On February 20, the 10th year of Chongzhen, a team of about fifty or sixty people, escorted by dozens of tall and strong officers and soldiers in bright armor, went straight to the small town of Caishi!
This team was temporarily put together by the Shandong Governor's Yamen, the Jinan Prefecture's Yamen, the Shandong Capital Commander's Office, and the Jinan Acropolis. They came mainly to inspect the disaster situation of the refugees!
Drought comes from the sky and the people suffer!
From the beginning of February, the disaster began to spread. In less than twenty days, large-scale waves of refugees continued to rise in Qingzhou Prefecture, Dezhou Prefecture, Dongchang Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, and even Yanzhou Prefecture in the south! These refugees were seeking
To make a living, he had to leave his hometown and embark on a long road to escape.
A large number of them in the north are heading towards the capital, while those in the middle and south are crossing the Yellow River and heading south, hoping to find a way to survive in the prosperous south of the Yangtze River.
Since most of Shandong is located to the south of the Yellow River, the situation is better. However, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places that were most severely affected by the disaster have already been devastated for thousands of miles. The people are in dire straits, breaking into thieves, offering up thieves, rebelling against leftists, etc., countless people
The bandits are causing chaos everywhere, recruiting troops and horses, and the officers and soldiers are exhausted, but they have no clue!
From the end of January to now alone, two cabinet bachelors, a governor, and several prefects have had their heads sacrificed to the flag by Lord Chongzhen. In addition, the Manchu Tatars in the northeast were also ready to move. Lord Chongzhen was so worried that he had to strictly order everyone to appease them.
Refugees, please don’t cause any more trouble!
The remnants of Feng's four tribes have not yet been quelled, and the tide of refugees has risen again. Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, is also impatient. The emperor's strict order, how can the ministers dare to disobey? In desperation, Yan Jizu had to hand over the task of encirclement and suppression to Ni Chong, the commander-in-chief of the Shandong army, while he himself was the starry night
Rush back to Jinan City to deal with the refugee issues.
Hearing that thousands of refugees had gathered outside Caishi Town, a small town with only a hundred households, Yan Jizu did not dare to be careless! However, since Caishi Town was a military town, Yan Jizu did not have direct jurisdiction, so he had to send his close aides.
Together with the relevant yamen, they rushed over non-stop, fearing that something might happen again!
The matter is so important that no one dares to take it too seriously!
This time, in addition to Yan Jizu's trusted staff, Jinan Prefecture has a colleague, Dusi has an experience, and Acropolis has a deputy commander. The lineup is quite luxurious!
The leader of this team is Yan Jizu's close aide. His name is Yan Benchu, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He is nearly 50 this year. He was born in the Wanli period and is also known as a talented man. However, he later suffered repeated failures in the examination room and became disheartened.
Then, he retreated behind the scenes!
Outside the south gate of Caishi Town!
Yan Benchu saw thousands of refugees gathering in an orderly manner, not as scattered and chaotic as elsewhere. He couldn't help but nodded. He looked at Jinan Guard deputy commander Zhang Lei, "Mr. Zhang, I can't believe it, I can't believe it! Wait for the guard
There are actually such capable people in the institute, it seems that our worries may be a little overblown!"
Although Zhang Lei was a high-ranking official of the third rank, and Yan Benchu was just a white man, he was noble in culture and military, not to mention that there was a big mountain behind Yan Benchu. Zhang Lei didn't dare to rely on it, but looking at the situation in front of him, he felt a little proud.
"Mr. Yan is too polite. They are all doing things for the imperial court. As long as there is no trouble, someone can feel at ease, right? But, having said that, the hundreds of officials in this town can manage these refugees in such an orderly manner, which is really a talent!
"
"good!"
Yan Benchu nodded, turned around and ordered his followers: "Quickly invite the officials from hundreds of households in this town, I want to question you!"
"Yes!" The attendant hurriedly responded!
Yan Benchu looked at Zhang Lei with a smile and said: "Master Zhang, if you really find a talent, you can't hide it!"
"Haha, don't worry, Mr. Yan! If he can be chosen by Mr. Yan, it will be his blessing!" Zhang Lei also laughed.
Originally, they all came with the intention of causing trouble, but when they arrived, they found that not only did there not be any trouble, but everything was in order, and everyone was in a happy mood!
You know, in the Ming Dynasty, except for the Hongwu Dynasty, it was the officials under Lord Chongzhen who were the most difficult to become!
The great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang liked to pluck out people's skin and stuff it with grass, but Master Chongzhen was simple and rude, without much nonsense, just cut it through your head. Someone in later generations once calculated that from the seventh year of Chongzhen's death to the seventeenth year, the number of people died
The number of officials who fell under the sword of Master Chongzhen was probably no less than a thousand, which shows how common it is!
In a moment, Baihu Huang Hansheng, General Banner Pu Jiliang, and General Banner Liu Ruyi were brought to Yan Benchu and Zhang Lei.
In fact, Liu Ruyi and others had already received the news when they came to the future. However, Yan Benchu was a delicate person and did not make a big fanfare. Instead, he made a private visit incognito, hoping to see the most real scene.
"Are you the Baihu official here?" Yan Benchu looked at Huang Baihu with a smile, his eyes filled with admiration.
"That's right, your official!" Huang Baihu hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
Although he had already prepared generous gifts for these important figures, he did not expect that Yan Benchu would go astray and not follow the rules at all. Huang Baihu felt a little panicked.
"These refugees have been dealt with quite appropriately, Huang Baihu, you can be considered a caring person! Haha, don't be cautious, just get up and talk!" Yan Benchu smiled and helped Huang Baihu up from the ground with his own hands.
Huang Baihu was stunned. He didn't expect that this 'imperial envoy' could speak so well. Instead, he was at a loss for the moment!
Yan Benchu didn't look at Huang Baihu's reaction. He stood on a brick nearby, looked at the refugee shacks all over the mountains and plains, and asked: "Huang Baihu, how many refugees are there in this place? How do we provide daily food, drink and food?"
Woolen cloth?"
"This, this..." Huang Baihu was really stupid!
How would he know these things?
Ever since the refugees gathered that day, Liu Ruyi had been distributing his family's wealth and managing it himself. Huang Baihu, except for finding a few petty thieves and filling in the mess a few times, had never even taken a look here!
How could he say even half a word of this detailed information!
The deputy commander Zhang Lei watched Huang Baihu hesitate for a long time without saying anything. He couldn't help but frowned and said, "Huang Baihu, don't be nervous. To be honest, you can handle these things very well."
Good! Mr. Yan and I, as well as Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li are all very satisfied!"
Although he was dissatisfied, after all, he was a soldier under his command. Zhang Lei did not want Huang Baihu to make a fool of himself at this moment, so he hurriedly reminded him.
"Huh?" Huang Baihu glanced at Zhang Lei, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
'Satisfied? Very satisfied?'
In an instant, a flash of inspiration flashed in Huang Baihu's mind. He bowed to Yan Benchu and Zhang Lei and said with a smile: "You two adults are so ridiculous. These things are all handled by Mr. Liu Qi, who is subordinate to me.
For the details, my lords, just ask him!"
Huang Baihu was worthy of being an old official. He pushed Liu Ruyi out in just a moment!
Above the officialdom, it is one level higher. Although it looks very close, it is actually as far away as a mountain!
The first level of officialdom crushes people to death!
Just like right now, Huang Baihu pushed Liu Ruyi to the front. If he deserves credit, it means he was a good leader. If there is anything wrong, I'm sorry, it's all your responsibility. I have nothing to do with it!
Liu Ruyi sneered. How could he not see what Huang Baihu had in mind? However, this time, it may not be so easy to be kind!
"Liu Ruyi, the chief flag officer of Caishi Town, is here to greet you all!" Liu Ruyi knelt down on one knee and gave a standard military salute to everyone!
"Oh? This young man is so handsome!"
"What a handsome and extraordinary young man!"
Everyone expressed their admiration one after another!
Liu Ruyi was neither humble nor arrogant, and didn't pay much attention to everyone's expressions. She just smiled and looked at Yan Benchu, who was in charge!
"Okay, okay! Please get up quickly!" Yan Benchu helped Liu Ruyi up from the ground with a smile, pointed at the group of refugees not far away and said: "Mr. Liu, these days, the livelihood of these refugees depends on you.
Are you taking care of it?"
"Exactly!" Liu Ruyi said respectfully.
"Yes!" Yan Benchu nodded, "Then let me ask you, how many are these refugees? Where do they come from? How do you support them?"
Yan Benchu was quite pragmatic, and all the questions he asked were stuck on ideas. He stared closely at Liu Ruyi's eyes, as if he wanted to see some flaw in them!
After all, Liu Ruyi is too young!
‘If you talk a lot, you can’t do things’! This concept is even more ingrained for older scholars like Yan Benzhu. Although the situation in front of him is gratifying, Yan Benzhu doesn’t dare to be careless at all!
"Sir, most of these refugees are from Qingzhou, and some are from Dezhou and Dongchang Prefecture, but the number is smaller! In total, there are about 2,300 people in the mountains and the refugees by the river.
Six to seven hundred households!" Liu Ruyi said neatly.
During these days, Liu Ruyi basically spent the whole day in this refugee camp. He did everything personally and had all these data at his fingertips!
"Oh?" Yan Benchu nodded, "How do you provide food for these refugees on weekdays? I'm afraid it won't be easy to feed these people just by relying on your military town, right?"
"That's right!" Liu Ruyi clasped her fists, "Sir, there are too many of these refugees. I'm afraid they will consume nearly ten stones of food and rice in one day. It's really strenuous! Even a humble job can only make people endure some hardships.
Porridge, just to survive!"
"Hey! This is really embarrassing for you!" Yan Benchu sighed, "How much food is left in the town? How long can we last like this?"
"This, I can't explain this humble position! These things are all handled by Huang Baihu, and my humble position is just to follow orders!" Liu Ruyi said calmly.
"Yes!" Yan Benchu nodded, then turned to Huang Baihu and said, "Huang Baihu, it's up to you to explain this matter in detail!"
"Ah?" Huang Baihu was stunned. He glanced at Liu Ruyi resentfully, but he had to step forward and carefully thought about how to deal with the difficulty at hand!
Liu Ruyi took two steps back and looked at Huang Baihu's back coldly, "Want to play 'pengsha'? Not only can you do this, I can do it too!"