Datang: I am so happy to marry a disfigured princess!

Chapter 123 The Magistrate of Songzhou

The sun was scorching in the sky, and a scalding heat wave hit us, making people feel dizzy.

Su Dingfang also hesitated for a moment before coming back to his senses: "Lin Prince Consort, the front is probably Songzhou in Henan Province. This generation should not belong to the urban area, but to the grain fields."

Chu Suiliang said puzzledly: "Since it is a grain field, why not plant grain and wait for the court to help? It should be the summer plowing season now, right?"

Lin Heng shook his head and pointed to the bare forest in the distance.

"There is nothing to eat. Even the leaves have been eaten up. If we don't eat these grains, we can't survive."

Several people were immediately stunned, looking at the scene in the distance and felt unbelievable.

Isn't Shandong the hardest hit area?Why is Henan like this?

Didn't the report submitted to the court say that Henan was just in a high-priced food situation and was not in such a dire situation?
It seems that not only Shandong and other places, but also Henan, the world's granary, are now like this.

This famine may have radiated radiation to the entire north!
If this is the case, the amount of grain previously estimated by Lin Heng may not be enough. As long as there is not enough grain to sell in the north, the local large households can simply eat up all their grain, thereby controlling the price of grain from falling. Now it's up to see which side loses its composure first.

Lin Heng thought for a moment and then said: "Let's go to Songzhou City to take a look first, and stop here for a day to take a look at the local situation."

Everyone agreed to this statement, and soon the carriages and horses entered Songzhou City along the border.

After passing through the vast and desolate plain, we finally saw the houses and buildings of the common people, and occasionally it was difficult to see some people.

Under the scorching sun, they were dressed in dark brown linen clothes, holding a wooden stick in their hands to support their bodies, and looked eagerly at the motorcade passing in front of them.

Those who have the strength will kneel down and beg for some food, but most of them look dull and don't say a word.

These people were like walking zombies, looking over one after another and looking in the direction of the convoy.

The sight before him was almost eerie.

Lin Heng sat in Li Ningxi's car and never opened the window to look out because he didn't want to see with his own eyes the scene in his mind.

Li Lizhi, on the other hand, would open the window and look out with interest at first, but when they happened to enter Songzhou City and saw the victims, her face suddenly turned pale with fear.

"Sister, they..."

Li Ningxi hugged Li Lizhi and comforted her softly: "Lin Langjun doesn't want you to come. There is a reason. You have seen many things that you may never forget in this life. This is not what you should see."

Li Lizhi overcame the fear in her heart and gritted her teeth and said, "But sister, you are also a princess..."

Li Ningxi smiled gently and said: "But I will marry Lin Langjun in the future, and I will also share the burden for him. No one will feel comfortable watching such a scene."

Li Lizhi didn't understand this, she just thought that they were still flirting at this time.

At this time, Li Lizhi couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when she saw Lin Heng's expression fluctuating at all.

"Lin Heng, my father asked you to come to provide disaster relief. Do you not care about these victims at all?"

Lin Heng was checking whether there were any flaws in some plans during this period. When he heard this sentence, he raised his head and looked at Li Lizhi with indifferent eyes.

"I'll give you a piece of advice: don't use food to help the victims here, and don't run around where there are many people."

Lin Heng's appearance in front of him seemed to have lost his usual playful and relaxed look, which made Li Lizhi feel strange, and she did not dare to say a word at this time.

The convoy suddenly stopped. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, large convoys need to be inspected and read the customs when entering the city. Several city guards stopped the convoy.

Lin Heng got out of the car and took out the Guanwen and gave it to them. When they saw that it was the Royal Guanwen, several soldiers were stunned.

The leader asked tremblingly: "I dare to ask your Excellency, but Lin's Prince Consort is ordered to provide disaster relief..."

Lin Heng wondered: "It stands to reason that the imperial edict has not been transmitted here yet. How did you know?"

"Lin Consort doesn't know. We, the governor, went to Chang'an a few days ago to report on his work. We wanted to report the local situation to His Majesty, but we were unable to see His Majesty. However, we heard in Chang'an that Lin Consort was coming to provide disaster relief."

"Prefect Zhou specifically asked me to wait here. He knows that Consort Lin will go to Songzhou when he comes to Henan, so let us take Consort Lin and others into the city." Lin Heng nodded, his expression becoming solemn.

When you went to Chang'an to report on your duties, you didn't even see His Majesty?
Are you suppressed by some people because you don't want His Majesty to know the situation in Henan?
Fortunately, Lin Heng asked Li Shimin's imperial edict to arrive in Henan later, at least until they arrived. Although some people would pass on the news, it would not alert the enemy.

Only then can we see the real Henan.

Lin Heng fell into silence, and then asked the convoy to follow these soldiers. Chu Suiliang and others also got off the carriage and followed behind.

Looking at the scene in the city, several people were stunned and speechless. Who would have thought that a place like Henan would be so poor.

The leading soldier reminded: "Consort Lin, I know you are here to provide disaster relief, but I have something to say."

"No matter how poor the victims here are, even if they are going to starve to death, don't give them food."

Cheng Huaiyi heard this and said displeasedly: "Do all your officials behave this way?"

The soldier sighed: "Originally, it wasn't true. Our Governor Zhou is a loyal and charitable person. After Henan became like this, he used his own money and food to help the victims."

"But good people are not rewarded. After the governor Zhou ran out of money and food, he could only live on gruel. But the victims did not want to be grateful, so they just thought it was the governor Zhou who did not want to help anymore..."

"In order to survive, these victims broke into the home of Zhou Zhifu and turned his home upside down."

"Good people don't get rewarded."

After the soldier finished speaking, everyone was silent for a long time without saying anything.

Lin Heng waited for a while before speaking in a dry voice: "Can I meet the prefect?"

The soldier nodded: "I just want to take you to the government office. Even the convoys like Lin Consort and yours, if it weren't for the government office, I'm afraid these cars would be gone."

Chu Suiliang frowned and said, "Is it so serious?"

"When people are well fed and frozen, they can be charitable and be good people. But at this time, who can reason with you..."

"Several people in the government have died at the hands of the victims."

"Prefect Zhou refused to arrest or kill them, saying that their human nature is good and they became like this because of the world. When the world gets better, they will be good people..."

It looks like he is a disciple of Confucianism, Lin Heng and others thought.

Soon the motorcade arrived at the Songzhou government office, and the concierge hurried to report it.

Li Ningxi also got off the carriage, and Songzhou's soldiers immediately lowered their heads and knelt down to salute.

"Meet the two princesses!"

Li Ningxi looked at these people. Perhaps because they had not eaten enough for a long time, their faces were sallow and their muscles were thin. They were not even wearing armor, just a lining.

Not far away, the prefect of Songzhou also arrived.

A middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties but already had gray hair walked out quickly.

Perhaps because of his excitement, he even forgot to lift his feet when he reached the threshold.

Zhou Bingren suddenly fell to the ground. Seeing this, Lin Heng quickly went to help him.

Zhou Bingren said quickly: "I don't dare to trouble my consort..."

He took advantage of the situation and knelt down directly, looked at everyone, and then raised his head. His face was already tanned, and there was no trace of a prefect. He looked like a farmer.

"The lower official Zhou Bingyi meets the princess and the consort..."

(End of this chapter)