The magistrate of Taiping County has been in dire straits recently. Due to its poor flood control, numerous people have been killed and injured in its jurisdiction. In particular, the villages near Xiangxi, Machuan River, Zhuxi River and other rivers were the hardest hit. A total of fifty-six villages were destroyed overnight. Taiping County was razed to the ground by floods, and there were only a handful of survivors in each village. Other towns and villages were not much better, with piles of bones abandoned in the wild. White flags were hung everywhere in Taiping County, and more than 90% of the people became victims of the disaster. , hungry and cold, with mourning everywhere, a human tragedy.
If other brother counties were affected by the disaster, the situation of the magistrate of Taiping County might be better.
However, Jingnan County, which is closest to Taiping County and has the most intersections, is a different scene.
Because Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Pingan took precautions before the flood, although Jingnan was not spared from the flood, no one in Jingnan County was killed in this once-in-a-century flood.
On one side, there were countless casualties and bones lying in the field, while on the other side, no one was injured. The contrast was stark! It highlights the incompetence of his Taiping magistrate! He also made Zhu Pingan, his colleague whom he disliked and envied and hated, extremely outstanding!
Because of this, the surviving people in Taiping County complained and cursed him, the county magistrate!
In particular, I don’t know who spread the news that Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping’an had sent a letter to their Taiping County Magistrate to remind them of flood prevention several days in advance before the flood, but their “good” county magistrate was ignored. The garbage was torn into pieces and thrown away. After the news came out, the people of Taiping County scolded the Taiping Magistrate even more.
People used to use words such as stupid pig and stupid dog to curse people, but now they use the name of Taiping Magistrate instead of pig or dog.
People in Taiping County were displaced. The shelter they gathered in the wilderness was called the "Taiping Magistrate Village", the haystacks where people slept were called the "Taiping Magistrate Beds", and the wild vegetables they ate to satisfy their hunger were called "Taiping Magistrate Delicacies" , grasshoppers and other insects that are eaten to improve food are called "Taiping County Meat"...
In short, in Taiping County, Taiping Magistrate is synonymous with a series of words such as "stupid" and "incompetent".
"Since the flood, I asked myself that I have been doing my best to organize disaster relief. I have never had a day off. Why can't they see it?! Everyone is looking at me sideways, and everyone in front of me and behind me is scolding me... "
The magistrate of Taiping walked around the county office with his hands behind his back, his brows full of irritation and resentment.
"The common people are the most short-sighted and cannot see Dong Weng's hard work. They can live today only because of Dong Weng's hard work. Please calm down Dong Weng and take care of yourself. We in Taiping County can't live without Dong Weng."
The staff member comforted him softly.
"Sigh... If everyone could understand my hard work like you do, it would be easier for me to do my job."
The magistrate of Taiping sighed and reached out to pat the staff on the shoulder. The staff's comfort was very useful.
"Hey, let's not talk about this. How is the construction of the resettlement area for the victims?" Taiping County Magistrate asked his staff.
Although the magistrate of Taiping County never said he regretted it, he felt regretful in his heart. He regretted not listening to what Zhu Pingan said at that time, so he had been sending people to pay close attention to what Zhu Pingan was doing in the neighboring county and secretly learned from Zhu Pingan. Safe disaster relief methods, for example, the resettlement area for victims is the Jingnan flood refuge area where he stole his lessons. However, due to some ulterior considerations, Taiping County Magistrate changed the name of the flood refuge area into a resettlement area for disaster victims.
"Back to Dongweng, we have returned from the resettlement area for the victims. Now the resettlement area has been leveled. We are coordinating the transportation of wood and thatch. It is estimated that we can start building shanties to accommodate the victims in the afternoon."
The staff member replied.
"Why are we leveling the site? The progress is too slow. Didn't we start leveling the site three days ago? It only took one or two days to build the flood shelter in Jingnan, including leveling the land to building shanties. alright."
Taiping Magistrate said dissatisfied.
"Back to Dongweng, the people below are cheating and playing tricks, and the victims are unwilling to help. This is the result I have been keeping an eye on. Otherwise, I am afraid that the ground will not be leveled for another three to five days." The staff member wiped the sweat from his forehead. , replied with a wry smile.
He didn't say some words. Dong Weng didn't go to the resettlement area for the victims. He didn't know the situation at the scene. He didn't have any supplies of money or food. He just used administrative orders blindly to force the people below and the victims to work hard. How could they get up so quickly? Besides, The prestige of the county government among the people is also declining day by day.
"This group of unscrupulous people, I have worked so hard to build flood shelters, no, who are the resettlement areas for the victims?! They can't even spare a handful of energy. It's really unreasonable... They deserve this disaster!" Taiping County Magistrate couldn't help but curse out loud after hearing this. After scolding, he turned to his staff and asked, "By the way, I asked you to keep an eye on Jingnan. What's going on over there recently? New action?”
"What's the matter? What great idea has he come up with?"
After the Taiping Magistrate finished asking, he saw a strange expression on the staff's face and asked nervously.
Firstly, he hoped that Zhu Pingan would come up with some good ideas, so that he could steal his lessons; secondly, he was worried that Zhu Pingan would come up with some good ideas, otherwise when Taiping County and Jingnan County were compared, he would be Zhu Pingan's contrast!
"Dong Weng, Master Zhu..." The staff member shook his head and said with a complicated expression.
"What's wrong with him?! You should tell me quickly." Taiping County Magistrate couldn't help but urge.
"Dong Weng, Mr. Zhu sent an official document to various places in Jingnan. The official document defined the price of food in Jingnan as 2,500 yuan per stone." When the staff spoke, there was an expression of disbelief on their faces.
"What? Two thousand five hundred yuan per stone?!" Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Taiping changed his face in shock.
"Dong Weng, although it is unbelievable, it is true. I even rode a horse to Jingnan to verify it. I saw this official document with my own eyes. The official document was also stamped with the bright red seal of Jingnan Magistrate! Grain shops in various places in Jingnan It is true that the price of food has been raised to 2,500 yuan per stone." said the staff.
"Is he, Zhu Ping'an, crazy? In the current flood, from the capital city, those grain dealers who are driving up prices are being beheaded or imprisoned, and they are using thunderous means to lower grain prices! He actually goes against the grain and raises grain prices so high? !What good will this do to him?!"
The magistrate of Taiping took a breath of cold air, unbelievable that Zhu Pingan would make such a policy.
"What good is it for him?! Ahem, the county magistrate heard that grain merchants from all over Jingnan were lining up to send gifts of thanks to Zhu Pingan. Zhu Pingan was reluctant to accept the gifts... and some rushed after hearing the news. Zhu Ping'an also sent people to the foreign grain merchants who went to Jingnan to make a fortune in the name of 'raising donations', which was a great success! According to the gossip, Zhu Ping'an even received this amount of gifts." The staff sneered. , made a gesture.
"Eight thousand taels? So much!" Taiping Magistrate opened his mouth in shock.
"It's eighty thousand taels!" the staff corrected.
"What, 80,000 taels?!" Upon hearing this, the Taiping magistrate's eyes almost popped out of his head. Not only were they prominent, but they were also red with bloodshot eyes, "Zhu Ping'an's ability to collect money is really that of a top scholar! !”
After being shocked and jealous, Taiping Magistrate walked around twice in circles with his hands behind his back, and couldn't help but curse!
How can you steal someone like this!
If I steal from you again, my ancestral graves will be dug up by the angry people of Taiping County!
Zhu Pingan, Zhu Pingan, I didn’t expect you to be such a person!
During this time of the flood, I put aside all my previous resentments and learned from you! I didn’t expect you to become a corrupt official!
However, this was fine. After the Taiping Magistrate cursed a few times, a smile suddenly appeared on his face. He waved to his staff and told them, "Hurry up and spread the news! The wider it spreads, the better it will be." Okay, the further away the better! Hmph, let those stupid people see what kind of face the person they love and praise is like! By the way, later, you can draft an official document for me, and I want to report it to the governor. Expose and impeach Zhu Ping'an."
