Rise From the Humble

After Tan Lun accompanied Xu Hai and others from the black market, he looked a little disappointed. He had worked hard for Taizhou Prefecture these days, and it could be said that he worked hard and long, but after visiting today, he did not expect that Taizhou Prefecture The situation is still so serious. The operation is as fierce as a tiger, and the result is zero and five, how can you not let people down?

"It's hard for a good woman to make a meal without rice. Due to the situation, it is beyond human power. Magistrate Tan has done a very good job." After Wang Meng noticed Tan Lun's loss, he patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Tan has failed the emperor and feels deeply ashamed." Tan Lun still couldn't bear the loss.

"Prefect Tan is so dedicated to the people, and the situation is like this. I don't know how corrupt Jingnan is!"

Xu Hai couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Zhu Ping'an is like a pot of ears to the people of Taiping, and the people of Jingnan are all cooking. There is no room for delay here, and we can't delay for a moment. We quickly go to Taiping County, call the magistrate of Taiping, and go straight to Jingnan to prepare for Jingnan. Let the people of Jingnan get rid of this scourge."

Zhang Wenbo took the opportunity to speak, urging everyone to set off and rush to Jingnan to bring the corrupt official Zhu Pingan to justice.

"Of course."

Peng Cheng and others nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Ping'an was the most important task of their trip, so Xu Hai and others, accompanied by Tan Lun, went straight to Taiping County.

As soon as Xu Hai and others entered the territory of Taiping County, they found that the situation in Taiping County was much more severe than that in Taizhou City.

Hungry people were as numerous as cattle and sheep, helping the old and the young in mourning all over the field. Xu Hai and others saw more than a dozen corpses of victims who had died of starvation. There was no green color in the vast wilderness. The grass and trees were withered and the ground was bare for hundreds of miles. Because the hungry people would Leaves, bark, grass roots, anything that could be put into the mouth were eaten clean.

"Is this a flood or a drought?" Looking at this tragic scene, Xu Hai and others couldn't help but sigh.

The magistrate of Taiping County learned that Taizhou Magistrate Tan Lun was accompanied by a messenger from the capital. While organizing county officials and wealthy old gentry members to greet him, he also sent people to drive away the refugees at the north gate of the county to maintain his image.

However, while Taiping Magistrate was still organizing at the city gate, Xu Hai, Tan Lun and others arrived. I happened to see the magistrate of Taiping ordering the officers to push and drive away the refugees and whitewash the appearance.

Seeing this scene, Tan Lun, the magistrate of Taizhou, couldn't help but hold his forehead

"I didn't know that the superior official and the government official came to this county, and the inferior official failed to welcome him from a distance. It is really a crime worthy of death."

The magistrate of Taiping recognized Tan Lun, the magistrate of Taizhou, who was in civilian clothes, and knew that the person accompanying him was an official from the capital. He hurriedly stepped forward to salute and say hello, his face extremely embarrassed, as if his young daughter-in-law had been caught in bed.

"Okay, don't torment the people and make nonsense!" Xu Hai glanced at him and ordered with an unhappy look on his face.

It is said that preconceptions prevail, but just because of this scene at the gate of the city, Xu Hai's good impression of Taiping Magistrate disappeared and his disgust increased. Local officials who drive away refugees and disaster victims and whitewash peace are the most despised by officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"Yes Yes."

The magistrate of Taiping County was in a panic and hurriedly ordered the officers to stop.

A welcome scene that was whitewashed as peaceful turned into a complete farce, which was completely eye-catching.

Taizhou Magistrate Tan Lun was originally dissatisfied with Taiping Magistrate, and now he frowned even more when he saw Taiping Magistrate's poor performance. The magistrate of Taiping was an official under him. When the magistrate of Taiping was caught committing fraud, his face was tarnished.

"I'm here, and you must be aware of it. Why don't you quickly change into casual clothes and go to Jingnan with us to verify that Jingnan Magistrate Zhu Ping'an colluded with grain merchants, drove up grain prices, and accepted huge bribes."

Xu Hai said to Taiping Magistrate with a long face after he stopped the farce at the city gate.

Sure enough, I came here for Zhu Ping'an. It seems that my memorial has been heard by Da Sheng. Then my fortune is turning. The embarrassed Taiping magistrate suddenly cheered up and looked excited. He borrowed the clothes of a squire on the spot. , he took off his official uniform and put it on in a corner behind the city gate.

Before going to Jingnan, in order to show off and restore the image of the city gate, the magistrate of Taiping specifically asked Xu Hai and others to stop by and take a look at their grain store in Taiping County, showing that he had stabilized the food price in Taiping County.

Firstly, they were invited by the magistrate of Taiping, and secondly, they came along the way, so Xu Hai and others fulfilled the wish of the magistrate of Taiping.

Tan Lun, the prefect of Taizhou, looked on with cold eyes and followed Xu Hai and others to inspect the situation in Taiping County.

However, Taiping County is the same as Taizhou Prefecture, or even worse. Although Taiping County has also stabilized the price of grain. The price of grain is 500 wen per stone, but there is a price but no market. I visited a few grain shops on the way. Just like Taizhou Prefecture, they all have empty grain prices and no grain to sell. There is a lot of grain. All the shops were closed, and only one was still selling grain, and it was selling in limited quantities.

You've seen the grain market, you should also check out the black market. Zhang Guyi, a householder in Dongchang, asked people to find a nearby black market.

As a result, the price of food on the black market in Taiping County is even more expensive than that on the black market in Taizhou Fucheng. The price is already 3,800 yuan per stone. Moreover, the scale of the black market is small and the supply of food is pitiful. The supply of food exceeds demand. People who buy food in the black market People were fighting to buy food, and there were several fights and fights, and the whole thing was broken into pieces.

After coming out of the black market, the magistrate of Taiping had cold sweat on his forehead, and the embarrassment and embarrassment on his face was even worse than that at the city gate. He hurriedly expressed his opinion to Xu Hai and others: "Wait for a letter from the next official, and order the officers to clear up the black market here!"

"Stupid!" Tan Lun, the magistrate of Taizhou, couldn't help scolding the magistrate of Taiping County when he heard this. "The black market has no fixed place. It is like the resurrection of a leek. How can it be wiped out in a short time?! Now the important task of the superior officers is to verify the Zhu Jingnan How can I have time to wait here for a handwritten letter from you on the corruption case involving Ping An’s collusion with grain dealers?!”

"Yes, the lower official lost his sense of proportion and almost missed the important matter of the superior official and the palace official." The magistrate of Taiping hurriedly bowed and admitted his mistake.

"Let's go to Jingnan."

Xu Hai said expressionlessly.

So the group of people went straight to Jingnan from the south gate of Taiping County. Not far from the south gate of Taiping County, they saw a large open space. In the open space, there were dark ruins of shabby shanties that seemed to have been burned. However, it was supposed to be a gathering place for victims of the disaster, but it was burned down and no one lived there anymore. It was very depressed. Groups of carrion-eating crows flew and landed in the dilapidated shanties, as if there was food for them inside.

"This was originally a resettlement area for disaster victims set up by Xianguan, but more than ten days ago, the county government ran out of food relief. There was a plague here a few days ago, and people dispersed. Xianguan was worried about the spread of the plague, so he burned this place Place."

Seeing the probing eyes of Xu Hai and others, including people from Dongchang, the Taiping magistrate had no choice but to explain with an embarrassment.

After passing this resettlement area for the victims, we headed south, straight towards Jingnan.

The whole road was full of mourning and miserable scenes. When we were about to reach Jingnan, the situation was a little better. Although the villages on both sides of the road were in ruins, they were all empty. There was no one, and there were only a few people inhabited for ten miles. , but with greenery, the trees and grass can be preserved.

Going further south, I saw many groups of disaster victims on the road, carrying the elderly and supporting the young, and seemed to be fleeing in the direction of Jingnan.

Wrong direction? ! How to escape to Jingnan, where there is a corrupt official named Zhu who cannibalizes people without blinking an eye! It’s all hell on earth now!

"Old men, where are you fleeing to?" Xu Hai and others couldn't help but stop a group of victims and asked.

"Of course we will go to Jingnan, and we will go to Jingnan, where everyone will have food to eat." One of the victims replied, with a look of determination and yearning on his face.

What? !

In Jingnan, everyone has food to eat? !

Are you all starving? !

Xu Hai and others were stunned, with expressions of disbelief on their faces. They felt that these victims were so pitiful that they were going to escape to hell!