The time has passed.
The magistrate's house was pitch dark, with only the lanterns emitting a faint warm light.
The lights were also on in the study, the prefect sat on a chair, and Magistrate Shen stood under the desk with his hands clasped.
"Behive briquettes?" The prefect looked at the drawings with disbelief on his face, "You mean, burning coals in this way will increase the degree of combustion, reduce poisons, and avoid poisoning?"
Magistrate Shen didn't know if it was true, but Sui Ruren's letter said this, and he believed Sui Ruren's every word.
He said: "This snowstorm, Dahe Village relied on coal mountains to survive the crisis. No one in the village was poisoned because of this method. There are many coal mountains in the north, which were used for the smelting of steel utensils and metallurgy by the court, and they were very useful to the people. Generally speaking, this thing is resistant to burning, but it is poisonous. Almost every year in the North, people are poisoned to death due to improper burning of coal. Gradually, people are becoming less and less afraid to use this thing. If briquettes can be promoted, it will be a powerful weapon for the country. , an important treasure of the people, and a meritorious deed of the magistrate."
The prefect's breathing quickened.
Although the fourth rank is already a very high official, he has been sitting in this position for many years. Who doesn't want to be promoted?
His political performance last year was good, but he was still a little short of promotion.
If this briquette can really improve the burning rate of coal, and if it can really reduce the poisoning of ordinary people to the greatest extent, then it can be widely used. This is a great merit.
"Since we have the production method and drawings, let me make some tomorrow." The prefect said, "I will ask people to present this thing to the Holy One. As long as the Holy One allows it, all the coal kilns in the North can make a large amount of briquettes on site. People can Blessed are we.”
"Mr. Magistrate, the drawing is dirty..." County Magistrate Shen sighed, "This is the work of Sui Ruren who worked hard. After finishing the painting, Sui Ruren couldn't hold on and vomited a mouthful of blood on the drawing. He fainted and didn't know when. Will wake up..."
"Master Magistrate, please tell the truth." Master Yuan knelt on the ground, crying bitterly, "After Dahe Village discovered Meishan, the imperial court sent Master He to take charge, but this Master He, relying on Liupinjing, As an official, with the He family in the capital behind him, he was dominating Dahe Village. Dahe Village, a quiet and peaceful village, turned into a purgatory on earth in just three to five days. Even the ninth-grade Sui, who was personally conferred by the Holy Master, The children were all beaten until they vomited blood and were critically ill, not to mention the defenseless people... Some were displaced, some lost their fetuses, and some lost their innocence... Lord Prefect, you have to make the decision for the people of Dahe Village!"
"Such a thing actually happened within our jurisdiction?" The magistrate's face became angry, "The reason why I am so courteous is because Mr. He Xueshi is behind him. He does not want to bring honor to the He family, but he actually does such a disaster. . Come on, grind it, I want to report it!"
The discovery of coal mountains is a merit, and the promotion of briquettes is also a merit, but allowing the imperial officials to commit murders against the people can completely obliterate the first two merits.
Regardless of whether the court cares about this matter, he must report it.
The memorial was written quickly, and the prefect sent it to the capital overnight. From Huzhou to the capital, it took four or five days to go back and forth.
Magistrate Shen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Master Magistrate, I want to return to Ping'an County to protect those innocent people."
"No." The Lord Magistrate shook his head, "Before the court's order is issued, neither you nor I know what the Holy Father means. If the court wants to protect the family members, you and He Yan will definitely suffer a loss, so you will Stay in Huzhou and wait and see what happens."
Magistrate Shen lifted up his robe and knelt down: "Xiaguan is the parent official of Ping'an County. All the people in Ping'an County are the children of Xiaguan. How can parents not protect their children when they suffer? Xiaguan will bear all the consequences on his own. Please also ask Sir, please be patient."
"Let's start again tomorrow morning."
The prefect waved his hand and compromised.
This was the reason why he admired Lao Shen. He was obviously just a seventh-grade sesame official, but he still cared about all the people.
Magistrate Shen is not in a hurry to leave. After dawn tomorrow morning, he will have to ask a few doctors with superb medical skills in Huzhou to bring them back to treat Suiru people...
He Xiao rushed back to Dahe Village overnight.
After arriving at the village, it was almost dawn, and there was a faint white light on the horizon. After another hour, the sun would come out.
Cheng Wanwan didn't sleep all night.
She was not 100% sure of her dangerous move, and she still had hidden worries in her heart.
"Mom, master is back."
Zhao Sidan had been squatting in the yard. When he saw He Xiao coming back on horseback, he immediately ran in to report.
Cheng Wanwan walked out of the house: "First drink a cup of ginger tea to cool down the cold."
He Xiao took the cup and slowly drank a cup of ginger tea.
"Cousin, the magistrate has written a note and sent it to the capital. There should be news within four or five days." He said, "Originally, the magistrate was going to come back with us, but because we have to invite a doctor, we can only come to Dahe Village tomorrow."
Cheng Wanwan was a little sorry: "It is indeed too much to keep the county magistrate in the dark this time. I will personally apologize to you tomorrow."
"If my father knows the truth, he will definitely show his flaws." Shen Zheng walked out with a yawn, "My father is too upright. He can't act well if he is asked to act. It is a good thing to keep him in the dark. No, once my father got into a mood, the prefect believed him deeply, otherwise he wouldn't have delivered the information to the capital overnight."
Several people were talking in the yard when they suddenly heard a wolf howling.
Zhao Sidan was slightly surprised: "The wild wolf only barks around midnight. It's almost dawn. Why did it suddenly bark? Did something happen?"
"No, no!" Wang Yongcheng ran over panting, "Master He went up the mountain with more than 20 officials, saying he wanted to capture the wild wolf alive!"
Aunt Wang also walked in: "I heard from the officials that there are always wild wolves wandering around the house after dark. They thought it was a wild wolf seeking revenge, and they were afraid that they would be eaten without anyone noticing, so they decided to strike first. With so many people carrying torches up the mountain, wild wolves are no match for them, right?"
Many people in the village woke up and gathered around the entrance of Cheng Wanwan's yard.
Cheng Wanwan had already returned to her bedroom when someone came. She was a patient now, so it was better to hide.
However, He Yan was so courageous that he actually led people up the mountain to catch wolves. Do you really think Xiaodian's family is so easy to deal with?
Everyone in the village looked anxious.
"Last time, bandits came to our village, and it was the wild wolves who caught the bandits. We all remember the kindness the wild wolves did to our Dahe Village."
"These officials are so useless. They just harm the livestock. How can they go to the mountains to harm the wolves and commit evil?"
"Everything in the village is about to be destroyed. God, please open your eyes and take a look!"
"..."
It was almost dawn, and people in the village got up earlier. At this moment, hundreds of villagers were standing at the foot of the mountain, all of them looking sad.
"Get out of the way!" A scolding came from behind, "Master He is going up the mountain, you unscrupulous people don't block the way!"
Several officials held torches and escorted He Yan up the mountain.
He Yan had never seen a wild wolf captured alive in his whole life. He just wanted to see the excitement and show off among the young men in the capital when he returned to the capital.
He glanced around the crowd, suddenly paused, and pointed at a little girl in the crowd: "You, come here."
