Emperor Yongzheng

Chapter 3 It's Difficult to Raise Food Relief

When the group returned to the post house, the post office was already waiting at the door.Seeing them coming back, he rushed up to meet them and said, "Master Belle, Yangzhou Liangdao Kou has already arrived tomorrow, see you at the flower hall!"

The two people entered the main hall one after another. The senior attendants had just arranged for snacks and tea when they saw an official from the west corner gate. He was wearing a robe with eight pythons and five claws, a snow goose mend suit, and a blue Nirvana glass top on his head. Zi came up in a flash, waved his horseshoe sleeves in front of the steps, and announced loudly: "I will grant you the title of Jinshi, and I ordered Kou Ming, the official of the Yangzhou Grain Road, to kowtow to Lord Beile!" After that, he kowtowed.Yin sipped his tea and replied, "Come in, no need to be formal." "Master Xie Beile!" Kou Ming stood up and called Qian'er again, and Fang carefully lifted the curtain and came in.

"Sit down. I'm sorry you haven't eaten yet. You can use these snacks as you like." Yin waved his hand and said to Dai Duo who was standing aside: "You also sit down - Kou Ming, can the food be shipped within three days?"

Kou Ming took the opportunity to sit down and hurriedly leaned over and replied: "To tell you what, Zhidao is worried about this matter! We have food, so we can raise it in cash. On the market, you can get as much as you want for a dou of rice. But the money from the customs department is too high." No, this famine is hard to fight. Please ask the fourth master to urge the other side of the customs to issue silver as soon as possible. This is to show sympathy for the lower officials." Yin picked up a piece of snacks carelessly, but did not eat it. After a long while, he said: "I'm on the other side of the customs. I have urged them several times. They are under the control of the Customs Governor Wei Dongting. The day before yesterday, I sent a letter to the Governor's Yamen, asking him to approve the money immediately. The money will come only in the morning and evening - this is a loan, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will eventually issue the money, so you can rest assured ." Kou Ming said with an apologetic smile: "Master Shengming! But now that the money has not come, I can't collect [-] shi at once. I can only ask the fourth master to transport all the treasury, which is about [-] shi. The remaining [-] shi are needed. Waiting for the money. I have ordered that all large grain stores and rice warehouses should sell the state treasury according to the current rice price. They must not take advantage of the opportunity to raise money, hoard it, or transport it to foreign countries without authorization. As soon as the money arrives in mid-March, Zhidao personally escorts the imperial envoy to Tongcheng to travel. I wonder if it will work?”

"You are doing your job with all your heart." Yin glanced at Kou Ming, stood up and walked two steps, stood at the door and looked out of the courtyard through the curtain, and after a long time he said: "There are also [-] hungry people in Yangzhou. I saw it in the market today. Look, I feel very sad - this also requires relief. Fifty thousand dan is only a small amount. Wouldn't it be more difficult to keep food? So I have to buy food!" "But it's useless without money..." Kou Ming murmured, "Yangzhou It would be nice if the government could provide some money."

Dai Duo laughed and said, "That's it, tell Che Ming to get some!" Kou Ming smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "It's just talk. Che Ming came to my Yamen to borrow money the month before! I said Yangzhou is a You're so fat in your pants, you borrowed seven thousand silver from the feudal treasury, and you still want to take advantage of my food supply? He said he was building a Confucian temple, but when I asked about it, it wasn't like that at all - he was giving it to San——" He Suddenly I felt that I had gone too far, so I pretended to have tea to cover it up.But Yin heard every word in his heart, because when he saw Gao Fuler coming in with Cui'er in new clothes, he just nodded and said with a sideways smile: "Are you asking Fourth Master to guess riddles for half of what you said?"

"Go back to Mr. Beile!" Kou Ming suddenly blushed and became a little embarrassed, "I heard... I heard that it was to send ice to the bachelor Kuixu? - Also, there is - there is a man named Meng Guangzu, who is People from the Sanbeile Mansion, living in Nanjing, also have to embellish it... Fourth Master... Actually, these things are just hearsay, just hearsay..." He couldn't stop talking, and he was so panicked that he didn't know what to do.

Yin couldn't help but take a breath of air. He didn't expect that there was such a big background behind Che Ming.Kuixu is the uncle of Yin, the eldest son of the emperor, who is known as the "Great Thousand Years Old", so that's okay, and he is also the confidant of Yin, the eighth elder brother.The eighth prince Yin is known as the "Eight Wise Kings", and together with the ninth prince Yin and the tenth prince Yin, he is called the "Three Heroes". They are criss-crossed and share the ups and downs. In terms of power among the six tribes, he is still above Prince Yin.Even Meng Guangzu's master, the third elder brother Yinzhi, was far superior to him in "holy favor"... It was reasonable for Kou Ming to be afraid of getting involved in the strife among his elder brothers.Yin thought about it, and interrupted Kou Ming coldly: "You don't have to say it, I already know your difficulty. Okay! There are only 6000 to [-] million taels of silver in the treasury, and a copy of Mingzhu (Kui Xu's father)'s house will cost [-] Zhao! - Kuixu is also an extremely wealthy man, yet he is so greedy for money! He is really a city fox and a social rat! - Let me tell you, he is an iron rooster, I have steel pliers, plucking hair is the fourth master's purpose, silver, We have to ask Yangzhou Prefecture to take it!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Kou Ming agreed repeatedly, wiping the sweat from his forehead, secretly praising him in his heart: "No wonder people say that Fourth Master is the 'King of Cold Face with a Heart of Stone', and his name is well-deserved!" But he said: "Fourth Master Knowing the difficulties of the subordinates, the subordinates are endlessly grateful!"

Yin sneered and said: "Of course I won't embarrass you. Go see Che Ming and don't mention anything we said. Just say that the fourth master asked him to give [-] silver to honor the victims - to give up food and open a porridge restaurant. .Listen carefully: rice, two meals a day, with chopsticks inserted, must not fall over, wrapped in a towel so it does not leak, cold rice dumplings must be held in hand and can be eaten. No one is allowed to starve to death on the ground in Yangzhou Prefecture, and those who kidnap and traffick children will have to kill several. ——I still have three days in Yangzhou. If he can't handle it for me, I will ask Wang Mingqipai to kill him first before reporting to the court. Even if I return to Tongcheng, I will leave someone behind to watch him carry out this errand, which is against my will. Ling, he still has a hard time protecting his wealth - don’t think about this brother or that brother, it’s no good thinking about it, I’m holding Shang Fang’s sword on his neck!”

Kou Ming, already sweating through his heavy clothes, stood up. When Yin said something, he agreed with a "yes" and said: "Fourth Master is a bodhisattva with a heart. This is to fulfill the humble duty and to protect Che!"

"You did what I said and said nothing about you." Yin said slowly, gently pulled Cui'er and stroked her hair, "Look at this child, for such a little bit, both parents are worried Died in the flood... so hungry! The people are the foundation of the country, and guarding against changes in the people is better than guarding against rivers! You are also a scholar, so you should understand this truth - go back and find a copy of "Liuhe East Collection" and read " Send "Preface to Xue Cunyi, Hedong" - Go!"

When Kou Mingnuonuo retreated in succession, Yin Fang turned around, sat on a chair, and asked Tweety gently: "Are you full? After changing into these clothes, don't you look more decent?" Tweety kept holding her fingers in her mouth. Listening intently.She was young and most of the adults didn't understand what they said, but she understood what Yin said: "You can't put chopsticks on food before it falls down" and "Don't starve to death".Intuitively, she felt that this majestic and stern "high official" was a good person. Seeing that Yin was so gentle to her, her eyes turned red and she gradually became attached to him. She said, "Master, I have never eaten such good food. Brother Kaner, the dog, was so full that he was hiccupping, and he was planning to go out to play!"

"Have they gone?" Yin asked Gao Fuler.

"These two boys are very wild, and I was afraid that they would not come back after going, so the slave didn't let them go."

"Tell them to go." Dai Duo said with a smile, "They came here for Tweety, why don't they come back? I'm afraid that something will happen to them, just talk to someone else."

Cui'er laughed when she heard it, and said: "This master is right. I'm here, they won't run away. We came out from the same place when we were young, and I fell into the hands of human traffickers. They didn't protect me. I was sold to Qin Huai. It’s too late—even accidents won’t happen, Brother Gou is nicknamed ‘Stalking Ghost’, and Brother Kan is nicknamed ‘Ghost Difficult’, which one will suffer for them?”

"It's hard to deal with ghosts!" Yin Yangtian laughed, "What a great name! - Gao Fu'er, tell them to go out and play, don't cause trouble, and come back before dark!"

Yinzhen's attack on the mountain was very effective. Three days later, Kou Ming had fifty thousand shi of brown rice ready.Due to the siltation of water transportation, all the goods were equipped with block trucks, and they were divided into more than 400 vehicles and transported northward by dry road.Yin's car was a mule cart. Because the weather was still cold in the north, according to Dai Duo's wishes, he had to put a silk woolen cover on the outside of the car, which was warm and generous, befitting his elder brother's status.Yin didn't want to stand out, so he only put on a cotton apron with an elephant's eye (oblique square wins).Dai Duo and Gao Fuer knew that his nature was useless, so he had no choice but to give him advice.

The car passes Baoying and enters the yellow flood zone.There seems to be no human habitation here. The endless beach is filled with swamps left after the flood.The grass has just sprouted in February, and the yellow sand beach is covered with withered thatch from last autumn, which are matted and trembling in the crisp spring breeze.The horse stepped on the sand and sank, making the journey very difficult.Gao Fuler and Dai Duo looked after them on horseback, and the sergeant guarding the food supply had to help pull the wheel that had sunk into the mud from time to time. They could not cover more than thirty miles in a day.The villages along the way are also in ruins. The young people in their prime have already fled away, leaving only a few old and weak women and children with hungry faces.Yin was ordered to provide relief on the spot and distributed food along the way. He was even more busy. When he entered Huai'an, he had distributed more than 2000 stones of food.

"We're finally out of this dead beach!" That evening, the exhausted motorcade stopped. Gao Fu'er dragged his heavy steps to the front of Yin's car and reported: "Fourth Master, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here today." I'm sleeping in the open all night." Yin held a copy of the Diamond Sutra in his hand and was watching Cui'er and Kan'er undressing and having sex with great interest. Listening to Gao Fu'er's words, he moved his stupefied body down and looked at Lazy. The sun was setting on the beach, and he asked, "Where have we arrived?" Before he could finish his sentence, Kaner's dog jumped out of the car. Kan'er said with a smile: "This used to be a ferry, but now it's flattened." Cui'er threw herself at the carriage and said, "Dad and I came here to beg for food. It's called Peach Blossom Crossing!"

"Taohuadu!" Yin's expression suddenly became a little excited, his eyes flashed, and his breathing became a little quick. After a while, he calmed down and took a long breath, "What a beautiful name!" Gao Fuler smiled and said: "It's Taohuadu... The local master has been here before..." He paused for a moment and did not continue, but changed his words: "Thirty miles further north, go to Guandao, and the road will be easier." After saying that, Dai Duo also caught up and said with a smile : "Thankfully, the fourth master is very quiet. If it were the thirteenth master, the yellow mud beach in the past half month would have been boring and anxious!"

Yin said nothing, squatted down and dug up the river sand under his feet. Half a foot down, there was dark mature soil underneath. It was clear at a glance that it was originally fertile land. He couldn't help but sigh and said: "Master Wangsun lives in the bustling world among the beautiful bushes." , I don’t know the suffering of the world until I come here - it’s a pity for this place..." After ordering everyone to have a picnic, they set up tents on the deserted beach to spend the night.

The sun went down.In the vast sky, layers of pink lotus petal-like sunset gradually dimmed in the curling smoke. The bonfire was licking the black flames, and the pork knuckles in the hanging pot exuded the tangy aroma of meat. The one called Lulu The dog nestled in the dog's arms, hanging out his tongue and drooling with greed.Yin saw everyone sitting silently in anger, knowing that it was because of his presence, but he refused to indulge Dai Duo and Gao Fuler, and only said to the three children: "Why are you all sitting there in silence, do you have any songs?" Sing!"

With just one sentence, the children immediately became excited.The dog took out a flute from his bosom, licked his lips, and tried the sound for a while, and the deep and trembling sound of the flute burst out immediately.Kan'er laughed and said, "I'll come first!" Then he sang at the top of his voice:
My sister is not far away on the other side, and my brother is not far away here.The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are relatively inhabited, separated only by Qinglong Water!
Yin couldn't help but laugh when she heard him sing the "love song" tone-deafly. She clapped her hands and cheered: "Okay! Who can do it again!" Before Kan'er could speak, Cui'er sang:
I miss mother!How many waves is your mother in the yellow water?Bear the heart to let go and go to the sky, leave Jiaoer and go everywhere... I think about it day and night, and I wake up crying in my dream...

Although her voice was childish, it was clear and bright and welled up from her heart. Cui'er was truly moved, with tears rolling in her eyes.The dog closed his eyes while playing the flute, as if he didn't think about anything.Kan'er lowered his head and said: "The dead are dead, and the living are still alive. You love to sing these songs, which makes people panic." After that, he hugged his knees with his hands and sang:

God!I want to make friends with you!People say that you can bring good fortune and prosperity, but your mother starved to death in the wilderness, and the filial son can't help it!People say that you can bring disasters, but they saw that the old cow was struck by lightning, and when the tiger was struck by the thunder?Xishi married Wang Laoma, a 60-year-old man married a charming baby... Everyone is afraid of you and I am not afraid of you-you are so confused, why do you eat our incense?

... After singing, the sound of the flute stopped whimpering.For a long time, no one said anything, only the crackling of firewood in the bonfire, and the flames shot up and down on the faces of everyone thinking.

Yin Duan sat on the asparagus grass mat, motionless like an iron statue. He lowered his head, and people could not see clearly what his expression was.After a long while, Yin Fang stretched a little, and his voice was a little hoarse: "Singing is very good. When I return to Beijing, I can see Mr. Wu and ask him to polish it. The emperor and the senior officials of the six departments should listen to it!" After that, he thought for a while and then said: "Do you want to hear a story?"

"Okay!" The three children cheered happily, Kan'er said: "Talk about Sun Xingzhe learning from the scriptures!" But Gou'er said: "That's all obedient, what's the fun? It's better to talk about ghosts!" Cui'er covered her ears and said : "You are haunted ghosts, haunted ghosts, I'm afraid to listen, I don't want to listen to ghosts!"

Yin smiled faintly and said: "I won't talk about ghosts and gods. I believe in Buddhism and don't have the guts to blaspheme the heaven and earth. Let me tell the truth." He poked the fire with a stick to calm himself down and began to say: "I can't remember which dynasty or generation, but there was an emperor who gave birth to more than 20 sons——"

"My mother!" Cui'er said, "So many brothers?" Kan'er said hurriedly: "Don't interrupt! I didn't listen to Gu'er first and said that Prince Wen has more than 100 sons!" Yin nodded: "There is a son among them, his nature is He is the most timid and merciful. He is reluctant to crush ants on the ground, and crickets scare him so much that he shrinks back. When he catches a mouse in the palace, he is reluctant to kill it, for fear that the old mouse will die and the little mouse will not survive. "Listen to him. It was funny, and several children grinned.Dai Duo and Gao Fuler looked at each other without saying a word.Yin said: "You know, as the sons and grandsons of dragons and phoenixes, they have to help the emperor to do things. They govern the world, good people want to be rewarded, and bad people want to be punished or killed. How can you have such a character? Besides, these sons have been growing up in the palace since they were young. After seeing the world, he didn't know how the common people lived. The old emperor thought about it and asked his sons to go out on errands. This son was assigned to Huai'an to inspect the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers.

"When the prince of the dynasty sits in Huai'an, the officials below will naturally come to worship him. From Jiedu envoys to prefectural and county officials, a large group of fawning people surround him all day long. The prince himself is also careful. As obedient and loyal as his own father, the prince felt that he was a lot more capable. He told the emperor that the officials here were all pillars of the court, and the emperor was naturally happy.

"I don't think there was a flood in the Yellow River that year-do you know what is the sheep newspaper? There is a Qingtong Gorge in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. When Dayu controlled the floods, he erected an iron flagpole there, with a measure engraved on it. Qingtong Gorge's water rose an inch, and the downstream The water rose by one foot. In order to let the downstream know the water potential of Qingtong Gorge, it was inflated with sheepskin, and a brave man who was not afraid of death was tied to the upper part and floated down the river with a bamboo stick with writing on it. Dike, this year, the water in Qingtong Gorge has risen by three feet!"

The dog was startled, and blinked his eyes and said: "God! Then we will rise by three feet, Huai'an City is going to overflow! I remember it once in the year!"

"That's it!" Yin muttered, "It also rained downstream that year, and it has been cloudy for more than half a month. On this day, the rain was particularly heavy, and it looked like it was overturning the river. I was afraid that the city would not be safe. The prince Ordering the government officials to prepare the boats, he took only one of his long followers to the west of the city to see if the river embankment could be saved.

"The clouds in the sky are extremely thick. At noon, the sky is as black as the bottom of a pot, and there are dragon tails like ink threads hanging in the sky, swaying one by one, and flashing in the gaps in the clouds, some are purple, some are golden, and some are golden." It was like a fireball jumping up and down and exploded... The thunder was so intense that it shook the tower." Tweet shivered shivering all over, and said, "You still say that this prince is cowardly! The dragon is angry, why don't you run away?"

"I also said that he was kind-hearted." Yin's face looked a little pale. "He murmured a prayer to God to save this city from disaster. His elders saw the Yellow River water collapse and roll up the embankment, which was more than five feet high. The tide roared and came like an overwhelming sea. He screamed: "Master, hurry up, go back to the Yamen and get on the boat!" Regardless of whether the prince agreed or not, he dragged the prince onto his horse and ran away... The sound of gongs all over the city was heard. The water has overflowed the south gate, run!' Then there was a bang from the south, and the city wall fell down. The flood poured into the city, and people were crying and dogs were barking everywhere. Houses collapsed, and the dust kicked up in the heavy rain Yellow mist rose into the sky. The street was instantly covered with water more than four feet deep, and even the horses could not run... The sound of thunder, rain, river waves, and the sound of houses collapsing one after another mixed together. The sky is as dark as night, and the rain has blinded my eyes. I can't see anything, and I can't hear anything clearly. The heaven and earth are all mixed together!
"The master and the servant abandoned their horses and finally returned to the Yamen with chest-deep water. They all breathed a sigh of relief - as long as they got on the boat, they were no longer afraid. Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the door, they were stunned and tied to the ceremonial door. His official ships have long since disappeared! These scholar-bureaucrats, who usually talk about being loyal to the emperor and loving the people, have already unmoored and fled, not even caring about their masters!

"The water in the yard was rushing back and forth, and there was no one there. They grabbed a ladder floating on the water and wanted to go up to the roof. Suddenly, the servant remembered that there was a big fish tank with water lilies in front of the signing room, so he hurried to He took the tank out of the water, emptied it, and cried loudly while holding the prince, saying: "Master, you can only hold the house for a while, these unreasonable black-hearted thieves may not want to come to pick us up... Good master, you sit in , I grabbed the rim of the tank, and we floated along the water...God is watching, it depends on our fate..."

Hearing this, Dai Duo realized with horror. He remembered what Gao Fu'er said about his narrow escape from death with Yin in the 43rd year of Kangxi's reign, but it was not as detailed as what Yin said.Gao Fuler's eyes were straightened after listening to it, as if he had returned to the terrible life and death disaster of the past. After a long time, he sighed: "Master, why are you telling this story again? It's weird, don't tell the rest." Kan'er He glared and said: "We are getting to the point, why don't you scream? I love to hear it!" The dog also said: "Didn't Prince Yue also escape by sitting in a water tank? If you survive a disaster, you will be blessed later!" Cui'er seemed to still be immersed in the story, and suddenly she asked with twinkling eyes: "Master, has the prince escaped?"

"He is not the prince." Yin smiled bitterly, "If he were the prince, those bastard officials would not dare to escape privately... They floated in the water for two days and two nights. They were not hungry. There was a lot of food floating in the river. There are pumpkins, persimmons, eggplants, etc., and occasionally steamed buns float down. But the prince is sitting in the vat, so dizzy that he doesn't know what to do, and vomits when he eats something. What about the servant? He scratches the edge of the vat, exhausted, Several times when he took a nap and let go, the prince pulled him back with his hand.

"Two days later, the vat floated to the shore, and when the two of them came up, they chanted a Buddha, and suddenly the world was spinning, and they both fainted on the beach.

"When I woke up again, it was already dark. The prince opened his eyes and saw a broken table in front of the bed, with an oil lamp flickering on it. An old man sat on a stool and smoked, and there was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old The girl was holding a bowl of ginger soup and stared blankly at herself. The prince moved his lips, and just about to say something, the girl shouted in surprise: "Father! He's awake..." Then the servant came in , fell to his knees with a plop and just kowtowed: "Thank you, old man, for saving us! I will definitely repay your kindness... Our Lord——" He glanced at the prince, but did not dare to reveal their true identities. The prince sat up and said, " My name is Wang Sunlong, please tell me your name? You are so kind, God will bless you!'

"'What kind of "noble surname" are we? Our surname is Hei, and our family origin is Lehu." The old man wrinkled his face and said with a sigh, "The ancestors committed sins and redeemed their children and grandchildren, and the virtues they accumulated were for themselves—the one who saved you was my second daughter, Xiaofu, I went to borrow rice and haven’t come back yet. This is my eldest daughter, Xiaolu..." After saying that, she sighed again and got up without a word. Xiaolu hurriedly brought the cornbread and said, "There is water all around, and there is no salt or vegetables. You may not be able to borrow the rice, so let’s just eat it—it’s the same for Dad, he saved a life and won the construction of a seven-level pagoda, so he was so scared!” Although it is not stunning, but it is quiet and pretty, and it is refreshing to speak, so I can't help asking: "What is there to be afraid of?"

"Xiao Lu brought a bowl of wild vegetable soup, and greeted the prince and his master and servants to eat, and said: 'I'll tell you the truth, our ancestors changed their surnames to Hei and became untouchables in the past Ming Yongle Lord Jing Nan's bad things, the court has a decree, From generation to generation, they are only allowed to sing in the clan, as drummers, actors, paper-making people and horses, as elegiac singers, matchmakers, stable women...helping people with weddings and funerals...it has been more than 300 years. During these 300 years, generations, There were 94 chaste women, and two strong daughters—one died in Heilongjiang after a lawsuit for her father, and the other died of a man who didn't get through the family. She also committed suicide. A venerable man heard about this five years ago , I checked the genealogy again, and said that it is rare to have such a lowly nationality, and those who have not sold their bodies are still married women! Unfortunately, there are not enough one hundred, and if this number is full, he will play in the book and get rid of the family for the whole family. There are also a lot of people. In short, the clan has established a death rule: Jielie women are less than a hundred, who will have trouble with this..." She suddenly blushed, and spat: "What are you talking about?" The prince smiled and said: " It's what you want to say!' After hearing this, Xiao Lu took a cornbread and went out of the room.

"At that moment she came in again, but she was carrying a scoop of rice and a piece of salt the size of an egg. She ground it on the chopping board without saying a word, pinched a little and put it in the prince's bowl, put the rice on the stove, and looked at it timidly. The prince took one look, broke off half of the cornbread, squatted under the stove and ate firewood to cook the pot. The prince smiled and said, "Why don't you like it? Don't be upset, it's mine." She didn't answer, but looked at it suspiciously. The prince glanced at him, suddenly smiled, and lowered his head to burn firewood. The prince was wondering, and another Xiaolu came in from outside the door, holding a clean radish in his hand, cutting it neatly, and said with a smile: "You are lucky! I'll look at it." I can’t borrow rice—you don’t know my sister, I can’t speak, and I’m very popular!’”

Only then did everyone realize that the person coming in was not the same person.Kan'er laughed and said, "Ha! These are twin sisters!" Dai Duo had never seen Yin being interested in talking so much to his servants. There would be no benefit in spreading these words to other brothers, because he saw The meat was cooked. He fished it out with chopsticks and cut a piece first and gave it to Yin. Just as he was about to change the subject, Kan'er gnawed the meat and tore it into pieces to feed Lu Lu. He narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "Fourth Master, you No need to explain, I know everything!”

(End of this chapter)