vrcanaries Chapter 133 Disaster Relief and Case Investigation!
Chapter 133 Disaster Relief and Case Investigation!
There was a severe drought and locust plague in Hebei Province, and the disaster relief silver and life-saving grain allocated by the imperial court were embezzled in large quantities, causing man-made disasters.
The people of Hebei Road fell into a hellish disaster under the ravages of this natural disaster and man-made disaster.
There were many people selling their children, all the tree bark and grass roots had been eaten up, and people were floating on the ground starving, it was a horrible sight!
The roads were filled with people fleeing famine. They were all skinny and pale, wearing tattered clothes. Their empty and numb eyes were filled with despair and a desire to find a way to survive.
However, the Song Dynasty's road permit system blocked the refugees at every intersection of the prefectures, making it impossible for them to get through. Groups of ragged, pale-faced and skinny refugees, with their families, the elderly and children, crowded under the inhumane high city walls, begging the city's distinguished figures to give them food and allow them to escape to other prefectures.
The county officials who had a little conscience, feeling compassion for the living beings but helpless, took out some of the grain stored in the city, built porridge stalls and distributed porridge to prevent too many victims from starving to death.
Every porridge stall was crowded with groups of disaster victims, holding broken bowls and pots, waiting to drink a bowl of porridge with only a few grains of rice in it, or a bowl of corn paste as thin as soup. They could drink this kind of porridge twice a day, which would keep them from starving to death for the time being.
How could the heartless county officials, who had eaten the relief money and grain against their conscience, be willing to spit out a few mouthfuls?
The city gates were closed, and notices were posted outside the city walls, saying that the county's granary had long been empty, and there was no surplus grain to provide relief to the victims. The laws of the Song Dynasty did not allow people to roam outside the prefecture without a pass, so the victims returned to where they came from and waited for disaster relief from the court at home.
Countless ragged disaster victims cried and begged in despair in front of the notice. The ferocious soldiers and yamen runners, armed with weapons, drove the disaster victims who had fled here away and returned the same way they came!
When the King of Qin arrived at the territory of Hebei Road, he saw this extremely miserable scene.
On his first day as the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, the emperor ordered him to be responsible for investigating the case of corruption in disaster relief silver and grain.
Qin Wang Zhao Defang hated those corrupt officials who ate human flesh and drank human blood without blinking an eye. But he knew that the most important thing at the moment was disaster relief.
With the relief silver and grain that he had worked hard to obtain, the King of Qin ordered the construction of porridge tents to distribute porridge in various places where the victims gathered, and all the 200,000 taels of relief silver were used to buy grain.
Unscrupulous merchants who hoarded grain colluded with corrupt officials and drove up grain prices by more than thirty times. In previous years, grain, which cost at most 20 wen per dou, was now sold for more than 700 wen per dou.
The unscrupulous businessmen, landlords and corrupt officials who made a fortune from the national disaster were enjoying a life full of gluttony, so why would they care about the countless poor people who starved to death?
Among the more than 600,000 disaster victims, 50,000 to 60,000 elderly, weak, women and children had starved to death. The corpses on the roadside were nothing but fleshless bones and skeletons. Such brutal acts as cannibalism were becoming more and more common.
Prince of Qin Zhao Defang knew that by the time the slow-moving officials in the imperial Ministry of Revenue transferred grain from the south of the Yangtze River, most of the 600,000 disaster victims would have starved to death.
The 30,000 dan of grain that he had worked so hard to obtain from the Ministry of Revenue would not last for more than a few days, even if it was only used to provide two meals of porridge a day to the 600,000 disaster victims.
The King of Qin dismounted from his horse and inspected the porridge stalls set up everywhere to provide porridge to the victims.
There were dense queues in front of every porridge stall. The victims, wearing tattered clothes, with yellow skin and thin faces, held broken bowls and pots and waited for the life-saving porridge.
With teams of elite Moyun cavalry patrolling back and forth, no one dared to cause trouble or loot. The tall and strong men also lined up behind the women and children.
When the victims heard that the handsome man walking beside them was actually His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, they all knelt on the ground, crying out in gratitude.
"Thank you, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Qin, for giving us porridge to save our lives!"
"The Eighth Wise King who loves his people like his own children has arrived. We are saved!"
King Qin Zhao Defang did not stop to greet them, nor did he want to say a few lofty words to appease the people.
As long as these simple disaster victims have something to eat, they are honest and hardworking people of the Song Dynasty. But if they are forced to have no way to survive, they will also resist and rebel in anger.
How can we blame these simple people for being forced to rebel when the corrupt officials and powerful landlords wish to drink their blood dry?
The King of Qin was relieved when he saw that everything was in good order in front of the porridge stalls. He rode his guards straight to the disaster area.
The areas hardest hit by this drought and locust plague are Jizhou, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Yingzhou and other places.
The King of Qin did not stay in Daming Prefecture, but went straight to Yingzhou.
This made the officials of Daming Prefecture, who had already received orders from His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin to investigate the case and provide disaster relief, feel extremely uneasy.
Not to mention waiting for the Prince of Qin to come and eat the prepared banquet, they didn't even see the shadow of the Prince of Qin.
The officials discussed for a long time in fear and panic, and unanimously agreed to take out some food and provide porridge to the victims who fled here.
This is to prevent too many victims from starving to death and being blamed by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin.
As soon as His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin left, the porridge stalls that he had ordered to be built were immediately taken over by local officials. Cartloads of food were transported from the city to continue distributing porridge.
Qin Wang Zhao Defang, who was efficient and decisive in his actions, rode non-stop all the way to the Yingzhou government office.
The Yingzhou officials, who had already received the notice, were waiting outside the city anxiously under the leadership of the prefect and the magistrate.
I saw dust flying in the distance and the sound of horse hooves rolling like thunder, making the earth seem to be shaking.
A team of elite soldiers in black clothes and black armor appeared in sight, sweeping in like a black wave.
Two thousand elite Moyun cavalrymen surrounded a row of royal flags.
That iron-blooded murderous aura is frightening! ...
The King of Qin glanced at the group of officials who were kneeling on the ground, their scarlet and green official robes shining brightly, their faces glowing with rosy glow.
He said calmly, "Please stand up without any formalities!
Along the way, I saw barren fields, cracked ground and no green grass. The refugees were ragged, pale and skinny, and corpses of starvation were everywhere on the roadside.
I didn't expect that you officials are all dressed in bright clothes and have rosy faces. It seems that your food is really nutritious!"
As soon as his Royal Highness the Prince of Qin met the officials, he gave them a beating, which frightened all the officials of Yingzhou Prefecture so much that they turned pale and their official uniforms were soaked with cold sweat!
Liu Jingye, the governor of Yingzhou, was terrified. He stood up and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, I know that we have failed in our duty in disaster relief.
But this natural disaster is beyond human control, and I have tried my best.
Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, and has extraordinary talents. Your coming to provide disaster relief is good news for the common people, and I will fully cooperate with you."
King Qin Zhao Defang glanced coldly at this hypocritical man who was sanctimonious, evil-hearted and greedy, but did not continue to rebuke him.
Liu Jingye was a handsome man with good writing skills. He was a Jinshi and a direct disciple of Zhao Pu, the powerful minister and left prime minister of the dynasty.
When he learned that the King of Qin was sent to provide disaster relief and investigate the case of corruption in disaster relief silver and grain, he was frightened and uneasy.
In order to save his life, he and the judge Wang Ren summoned their officials overnight to discuss countermeasures and asked everyone to speak with one voice.
Liu Jingye once assured everyone with a pat on his chest: With my mentor, the left prime minister Zhao Gong mediating in the court, the King of Qin can't do anything to us!
Liu Jingye and the other officials secretly wiped their cold sweat and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin did not continue to embarrass them!
King Qin Zhao Defang saw that the construction and decoration of Yingzhou government office was very ordinary, simpler and plainer than most provincial capitals.
In the middle of the hall there were tables of prepared banquets with all sorts of delicacies from land and sea, and the standard of the wine and food was really high!
In Yingzhou, where nine out of ten houses are empty and there are hardly any common people to be seen, how could they still enjoy such luxury?
Liu Jingye smiled and said respectfully, "Your Highness must have traveled a long way, so I have specially prepared a banquet to welcome you."
King Qin Zhao Defang glanced around at the sumptuous banquets on the tables in the hall, with no expression of joy or anger on his face.
He said in a light tone, "Since we have these sumptuous banquets, we can call the wealthy merchants and powerful landlords of Yingzhou Prefecture. I will borrow flowers to offer to Buddha and treat them well."
Yun Yi took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Liu Jingye.
"Liu Zhizhou, this is the list of guests my prince wants to invite to the banquet."
Liu Jingye took it and looked at it. The names on it were all familiar. They were all local tyrants and wealthy businessmen under the jurisdiction of Yingzhou Prefecture.
Although he didn't know what King Qin was up to, he could only obey his orders.
Everyone knew the mission and purpose of the King of Qin's visit, which was to investigate the case of corruption in disaster relief silver and grain.
None of the powerful landlords and wealthy businessmen who were personally invited to a banquet by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin felt honored.
They were all very nervous, their hearts pounding like drums, but they did not dare not to attend the banquet.
If they were ordinary imperial envoys, they could either use illness as an excuse to not come or insist on staying.
But who is the King of Qin? He is the prince, the Eighth Sage King with great military achievements and awe-inspiring power. No one has the guts to disrespect the King of Qin.
Prince of Qin Zhao Defang was still as gentle and elegant as ever, and there was not a trace of anger on his handsome face.
More than 30 local tyrants and wealthy businessmen were still trembling with fear, as if they were on the edge of an abyss.
Sitting around the sumptuous banquet table, those who had something to hide were all frightened and at a loss.
There are a few people here who seem to be at ease with it, but there is no uninvited person on the list.
Liu Jingye looked at the expressionless Prince Qin and saluted with his fists!
He smiled cautiously and said, "Your Highness, all the people you invited are here. These few people came uninvited. They must have come to pay their respects to Your Highness because they admire your majesty."
King Qin Zhao Defang glanced around and explained the mission of this trip without any ambiguity.
“This prince has been ordered to supervise the disaster relief work, and I am responsible for investigating the previous case of corruption in the disaster relief silver and grain.
Is there anyone who knows the situation and would like to report the corrupt thief?
If anyone reports and makes meritorious contributions, he will be rewarded handsomely once the facts are verified.”
All the officials in Yingzhou were so frightened that their faces turned pale, their thighs trembled with fear, and their official uniforms were soaked with cold sweat.
The invited guests looked at each other, but all remained silent.
The King of Qin smiled faintly and said, "Since no one is willing to report it, then I can only investigate it myself.
The reason why we invite you all to the banquet today is that the relief grain transferred from Jiangnan to the disaster-stricken areas cannot be transported to our destination for the time being.
I heard that you have a lot of food stored in your homes, so I will buy some from you to save the lives of 600,000 disaster victims!"
A wealthy merchant who ran a grain store stood up bravely, bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, how much grain do you want to buy and how much do you want to pay?"
The King of Qin had a face as gentle as jade, and said calmly, "I have brought 200,000 taels of disaster relief silver. At the price of 20 wen per dou, I will first purchase 100,000 shi."
Two hundred thousand taels of silver to purchase one hundred thousand shi of grain?
Why don't you go and grab it?
Nowadays, the price of grain here has been driven up to seven hundred coins per bushel by us. Your price of twenty coins per bushel is comparable to that of a robber!
Everyone was immediately filled with anger and cursed in their hearts!