"Yes, why? Obviously Chun'an County and Jiande County are the places most severely affected by this disaster. The people of Jiande County are human beings, but the people of Chun'an County are not human beings."
With such an idea in mind, Hai Rui hurriedly led people to the nearby Jiande County without taking any time to rest.
When Hai Rui arrived in Jiande County, he discovered that the style of painting here was completely different.
The streets are orderly, and it doesn’t look like they’ve been hit by a flood at all. There are no victims huddled in the corner waiting to die. Every three or five steps you can see a porridge shack distributing porridge, and on the edge of the city, there are also dedicated County government officials maintain order in shelters for temporary residence of disaster victims.
On the way to the county government, Hai Rui also sent people to inquire about him, and the people along the way praised him one after another when they mentioned their county magistrate.
"Master Magistrate, we are here."
"Um."
Just as Hai Rui's thoughts were racing, there was a voice outside.
Hai Rui nodded and immediately got off the sedan.
"May I ask who your lord is?" The Yamen servant of Jiande County saw Hai Rui wearing official uniform and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.
"I am Hai Rui, the new magistrate of Chun'an County next door. I have an important matter to discuss with Mr. Wang. Please go in and inform me."
"Sir, please wait a moment, I will go in and report."
After the yamen officer finished speaking, he quickly ran back to the county yamen.
At this time, Wang Yonghe was enjoying tea leisurely in the courtyard of the county government office. When he saw the government officials running in in a panic, he couldn't help but frowned and asked with an unhappy expression: "What's going on in such a hurry?"
"Your Excellency, County Magistrate, Hai Rui, the new County Magistrate of Chun'an County, is outside. He said he wants to discuss something important with you, Your Majesty."
After listening to the yamen servant's story, Wang Yonghe drank the rest of the tea in the cup and said, "Let him wait for a while. I will go to see him right away."
"Yes." After the officer accepted the order, he quickly left.
Wang Yonghe looked at the back of the government servant leaving in a hurry, but he thought to himself: "The person who came here is not good."
Ever since the Governor's Mansion asked Wang Yonghe to temporarily take charge of Chun'an County's disaster relief materials, Wang Yonghe had a bad idea and quickly misappropriated them all. Now is the time for promotion. If he can perform well in this disaster relief, he should be able to leave here soon and be transferred to the capital.
Thinking of this, Wang Yonghe couldn't help but have a flash of haze in his eyes. He couldn't fight at any time, but he had to fight when he was about to be promoted.
Hai Rui was quickly welcomed by the government officials to the reception area inside the county government office, while the others were waiting outside the county government office.
"Sir, please wait a moment. The magistrate is busy with official duties and will be here soon."
"Yes." Hai Rui nodded and continued to wait.
Just as Hai Rui was looking at the decorations here with boredom, Wang Yonghe, the magistrate of Jiande County, walked in with a smile like a spring breeze.
"This is the new magistrate of Chun'an County, Hai Rui, Mr. Hai, right? I am Wang Yonghe, the magistrate of Jiande County. Do you have any business coming to my county office?"
"Well, I am Hai Rui, the new magistrate of Jiande County! Mr. Wang, I am here this time for the Chun'an County disaster relief materials that you previously took care of."
Hai Rui didn't want to make too many pleasantries, but made his request straightforwardly.
"Alas, you don't know something! At that time, the Governor's Mansion asked me to take charge of Chun'an County's supplies. I immediately sent people there after receiving the order. Unexpectedly, I was robbed by the victims on the way!"
When Wang Yonghe said this, there was a hint of indignation in his tone.
"What? They were robbed by the victims!" Hai Rui's expression became more gloomy after hearing this.
"Yes, those victims are hungry. As long as they can survive, there is nothing they dare not do. Fortunately, some supplies were recovered and are currently being stored in my warehouse in Jiande County."
"If Mr. Hai is in need, please send someone to get it. For the rest, please forgive Wang for not being able to help." As soon as Wang Yonghe finished speaking, the guards on the side brought him two cups of good tea.
"Master Hai, do you want to try it? This is the top Longjing, just released this year." After Wang Yonghe said this, he did not look at Hai Rui, but picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
"Hmph, even if you give those victims a hundred courages, they won't dare to rob the government's belongings! Could it be that Mr. Wang treats me, Hai Rui, as a fool for entertainment? You have clearly misappropriated some of the supplies in Chun'an County." Hai Rui turned his gaze to Wang Yonghe, who was enjoying tea leisurely at the side, and said in a deep voice.
"On my way to the Jiande County Government Office, I saw a porridge shack within five steps of the street giving out porridge. However, the proportion of disaster relief grain distributed by the government to the two counties is almost the same. How did you get such a thing in Jiande County? More food?”
"Besides, don't mention to me that Jiande County is as wealthy as you. I had already checked the relevant information before coming here. The land, money, food, population, taxes, etc. of the two counties are almost the same."
Seeing that Wang Yonghe was still trying to quibble, Hai Rui spoke first and blocked his words.
"In short, the only disaster relief materials in Chun'an County are those in the warehouse. If you want it, find someone to move it away. If you don't want it, you won't be able to get any of the materials! If you don't believe me, you can go The Governor's Office has filed a complaint against me." After Wang Yonghe said this, he had no intention of continuing the conversation and said he was confident.
"Okay, okay, Wang Yonghe, just wait for me. I will go to the Governor's Mansion to file a complaint against you! Also, thank you for the tea." After saying that, Hai Rui drank all the tea in the cup and left. .
Wang Yonghe, on the other hand, was sitting on a chair with a gloomy expression on his face. He then called his subordinates and gave a few instructions in a low voice.
…
In the study of the Governor's Mansion of Zhejiang Province, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the complete record of the destruction of embankments and flooding of fields submitted by his student Ma Ningyuan.
He knew very well that if he submitted this record in full, it would definitely cause shock to the government and the public. Without him, there were too many and too important people involved!
If this matter is put on the table, none of the five elders in the court will be able to escape! Under pressure, the imperial court had no choice but to hold them accountable. However, if the elders fell and no one would restrain their officials, chaos in the government and the public would be a trivial matter, which would probably shake the Ming Dynasty.
After thinking for a long time, Hu Zongxian still couldn't make up his mind.
At this moment, the voice of aide Xu Wei came from outside the study: "Sir, someone from the palace is here."
Hu Zongxian put the records away and immediately knelt on the ground. Then the door of the study room was pushed open, and a white-faced and beardless eunuch walked in. He chuckled and said: "Master Hu, your Majesty asked me to bring this to you. "
After the eunuch finished speaking, he handed the document to Hu Zongxian.
"Excuse me, father-in-law." Hu Zongxian thanked him quickly.
"We are all working for the emperor, why bother? Since the things have been delivered, I will leave first." After that, the eunuch turned around and left without stopping.
"Father-in-law, walk slowly!"
After sending his father-in-law away, Hu Zongxian dismissed the guards on the side, sat on a chair, and opened the fold.
"His Majesty not only gave me the power to kill first and report later, but also gave me the power to judge the case?"
After reading the above content, Hu Zongxian frowned and kept thinking about the emperor's intention behind this move. For a long time, Hu Zongxian's eyes flashed, he couldn't help stroking his beard, and laughed loudly: "That's it, Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty Hu Zongxian, I obey."
