King of Song

Chapter 147 Shipwreck Accident
Lin Zhao and Zhao Pin's worries are definitely not superfluous. The situation in Hangzhou is indeed very bad right now!
When the famine has not yet occurred, it is necessary to prepare for the rain, to be precise, to plan for the rain, and to be absolutely prepared.

In October of the second year of Xining, the autumn rain in Hangzhou lasted for almost two months.Although the rain has gradually diminished, and it is about to stop, but the farming season has inevitably been delayed.

Many people expressed their sorrow as they watched the completely rotten rice in the field before harvesting.When I go home and look at the rice vat that is bottoming out day by day, I feel very sad.Many people are thinking about where to borrow money, borrow food, and buy food.Some people even thought that if it was too late, they would go out to escape famine, or go to relatives and friends.

In ancient times, people's concept of native land was very important. If it was not forced, no one would leave their hometown.Apart from these people, various speculations and rumors arose. At the beginning, some people said that because of a problem with the sacrifice, the Dragon King of the East China Sea was angry and caused the heavy rain.Later, some people even said that it was caused by the lingering soul of Zhao Shiju, who had committed suicide before. Some even claimed that he was the emperor, the prime minister lost his morals, and the sky sent a heavy rain to warn him.

The situation is far more complicated than imagined, especially at the critical moment when the reform began.There are local rumors in Hangzhou that it is because Qiantang and Yuhang tried out the new law, which resulted in anger and grievances.Fortunately, there were no heavy rain disasters on Jingdong, Huainan, and Henan Roads, so this rumor only spread in Hangzhou and did not affect the overall situation.

Faced with such a situation, Lin Zhao, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately opened a warehouse to release grain.Qiantang County became the first county in Hangzhou, the entire Liangzhe Road, or the entire Jiangnan area to start opening warehouses for disaster relief.

Outside the county government, people came to receive food in an endless stream. Before leaving, they expressed their gratitude to the court and their parents, the county magistrate Lin.

Lin Zhao just smiled lightly at this.The people are very simple, they don't know that the continuous autumn rain is caused by the confluence of cold and warm air, and the rain belt stays in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a long time.When life is difficult, they may complain a few words, or even believe those rumors, but as long as you treat them well and let them have enough food and clothing, they will live in peace and be grateful to you.

"My lord, it's right to prepare early!" Yu Xuandao: "There are more people who came to collect food today than yesterday. It seems that there is really not much leftover food in people's homes."

Lin Zhao nodded lightly, and said, "However, there is one thing that must be supervised and restricted, and no one can claim falsely, or claim too much!"

"Well, don't worry, my lord, there is a limit. Each person receives one liter of food per day, and children receive half of it. And only the poor can receive it." Yu Xuan replied: "Before this, my subordinates have already done According to the survey, there are more than 900 poor people in Qiantang County who need relief."

"Very good!" Lin Zhao appreciated this very much. Yu Xuan is a careful person, cautious in doing things, comprehensive in every aspect, and performed very well.Now it seems that luck is good, and a general has really been drawn out of the dwarf!

"However..." Yu Xuan immediately showed embarrassment again, and said: "It is completely possible to simply help these 2 people, but if the number of people increases, I'm afraid..."

"what do you mean?"

Yu Xuandao: "According to the current situation, the wealthy households in the city and the upper-middle-class households are not included in the scope of relief. They can buy grain by themselves to overcome difficulties. But there is a very bad situation at present. The major grain households in Qiantang County Shops are closed one after another, or only a small amount of food is sold..."

Having said that, Lin Zhao already fully understood that what these people did was just four words - hoarding!
In ancient times, when there was a famine year, food would become a lifesaver and become extremely precious.The government or big families will help and help, showing virtue.But there are always many people, especially grain merchants, who will seize this opportunity to hoard and make a fortune!
If these people are only raising prices slightly, it's nothing more than making a fortune.But the profit-seeking grain merchants are not so polite, and they often drive up prices, so that people who are already stretched and struggling have to pay a high price to buy grain, thus making a fortune.

This kind of person is very hateful. It has existed in all dynasties, and now it appears in Qiantang County.The situation was already very bad. If these grain merchants were allowed to take advantage of the fire, it would be even worse. Yu Xuan was also worried about this, and Lin Zhao naturally did not want such a situation to happen.

"Is the situation serious?" Lin Zhao asked in a deep voice.

Yu Xuandao: "The current impact is not too bad, but those grain merchants have ulterior motives. While hoarding for strange things, they are still purchasing grain. Before long, the price of grain in Qiantang County may skyrocket! By the way, the Mengjia grain business is still operating as usual Sell ​​food at a fair price..."

Lin Zhao smiled knowingly. The Meng family is a scholarly family. They have always had a kind heart. They have been doing business with sincerity and benevolence for many years, and their reputation is very good.Naturally, Meng Ruoying would not violate the precepts of her ancestors and take advantage of such a major disaster to make ill-gotten gains!Yesterday, she also told herself that a batch of grain would be shipped from Jiangning. Lin Zhao knew that Meng Ruoying was using her way to share her worries!

Yu Xuan reminded: "My lord, it is necessary to make Miss Meng be careful, but in the Meng family's grain business, those grain merchants are a thorn in the side, a thorn in the flesh! Maybe someone will make trouble behind the back, which is not good for the Meng family!"

Lin Zhao snorted coldly: "Hmph, anyone who doesn't know how to live or die can just try!" Anyone who dares to harm the Meng family under their noses will never be lightly forgiven.

"Well, but you still have to be careful!"

But in a word, Lin Zhao admired Yu Xuan even more, and at the same time secretly blamed himself for being careless. These things were a little negligent.The last time Meng Ruoying was kidnapped by Chen Hong, she had already encountered danger once, and this kind of thing must never happen again.

Lin Zhaodao: "Since they kept their faces and haven't made any moves yet, that means there is room for negotiation!"

"Young Master, do you mean...?"

Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Talk to them!"

"But because they may not sell your son's face!" Yu Xuan was not afraid to refute Lin Zhao's face, and told the truth!
"Don't be afraid!" Lin Zhao said with a smile: "Aren't they hoarding to sell at a high price? When the time comes, they will lose everything and lose everything!"

"My lord is planning to...?" Yu Xuan had vaguely guessed what Lin Zhao was thinking.

Lin Zhao chuckled: "That's right, the conversation between me and Zhao Zhizhou is still a secret, they won't think that when the time comes, they will be taken by surprise... Hehe!"

"My lord is brilliant!" Yu Xuan also smiled, and he could already imagine that there would be many people crying at that time.Then he reminded: "This method is very good, but you'd better say hello to the officials and Wang Xianggong!"

"Don't worry, I've already submitted the memorial to the officials!" Lin Zhao was a little worried about what attitude Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi would have. He hoped that the memorial would come to Bianjing soon to see what the two bigwigs' opinions would be in their replies!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Near Suzhou, the Jiangnan River was originally relatively gentle, but due to the recent heavy rain, the water surface has become a bit turbulent, making boating on the water much more difficult.Recently, there have been fewer boats on the river, and not many people are willing to take the risk of traveling at this time.

Of course, there are always exceptions at any time, such as official ships delivering official documents at imperial post stations, or some really important things.

On the river, a large cargo ship sailed from north to south. The waterline of the ship was very deep, which showed that the cargo loaded on the ship was very heavy.Sailing a ship under such weather and hydrological conditions requires high technical requirements for the sailor helmsman.Seeing that the ship was going so smoothly and steadily, it can be seen that there are very experienced masters on board.

The flag on the bow of the ship has been soaked by the rain and is somewhat blurred, but it is vaguely visible as the word "Meng".

That's right, this boat is owned by Jiangning Meng's family, and the food on board is exactly that.The Meng family's business involves a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, cloth, grain, and shipping.

Recently, food in Hangzhou has been in short supply and the price is good.Meng Ruoying planned to transfer some grain from Jiangning to Hangzhou, selling it at a good price, and also helping Lin Zhao.However, the Meng family didn't hoard them, they just made normal profits.

Recently, the rivers in the south of the Yangtze River have been flooded, and water transportation is inconvenient, but it is not very difficult for the experienced Meng's boats.It was for this reason that Meng Ruoying dared to transport grain from Jiangning.

The cargo ship set sail from Jiangning, went down the river, crossed Zhenjiang and entered the canal, and passed Taihu Lake smoothly. The main dangerous shoals and difficult roads have passed, and the next voyage will be much easier.

However, the masters did not dare to take it lightly, they still watched the water conditions and steered calmly.

"Master Sun, there is a boat coming from the opposite side!" A boatman promptly reminded the master at the helm, Old Sun.

Lao Sun stood in the bow of the boat in a coir raincoat, squinted his eyes and took a closer look, and said, "It's a fast boat at the court station, pay attention to this, and be careful to avoid it!"

The imperial court has laws and regulations. Official ships, especially post boats carrying official letters, pass through, and other ships on the river must give way in time.Although the river is not crowded today, the tide level is wide and the banks are wide. The closer to the river, there may be debris, or the tidal flats are hidden under the water, and there is a risk of hitting the rocks.Therefore, ships will habitually travel close to the center of the river, and ships going in the same direction will inevitably pass by.

Master Sun is very experienced in this regard, there is no problem at all!But just as the post boat was approaching rapidly and the two ships were gradually approaching, there was a sound at the bottom of the large cargo ship, and then began to tilt!

"What's going on?" Lao Sun hurriedly called for someone to check!

"Master Sun, it's not good, the bottom of the boat is leaking!" When the boatman saw it, he was terrified.

"What?" Old Sun was shocked. He was very familiar with this channel, and it was impossible to hit the rocks. How could it leak if it was fine?

Before he came back to his senses, the ship tilted more and more seriously, and it shook violently, and then began to sink.The boatmen were terrified. It was impossible to plug the leak, and the sinking of the ship was inevitable!
"Quick, jump down!" The boatmen knew that the sinking of such a large ship would create a huge vortex, and if it was sucked in, there would be death. Now there might be a chance to escape.Old Master Sun couldn't help but wryly laughed repeatedly, looked up to the sky and sighed, feeling deeply guilty, now he has no face to go to see the eldest lady.

The speed of the sinking of the ship was beyond imagination, and Master Sun knew that the boatmen who jumped off could not escape.You might as well sink with the boat!But his eyes accidentally fell on the distant river, seeing a few black lines running under the waves, Lao Sun seemed to understand something.

Unable to show resentment, he picked up a board and jumped into the river.The moment he fell into the water, he told himself that he had to survive and go to Hangzhou to meet the eldest lady!
The large cargo ship sank, forming a huge vortex on the river, and many boatmen did not have time to escape.They were all sucked in, howled and struggled, and disappeared in an instant.

The Meng family's boatmen were not the only ones who were unlucky. The imperial post boat was so fast that it didn't notice the abnormality of the cargo ship at first.By the time it was discovered, it was already too late, and the cargo ship sank very quickly, unable to escape at all, and was directly involved in the vortex. As a result, there were a few more victims of the shipwreck accident!
Both the cargo ship and the post boat sank. After a while, some driftwood, cloth bags, corpses... and some things that looked like books occasionally appeared on the river. If you looked closely, you might be able to recognize them. Memorial!
Not long after, waves came one by one, and these messy things either sank to the bottom of the river, or were washed away...

(End of this chapter)