After unloading the disaster relief food, cooking the porridge, and distributing it to the people, the prefect of Rongyang Prefecture and the imperial envoys took a walk on the empty road in the ruins.
"Prefect Mo."
With these words, the prefect Mo Kaiping looked at Cen Wenxing, the Imperial Envoy who was accompanying him: "Imperial Envoy Cen, please tell me."
"What counties are there under Rongyang Mansion?" Imperial Envoy Cen Wenxing asked curiously.
The prefect Mo Kaiping thought about it for a while and then said: "There are Zhengning County, Tianchang County, Ningtong County, He County and Tongxian County."
After hearing this, Cen Wenxing continued to ask: "Since the earthquake, how many casualties have been recorded? Is there any record?"
As soon as Cen Wenxing said this, the prefect Mo Kaiping sighed and said: "In the past few days, people have been dying every day. It's hard for the lower officials to keep records."
"How many people did this Rongyang Mansion have in the past?"
"There are 120,000 people returning to Cen Imperial Envoy," said Magistrate Mo.
"Twenty thousand people?" Cen Wenxing was a little surprised.
Magistrate Mo nodded and said: "Rongyang is located in a remote place, surrounded by mountains on all sides. There is only one road out of Rongyang Mansion, and this road is the road that Cen Qin Envoy passed just now. It's fine on a sunny day, if we encounter It’s a rainy day, so the road won’t be easy to walk.”
"Who is the magistrate of each county?"
"Zhengning County is in charge of Gong Tianhua, Ningtong County is in charge of Dong Hongguang, and He County is in charge of Sun Junze." Cen Wenxing stopped before Magistrate Mo could finish.
"Just now you said who is in charge of He County?"
"Sun Junze." After speaking, Magistrate Mo looked at Cen Wenxing's face and asked curiously: "But is there anything wrong?"
"Sun Junze is appointed as the magistrate of He County?" Imperial Envoy Cen Wenxing confirmed.
Magistrate Mo nodded and looked at Commissioner Cen with a puzzled face: "But is there something wrong?"
Cen Wenxing shook his head: "There is nothing wrong. When did he become the magistrate of He County?"
Magistrate Mo thought for a while and then said: "I took office in July of the fourth year of Dechang, and it has been seven years now."
Listening to Magistrate Mo's words, Imperial Envoy Cen Wenxing became even more convinced of Sun Junze's identity.
"How has he been as the magistrate of He County these past years?" Cen Qin asked.
Listening to Qin Envoy Cen's question, Magistrate Mo asked out of curiosity: "Do you know him?"
Cen Wenxing nodded and said as he walked: "Isn't he the eldest son of Sun Zhicai, the prime minister of the left during the Hongdao period?"
After saying this, Magistrate Mo opened his eyes.
"Why did Prime Minister Zuo's eldest son come so far away to become a small local official?" Magistrate Mo became interested.
"Well, it's a long story." After saying this, Cen Wenxing began to speak, and Magistrate Mo on the side also listened attentively.
As we talked, it was getting dark before we knew it.
After listening to Cen Wenxing's introduction, the short-sighted prefect Mo Kaiping seemed to hate his father.
"Well, his father is so ambitious. He still wants to be the prime minister for the rest of his life. Now, all the sons in the family will also be stupid." Magistrate Mo said to himself.
Seeing Magistrate Mo hating Sun Zhicai's family so much, Cen Wenxing suddenly smiled.
But Magistrate Mo still didn't know that Cen Wenxing had adapted the story and distorted the facts.
Seeing that Magistrate Mo had not yet come out of his hatred, Cen Wenxing asked curiously: "How has he been as an official here over the years?"
"Eh" he sighed and recalled for a moment, then Magistrate Mo said: "His career has not been very good these years. The people don't seem to listen to him either. Even the lower officials don't know how he became such an official. "
Seeing the disappointed look on Magistrate Mo's face towards Sun Junze, Magistrate of He County, Cen Wenxing suddenly had an idea: "Since you're not doing well, why don't you report it to the court?"
Thinking that the person standing next to him was a high-ranking official, and he was also the current Minister of Household Affairs. If he was found to have neglected his duties, he would have to be removed from his position when he returned. Magistrate Mo suddenly thought of a good explanation.
"I once wanted to report to the imperial court, but Sun Junze begged me again and again. I was also soft-hearted, so I didn't report to the imperial court."
Seeing Magistrate Mo being so good at telling lies, Cen Wenxing smiled slightly, and at this moment, he said what he was thinking: "Prefect Mo, I have a way to remove him from his position."
Seeing that Cen Qinqi was more anxious than himself, Magistrate Mo was at a loss for words. What he said just now was just made up by himself, which exempted him from his position... and he felt a little sorry for him.
Seeing that Magistrate Mo had not decided yet, Cen Qin sent over: "How about... I will go to He County in person tomorrow to find out how Sun Junze became an official."
It didn't sound like there was any threat, but Magistrate Mo had already felt the threat, so he had no choice but to agree: "Qin Envoy Cen, please tell me, I will do whatever you say."
Looking at the darkness all around, and seeing that no one was coming or going around, Cen Qinqin whispered the plan into Magistrate Mo's ears.
Seeing that Magistrate Mo looked panicked at first, then calmed down, and then smiled.
Although I didn't hear clearly what the two said, it could be seen from Magistrate Mo's face that this must be a good plan.
The next day...
After eating the morning relief food, the remaining 50,000 people in Rongyang Mansion began to build their homes.
I saw that they were all cleaning up the ruins, some were carrying stones, some were stacking broken pieces of wood together, and some were cleaning up the rubble in the ruins...
Today, the disaster relief grain transported from the imperial court has been transported from Rongyang Mansion to several counties and nearby prefectures.
The people who received the relief food were all dancing, as if the relief food was their hope for survival.
However, He County, which is also remote, seems to know nothing and has no news at all.
The disaster situation in He County was not much different from that in Rongyang Prefecture. In terms of population, Rongyang Prefecture was much better off, but in terms of damage to buildings, He County suffered the most serious damage.
Thinking about it, it is not how small or big the earthquake is, but it is caused by the economic reasons of the two places.
In terms of population and economy, Rongyang Mansion is already slightly better. This also makes the houses in Rongyang Mansion relatively solid. When the earthquake comes, the losses are not very big. It can be said that a little repair is enough. Can continue to be used.
And He County is the poorest among the counties managed by Rongyang Mansion. Every year, the court collects taxes, which means He County collects the least tax.
This earthquake has opened another scar for the already poor county. If we want to restore He County to its previous appearance, first of all, the canals need to be rebuilt, the water reservoirs in the city also need to be rebuilt, and the houses must also be rebuilt.
"Where's the food?"
"After so many days, if this food doesn't come, what will we eat? How about you go eat turf and leaves?!"
"If there is no relief food today, either you will die or I will die! Wait! Wait! If you wait any longer, I will die here!"
Shouting words rang out again in front of the ruined government office.
"Zhixian, Zhixian."
Fellow acquaintance Zhao Zexi hurried over with words.
Looking at Zhao Tongzhi's panic, Sun Junze could guess what was going on even without looking.
"County magistrate." Zhao Tongzhi, who was about to say something, suddenly stopped talking when he saw Sun Junze's actions.
Sun Junze didn't seem to be afraid at all. He stood up and walked over the ruins.
The cook Li Ziqiao on the side was worried, put down the books in her hands and walked over.
Seeing the county magistrate Sun Junze walking over, followed by the cook Li Ziqiao, the leader seemed not afraid at all this time.
"Hey, don't you have food to eat this time? Are you asking women to help you again?" the leader laughed.
It was obvious that after a few days, all the troublemaking people had lost a lot of weight and were almost reduced to skin and bones, with almost only bones left on their faces.
"What, why don't you say anything?" the leader yelled.
Li Ziqiao, who was standing aside, couldn't stand it anymore. What he couldn't stand was not that the people were causing trouble, but that as the county magistrate, he couldn't stand it.
"What? What do you want to do even if there is no food?" Li Ziqiao glanced at the thin magistrate Sun Junze at the side: "Eat him?"
As soon as Li Ziqiao said this, these troublemaking people suddenly didn't know what to say.
It's okay to eat it, but their conscience can't accept it.
"Ziqiao! Stop helping him all the time. He is the county magistrate, who are you? You are the cook who cooks for him, what can you do to help him talk? Don't forget, you are from He County. Why? Are you always talking to someone from out of town?" Bai Bai asked.
After hearing what the villagers said, Li Ziqiao lowered his head and suddenly didn't know what to say to comfort them.
After all, it has been almost 20 days since the earthquake occurred. For 20 days, there was no food to eat. I had to bear bark, leaves, and grass roots every day. This period of time is still bearable. Who can bear this long time?
Seeing that Li Ziqiao remained silent, the troubled people began to verbally attack the county magistrate Sun Junze.
"What do you do as an official?"
"We just want to ask you, do you have this food? Or are you greedy for this food?"
"Speak! Be a mute?"
Li Ziqiao felt heartbroken as he watched everyone attack Sun Junze with their words.
Having worked as a cook for the county government for many years, Li Ziqiao knew Sun Junze's character and thoughts very clearly.
"That's enough!" Li Ziqiao said, and then continued: "Are you done yet? Don't blame him for everything! Does he want to do this? If there was relief food, could he be so thin?"
"Ziqiao, no matter what you say today, we will not be soft anymore. If we don't give him some clues, he won't know how powerful we are." After saying this, the leader tightened his stick and rushed forward. Sun Junze was beaten.
Other people gathered around to watch.
Seeing this, Li Ziqiao on the side wanted to persuade but couldn't, and tears fell down one by one.
When fellow acquaintance Zhao Zexi saw this, he hurriedly called the government officials to stop the people.
But how many people are there and how many government officials are there, how can we stop it.
In the end, the county magistrate Sun Junze was beaten badly, and all the officials in the yamen were injured, including the yamen servants who also suffered some skin injuries, and Li Ziqiao was also injured when he tried to dissuade him.
