The next day, the governor's Yamen
Early in the morning, Jia Heng and Princess Xianning gathered around a table and ate food.
"Sir, did you deliver the memorial last night?" Princess Xianning asked with her bright eyes fixed on the young man opposite.
Jia Heng picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and said, "Early in the morning, I asked Liu Jixian to send a fast horse to deliver it by express. His Highness also took the time to write down what he had seen in civil affairs these days and report it to Chen Sheng."
You can't just fall in love with him, but you also have to fulfill your duties as a female secretary.
"Sir, the lights in the study were still on during the fourth watch last night. Don't be too busy too late." Princess Xianning said with concern.
Jia Heng said: "There are many things that require memorials. I wrote six memorials, and some of them cannot be explained clearly in just a few words, so it took a long time to write."
There are six memorials in total, all of which are secret memorials that do not go through the secret memorials of the General Secretary, but are sent to the imperial court through the channels of Jinfu.
It can be said that he summarized what he did the day before yesterday into items, and reported all his subsequent arrangements and considerations to Emperor Chongping. Because it was too detailed and there were many matters, he wrote six letters.
The first letter is a complete summary of the quelling of the bandit rebellion in Henan. After clearing out the remaining bandits and appeasing the people in the past few days, the bandit rebellion in the Central Plains has basically come to an end. It can be regarded as a memorial to repay the merits.
The second letter mentioned the reconstruction of the Henan Dusi and the recommendation of Feng Guoyong's battalion general Xingguang as the commander. It also described Xingguang's achievements in detail, including but not limited to the annihilation of three thousand enemies at Shuiguan.
The above two letters were also memorials that Emperor Chongping could present to the ministers for discussion.
In the third letter, the whereabouts of Li Yanqing, the leader of the secret bandits, was unknown. The White Lotus cult bandits were secretly instigating the uprising under Gaoyue. At the same time, another infantry and cavalry army from the Beijing camp was sent to Shandong to suppress it.
The fourth letter is about governance and prospects at the grassroots level in counties and townships, as well as reflections on the civil unrest and rebellion in the Central Plains, analysis of causes, and trial implementation of countermeasures. Finally, six words were adopted: "Suppress the powerful, resolve unjust imprisonment," emphasize the importance of regulating officials, The common people are angry.
The memorial was written in thousands of words, from civil affairs, money and food to prison litigation, and comprehensively summarized the governance failures of local officials. Why did the people rebel, why did the thieves and bandits unite, and the common people responded?
Writing this letter itself was to inoculate Emperor Chongping in advance, lest anyone say that he was practicing oppressive (gentry) politics in the local area.
The fifth letter contains concerns, suggestions and measures on river affairs, as well as the appointment of Feng Lian, the nephew of the Empress Dowager Feng, as the vassal counselor, organizing civilians to dredge the river canals, and suggestions to Emperor Chongping to send commissioners to patrol the river.
At the same time, trees were widely planted in the Guanzhong area to consolidate the roots and preserve the soil. Regarding the latter, he quoted the views of Chi Jingzhou, the minister of the Ministry of Industry at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In the sixth letter, Fei Siming, the governor of the Yancan River, Zhou Dezhen, the former governor of Henan, Sun Long, the political envoy, and Jiang Yuanwu, the political counselor, listed their culpability for their corrupt behavior, and implored a thorough investigation of the corruption case in the river.
The above six letters certainly cost him a lot of effort.
At this moment, Liu Jixian said from outside: "Sir, the gatekeeper has been invited to the official office."
Jia Heng asked: "Your Highness, I'll go see you first. Later, you can put on your Feiyu clothes and we'll go inspect the river embankment."
Princess Xianning responded softly and said, "Sir, please go."
Jia Heng came out of the wing and suddenly asked Liu Jixian, "Didn't you scare anyone?"
For a high-ranking official like him and an important minister in the court, it is just a matter of words, and it is impossible for him to visit the wise in person.
Mentioning this matter, Liu Jixian said: "The humble position did not ask Captain Jinyi to invite him, but asked the scribe of the governor's Yamen to invite him. I was not surprised at all."
Jia Heng nodded with approval in his eyes.
When I came to the official hall, I saw Guan Shoufang, who was taught by his family as mentioned by the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple.
He is a middle-aged man in his mid-thirties, with a slightly dark complexion, a goatee under his collar, and a white-washed blue gown. He has a thin face, thin eyebrows and deep eyes, and there is an unexpected look on his face. color.
He had seen many second-rank officials in the imperial court, but he had never seen such a baby-faced boy who was too young.
Secretly reminding himself that the person in front of him was a powerful minister, he quickly stood up from the black lacquered wooden chair, his face straightened, he cupped his hands and said: "
The student has met Mr. Jia. 「
Jia Heng nodded, stretched out his hand and said, "Mr. Guan, excuse me quickly. Liu Jixian, serve tea."
Liu Jixian responded and offered tea.
Say a few words.
Jia Heng also learned about his identity and reputation as a scholar from Liu Jixian earlier. Because his father was a minor official in the Hedao Yamen, he got a connection and worked in the Hedao Yamen. Later, he didn't sleep with his colleagues, so he simply quit his job and wrote articles for sale. Paint for a living.
The gatekeeper was worried and said with a respectful expression, "I wonder if you have come here to teach me something?"
Jia Heng looked gentle and said: "I have been ordered by the emperor to be the governor of Henan's military affairs. However, during the past two days, I inspected the river and found that the river embankment is dilapidated and in urgent need of repair. Mr. Guan is an expert in this field. Does he know this?"
River control and embankment construction are not the work of one person, but require the collective wisdom of others.
The gatekeeper looked hesitant and said, "The student has been away from the Hedao Yamen for more than two years. I really don't know what the current situation of the river affairs is."
Jia Heng said: "Mr. Guan, there is no need to hide his clumsiness. Don't hide it from Mr. Guan. The former governor of the river, Fei Siming, embezzled funds for river construction. The evidence is conclusive. Although he was killed by thieves, the imperial court will definitely take action against him for his corruption while in office." Investigate and punish severely, Mr. Guan, tell me all the details of river affairs that you know, how about it?"
The gatekeeper looked at the boy in the python suit, feeling tangled in his heart.
In fact, Liu Jixian, who is wearing a flying fish suit and an embroidered spring knife, is the biggest deterrent in himself.
At the level of Jia Heng's power, even Lu Qi, the admiral of Shandong Province, was intimidated by Jia Heng's threat of victory. He avoided his edge and did not dare to directly challenge him, let alone a small official in the Qianhe Road Yamen.
The gatekeeper sighed and said: "Actually, the Hedao Yamen has not repaired the river embankment for four or five years. Since Hetai Fei Siming took up the post of Hedao, he has been focused on restraint and has no intention of doing anything. However, students observed that this phenomenon of premature work is not It will last for too long, and there will be big changes this year. In late May and late May, there may be continuous heavy rains until June and July. I am afraid that by then, there may be flooding in the Yellow River."
Jia Heng frowned and said, "Do you have any evidence for what Mr. Guan said?"
He just made a judgment based on common sense. How could there be less rain and less snow for several consecutive years? Moreover, he remembered that there was a severe drought during the Chongzhen period in his previous life. It lasted for a long time and the scope of the drought was so wide that later generations said that it had not been seen in 500 years.
There has been a drought for more than five consecutive years, with drought in the north and floods in the south.
To make matters worse, it later turned into floods in the north and drought in the south.
At the same time, droughts were accompanied by imperial disasters and plagues. In this life, it was because of the changes of the emperor and ministers of Chongping, coupled with the strong family background, that he could survive until now. However, before his arrival, there was also a struggle between people and power.
Guan Shou Fangdao: "Since the student worked in Hetai, he has compiled the celestial records in the Hetai Records Department and consulted the records at home to deduce the changes in the celestial phenomena."
As Liu Jixian spoke, he took the book from Guan Shoufang and handed it to Jia Heng, "Sir."
Jia Heng reached out to take it, untied it and looked at it. It could be seen that there were a series of symbols and related records densely recorded on it. Finally, he came to the conclusion that the temperature dropped sharply on the big day.
Seeing this, the sleeping hole shrinks.
Because this is very similar to the research conclusion of later meteorological experts, that the sunspots were abnormally active, leading to the Little Ice Age. Of course, what is recorded in this book is only a phenomenon, and there is no scientific explanation for the cause.
Jia Heng turned over the pages for a while, looked up at Guan Shou Fang, and asked aggressively: "Is this what you thought of yourself?"
In ancient China, astronomical and meteorological records were recorded in books. Solar eclipses, earthquakes, and floods were all recorded by dedicated personnel, but only humans could infer some patterns.
In fact, scholars love to study astronomy and astrology. For example, Xu Youzhen, who was involved in the Tumu Fort Incident, watched the sky at night and made a divination, predicting that the Fort Sect was in danger. He was really sure of it. However, afterward, he predicted that the Ming court would need to move, and he was Yu Qian slapped him in the face.
However, the study of astronomy and astrology is too esoteric. If you plunge into it, the imperial examination may be abandoned. Moreover, since it is not an official position, it is somewhat taboo to study it.
When the gatekeeper heard the inquiry, there was clearly a look of hesitation on his face. After all, considering the identity of the person in front of him, he couldn't hide it and said:
"Mr. Grandfather
He used to work in the Qintian Supervisor of Shenjing, and later his father was transferred to the Hedu Yamen. The students were influenced by it and made some inferences based on the records. "
Jia Heng stared intensely at the face of the person opposite him and said: "According to the record in Mr.'s book, due to the abnormal weather, last winter was indeed much colder than previous years, and last summer and July earlier, Hebei was actually There was a hailstorm as big as a bowl, and it is true as Mr. said, the climate is cold, making disasters more frequent."
Seeing that what was recorded in his book was believed by the ministers in the opposite court, the gatekeeper gradually relaxed and said: "Master Taiwan, the student only made an inference based on the weather record at home, and believed that there will be four abnormal temperatures."
At this moment, Jia Heng completely believed that the person in front of him did have a different understanding of meteorology and water conservancy than ordinary people. He pondered for a moment and asked: "Mr. Guan just said that there will be heavy rains in the Central Plains, Jianghuai and other areas after summer?"
The gatekeeper paused and said, "Four or five years earlier, even according to common sense, it would have rained, but the student is just speculating."
Worried that it was too conclusive, the gatekeeper quickly made up for it.
Jia Heng pondered for a moment and said:
"I intend to supervise the construction of river embankments to prevent this heavy summer flood. Since Mr. Guan previously served in the Hedao Yamen, he should be familiar with the affairs. He will first accompany me to the river embankments on the north and south banks of the Yellow River to counsel on river affairs. If the matter is completed, I will The official recommends you to the imperial court as a governor of the river."
The Han Dynasty established three levels of roads, offices, and camps under the governor of the river. The officials in charge of the department-level offices were the governors and general judges of the rivers. The road level was in the Kaifeng section, where the feudal lords participated in politics and connected with the rivers.
Hearing this, the gatekeeper quickly stood up and left his seat, bowed and paid homage. His heart was agitated and his voice was trembling as he said, "Student, thank you, Mr. Taiwan Maker, for your support."
Jia Heng handed the book to Liu Jixian and motioned for him to pass the book to the gatekeeper, and then said slowly: "Now that the river affairs are being reorganized and thousands of hooks are being made, I will immediately go to patrol the river and prepare to build the embankment."
If I was the only one who judged that there would be heavy rains and floods based on the impressions of later generations, then the sudden coincidence of a former Hedao Yamen official confirmed my judgment undoubtedly.
Besides, even if nothing happens, there is nothing wrong with strengthening the river embankments.
Three months will be spent to strengthen the dikes and dredge the river channels.
To prepare for the summer floods, serve as an official for one term and benefit the country. Then there are only two areas of focus for his military and political achievements as governor of Henan.
First, restrain the strong and powerful from pursuing lawlessness. Second, regulate river affairs and build embankments and weirs.
These two things are exactly what can be achieved in the short term. As for other things, such as comprehensive river control and sorting out and rectifying the water transportation system, he needs to promote it after he returns to the court, and he also needs to take other opportunities.
Jia Heng made up his mind and stopped staying. He turned around and went to the back house to see if Princess Xianning had packed up.
"Sir, let's set off." Seeing Jia Heng coming over, Princess Xianning had already changed into Feiyu clothes. Her beautiful and charming eyebrows were full of heroic spirit. Not far away were Xia Houying and several Jinyi captains. The face is cold and solemn, and the followers are holding swords.
Jia Heng nodded, his eyes a little gentler, and said: "Yes."
This was the reason why he looked at Princess Xianning "differently". As a noble daughter of the clan, she spared no effort and went to dangerous places. Even if it might be for love, it also showed that her steadfast temperament was very valuable.
After that, Jia Heng led Princess Xianning, accompanied by the Beijing Cavalry and the Jinyi Guards, to inspect the river embankments in the north and south of Kaifeng.
Coming up from the Liuyuankou Yellow River Ferry embankment, a large number of people looked along the river embankment.
Jia Hengtiao looked at the Yellow River in the distance and sighed: "It is mid-March now, and the water flow is actually very gentle."
Guan Shou Fang said: "Master Taiwan, not only in Henan but also in Guanzhong, there have been no heavy rains in the past five years. Officials along the way have already become slack."
Not far away, Princess Xianning was also looking at the river. What she saw made her mind feel much more open.
Jia Heng looked at the river embankment under his feet. He could see cracks and cracks in the embankment everywhere, and grass grew in the gaps, swaying in the wind. He frowned and said, "It is indeed in disrepair. If a flood comes, this The embankment can't hold up at all, so open it
The feudal government is in danger. This is just under the nose of Kaifeng Mansion. "
At this moment, Princess Xianning took over the conversation, her clear and sweet voice sounded in the spring breeze, refreshing people's minds, and said: "I'm afraid the situation will be even worse if we cross the other side of the Yellow River in Fengqiu and other places."
After she returns, she will also write a memorial to her father, describing the shortcomings of river affairs.
Well, it can be considered as helping Mr.
Jia Heng's face was like black iron, his eyes were cold and dark, and he said: "Every year, the imperial court allocates two to three million taels of silver to the two river governors, ordering them to repair and strengthen the river embankments. These corrupt officials are afraid that they will continue to use it on the rivers. Not even 30% of them.
Due to successive years of drought in the Central Plains and Shandong, river affairs are not in danger of urgent repairs. Coupled with Chen Han's financial difficulties, the amount of silver allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to rivers in recent years has actually been very small, but it is roughly 2 million per year. About two.
However, the corruption of the two river governors was very serious. There were many things that could be done by their hands, such as earthworks and stones, and manual valuation and sales. Jia Heng thought about this and ordered to Liu Jixian: "Let the Jinyi Mansion organize relevant personnel to imprison all the relevant officials of the River Governor's Yamen in various sections of Henan and await the imperial decree."
Regarding the Hedao corruption case, he was the governor of Henan's military and political affairs, and he could do everything expediently, regardless of the size of the matter. Not to mention other places, he still had the power to intervene in these three areas.
Liu Jixian raised his hand and said yes, and ordered the guards in brocade to pass on the order.
Jia Heng then led Princess Xianning to patrol along the river embankment for five or six miles. Even if it was not based on the judgment of the gatekeeper, it was basically possible to draw a conclusion just based on the sense of a normal person.
If the river embankments are not repaired, there will definitely be big problems when floods come.
In this way, for two consecutive days, Jia Heng inspected the river embankments on the north and south banks of the Yellow River in Kaifeng Fucheng and found many problems, focusing on three items.
First, the river embankment was seriously damaged and in disrepair and was in urgent need of repair and reinforcement. Second, the soldiers stationed along the river were undisciplined, that is, there were no relevant people patrolling the embankment. Third, the river workers were scattered and were in arrears with their food and wages.
All this was recorded by Jia Heng, written into a memorial, and sent an urgent letter to the sacred city of Jingcheng, which was reported to Emperor Chongping. Princess Xianning also recorded the relevant situation and sent it to Shenjing City.
Three days later, the governor's office
Jia Heng was sitting behind a table, with the guards of Jinyi Mansion on his left and right. On a row of chairs below, sitting on the left column were several generals from the Beijing camp, including Cheng Guang, Cai Quan, Xiao Lin and others. Sitting in the right column are officials from the Fanquan Division, as well as Feng Lian, Song Xuan and others.
The official hall was filled with darkness and crowds of people, including sixth- and seventh-grade officials wearing green official robes and black gauze hats.
There are twenty-eight counties in the four prefectures under Kaifeng Prefecture. Except for Xiangfu and Weishi counties, other magistrates and prefectures gathered together after several days of travel, covered with travel and dust, to pay homage to the new Taiwan-making master.
Except for the officials who were in trouble after the county seat was captured when the bandits swept through Kaifeng's capital city, all the officials were present.
Now it is just a meeting of one prefecture. If the county chiefs from other places such as Henan Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, Runing Prefecture, Guide Prefecture, Huaiqing Prefecture, etc. gather here for a meeting, they can form a small civil and military official.
This is the official of the feudal territory. There are many generals in the Beijing camp, but most of them are superiors and subordinates. It is the first time for Jia Heng to manage a large province like this.
"I've met the master of table making."
Nearly thirty magistrates and county magistrates in green official robes and black gauze hats were divided into four rows, and they all raised their hands towards the young man in butterfly uniform behind the bill. Although they were civil servants, their voices were strong or weak, but there was strength in numbers. , still shocking the official hall.
"My lords, please rise." Jia Heng said in a deep voice with no expression on his face. He looked at the officials who were one or two rounds older than him, and there were even one or two gray-haired officials. There was nothing strange in his heart.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhitai." Dozens of officials said in unison.
Jia Heng did not let dozens of officials sit down, and said solemnly: "I have called you all here to discuss two things." He didn't talk nonsense. He just talked about two points in literature.
The officials below looked solemn and acted as if they were all ears. Some well-informed people already knew that the new governor was not easy to mess with.
"First, money, food, household registration, and acres of land have been
In the year of 2016, disasters were reported repeatedly in Henan Province. The Central Plains area, which has good business and good industry, and is an important area of grain taxation, now needs central transportation of grain and fodder to be self-sufficient. Now it has even led to bandit chaos, which is really heartbreaking. After investigation, my official , it was discovered that local officials were very exploitative. In this matter, I have appointed a commissioner to rectify the conduct and correct the lawlessness. However, the money and grain household register is complicated and messy and needs to be rearranged urgently. "
Speaking of this, he looked at the county magistrates below: "This time, all counties have organized capable officials to go to the countryside to conduct a census of hidden households and hidden fields, measure the fields, and register them. The deadline is one month. At the same time, I will send people to accompany them." Check the household’s money and food.”
Jia Heng said: "This year is the year of great planning for the local government, and you should also conduct an inventory."
If you don't even know how many household registrations, money, grain, and land are there in Kaifeng Prefecture and even Henan as a whole, then you are an incompetent minister.
As for the assisted investigation, a group of literate generals and schools were temporarily selected from the Beijing camp to supervise the investigation, and at the same time suppressed the local virtuous people.
All the county magistrates below felt relieved and responded in unison.
Seeing the young dignitary acting seriously, they thought it was something other than just checking their household registration, money and food.
"This census of household registration, money, grain, and farmland must be strictly verified. Afterwards, I will send people to conduct spot checks in a certain county. If the two aspects are not met, severe punishment will be given!" Jia Heng said in a deep voice.
As a feudal official, he naturally has a strong say in the appointment and dismissal of personnel.
When everyone heard this, their hearts trembled.
"Second, the water conservancy has not been repaired. I am now supervising the military and political affairs in Henan. I want to reorganize the water conservancy and organize the river affairs to prepare for the summer floods." Jia Heng said in a deep voice.
As soon as these words came out, all the magistrates and magistrates present looked slightly stunned and thought to themselves, is Taitai ordering them to recruit civilians and distribute corvee labor?
They are very familiar with this.
"Sir, as far as I know, the Central Plains has received very little rainfall in the past three years. It is still in the dry period. Is it too early to build river embankments? Moreover, the chaos of bandits and bandits has been calmed down, and hundreds of wastes are waiting to be built." At this time, The magistrate of Taikang County hesitated for a moment and said bravely.
The young powerful man is afraid that the common people who have just experienced the invasion will not be able to bear this kind of torment.
Jia Heng looked at the magistrate of Taikang County and said, "Mr. Ye, what do you have in mind?"
Just as the Yellow River overflowed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it was not necessarily the female officials who clamored to prevent repairs. Likewise, this Ye Lang was not the female official.
