Chapter 1454 Jingyang
The sky was filled with dark clouds, and the rain was coming and the wind was coming.
The pouring rain enveloped the entire city of Chang'an. The water levels of the rivers in Guanzhong surged, and many dams were in danger of breaking. County officials from all over the country organized government servants to rush up the dams to fight the danger.
Floods are ruthless. Once the rivers burst their banks, their homes will become ruins, and the people who live off the land will have to leave their homes and become homeless.
In the Jingyang County Government Office, the county magistrate Wei Yifang was sitting in his study, with a frown on his face and full of worries, and his mood was as gloomy as the clouds and rain outside the window.
Since the urgent report of the imperial documents arriving at the Yamen just now, Wei Yi was frightened and distracted. He was not only worried that such a heavy rain would cause the water level of the Jing River to surge and burst the dam, at which time he, the county magistrate, would be blamed. He was also worried about the officials of the upcoming "disaster relief yamen", especially the Minister of War, Fang Jun...
The grievances between Fang Jun and the Wei family were really constant and confusing. Although they were not considered political enemies, Wei Yifang knew that the other party had no reason to treat him well.
It was raining heavily, and the Youwuwei army had already set off from Chang'an. Since the documents were delivered by fast horses, the army must have followed closely. Dozens of officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Finance and many other yamen were gathered as scheduled, which made Wei Yifang very upset.
All in all, why did such an "emergency disaster relief office" appear?
This is simply killing people!
If the lid cannot be kept and the cover is lifted, will Fang Jun use Shang Fang's sword to kill himself, a corrupt official first and then punish him?
Thinking like this, even though the rain was pouring and the cool breeze was blowing, Wei Yifang still had a layer of white sweat on his back...
*****
The clouds were low, the sky was dark, and the rain curtain obscured the sight. Five thousand well-trained Youwuwei troops went upstream along the Wei River. After reaching Xianyang, they turned north and followed the official road beside the Jing River to attack Jingyang. .
The rain was too heavy, but fortunately the official road was paved with a layer of cement. Although there was water everywhere, there was not much mud, and the army moved forward very quickly.
Just on one side of the official road, the waves of the Jinghe River are rolling and the water is rushing. There are bursts of roaring between the turbulence of the water...
Fang Jun rode his horse and walked at the front of the team with Cheng Yaojin. The raincoat on his body could not protect him from the rain. The clothes inside were all soaked. When the wind blew, a chill hit his whole body.
Fang Jun wiped away the rainwater and saw a shadowy person coming towards him in front of him, and asked loudly: "How far is it?"
Cheng Yaojin put up a pavilion with his hands to prevent the rain from hitting his eyes. He looked up and waited for a moment, then replied: "It's less than three miles away. We can get there in an instant. There should be people sent by Jingyang County in front of us, right?"
Before he finished speaking, the scouts from the front rode back and reported: "General, the magistrate of Jingyang County has come to greet you."
A group of people approached behind him, one of them jumped off the horse, trotted two steps to the front of Cheng Yao's golden horse, crossed his hands and saluted: "Xiaoguan Jingyang County Prime Minister Dou Zhili, I have met Lu Guogong and the Fang Shilang. .”
Cheng Yaojin sat upright on his horse and let out a "hmm" sound from his nostrils, which was almost inaudible amid the wind and rain.
Fang Jun glanced at the county magistrate and wondered if he was a son of the Dou family, but he didn't care and asked directly: "How is the danger of the river embankment?"
Dou Zhili was not dissatisfied with Cheng Yaojin's contempt. He immediately replied: "As for the servant, the situation is not stable. An hour ago, a flood peak just passed by, and the water surface has overflowed the river embankment. Fortunately, everyone County official Everyone is holding on to the embankment, and the danger has been overcome. However, the heavy rain has not stopped, and the water has not receded. The embankment has shown signs of collapse in many places. Although officials and people are trying their best to repair it, they are not sure whether they can survive safely. "
Although the government servant beside him held an umbrella over his head, his official robe had already been soaked by the rain, and the skirt was covered with dirty mud. He looked embarrassed and haggard.
The disaster was so severe that Fang Jun did not care to ask for more details and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty cares about the people of Jingyang, so he appointed our 'Disaster Emergency Command Office' and the Youwu Guard Army to help build the dam. We will have more money and food later." When the supplies arrive, please ask Mr. Dou County Cheng to arrange for the manpower to be properly placed at a location within the county.”
Dou Zhili was immediately overjoyed.
When he saw the document before, he thought it was just the imperial court dispatching a large army to help fight the crisis, but now he learned that more supplies had arrived, which could be regarded as a solution to the urgent need.
Now there are thousands of young people in the city gathered on the Jinghe River embankment. Although everyone is fighting floods and rescuing and protecting their homes, as the county government, it must also arrange medicine, food and other necessary supplies. We cannot let the people go to the embankment to rescue and rescue themselves. Do you bring meals at home?
However, for some unknown reason, the county magistrate Wei Yifang repeatedly refused to open the charity warehouse to obtain food for the rescuers. The reason was that it was not appropriate to open the charity warehouse without permission from the court, and it could only be done when the disaster was uncontrollable. Relief victims with food.
This made Dou Zhili both puzzled and angry!
"Yicang" has been in use since the Sui Dynasty and is still in use today.
In the third year of Emperor Sui's reign in the former Sui Dynasty, Changsun Ping was worshiped as the Minister of Duzhi. He saw that there were many floods and droughts in prefectures and counties all over the country, and the people did not give them. He ordered the people to produce less than one stone of corn and wheat every autumn, and the rich and poor, etc., stored it in Luxiang to prepare for the bad years. It was named Yicang. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty commended and adopted his suggestion. .
During harvest time, grain was collected from households to accumulate grain to prepare for relief in famine years. Because it was located in Lishe and managed by local people, it was also named Shecang. Later, the method of accumulating savings was determined, and the taxes were levied on the upper, middle and lower classes. The upper household should not exceed 1 stone, the middle household should not exceed 7 bushels, and the lower households should not exceed 4 bushels.
Since then, prefectures and counties all over the world have begun to set up charity warehouses. Whenever there is famine, they open warehouses to provide relief.
When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the concepts of free warehouses and social warehouses were gradually separated. Free warehouses were set up by governments at the state and county level, while social warehouses were set up at the commune level (twenty-five households of common people were one commune).
Different from Changpingcang, which is established by the state with the main function of stabilizing rice prices, free warehouses are more like a private behavior, ensuring that the poor among the people in a region receive appropriate relief, and also enabling all people to survive in disaster years. As for having no rice to eat.
Although Jingyang is not rich, the land is rich and the people live in peace, the weather is good and there are few natural disasters. Over the years, a lot of food has been stored in the charity warehouse. The flood in the Jinghe River is now urgent. It is very likely that the river will burst out of the embankment in the next moment. Not only will Jingyang on the river bank be razed to the ground, but even Xianyang not far away will be in danger. If we don't open the free warehouse at this time, will we have to wait until Is it possible to feed the rice grains to the fish after the flood breaks the banks?
But the official rank was overwhelming, and even though he was telling the truth, the county magistrate Wei Yifang would not let go, and he could do nothing.
Facing the hungry people on the embankment who were still working desperately to repair the embankment, Dou Zhili felt ashamed but had no choice but to leave the embankment in a hurry in the name of greeting the superiors. He really couldn't bear to see those people who were half-clothed and hungry after working for a long time. The eyes of the people asking and probing...
Now with the arrival of Fang Jun, the food problem has been solved. How can Dou Zhili not be so happy and happy?
"Don't worry, Mr. Fang, I will personally arrange the manpower placement to ensure that the food is safe!"
Dou Zhili replied with an excited expression.
Fang Jun wiped the rainwater from his face and said: "No further talk. I will take my officer to the embankment immediately to see how the situation is. There are many officials from the Ministry of Industry accompanying us. They are all experts in river embankment management." Your hands are much stronger than those under your hands!”
When Dou Zhili saw Fang Jun acting vigorously and resolutely, he naturally would not refuse, but he pondered for a moment and said, "It's just that the county magistrate is still waiting in the Yamen for the angels to arrive..."
"You said the Jingyang County Magistrate is still in the Yamen?"
Fang Jun was greatly surprised and raised his thick eyebrows: "Why didn't he go to the embankment to organize rescue operations? As a parent of a county, how could he not go to the front line to stabilize the morale of the army and lead the people of the county to fight against floods and save lives when natural disasters are coming from the sky? Risk? ”
Dou Zhili's heart skipped a beat, he swallowed, and replied hesitantly: "Well... the county magistrate has to be centrally responsible for controlling the overall situation. For things like being on the front line in person, it's enough for a lowly official like us to go there..."< br>
These words seem to be defending the county magistrate Wei Yifang, but in fact they are full of resentment...
Fang Jun didn't know whether he heard the hidden meaning, and he suddenly became angry and said angrily: "Does a mere county magistrate think that he is the prime minister of the dynasty? And he still manages things from the middle? Mother! Where is Liu Jie?"
The last sentence was shouted while turning around.
All the officials around you are sweating profusely... Listening to this tone, why do you think that the dignified scholar and censor is your follower?
Dou Zhili was so frightened that he dared not speak. He was happy that his trick had succeeded, but also horrified by Fang Jun's power...
That's Liu Ji! Who among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were helpless and deeply afraid of his mad dog-like behavior?
Liu Jie in the crowd at the back is so angry. Do you need to be so arrogant?
(End of chapter)