Seeing that the once prosperous and prosperous city had turned into such a situation, Feng Ziying and his party were a little sighing.
Both Feng Ziying and Wu Yaoqing passed through Fengrun frequently. As the throat of the capital, Fengrun, along with Miyun, Yanqing, Zhuozhou, and Tianjin, is the key to guarding the outer circle of the capital, but because Yongping Prefecture is to the east of Fengrun.
, and Yongping Mansion is also an important place in Jingdong, so it is not as important as several other places in terms of garrison and defense, but in terms of commercial prosperity, it is even better.
Because of this, I imagine the bustling scene when I left the capital east of the capital to take up a post in Yongping Mansion more than half a year ago. Although there are a lot of people now, the people coming and going on business trips are a bit more anxious and gloomy.
The area inside and outside the city gate was also in chaos, and there were a few exclamations from time to time. It was not known whether it was because beggars were forcibly extorting money, or thieves took the opportunity to pickpocket, or whether the overestimating older girl and younger daughter-in-law were taken advantage of by others.
Shaking his head, Feng Ziying could only shake his head. This is not Yongping Mansion, but the territory of Shuntian Mansion. Even a county magistrate is a very important figure. Basically, he can involve important officials in the capital.
All of them have deep connections.
"Sir, do I need to go to the county government office?" Wu Yaoqing took a step forward and asked.
"Forget it, why bother bothering people? I guess the county is just trying to return to normal. Tens of thousands of refugees will soon be crossing the border. People are probably very dissatisfied with us." Feng Ziying smiled, "
Someone from the Ministry of Household Affairs is coming. You can contact me then. I will meet with you. The main thing is to meet with these refugee representatives. Let’s talk things over first and then stop the chaos. When you get to Yongping Mansion, you must abide by the rules of Yongping Mansion. If you break it in the future,
Don't blame me for not predicting things."
"If Shuntian Prefecture thinks so, I'm afraid it's too narrow-minded. If these 100,000 refugees are backlogged in Shuntian Prefecture, Fengrun will be better off, but Wanping and Daxing counties will definitely be under greater pressure. Tongzhou
There is no peace, we are sharing their worries and solving their problems." Wu Yaoqing disagreed.
"That's what they say, but Fengrun County doesn't think so. They only think that these 100,000 people crossing the border will bring them a lot of trouble. The court has prepared some rice and wheat, but other soup, firewood, roads, etc.
You have to ensure public security, right? But looking at the current situation in Fengrun, it will take some time for them to return to their original state, not to mention that there are still 100,000 people crossing the border. How can people be so angry?"
Feng Ziying was telling the truth. Yongping Mansion has set up about ten resting places along the official roads for more than a hundred miles within the territory. Firewood, hot water, porridge and soup are basically guaranteed, but once encountering this kind of situation,
Rainy and snowy weather is still difficult. Shuntian Prefecture obviously did not make such preparations in advance, and these counties did not have much enthusiasm, and often dealt with the matter perfunctorily.
Because of this, Feng Ziying was very worried that these refugees would collapse if they could not reach Yongping under such weather conditions.
This is also the main reason why he came to Fengrun early.
At least there are people from the Ministry of Revenue here who can say hello to the officials from Yutian and Fengrun counties, which may have some effect and not be too ugly.
Now the refugees are already on the road. One hundred thousand refugees are divided into two lines, the north and the south, stretching for hundreds of miles. The south line is from Xianghe - Baodi - Yutian - Fengrun. The news from there is that the front line of the refugees has already arrived.
We are about to arrive at Fengrun County, and our tail has just left Xianghe.
"My lord is still benevolent and righteous. The Yongping Mansion is so well prepared that even the locals say that your lord is a uniquely benevolent parent." Wu Yaoqing flattered.
"Haha, that's not just my kindness. Without the 'generosity' of the merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi, I wouldn't be able to produce so much food, cloth and cotton. They would bow their heads. Without these things, they would have to buy them in ten days at most.
Frozen to death, starved to death, or died of illness." Feng Ziying said calmly: "My idea is to turn these people into a labor force quickly, to build roads as soon as possible, to get iron plants, charcoal fields, and mines in operation as soon as possible, so that
We don’t have much time to make Yuguangang prosperous as soon as possible to ensure the supply of Liaodong. Although the Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants have different goals and ideas from me, they are objectively the same. They want to make money, and I want to make it happen.
It's just that simple."
"But no matter what, if you do this, you can save countless lives, and you can call it unparalleled benevolence and righteousness." Wu Yaoqing has his own insistence, "I am from Xuzhou, and I have seen too many situations like this in Xuzhou, whether it is military disasters or natural disasters, refugees'
Scattered in all directions, it is considered good to have seven or eight adults surviving in the end. Thousands and tens of thousands died of starvation, freezing, and illness. In fact, many people survived, and it was not because they did not have warmth and food.
, As for medical treatment and medication, that is secondary. Most epidemic diseases are caused by hunger or cold..."
Feng Ziying certainly knows that when exposed to cold and hunger, the body's immunity naturally declines, and diseases take advantage of the weakness. Without good drinking water and food, it is easier to contract natural diseases. This has been proven by modern science, but in this case
It's just that the times haven't been taken seriously yet.
In the past few years, I organized and wrote the "Epidemic Prevention Preparations", which the court also attached great importance to, but it was more limited to epidemic prevention after floods and droughts. How can ordinary officials control you like this kind of refugee trek in winter?
many.
"Okay, Yaoqing, we don't need to talk about these things when we do things. We are in charge of our own affairs. Like here in Fengrun, I can only do my best to remind my colleagues in the household department. If I say more, it may attract unpleasant questions.
There is a necessary rift, but in Yongping Mansion, everything must be done as I say." Feng Ziying waved her hand, "Let's just do our own thing."
The group first went to stay at a Jiuzhi'an Inn in the city. Then Wu Yaoqing went to Fengrun County Office on behalf of Feng Ziying to inquire about the whereabouts of the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs. He soon found out that two officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs were staying at the Ping'an Inn in the east of the city.
stick.
There are two officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, one is the deputy director of the General Affairs Department and the other is a clerk.
Feng Ziying took the initiative to hand over the greeting card, which was also a sign of respect. This made the deputy chief flattered. Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan's name is famous in the capital, who knows?
Even if he is transferred to Yongping now, it is only temporary. Everyone knows that once Xiao Feng Xiuzhan's term is over, he will definitely be promoted, and by then it will be easy to achieve great success.
The head of the Household Department is only an official of the sixth rank, and the deputy chief is only an official of the seventh rank. As a fifth-rank official, Feng Ziying took the initiative to pay a visit, which is undoubtedly a sign of respect and courtesy.
"Who am I? It turns out to be brother Wen Qi." Feng Ziying couldn't help but sigh after learning the name of the deputy director of the Ministry of Household Affairs. She met another historical figure whom she had an impression of, Wen Zhenmeng. Three years ago, He was Wen Zhengming's grandson who passed the Jinshi examination together with him, but he passed the examination of the top three Jinshi, but because of his grandfather's name, he still stayed in the Ministry of Household Affairs after the end of his term.
The history of his grandfather Wen Zhengming is slightly different from that of his previous life, but it is generally the same. During the reign of Emperor Taihe, he failed many scientific examinations, but he was famous for his poetry, literature, calligraphy and painting, especially his painting skills and connoisseurship. He was famous all over Jiangnan, and together with Tang Yin, Xu Zhenqing and Zhu Yunming, he was known as the "Four Talents in Wuzhong".
Wen Zhenmeng was also a late bloomer. At the age of thirty-three, in the fifth year of Yonglong, he and his nephew Yao Ximeng passed the Jinshi examination together. However, Yao Ximeng passed the examination and was ranked as a second-class Jinshi, while he was a third-class Jinshi, which is also a good story.
The reason why there is an impression is that Feng Ziying can remember his grandfather's reputation in history, plus the good story that he and Yao Ximeng's uncle and nephew were both Jinshi, and they were both members of the Donglin Party. However, there is no Donglin in this life. Lin Party, and only the looming Southern Party, Northern Party and Chu Party.
"Ziying, long time no see." Wen Zhenmeng and Feng Ziying did not have much friendship, but his nephew Yao Ximeng and Feng Ziying's best friend Xu Qixun were very close because they were both from Suzhou, so Wen Zhenmeng and Xu Qixun were relatively familiar with each other.
"Brother Wenqi, thank you for your hard work. It's so hard in such bad weather. Brother Wenqi traveled through mountains and rivers. Now that this has happened, I'll call Hu Chen and Brother Meng together. Let's talk about it."
Meng Chang is the name of Yao Ximeng, Wen Zhenmeng's nephew. Yao Ximeng is also familiar with Feng Ziying because of his relationship with Xu Qixun. Therefore, they are in the same department and have Xu Qixun's hometown party relationship, so in this case, it is unavoidable. circle relationship.
Wen Zhenmeng also laughed and said, "Ziying, please solve the matter at hand first. I heard that you made a decisive killing in Yongping Mansion, and it is true that you contributed to the introduction of 100,000 refugees. This Shanxi businessman is really They have contributed so much to your Yongping Mansion, how can you work so hard for them?"
Although Wen Zhenmeng said this with a smile, Feng Ziying could still understand some of the hidden meanings in his words.
Wen Zhenmeng and Yao Ximeng, uncle and nephew, should be said to be quite good in terms of character and ability, but they are both Jiangnan scholars. It is naturally impossible for them to get too close to Feng Ziying, who is the leader of young scholars in the North. On the contrary They are relatively close to people like Huang Zunsu, Xu Xie, and Wu Zong.
Feng Ziying didn't expect that Wen Zhenmeng still had a temper. He pointed out that he seemed to be kidnapped by businessmen, and he seemed to be too domineering and overriding the prefect. It seemed that what he did in Yongping Mansion was still watched by many people. In my eyes.
But having said that, from the other party's perspective, it seems to be quite tactful.
Zhu Zhiren didn't really approve of the introduction of refugees at first. He took the lead and the other party didn't object. As for being kidnapped by merchants, wasn't he now tied to merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi?
At least in Yongping Mansion, everyone prospers and suffers, but is there any problem with this?
As long as you can control the merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi so that they will not collude with the Jianzhou Jurchens and the Mongols like the Shanxi merchants did in history, and gradually transform from traditional traders to industrial merchants, why not do it?