Landlord of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 113 Refugees (5)

With the government order to resettle the refugees, the number of refugees in Cangzhou suddenly increased.Due to land surveying and registration, a lot of work could not be completed, and the refugees could not be properly resettled at once. They could only build a simple shed, and the prefecture and county provided grain, and set up a porridge factory for relief.

Less than two days after the relief food was distributed, an official ran over in a panic, saying that the refugees had caused trouble and smashed the porridge factory... Xu Qing thought about it, could it be that the wording of the relief food was wrong?

Since ancient times, the Celestial Dynasty has been good at face, even for poor families.If the harvest is not good in a certain year, the family will run out of food and wait for others to help.However, when the landlord brings over the grain, it must be borrowed, and if there is a loan, it must be repaid. If it is a donation, it will immediately turn against it, and the life-saving grain will not be taken away...

When Xu Qing left the gate of the mansion, a team of officers and soldiers had already been dispatched outside, and Shao Deng, the county magistrate of Cang County, rushed over.After understanding the situation with each other, they both said it was troublesome, and the two hurried to the refugee resettlement place together.

The resettlement site is on the edge of a river beach, and now the trouble is over, Xu Qing walked in front, but saw two or three hundred ordinary people being guarded by the yamen servants, these ordinary people were helplessly under the watchful eyes of the yamen servants like wolves and tigers. crying.There are also fifty or sixty young and strong, naked and tied up, kneeling on the river beach.

Although they are young and strong, most of these people's faces are red and swollen, their eye sockets are sunken, and Hongguo's body is thin and dry. The officer on the side shouted: "Why are you crying? Lord Inspector is here, wait and kneel!"

Two or three hundred people over there knelt down and kowtowed to Xu Qing who was wearing a scarlet robe, and then they cried out for their grievances, and the sound of their shouts shook the sky.Xu Qing said in a deep voice: "Have you shouted enough?"

"What's the grievance? Tell me!" Xu Qing pointed out a thin man with an honest face who was tied up by five flowers.Seeing that Xu Qing was wearing a scarlet official robe, and other officials, even the magistrate, were trembling in front of him, the big man was so frightened that he couldn't speak.

"Is there anyone else who can talk?" Xu Qing said dissatisfiedly.All the people looked at me, I looked at you, and then pushed an old man and said: "Lord Governor, the grass people are all Youzhou screens, and the disaster happened a few days ago, and there is not a single house in the whole house. I escaped with my life, but my son and daughter-in-law were taken away, and I was left alone, the poor old man, with less crops in the field, and not a single grain of rice left in the barn..."

Seeing the old man's part in the scene, Shao Deng urged impatiently: "If these are not important, don't talk too much."

The old man wiped away his tears and kowtowed: "Yes, the grassroots are long-winded. Lord Inspector, it is the kindness bestowed by the Inspector for recruiting refugees and giving porridge from the porridge shop, but what kind of porridge do you think this is? It's just wheat bran, grass roots I can bear the bark too, but the pebbles, sand, and glutinous rice soil can also be eaten by humans?"

——Xu Qing frowned slightly, and heard the old man say again: "Lord Inspector, the villain stood in the cold wind for a day, and he was exhausted from waiting until he got a bowl of porridge, but the rice in the porridge was old enough to count." After counting, there are not even ten...ten grains of rice."

All the bound men shouted for grievances again: "Caomin and others really have no choice but to survive."

——Xu Qingwen said: "Bring the porridge pot!"

Two officers and soldiers carried the porridge pot from the porridge factory.Seeing the porridge pot look so heavy at first glance, Xu Qing still felt quite puzzled, but when it was placed in front of him, Xu Qing took a second look, and there was only a pot of cloudy liquid in the big pot, and the porridge and rice were nowhere to be found.

At the side, Shao Deng picked up a spoon and stirred into the porridge pot, but there was nothing edible yet.Also Xu Qing got up, took the spoon by himself, and only took a deep dip in the bottom of the pot, and only then did he fish out a spoon full of 'real food'.But the spoon is full of bark and grass roots, and the yellow rice is less than half a spoonful, less than sand!
"Where are the officials of the porridge factory?" Seven officials with bruised noses and swollen faces knelt in front of Xu Qing in a row.

"Which Yamen's Xiaoshi are you?" Xu Qing asked, pointing to an old official.

The old official kowtowed and said, "Responding to what the governor said, the villain has been serving as a small official in the household of Cang County for 11 years since the Sui Dynasty."

The courts of the Northern and Southern Dynasties changed rapidly, but a group of civil officials would not change. From the Sui Dynasty to the present, Cang County has changed hands several times, and the county magistrate has changed a few times, but the officials in each house have not changed.

"In 11 years, he is also an old man in the yamen. How dare he know the consequences of embezzling the court's disaster relief food and breaking the law?" Xu Qing shouted with his authority.The old official sweated on his forehead and said, "Lord Inspector, the villain has wronged me. Although the villain is only a petty official, he still knows what a conscience is."

"It's the court's custom to mix sand and soil into the relief food. If it's really clean rice, how can it get into the mouths of the hungry people. The villain is really not corrupt. Please check it out, Lord Inspector."

——Xu Qing was stunned when he heard this, but what the official said was true. The porridge factory gave out free porridge, and if it was white rice, let alone the refugees, even ordinary people would want to eat it.But how can the officials tell which ones are hungry people and which ones are not?Treat them equally, and then a little relief food will be eaten up immediately.

So the officials thought of a way to mix cheap grain and sand into the grain.The real hungry people don't care if there is sand or not in your porridge, as long as you have food and don't starve to death, so you can screen out those who come to eat and drink.

That's the way it is said, but in the end, the rules have become justifiable excuses for low-level officials to embezzle disaster relief food.Xu Qing nodded and said: "It seems that you are still working hard."

The old official kowtowed and said, "I don't dare to be sloppy when working for the imperial court."

It was Xu Qing who wanted to forgive him for his poems, but Shao Deng said, "Bring a pair of chopsticks to the county!"

Hearing the words, everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they all said: "Master County Magistrate, please forgive me!" Shao Deng ignored it, and waited for the yamen servant to collect a handful of chopsticks from the common people, and then threw them into the porridge pot, but See chopsticks popping,
It's easy to plunge into the 'porridge', and then float on the 'porridge'.

Officials and so on all looked ashamed.Shao Deng sneered and said, "I don't care if it's a court rule that you mixed sand or stone, but the county knows that chopsticks are the standard when serving porridge from porridge factories."

"The chopsticks float up, and the head falls to the ground!"

——Shao ​​Deng's words hit everyone's hearts hard, the officials and others lowered their heads, as if they were already dead.Xu Qing was puzzled, when did this Shao Deng become a cruel official?These officials are all his subordinates. Isn't he afraid of losing people's hearts by doing this?

"Everyone, it's all my fault. It's because I'm not strict with my orders. From now on, this kind of porridge will never happen again!" Shao Deng turned to Xu Qing again, knelt in front of Xu Qing and said:
"Lord Inspector, the officials are not strict, please punish the lord..."

"The county magistrate is really a good official~" the people said with emotion.

If someone else came, they might be moved by the feelings of the officials and people in front of them, but to Xu Qing, who is familiar with Shao Deng's personality and has watched too many news broadcasts, it might be just a childish show, Xu Qing thought in his heart : Shao Deng, do you want to buy people or do something else?Xu Qing swept across the crowd, and there were a few people who looked a bit abrupt. Although their clothes were tattered, they couldn't hide their healthy complexions.It turned out that the old boy Shao Deng was trying to install his own people among the refugees. What was all this for?

"Shao county magistrate doesn't have to be like this. In the future, Cang county will be maintained by Shao county magistrate. How can I cut off my hands and feet for a few dirty officials..." Xu Qing replied, and said to the officials: "Er Wait until you lose your qualifications as officials and become slaves!" No matter what, these dirty officials are always unforgivable.

After a while of commotion.Xu Qing said to the people present: "In the future, the porridge will not be able to be inserted into the chopsticks, and there will no longer be a grain of sand intentionally mixed..."

"Lord Inspector..." Shao Deng's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that Xu Qing would make such a promise. Where did Xu Qing get the food? !

"However, the porridge in the future will not be given out for free. Building houses, building walls, building bridges and paving roads, clearing wasteland and reclaiming fields, anyone who wants to eat food must work for five hours and complete the task. If you don't work, you will not be paid meal……"

"What?! I have to work for you to eat your broken porridge!"

"Who?!"

——Xu Qing's eyes turned sharply, and he saw the speaker, who was one of the people who were not tied up. Xu Qing pointed at him and let the officers and soldiers catch him.Seeing the man kneeling in front of him, he asked, "Who are you? Are you not convinced by what the governor said?"

The man squinted his eyes sideways, and asked confidently: "Since ancient times, giving away porridge has been eaten for free, but it has changed when you come here?!"

"Oh? You didn't dare to say bad rules when you were eating sand porridge just now, but now you are going to work?" Xu Qingmi said with a smile. After finishing speaking, without giving the man a chance to refute, he drank: "Left and right, Strip off his clothes and serve him with a military stick!"

The man's clothes were ripped off, and his body was full of strong flesh. He was a bit stronger than Xu Qing, and he looked like a starving man. Official food..."

"Lord Inspector, that's the one who told us to smash up the soup kitchen!" A voice came from the people who hadn't loosened their bonds yet.Xu Qing was furious when he heard that, pretending to be a hungry person is lazy, and being inserted in is being manipulated by others, which is reasonable.But now he is an instigator who fears that the world will not be chaotic, instigates others to cause chaos, and lives in peace by himself. His jackal-like heart is extremely ugly.

Regardless of whether the beating dog can see the owner or not, Xu Qing shouted: "Push it away, and the owl is the first to show the public!" Congee, I will check it myself, and those who are greedy for ink and rioters will be beheaded. Also, work and eat food, wait until the land is measured, and then divide the fields into households. If you want to eat for free, Cangzhou will not keep it, please go..."

When Xu Qing said these things, he looked at Shao Deng, but saw him with a calm face and a heart, what an old fox!
What Xu Qing admired even more was that Shao Deng said with great guilt: "The education of the lower officials is decadent, which is why this is the case. Please punish the governor..."

Could it be that this matter has nothing to do with the Shao family?

(End of this chapter)