After exhausting myself to death

Shen Minghuan had already gone to Yan State for three months, and Nie Shiyun was delayed for a month on his way back. After returning, he immediately found Nan Huaijin.

So it took them two months to get to know each other.

Nie Shiyun didn't know if such a short time was enough for them to become friends, but even if it wasn't, Nie Shiyun felt that anyone with a conscience would feel pity and sadness if they met this person.

People like Nan Huaijin were forced to kneel in the mire with scars all over their bodies. This was far more than just the absurdity of Emperor Yong. This stated the sins of the entire Yong Kingdom.

Nan Huaijin's clothes were thin in the cold wind, but he seemed not to feel the cold.

He recalled the conversation that the courtiers had just passed by and asked for confirmation: "Shi Yun, the three provinces of Huaixi suffered from large-scale waterlogging?"

Huaixi is half a month away from Yongdu, but news of such a serious disaster will arrive quickly, within ten days at most.

Today, there is a saying about the fate of a country. If the king of the country is unvirtuous, God will send a warning, which is a sign of the ruin of the country. War is usually accompanied by disasters. The more chaotic the world is, the more disasters there will be.

Nan Huaijin knew that there had been many disasters, large and small, in various parts of the Three Kingdoms in recent years, and waterlogging was one of the most common. But he discovered that droughts and floods in previous years mostly occurred in summer. Now that it was autumn, how could there be floods that killed and injured thousands of people?

Nie Shiyun sighed, "That's right. The food was almost harvested, but unfortunately, all of them were drowned in a heavy rain. The people tried their best to save the people, and there were thousands of casualties, but most of them were still washed away by the rain."

"What did your Majesty say?" Nan Huaijin lowered his eyes and thought carefully, feeling that something was not right.

Nie Shiyun became a little angry when he thought of the unnecessary arguments in the court. He said dullly: "The prefects of the three provinces have sent several letters in succession. Your Majesty promised to exempt the three provinces of Huaixi from taxes this year."

Nan Huaijin frowned, "No relief food? No resettlement fees? Isn't the funeral hall responsible for the victims?"

"Huaixi is rich. The grain produced in this land can fill half of the imperial granary. His Majesty originally did not even intend to exempt taxes." Nie Shiyun clenched his fist and cursed rebelliously: "Foolish king, he wants to be hungry." Kill all the people.”

"Be careful!"

Nan Huaijin finally realized what was wrong, "Three provinces in Huaixi were affected, but Huainan was not affected at all?"

The Huaihe River runs through the southwest and can flood three provinces. Huainan, which is located in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, should not see any changes.

Nie Shiyun didn't know why Nan Huaijin suddenly mentioned Huainan again. He scratched his head, frowned and thought hard, and said with certainty: "No, I didn't mention it during the court meeting."

Even if he couldn't help but doze off, he was still listening.

Nan Huaijin's eyes were solemn, "Shi Yun, I need to ask you for something dangerous... Forget it."

He said and shook his head: "It's too dangerous. I'll think of other ways."

"Danger?" Nie Shiyun's eyes lit up. "I'm not afraid of danger. Tell me what it is. I can definitely do it."

It is best to be so dangerous that you have to fight with many people from other countries on horseback and with swords.

"Don't put yourself in danger." Nan Huaijin taught him, "A gentleman does not stand in danger. If something happens to you, what will Lieutenant Nie do? By then it will be too late to regret."

Nie Shiyun was impassioned: "I'm not a gentleman... No, don't be angry. What I mean is..."

Nie Shiyun was thinking hard, and Nie Shiyun suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "A gentleman must do something that he shouldn't do!"

What a passionate oath, he said it like it was flattering.

Nie Shiyun smiled sweetly at Nan Huaijin, "You have already mentioned this, how can I not do it because of the danger? If my trip can help the suffering people in Huaixi, it will be worth it. "

Nan Huaijin's eyes struggled and hesitated, but he was a very decisive person and did not hesitate for too long.

He was never given much time to think, and he was never given a chance to make the right choice.

All dilemmas, all mistakes.

It's all regret.

He painted in the void with his fingers, "This is the territory of the Yong Kingdom. The Huaihe River runs through the three provinces of Huaixi, from northwest to southeast, and enters the sea through Huainan. The water that can submerge all the food cannot disappear in a vacuum. Last year, three dykes in Huainan were built. The imperial court has not allocated funds for repairs, so why is there no movement at all?”

Nan Huaijin sighed feebly, "To say the least, even if the prefect of Huainan repaired the breach by himself without the help of the court. The water level has risen, so there should be a break anyway - it is also possible that he wrote it, but the matter was not serious, so he did not You don’t know if you mention it during the court meeting.”

But this possibility is too low.

Nie Shiyun covered his head, "You mean, the magistrates of the three provinces of Huaixi lied?"

He was frightened for a moment by this act of bullying, but soon became happy again, "Isn't this good? At least it means that the people are fine and won't starve to death."

Nan Huaijin sighed again: "It's not that simple. If there is no disaster, where are the thousands of people who died? The food is fine, and the court has waived taxes, so where will the extra food be sent? Such a huge lie and deception , is it really the little prefect who has the guts to do this?”

"That's why I said that this is a very dangerous thing." His voice was low and shallow. I don't know if he wanted to persuade Nie Shiyun to give up, or if he wanted the other party to have stronger confidence.

Nie Shiyun was not as dignified as him. Even though he knew that there was a huge conspiracy hidden behind it, he was still immersed in the joy of Huaixi being free from disasters and casualties.

He smiled, stretched out his hand, and wanted to pat Nan Huaijin on the shoulder like he would do to his comrades in the army. But he was afraid that the man would also be injured, so he had to slowly withdraw his hand, even with his smile.

He patted his chest instead: "Huaijin, I am also from the Yong Kingdom."

——I, like you, will never look back on anything that can make Yong Country better.

Nan Huaijin smiled reluctantly.

They had been staying for a long time, and Nie Shiyun would be in trouble if he didn't leave.

Now that the decision has been made, Nan Huaijin will not delay further, "Tomorrow morning, if you say so... His Majesty will agree to make you an imperial envoy. You can take a detour and go to Huaixi in person. Whether there is any waterlogging, you will know at a glance."

"The people behind the scenes will definitely stop you at all costs, Shiyun, it's very dangerous."

Nan Huaijin didn't stop it anymore, in fact, he didn't stop it very firmly in the first place.

He whispered: "Sorry."

Nie Shiyun smiled helplessly: "Why are you apologizing? The Yong Kingdom is not just your responsibility, and you didn't deliberately lie to me and ask me to die. Don't worry, I know it well. In fact, I am also very good at escaping."

*

Hongcheng was robbed seven times by bandits within ten days.

The soldiers and horses of the imperial court are stationed at the border. Facing the Jin State army that is ready to move, they are also eyeing it and planning to continue to expand outwards, so they will not return aid because of this trivial matter.

The prefect's troops cost a lot. Seeing that the bandits were only looting but not occupying the city, the prefect felt that it would not affect him and was unwilling to send troops. He was also afraid of being blamed by the court, so he concealed it and refused to report it.

The local little nobles could not bear the disturbance, so they packed up their belongings and went to other towns.

As for the farm that cannot be taken away from the city, if it is occupied by the gangsters, it will be occupied. Although it is very distressing, this kind of thing is normal in troubled times.

They just need to be attached to the royal family as a small noble, and they don't have the confidence to make a show of force.

The city lord died in the hands of bandits during his escape. As a city lord, he was guilty of abandoning the city and fleeing. According to the "Yan Code", he should be punished for his crime, and the prefect was too lazy to avenge him.

So Shen Minghuan bought this city in Yan State.

That's a bit inappropriate to say.

How can being a parent official be called buying and selling a city? That is called working hard and without complaint for the country of Yan. Hongcheng is the Hongcheng of Yan State, and he is just an ordinary unknown person responsible for its governance.

Today's generally implemented selection system still promotes filial piety and integrity, and the richest people can often become the most filial and honest talents.

Shen Minghuan's Chamber of Commerce settled in Hongcheng after all the nobles were gone, quickly opened their shops, and then respectfully sent some specialties and a letter to the prefect.

The prefect touched gold and was moved to tears by their caring character of the country and the people. He immediately filled all the official positions in Hongcheng with their names.

Hongcheng is in ruins and waiting for redevelopment.

Although the nobles left, they did not want the things in their houses to be cheap for the untouchables. They took away everything they could and burned what they could not take away.

Only refugees and slaves were left in the city, and the granary was so clean that not a grain of rice could be found.

Fortunately, the nobles left in a hurry, and the food in the fields had not had time to be harvested, so the city was barely able to avoid starvation.

Shen Minghuan remotely commanded the city lord to re-count the number of people in the city, without distinguishing between civilians and slaves, and reorganized household registration for everyone.

Using work instead of relief, because there were enough manpower and Shen Minghua was willing to feed them, the reconstruction of Hongcheng progressed very quickly. It didn't take long for the food to be harvested, and the buildings in the city were almost repaired.

The prefect was originally coveting this batch of grain, and was thinking of some excuse to collect half of it, but Shen Minghuan backhandedly sent a large amount to the bandits, euphemistically calling it "protection money."

The prefect felt guilty. Anyway, he didn't ask for protection money, so he had to turn a blind eye.

Some nobles saw that Hongcheng was stable and wanted to come back and take back their own fields. The bandits who collected the "protection fees" were very conscientious in their duties. If they didn't escape fast enough, they would lose their lives, let alone enter the city.

Since the nobles were not coming back, the land could not remain empty. Shen Minghuan could not do such a wasteful thing, so he divided the land among each adult according to the number of heads. Since farming was impossible in winter, he also asked people to organize them to open up wasteland outside the city.

In other words, Shen Minghuan was rich and could transport food from other places, otherwise he wouldn't be able to afford such pretentiousness.

The prefect was afraid that the other party would come to him and ask for the money, so he not only refused to comment on it, but just kept silent and pretended to be dead every day.

Hongcheng and Yandu were too far away, and it took too long to go back and forth. Shen Minghuan couldn't keep an eye on them.

Xie Zhifei wanted to ask for help, but Shen Minghuan refused. He sent the two children who had been rescued with Xie Zhifei and asked them to assist the city lord.

Then he sent the master over and asked him to continue teaching the children.

The two children are very smart. Although they have only studied for three months, they already know a lot of words, can do simple calculations, and are good enough to deal with common affairs.

Shen Minghuan didn't expect them to do anything big. After all, he and Xie Zhifei were sure of the general direction. The two children had lived in the Shen Mansion for three months, and both he and Xie Zhifei trusted their character.

After all, there are still too few people available. The two children are here half to supervise, half to study, and half to hone their skills.

If they can grow up, Shen Minghuan is prepared to leave them to Nan Huaijin.

Nan Huaijin wants to dominate the government and the opposition in the future, so what can he do if he has no confidants?

Since then, Hongcheng has changed.

If Emperor Yan knew about this, he might be a little wary.

It's a pity that he doesn't know.