On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the 19th year of Taiyuan (394), in the south city of Jiyang, the Yang-character flag whistled in the north wind.
Sporadic popping sounds of bamboo came from the city, decorating the New Year atmosphere, which was when shops were opening for business.
Yang Anxuan led Zhao Tian, Chen Hua and others on the city wall, carefully avoiding the officials who were carrying soil. Zhang Feng covered his dog-skin hat and trotted to follow them.
Yang Quanqi brought back a long motorcade filled with food. The victims cheered loudly, and the county guard's reputation was greatly enhanced.
Driven by the three families of Yin, Deng, and Cen, the noble families of Xinye County had to express that they had raised 1,800 shi of food a year ago.
With food and money in hand, the work-for-relief policy was implemented very smoothly. Within three days, hundreds of people applied, and people from neighboring counties and counties came continuously after hearing the news.
The uneven military roads on the city wall were repaired and leveled, and the recesses in the outer wall were filled with new mud. The shacks under the city wall were demolished and rebuilt. The wooden sheds that were also erected at least would not leak air everywhere.
Standing at the top of the city and looking far away, you can see that the official road is being leveled, and some people are digging ditches in the farmland in the distance, making this cold and desolate winter a little more lively.
There was a large cauldron at the city gate, and the smoke mixed with the heat was rising upwards. Although many people went to work and receive food, the queue of people waiting for porridge was still endless and did not decrease.
Yang Anxuan knew that as news of disaster relief in Xinye County spread, more and more victims would arrive.
Looking at those ragged and thin people, Yang Anxuan frowned slightly, hoping that these people could survive this winter, and everything would be fine when the flowers bloomed in spring.
Zhang Feng is living a happy life these days. His mother has recovered from her illness. He follows Aunt Tian to wash clothes in the military camp and earns a small pocket of corn every day.
Uncle Zhao made a room for them to live in. The family did not have to huddle in a shack that was leaking from all directions. The girl's face became a little brighter.
All this was given by the young master. Zhang Feng glanced at Yang Anxuan gratefully. His mother said that she must repay her kindness and she must serve the young master with all her heart.
The long queue began to move, and the soup kitchen began. Yang Anxuan said: "Let's go down and have a look."
When he came to the cauldron, Yang Anxuan frowned, and the porridge could see people's figures. It is estimated that there are about 20 kilograms of corn in each cauldron, and the porridge should be thick. I am afraid that there is not even ten kilograms of corn in this pot.
After all four pots were stirred with bamboo spoons, Yang Anxuan's face darkened and he asked: "Who is responsible for the Nanmen porridge service?"
A greasy-faced man next to him came over and said with a flattering smile: "Mr. Xuan, this is the villain Zhang Hong, who is an official of the government office."
Glancing at Yang Anxuan carefully, Zhang Hong lowered his voice and added: "The villain and Mr. Xuan are still relatives."
Yang Anxuan was stunned, why did he have such a relative in his family?
Zhang Hong said with a shy smile: "The villain's daughter married Mr. Xuan's uncle Shang Bao years ago."
Yang Anxuan suddenly felt powerless. The Yang family held many happy events a year ago, and his uncle Yang Guang also took a new concubine.
Yang Shangbao was a Cang Cao who joined the army and was in charge of the property in the county. He asked his father-in-law to be the Nanmen disaster relief officer. The meaning of this is self-evident.
Pointing to the porridge pot with a cold face, Yang Anxuan said: "Why is the porridge in this pot so thin? Prefect Yang has repeatedly issued orders not to withhold relief food. Do you want to test it yourself?"
Zhang Hong shuddered, bowed lower, and said respectfully: "It spilled when I was carrying the grain in the morning, so there is less. Don't worry, Third Young Master, it won't happen next time."
"You're lying. I heard from Brother Buffalo that the porridge is very thin these days and many people have moved to other city gates." Zhang Feng said crisply.
Zhao Tian patted Zhang Feng's head and signaled him not to talk too much.
Seeing Zhang Feng following Yang Anxuan, Zhang Hong didn't know the details and didn't dare to refute. He lowered his head to hide the resentment in his eyes.
Yang Anxuan was too lazy to say anything more and said, "I'll come back when Shen Shi is giving you porridge, so you can take care of yourself."
Returning to the government office in a low mood, I saw a group of clerks whispering outside the lobby and quickly dispersed when they saw Yang Anxuan walking around.
Yang Quanqi's angry shouts came from the lobby: "...it's only eighteen thousand dollars, do you think I am a beggar?"
Compared with the prosperity of nobles donating food and money, the fund-raising from merchants hosted by Chen Shen had little effect. He only raised 18,000 yuan.
Not to mention the Yin, Deng, and Cen families who donated thousands of kilograms of food, or even fifty thousand yuan in money. There were hundreds of merchants in Jiyang City, and the combined amount of money donated by the three families was only one-third of that of the three families.
The salary of an official in the Jin Dynasty was "half grain and half money", and the monthly salary of a seventh-rank official was "two thousand money, fifteen hu of rice", that is, fifteen shi of rice is worth about 2,000 qian, and a stone of rice is worth about 150 qian (1 ), eighteen thousand dollars is only one hundred and twenty stones of corn. No wonder Yang Quanqi was angry.
Yang Anxuan didn't want to go in and see Chen Shen being scolded, so he leaned against the pillar in the corridor and waited for half a stick of incense. He saw Chen Shen come out in disgrace and then walked into the lobby.
Yang Quanqi was in a good mood. When he saw Yang Anxuan, he smiled and said, "An Xuan, you have prepared a masterpiece when you are at the Gao Ya Gathering."
Yang Anxuan will be sixteen years later and will be able to participate in this year's final selection. Yang Quanqi has high hopes for this and specially arranges for his clan members to build his reputation and promote his talent.
Deng Gao Ya gathers poems, which is the best opportunity to become famous. Yang Quanqi gave Yang Anxuan one or two gold and asked him to make friends and find some good poems.
Yang Anxuan did not have high hopes for the final product. When the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was first established, a person's family background, morals, and talents were evaluated. Virtue was the first among the three. Nowadays, almost all of them are based on family background.
My family background is only in the fourth rank, and I was ridiculed as the son of a soldier. I have just arrived in the new country and have little contact with famous people. It is good to be rated as a fourth rank. Even if Governor Xi makes an exception and helps, he will be ranked third grade.
In the early Western Jin Dynasty, the third grade was still the top grade, but now except for the second grade, all are low grade. Even though I have extraordinary abilities, I can't advance to the top grade.
However, Yang Anxuan is not timid at all when it comes to climbing high places to recite poems and compose poems. He is lucky enough to travel back to ancient times and being a copywriter is a blessing.
Yang Anxuan prepared several poems that have been passed down through the ages. As for the original author, who is already talented, he probably will not become unknown just because he plagiarized the poems. Maybe he will produce many more good poems as a result.
Seeing Yang Anxuan nodding confidently, Yang Quanqi became more and more satisfied with his third son. This disaster relief plan solved the urgent need, and he also cast his fate as the governor of Xi. If he is determined to be a high-ranking son, my family will have a son who can inherit the family business. ah.
"An Xuan, what do you want from your father?" Yang Quanqi asked, stroking his beard.
Yang Anxuan recounted what happened at the south gate. Yang Quanqi frowned and said, "Shang Bao took the daughter of the Zhang family as a concubine and invited his father to drink. For his sake, don't care about it." , who secretly sent someone to warn Zhang Hong."
"If we tolerate adultery, my father's reputation will be affected. And if Zhang Hong is found today, Zhao Hong and Li Hong will be found tomorrow. How will father deal with it then?" Yang Anxuan said angrily.
Yang Quanqi had long expected that corruption would arise during disaster relief, but he was just trying to avoid it. His clan members were involved, and if you look closely, the eldest brother and third brother may not be able to escape their involvement.
Yang Quanqi narrowed his eyes and asked, "In your opinion, how should I deal with it?"
Yang Anxuan rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Why not let Mr. Chen go investigate corruption matters."
Yang Quanqi shook his head repeatedly and said, "That's inappropriate. Isn't this just giving someone a handle?"
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "My father has only been in Xinye County for a short period of time, and he does not have enough control over the place. Although there are Yin, Deng, Cen and other noble families to help, Chen, Wei, Gao and other surnames are still on the sidelines. Chief Chen's inability to collect donations from merchants is enough. illustrate."
Yang Quanqi nodded. Most merchants in the city had nobles behind them. Failure to raise funds from merchants showed that the nobles behind them did not support him.
"If Jiyang City is like this, you can imagine the other four counties." Yang Anxuan said: "My father promised to appoint assistant officials in Yinjia Fort. Where did this position come from?"
Yang Quanqi frowned. If he took advantage of others and promised, of course he had to fulfill it. Originally, he only planned to give out three or five tasks. As a prefect, it was easy to do it. Now that Yin, Deng, and Cen have spent a lot of money, it is estimated that three or five tasks will not satisfy their appetite.
Seeing Yang Anxuan's meaningful smile, Yang Quanqi came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Xuan'er means to use the opportunity of investigating and dealing with disaster relief corruption to free up some responsibilities. Wonderful, this is a very clever plan."
Yang Anxuan said: "In this way, father does not have to worry about appeasing the Yin, Deng, and Cen families, but he can also take the opportunity to beat other noble families. How to deal with them depends on their performance. You can decide the severity."
Yang Quanqi's eyes shone and he said excitedly: "It's wonderful, you can knock the mountain to shake the tiger, and you can also kill people with a borrowed sword. Xuan'er, this move is a master of the art of war. Hahahaha..."
"Father still needs to tell the clan members not to reach out for money and food for disaster relief, so as not to get into trouble. If you get benefits, you might as well withdraw them, so that Chen Shen won't get caught." Thinking of Yang Shangbao behind Zhang Hong, Yang Anxuan said with some worry.
The father and son discussed in detail for a while, and Yang Quanqi ordered someone to invite Chen Shen over.
Chen Shen's face turned pale when he learned that the county magistrate asked him to investigate and deal with corruption in providing food for disaster relief. This was an offending job. He deliberately refused to agree and failed to raise funds from merchants, which already gave the county governor a handle. If Yang Quanqi took the opportunity to have an attack, he would not be able to afford it.
Chen Shen agreed with a grimace, thinking that if he could delay it for a while, he would find a reason to stop it, or if it didn't work, he would just find two or three damn ghosts. If the law does not punish the public, Yang Quanqi would not have offended all the officials in the county.
"Master Chen, disaster relief is like putting out fires. There is no need to delay the investigation of corruption. Master Chen must make arrangements early." Yang Quanqi looked at Chen Shen's bitter face and felt happy in his heart. He smiled and said: "I will also send people to investigate secretly. Just check and fill in the gaps. If someone wants to fool me, don't blame me for punishing them severely."
Chen Shen's face turned paler and he glanced at Yang Anxuan who was standing next to Yang Quanqi. He secretly hated that this matter was probably the bad boy's idea. This was the original idea of raising food and donations for disaster relief and working for relief. From the boy.
Good boy, just wait, you are not a gentleman if you don't take revenge. Isn't Yang Quanqi ready to make a name for you in this day and for this autumn? Well, I have to ruin your reputation.
