Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 192 Visiting the King of Zhou
"Why are you so unreasonable?" Xu Qianhu couldn't help but speak out.

"Then what do you mean, you want to force your way through without giving me any money? Someone is coming, someone is going to play tricks!" the helper brother yelled.

"What are you shouting for? Believe it or not, I will kick you into the river." Xu Qianhu couldn't bear it anymore and was about to kick you.

"What are you doing? Where did you come from? Do you want to cause trouble here?" A man who looked like a housekeeper appeared.

"Zhang... Mr. Zhang, Xu is impulsive. There are so many of them right now, should we stay away for a while?" Xu Qianhu said with some frustration.

"Don't worry, it will be easier once the person in charge comes out." Zhang Xiao said.

"I'd like to ask one of my friends on the road. I'm the boss of Wangjiazhuang. The head of my family just builds a bridge and collects a small amount of money to spend. It won't be an eyesore to any big brother." Butler Wang said.

"No need to go to such trouble. We are dealing with official affairs. Just go directly to your county magistrate."

Butler Wang, who was still preparing to answer the question, suddenly choked up. He couldn't answer the question at all.

At this moment, another group of people hurriedly came nearby, and it turned out that they were people from the government.

Lu Zhang respectfully handed the record to Zhang Xiao.

In this way, Zhang Xiao ate steamed Yellow River carp while listening to Magistrate You's explanation. Although Magistrate You may not be entirely true, the general ins and outs of the matter were explained clearly to Zhang Xiao.

"Reporting to Prince Consort Zhang, the disaster situation in this county has now recovered. Not to mention how well the people can eat, they will still be able to eat rice and noodles for at least half a year."

"Please speak, Magistrate You, but I also ask you to say one thing and two things. Don't shirk your responsibilities, and don't forcefully explain your actions, because I want to find others to verify what you said." Yes. Magistrate You, just admit that you have done something wrong, but if you do not report it after knowing it, or even tell lies to mislead me to cover up your fault, then I hope you will be dealt with severely. Be more understanding and then answer my questions," Zhang Xiao warned.

"That's not bad. But Magistrate You, do you know why Zhang is here?"

"May I ask if it is Prince Consort Zhang who is here? I am the magistrate of this county, surnamed You. You didn't say a word about why you are here, so that You can fulfill his duties as a landlord." Magistrate You didn't even look at it. Butler Wang, who was lying on the ground in fear, asked Zhang Xiao and his party.

"Zhang Prince Consort, this matter is rather complicated. Let You explain it to you in detail." Magistrate You replied bravely.

"Zhang's son-in-law is well-fed and well-fed in the capital. Now because of the hasty preparations, he can only let Zhang's consort eat these. You are really ashamed." You County Magistrate said.

Magistrate You fell silent for a moment, and the atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became tense.

"Wen Hua, have you written down what County Magistrate You said? Let me see how you remember it." Zhang Xiao ordered Lu Zhang.

Zhang Xiao was still wondering, but Butler Wang, who was still arrogant just now, suddenly fell to the ground.

Logically speaking, it would not be good to talk about this at a banquet, but when Zhang Xiao looked around, it turned out that the petty officials and government servants under You County Magistrate had already left, and even the masters of You County Magistrate had fled when the disaster came. Zhang Xiao simply asked here.

"It stands to reason that now is the time for the banquet. Magistrate You has worked so hard to prepare such a banquet for me. Zhang shouldn't have said these disappointing words, but I really can't help it. I heard that here before The bridge was washed away, and the court and the province allocated money and food to rebuild it. But now it is better. The bridge is not there at all. The only floating bridge was built by the villagers. So I want to ask, this bridge. Since it has not been built, where have all the money, food and materials allocated by the authorities gone?”

"I am Zhang's consort. Please rest assured, Magistrate You. Everyone knows the crime of impersonating a relative of the emperor, but no one dares to impersonate me."

In this way, Zhang Xiao and his party followed the county magistrate back to the county town.

"Magistrate You, you have spent a lot of money today, and the food on this table is quite rich." Zhang Xiao said, looking at the food and wine on the table.

"You understand. You will explain everything clearly."

"Whatever Prince Consort Zhang said, this county is a remote place. It is an honor for the officials and people of this county for Prince Consort Zhang to come here today."

"Magistrate You, that's not what Zhang meant. Zhang wanted to ask, shouldn't there be a bridge there? Now that the bridge is gone, you have to demolish the pontoon bridge. How will the people want to cross the river?"

"The head of the Wangjiazhuang family allowed his servants to be lawless and build bridges to collect fees at will. You immediately ordered Wangjiazhuang not to collect fees. If they don't listen, let them demolish the pontoon bridge."

"It's easy to talk about. I think it's good. Henan has just suffered a disaster. If the people in Henan can eat today's meal, it must be a peaceful and prosperous time. Magistrate You, don't worry, I know this table of food and wine You can’t eat it normally, it’s just something I feel like doing.”

"Magistrate You, this is the conversation you and I had just now. I asked and you answered. See if you said these and whether I asked these. If you don't have any questions, just sign next to me." Zhang Xiao He handed the record of the interview to Magistrate You.

County Magistrate You tremblingly took the interview record, looked at it carefully, and soon signed his name on the side with a trembling hand.

"Magistrate You, I won't say any more. Look around you. Except for a few of us, all your people have left. In officialdom, people just leave for tea, and only at the last moment do they realize that they are all false sentiments." If you have anything else to explain, let’s talk about it together. Zhang, listen carefully and will never interrupt you.” “Zhang Prince Consort, you are really unjust. Logically speaking, it’s for this county.” After receiving the food and materials, it was said that the work would be used as relief, but when it came to You, it was already less than 30%, which was not enough for the construction. Moreover, the money at that time had already been used to buy relief food. The treasury in the county is still empty, and You is really a clever woman who cannot make a living without rice." Magistrate You said.

"Is that true?"

"Everything You said is true. If there are any lies, I am willing to be severely punished by the national law."

"But it has been so long, and the bridge has not been built, and you have not reported it to the superiors. If you hadn't told them, the superiors would have thought that the bridge had been built long ago. Are you planning to keep this matter a secret?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"This..." Magistrate You suddenly hesitated.

"I also asked the people nearby privately, and they told me that there used to be a lot of traffic on that bridge. I also looked at the temporary pontoon bridge and found that it was not up to standard at all, and it rained every day. If the pontoon bridge is large, it is very likely to be washed away, so it is not a long-term solution. If the court has any urgent matters in the future and wants to cross this bridge, you will find that there is no bridge at all. It’s a crime to deceive the emperor.”

"You are not thoughtful enough, so please forgive me, Prince Consort Zhang."

"I have to go to the next place, Magistrate You. Thank you for your hospitality, but I really can't believe your explanation. You have decided how to explain it yourself. Go and talk to the superiors yourself. I can only take this with me. The problem is back." Zhang Xiao said.

In the days that followed, Zhang Xiao divided the people into several teams and took a group of people around. He found that there were many problems, and these problems were quite speechless.

This day lasted for another month. After the materials were basically collected, Zhang Xiao began to ask Lu Zhang to write the memorial.

"Wenhua, we have a lot to talk about, but His Majesty is busy with many things and doesn't have much time to listen to us. So if you have something to talk about, please write down the most typical examples we have encountered these days." Zhang Xiao warned.

"What kind of examples will the boss put in roughly?"

"Choose those that are more important, those related to people's livelihood, and those with solid evidence. For example, the canal we went to see before wasted a lot of people's energy. As a result, because of the wrong terrain, there was no way to connect to the water. If we hadn't walked there in person, At the end, we still think that the canal is well built, but who knows that the Tuyou flag is just white."

"Also, the dike we looked at before has a bunch of termite nests, and no one is taking care of it. This needs to be rewritten. If the dike collapses, we don't know how many people will drown. We can't do it because of the rain now. If it doesn’t rain enough, it won’t matter whether the embankment is stable or not. It will be too late to build the embankment when it rains heavily.”

"There are also those granaries we looked at. I always feel that there is something wrong with the grain in them. It doesn't look like stored official grain, but it looks a bit like new grain. Forget it, I won't write about the granary in the report for now. , I will have a solo with His Majesty after I return to Beijing. This matter is so important that I feel a little worried about writing it on paper." Zhang Xiao thought for a while and said.

"My boss, I never expected that people in the capital said at that time that Henan had done a good job in disaster relief and the people were living and working in peace and contentment. But in reality, there are still many places where evil and evil are hidden," Lu Zhang said.

"Actually, the disaster relief work in Henan has been pretty good. You can see that now everyone cannot be said to be living and working in peace and contentment. At least they are not homeless and living in exile. Compared with the scene depicted in the picture of the hungry people at that time, it is much better. It’s a time of peace now. If it comes to troubled times, there will be no disaster relief, and there won’t even be any grass to eat.”

After finishing this round of work, Zhang Xiao sent a greeting card to Prince Zhou's Mansion, which was regarded as a visiting relative.

When Zhang Xiao first saw King Zhou Zhu Gongzhen, he just felt that this King of Zhou was quite young.

According to the development of the original time and space, the King of Zhou led the soldiers and civilians of Kaifeng Mansion to defend Kaifeng City desperately. King Chuang's troops suffered heavy casualties, and even King Chuang himself was injured. He was forced to use the extremist method of digging the Yellow River to destroy Kaifeng City. They were completely submerged in water before they captured this important town. Judging from overall performance, this man is already the best among the Ming Dynasty vassal kings. If another leader of the peasant army were to attack Kaifeng City, he might be able to successfully defend it.

"Your Majesty would actually send you Prince Consort Zhang to Henan. This is beyond my expectation." King Zhou said.

"What does the prince mean by this?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"It seems that His Majesty no longer trusts the civil and military affairs of the DPRK, so he wants to send you, Zhang Consort. According to the system of the DPRK, relatives generally do not participate in politics. If His Majesty sends you to Fengyang or Nanjing to worship ancestors, I will not It’s strange. It’s really unreasonable for His Majesty to send Prince Consort Zhang here to inspect the examination place. There must be a lot of discussion in the court.”

"To put it bluntly, the imperial court is now short of food and salary. Henan used to be the main source of taxes. Now that taxes have not been restored, these taxes will have to be added to other provinces. Now His Majesty also wants to accumulate some money for the internal treasury. He has already Mine supervisors were dispatched to various places. The mine supervisors were originally going to be sent to Henan, but Zhong Yushi sent a memorial to the court, saying that Henan had just suffered a new disaster and it was really not suitable for further troubles. His Majesty temporarily canceled the dispatch to Henan. The mine supervisor’s thoughts.”

"I have also heard about this matter. Zhong Yushi is also a capable official appointed by His Majesty to come to Henan. In recent years, disaster relief has been very hard, and I have seen it. It's just that Henan is too big, and there are some things. I am afraid that the censor is not able to take care of it. As for the mine supervisor, let alone whether it is suspected of exploiting the people, it is also against the courtesy of the ancestors. After all, the people of Li have paid their taxes. Once the mine supervisor is set up, It is equivalent to your Majesty collecting taxes under a new name. Moreover, there is no regulation for the collection of money by the mine supervisor. He is afraid that the person who serves as the mine supervisor will take the opportunity to collect taxes, which will harm the people and the Ming Dynasty. Of course, this will happen. It’s just my one-sided words. The vassal prince is not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the court. I understand it. Prince Consort Zhang just listens casually."

"Zhang also understands that after all, they are all colleagues working together to provide disaster relief. Even if there are some minor mistakes, Zhong Yushi should not be too harsh on him. It's just that Zhang was walking around Henan, and some things he did were really excessive. Zhang I really can’t stand it anymore, so I have to record it and send it to Heaven. As for the matter of the mine supervisor, Zhang can only say that it is a matter of His Majesty’s discretion, and it is not easy for Zhang to say anything.”

"In the past few years, there have been disasters in Henan, and I have done what I can. Officials in Henan, especially Zhong Yushi, asked me to contribute money and food. It is not that I have not contributed. It is just that I am really unable to do what I can. After all, Zhang Huima You also know that after the Battle of Jingnan, the vassal kings from all over the world were not allowed to go out to the vassal palace at will. I also want to do something. After all, my ancestor is the son of Emperor Taizu. He once wrote "A Materia Medica for Famine Relief". It's just that I have read this book since I was a child. I have really seen the disaster and can only talk about it on paper. Fortunately, the government's relief was quite timely, otherwise Henan would not have been able to survive. A human tragedy." King Zhou sighed.

"Yes, I came to Henan this time and asked several people. When I mentioned the disasters in previous years, they were still frightened. Several people were not willing to mention it at all. This shows how serious the disaster was at that time." Zhang Xiao Also expressed his approval.

"By the way, Prince Consort Zhang, I have also added to the book "Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief" handed down from my ancestors in recent years, and I would like to ask Prince Consort Zhang to read it." King Zhou said politely.

Just like that, Zhang Xiao had another book in his hand, and Zhang Xiao kept thanking the prince for the gift of the book.

(End of this chapter)