Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 82
Jia Rui was also upset for a while.

I didn't expect the drought in Shandong to be so severe.

"I think the water source can last for a day or two. I will order the army to speed up tomorrow. It is best to reach Jinan."

"Sir, it's okay for us soldiers to be soldiers, but those civilians can't run fast."

These civilians transporting grain, grass, and silver were actually more tired than the soldiers, so they naturally couldn't walk fast.

"Let the soldiers dress lightly tomorrow, and then help these civilians walk as much as possible."

"But my lord, there are already hungry people wandering around us. If these hungry people swarm up together tomorrow, we will be in danger if we are not prepared."

Jia Rui frowned and said, "Order the soldiers to be half on guard and half to help the civilians."

Seeing what Ma Tao wanted to say, Jia Rui simply waved his hand: "Okay, don't say anything anymore, just do as I say."

Ma Tao had no choice but to go out to take orders.

After a night of rest, the next day, half of the [-] troops were assigned to help the peasant husband push the cart and drive the donkey, while the rest guarded the hatchback.

Because of the help of the soldiers, today's march was much faster than yesterday, and we covered seventy miles in one day.

Although they marched fast, the hungry people who hung the army at the beginning quickly fell behind, but there were too many hungry people in Shandong, and after leaving the group that fell behind, more people followed soon.

When the army was stationed that night, tens of thousands of hungry people had surrounded the army.

Seeing so many hungry people nearby, Jia Rui also felt a headache. He stood at the gate of the camp with a steel gun in his hand, looking at the mourning people outside the camp gate, he couldn't bear it.

But he knew that he could not release grain now. If he started releasing grain now, he might not have reached Jinan Prefecture yet. His 30 bags of grain would be gone. How would he provide disaster relief then?

Jia Rui sighed, prepared to be out of sight and out of mind, turned around and walked back to the main camp.

"Uncle, look." Jia Rui's personal servant Wangcai exclaimed.

Jia Rui echoed a look, then narrowed his eyes, and felt his stomach churning for a while, and vomited it out with a wow.

It turned out that there was a family about ten steps outside the camp gate. They were cutting a child into several pieces and throwing them into the boiling water.

About a dozen of his family members stood around the boiling water with tears in their eyes.

Not far away at this moment, a man who poked his head toward them suddenly let out a wail.

Then he stumbled and ran to another fire pit in another place, and after that, he didn't care about others, and cried while saying: "Old Li's family chopped off our children without saying anything."

Those who heard his cries also began to wail.

An old man was crying and his eyes were shining fiercely. He suddenly pulled out the kitchen knife under his feet and walked over to a tightly bound child not far away. He raised the knife and dropped the child's head.

After that, Jia Rui didn't dare to look at it, he stumbled and ran back to the tent, crying while vomiting.

Only today did he know what is going on with "changing children and eating"?

In the past, these were just four words in a book, and he didn't feel how touching his heart was. But today, after seeing the real situation, he realized how tragic it was.

Jia Rui sat in the tent without rest all night. Every time he glanced at him, he saw yesterday's change of food.

After dawn the next day, Jia Rui continued to urge the army forward as if nothing was wrong.

The average speed today is twice as fast as yesterday, because as soon as the army slows down a little, Jia Rui will fly into a rage.

There was a hundred households who sat on the side of the road to rest because they couldn't run anymore. When Jia Rui saw it, he pulled him out and gave him a whip.

The wailing of these hundreds of households woke up the entire army. People gritted their teeth, stared, desperately lifted their tired legs, and advanced towards Jinan at full speed.

Thanks to Jia Rui's urging, they finally arrived at Jinan City before the sun set.

The governor of Shandong and others, who had already received the news, led officials to greet him at the Shili Changting Pavilion.

However, after several days of traveling long distances, Jia Rui was exhausted and had no time to chat with these people, so he just nodded, and then entered Jinan City under the leadership of Shandong Governor Wu Zhishan.

Afterwards, the army rested in the school grounds, and Jia Rui, accompanied by Shandong Governor Wu Zhishan, went to Guanyi to rest.

After running around for so long, Jia Rui finally lay on a comfortable bed again.

Therefore, Jia Rui fell asleep immediately in bed, and he didn't wake up until the next day when the sun was high.

After waking up, Wangcai, the personal servant, had prepared face wash for Jia Rui.

Originally, Jia Rui was accompanied by several other servants, but Wangcai took advantage of his right as a personal servant and drove the others out of the door, where he was the only one close to Jia Rui.

"Master, Wu Zhishan, governor of Shandong, please have lunch at noon, saying that it is for you to clean up the dust."

Jia Rui wiped his face randomly and threw the towel to Wangcai.

"Tell them I know."

Not long after, noon arrived, and then the governor of Shandong came to pick him up in person.

Jia Rui was not polite and followed the Shandong governor to the flower hall in front. There were already more than a dozen tables set up here. Shandong's famous officials and gentry were all waiting for Jia Rui here.

Jia Rui put on airs and sat at the table in the middle, accompanied by Governor Wu Zhishan of Shandong.

Wu Zhishan didn't know much about this favorite of the Supreme Emperor, but he knew that it was not surprising that people were polite, so since he met Jia Rui, he has been very polite.

This time was no exception, he raised his glass first, "Master Jia, you have worked hard all the way, and I would like to thank you on behalf of Shandong officials."

After finishing speaking, he motioned to Jia Rui and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing that the other party was being polite, Jia Rui also picked up the wine glass and drank half of the glass with him.

After that, the other officials kept saying compliments, and Jia Rui kept on saying a word of perfunctory.

Because of Jia Rui's politeness, the atmosphere at the banquet was very good.

After three drinks and five dishes, just when everyone thought the banquet was about to end, Jia Rui suddenly raised his glass.

"My lords and the elders of Shandong, this time I was ordered by the Supreme Emperor to go to Beijing to help the victims in Shandong. I was shocked by the tragic situation along the way. I changed my son and there was not enough food. The starvation was horrible. Everyone You are loyal and upright officials of our dynasty, and now I hope you will donate generously to put an end to the calamity in Shandong."

When the officials below heard Jia Rui's words, they looked at me and you one by one, with serious expressions on their faces.

After a while, the people below realized that they started crying to Jia Rui.

"My lord, to tell you the truth, I only have this little salary. Now that the food in Jinan City is so expensive, I almost can't afford food. Where can I donate any leftover food?"

"My lord, you don't know, I've been hungry for two days, and I have to go without food for two days after I go back to today's banquet."

"Sir, you don't know that my family is also in trouble. My mother and eldest son can't afford to eat in the countryside. I have sent all the money I have back, and I only have a few taels of silver left. If you want me, I can take it out now. .”

Holding the wine glass, Jia Rui looked at the officials below complaining, trembling with anger.

These people below are all white, fat, oily and smooth, as if they haven't eaten?Like no money?
But if these people don't take up the fight, what can I do? Could it be that they really used Shang Fang's sword to raid their homes?

Wu Zhigui, governor of Shandong, smiled slightly, then stood up and reprimanded the officials below:
"Stop yelling. Mr. Jia is dedicated to serving the public good. He just doesn't understand the plight of the officials below. You all should be considerate. If you have money, contribute money and if you are able, contribute to helping the court tide over the difficulties."

Following the repression by the governor of Shandong, the people below finally calmed down.

As for the Shandong gentry, they didn't say a word at all, because the officials above were their spokespersons, and they had already finished their words.

Jia Rui was not interested anymore. He threw the cup in his hand on the table, flicked his sleeves, and left angrily.

(End of this chapter)