"Today the government's porridge donation is over. You can go check out the other porridge shacks. There are porridge shacks set up by wealthy households."
The official in charge of giving out porridge knocked the empty cauldron with a spoon and then spoke to the hungry victims.
After hearing this, the remaining victims who had not received the porridge looked disappointed. Some of them beat their feet and chests, hating why they had not come earlier to queue up. Others, holding broken bowls, rushed to the porridge first. They rushed to the porridge shacks set up by wealthy households.
"Everyone who wants to drink porridge, listen up. Our Mr. Wang is a Bodhisattva and cannot see the people suffering. Therefore, we set up a porridge shed here to help everyone." A man who looked like a butler stood in front of the porridge shed and looked around. The victims who gathered in their homes shouted loudly.
"Okay!" The steward's words attracted admiration from the surrounding victims.
"Do you want some porridge?" Seeing that the atmosphere was almost heightened, the butler raised his voice a little more.
"Think!" everyone said, and some people wanted to rush to the big pot of porridge and scoop a spoonful for themselves. The porridge of this rich family was much thicker than the porridge provided by the government, and exuded an exciting smell. Crazy rice smell.
"Stop, stop, wait a moment! There is only one pot of porridge today, and it will be gone when you finish eating it." Seeing this, the housekeeper quickly asked the servants to stop the porridge and explained to everyone.
"Are you entertaining me by cooking porridge but not letting us eat it?" Seeing the steward's behavior, there was a burst of questioning from the crowd.
"You have misunderstood me. This porridge is indeed prepared for everyone. But think about it, there is only so much porridge, and it will be gone after drinking it today. Do you want to drink porridge like this every day? I have a good job here. I want to introduce it to everyone.”
"What's the good job?" Someone in the crowd was aroused by the steward's words.
"Our family currently owns more than 5,000 looms except for the king, and is still short of many workers. As long as you put your fingerprints on this piece of paper, I guarantee that you will be able to drink thick porridge like this every day!"
"Really? Are you lying to us?" Someone in the crowd questioned the steward's words.
"If you don't believe it, you can send someone up to try." The butler said calmly without changing the smile on his face.
"You go, you go!"
The crowd pushed and pushed for a long time, but finally some brave ones came out and pressed their fingerprints on the piece of paper. The butler also fulfilled his promise and let these people drink the thick porridge from the pot.
The long aroma of rice almost made people go crazy. Seeing this, the crowd could no longer hold back. They rushed to press their fingerprints on the piece of paper and joined the group drinking porridge.
Among the victims, there were a few who could read. After browsing through the contents on the paper, they looked horrified and ran away quickly without even asking for the bowl.
…
After the government's soup kitchen ended today, Ma Ningyuan and Gao Hanwen returned to the Governor's Mansion one after another and reported what happened today truthfully.
"I didn't expect the situation to be so serious. Fortunately, the disaster relief was timely and only affected people in two counties. If the dam completely collapses, all nine counties and more than 100,000 people under it will suffer! By then, the situation will be irreversible. "Hu Zongxian sat at the top and said happily after listening to the reports of Ma Ningyuan and Gao Hanwen.
"The court's disaster relief funds will be allocated soon, and the situation will be much better by then." Hu Zongxian finished sighing and then added.
"Your Majesty, the new magistrate of Chun'an, Hai Rui, has arrived today." Zheng Michang suddenly said from the side.
"Why didn't I see him?" Hu Zongxian frowned and asked doubtfully.
"You are busy today. After the official has finished checking, he will be sent back to the county office. There is still a lot of things waiting for him there."
"Well, that's okay, give him some time to straighten things out." Hu Zongxian said, picking up the teacup on the side and taking a sip.
"Is there anything else that needs to be reported? If not, let's stop here today!" Hu Zongxian glanced at everyone with his eyes, and then said in a deep voice.
"My lord, there is no more!"
"Me neither."
"If not, just leave!"
"yes."
In the hall, everyone else left, leaving only Ma Ningyuan alone.
"Teacher!" Ma Ningyuan said in a deep voice, with a look of guilt in his eyes.
"Hey, come with me to the study." Hu Zongxian sighed and walked straight to the study.
…
In the study room, Hu Zongxian sat on a chair and turned his eyes to his students.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
"Teacher, this is what happened..."
After Ma Ningyuan hesitated for a moment, he chose to tell everything, including the banquet that Zheng Michang and He Maocai invited him to attend, and what they said at the banquet, word for word, and he repeated it all to Hu Zongxian.
"Are you saying that it was Mr. Yan Ge's idea to let the dam be destroyed?" After listening to Ma Ningyuan's story, Hu Zongxian thought for a moment and figured out the ins and outs of all this.
"Yes." Ma Ningyuan nodded without any excuse.
"So, everyone knows about this matter, and you just hide it from me, the governor of Zhejiang Province?" Hu Zongxian said, with a little anger in his tone.
"Teacher, they said that based on your nature, you would never agree to this! That's why..." Seeing the teacher's anger, Ma Ningyuan hurriedly explained.
"Hmph, you are confused! Do you think you have nothing to do with this matter? You are responsible for other matters related to the dam. When the court investigates, I will see how you explain it."
"Teacher, the student knows that he cannot break away from the situation, so the student decides to fight alone!"
"Humph, idiot! How could I have a stupid student like you? Do you do this to protect Zheng Michang and He Maocai?"
"No, teacher, the students don't think so! You are promoted by Mr. Yan Ge. Those people rightly regard you as a strict party, but you have repeatedly refused to act in accordance with Mr. Yan Ge's wishes. Therefore, there are many People have criticized you a lot, and students don’t want you to end up in such a situation, so just now..."
"Hey, go down! Later, record the details you told about destroying embankments and flooding fields, and give them to me."
After listening to his student's statement, Hu Zongxian waved his hands feebly, looking dejected.
"teacher!"
"I'll tell you!"
"yes."
…
Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart.
Jiajing put it aside after reading the memorial handed over by Hu Zongxian.
The content inside is that the disaster in Zhejiang has been controlled, and the collapse of the dam has only affected people in two counties. In addition, Hu Zongxian has ordered people to control a group of people related to Li Xuan, the river supervisor, and put them under control. The memorial asked the court when to send someone there.
"Lu Fang, go and get me some information." Jiajing called softly.
"May I ask Your Majesty, what kind of news do you want this servant to give you?" Lu Fang immediately bowed to the ground after hearing what Jiajing said.
"Reply to Hu Zongxian and say that I have given him the right to kill first and report later! In addition, I will also give him the power to adjudicate the case."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it right away." After hearing Jiajing's request, Lu Fang left quickly.
