, you can't get food!"

"Wronged, military master, we are wronged!"

"Lord Prefectural Order, Lord Prefectural Order, you must hurry up and say something for us. Otherwise, it is a small matter for me to wait for death, in case I ruin the reputation of His Royal Highness the Prince, but I will not be redeemed for a hundred deaths!"

One voice, crying heartbreakingly. It's as if I've suffered a lot of grievances, and I can't wait to die immediately to the whole world.

Liu Yingcai, the county magistrate, was born as a scholar and has always attached importance to reputation. Hearing the squires crying pitifully, he immediately panicked. took out a square scarf from his sleeve, wiped the sweat on his forehead vigorously, and said to Tao Liushun in a somewhat pleading tone: "General, you should know that the local people are simple. They say that there is no surplus food at home, and I am afraid that eight points are true. Otherwise, look, can you let the Cangzhou army help support it for a few more days, hasn't the imperial court already sent someone to Jingchu to buy rice and grain......"

"When the rice and grain of the imperial court arrives, the displaced people outside will already starve to death!" was so angry that the confused county magistrate was so angry that his eyes were on fire, Tao Liushun slapped the table again, and broke off his drink, "Come on, give me ......"

"Little Liuzi, don't be impulsive!" Pan Mei, who was sitting in the center of the lobby, quickly stood up and interrupted in a low voice, "There's no need! Brother Zheng has an order, don't use force!"

After saying that, he quickly turned his gaze to the squires, and said with a smile, "Since you have no surplus food at home, then the matter of buying grain will be stopped." You can go, I hope you don't regret it in the future!"

"What, can I go?" The squires originally wanted to continue to play tricks, but when they saw that the other party had let them go so easily, they suddenly couldn't believe their ears.

"Let's go, by the way, before leaving, remember to come over and sign a sign, and confirm all the fields you are going to subscribe to!" Pan Mei nodded lightly, her handsome and delicate face was full of harmless smiles written on her.

He already had red lips and white teeth, and when he smiled, he looked more and more like the good wealth boy next to the Bodhisattva. However, the squires judged from his third-rank military official robes that this person was by no means a person who could be easily fooled. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Although I don't have much surplus food at home, I can still save some of it if I save a province." In this way, Marquis Zheng doesn't need to buy it. We pledge our contributions. ”

"Yes, pledge!" The fat man who had been complaining about the bitterness before had the highest voice. Jumped up and added loudly, "Grass people, grass people pledged ten stone of white rice, it is definitely ten good rice, not mixed with any sand and rice husks!"

"Grass people, grass people pledge corn fifteen, fifteen stones!"

"Grass people, grass people's families are poor, donate, silk corn eight stones!"

"The grass people are willing to share their worries for Marquis Zheng and pledge to donate ten stones of white rice!"

......

In line with the principle of not tearing their faces, all the squires spoke one after another. Reluctantly took out some rice grain, so that the young general in front of him, who looked as handsome as a woman, would come to the door to find trouble for himself later.

Knowing that the squires were calling Hanako, Pan Mei was not angry. first recorded the pledges of everyone with a smile, and then knocked on the account book again with the barrel of the pen, and said slowly, "Okay, all righteous people, the last general is here, first for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and my lord, thank you." ”

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be!"

"It should, it should!"

All the squires gave up their hands in unison, lest the reaction would be too slow, and the other party would make other additional requests.

"Okay, please come and sign and draw, if you can't write, just press a handprint!" Pan Mei smiled at the squires and ordered in a low voice. "Once you've signed it, you're ready to leave. Pan will never stop him!"

"Really?" the squires couldn't believe that they had been let go so easily, and their eyes widened to confirm again.

"What am I lying to you for?" Pan Mei smiled, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

"Then, why is the adult's record so detailed? Could it be that we are still afraid that we will not be able to deny it?" The fat squire was furious by Pan Mei's laughter, and he couldn't help but stiffen his head and ask in a low voice.

"Good question!" Pan Mei put down her pen and gently stroked her palm, "I'll read it again, you can listen." What is written on this is that Zhangjiazhuang Zhuang in Qinghe County advocates thinking far and worries about the villagers, and in response to the imperial edict, he subscribed to 2,000 acres of ownerless wasteland, and donated ten stones of white rice to the victims on the same day, without any sand and rice husks. ”

"Ah!" the words fell, and the whole hall was immediately silent, and all the squires were as white as earth, and the two trembled, and their steps could no longer move the slightest.

That Pan Mei, but fearing that the blow to everyone would not be strong enough, paused, and smiled and arched his hand towards Zhang Siyuan, "Master Zhang, forgive me, my family is to clearly record your merits, and say that in the future, I want to let Li Shu along the coast know which one to thank for his life!"

"Ah!" When Zhang Siyuan heard this, his face changed again, and he hurriedly handed over a few silver beans from his sleeve, quickly stuffed them into Pan Mei's palm, and at the same time, asked in a very low voice: "Dare to ask the champion Lord Hou, what is he going to ......?"

Pan Mei accepted the money lightly, but her voice did not lower at all, "Master Zhang, all righteous people, don't worry. My lord said that he would not care how much land you buy or how much rice and grain you sell this time. It's just that he can't let your good deeds end up uninformed. Therefore, therefore, Hou Ye specially ordered someone to prepare a stone stele, intending to take the stone as the inscription at the ferries of the Yellow River after the treatment. Record the actions of all the good people during the disaster relief period for future generations to admire!"

"This, this, how to make this, how to make it!" the faces of the squires, one by one, were as ashamed as monkey butts, and they could drip blood at any moment.

Le Shi is the inscription, and the Le Shi is the inscription. This is a good deed for the sake of promoting everyone, and it is simply to nail everyone present to the stone forever, so that the people and merchants who come and go will be scolded for thousands of years!

was embarrassed to be ashamed, but saw Pan Mei suddenly turn her face pale, press her hand on the hilt of her sword, and command loudly, "Come on, please sign and draw a pledge!"

"Yes!" two rows of big men rushed into the hall, picked up the account book, and prepared to ask all the squires to come forward and use ink.

The squires were so frightened that they couldn't care about the long-term plan anymore, and they knelt on the ground one after another. While kowtowing, he scrambled to shout: "Slow down, slow down." The grass people remembered, the grass people just remembered that there is another warehouse in my house to store grain, and I plan to donate it all, all of it!"

"Grass people, grass people pledge, pledge three thousand, no, five thousand stones!"

"The grass people, the grass people's family, there are just two thousand stone of surplus grain, I am willing, willing to donate all of them to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Marquis Zheng to help the victims!"

"Grass people pledged 3,000 stone ......"

"Grass Folk ......"

"Everyone, the last general has just written the account book, you wait like this......" Pan Mei looked at this group of sweaty iron roosters, and laughed heartily in her heart. Don't think about it carefully, my generals can kill even the thousands of Khitan troops and horses, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to cure your group of hob meat?!

"General, the county commander ......" The squires knelt up straight and howled loudly, "Okay, okay, two adults can do good, let me wait to donate more, I'll wait to look at those refugees who have no food, in fact, my heart is like a knife every day!"

"Yes, General, Lord Prefectural Commander, when I get home, I will let the clansmen save money and survive the difficulties with the displaced people. ”

"Change it, change it, General Pan, it's okay, just let me wait for it to change this time!"

......

"Okay, the last general will be reluctant to accept your kindness!" The audience cried embarrassedly, Pan Mei pretended to be moved, and pouted in response, "However, remember, it is to buy at a low price, not to let you wait for the grain to be in vain." To tell the truth, this little money, my lord can't look down on it, and His Royal Highness the prince can't look down on it!"

"Yes, thank you general, thank you Houye, thank you prince!" The squires heard that the donated rice and grain could be exchanged for cash at the usual price. Suddenly, as if he had been amnesty, he nodded his head one by one like pounding garlic. I no longer dare to move my mind, continue to hoard Juqi, and cause myself to engrave the name of greed and miserliness on the stone, leaving a stench for 10,000 years.

"Alas!" Chai Rong, who stood in the distance and watched the lively for a long time, shook his head again and again and smiled bitterly. The third brother's trick is treacherous and ruthless enough, and he counts the thoughts of a lot of iron roosters. "Junko, you let Pan Mei continue, don't come out. Alone, I can't wait for you to continue to let go!"

After speaking, he didn't wait for Li Shun to respond. I got up and walked towards the door, and as soon as I got out of the lobby, I couldn't bear it anymore, raised my head, and smiled heartily!