Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 311 County Lord Lin Shang Da Tian Ting

The entire Wangjiazhuangzi braved the severe cold to go out, huddled in a corner not far from Wang Gou'er's house, and watched from afar.

Following Daiyu's instructions, Wang Momo unloaded some coarse grains from the carriage, which seemed to be more than ten catties for a small child.

Not much, but enough to keep those kids bouncing and jumping happily.

Food, in this cold winter, how many people are struggling every day, even go to the capital to beg for a living thing that is hard to get.

More than a dozen catties of coarse grains, boiled thinner, is enough for the whole family to survive for a few more days.

"The room is cramped, and I have wronged the nobleman."

Grandma Liu greeted Jia Cong and Daiyu together with her daughter Liu Shi and their two children. It was the first time for Daiyu to feel what a hut is like.

If Grandma Liu's family hadn't been cleaned very well, and the maids brought out the usual items such as cushions and tea sets that had been prepared long ago, she would have felt that she couldn't sit still in the room.

This does not conflict with her sympathy and kindness for the weak. When she handed the delicate dim sum on the plate to Grandma Liu's granddaughter, the little girl took it timidly. She didn't take the first bite, but stood on tiptoe holding the dim sum and wanted to hand it to her grandma...

"Kong Rong gave the plow, and the little girl gave the dim sum. Grandma Liu, you have a filial granddaughter."

Daiyu asked Zijuan to distribute the snacks to Wang Gou'er's sons and daughters, and motioned for Grandma Liu to sit down and talk with Mrs. Liu.

After Jia Cong whispered a few words in Daiyu's ear, he stepped out of the house and went to the village head.

The two had their own division of labor, and while Daiyu was resting, she asked Grandma Liu and Mrs. Liu about the situation in the village.In particular, Wang Xifeng had asked Daiyu to try it before, to see if she could find out some information about her father's soldiers Wang Qingtang from Grandma Liu, mother and daughter.

Jia Cong, on the other hand, walked in the village to see what kind of life the poor people under the emperor's feet were living.

Compared with the prosperity of the capital, the small village at the foot of the West Mountain is very poor.

The depression in winter is vividly displayed in the village. Today, the nobles gave rice, and every household started to boil water and cook rice before noon. The children have all returned home. It is estimated that they will all gather around the stove and wait for a full meal.

Looking around, in front of Jia Cong's eyes, there is no anecdote of chickens and dogs recorded in the book. People can't fill their stomachs. Where did the chickens and dogs come from?
The old village chief walked around the village with the nobleman respectfully, and talked carefully with him.

Jia Cong's questions seem to be scattered, but they actually cover farming, food and clothing, life, old age, sickness and death in the village.

The last official in Wangjiazhuang was also the grandfather of Wang Gou'er, who once served as a small official in Beijing.Later, Wang Gou'er's grandfather and Wang Xifeng's grandfather joined the clan and recognized him as Uncle Wang's nephew.

Jia Cong suddenly realized: "I thought it was Wang Gou'er's father and Wang Jialian's clan, but it turned out to be his grandfather."

"How could Wang Cheng have such skills. After his father left, he almost wiped out the family business. It was the dog's daughter-in-law who married into the house, and the dog had hope, so it managed to run well for a few years. Sigh, it's also bad luck. Seeing that this year has survived the drought, I don't want all the food to be received at home, and the dry river actually broke its embankment."

The youngest son of the old village chief can read a few words. He has been an apprentice in the pharmacy in the town for nearly 15 years.

Although there is not much food in his family, it is only enough for his family to live on.Nine out of ten people in this village are relatives of their own. They wanted to help, but they couldn't.This made the old man feel as if a stone had been crushed in his heart, and he was reluctant to even leave the door on weekdays.

Those hungry, sallow and emaciated dolls all want to call him grandpa, grandpa...

"My lord, when will the court's food be delivered? In a few days, I'm afraid people will really starve to death."

These words almost exhausted the courage the old man had finally mustered up, and he looked at Jia Cong worriedly but expectantly.

He didn't lie, including those who borrowed grain from the village head's family with the only Susukida, they might run out of grain in a few days.

This is still the result of hard work while living on gruel.Because of the hard work, these days the dolls don't have the energy to run around and play.

Jia Cong looked at the withered, yellow and desolate village, and the smoke from cooking everywhere failed to dispel the bleakness. He said with half comfort and half affirmation: "Soon, it will be distributed soon. Your Majesty has ordered the Crown Prince to come to Fangshan, and the food will be distributed soon."

"Really?"

The old village chief couldn't believe it, because he had heard these two words from the village chief several times.It has been a month and a half since the end of autumn until now, and we haven't seen a single grain of relief food.

Jia Cong lifted the fox-fur cloak he was wearing, revealing the Golden Dragon Order hanging from his waist.

"Old man, have you ever heard of Rongguo Mansion? My father, Marquis Jia En, was conferred the title of Marquis of Rongguo..."

"It turned out to be Master Yumao. This old man has eyes but no eyes. He neglected His Excellency. Please forgive me!"

The old village head was about to kneel down and kowtow in joy, but Jia Cong held him up.

"If the old man kneels down for me, won't that be my life?"

In the rare years, I don't kneel when I see you.

How could Jia Cong let the ancient old man kneel down for him, and this old man's character is extremely good, he has to ask him to help him when some things happen.

Stopping and stopping, Jia Cong quickly understood the situation of Wangjiazhuang.

Compared with the neighboring Tianjia Village, Wangjiazhuang not only has fewer people in the village, but also does not have a single clan member with fame.

Every year, they will suffer a lot from fighting for water and serving in the army. Now it is even more because of a man-made flood that most of the villagers are about to lose their land, and the whole Zhuangzi is in panic and depression.

Jia Cong had been prepared in his heart, and he was able to conceal the touch in his heart, but Daiyu was far behind.

When she heard that a family in Zhuangzi gave birth to a daughter through untold hardships a few days ago, but had to throw it away because there was no food, the short-term anger was followed by a long silence.

Right or wrong, Daiyu can no longer make a simple judgment.

In the final analysis, it was all caused by a poor word.

If there hadn't been that man-made flood this autumn, perhaps that baby would still be sleeping soundly in the arms of its mother today.

Daiyu didn't use much during lunch, and what she learned from Grandma Liu's mother and daughter today completely shattered the world depicted in the book for her.

The pots, pans and pans were all brought over by the servants from the mansion, and the meals were not much different from usual, but Daiyu was holding a delicate porcelain bowl, but she couldn't swallow the polished rice in the bowl.

In the end, he dealt with a few mouthfuls casually, and asked people to send the food to the outside room, and gave it to Grandma Liu's family.

When parting, Daiyu asked someone to fetch a piece of silver and forced it into Grandma Liu's hand.

Then she said to Wang Gou'er who was standing respectfully by the side: "An old man in a family is like a treasure. Your mother-in-law is a sensible person, so honor her well. Your mother-in-law has contributed a lot to your family's ability to survive this test. Ban'er is a smart child, send him to study."

crunch~
It was snowing, so Jia Cong had to change his itinerary and return to Wangpingkou Town.

Until she went back to the previous inn, Daiyu was still thinking about the things Grandma Liu told in her mind.

She thought of those dolls who came to Wang Gou'er's house and kowtowed to her.

The group of hungry, sallow, skinny, shivering dolls knelt and kowtowed to her one by one at the door. Daiyu almost sent people back to Beijing to fetch food, so that they could share it with them to survive this difficult winter.

But she knew that this was not something she should or could do. Disaster relief was, in the final analysis, a matter for the imperial court.

"Brother Cong, when will His Royal Highness distribute the relief food? If it's later, I'm afraid I'll starve to death."

Jia Cong put the hot food on the table in front of Daiyu, with a serious expression: "Eat, you didn't eat well at noon. I will tell you in detail after the meal."

Daiyu was forcefully fed a bowl of rice by Jia Cong, and drank a small bowl of ginseng soup, then wrapped her in a quilt, and talked softly about his plan with Prince Liu Hong.

If it's just to check those small miscellaneous fish, he only needs to lead people to catch them.

"The meaning of the fourth brother is to use this matter to sort out the land and population of Gyeonggi Prefecture and counties, and to find out the things about tax evasion, occupation of people's land, forced buying and selling, and hidden population. The number of refugees is increasing year by year. This is not a good thing. If you are bewitched again, there may be another big disturbance."

Jia Cong took his pen and ink and began to write at the desk: "However, the food for the disaster relief can't be delayed any longer. I also found out the situation in Wangjiazhuang today, which is worse than we imagined. Mr. Wang said that except for a few Zhuangzi who have produced talents and promoted people nearby, almost all of them were won by Wang Qingtang..."

As soon as Daiyu heard the name of Wang Qingtang, she felt disgusted. She held back her swearing, and said contemptuously: "Yes, this Wang Qingtang's methods are too cruel. The people in Wangjiazhuang are still relatives of the Wang family, and he didn't even let go of the relatives' fields. Three or five buckets of rice wine exchanged an acre of land, which is really shocking."

After a night of heavy snow, Daiyu lay in front of the window of the inn after dawn, looked at the snowflakes in the sky and frowned and said: "In the past, I always looked forward to enjoying the plum blossoms in the snow, but now when I see the snowflakes falling, I always think of those little children in Wangjiazhuang who are dressed in single clothes."

Xueyan put the red fox-fur cloak on Daiyu's body, tied it up and said, "Young lady gave me a lot of food yesterday, so I can get through these few days. When the time comes, His Royal Highness will distribute food for disaster relief, and I will be able to survive this winter after all."

"Last night I fell asleep and dreamed about that child..."

Ok?
Daiyu wrapped herself tightly in the cloak, and couldn't help shivering.

"I dreamed about the child who was abandoned by her parents. It would be great if she was born in my family."

……

This heavy snow covered almost the entire Shuntian Mansion, and the capital was covered in silver overnight.

The glazed tiles in the Forbidden City turned white. Liu Heng got up very early and went to the Hall of Qinzheng. He summoned the ministers who were in charge of the cabinet and held a small court meeting with the chief officials of the six ministries and five temples.

Wen Tongxuan had money, and with a swipe of his pen, he allocated enough money and food, which were transported to the counties and counties in Gyeonggi Province for snow disaster relief.

Everything seems to be in order, and the court is not short of money. Liu Heng feels that there will be no major problems this winter.

It's a pity that the court has money, and more people are staring at the money.

Xia Shouzhong walked over quickly holding a wooden box.

"My lord, the secret performance of Fangshan County."

"Hong'er should have arrived, I'll come and see how my errand is doing."

Huh?
Liu Heng looked at the two letters in the box, the handwriting was different.

"Master Wen'an? That little girl from the Lin family..."

He put Jia Cong's letter aside, and first read that it was written in Zanhua Xiaokai.

"My courtiers have heard that when the sage is in court, all the people are safe. However, when the emperor stays in the Forbidden Palace, what he sees and hears is played by the courtiers. Whether the prosperous age is not decorated by the courtiers' rhetoric, it should be in the food and clothing of the people. The courtiers dare to play. The prosperous age in the mouth of the courtiers is only in the prosperity of the capital. In the land of the capital, at the feet of the emperor, there are also people who are short of clothing and food. Babies have no protection, the old and the weak have no one to rely on, famine, and suffering from severe cold."

"What I heard from my daughter is depressing. There is a family at the foot of the West Mountain. The mother and daughter had no choice but to abandon the baby because there was no food in the house, and abandoned it in the West Mountain....The minister does not know whether the baby has cried out in coldness and hatred, or whether his parents have regretted it in dreams. There are countless such tragedies. Seventy percent of the people in the towns at the foot of the West Mountain are short of food, and they may not last for a few days. I only hope that Your Majesty will give God's grace as soon as possible, and give food relief to reassure the people."

Daiyu's letter mentioned almost all the things she heard and experienced in Wangjiazhuang, including the food she saw for a few days when the children in the village were starving and freezing, and almost everything she heard from Grandma Liu was written in the letter.

Liu Heng saw it clearly, and at the same time knew that these things were absolutely true.And it's not too bad, it's just that the girl of the Lin family was born rich, so it's hard to accept this at first sight.

At least in the prefectures and counties of Gyeonggi, no matter how miserable the situation is, there are porridge tents for disaster relief from the imperial court, so they can find a way out no matter what.

Where Emperor Gao was far away that day, the entire Zhuangzi and the entire town might starve to death or freeze to death.

Oh, prosperity?

"Even a little girl knows that this prosperous age is just the prosperous age of the capital city, and the prosperous age of these noble scholars and bureaucrats, but my courtiers will brag about their achievements again and again brazenly."

Liu Heng put away Daiyu's letter, picked up Jia Cong's letter, and opened it to read.

Compared with Daiyu's immature words, Jia Cong is much more sophisticated.

The letter mentioned the property, population and disaster situation of the villages near Wang Pingkou. While pleading for disaster relief, it also said one thing.

"Big Companion, go to the Ministry of Households and ask Wen Lao Paixiu to check the changes in land tax in Shuntian Mansion over the years. If this kid really follows his idea, it might be a good way to alleviate land annexation."

……

It snowed heavily for three days, and the snow in Wang Pingkou had made it difficult for the carriage to move forward. Jia Cong and his party had to stop in the town temporarily.

However, the reply letter from Prince Liu Hong was quickly delivered to Jia Cong, who had already arrived in Fangshan County.

The food for the disaster relief was all in the grain depot in Fangshan County, but due to the delay of the county officials, and now the road was blocked by heavy snow, the disaster relief was delayed and could not be put into action.

Jia Cong quickly drew a picture of the manufacturing methods of the skis and sleds, and sent the soldiers to the county quickly.

After going back and forth, it was delayed for another three days. When Xue Pan came to Wang Pingkou with Liu Hong's handwriting, the relief food was sent from the county to the disaster-stricken areas.

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Let’s stop here tonight and continue tomorrow.

　　good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)