Chapter 66: Taking advantage of current events to raise the king and teach his son
When they came out of Qiyun Hall, the reactions of officials and gentry were completely different.
Although there are still subtle smiles on everyone's face, the officials' steps are brisk and the smiles on their faces are much more sincere; the gentry are the complete opposite, their eyes are straight, their steps are heavy, and their smiles are very forced.[]
During the accompanying reading, except for Chen Chizhong and Lu Bing who were still with the Crown Prince, the other four people respected the Crown Prince's order to send the gentry out of the house. This was just to give them a chance to talk to their families, so everyone followed quietly and walked to the elders of each family.
Just now, King Xing came to the palace and used 100,000 taels of silver to "invite jade", causing the gentry to pledge 300,000 taels of silver. The fourth surnamed Wang family had 50,000 taels, the three families of Shen, Liu and Lu had 30,000 taels each, and other small and medium-sized families had 10,000 to 20,000 taels. No wait.
Even a bookworm like Lu Wenzhao knows that this amount of money is not a small amount.
Look at those officials who claim to be honest, but they pledge donations ranging from half a year's salary to a year's salary. Officials' income is not based on salary, and half a year's salary and one year's salary do not make much money. It can be used to help the people or build dams to prevent floods. Well, in order to achieve political achievements, it is better to increase their qualifications. Spending other people's money to get their own benefits, how can they not be happy?
For the gentry, it was like cutting meat. Ten acres of silver could buy an acre of farmland, and fifty taels of silver could buy a beautiful maid, which was equivalent to thousands of acres of fertile land. Hundreds of beautiful maids were gone in one go. Even if I could get some fame back, it would be of no use.
Wang Qi saw that her grandfather and cousin had lost their spirits, so she took two steps closer, took Old Mrs. Wang's arm, and whispered: "Grandpa, don't you have enough money at home?"
Mrs. Wang patted him on the forehead and said, "This is not your concern. Just stay with His Highness and don't worry about anything else."
Wang Qi lowered her voice and asked Wang Zhen puzzledly: "Brother, although fifty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, it won't embarrass my grandfather, right?"
Wang Zhen also lowered her voice and said: "In addition to building dams, we also need to build new dams. I don't know if the money is enough. If it is not enough, we will fail..."
Dao Chi followed everyone and did not interrupt. He just looked at Wang Qinghong in front of him.
The prince who was in charge of the city's relief this time appointed the Anlu magistrate to build dikes and dams, and the construction of new dams was entrusted to Wang Qinghong.
Construction started on the river, and the work would not be completed within a few months. It was difficult for an official to leave his post because of his responsibilities. If he were replaced by a gentry, he would not have enough authority to be responsible for such a big errand.
Wang Qinghong is of high rank and has no talent, so he is the most suitable candidate. If Wang Qinghong was sixty years old, he might not be willing to do such a laborious job; but he is in his prime, and he is extremely grateful to the prince for giving him this opportunity. .
If it is done well and his name reaches the imperial court, he will have a reason to seek revenge. King Xing asked Wang Qinghong to take charge of this matter, partly because he was a member of the Wang family and wanted to fulfill his wish; more importantly, he wanted to reassure the gentry. The prince's money is not taken care of, and will eventually be spent on relief and river construction.
Wang Qinghong was following a few officials in front, and when he caught a glimpse of Dao Chi and others escorting the gentry out, he unknowingly slowed down.
Wang Qinghong was always angry with his adopted son. Except for the time when Wu Lang "caught Zhou" last year, the Taoist idiot never visited the door of the twelfth room again.
Last year, Rong Niang sincerely visited Wai Jiu Fang several times. She sincerely invited the Wang Ning family’s grandparents and grandchildren to the Twelfth House, but they were all declined. After going back and forth, Rong Niang saw that Wai Jiu Fang was alienated and it was difficult to get along with her. He was so close that he no longer mentioned going to the outer nine rooms.
Only Sanlang, every time the Taoist idiot returns home at the end of the month, he always finds a reason to go and see him.
Calculated in this way, in the past nearly a year, Wang Qinghong only met Dao Chi from a distance during the family's big sacrifice on New Year's Eve. Even if they met at the palace this time, Dao Chi did not call him "uncle".
Say one more word.
Wang Qinghong was worried, but thinking about Dao Chi as his follower around the prince, he felt uneasy. He was afraid that he would cause trouble and lose his face.
A few steps behind, waiting for Dao Chi to come over, he said to Dao Chi with a straight face: "Since you are His Highness's entourage, you need to be careful in your words and deeds. You must not be frivolous and willful, and you must not delay your studies."
In his opinion, even if Dao Chi adopts the ninth house, there are no male elders in the ninth house. Dao Chi cannot rely on the guidance of a lonely old lady to teach him how to deal with others. As his biological father, he must keep an eye on him.
Dao Chi was surprised in his heart, but his face remained unchanged as he said: "I will follow my uncle's teachings."
Wang Qinghong waved his hand, ignored him, and turned to talk to Patriarch Wang.
Dao Chi and Wang Qi followed behind. They looked around and saw Liu Congyun and Lu Wenzhao talking to their elders.
The distance from Qiyun Hall to the main gate of the Royal Palace is not close, but it is not far. It took more than a quarter of an hour to walk to the main gate of the Royal Palace.
The old patriarch had to give Wang Qi and Dao Chi two repeated instructions before getting into his carriage.
Before the four of them could return to the Qiyun Hall, they saw the Crown Prince bringing Chen Chizhong and Lu Bing over.
After leaving the house, the target was Caishi Street, where houses collapsed the most. Instead of riding horses, everyone went there by car. When they got there, they dismounted and walked.
It has been two days since the heavy rain, but there are still pools of water in the south of the city. There are several places where everyone has to go around.
Many people's doorsteps were blanked out to mourn the deceased.
Houses in some courtyards collapsed, and homeless people gathered in open spaces in the south city, looking dull. There were also people crying and shouting.
Initially, everyone was excited to leave the palace, but now that they saw the broken tiles and ruins and the miserable state of the people, they couldn't be happy anymore.
Government officers patrolled the resettlement sites for people affected by the disaster to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
Collapsed houses, flooded yards, and in addition to the smell of water in the air, there is also a pungent odor that comes from the carcasses of poultry and livestock on the street corners.
Except for Chen Chizhong and Dao Chi, whose expressions were as usual, everyone else's expressions changed due to the stench and they couldn't help but quicken their pace. Unexpectedly, halfway through, they saw two government officials coming out of a flooded yard next to them.
Holding in hand...
Coming out of Caishi Street, the prince's face turned a little pale and he said to everyone: "It is my father's wish to get up in Nancheng tomorrow and assist the Yamen in relieving the people on behalf of the palace."
The faces of the companions were not good-looking. Wang Qi frowned and said: "This is a filthy place. How can your highness, with his rich body, be put in danger? Should I first report today's incident to the prince, and then ask the third master to think again?"
The prince shook his head and said: "This is something that my father has done many times in his early years. Why can't it be done here? What I am telling you here is that I want to brainstorm how to provide relief? If we follow the example of the palace in the early years, nothing more
It’s like giving out porridge.”
Chen Chizhong said: "It is better to give medicine than to give porridge. The terrain in Nancheng is low, and the accumulated water will not be drained out for a while. The water is polluted and the weather is hot. I am afraid that over time, it will induce epidemic diseases."
The Crown Prince nodded and said, "That makes sense." Hopefully asked the others, "Do you have any other suggestions?"
Wang Qi said: "The carcasses of poultry and animals should be disposed of as soon as possible, otherwise the air will become more and more polluted, and even good people will not be able to bear it."
Liu Congyun said: "Most of the people who lost their houses are sleeping in the open, and there seems to be a shortage of tents and other items."
Lu Wenzhao said: "The rainwater is pouring back and the well is dirty. We should prepare more firewood."
Lu Bingdao: "The woman who just cried and scolded said that someone took advantage of the chaos and robbed his package. Such bad guys who took advantage of the situation should be severely punished."
In the end, Dao Chi was left and said: "No matter what, drainage is also an urgent matter. Looking at the clouds that have not dispersed in the past few days, I am afraid there will be heavy rain. If drainage is not done in time, these are not the only houses that will collapse."
The prince listened carefully and recorded it secretly in his mind. His expression softened a lot and he said: "Since everyone has good suggestions, let's draw up a charter with Gu. Don't forget to sign it. Gu can take it to ask his father for instructions. If so,
Father nods, and we will act according to everyone’s suggestions tomorrow.”
Although the young men were shocked by the devastated sight of Nancheng just now, they all felt a little excited after hearing the prince's words.
They just said it casually, and how could they not be excited when they saw that the prince not only listened to it, but also planned to act accordingly. In their view, relieving the people was a major matter that the local government needed to pay attention to, but now such a major matter fell on them.
The burden is heavy, but the waist is also straightened.
The prince is also relatively satisfied. These few in front of him are all his future subordinates. Naturally, the more capable they are, the better.
After returning to the palace, the prince parted ways with everyone.
Lu Bing did not follow the prince as if he had not returned, but after saying hello to the prince, he followed his companions to read the Fu Xue.
Everyone entered the Lequn Hall and ordered the boys to prepare pens and ink.
Liu Congyun's handwriting was good, so he started writing, and everyone dictated it, and drafted the Nancheng relief letter. In addition to the few notes that everyone just mentioned, a few more points were added to make it more comprehensive.
When he finished writing, Liu Congyun handed the pen to Wang Qi, and everyone signed their names one by one, then put them aside and waited for the ink to dry.
Wang Qi looked at it from time to time, and after waiting impatiently, he ordered Li Qiu to get a fan and fan it again and again. When everyone saw this, they couldn't help but laugh.
When they saw the meal, the boys went to the outer kitchen to bring food boxes. Lu Bing declined everyone to stay with him, and went to find the prince with the almost dry ink roll...
The prince is in the Qiyun Hall, listening to the prince telling about the relief work in the previous disaster years. Food must be provided. No matter how honest the people are, they can be forced into a mob if they have no food. But they should not be too full, otherwise they will easily cause trouble.
Epidemics must be prevented, but not just by boiling a few pots of medicinal soup and pouring it on the people. In addition to human prevention, we must also pay attention to other things. As several companions said, sewage, poultry, and animals
Corpses are the source of disease and must be prevented from the root.
The prince listened to them one by one and asked puzzledly: "Father, can't the yamen also do these things? Why do we need someone from the palace to keep an eye on these things?"
King Xing said: "Being an official for thousands of miles is just for money. My son must remember that everything else is fine, but people in the government cannot trust anything involving money."
The prince hesitated and said: "Father, the relief in the city is still the small one, the dam building side is the big head, that Wang Qinghong..."
King Xing said with a smile: "Because he is not thousands of miles away... If I let him take the lead, he would not fail to have someone supervise the matter. At the doorstep, no matter how moral he is, he would not dare to take action..."