Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

"Sir, is this appropriate?" The person next to him hesitated. It’s true that they didn’t suffer any disaster, but using this as a reason to requisition food seems a bit hard to explain, right?

"Why is it inappropriate? Since the man named Lin came to Zhendong, he has never handed over a grain of grain. Now, in the entire Longzhou, he is the only one who has not been affected by the disaster. What does it mean to requisition some grain from him?" Magistrate Fang said somewhat disapprovingly.

This prefect has been in Longzhou for some years, longer than Zixuan has been in Zhendong. He also had a background in the court, and the emperor did not issue any decree to punish him for this incident, so he was still a little proud.

The people around him no longer said anything, but someone took the order and went to Zhendong.

The weather was fine, so Jinghan naturally became busy. This flood caused many losses to Jinghan's workshops, and the winery has stopped production since the beginning of spring. In the preserves workshop, because there was heavy rain when the apricots were ripe, they were unable to pick them, causing them to all rot.

The floods destroyed the roads, making it impossible to transport cattle from the pasture to the capital, and items such as preserved eggs, which had always been popular, could not be transported either. The only thing that is still normal is the weaving workshop. This season is not the time to go out for shipment, so at least the impact is less. In general, Jinghan's losses this time were really serious, so as soon as the rain stopped, Jinghan rushed to various workshops and Zhuangzi to liquidate the losses.

Zixuan was not idle either. Now that the rain had stopped, a lot of refugees came in from the east. They are all people from nearby states and counties. Their farmland and houses were submerged by floods, and now they have no place to stay. I heard that the east side of the town was not affected by the disaster, so everyone came running here.

"Sir, since yesterday, a lot of refugees have come from the east, and there are even more coming today. Many of these refugees are not honest at all, and have actually entered the fields to harm the crops. Some have stolen The chickens and ducks of our local villagers have been stolen, and people from several villages have already had conflicts with these refugees today. Sir, what do you think we should do about this?" Chief Liu came in to report.

Zixuan thought for a moment, "In this case, you take my letter and go to General Li. Let him lead troops and set up roadblocks on some major traffic roads in the eastern part of Zhendong County. Refugees can come in, but they must be managed centrally. , Aren’t there some people in the county government who are setting up porridge shacks to give out porridge? We can’t let these refugees run around randomly. We have fought against the flood and managed to protect the people’s property. There is no reason to let these refugees cause harm again.”

These refugees suffered a disaster, which really makes people sympathize. But that doesn’t mean that they, the people who haven’t been affected by the disaster, have to provide things unconditionally, right? If this is the case, can people still feel balanced? At this time, the county government must come forward to safeguard the interests of the people. Otherwise, who will be dedicated to fighting disasters in the future? They're just waiting to escape and cause harm to others.

"The imperial court will definitely send people to provide disaster relief in the near future. As long as we persist for a while, when the food funds for the disaster relief from the imperial court arrive, these refugees will return to their hometowns. I'm afraid you will be a little tired in the past few days." Zixuan was a little bit tired. He said apologetically.

"This is okay. We are here for the local people. Those refugees should indeed be managed in a unified manner, otherwise, I don't know what trouble will happen next." Zhao Xiancheng also said.

"We must hold on to the checkpoint. It's not that we are cruel, these refugees are all coming from the disaster area. The weather is not very cold now. After the flood, in those affected areas, the corpses of people and animals rotted, which can easily spread the plague. These victims may be carrying diseases, so be sure to keep an eye on them. Sprinkle lime on all areas where the victims are concentrated, and ask some doctors in the county to prescribe some detoxifying and curing medicines. Cook them together in the porridge. In this way, as long as the refugees drink the porridge, they will take the medicine together, and some people in the province will not take the medicine." Zixuan suddenly remembered that one day Jinghan said that there would be a big epidemic after the disaster. , this needs to be properly prevented.

When Zhao Xiancheng and Chief Liu heard this, they were shocked, "Sir, can it be so serious?"

Zixuan nodded, "Well, I'm afraid it's more than that. After the flood, we must prevent plague and at the same time prevent rats. If rats become overrun, not only the farmland crops will not be saved, but even people may be infected with plague. So. We have to face a lot of difficulties." Zixuan sighed. The successful fight against floods is only the first step. If we don't do it well next, there may be problems.

"Don't worry, sir. Of course we will do our best. I believe that all the people in the county will cooperate with the county government in doing these things." Zhao Xiancheng had no doubt about this. Nowadays, Zixuan's prestige in Zhendong is very high. As long as it is Zixuan's order, the people will cooperate with it.

"Okay, then let's do things quickly. The people in the county have to be dispatched, and each of them mobilizes the local people to control the rat plague first. In addition, these refugees must be controlled. In the county government's warehouse, there are A lot of food was kept for disaster relief because we were afraid that our county would be hit by a disaster, but now it will be used to help the victims. "Human lives are a matter of great importance, and Zixuan will naturally not watch those refugees starve to death.

Several people here were discussing, and suddenly someone reported outside that the prefect had sent someone. Zixuan, Zhao Xiancheng and Chief Liu looked at each other for a while and couldn't help but smile bitterly. They must be looking for trouble.

When people outside came in, Zixuan felt secretly happy. There was no other reason. The one who came this time was the same Huang Tongpan. I don’t know why Mr. Huang had a soft spot for Zhendong.

"I don't know that Mr. Huang is here, so I'm sorry for the delay in greeting you. Please forgive me." Zixuan said while suppressing a smile.

Huang Tongpan still looked aloof and said, "That's all, Mr. Lin is busy with official work, and I am not a petty-minded person."

Zixuan quickly asked Huang Tongpuan to sit down and asked someone to serve tea. After the tea was served, he asked Huang Tongpuan the reason for his visit.

"I came here this time on the order of the prefect to collect grain from Master Lin. Now in the whole Longzhou, Master Lin is the only place that is intact, so I asked Master Lin to help raise some grain. The place in Fucheng It's urgent." Huang Tongpuan's attitude was better this time.

"To be honest with Mr. Huang, there is not much food in Zhendong County. When the dam is being built in the spring, the county government is in charge of food. In addition, there are more than 5,000 sergeants stationed here, and every moonlight belongs to these people. It’s a lot to eat and drink. I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint Mr. Huang, we really don’t have any extra food for the city to use,” Zixuan said with a smile.

When Mr. Huang heard this, he immediately became furious. "What? No food? Zhendong hasn't handed over food for four years. How could the county government have no food? Magistrate Lin, don't take the prefect's order seriously? Be careful the prefect does something to you. The crime of dereliction of duty will not be good at that time.”

Zixuan's expression remained unchanged and he was still smiling, "Master Huang, why should you be angry? I really don't have food here. In the first two years when Xianguan came, the imperial court was exempted from taxes. In the next two years, the emperor also Order, let me first do a good job in the defense of Zhendong County. Your Excellency also knows that this city defense cannot be done by just talking. It can only be done with real money and money. Zhendong is a poor and remote county, and the county government doesn't even have a penny, so it can only get by with these taxes. You can see what Zhendong has become now. The people handed in food and other things in exchange for it, so how can the county government still have food? "

Zhao Xiancheng and Master Liu were nearby and held back their laughter. This Mr. Lin is really interesting. Let me give you a cry and see what you can do. Just think about it, your magistrate did not do his job well and caused disaster to the people under his rule, but you came here to ask for something? It’s okay if this food can really reach the hands of the refugees, but I’m afraid that if the food is transported, the people will be hungry when they should be hungry, and flee when they should be fleeing. If that's the case, it's better to build a few more porridge sheds here to provide relief to the victims.

"Lord Huang doesn't know. In recent days, many refugees have come to Zhendong. You were just telling us about this. Now a large number of refugees have poured into Zhendong, which has affected the lives of local people. Sir I was just worried about how to settle these victims because there is no food in the county. Mr. Huang, please go back and tell the magistrate to get these refugees back as soon as possible. Zhendong is a poor place and it really cannot afford to provide for these victims. Let’s eat and drink.” Zhao Xian Cheng continued to cry.

At this time, Huang Tongpian was so angry that his face turned purple. He pointed at Zixuan and Zhao Xiancheng with trembling hands, "You, you actually ignored the orders of the magistrate. You are so arrogant. I must be truthful." Report it to the magistrate, and let him report it to the court."

"Master Huang, why should you be angry? There is really no food here in Xiaguan. This matter concerns the people of the entire Longzhou Prefecture. If Xiaguan has the ability, how can he sit idly by and ignore it? Please report it back to the magistrate and report it to him as soon as possible. The imperial court is serious about asking for relief. Not to mention that Zhendong has no grain, even if it has a dozen or twenty dan, it is just a drop in the bucket, and it will not help at all. If the imperial court takes action, it will be different. Not to mention one Longzhou, even a few more will be easy." Zixuan didn't show off his face this time, and just spoke with a smile. But this attitude is even more irritating.

Huang Tongpian gasped hard, but he couldn't exert any strength at all. People are not afraid of his threats at all. No matter you bring him up to the magistrate or the court, he will just smile and cry for poverty. What else can you do? Is it possible that the army can be brought to rob it? Wouldn't that be even more unreasonable? It is not difficult to deal with this Lin Zhixian, and we can find a way to arrest him. Even if he has a back-up in the capital, we should not be able to save him if the water from far away does not quench the thirst of the people nearby. But what's the point of this?