Xian Sun of the Ning Mansion of the Red Chamber

Chapter 271
"Yang Bi went to find Jia Ying?"

"Yes, I went to Jingning Bo's Mansion in the afternoon, and I didn't leave until dusk. The two talked in detail for nearly two hours."

"Did you take what the king sent him?"

"It was sent back again."

"Hmph, don't eat and drink fine for toasting."

Yang Yi's complexion gradually sank. He thought he had enough patience with Jia Ying. The two of them had a little bit of unhappiness. Because of this, the other party refused repeatedly. He was not annoyed. Convenience.

If he hadn't nodded his head, Jia Yucun would have been imprisoned long ago based on Yang You alone, so how could he have just been demoted a few ranks and demoted to the prefect of Taicang.

In fact, the two also had a period of close cooperation. He was ordered to manage the household department, and he had the support of Fu Donglai. In the matter of Liaodong, the two of them cooperated with each other tacitly.

Jia Ying provided the household department with the food and grass needed in Liaodong, and Yang Yi, turning a blind eye, transferred funds from the household department to the Nanjing Military Bureau.

He thought he had done enough. As a prince, wouldn't it be enough to lower his figure like this?
"My lord, maybe things are not as bad as we thought. Jia Ying is a smart person, so he can't fail to see that compared with the lord, Prince Li doesn't have much advantage, he just has his own way."

Listening to the staff's analysis, Yang Yi sneered and said, "At this time, since you can't be friends, you are enemies."

"Perhaps you don't know yet. There was news from the palace yesterday that Concubine Yi recognized Yiyang county magistrate as her goddaughter. Her mother mentioned that Concubine Yi had a close friendship with Qi Benzhong's wife when she was in the hidden mansion. Jia Ying and Yiyang You also know about the county head's relationship."

"My lord means"

"Let Feng Jicai go to Zhejiang and serve as the deputy envoy of Chahaidao. I hope he won't let me down."

The matter of opening the sea, the head of the customs governor's yamen, is now Yang Bi's territory, and it is not easy for him to put his own people in it.

But if you want to open the sea, you can't do without the cooperation of Zhejiang Haidao. If Yang Bi wants to seek the support of the Jiangnan Navy, then he will give him a bottom line.

Unknowingly, another year of winter has arrived, and it has snowed for seven consecutive days, and the streets are covered with thick snow.

Early in the morning, the men and horses of the urban management brigade began to ring the gong on the street. Some unkempt, ragged beggars or victims of disasters came from all directions on the street. Catalpa, began the great cause of clearing the snow all over the city.

Beggars and victims of disasters, this is a group that cannot be eradicated at any time. Even though Bingmasi has cleaned up the capital and dragged all the homeless people to Xishan for mining, it didn't take long for a new one The batch of beggars sprung up like mushrooms after the rain.

Every year, the imperial court orders the Ministry of Households to allocate a portion of grain to relieve disaster victims and beggars.It's just that very few officials are willing to take on this job. Those idle censors of the Inspectorate, in order to add to their political achievements, at this time of year, there will be people who will pay close attention to the disaster relief.

They also set standards such as "the chopsticks float and the head falls to the ground".

In the past, those who were sent to provide disaster relief were officials who were deeply excluded in the household department or the local yamen in the capital, but this year, this "beautiful job" fell to the head of the soldiers and horses. The county magistrates of Wanda and Da counties, Now I don't know where to hide and laugh. You know, they were the ones who came out to top the tank in previous years.

"My lord, the food allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs has come down. There are so many victims, and they can eat porridge, let alone meet the standard of 'holding chopsticks upright'. Look at the small ones, this is deliberately making things difficult for us."

Holding a book of accounts in her hand, Che Zhen felt aggrieved in front of Jia Ying.

"How many victims are there?"

"So far, there have been more than five thousand, and this is only in the city. The victims near Shuntianfu outside the city, I don't know where they got the news. It is said that there is food in the capital, and now every day Crowds of disaster victims are coming to Beijing."

"Are all the official roads blocked?" Jia Ying looked at Liao Wenbin and asked.

"My lord, the checkpoint has been set up, and many victims of the disaster have been stopped, but the inspector's office has issued a document, reprimanding our soldiers and horses for 'refusing to accept the victims', and someone has already impeached .”

"Besides, it may take less than three days to clear the snow in the capital. At that time, we have no reason to continue to ask the Ministry of Households for extra money and food." Liao Wenbin replied.

"How many disaster victims have been accommodated at Tongzhou Wharf?"

"More than [-] people."

After pondering for a moment, Jia Ying said: "Don't be stingy with the food in our hands. As long as the victims have completed the prescribed tasks, we will give them porridge according to the regulations of the court."

"But in this way, our food can only last for five days at most, and those victims are too full to eat, I'm afraid no one is willing to work." Che Zhen said.

"Don't worry about the food problem. In a few days, a large amount of food will arrive. In addition, tell the victims to receive porridge by ticket. After finishing their work, they will be given a sign that they can eat thick porridge. , those who don’t work or are lazy, let them drink clear soup with ginseng grains, as long as they don’t starve to death.”

"In addition, the capital is only that big. Don't let everyone crowd in the city. Didn't you ask the people to borrow firewood and logging tools from the people's homes? Let them go to the mountains in the suburbs to log and transport the cut wood to Tongzhou is built as a camp for disaster victims, firewood can be used for heating, in a word, there are no idlers in the disaster camp.”

"Then how do we deal with the disaster victims we stopped outside the capital?" Che Zhen asked again.

"All of them will be transported to Tongzhou Wharf. In a few days, I will ask them to be of great use."

After explaining to the victims, Jia Ying gave instructions to Liao Wenbin and the others: "Didn't Bingmasi have evidence that several companies were making profits outside? You bring people to the door one by one and tell them to either pay for food or pay. Give them In one day, people were sent to keep a close eye on those people. Anyone who did not cooperate would copy their accounts and money and send them to the Inspectorate. Now it is the end of the year, and those people are probably coming back to collect money. As for the silver, it happens to be used to help the victims.”

"But my lord, will this cause public outrage?" Liao Wenbin asked worriedly.

Che Zhen on the side turned her eyes and said, "Your Excellency, do you mean that you only target those families that have joined Prince Zhao's Mansion?"

Jia Ying nodded with a smile: "Old Che, I didn't see it, you kind of understand my mind."

Liao Wenbin also said with a smile on this matter: "My lord, I understand, so let's do it."

"Well, go your own way."

In this disaster relief, it was obvious that the Ministry of Households was in the middle of tripping him up. Since his face has been torn apart, there is no reason why he cannot fight back.

After Che Zhen and the others left, Xi'er walked in and said, "Second Master, I've received someone, and in half an hour, I'll be at Cheng's gate."

When Jia Ying heard this, she looked happy and said, "Let's go, follow me to the gate of the city and wait."

A horse-drawn carriage rolled from the south under the thick snow, and soon arrived at the gate of Yongding.

The guard who came to pick him up saw the figure under the city gate from a distance, and said to the car: "Master Liu, you have arrived in the capital, and I, Mr. Jia, have come to pick you up in person."

"Oh, brother Jia is here in person."

A steady voice came from inside the carriage. Immediately afterwards, the curtain was lifted, and a man wearing a thick fur cloak with a resolute face came out of the carriage.

"Woo, tweet."

The carriage stopped at the gate of the city.

"Hahaha, Brother Liu, it's been almost three years since we left Huguang." Jia Ying walked towards the carriage with big strides and a bright smile on his face.

thump.

Without waiting for the little servant to move the high stool, Liu Yunlong jumped off the shaft of the car and had a bear hug with Jia Ying before parting, saying, "Brother Jia, if someone else saw it, they would think that Liu Mou is very powerful." , it is worth coming to pick it up in person."

"I don't want anyone else to come, but you and brother Zichen, I have to come and pick them up in person."

"Is the journey going smoothly? You and I haven't seen each other for a long time, so we're not in a hurry to go back home. How about it? Are you interested in walking all the way?" Jia Ying said with a smile.

Liu Yunlong nodded and said: "It's just right, I've been away from Beijing for three years, today is a good time to see how this capital is different from previous years."

"It's different."

"How to say?"

"Because in this capital city, there is one more friend and close friend of Jia, haha, brother Liu, please."

"Please."

Xi'er and the others led the horse and quietly followed behind. Under the surprised and curious eyes of the soldiers at the city gate, they walked towards Jia's mansion in the inner city.

"Brother Liu, when you enter Beijing this year, do you know what job the imperial court will assign you?" Jia Ying asked.

"I only received a letter from the teacher, saying that he recommended me to return to Beijing for a job. I don't know what kind of job it is. What's the matter, brother Jia?"

Jia Ying nodded and said: "Last year, Huguang was flooded and the river overflowed. The embankment you built in Jiangxia was well-received in the imperial court. This time when you came to Beijing, it happened that the Ministry of Industry was going to rebuild the canal. So the teacher recommended you to the imperial court."

"If you don't go on business, you probably want to work in the Ministry of Industry."

"Ministry of Industry? Dredging the river? It's not bad. When I came here, I was worried that I would not be able to adapt to other yamen. Although I am not good at dealing with rivers, I am somewhat sure." Liu Yunlong nodded.

After his three-year term in Jiangxia, he was evaluated by the Ministry of Officials and won the top pick. Even without the recommendation of his mentor, he would probably be promoted to another place, but he did not expect that he would be able to return to the capital so soon.

It is said that there are people in the DPRK who are good at handling things, Liu Yunlong has realized that when others are still trying to find their way, his future has already gone a long way.

"It was mentioned in the teacher's letter that you said that I am now in this tune, is that what you mean?" Liu Yunlong looked at Jia Ying and asked.

Three years ago, both of them were candidates for the entrance examination in Beijing. Three years later, Jia Ying had already walked far ahead of him.In fact, since he knew that Jia Ying made his name in Jia's mansion, Liu Yunlong knew that the official career of the same year beside him was probably farther than any of them. Not only did he have the support of his family, but also the support of his teacher. , he himself is also outstanding among Yunnan Zhongjuzi.

Such a person is destined to be extraordinary.

During these years in Jiangxia, he had heard a lot about Jia Ying, and he deeply admired what the other party had done.

Jia Ying nodded and said, "Brother Liu, do you know why the court wants to dredge the river again?"

Liu Yunlong shook his head.

"There are two things in the middle of this. One is that the imperial court reopened the sea trade in the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, the canal will be busy. The second is to transfer grain from the south to the north."

"I've heard about the re-opening of the sea trade. I heard that you are strongly advocating it. But this grain adjustment. Even though the grain needs to be adjusted from the south to the north every year, the current capacity of the canal is enough to support the grain market in the north." Why do we need to rebuild it? Could it be that there was another disaster somewhere, and a large amount of food is urgently needed?"

Jia Ying shook her head: "I can't tell you too much about the specific reason. Wait for a while, maybe there will be a result. It may take a year or so at the earliest, and it may take three to five years at the earliest. We will see you later. And , Liaodong Xinding, where the population is still migrating to now, within two or three years, the food there will not be self-sufficient."

"No matter what, this is a good thing. Congratulations, Brother Liu, for his promotion."

Although the specific post has not yet come down, the promotion from the seventh-rank Jiangxia county magistrate to the capital official, even if it is a mediocre transfer, is considered a promotion.

"Teacher Cheng and Brother Jia are very kind. Back then you and I had three brothers, Zichen, who won the first place together. Now Brother Zichen is missing. In autumn, I also wrote to him. He promoted land reform in Jialing. It's just that I don't know where he will be transferred after the three-year period expires." Liu Yunlong sighed.

Mentioning Zhang Zichen, Jia Ying said: "About Brother Zichen, I have received some news that he carried out land reform in Jialing, and he seems to have won the favor of Mr. Fu Ge. It is said that Mr. Fu intended to let him go to the Chief Secretary of Sichuan. Being an experience officer is not comparable to you, but it can be regarded as a promotion."

The experience officer of the chief envoy is from the sixth rank.This group of scholars, Enke, was originally opened for the New Deal. Now that the three-year term has passed, which ones are talented and which are mediocre, the imperial court has full drafts. Fu Donglai promotes the New Deal. Naturally Priority is given to selecting from among these individuals.

Liu Yunlong nodded upon hearing this, feeling happy for his friend.At this time, seeing the lively scene on the street, he was curious and asked Jia Ying, "Brother Jia, what's going on?"

Jia Ying immediately talked about the snow disasters in several northern provinces this year when winter began.

After hearing this, Liu Yunlong couldn't help but sighed with emotion: "If we say that since the fifth year of Jiade, the political atmosphere in Dagan has gradually changed from turbid to clear, and it looks like a prosperous era of great rule, but the displaced people have never been cut off."

Jia Ying remained silent, the ups and downs are the suffering of the common people, as it has been in the past and the present, and it will not change much because of one dynasty.

"There are so many victims, and there is not enough food, how will Brother Jia plan to resettle them?"

Jia Ying said: "This is exactly what I want to tell you. After you enter the Ministry of Industry, all these people will be handed over to you. Tens of thousands of people, maybe more, are all high-quality labor. They will have food to eat, shelter to last them through the winter, labor to dredge the river, and nothing to worry about."

"Relief from work? It's a good idea."

Jia Ying said helplessly: "The main reason is that the Ministry of Households has not dealt with me very much recently. It said it was for disaster relief, but they did not give food and fodder. I can only ask the Ministry of Households to allocate grain and grass to the Ministry of Industry for rebuilding the river."

"But even if I take office, it is impossible for the Ministry of Industry to allocate all the food and fodder in such a short period of time. Didn't you just say that the food and fodder of the Bingma Division can't last for a few days?" Liu Yunlong worried.

"You can rest assured about this. You don't know if you haven't been in the court for a long time. The matter of the South-to-North grain transfer is in charge of the Lixiao County King. The dredging of the canal and the channel is his memorial to His Majesty. I I made a deal with him, and in a few days, Nanbianer will bring grain, this grain is for the Ministry of Industry's special grain for the construction of the water, and it will not be taken from the account of the Ministry of Households." Jia Ying said with a smile.

"Brother Jia and the King of Lixiao County"

(End of this chapter)