Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 46

Both water and land stations in the Ming Dynasty were very accessible, but there were waterways for water and land for land.All the carriages and horses go to the land post, and the boats go to the water post.But Jin Yiwei's four horsemen galloped here along the embankment on the bank of Xin'an River.In the afternoon of mid-June, when the scorching sun basks in the ears in previous years, horses are sweating, and people are sweating too.

It happened to be a bend of a river, and there were several big trees covering it. From here, the pier in the distance could already be seen.Jin Yiwei's head reined in the horse, and the other three Jin Yiwei also reined in the horse.Under the four top-topped bamboo hats, four pairs of eagle-like eyes immediately looked at the river at the pier.

Shen Yishi's dozens of grain boats have been here for several days, and they are still lined up on the river at this time, and the lanterns of the "Weaving Bureau" and the posters of "Disaster Relief" are still hanging there on the mast.What's even more strange is that the sacks of food are still full on board.The soldiers guarding the boat were gone, only some yamen servants and boatmen lazily guarded there.

The four of them were a little surprised, looked at each other, and then looked ashore.

The soldiers who were originally stationed in the first-line provinces along the coast to protect the grain disappeared, but a dozen tables were set up instead.There seemed to be a sign in front of each table, and there was a person sitting behind each table. Each of them was holding an umbrella in one hand and waving a fan in the other, listlessly and without energy.

The four looked towards the field on the shore again.

Countless shacks were built in the deserted fields within a few days.There are victims everywhere, some are in the huts, some are outside the huts, some are sitting quietly, some are lying quietly.Not far from the shack, about ten feet away, there are more than a dozen porridge sheds, and each porridge shed has a huge pot for thousands of people.Some children were running between the porridge sheds with their bowls.Some yamen servants waved their whips and yelled there.

"Didn't you say that the person surnamed Shen gave all the food? Why is the food still on the boat?" a Jin Yiwei said.

"It's a bit strange." Another Jin Yiwei said.

"It's no wonder that the Long Live Lord and the old ancestors are confused. It seems that this ghost place in Zhejiang is really famous." Another Jin Yiwei followed up.

At this moment, the bell rang at the pier, and the people in the shacks rushed out, and ran towards the porridge shacks.

On the other side of Jin Yiwei: "You guys put your horses here to eat some water plants. I'll go over and ask first. Remember, as agreed, don't reveal your identity."

The other three Jinyiwei: "Understood."

All four dismounted.Jin Yiwei got off the embankment and walked towards the shacks on foot among the water plants in the field.

All the victims lined up to get the porridge with their bowls, and the huts were empty, except for some old sick people who were still lying there occasionally, probably because their family members helped them get the porridge.

Jin Yiwei wore a bamboo hat at the other end, was also wearing a coarse cloth shirt, and wore straw sandals on his feet, relying on the crowd rushing to get the porridge to block him, he walked all the way to the shack, and no one cared.Passing through some shacks, with his eyes looking under the bamboo hat, he saw an old man sitting in front of a shack with his eyes closed and smiling half-smile, so he walked over.

"Old man, why don't you go get the porridge?" Jin Yiwei squatted down next to the old man.

The smile on the old man's face disappeared, and he slowly opened his eyes, but he didn't look at him, his eyes were full of vigilance: "Who are you? Are you not a local?"

Jin Yiwei was startled, and looked at the old man carefully, only to realize that the old man was blind.He hurriedly smiled and said: "I am a silk merchant. I came from the north. I heard that your land was hit by a disaster. Raw silk is cheap. I want to buy some."

The old man became more vigilant after hearing his introduction, and said loudly: "I don't care where you said you came from, if you leave as soon as possible, the Japanese pirates will be full of officers and soldiers here."

Jin Yiwei: "You have always misunderstood. I am not a Japanese pirate. If I were a Japanese pirate, this place is so far from the sea, and there are soldiers everywhere, am I here to seek death?"

The old man still refused to believe it all, and rolled his eyes, looking like he wanted to call someone.

Jin Yiwei went on to say: "Why don't you keep calling the soldiers over and let them interrogate me."

Then the old man became a little more convinced, and his face became better: "If you weren't for the Japanese pirates, you would have left early. Not long ago, Japanese pirates pretended to be merchants and came to us to sell grain for silk, dragging dozens of us down. Locked up in prison. This time, whenever foreigners come to buy silk, they will be caught one by one."

"There is such a thing?" Jin Yiwei showed a surprised look on the other end, "The government should also ask clearly, it is inevitable that good people have been wronged indiscriminately."

The old man: "What year is it, and it's still indiscriminate? The people we were arrested were all honest Sanghu, and they didn't ask for confessions, and they were not courteous. If the province said a word, they would be beheaded the next day."

"Didn't you just say you were locked in prison?" Jin Yiwei asked deliberately.

Hearing his question, the old man immediately regained his spirits: "God has eyes, and a master Hai came to our new county magistrate in Chun'an. That day was his first day in office, and the province asked him to supervise and execute him. Come on." He was still wearing plainclothes when he was born, and hundreds of soldiers followed him. He didn't speak or pay attention to anyone. He sat in the lobby as soon as he arrived. When it was three o'clock in the afternoon, he suddenly had to look at the case files and statements. People in the province couldn't come up with statements and With regard to the case file, Master Hai showed his power, holding a copy of "Law of the Ming Dynasty", he refused to kill people, and dragged these people back from the gate of hell."

On the other side of Jin Yiwei: "A county magistrate dares to fight against the province like this?"

The old man was still excited: "You outsiders don't know that this Master Hai is sent by the prince."

"Oh." Jin Yiwei dragged his voice on the other end, pretending to be appreciative, "You can't see with old eyes, but you know everything."

The old man was a little pissed: "Can't hear if you can't see?"

Jin Yiwei: "That's true. People who can't see understand better. What's the matter with so many grain boats on the river?"

The old man sighed with emotion: "The emperor is still good, and the prince is also good. That's why we sent a master Hai to make decisions for us. The Jiangnan Weaving Bureau must have obeyed the emperor and the prince's secret decree, asking them to help Master Hai , so they brought us food and lent us to survive the famine."

Jin Yiwei couldn't help laughing when he heard him thinking so wildly.

The old man: "You don't believe it?"

Jin Yiwei immediately replied: "No. I mean, since the Weaving Bureau brought the grain, why did it still pack it in the boat instead of lending it to you?"

The old man: "It's not that we don't want to borrow it, but we don't want to borrow it now."

Jin Yiwei: "Aren't you waiting for food to save your life? Why don't you want to borrow it?"

The old man: "The government said that after borrowing grain, all the fields should be replanted with mulberry seedlings, but the big guys don't want to borrow grain."

Jin Yiwei: "I heard that growing mulberry to produce silk is more profitable than growing grain. Why are you unwilling to borrow instead of mulberry seedlings?"

The old man: "It's already June and a half. Now that we are planting mulberry seedlings, we won't be able to harvest much this year. When the time comes, the government will ask us to pay back the grain. If we can't pay back, what should we do if we harvest our fields?"

Jin Yiwei: "Didn't the emperor lend you this food? If the emperor doesn't urge you to pay it back, who would dare to urge you to pay it back?"

The old man: "It is said that the emperor borrowed it, but in fact, the big boss Shen Yishi and the people from the province can't match our Master Hai, so he borrowed it under the brand of the Weaving Bureau. The emperor is so far away, if the time comes If we get promoted and transferred away, who will make the decision for us.”

On the other side of Jin Yiwei: "Could it be that you and the government are wasted like this?"

The old man: "As long as the government doesn't force us to plant mulberry seedlings, we will borrow. We borrowed grain to plant rice seedlings, and harvested rice in October. Half and half are still left, and this disaster year has passed. Dozens of boatloads of grain are all here. On the river, there are two meals a day, and there will be porridge to drink at that time, and whoever dares to bring back all the food brought by the emperor."

"I understand." Jin Yiwei stood up on the other end.Turned around and left.

"What do you understand?" Jin Yiwei walked away, but the old man was still asking himself.

Tian Youlu suffered the most these days.Just after a shock, Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu left, and so many victims came again.If there is no food to eat and cause trouble, but if there is food, they will lend it to them and don't want it.Haizhi County asked him to stay here and give out two meals of porridge a day, so he didn't know what would happen next.The scorching heat was coming, and the anxiety was overwhelming. At this time, he was already ill. He was lying on a bamboo chair covered by a big umbrella, his eyes were blue, and his face was black.

The porridge was being distributed over there, and a yatou came over, holding a food relief form in his hand: "Second Master, this is the amount of food for a meal of porridge today, please sign it."

Tian Youlu: "How much food did you eat in total?"

That Yatou: "After a few days, I have already eaten a boat and a half."

"If you keep eating like this, what a fool!" Tian Youlu became very anxious, "buying grain for their fields and causing trouble, and lending grain to them to plant mulberries is also causing trouble. How can there be such troublesome people! They eat grain like this every day, and they are charged with nothing. Isn’t it me? Starting this afternoon, I will not approve this word. If you want to approve it, you can go to Master Hai to approve it.”

Seeing that he refused to sign, the Yatou was not in a hurry: "Then I will send it to Master Hai for approval. He keeps asking, do I mean you always ask him to approve it?"

Tian Youlu was angry and impatient: "There are evil officials above, and thugs below, even you servants are coming against me!"

That yatou: "Second master, bad luck is not because you are always reciting words by yourself. Even you are not burdened anymore, how can we people do errands?"

Tian Youlu said nothing: "Bring me the list."

The yatou held the list on the palm of his hand and stretched it out.Tian Youlu took out a badge of his name from his lapel, and there was no ready-made inkpad, so he put the badge into his mouth and took a deep breath, stamping a shallow seal on the list.

The yatou looked at the list and muttered to himself: "This seal is not very clear..."

Tian Youlu stared: "You are going to make things difficult for me, aren't you?"

The Yatou: "I didn't say anything." Then he walked away slowly with the list in his mouth.

The yamen left, and a yamen servant came again with a food basket, and walked under Tian Youlu's umbrella: "Second Master, Madam cooked a chicken for you, and told you to eat it quickly, so as to replenish your body."

Tian Youlu sighed: "When? Where? Ask me to eat stewed chicken in front of so many victims?"

The yamen servant: "Or do you always eat in the cabin?"

Tian Youlu became impatient: "I can't eat any more. You can take it back and give it to the old man. By the way, did the old man go to the mansion?"

The yamen servant: "No, Madam still doesn't want to take the old man to live here."

Tian Youlu sat up abruptly: "Does she want me to die or something? Master Hai has called me out and called me unfilial. I have to go through so many bad things before. Go back and tell her that if you don't take the old man over, call her Go back to your mother's house!"

The yamen servant: "Second master, how dare you say such a small thing..."

"What a bitch!" Tian Youlu sighed, "Help me up, I'll go pick up the old man."

The yamen servant didn't help him, instead he bent down and said in a low voice, "You'd better not go to the city now."

Tian Youlu: "What's wrong?"

The yamen servant said in a low voice, "The procurator Mr. He has come, and he has brought along a lot of soldiers, but those criminals cannot be found in the prison. At this time, he is fighting with Lord Hai in the yamen."

Tian Youlu was surprised: "Master He is here! Where did you come from? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The yamen servant: "Seeing that you are always worrying, I am afraid that you will be anxious after hearing it all the time. Mr. He came here at noon, and he seems to have entered the city from the side of Wushi Mountain."

Tian Youlu was so anxious that he broke out in sweat again: "An accident is about to happen again, an accident is about to happen again..."

At this time, there was another noise from the disaster shed, and another yamen servant ran over.

The yamen servant wiped his sweat and said to Tian Youlu, "Second Master, there are a few victims of the plague again!"

Tian Youlu lay down on the bamboo chair again: "Just let them all die..."

The yamen servant: "Master Hai said hello, no one can starve to death, and no one can die from illness..."

Tian Youlu: "Then ask me? Take it to the city!"

There are regulations, the county government office is only a few feet square from Zhaobi to the courtyard of the lobby. At this time, soldiers from the province were all standing there, led by Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu, all armed with knives, until they stood on the steps of the lobby. Going up, looking at He Maocai and Hai Rui in the lobby, they looked like they were going in to arrest people at any time.

"Where did the Japanese pirates and those Japanese criminals go?" He Maocai grabbed the gavel on the public case and slapped it vigorously, "Tell me!"

Hai Rui sat on the chair next to him, neither answering nor getting angry.

He Maocai became even more angry, and stopped shooting the gavel, grabbed the lottery tube on the public case and threw it on the ground!
There is a rule, there is a bamboo tube on the official case of the court at all levels, and ten bamboo sticks are placed in the tube as usual, and the court officials take out the bamboo sticks and throw them in the hall to beat people.One bamboo stick beats ten sticks, and ten bamboo sticks make one hundred sticks.Now He Maocai threw the whole bamboo tube to the ground, and the ten bamboo sticks scattered all over the ground.The lottery tube didn't break, and it kept rolling out of the lobby.

Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu immediately rushed in with a few soldiers, looking at the bamboo sticks all over the place.

Jiang Qianhu yelled at the soldiers: "Prepare for execution!"

Those soldiers all looked at He Maocai, but He Maocai himself was a little dazed.

According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, as long as the incumbent official commits a serious crime, the superior can only impose punishment unless there is an order.He Maocai dropped the lottery because of his temper, how could he really hit Hai Rui?
Jiang Qianhu, Xu Qianhu and the others originally hated Hai Rui to the bone, and at this moment they were all thinking of using He Maocai's anger to dispel their hatred.Jiang Qianhu shouted loudly: "My lord, it is an unforgivable crime to communicate with Japanese pirates. Now he hides Japanese pirates privately, and he can kill them. He can't go wrong with a few punishments!"

Xu Qianhu also added fuel to the flames: "My lord is the criminal name of a province, and the signatures have been scattered. If it doesn't work, I will pick it up!"

He Maocai was forced by them, and knowing that he couldn't fight, he held his breath and stared at Hai Rui fiercely.

Hai Rui stood up slowly, and said to Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu, "This is the lobby of Chun'an County. I am the current official. I didn't ask you to come in. Who told you to come in? Get out!"

Jiang and Xu had had enough of being angry with Hai Rui, and now relying on He Maocai to back them up, they couldn't buy him, and immediately turned upside down.

Jiang Qianhu: "My lord, you have always seen how rampant this Hai is! If you are always difficult to speak, go to the back hall to rest, and we will deal with him!"

Xu Qianhu: "He hid Japanese pirates in private, we punished him, and there was an argument in the court."

He Maocai was originally a black stick in the officialdom, and when the matter was brought to a dead end, his mind became a little dizzy, and he shouted at Hai Rui: "You heard it all! If you don't hand over the Japanese criminals, I will kill you, and I will bear the crime rise!"

Hai Rui ignored him, still looking at Jiang and Xu, "I told you to go down, did you hear me?"

Jiang and Xu almost jumped up, looking at He Maocai: "My lord, let's do it!"

"Come on!" Hai Rui roared.

Four guards from the governor's office immediately ran out from behind the screen in the lobby with knives in their hands, two on each side, and stood beside Hai Rui.

The soldiers in the Governor's Office are all wearing special flat uniforms, which can be recognized at a glance.Seeing them suddenly appear, He Maocai was startled first, then Jiang and Xu were also there in a daze.

Hai Rui: "Get these two out of the hall!"

The four soldiers immediately approached Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu: "Go down!"

Some soldiers of Jiang Qianhu's and Xu Qianhu's cronies in the hall ran in when they saw this.

The four soldiers quickly drew out their knives, and two of them dealt with one, with the knives around their necks, forcing Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu to stand there.

He Maocai finally regained consciousness, and shouted loudly, "What are you doing? What are you going to do?"

A soldier from the governor's office replied: "We are dispatched by Haizhi County under the order of Hu Butang."

He Maocai turned pale with anger, and yelled at the soldiers pouring into the lobby: "Get down! Get out of here!"

His soldiers began to retreat.

He Maocai turned to the four soldiers in the governor's yamen again: "Okay, okay. Hu Butang must give me an explanation. Don't put down the knife yet."

The four soldiers slowly moved their swords away, but they still stared at Jiang and Xu closely.

Hai Rui: "Tell them to go down."

The four soldiers all turned to Jiang Qianhu and Xu Qianhu: "Please."

Jiang and Xu were confronted by four knives and walked out of the hall bitterly.The four soldiers followed all the way to the entrance of the hall, where they stopped, with their swords in their arms.

Only He Maocai and Hai Rui were left in the hall.It was still tense just now, but now it was silent.

He Maocai sat on the chair in the middle of the lobby and panted for a while: "Hai Rui, what are you doing this way?"

(End of this chapter)