Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 91

(PS: There are two updates today, and the first one will be delivered.)
At that time, before nine o'clock, the sun had already climbed into the mid-air to the east. It was so hot and bright that it made people uncomfortable in the sun and hurt people's eyes. There was no green on both sides of the road, and there was a patch of brown-yellow land. It is red, and if the horse's hoof steps on it casually, it will bring up a cloud of dust and smoke.Riding a fast horse on such a land, even a martial artist like Chen Jianhuang and old urchins like Song Xiance and Xu Hongzu who often travel east and west can't stand it, let alone the spoiled Young Master Zhang, Zhang Cai and Zhang Qingyun. The three brothers and sisters of the Zhang family, especially Zhang Qingyun, kept wiping sweat while complaining, "There are so few stinky dogs, it's all your fault, and if you want to die, you came up with the bad idea of ​​private visits in private! Ouch, I'm so hot!" "

Also sweating like rain, Young Master Zhang pretended not to hear, Young Master Zhang knew Zhang Qingyun’s dual personality too well, when he was wearing women’s clothing, he was gentle and virtuous, gentle and polite, but when he was wearing men’s clothing, he was tricky and domineering. She would never get entangled with Zhang Qingyun from men's clothing, that would be asking for trouble.At this time, a Dongchang fan who was opening the way ahead rushed back and shouted to Young Master Zhang: "My lord, there is an abandoned village ahead. The smell of corpses is very strong. Please be prepared."

Young Master Zhang nodded, first ordered the team to stop their preparations, took out two pieces of cotton cloth from his arms, and untied a gourd filled with rice vinegar from his waist, soaked the cotton cloth with vinegar, and handed one piece to Zhang Qingyun.Zhang Qingyun, who had no field experience, asked in surprise, "What are you doing?" Young Master Zhang explained, "Using this to cover your mouth and nose can prevent odors and plagues. Don't underestimate the smell of corpses, it's even more terrifying than the smell of a latrine. "

There is no girl who does not like to be clean and tidy. Hearing what Master Zhang said, Zhang Qingyun quickly took the cotton cloth and covered her mouth and nose like Master Zhang. After everyone was ready, the team of more than [-] people continued. go ahead.After walking for another three or four miles, an abandoned village appeared in front of my eyes, with crumbling houses, a dry creek, and an atmosphere of despair everywhere, and in the air, there was a pungent smell of corpses everywhere. The taste, although Young Master Zhang and his party had wrapped their mouths and noses with cotton cloth soaked in vinegar, they still found it unbearable, and they felt like vomiting.

"There are few dogs, the front is too smelly, shall we go around?" the unbearable Zhang Qingyun begged.Young Master Zhang shook his head, "No, I want to see the situation of the village with my own eyes." After finishing speaking, Young Master Zhang rushed into the ruined village first, although Zhang Qingyun secretly scolded Young Master Zhang for not being considerate of herself, but Still couldn't help but follow in curiously.

Entering the village, the smell of corpses became stronger, almost making people want to vomit. Young Master Zhang suppressed his nausea and found a dilapidated house with the strongest smell of corpses. He got off his horse and kicked open the broken door. The young master almost vomited it out, but he almost didn’t vomit it out on the spot——on the floor of the house, two rotting corpses, men and women, old and young, were lying crosswise, and countless white corpse maggots were crawling around on the corpses, constantly Wriggling, the belly of one of the corpses was broken, and the blue-yellow intestines and viscera mixed with unknown liquids flowed all over the ground. The stench was abnormal. It was also covered with white corpse maggots and countless big green The flies were frightened and flew up, dancing and scurrying in the room densely, making one's scalp numb and goosebumps all over his body.Zhang Qingyun, who was following Young Master Zhang, only took one look, and immediately rushed out of the room to vomit.

"Calculate how many corpses there are in this village." Young Master Zhang walked out the door and ordered.Chen Jianhuang and the other Dongchang soldiers followed the order, and after a while, Chen Jianhuang came over and reported: "Master Zhang, a total of 37 corpses were found, and some corpses may have been buried before that. The exact number of dead people cannot be counted." .”

"So many people died in one village?" Young Master Zhang's heart sank, and he said with a livid face, "When I just left the capital at the beginning of May, Jiu Qiansui had already ordered all the prefectures and counties in the disaster-stricken Shandong area to open warehouses to release relief. So many people died of starvation?" No one could answer Young Master Zhang's question, but everyone, including Young Master Zhang himself, knew very well that such a situation was absolutely inseparable from the governance of local officials.Young Master Zhang didn't bother, he gritted his teeth and ordered: "Let's go, go to Ziyang City to see, our Ziyang county magistrate, Yang Bingyu, Mr. Zhang, how did he release disaster relief!"

Helping Zhang Qingyun, who had already vomited jaundice, onto the horse, Master Zhang and his party hurriedly left the village like a tomb, and hurried to Ziyang County. Along the way, the corpses of the victims who starved to death gradually increased. Being gnawed to pieces by wild beasts, it was horrible, and the two villages passed along the way were the same as the first village, with corpses everywhere and no one inhabited.And the anger in Young Master Zhang's chest was getting bigger and bigger, and he finally roared out, "Why is this happening? Why are so many people dying? Where is the grain that the imperial court opened for relief? The first batch of 20 shi of grain I sent from Jiangnan , where did it go?"

"There must be something wrong with Ziyang County!" Song Xiance said firmly: "Yang Bingyu, the magistrate of Ziyang County, once defended Ziyang County when the Wenxiang Sect (the branch of the White Lotus Sect) rebelled in the second year of Tianqi, and protected the world. Zhu Shouyong, the King of Lu in Yanzhou, is deeply favored by the King of Lu for his property, so it is rumored among the people that even Huang Gun, the deputy envoy of the Shandong Provincial Police, dare not touch him! With this protective umbrella, Yang Bingyu is afraid that he can do anything!"

"The vice envoy of Shandong's inspector dare not touch him? What about the inspector?" Young Master Zhang asked angrily.Song Xiance smiled wryly, and replied: "Boss, are you really confused or fake? Yuan Chonghuan, the envoy of Shandong's inspectorate, is now serving as the deputy envoy of Shanhaiguan military preparations in Liaodong. How can he have time to manage Shandong's affairs? Therefore, the real power of Shandong inspectorate In fact, it is in the hands of the deputy envoy Huang Gun."

"Shandong's inspector is Yuan Chonghuan?" Young Master Zhang was a little dumbfounded—if there was anyone in the Ming Dynasty who Young Master Zhang didn't want to deal with, then he was neither Wei Zhongxian nor a member of the Donglin Party, but this controversial future Liaodong Superintendent, Yuan Chengzhi's father, whose ability and character are still inconclusive!Song Xiance didn't notice Young Master Zhang's hesitation, but nodded and explained: "That's right, although the Shandong Inspectorate is only a vain title bestowed on Yuan Chonghuan by the imperial court, and he hasn't fulfilled his duties for a day, but he is indeed the Shandong Inspectorate Envoy."

Young Master Zhang scratched his head, took a peek at Xu Hongzu and Zhang Cai who were observing their expressions, and said with a wry smile: "Let's talk about it at that time, go to Ziyang County first, if it is really Yang Bingyu, the magistrate of Ziyang County, who is doing something wrong, then what should I do?" Just do what you want—even if it is Yuan Chonghuan, I will participate as soon as I should, and I will never tolerate it." However, Song Xiance, Zhang Shitou and others heard the implication in Young Master Zhang's words, and they couldn't help but peek at each other. They really don't understand Young Master Zhang. Why are you so scruples about Yuan Chonghuan who has never dealt with him before?
While talking, Young Master Zhang and his entourage were non-stop, and finally arrived outside Ziyang County before noon. From a distance, Ziyang City, where the former Yanzhou Mansion and the seventh-generation Lu King Zhu Shouyong's mansion was located, was very majestic, far beyond ordinary the county seat.However, outside the heavily guarded city gate, there are densely packed Shandong disaster victims, all of them are yellow and thin, ragged, sitting or lying down, exposing themselves to the scorching sun, crying and moaning endlessly. Next to the city gate, there was a big thatched shed. Smoke was coming out from under the shed, and it seemed that someone was lighting a fire there.Young Master Zhang and his party were not in a hurry to enter the city, they dismounted together, gathered the horses and handed them over to two Dongchang guards, and the rest of the people followed Young Master Zhang to the city gate on foot to find out the truth among the victims. .

After walking for a while, Young Master Zhang and his entourage gradually walked into the crowd of victims, and spread out to observe the situation at a close distance. They were skinny, dying of hunger, groaning under the scorching sun, and from time to time victims who lost their loved ones could be seen lying on the corpses and crying loudly. The desolate scene was unbearable to watch.Young Master Zhang couldn't bear it anymore, he spotted an old man sitting on the ground moaning, walked over and squatted in front of him, and asked in a genuine Shandong accent: "Old man, the sun is so bright, why don't you go to the city and find someone else?" Shady place out of the sun?"

"Young man, are you from a foreign country? Judging from the accent, you seem to be from Dongchang?" The old man raised his head and glanced at Young Master Zhang dressed as a businessman, and asked weakly.Young Master Zhang nodded, and replied: "I am from Linqing, Dongchang Prefecture, and I just arrived in Ziyang today."

"From Dongchang Linqing? Young man, you are blessed." The old man sighed, and said with difficulty: "I heard that there is a high-ranking official named Zhang in your place, and the high-ranking officials in Shandong want to flatter him. I ran to Dongchang Mansion to pick him up, and the people affected by the disaster there also benefited. We Ziyang people are miserable. Lord Lu thinks that we have entered the city too much, begging everywhere, and dirty the streets, so let the county magistrate and The military lord drove us all out. Originally, we built some thatched huts at the foot of the city wall to hide from the sun. .”

"Clean up the county? Do you think you are the city management of Daming? Except for the houses of civil servants, you dare not demolish the martyrs' cemetery?" Young Master Zhang was even more angry in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he just pointed at the smoking man The thatched shed asked: "Old man, why hasn't that big thatched shed been demolished?"

"That's the porridge shed where the porridge is kept, so it hasn't been demolished." The old man replied.Young Master Zhang nodded, and asked again: "How many times do they serve porridge a day? Twice? Three times? Is the porridge thick? How many porridge shelters like this are there in Ziyang County?"

In ancient times, productivity was not high, no matter how clean and honest officials and local governments released relief, there were at most two bowls of rice porridge in the morning and evening every day. Now it is noon, and the porridge shed in Ziyang County is lighting a fire and smoking. This is quite unreasonable, so Master Zhang That's why I asked.Before the old man waited, a young disaster victim next to him began to curse, "Give out porridge two or three times a day? Shit! There is only one porridge shed in Ziyang County, and there is only one meal of bran water at noon a day. After drinking it, it will disappear after soaking in urine." !"

"Bran water?" Eldest Young Master Zhang exchanged glances with Zhang Qingyun and Chen Jianhuang, who were on the left and right, and tentatively asked the young victim: "Brother, didn't the imperial court order the prefectures and counties in the disaster-stricken areas to open warehouses to release grain? Why are you still drinking bran water? Also, I heard that an imperial envoy has sent 20 shi of grain from Jiangnan to the disaster-stricken areas in Shandong to help the victims, why, hasn’t it been sent to Ziyang?”

"Fart relief! Fart disaster relief!" The young victim said angrily: "In early May, when we heard that the imperial court ordered relief, we all ran to Ziyang County to wait for the relief, but the magistrate of the county didn't release food at all. , I only gave us a bowl of bran water every day, and countless people starved to death! Last month, Jining sent some food. I heard that it was the disaster relief food from Jiangnan. We thought we could have a full meal It's time to eat, but I never thought that the food would disappear when it was transported into the city, and the porridge shed still boiled bran water! Originally, we heard that the porridge was served in Jining, and we barely starved to death after eating it, so we all thought of Jining We went to eat relief food, but before we went west ten miles, the county magistrate Gou sent an army to drive us back, saying that Jining is close to the canal, and we should not be seen by the official ships on the canal, and Ziyang County was lost. And the face of Yanzhou Mansion!"

"Oh, this is fate." At first the old man cried, and said with muddy tears: "God is not open, and we were born in Ziyang, and now the magistrate of this county. The mistress next door to my house The son was so hungry that he couldn’t survive, so he exchanged his only son with someone else to cook and eat, but the youngest son was full, but his wife hanged herself, life, life.” Lamenting, the old man buried his face on his knees , Weeping uncontrollably.

Young Master Zhang couldn't listen anymore, got up and rushed away, lest his tears flow out in public, Zhang Qingyun and Chen Jianhuang chased up from behind, Zhang Qingyun gritted his teeth and said: "Young dog, go to the city and find the county magistrate to settle the score! I support you If something goes wrong, I will fight with you!" Young Master Zhang tried his best to hold back his tears, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, let's see again, you can't just listen to one side of the story."

Taking Zhang Qingyun and Chen Jianhuang around again, they heard the same situation. Wei Zhongxian's official document ordering the disaster-stricken area to open warehouses to release grain had indeed been sent to Ziyang, and many Ziyang refugees had heard about it.At the same time, Sun Chaosu, the magistrate of Yanzhou, did allocate a batch of the disaster relief food sent by Young Master Zhang to Ziyang County, but no matter whether it was the original stored grain in Ziyang County or the disaster relief food sent by Young Master Zhang, the Ziyang refugees did not see it. Every day, they eat rice bran porridge that is as clear as water. As for where the food went, I am afraid that only Ziyang County Magistrate Yang Bingyu can make it clear.And after Xu Hongzu, Zhang Cai, who were full of anger, met with Young Master Zhang, they brought Yang Bingyu other bad deeds to Young Master Zhang. The price of ten catties of grain and one mu of land wantonly annexed land, and bought young women for sex at a low price among the victims. Yang Bingyu not only did not stop the crackdown, but often sent people to the villages where there was still money to urge rent and taxes, causing many deaths. .

"Nine thousand years old didn't exempt Shandong from taxes. I know that." Young Master Zhang said in a deep voice, "If taxes are exempted, believe it or not, the Ziyang county government must force taxes even harder. Because the taxes they collect now require If they hand it over to the imperial court, they won't get any benefits, so they don't pay much attention to it-but if the tax is exempted, the money collected will be their own, and they will only force it harder. Nine thousand years old was born in poverty, but he knows too much about the following It’s all right.” Speaking of this, Young Master Zhang grinned again and said, “But it doesn’t matter, just being greedy for ink and giving food is enough for Yang Bingyu to suffer!”

"My lord, Yang Bingyu is a celebrity in front of Lord Lu, please proceed with caution." Chen Jianhuang cautiously reminded.Young Master Zhang grinned ferociously, and snorted, "King Lu? Emperor Mingzong has no right to interfere in government affairs. I'm afraid he'll be a bird! Let's go to the porridge shed and get Yang Bingyu out first!"

(End of this chapter)