Hai Dafu hosted the dinner, but it was essentially a celebration of Qi's reputation. It didn't take long and ended quickly.
Everyone knows that the prefect is very busy with official duties at the moment and cannot waste time on eating and drinking.
So, just after the banquet ended, Qi Yu hurried back to the government office.
The much-needed food has been borrowed, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
For the sake of his son-in-law's career, Hai Dafu made a prompt decision and decided to deliver the food that night to solve the difficulties faced by the households in the government office.
Qi Yu sat in the trembling sedan chair, vaguely thinking of the past. When the locust plague broke out in Lanshan County, we were also faced with the dilemma of running out of food. If my second uncle hadn't provided timely relief, I might have starved.
Qi Dalang, who came from a poor family, has a deep understanding of the importance of food. This understanding comes from personal experience.
It is said that a good wife cannot make a meal without rice. No matter how great your abilities or ambitions are, without the support of the most basic food, any ideal is just a pipe dream.
Food is fundamental!
Now is a special moment. The earlier we can provide relief to the victims, the earlier we can recover the losses and lost public support.
In addition to food, this trip also brought unexpected benefits.
According to Hai Dafu, there is a saying that has been circulating in their business circle recently.
what is it then?
Collusion between Japanese merchants and real and fake Japanese pirates.
This is a long-standing and controversial statement.
Let’s hear the details.
As early as the period of Emperor Taizong, some internal guards from the external inspection reported to the emperor that some businessmen had no regard for morality and had private transactions with Japanese pirates and then made profits from them.
However, this statement was unanimously rejected by major local officials. They all said that the security under their jurisdiction is as stable as Mount Tai and the defense of the sea area is as solid as a rock. How could such cheating be possible?
This statement by the local magistrate was severely impeached by the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It was almost blatantly stated that this was a move by local officials to cover up the facts in order to preserve their political achievements, and so on.
To this end, the two sides had a fierce debate.
In the end, Emperor Taizong kept the matter vague for the sake of the overall situation. Shengtianzi said that there was insufficient evidence and no conclusion could be made.
It is precisely because of the ambiguous attitude of the court that this trend has become increasingly rampant; from the initial robbery by Japanese pirates, merchants helped them sell the stolen goods, and gradually developed into some merchants directly pretending to be Japanese pirates and robbing wildly.
According to Hai Dafu, there are many fake Japanese pirates hiding in Guangdong Prefecture who fish in troubled waters, and they have also formed a climate.
This is a very bad phenomenon!
Extremely affecting public security!
The statement about real and fake Japanese pirates reminded Qi Yu of a past incident.
I still remember that when taking part in the imperial examination, Luo Yuan Lao Jijiu once made it clear that his answer to the question on what was the source of the Japanese pirates was not comprehensive enough. The article did not list the issue of whether the Japanese pirates were disguised as domestic businessmen.
Haha, Lao Jijiu is still very forward-looking in theory.
Regarding Japanese pirates, I had learned about them in my previous life, but I had never thought that the historical progress of this time and space would actually develop in this direction.
Is it a coincidence?
This is a big problem that cannot be solved with my current abilities.
If you are not in your position, you will not seek political power!
I still need one-third of an acre of land, so how can I have time to worry about it?
Let's leave the matter of Japanese pirates to the important ministers in the central government for discussion.
…
According to the pocket watch time, at six o'clock in the afternoon, the group returned to the government office.
Then, Qi Yu made corresponding arrangements.
He asked Huang Fei to rest first, while he led Peng Wenchang and Tan Junyan to the main hall of the Yamen.
Discuss!
At a glance, he saw that all the officials and officials from all sides had returned and were waiting for his arrival in the side room.
"cough!"
"Meet the adults!"
"No need to be polite! Tell me, how did you do with your investigation?" Qi Yu skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the topic.
As a result, all the officials stared at each other, and no one wanted to speak first.
Judging from how bad they are, I guess it's not good.
Even if it’s not good, you have to tell me!
Qi Yu said with a cold eyebrow: "Say! Those who don't tell, haha~~"
Qi Dalang didn't have the slightest fondness for this group of subordinates. If it hadn't been for their previous inaction and random actions, how could they have lost the support of the people?
Telling them to go home and farm is already considered a lenient sentence!
Qi Yu also gave them a chance to change their ways in view of the former magistrate's chaotic government. If they still couldn't turn back, then they would have nothing but 'hehe'.
"explain!"
"yes……"
Wei Qingyang, the official of the Lifang Jingcheng, was the first to go out and speak: "Your Excellency, I have found out that there is a serious phenomenon of insincerity and subjugation among the officials in the counties below. They are lazy and slack in administration. They do nothing and just wait there. The imperial court’s disaster relief food is broken.”
Oh, this is a problem with the administration.
Qi Yu replied: "Send this order to all counties, ordering them to correct themselves within three days and try their best to resist the disaster. Otherwise, Tiwu Shamao will come to see me!"
"yes!"
Prisoner Zhang Li came out and said: "Sir, except for Qiongnan, which is controlled by the rebel Na Yan, the public security in the area is generally stable. It's just that... thefts often occur. For this reason, various yamen Many people were also arrested. Please tell me, sir, how to deal with these common people who steal."
Qi Yu sighed: "They stole because they had no food to eat. They are not really evil people. Well... pass the command to the government and treat these people leniently. After some education, they will be released." Let them."
"yes!"
"At the same time, you will send orders to the execution chambers in each county and order them to patrol day and night to strictly control public order. Anyone who fails to act will be severely punished."
"yes!"
After a while, Ren Yu from the Gongfang came out and said: "Master Qi, the earthquake caused many houses to collapse. Currently, these people have no fixed place to live. What should be done?"
Qi Yu thought for a while and replied: "Reconstruction after the disaster must be based on the government and the people as a supplement. Only by working together can we get twice the result with half the effort."
"yes!"
"According to my observation, most of the residences in Qiongzhou are bamboo houses and wooden houses, and there are few mud buildings. This provides a feasible idea for post-disaster reconstruction. Sir Ren, please quickly summon carpenters from all over the country to come The government performs this kind of paid corvee.”
"yes!"
"The corvee this time is purely voluntary. They cannot be forced to do it. Just say that anyone who is willing to do this corvee will be paid one liter of rice every day!" After a pause, Qi Yu added: "By the way, I am from Jiangnan. We have brought back a few experienced old shipwrights, so let’s use them as carpenters first. With master craftsmen like them leading the way, the speed and quality of reconstruction will be improved.”
This is obviously overkill and a last resort.
According to Qi Yu's ideal, he really wants to build a brick house, but he doesn't have the resources and can't realize it now.
As far as the current actual situation is concerned, we can only adopt expedient measures first.
Ren Yu thought for a while and said with a grimace: "Sir, corvee workers are paid one liter of rice every day, but this rice... where does the rice come from?"
Yes, where is the food?
After hearing this, Tan Junyan, the new successor of Hufang, came out and said: "Master Ren, you still don't know something. After Master Qi's persuasion and enlightenment, my father-in-law has agreed to borrow five hundred dan of food, thinking that it is urgently needed for disaster relief." . I estimate that this food will arrive in a while. In addition, my father-in-law also personally lobbied other merchants to persuade them to donate generously and work together to tide over the difficulties."
this……
All the officials were in awe when they heard this.
However, what they respected was not the merchant, but Mr. Qi.
They originally thought that the prefect was out drinking and eating meat today, but they never thought that he was actually trying to raise food. Such a high sense of responsibility really made them feel ashamed.
What was even more unexpected was that Mr. Qi actually became one with all the businessmen on the first day he took office. Who can compare to this kind of communication skills?
