Zhongli County is short of food!

The news spread all over the streets and alleys in a short time, and even Zhang Hongcheng, the county magistrate who was only interested in being promoted and making a fortune, was alarmed, and hurriedly held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

At the back of the county government, Zhang Hongcheng glanced at several colleagues under the seat with a heavy face.

"Tell me what we need to do about it, if that's true." Zhang Hongcheng is forced to be calm, he is about to be promoted, if there is negative news at this juncture, his career will be considered to be at the end.

The county Cheng Zou Ji, the chief bookkeeper Gu Yu, the county lieutenant Zhong Lizhen, and the teacher Chen looked at each other.

The Sect Advisor said that it was not his job, and what did he have to do with the sky falling.

County Cheng Zou Ji saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him, as a county magistrate, if there was really an uncontrollable mess this time, although he was the second responsible person, he would have to bear the main responsibility, which was also the helplessness of the person sitting in the second position.

Zou Ji's face was bitter, and he said: "This matter is very important, we will be the ones who will play and ask the court to allocate grain, and now Lord Zhong only needs to maintain order, just wait for the disaster relief grain to arrive, and all the problems will naturally be solved." ”

There was a food shortage in a year when there was no disaster and no difficulty, and it was not even easy to find a name for asking the imperial court to allocate grain for disaster relief.

The chief bookkeeper Gu Yu echoed: "What Lord Zhou said is very true, the lower officials think that we should take a two-pronged approach, the county will definitely not lack food for no reason, according to the opinions of the lower officials, this time it is definitely caused by the illegal profiteers uniting to hoard Juqi, and the lower officials suggest that Lord Zhang order the merchants in the county to open and level the warehouse, so as to benefit the people." ”

The county Cheng, the two of them sang and harmonized, and the solutions they said were just decent experiences, and normal people who had read a few history books could say a basket.

Zhong Lizhen glanced at Zou Ji, the county magistrate, the people have no food to cook, there will be chaos, as a county lieutenant, he is already responsible for maintaining public order and stability, if there is chaos, the manpower of the county government is simply unable to maintain order, Zou Ji's move is just to put the main responsibility on himself, so that he can exonerate himself in the future. It's really sinister to be so attentive.

The opponents have shown their swords to themselves, Zhong Lizhen can't be unresponsive, according to his fiery personality from the military, he immediately has to return the color, "Zhong Mou has absolute certainty to ensure that there will be no chaos for half a month, I want to ask Lord Zhou for advice, how sure are you that you can persuade Shangfeng to allocate relief food?" Can the grain be delivered within half a month? Zhong Lizhen pointed the finger at the main book Gu Yu again, and then said: "This county levied a tax on the people after the year, and a few days ago, the three major grain merchants of Qian, Sun and Tian sold a large amount of grain to other places at the same time, which aggravated the food crisis in this county. When you learn that the three major grain merchants have not stopped the export of grain in time, you cannot escape the blame for this incident. ”

Zhang Hongcheng stared in a blink of an eye, and saw that the first thing that his colleagues thought of was how to ensure that they had a black veil on their heads, and the people's livelihood and people's feelings became secondary. However, this is exactly what he wants, and once the main responsibility has been clarified, the fire will not burn him.

Zhang Hongcheng raised his hand to signal Zhong Lizhen not to be in a hurry to be held accountable, and then said: "County Lieutenant Zhong is in charge of maintaining public security and stability in the county, and you know what is happening in our county, I don't know if you know about this matter." ”

"Congratulations, sir." Zhong Lizhen's words surprised Zhang Hongcheng.

Woe has appeared, where does the joy come from? Zhang Hongcheng was surprised: "How happy? ”

Zhong Lizhen arched his hand at Zhang Hongcheng and said: "This county is well educated by Lord Zhang, and the two major grain banks of Yutai and Yang have transferred enough grain from other counties and promised to keep the existing grain prices unchanged, and will never take the opportunity to make the people rich. ”

Zhong Lizhen knows that if there is no accident, Zhang Hongcheng will inevitably rise to prominence, and when he leaves office, he can add another dazzling political achievement, and his name will have the opportunity to appear in the court, which is undoubtedly a big help for his career. The reason why Zhong Lizhen spared no effort to crack down on competitors was that in addition to the certainty of victory, he saw that Zhang Hongcheng, who had been promoted to a high level of merit, had the absolute right to recommend the vacant post of county commander. At this time, he tried his best to cooperate with Zhang Hongcheng, Zhong Lizhen believed that he would repay the peach, and with the strong recommendation of the meritorious minister, he was promoted to the county of Qipinzhi.

"There is such a righteous businessman! It should be praised. As Zhong Lizhen said, the word 'education' is absolutely inseparable from his own work, since it is a happy event, why not take the opportunity to get involved.

Zhang Hongcheng glanced at the two county magistrates Zou Ji and Gu Yu, who had stiff faces, turned to Zhong Lizhen, frowned slightly, and said suspiciously: "The official of the Yang Grain Bank knows that it is a young girl shopkeeper who is in charge of the daily operation, as for the Yutai Grain Store...... Who is the treasurer? ”

"As far as I know, the person in charge of Yutai Grain Bank is a young man named Shen Ze." Zhong Lizhen saw that Zhang Hongcheng didn't seem to have heard of this little-known little person, and then said: "This young man named Shen Ze seems to be obedient to another young man, this person Master Zhang should be no stranger, his name is Zhu Chengjun." ”

"It's him." Zhang Hongcheng is very familiar with Zhu Chengjun, and he is also very curious about what measures he will take to deal with this food crisis, Zhang Hongcheng asked Zhong Lizhen: "What measures does he take to deal with this matter?" ”

Zhong Lizhen explained in detail to Zhang Hongcheng Zhu Chengjun's 'real-name quantitative purchase limit' initiative, everyone present heard it for the first time, and felt very novel, and Zhong Lizhen also took a lot of lips to explain those six words clearly.

After listening to Zhong Lizhen's explanation, Zhang Hongcheng thought that this move was very clever, someone took the initiative to jump out to deal with troublesome things for him, and even took the initiative to give him a brilliant political achievement, Zhang Hongcheng was very happy in his heart. Others are so trying to help, they can't say nothing, and instead instructed the county lieutenant Zhong Lizhen, saying: "It is still quite difficult to implement this measure with the strength of the two families, in my opinion, Lord Zhong will send people to help them maintain order, and the county government can also send some scribes for their reprimand, what do you think?" ”

Zhang Hongcheng glanced at the people present, and forgave them that they could not find a reason to object.

"Reproach officer?" Sect Advisor Chen Yan looked stunned, this should be unprecedented.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Hongcheng said with a smile.

"Lord Zhang has set a precedent for thousands of years, and he is so bold that he will bow to the officials." As he spoke, Chen Xianyan bowed deeply.

Zhang Hongcheng happily accepted Chen Xianyan's worship, and then said: "This matter has been resolved, Zhu Chengjun has made great contributions, and you can tell me how this official should reward him?" ”

If you want to take money, silk, gold and silver as a reward, the county government treasury is cleaner than their faces, and they can't take it out at all.

"The lower officials think that they should not be vulgar, and it is recommended that the adults themselves give a plaque." Chen Xianyan proposed.

County Cheng Zou Ji followed Chen Xianyan's words, "Lord Chen's proposal is wonderful. The lower officials proposed that the whole county should be praised for their righteous deeds, and that they should be given the greatest glory. ”

"Good! That's it! Zhang Hongcheng saw that it was the first time that the colleagues present had reached an agreement on one thing.

Zhong Lizhen saw that Zhang Hongcheng was in a good mood, turned to look at the master book Gu Yu, and poured a basin of cold water on him, "Praise meritorious people only have a false name and not a reality, the county's finances are so difficult, I don't know if the ancient master book has the ability to turn stones into gold?" ”

Is this saying that he is incompetent? However, when this was the case, Gu Yu's face turned red with anger, and he snorted at Zhong Lizhen: "If Lord Zhong has a little ability to turn stone into gold, please take the position of the chief secretary of the contemptible person with you." ”

"Master Gu is not worried, Zhong is also anxious about this matter." Zhong Lizhen sighed.

The county's financial difficulties are also a headache for those here, and if taxes continue to be levied, there will inevitably be a civil uprising.

Zhang Hongcheng thought that Zhong Lizhen had mentioned to him how to deal with the confiscated Fang family's criminal property, and he was also worried about this matter, there are not a few people who are worried about the Fang family's property, no matter who they give it to, they are obedient to their sisters-in-law.

"The county's finances are indeed worried, the salaries of the county officials have not been paid for nearly two months, and if it continues, the county government will have no one to lose. Zhang Hongcheng turned to look at the county lieutenant Zhong Lizhen and secretly winked.

The raid on the Fang family was done by him with his troops, and how to deal with the Fang family's criminal property was the first to be said by him, Zhong Lizhen took a sip of tea and moistened his throat, and said: "A few days ago, this official assisted Lord Zhang to raid the Fang family, and the accounts obtained have been handed over to the state treasury, and there is still a field house that has not been dealt with. Zhong thinks that there should be a result, especially the field is more sooner rather than later, if the spring ploughing is over, the ownerless land should be abandoned. ”

County Cheng Zou Ji, the chief bookkeeper Gu Yu, and the teacher Chen Xianyan glanced at each other, and said in unison: "Please Lord Zhang call the shots." ”

The three of them discussed it privately and agreed that this hot potato should be handed over to Zhang Hongcheng to deal with. After many years of colleagues, they didn't believe that Zhang Hongcheng didn't even give this face.

Zhang Hongcheng looked at Zhong Lizhen, pondered for a while, and said: "I will mortgage this criminal property, and I heard that Hengtai Pawnshop happens to have this business." ”

"Your Excellency is wise." Zhong Lizhen was the first to echo.

Everyone here knows that Hengtai pawnshop, don't look at it has only been newly opened not long ago, but its limelight has quickly overshadowed a number of old pawnshops, and now if you want to say who has the ability to eat a huge piece of sin, only Hengtai pawnshop can be competent.

"Your Excellency is wise." Zou Ji, Gu Yu, and Chen Xianyan also thought that this was the most appropriate.

Hengtai Pawnshop has no background, and it is not easy to get a piece of land for themselves with the power in their hands.

Zhang Hongcheng was overjoyed when he saw the results, and seeing that the time was not early, he immediately got up and said: "The food crisis in this county has been successfully resolved, and Zhu Chengjun has made great contributions. ”

The next day, the sun was shining in the east, but the fiery morning glow did not disperse for a long time.

On this day, Zhu Chengjun came to the Changxing ticket number as usual.

"Big brother, there are officials standing outside the gate of the Changxing ticket number." Xu Xiao was dumbfounded when he saw the grand occasion of the Changxing ticket number.

The gongs and drums in front of the Changxing ticket number are noisy, so lively, the officials stand guard, and the pomp is extraordinary.

"That's our big boss's carriage!" The guy with the Changxing ticket number was excited.

A group of officials from the county government personally came to the door to send a plaque to congratulate, what a great honor it must be.

Zhu Chengjun got out of the carriage, pretended to be frightened and came to Zhang Hongcheng, and bowed his hand and said: "I don't know if you adults have come to the door, and the small people have missed the welcome, and I hope to forgive your sins." ”

Zhang Hongcheng took Zhu Chengjun's wrist with a smile on his face and came to the plaque with a big red flower.

"Meritorious to the people?" Zhu Chengjun read out the four gilded characters on the plaque, turned to look at Zhang Hongcheng with a puzzled expression, and said in a trembling voice: "My lord has tormented the boy, where does this merit come from?" When did the boy do something that served the people? ”

"Zhu Gongzi does not need to be humble, you have solved the food shortage for the people of this county, such a meritorious achievement, only by a small praise, this official thinks that it is far from enough, he will be the official to invite the court, and then ask for merit for Zhu Gongzi!" Zhang Hongcheng said with emotion.

"Master Zhu's great grace, please accept my wait!"

………………

All the people knelt down and bowed in unison.

Zhu Chengjun was greatly moved when he saw the ordinary people who were grateful.

"This is the voice of the people, Zhu Gongzi should not shirk anymore." Zhang Hongcheng bowed.

Zhu Chengjun immediately returned the salute deeply, turned to the people, bowed deeply, and said: "Thanks to your love, the contemptible people really can't be repaid." I hereby solemnly promise that from today onwards, grain prices will be lowered by another 30% until the summer grain harvest will remain unchanged. I firmly believe that under the wise leadership of Mr. Zhang, we will be able to survive this food shortage, and I sincerely ask you to actively cooperate with Mr. Zhang's work in the future. ”

"Your Excellency is wise!"

"Blue Sky Reincarnation!"

………………

And all the nations bowed down again.

Seeing that Zhu Chengjun attributed the main credit to himself, Zhang Hongcheng's heart suddenly blossomed. has gained such popularity, just ask which county chief has won this honor since the founding of the country.

Zhu Chengjun turned around to accept the congratulations of the officials.

With honor and fame, from today on, he can be regarded as a figure with a face in Zhongli County.