The first-class concubine of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 495
The bamboo raft approached Shangzhou City along the flowing water.

Entering Shangzhou City, I saw that the streets were full of stagnant water, the shops of every household were closed, and the water overflowed the gates, and it might flow into the house at any time.

The street was empty, and there were not many people in sight, only occasionally a few people were also wandering in the stagnant water with bamboo rafts, and a few children who didn't know their worries were catching fish in the water.

When I looked up, I could see black spots on the roof in the distance. When I got closer, I realized that it was some people who had climbed to the roof to take refuge.

The bamboo raft walked slowly like this, and finally came to the Shangzhou government office.

Many people gathered in front of the government yamen, some of these people were standing on bamboo rafts, some were standing in the water, and some even used the bathtubs at home as boatmen.

These people stood in front of the government office and kept shouting, demanding that the government officials do something.

The arrival of Liu Wei and others surprised these people. Liu Wei glanced at them. He knew very well that if he revealed his identity at this time, he would definitely be surrounded by these people, but he had to reveal his identity. He needed Give these people faith that the hard times will pass.

"Everyone, I am Liu Wei, the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court. I will do my best to deal with Shangzhou's affairs."

After Liu Wei finished speaking, he thought that these people would gather around to make things difficult, but he needed to make some more promises before these people would give up, but that was not the case. Looking around, and talking a lot, after they talked, the person standing on the bamboo raft suddenly knelt down to Liu Wei.

"Master Liu's name, we common people have all heard of it. We are very happy that Master Liu can come today. We have hope. We can trust Master Liu."

"That's right, Mr. Liu, but if you have any orders, I will wait for you."

Being famous, Liu Wei suddenly thought of the word "famous". It turned out that Liu Wei was already famous, and his name alone was enough to speak a thousand words.

Seeing these people trust him so much, Liu Wei suddenly felt a lot of pressure. If he didn't do well, wouldn't he have failed the trust of these people?
At this time, Pan Weiji was secretly hating, he didn't expect Liu Wei to be so popular among the people, it seemed that he had become a mythical figure among the people, which made him jealous, so jealous that he wanted to go crazy.

"Since everyone trusts me, I will do my best to complete this matter. If the matter in Shangzhou is not resolved, I vow not to return to the capital."

After Liu Wei said this, the people in front of the mansion shouted again, but at this moment, one of the people suddenly fainted while shouting. Seeing this, Liu Wei quickly ordered Zhao Ling'er to check it out. After the man inspected it, he said: "My lord, this man may have fainted from hunger."

Liu Wei nodded. He came from a later life, so he naturally understands that when people are very hungry, the brain's glucose supply will not be sufficient, leading to dizziness and fainting.

"Give him the food we brought first."

After saying this, the people next to him immediately started talking.

"My lord, our home is flooded, our food is gone, we haven't eaten much for a day..."

"Yeah, I only drank a sip of water and ate half a wowotuan today..."

The people complain, and the people who complain can only pin their hopes on the officials. Since ancient times, officials should be the masters of the people, which is why the people pin their hopes on the officials in times of crisis.

But the actual situation, officials are also human beings, they often have their own emotions and desires, and they are also selfish. Throughout the ages, how many people have really devoted themselves to the cause of the common people?

As far as Liu Wei knew, there were really not many of them, and even those famous loyal ministers in history might not have really achieved this.

Seeing the hunger of these people, Liu Wei felt very heartbroken. He thought he could not dedicate everything to the people, but he had a heart of compassion, and he knew what righteousness was.

So at this time, he ordered someone to knock on the door of the Shangzhou government office.

The door opened, and the yamen servant who had already heard of the arrival of the imperial envoy quickly invited Liu Wei and the others in, and then quickly closed the door.

The terrain of the government office is still very high. Although there is water, it has not reached the point where bamboo rafts are needed to walk. When everyone moved to the living room, Wang Ning, the prefect of Shangzhou, was already waiting.

Wang Ning was in her forties and was thin. At this time, she was a little nervous. She saluted immediately after seeing Liu Wei, but Liu Wei didn't say much, and asked directly: "My lord, there are many people in the city who have been living for a long time. Do not eat, do you know?"

Wang Ning tremblingly said, "I know... I know."

"Now that you know, why don't you think of a way to raise food for them? Is it possible that you want to watch them starve to death? How do you become a magistrate?"

Wang Ning broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, and said: "My lord, my lord, this government office has some food, but there is no order from the imperial court, so I don't dare to help the disaster."

After only talking to Wang Ning for a few words, Liu Wei knew that Wang Ning was a person who had no ideas and no courage. The court orders were indeed important, but the people were not. If he really opened a warehouse to release grain, even if the emperor knew about it Can't blame him.

After a cold snort, Liu Wei immediately asked: "How much grain is there in the granary, and all of it will be distributed to the common people."

"Go back... to Mr. Liu, there are five hundred stones."

Hearing this number, Liu Wei frowned immediately: "Why is it only so small?"

"My lord, isn't it time for the harvest? You should know the rules of our Great Song Dynasty. Every time after collecting taxes and grains, they have to be handed over to the court, and the government is not allowed to keep more for backup."

Hearing Wang Ning's words, Liu Weicai suddenly realized that the rules of the Great Song Dynasty were indeed like this, and the purpose of doing so was very simple, just to strengthen the imperial rule and prevent local officials from buying the morale of the army through food, so the taxation of the Great Song Dynasty They were all delivered directly to the court.

This can indeed prevent local officials from growing their power, but it will also cause a problem, that is, when a certain place really encounters difficulties like now, the government government will not be able to save itself for a while.

When Liu Wei came, the imperial court had already ordered the preparation of grain, but the grain could not be transported in the rain, and the road was muddy, so it would take at least seven or eight days for the imperial court's grain to arrive, and what Liu Wei needed to do was to During these seven or eight days, try not to let the people of Shangzhou starve, or even let the people of Shangzhou starve to death.

It was Liu Wei's responsibility that someone died of starvation.

But there are so many refugees in Shangzhou City, and five hundred shi is a lot of food, but it is only enough for the entire Shangzhou people to eat for a day.

After slightly frowned, Liu Wei looked at Wang Ning and asked: "In this Shangzhou, apart from the food stored in the government office, where else is there stored food, and there is a lot of it?"

"Yes, of course. The big households in Shangzhou have granaries, and many merchants also have granaries."

(End of this chapter)