Lonely non-good minister

Chapter 426: Changing orders day and night is hard to believe
While she was resting, official documents came one after another. One of them was specially selected and placed at the top. Because there was a small note in the official document, Song Yuan saw it easily. He reached out to grab it, opened it and took a closer look. , is about the resettlement of lonely elderly people in the northwest.

There are many old people without children to support them in the northwest, and the situation of each household is not much different. It is just that poverty and war have caused many young men to die in the battlefield. Even though the yamen allocate some food to these old people separately every year, there are still some. Starvation occurred.

It just so happens that when they were young, most of these old people worked for the court to defend themselves against enemies. When they got old, they had to go home after receiving a sum of money. Although they could buy land to settle down, they couldn't farm at all when they got old. Their old age without children was miserable. This phenomenon To a certain extent, it also affected the morale of the Northwest Army. After all, everyone was afraid that they would end up like this in their later years.

"Go and call the official in charge of the placement of the orphaned elderly." Song Yuan took the official document and thought about it carefully. When the people arrived, he asked: "If I remember correctly, this matter was already on the schedule seven months ago. , what was said at that time was that it was freezing cold, and considering that it is not suitable for the elderly to travel far, we have to wait until spring when the weather gets warmer before making arrangements. Why are we still preparing to discuss it now? "

Just as the official was about to speak, Song Yuan gestured for him to sit down. He cupped his hands and sat down, saying, "My lord, I remember correctly. This was indeed the plan before. In order to ensure that things went smoothly, we decided to Officials at all levels have been urged to visit and take advantage of the opportunity of delivering food to inform the old people of the yamen's plan.

What was said at that time was very clear, that is, they would be moved to one place, and their food, clothing, housing, and transportation would be taken care of by people arranged by the Yamen. Their birth, old age, illness, and death would also be taken care of by the Yamen. It was considered that the Yamen would care for them in their old age and see them through the end of their lives. Many elderly people agreed at that time and said Well, we'll help them relocate when the weather warms up.

But who would have expected that most of them would change their minds after things got warmer. One moment they said that the Yamen thought they were a nuisance and wanted to gather them together and detain them and let them fend for themselves. Another moment they said that the Yamen was coveting their fields and houses and cutting off their escape route. He said that if the yamen was sincere, they should directly give them money and food. The commotion was really serious. "

The official sighed as he spoke, but Song Yuan was relatively calm. She was not surprised by this situation. They had already expected this situation when they first raised the matter.

Moreover, after Emperor Hong Ming ascended the throne, the decrees were changed not once or twice. Not to mention that the people did not believe in the court or the yamen. Even she, an official, did not believe it. Who knew whether the yamen was greedy for something with such good intentions?
"It's expected." Song Yuan didn't say much. She didn't talk enough about the truth, and she didn't bother to talk about the nonsense of the officials below. This kind of words was a shirk of responsibility. It would be like this for anyone else. As a result, the fundamental reason is that the people do not believe in the yamen.

She did not blame, and the official's worried heart relaxed a little: "Sir, another reason is that these old people have no children, and all they can rely on are their neighbors and relatives. They moved to other places without familiar people around them. People, they feel uneasy, and even if there is no incense in the future, most people still hope that their souls will return to their hometown."

"I remember that the Yamen had previously tried to provide more food in addition to the fixed amount of food, and asked the neighbors and family members of these elderly people to take care of them, but the result was not good. The reason was not made clear at the time. Do you know why?"

When he mentioned this, the official sighed: "The grain is provided by the Yamen to these old people. Although it is not much, it is about a hundred catties per year. But how can a lonely old man with no children bear the food provided by the Yamen? If the Yamen does not It's fine if you tell others to take care of you, because those people are afraid of being held accountable and don't dare to mess around. But once you tell them, they often drag the whole family to eat.

The old man can eat enough with a bowl of millet, but he will have seven or eight more mouths, and a dou of food will be gone after a meal. It is not his own food, so who would plan to be frugal?One by one, they ate with open stomachs, wishing they could eat one meal for three days. These old people could not stop them, but they could not drive them away. If they met the more ruthless ones, they would be beaten severely.

These people went home with full stomachs. The old man had nothing left. In many places in the winter, the roads were blocked by heavy snow and it was difficult to walk. Even if they wanted to complain, there was no way. The neighbors and relatives were more terrifying than wild beasts at this time. Occasionally, they encountered If you are soft-hearted, you can also give a bowl of wild vegetable paste to fill your stomach. If you don't meet it, you will starve to death. "The evil of human nature is really terrible." Song Yuan was very sad: "So I can understand why these people don't want to trust the yamen. Even close neighbors and family members can be so vicious. Who dares to trust others?"Now that you know these inside stories, can you be held accountable afterwards? "

The official shook his head: "These situations are only mentioned by the old people who were lucky enough to survive. Those old people who starved to death are afraid that the situation will be even worse. When the subordinates learned about it, they immediately informed the county captain to investigate. Unfortunately, every time As soon as the government officials came, they denied it flatly and refused to admit that they had said this at all. Not only that, they also defended those people, so they could only give a few reprimands and warnings and end it hastily."

"They are also afraid that if you really arrest people, you will offend your neighbors and family members. Once you leave, they will have no place to stay." Song Yuan tapped the table and couldn't help thinking: "The more this happens, the less likely those people will be. I have no scruples. I think the life of those old people is not easy at all. In this way, I have come up with a way for you. First, take those old people to live in the place where they are placed for a few days. If there are still people who want to go back, send them back. No. Forcibly, as for the farmland and houses they care about, the yamen can resell them on their behalf, and they can keep the money themselves. Let’s give it a try first and see if it works.”

The officials thought about it and found that there was no better way for the time being, so they agreed to make arrangements first.

Song Yuan rested for a while and then began to deal with the official documents piled on the table. Inside the official documents was a letter from Jing Zhao, informing her that the wedding date was set for the twelfth lunar month.

It's the twelfth lunar month, that means there's still half a year left.

Song Yuan was in a daze for a while, then put the letter aside.

She was busy dealing with civil affairs all day long, and she hadn't seen Song Fu in person for a long time, but Song Fu suddenly came to visit her.

Wearing a silver-gray uniform and holding a riding whip in his hand, he went directly into the bright hall where Song Yuan handled official documents without letting anyone know. He stood at the door and looked around, and saw Song Yuan burying his head behind a mountain of official documents. Ku Gan walked up to her without saying a word.

The shadow blocked the light, and Song Yuan raised his head. When he saw it was him, he couldn't help but be surprised: "Why is fifth brother here?"

"I have free time today, so come and take a look." Song Fu glanced at the mountain of official documents and motioned to the people accompanying him to put down the small bamboo basket: "Let me bring you some snacks made by your sister-in-law."

(End of this chapter)