Chapter 648: The officialdoms of the two rivers are at odds with each other, how can they ignore death?
The next day
Jia Heng got up early and went to the Xuzhou government office with Princess Xianning, because the rice grains from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were temporarily stored in Xuzhou's treasury.
Ju Changnian, the magistrate of Xuzhou, saw the person coming and hurriedly greeted him. With a respectful look on his face, he bowed his hands and said, "I have seen Uncle Yongning before."
Jia Heng nodded and said: Later, the boat transporting the Yamen will come over and transport it to Huai'an Prefecture.
Because he came to Yangzhou by fast horse and light carriage, the fleet of the water transport governor Du Jitong was still behind him, and according to the time, he should arrive today.
Ju Changnian asked: I wonder how many thousands of stones need to be transported?
Jia Heng said: Send 150,000 shi in advance, and then look at the situation in Huai'an Prefecture. If there is still not enough, send another 100,000 shi.
However, in his opinion, the punishment of the grandson of Pan Ruxi, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, and the whipping of the Jia family for speculating in Jinling Twelfth House should have created a chilling effect to some extent.
Ju Changnian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "The Xusi flood has caused many people to flee into the city of Xuzhou. There has been a shortage of food in the city recently. The amount of rice shipped by Uncle Yongning from Taicang has really solved the urgent need. I'm sorry."
On behalf of the more than 100,000 fathers and fellow villagers in Xuzhou, I would like to express my gratitude to Yongning Bo for his kindness.
Jia Heng said: Xu Zhizhou, how many disaster victims have poured into Xuzhou recently?
Ju Changnian looked gloomy and said: "Uncle Yongning, nearly 50,000 to 60,000 people have poured into Xuzhou City from several counties in recent years, and the official position has long been exhausted."
Now that we have rice, we must not slack off and try our best to resettle the victims without causing trouble. Jia Heng pondered for a moment and warned.
Ju Changnian said: "It is of great benefit to the lower officials to wake up."
Jia Heng said a few more words of advice to Ju Changnian, while Princess Xianning watched quietly on the side, her bright eyes shining brightly, without interrupting.
Then, Jia Heng, accompanied by Ju Changnian, the magistrate of Xuzhou, inspected the grain depot.
This grain depot was personally guarded by the generals of the Beijing camp, a Yuanwailang from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the general magistrate of the six-fang household in Xuzhou Zhizhou Yamen.
The joint supervision of the three parties effectively prevented people from enriching themselves and others. Jia Heng carefully and carefully inspected the amount of official grain and the storage conditions.
In the evening, the Jinyi personal guards and the officers from Xuzhou came to report that Du Jitong, the Governor of Water Transport, had arrived by boat with the Caoliang Guards.
Jia Heng and Princess Xianning then led a large number of retinues and left Xuzhou Yamen, heading to the ferry to meet the fleet of boats of the Governor of Water Transport Du Jitong.
At this moment, Du Jitong, the Governor of Water Transport, boarded the pier surrounded by Caoding. When he saw Jia Heng from a distance, with a much more eager smile on his face than at Nanhe Yamen, he raised his hands and said, "Exit."
The official met Uncle Yongning.
In the past, whether it was Jia Heng's punishment of the Jia family members or the arrest of the officials' children in Jinling, they all fell into the eyes of this old bureaucrat.
Act vigorously and decisively, with ruthless means.
Jia Heng said: Mr. Du has come just in time. The rice grains from Taicang have been loaded into the treasury. At dawn tomorrow, you and I will set off for Huai'an Mansion.
Du Jitong smiled and agreed happily: "Easy to say, easy to say."
Assisting Yongning Bo in transporting rice grains now, and then mentioning the matter to the court later, would be useful. Later, he could also take charge of the Nanhe Yamen, and he could use the title to his advantage.
Jia Heng and Du Jitong briefly exchanged a few words and said: These grains will be transported to Huai'an Prefecture tomorrow and will be taken over by people from the Hedao Yamen. Rice shops will be opened in Huai'an Prefecture and sold to the people of Huai'an Prefecture at fair prices...
Du Jitong said: Uncle Yongning, don't worry, stabilize prices. This is a move to win the hearts of the people. Uncle Yongning may not know it, but in the past two days, the lower official heard that the officials and sons of Jinling heard that Uncle Yongning was selfless and did not show favoritism.
I was so shocked that one family was already selling grain at a fair price.
Jia Heng said: Oh?
Then he asked: I don’t know which company it is?
Du Jitong from the Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River looked aggressively at the young man opposite. Jia Heng was silent for a moment and said: rein in your horse from the brink and call for righteous deeds.
He was saying that he would write a memorial to impeach Pan Ruxi and other important Jinling officials when he got back today. He didn't expect the Zhen family to know that.
When he saw that the situation was not good, he changed his mind.
Jia Heng had a conversation with Du Jitong, and ordered a general from the capital camp and officials from Xuzhou to go to the treasury to transport food. Seeing that the night was falling, he did not stay any longer and followed Princess Xianning back to the residence.
As soon as she entered the mansion, Princess Xianning asked with concern in her eyes: Sir, is the Governor of Water Transport a member of the Qi Party?
She remembered that her husband had always been at odds with Qi Dang. Jia Heng whispered: He is from Qi Dang.
Princess Xianning was surprised and asked: "Why did you get together with the people of the Qi Party?"
They just use each other. Now if we want to transport food to Huai'an and other places, we cannot do without the Caoliang Guard. Jia Heng said softly.
In fact, it may not be inseparable, such as the Beijing camp escorting along the road, but he originally had the idea of uniting the party to control the two rivers.
When Princess Xianning heard this, a thoughtful look appeared on her face, as beautiful as snow.
Okay, it's getting late, let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, yesterday I saw you leading the little princess to my room to look for me, and I didn't ask you what was going on. Jia Heng asked.
Princess Xianning came to her senses after hearing this. She felt a little ashamed and said, "I just rehearsed a dance with cousin Chanyue and wanted to show it to my husband. Why don't you go back and enjoy it?"
Jia Heng responded, looked at Xianning in surprise and said: Are you so close to the little princess?
Appreciating dance has a different meaning when the two of them are alone, and with Li Chanyue and Xianning in the mix, it is impossible not to know what this means.
It seems that, as Jin Yang said, Xianning is not very opposed to the issue of concurrent cultivation.
Princess Xianning said in a clear voice: Sir, Chanyue and I grew up together. Chanyue's cousin is introverted. If she hadn't been in the beginning, I wouldn't have gotten married to her husband.
Jia Heng nodded, took Xianning's hand, and said: It's hard for you. When drinking water, remember the well digger, and when drinking water, remember the source.
Jia Heng said warmly: "But I have to leave early tomorrow morning. Let's look for opportunities next time. He doesn't like being arranged by others, and most of the time he gets it by himself."
While the two were talking, they came to the corner and were about to go to the backyard. When they raised their eyes, they saw the eldest princess Jinyang. Are you back? Where have you been? The eldest princess Jinyang looked at the two of them with a chuckle, as if it was natural.
Jia Heng didn't think it was strange and said: I went to see the official grain storage and will return to Huai'an early tomorrow morning.
The eldest princess of Jinyang smiled sweetly and said: That's fine, I just told Yuan Chun that you are in a hurry to leave tomorrow morning, so I will let you have a good night's rest. It will be difficult for you to tell stories to Xiangyun and the others tonight.
As he said that, he glanced at Princess Xianning with his clear phoenix eyes.
Princess Xianning's eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were averted, a little uncomfortable...
Looking at what she is doing, the most she can do is dance to let her husband relax. On the other hand, some people spent the whole afternoon after lunch yesterday.
The next day, at dawn, Jia Heng led a large number of Jinyi Mansion guards, and then headed for Huai'an Mansion along with the ships that Du Jitong escorted to Cao Liang.
As soon as he arrived at Huai'an Prefecture, Jia Heng asked the Jin Yiwei to spread the word in the city that Henan had allocated 500,000 shi of grain to be escorted to Huai'an Prefecture. For a time, all the merchants began to retreat.
With half a million shi of grain, the court's determination to stabilize prices cannot be questioned.
Combined with Jia Heng's previous punishment of the Jia family members in the twelfth house of Jinling, and the arrest of the grandson of Pan Ruxi, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, this Yongning Bo took advantage of the remaining power after quelling the rebellion to move alone across the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and look forward to his own glory.
On the other hand, as Jia Heng's reputation gradually spread among the scholars in Jiangnan, the scholars in Jiangnan also had a rather complicated view of Jia Heng.
As the grain ships coming from the direction of Yangzhou Prefecture entered Huai'an Prefecture, the soaring grain prices in Huai'an Prefecture fell accordingly. People bought cheap official grain from the court one after another, while Jinling and other officials' children opened rice shops without anyone.
If you ask for it, most of it is shipped from Susong at a higher price. Every time you come here, you will suffer heavy losses, and people will be in mourning all over the world.
However, because the Zhen family made a bid in advance and sold it at the government's flat price, they made no profit or loss in the end. Posthouse, second floor
Governor Shen Fang of Liangjiang stood with his hands folded
In front of the window, looking at the people of Huai'an Prefecture who were very happy because of the complete supply of rice and food on the outer street, their eyes filled with coldness.
Mr. Taiwan, the food price in Huai'an Prefecture has stabilized now. Not far away, Jiangzuo Chief Envoy Xu Shikui, sitting next to a small table and absentmindedly drinking tea, said in a low voice.
Shen Fang said coldly: Sitting on millions of grains of grain in Taicang, Luoyang, he is in charge of the Jinyi Palace Guards. He has grain in one hand and a knife in the other. He is really incompetent if he cannot stabilize the price of grain.
Xu Shikui couldn't answer this for a while, so he could only change the subject and said: Mr. Pan from the Jinling household department arrived in Huai'an yesterday, but he didn't see Uncle Yong Ning, so he wanted to meet the old Mr. Zhao Ge who made the platform.
You tell him that I will go to the seaside today to guard the river embankment and coordinate supplies, so I have no time to spare. Shen Fang looked gloomily and said in a low voice.
Xu Shikui said in a low voice: I feel that Mr. Pan has no knowledge after all. Should he wait for Mr. Zhao Ge to come back from Yingzhou to have a good discussion?
Shen Fang said: Although he was not directly involved in the case, he was also responsible for lax governance and neglect. Uncle Yong Ning had already targeted him, and now that someone has caught him, it will be difficult to pass this test.
Mr. Taiwan Maker, Xu Shikui was shocked, and his expression was a bit hesitant. The official circles of the two rivers are in the same boat, how can they ignore death?
Don't worry, I won't see him until we can talk about it later. If we meet him rashly, the man from the Hedao Yamen has many eyes and ears. I'm afraid he will get some clues and consult me closely. Shen Fang frowned and looked at me. There is a cold and murderous intention hidden in the middle.
Uncle Yongning was the Minister of Military and Aircraft, and he often secretly reported to the imperial court when he was away, and went straight to the front of the imperial court. If this happened behind his back, he would be hurt by the gossip, and his wealth would be ruined, so he had to be on guard against it.
Seeing that Shen Fang had no intention of meeting Pan Ruxi, Xu Shikui couldn't persuade him any more, so he went back and talked to Pan Ruxi.
And Jia Heng did not see Pan Ruxi and Qian Shuwen. Instead, he went to Hongze Lake and other Huaihe River embankments to supervise the army to fight floods, and he hid again...
Just like that, time flies by like water. Unknowingly, it is late June. The land of Jianghuai River has turned cloudy and sunny. The heavy rain that swept the whole north of Chongping for fifteen years has completely stopped. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is clear. The floods that swept through several northern provinces have finally come to an end.
Qingjiangpu, Huai'an Prefecture
Jia Heng looked at the flood of rivers from all over and the money and food wasted on repairing the dikes and weirs. Even though he had been prepared, he still couldn't help but feel sad.
This time, the imperial court carried out large-scale construction projects on the Huaihe and Yellow Rivers. It was impossible to build embankments and weirs without money, but it only took a short period of one month. The official funds were extremely expensive, reaching nearly one million yuan.
Fortunately, it has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and prevented the river transport from being destroyed and isolating the north and the south. Everything at the moment is worth it.
Jia Heng's face returned to calmness, he gently closed the account book in his hand, and looked far away.
As soon as the river affairs came to an end, a message was sent to Fei Ge in the capital. Emperor Chongping had an oral edict in the capital, calling him to return to the capital, and the official edict was issued within these few days.
In other words, I won't be able to stay in Huai'an Mansion for long.
Sir, people from the Zhen family are asking for an audience outside. Just when Jia Heng's mood was ups and downs, Liu Jixian came from outside and said with cupped hands.
Jia Heng had a little surprise on his face and said, "A member of the Zhen family?"
Since he returned to Huai'an, many people came to intercede for the Pan family in Jinling, but he ignored them. Pan Xiangdong and others have now confessed to reselling official grain and other matters.
Although the Jinyi Mansion used a certain degree of torture to extract confessions, the case was still not implicated in Pan Ruxi. However, the Ji family implicated Qian Shuwen, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.
However, even so, Jia Heng's memorial to impeach Pan Ruxi and Qian Shuwen has been sent to Shenjing by express delivery from 600 miles away, and it has not been approved yet.
Jia Heng put down the book in his hand and said: Invite him in.
The Zhen family had previously instigated the Jia family's children from the twelfth house of Jinling to go to Huai'an Mansion for speculation, and the Zhen family still owed him an explanation.
Not long after, Nanjing garrison Zhen Lin was seen striding into the official hall, accompanied by two young men. She was not wearing official robes, but was wearing casual clothes.
Yong Ningbo. As soon as Zhen Lin was far away, he started to clasp his fists and salute, and said with a smile. Jia Heng said: Zhen is not stationed in Nanjing. Come here.
What is the Huai'an Prefecture doing? It is a fool's errand for a guarding general to leave his garrison without military orders.
Zhen Lin smiled and explained: After filing a leave of absence with the Nanjing Ministry of War, I heard that Yongningbo was stationed in Huai'an, so I came by boat to meet Yongningbo. Yongningbo was the governor of the river yamen this time, fighting floods and preparing for floods, and saved Jianghuai and other places in one fell swoop.
Zhen respected the vitality of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Jia Heng said, "Zhen's defense has been overrated."
After saying that, Zhen Lin was asked to sit down and the clerk served her tea.
Uncle Yongning, you and I, the Zhenjia family, have been friends for several generations, so there is no need to be so open-minded. Zhenlin smiled and clung to the friendship and said: If you don't give up, I am a foolish brother. How about I call you a wise brother?
Jia Heng frowned slightly and said sternly: "Zhen is on guard. In the government office, it is better to address each other by title." The smile on Zhen Lin's face froze for a moment and said: "Uncle Yongning is still considerate."
After making a haha, he immediately mentioned the previous incident and said: When we first saw the shortage of rice and grain in Huai'an Prefecture, we transported some grain from our own fields in Jinling. I didn't know what was going on at the time. I didn't know that Uncle Yongning was in charge of the civil affairs affairs in Huai'an Prefecture.
Don't cause trouble to Uncle Yongning. Later I heard that Uncle Yongning wanted to stabilize food prices...
Rather than hiding these things, it would be better to talk about them in front of Jia Heng, in order to resolve the grudge earlier.
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: I can let things go in the past, and if Zhen Shouwei can turn around and take the overall situation into consideration, there will be no need to talk about those previous things.
Zhen Lin said: Yes, Yong Ningbo said so. The two of them chatted casually.
Zhen Lin smiled and said: "When did Yong Ningbo supervise the river to fight against floods this time? When will he be completely successful? I don't know when he will start again?"
Jia Heng said with a sloppy eye: We can't say yet, everything depends on the court's wishes.
The leader of the army is away and has not returned for nearly ten days. The army is very kind and considerate, and there are also gossips in the capital. It would be nice to go back early. Zhen Lin smiled and said.
Jia Heng responded to every one of them, and wanted to see what kind of medicine was sold in Zhenlin's gourd.
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, Zhen Lin said: "Uncle Yongning has been a figure in the Jia family for many years. My wife also wants to meet him. If Yongning is free, how about going to Jinling with me? The two sides are very close, but it is also useful."
In a few days.
Jia Heng was silent for a moment and said: In the past few days, the returning military generals from various river embankments need to discuss the military situation, and there are also the hands and tail of the river yamen, which are really inseparable.
When Zhen Lin heard this, the smile on her face gradually faded a bit.
His wife wanted to see Uncle Yong Ning, so he was too lazy to come all the way and had to be extremely cautious in front of the young man.
Unexpectedly, this man actually excused himself from busy official duties and spoiled his ancestors’ face. How unreasonable!
Zhen Lin smiled, stood up, cupped her hands and said, "I'm just being presumptuous. I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Jia Heng's eyes were deep, he picked up the tea cup, called Liu Jixian beside him, and said: "Liu Jixian, send it to me."
After this incident, not only did they become strangers to the Zhen family, but their relationship also dropped to a freezing point.