At this time, Zhao Mengqi happened to be not far away, and was at the Salesian Bureau more than a mile away from the Renhe County Government Office.
New Year's greetings and gift giving can be left to your subordinates, but things like visiting orphans to ask about their sufferings and bring warmth, whether it's sincere or just for show, you still have to do it in person.
There were many problems in the Song Dynasty, but there were still many commendable things in civil affairs. For example, in terms of social relief, there was considerable progress compared with previous dynasties.
The famine relief system is relatively complete. From the central to the local government, a storage prevention system composed of Changpingcang, Shecang, Huicang, etc. has played a great role in disaster prevention and famine preparedness.
In addition, there is a relatively complete relief and assistance system for vulnerable groups in society, and the system is also becoming more complete and mature.
For those who are "elderly, sick, orphaned and beggars", they will be adopted from nursing homes, Futian Hospital, Nursing Homes, etc.
Those who were sick and helpless were sent to Anjifang for treatment and treatment. The imperial court sent medical officers and allocated funds, and set up Huimin Pharmacy, which often provided medicines to the people at low prices or even free of charge.
After death, those who are too poor to be buried will be buried in Luzeyuan. The person will be given nine feet of land, and the official will be given a coffin. Their identity and burial date will be engraved on the stele.
For poor people who have no place to live in the city, there are also low-rent houses provided by Lou Dianwu.
In places where there were no specialized institutions, the imperial court would regularly distribute rice and beans to those who were poor and unable to survive on their own, or those who were old and young or were sick.
This kind of thing is usually entrusted to the monks in the temple. If "more than 3,000 people are buried", an ultimatum will be given, "100 people will be cured within three years", and purple clothes and a Buddhist title will be given.
Confucius said, "People do not only care for their relatives, nor do they only have children for their children, so that the old will be able to die, the strong will be useful, the young will be able to grow, and the lonely, lonely, and sick will all be supported."
Mencius said, "Old people are like old people and people are old; young people are like young people and people are young."
This is the ideal society of Confucianism and the guidance of benevolent government in ancient Chinese dynasties. It is also the ideological source and spiritual motivation that led the Song Dynasty, which focused on civil governance, to comprehensively and continuously implement relief policies.
But having said that, these policies require the support of a large amount of funds. If the government's finances are in poor condition, they will inevitably become empty slogans and airs.
Another thing is that no matter how perfect the rules and regulations are, they all need specific people to operate them. When supervision is not in place, personnel is improperly employed, and political corruption occurs, there will be many disadvantages.
Even if there are many shortcomings, what needs to be done must still be done.
Whether it was to stabilize their rule, maintain social control, or for any other motivation, most emperors in the Song Dynasty indeed attached great importance to it and regarded it as a key point in their internal affairs.
Needless to say, Renzong, this temple name is the greatest affirmation of him. However, it was the Taoist Emperor Song Huizong and his eldest daughter Qianchen Prime Minister Cai Jing who pushed the relief cause to its peak. At that time, thanks to Wang Anshi's new policies, He saved enough money for the imperial court to pay for thirty years.
Even Emperor Gaozong Zhao Jiumei began to rebuild social relief institutions and systems just after crossing the south and while the war was still going on, and frequently issued relevant edicts.
Even today's official Zhao Yun has not forgotten this tradition. For example, he ordered the establishment of the Salesian Bureau that specializes in adopting abandoned babies eight years ago. .five
For the country at this time, population was a labor force, a source of taxes, and a source of soldiers. Of course, the more the better, and they usually encouraged more children.
However, there were two more prominent problems with newborns in the Song Dynasty.
First, the rate of premature death remains high. According to statistics, starting from Song Taizu, official families in each generation had a total of 181 sons, but 82 died in infancy. Although it may involve court struggles, it also reflects the problem.
The second is the widespread evil custom of abandoning and drowning babies among the people. Some of them are because they really cannot afford to raise them, and some are to prevent the family property from being dispersed, because the property inheritance system at this time is divided equally between brothers and half for daughters.
In this era, there were no effective contraceptive measures. It was more difficult to quit sex than to quit eating. After giving birth to a child, you were unable or unwilling to raise it, so the court had to find a way to solve it.
Initially, a child-raising warehouse and a child-raising warehouse were established. "The poor were prohibited from raising children. Those who were unable to raise babies were given money to raise them." Various monetary and food subsidies were issued to help the poor raise babies to a certain age.
Later, residential homes were asked to include abandoned babies in the scope of adoption, and the government hired people to raise them directly, or entrusted them to
Monastic upbringing.
Later, in order to refine the functions of the relief agency and separate the relief of the elderly and the poor from the care of young children, Zhao Yun specially established the Salesian Bureau and allocated 500 acres of official land for this purpose.
This Salesian Bureau is just north of Changping Cang and Zhencheng Cang. A little further north is the upper boundary of Wanwancang and Shengcang, and next door is the nursing home.
About half an hour ago, two brothers, Zhao Mengqi and Zhao Jian, came in wearing casual clothes with some doctors and a group of subordinates.
The place looks quite big, and the buildings covered with white snow also look new and neat. Twenty or thirty children are cleaning the snow on the ground in the courtyard, ranging in age from four or five to eleven or twelve years old.
When they noticed that so many strangers had come in, the children just looked up and showed no signs of surprise, and then continued to do their work.
Not as warm a welcome as expected?
Zhao Mengqi was a little embarrassed, touched his nose, and found a seven or eight-year-old girl lowering her head to peek at him, so he waved to her, thinking he was saying hello very kindly.
"Hello, kid, how are you..."
But the little girl seemed to be frightened and avoided looking.
Do I look scary? No way...
Zhao Mengqi lowered his head and looked at his clothes, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with them.
At this time, Zhao Han who was beside her ran over, gently pulled the little girl who was about to walk away, and handed it to the girl with open palms, "This candy is sweet and delicious, please eat it."
The little girl looked at the small sugar granules of different colors with some doubts in her eyes. Zhao Han raised his hand and moved closer to her.
"Try it, I guarantee this is the most delicious candy in the world. My fourth brother made it!"
Perhaps sensing Zhao Han's sincerity, or perhaps unable to resist the temptation of candies, the little girl blinked her eyes a few times, swallowed her saliva, then squatted down, picked up a handful of snow, and rubbed her hands together carefully.
Then he carefully picked up a piece of candy from Zhao He's palm and quickly stuffed it into his mouth.
An unprecedented sweetness bloomed in her mouth, and the little girl seemed to have discovered a new world. Her eyes were as wide as the full moon, and soon became as round as the crescent moon, and her thin little face was filled with smiles.
She first bowed to Zhao Han, then pointed at the candy in Zhao Han's palm, and then pointed at herself, her eyes full of inquiry.
Zhao Han nodded, "Yeah, yeah, it's all for you."
The little girl's smile became even brighter, she held up her hands, and then Zhao Han put the candy in.
Then, the little girl bowed to Zhao Han again, then ran to the tallest boy, handed him all the candies in her hand, and waved her hands away.
Zhao Han slowly walked over with curiosity.
At this time, Lu Derun had already returned from the official room and reported to Zhao Mengqi.
"Your Highness, all the officials including the supervisory bureau and others are not here. There are only a few old people sweeping the house, and they don't know anything about it."
"Huh!?" Zhao Mengqi scratched his chin and asked doubtfully, "Although today is a small year, I remember it is not a court holiday. Is it a holiday every ten days? But even if there is a holiday, doesn't someone in the government office have to be on duty? ?」
The welfare of being an official in the Song Dynasty was really good. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were 76 statutory holidays. Adding the 36 ten-day holidays, it was 112 days. In addition, there may be other holidays arising from non-fixed reasons. After crossing south, it was shortened a bit, and the legal holidays are sixty-seven days.
Lu Derun didn't know the truth for a while, "I'll have someone go check it out right away."
"Well, let's have someone bring the things in first."
Zhao Mengqi shook his head slightly. He was a little dissatisfied with this undisciplined officialdom, but he didn't plan to delve into it for the time being. After all, it took a day to freeze three feet, and if you want to change it, you have to start from the root.
Not long after, eight oxcarts loaded with supplies entered the yard.
At this time, Zhao Han also held the little girl's hand and walked back. Five or six children followed behind, but they did not dare to get too close.
"Fourth brother, her hands are so cold." Zhao Han raised the hand he was holding and shook it.
Zhao Mengqi looked at this little girl in a daze.
It's like seeing Zhao Han when they "first met".
He slowly squatted down and said with a soft smile, "Hello, my name is Zhao Mengqi, what is your name."
The little girl's eyes flashed dimly and she shook her head.
Zhao Han spoke up, "Fourth brother, she can't speak. Others call her Da Ya. She is the biggest girl here."
Dumb?
Zhao Mengqi was stunned for a moment, and then seemed to understand something.
In the Song Dynasty, city dwellers, especially those from middle and lower families, usually had "unreborn boys, and cherished girls as if they were jewels." Therefore, there were fewer female babies among abandoned babies, and adopters also preferred daughters.
Therefore, there are not many girls over five years old in the Salesian Bureau. This eldest girl does not look ugly. Mostly because no one is willing to adopt her because she is mute.
Hey, this is reality...
Zhao Mengqi had no choice but to look at the clothes on Da Ya and felt a little weird. He couldn't help but reach out and touch the corners of his clothes.
It was very thin, but there were four or five pieces inside. They were all single clothes, of different lengths and sizes, and looked very messy, as if they were all other people's clothes.
Zhao Mengqi frowned, but didn't think much about it. He just thought it was donated by the common people, which was the so-called Baijiayi.
Judging from the behavior of the children when he came in, there were usually many people who did good deeds here, so it was not surprising, but their indifference also made Zhao Mengqi feel strange.
It stands to reason that if someone comes to visit them, they will be given some food, money and supplies. Isn't this something that they should be happy about?
Without thinking too much now, Zhao Mengqi planned to have people unload the supplies and distribute them to the little kids.
Just at this moment, a cow pulling a cart waggled its tail and discharged a large pile of hot cow dung.
As soon as the cow dung hit the ground, a boy ran over with a dustpan, quickly put the cow dung into the dustpan with his hands, and then ran quickly to the house deep in the yard.
What the hell? Could it be that this cow is pulling gold?
Even if cow dung can be used as fuel, it has to be dried. Is it possible to be in such a hurry while it's hot? ?
Zhao Mengqi was confused, gave Geng Zhi a look, and followed him to take a look.
At this time, he had actually faintly sensed that something was wrong, because he could see that all the children's faces were covered with frostbite and had a sallow color.
According to regulations, the imperial court gave each child a monthly payment of two guan and a dou of rice. Even if the donations from kindhearted people were not included, it was enough to feed each child.
Zhao Mengqi's face gradually darkened, and he also suspended his plan to unload supplies and asked the doctors accompanying him to treat the children in the hospital first.
With Zhao Han's communication and coordination, the children cooperated with the doctor and went to a big room to check their health.
It didn't take long for Geng Zhi to fall back, with a very ugly expression on his face, "Your Highness, I...I don't know what to say, you'd better see for yourself."
Zhao Mengqi and his men followed Geng Zhi, bypassing several houses and arriving at a row of relatively low houses.
Generally speaking, such places are used to pile up debris and firewood.
Outside the door, there were already many babies crying, but they all seemed feeble.
He lowered his head and entered the room. After his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Zhao Mengqi was shocked by what he saw.
The house is open to the public, with a large pavilion made of adobe bricks, five feet wide and three or four feet long. It is crowded with children of all sizes, all of them shivering. Some tattered beddings are piled randomly on them. It seems that they mainly rely on each other's body temperature to keep warm.
Through some exposed areas, it can be seen that many people are not wearing any clothes.
Zhao Mengqi walked numbly along the side of the pavilion, and then saw more than twenty babies lying densely in the middle of the pavilion. There were a lot of clothes and fabrics underneath them, with only their faces exposed.
The howls from their mouths made Zhao Mengqi numb all over, and he continued walking stiffly. Then he saw the child who "robbed" the cow dung. He was smearing cow dung on the body of a five or six-year-old child.
"While it's still hot, put it on quickly, so it won't be so cold. It's better than
I feel warm even after wearing two clothes..."
Then Zhao Mengqi saw four "black people" next to him. One of them trembled and said, "Brother Gazi didn't lie, it's really much warmer..."
Qin Duan, who was suddenly following Zhao Mengqi, shouted in shock, "No, two kids seem to be out of breath!"
Zhao Mengqi's heart trembled, he woke up with a start, and hurriedly turned back, "Rescue quickly!"
At this time, Qin Duan and Geng Zhi were already at work. They clumsily untied the swaddling clothes that were tied very roughly, and they touched and pinched the two dead babies for a long time. Their faces were full of anxiety and solemnity.
After a while, Qin Duan let go of the baby dejectedly, "No, it's hopeless. It's been dead for at least half an hour..."
Gengzhi stuttered even more, "It's all hard, stiff, and the joints can't move."
Zhao Mengqi's mind was buzzing, and he raised his eyes to look at the other children. There seemed to be a little sadness in their eyes, but they seemed to be used to it.
A feeling of suffocation came over him, and Zhao Mengqi felt like he couldn't breathe. He staggered out of the room and then took a big breath.
Even on the battlefield, even if he was hit by five thunders, even if he was pierced by sharp arrows, he had never felt so powerless and painful as now.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Zhao Mengqi heard the call in a daze, and slowly came back to his senses. He saw Lu Derun leading a few men, escorting an extremely fat woman in front of him, "Is this?"
"Your Majesty, this woman is the wet nurse, head mother and cook in the courtyard. She was found in the kitchen with the door open. Not only was there a fire burning in the stove, there were also seven or eight charcoal pots burning. She I was sleeping soundly on a warm couch there, with a lot of leftover mutton bones and fish bones next to it, as well as a few empty wine jars..."
Hearing these words and the crying coming from the room, a rage burned in Zhao Mengqi's heart, and cold words leaked out from between his teeth.
"Give me a careful examination! I want to know everything! Everything!"
"As you command!"
Lu Derun knew that King Yan was completely angry at this time, and he did not dare to delay at all, so he let his men drag the fat pig-like woman to find a place for interrogation.
"Qin Duan, go and call the doctor here first, and immediately provide clothes, food, and hot water to the children in the room to warm up the room!"
"Zhao Heyun, take people to find all the account books of the Salesian Bureau and check them immediately!"
"The Salesian Bureau is like this, so the nursing home must not be much better. Wu Qiong, lead someone to seal the nursing home for me. If there is any abnormality, deal with it decisively!"
"Mo Chunfeng, arrest all the officials and related personnel in the bureau immediately! Including their families!"
Those assigned to the task did not dare to delay and all agreed.
At this moment, two panting Eastern Guard soldiers came and reported loudly, "Your Highness, something big has happened! There was a fight, and one person was killed. His life or death is unknown..."
Zhao Mengqi's face was livid at this time, and he did not change after hearing this. He just sneered, "Oh, I am really in a hurry. Today is such a small year!"
When I looked up, the sunlight seemed to be tinged with blood...
