It had been more than half a month since the Yellow River burst, causing disaster to six prefectures in the Central Plains.
The imperial decree came very quickly. The local officials of the six prefectures took the initiative to save themselves, provide disaster relief, rescue the people, stabilize people's livelihood, and wait for the arrival of food, grass and manpower from the imperial court.
This is also consistent procedure.
Even the grain and grass stored in Luoyang City were allocated and shipped to Kaifeng Mansion and Guide Mansion.
It's just that local manpower and material resources are ultimately limited, and most of the investment is directed toward prefectures, counties, and cities with large populations.
Chenliu County, Lanyang County (formerly Lankao County, revised county name, Lanyang County in the Ming Dynasty) and Qi County formed a tripartite situation, occupying the entire northeastern position of Kaifeng Prefecture.
This time, Chenliu County was unfortunately dragged down by Lanyang County's stupidity.
The floodwaters from the Yellow River surged down from the breach, and after overflowing Lanyang County, they pushed all the way into Chenliu County with the momentum and power to sweep away thousands of armies, and submerged the entire county without giving Chenliu a chance to react.
The rolled up debris directly blocked one side of the county wall to the top of the wall.
Outside the city wall facing Lanyang County, there were countless officers and people carrying away debris washed away by the flood under the city wall.
The official wearing the Qipin Qingpao uniform had his clothes rolled up and put under his belt, and his sleeves were rolled up high together.
The boots with green soles and soapy surfaces were already covered with mud at this time, and the trousers that should have been white were clinging tightly to the legs because they were covered with mud.
This person was Pei Benzhi, the then magistrate of Chenliu County, Kaifeng Prefecture.
Pei Benzhi, who went out of the city yesterday to inspect the disaster situation in the county and stayed away all night, did not rush back to the county seat until this time today. He continued to inspect the dredging work outside the city without even entering the city.
"The County Lord."
"Your Majesty, you are back."
"The road here is slippery, please walk slowly."
"We are all at work, county sir, you don't have to worry."
Pei Benzhi, who did not have three squads of guards to clear the way to protect him, led a servant and a clerk from the county government to walk among the busy people outside the city.
And around him, all the people who saw Pei Benzhi put down their work, saluted and said hello to the county magistrate, and spoke out reminders.
Pei Benzhi always has a smile on his face and greets fellow villagers, even though he has been awake all night and is exhausted.
[In view of the general environment,
Become an official to serve the country, and be an official to serve the people.
This is the truth that Pei Benzhi has been taught by his elders since he was a boy and learned to read. It is also the principle of life that he adheres to today.
Those who are officials should wear official uniforms all year round, have no worries in summer and winter, have a salary to support their families, and be supported by the people of the place. They should devote themselves to the survival of the people under their rule.
Pei Benzhi was thinking about the court's relief and how many days it would take to reach Chenliu County. He stepped in the mud under the city wall and did not feel that there was anything wrong with his official status.
After walking dozens of steps, Pei Benzhi raised his eyebrows, and the smile on his face finally subsided, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of anger.
The chief minister and the clerk beside him immediately followed the gaze of the county magistrate and looked over.
I saw a few gray-haired old men carrying baskets under the city wall, transporting the sand and debris accumulated under the city wall to low-lying areas outside the city.
….
Pei Benzhi immediately stepped forward quickly, his body swaying because of the mud under his feet.
In the blink of an eye, Pei Benzhi was already here.
He snorted lowly and looked around. He couldn't see the officials sent by the county government. He immediately said loudly: "Who asked these old men to carry the burden! I said that day that old people over fifty do not need to carry the burden." Don’t worry, let the young and strong do this heavy work, while the elderly can just pick and choose the groceries!”
Several elderly people carrying heavy baskets full of sundries immediately put down their burdens when they saw the county magistrate getting angry, and stood there with their heads down and hands tied.
The people around him also stopped what they were doing because of the magistrate's anger and turned their heads to look here.
In the crowd, there was a sound of hurried footsteps.
came from a distance.
After a while, I saw a clay figurine whose original appearance could no longer be knocked out, running and crawling from behind the crowd to the front of the county magistrate.
"County...Your Excellency, this matter is not...not..."
The county official responsible for the dredging work of the city wall was already stammering when he spoke.
The few gray-haired old people over there finally couldn't stand it anymore, and they walked over, supporting each other.
"Your Majesty, this matter is not their fault."
Pei Benzhi's face was gloomy, his brows furrowed, and he moved his eyes away from the government officials and looked at the elderly people with a smile on his face: "Old men, I told you early on that you don't need to carry burdens if you are over fifty. Don’t be afraid, if these people do things in vain, I will punish them.”
Several elderly people couldn't help but sigh and looked at Pei Benzhi with gratitude in their eyes.
"The county magistrate has sympathy for us useless old people."
"The county magistrate has been in our Chenliu County these years. Who dares to say that the county magistrate is not good? The people in the yamen have followed the county magistrate and are busy all day long for our Chenliu County."
"This time, it's us. Seeing everyone busy, their shoulders are scratched. They are all their own children. The old men can't bear it."
Pei Benzhi frowned and glanced at the crowd around him.
He did not suspect that it was the government officials who were squeezing these people, but things always needed to be confirmed.
Pei Benzhi coughed lightly and looked at the official who was covered in mud and water: "Get up now. Go home and have a hot meal. Come back after you have rested."
The official didn't want to get up, and still knelt on the ground with his head lowered: "My lord, I'm not going home. My lord, you haven't been home since you got sick, and you have worked so hard to stay in the county for us. I'm sorry." I can’t do important things like the county magistrate, but I am willing to stay here and contribute to Chenliu County’s early escape from the flood.”
Pei Benzhi's brows furrowed even more tightly.
He stepped forward and lifted the clothes off the officials' shoulders.
The shoulders of the officials who stayed in the yamen all year round and were not engaged in production had already been scratched, and the oozing blood was mixed with sweat and mud, and it had become pitch black.
Pei Benzhi couldn't help but sigh, straightened up and looked at the crowd around him.
He raised his hands high and bowed to the people around him.
"It's because the county didn't do a good enough job, and everyone in Pingtian missed this year's spring plowing. Now we can only do work-for-relief work in and outside the city."
….
"Everyone, don't worry. Once this county becomes the magistrate of Chenliu County, it will be with you all the same day. The imperial court will never abandon Chenliu County. Yesterday, the imperial court received a letter. The grandson has already brought food to our Kaifeng Mansion. , the imperial court even sent the emperor’s personal army to help us.”
"Everyone, if you keep holding on, we can weather this flood together."
Pei Xianzun's words are an iron rule in Chenliu County, a promise that will never be compromised.
With Pei Benzhi's encouragement, all the people under the messy city wall cheered.
Pei Benzhi smiled and waved, then turned around and walked towards the city with Chang Sui and the document.
Entering the city, the porridge shops on both sides of the street have never stopped since the flood.
Pei Benzhi didn't step forward to do anything that would make him fail in the porridge test.
Because in Chenliu County, such a thing would not happen.
However, there was no smile on his face anymore.
Pei Benzhi turned his head slightly and looked at the county government office clerk next to him: "How much food is left in the warehouse?"
The clerk carefully looked around and saw people working, cleaning houses and roads.
The clerk quietly approached Pei Benzhi.
Then he whispered: "Your Majesty, if the relief food from the imperial court does not come, our Chenliu County can only survive for five days at most."
Pei Benzhi couldn't help but feel his heart sink. Although he knew that the county government had been tightening the supply of food these days, so many people in Chenliu County had to eat. No matter how tight they were, there would always be a day when they ran out of food.
He just didn't expect that Chenliu County only had five days of food rations left.
Pei Benzhi's brows almost collided: "Can't we tighten it any more? What does Kaifeng Mansion say? Where is the food in the warehouse? Where is the food stored in the homes of the wealthy gentry in the county?"
The clerk's face became a little ugly and he shook his head: "Your Majesty, it can't be tightened any more. If it is reduced any longer, the people will not have the strength to work.
The government office responded with an official document, saying that it would first provide relief to Lankao County, which was the most severely affected due to the direct breach. We also need to support the officers and soldiers of the guard station, and this part cannot be lacking. Therefore, except for the first batch of food in Chenliu County, there will be no more food in the future.
The wealthy gentry in our county have made donations in the past few days. The county magistrate personally went door-to-door with people to ask for food, and so far he has probably obtained more than 2,000 tons of grain. "
Pei Benzhi immediately snorted coldly.
Then, the depression in my heart could only turn into a sigh.
Pei Benzhi shook his head: "The Ming government has the same difficulties as the Ming government. Chenliu County is grateful to the Ming government for sending the first batch of grain. But should we continue to send messages to ask for it. As for... the two thousand tons of grain in this county?"
Pei Benzhi sneered.
The clerk raised his head and glanced at the county magistrate, and he smelled something amiss.
The clerk quickly tugged on the county elder's sleeve and made a look.
Chang Sui coughed lightly, stepped forward lightly, and said cautiously: "Master, my grandson is already on the way with the relief from the imperial court. This disaster will eventually pass. Master, you haven't returned to the Yamen for several days, are you still here?" Let's go back and rest for a while. If something happens to you, our Chenliu County will really be doomed."
"No return."
….
Pei Benzhi replied calmly, and then looked at the collapsed houses around him, his eyes full of vicissitudes: "This county has been favored by the country. I have been reading and writing since I was a child, and I know the principles of the saints. Fortunately, I was appreciated by the emperor and was appointed as the county magistrate. I know Chenliu in the county, so I have to guard Chenliu for the emperor. If the disaster does not recede, the county will not return home."
Chang Sui nodded silently.
I thought that my county magistrate had forgotten what happened just now.
Unexpectedly, Pei Benzhi's tone suddenly turned cold: "The imperial court has given orders many times, and this year my grandson has been promoting the idea of dividing the land into an equal share. The purpose is to make the world peaceful and to enable the rich to help the poor. In such a disaster, this county Do those wealthy gentry families want our county to take disaster victims to stay in their homes?"
The clerk's heart tightened, and Chang Sui also looked nervous.
"The county magistrate, the big gentry in this county... they are all related to Fucheng and Jingzhong..."
The clerk reminded him quietly.
Pei Benzhi didn't care at all, and his eyes were already looking at the houses and houses not far away from the city that were best preserved under the floods.
"Don't let this county find an opportunity!"
Then he snorted coldly.
The clerk was completely uneasy and nervous for no reason.
In the past few years, the gentry and wealthy households in Chenliu County have been suppressed by the county magistrate and have suffered terribly. Almost every month, slanderous comments are sent to the capital, even to Yingtian.
This is also the reason why my county magistrate, despite having a prosperous career in Chenliu County, has not moved away for almost eight years.
Even before the floods in the Six Prefectures, there were vague rumors in Fucheng that they would be taken away by their own county magistrates to serve as officials in Guanzhong or even in the northwest.
Just when the clerk was worried about the future of his county officialdom, there was a sudden noise outside the city gate.
Pei Benzhi turned around and looked over, only to see people rushing towards the city outside the city gate.
Something happened.
Pei Benzhi immediately took the documents and his entourage, turned around and walked out of the city.
"The County Lord! The County Lord!"
"It's the imperial court...people from the imperial court are here!"
"Your Majesty's personal army, the Habayashi Guards, are here!"
As soon as Pei Benzhi met the people rushing to the city, he heard these people shouting with joy.
The emperor's personal army is coming!
Pei Benzhi's eyes suddenly flashed with a bright light.
He immediately picked up his robe, spread his legs and ran out of the city.
A few moments.
After leaving the city, Pei Benzhi looked at the open space outside the city, where a long team was gathering from behind.
The flags of the emperor's troops almost occupied a large open space outside the city.
The sun and moon flags, star flags and beast flags cover the sky and the sun, fluttering in the wind.
The cavalrymen controlled their horses and spread out in all directions.
The soldiers began to look for high ground outside the city that had not been soaked by the flood for too long, and seemed to be planning to set up camp in Chenliu County.
Carloads of grain and grass, heavily guarded, appeared in Pei Benzhi's sight.
In Pei Benzhi's sight, several generals in armor and stomach, riding majestic war horses, surrounded by their own soldiers and cavalry, approached him.
Pei Benzhi could not conceal his joy and hurriedly called the county government officials outside the city to come forward.
"Pei Benzhi, the magistrate of Chenliu County, has met all the generals. Are the generals sent by the imperial court to relieve the disaster in this county?"
….
Tang Bi, the commander of the Yulin left guard of the Shangzhi pro-army army, who originally did not get the position of commander of the Henan Daodu Commander's Division, was depressed in Yingtian for several days.
Although the grandson had someone pass the message to him, the two guards on Yulin's left and right were under his own control after Yu Ma took office as the capital of Henan.
But without the sight of soldiers and horses guarding a guard station, Tang Bi still had some words that were difficult to speak.
However, there was a flood in Henan Province and other six prefectures, and Tang Bi began to rejoice that he did not take office as the capital of Henan Province at that time.
At this moment, the commander in charge of the emperor's personal troops on the left and right of Yulin was sitting on horseback watching the busy scene under the city wall outside Chenliu County.
Then he looked at Pei Benzhi, who looked nothing like a county magistrate.
Tang Bi smiled slightly, clasped his hands, and bowed in the direction of Yingtian City: "I have been stationed in Chenliu County by the emperor's order. The troops and horses under my command will obey the order and help Chenliu County to deal with the aftermath of the disaster."
This is what I want!
Pei Benzhi immediately turned his eyes and looked at the food brought by Yu Linwei this time.
He rubbed his hands and looked at Tang Bi, who had already stood up and dismounted: "General, the people in this county are now provided with daily rations by the county government. The current disaster has been more than half a month, and the fields have been washed away by floods, so spring plowing has been delayed. At present, the county government has Government granary..."
Pei Benzhi could see clearly that regardless of the carts of grain that Yulinwei brought this time, it was only enough for the army to be stationed in Chenliu County for a short period of time.
The food and grass that the imperial court really provided for relief had to be transported from other places.
Tang Bi looked at the Chenliu County magistrate in front of him with a dull look, and smiled slightly: "Pei County, I, the Yulin Guard, will definitely provide strong support for Chenliu this time according to the order."
Only effort does not produce food.
This is Tang Bi’s subtext.
When the army is out there, the first thing a general should consider is military morale. If there is a shortage of food in the army, how can there be military morale?
Pei Benzhi had already known that there would be such an answer. With a smile on his face, he motioned to the surrounding officials to step back, and he walked lightly to Tang Bi.
Tang Bi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Magistrate Chenliu, from the first moment he saw him, was different from other magistrates or prefects in the Ming Dynasty.
Tang Bi first raised his hand to signal Pei Benzhi to calm down.
Then he turned to look at his lieutenants: "Instructions are sent to the whole army to choose a place to set up camp outside Chenliu County. All arrangements must be made according to the regulations. Order the front, left and right battalions to assist Chenliu in disaster control."
The generals immediately took the order and arranged themselves in the army.
At this time, Tang Bi took Pei Benzhi, who was constantly thinking about things, to walk along the city wall.
"I heard that there was a major disaster in the six prefectures and dozens of counties in the six prefectures. Only Chenliu County, under the governance of Pei County, suffered the least damage and the people were the most stable."
Listening to Tang Bi's praise, Pei Benzhi smiled slightly, cupped his hands and pointed at the busy people around him.
"The reason why this county could not
The imperial court was concerned because the people of this county worked hard and all the people were of one mind. Only then did what the general said happen. "
Tang Bi shook his head: "Because I am on pro-military errands, I have not been out of the capital for a long time, but I also know that I am in charge of the local government. If there was no Pei County in Chenliu, I would probably not have the praise of this general."
Pei Benzhi was still shaking his head.
Tang Bi asked again: "Isn't it that the food from Kaifeng Prefecture will not be transported? How much food does Pei County have on hand to stabilize the people's hearts?"
"...Three days!" Pei Benzhi hurriedly changed his words and reported three days' rations.
Tang Bi smiled and said, "What are Pei County's plans? I, the Yulin Guard, have been ordered by the emperor to cooperate with the local government."
Pei Benzhi turned to look at Tang Bi, trying to see how false his words were.
After a while, Pei Benzhi said with a murderous look on his eyebrows: "Open the granary of a large Chenliu gentry family and use it to store grain to help the people of this county!"
Tang Bi paused for a moment, then turned his head and looked at Pei Benzhi carefully.
After a while.
Tang Bi then laughed loudly: "Aren't you afraid of losing your head in County Pei? Borrowing and robbing are just the same word. As an official, County Pei opened a private warehouse for a large gentry family. Isn't he afraid of impeachment?"
Pei Benzhi hummed twice and looked at Tang Bi from outside: "The general may not know that this county has been an official in Chenliu for nearly eight years. Although he has not contributed any merit to His Majesty, he has earned the title of "Iron-necked". Guarding a county for the emperor. People, this county has nothing to fear!"
Tang Bi immediately cheered.
His eyes were shining at this moment, and he reached out and patted Pei Benzhi on the shoulder.
"good!"
"I want to see how tough your Chenliu County iron neck is!"
Shredded Pork Rice Noodles
