"Cui Ming, send someone with my warrant to rush this letter back to Beijing for 600 miles to present to His Majesty. After leaving Tongguan and walking back to Henan, it is estimated that the post station in Shaanxi will be unusable."
"In addition, we will go directly to Weinan tomorrow morning. You arrange for people to go to Xi'an Mansion and let everyone from the court go to Weinan. It is close to Baishui and is convenient for handling civil unrest."
After Yuan Keli finished speaking, he looked at Teng Zao: "Teng Zao, tomorrow morning you will send some people to check some nearby counties to see if there is a similar situation. If there is any news, pass it on to me."
After the two responded, they turned around and left at the same time to arrange the manpower.
The night sinks like water.
In the lobby of the Mengyuan County Government Office, Yuan Keli lay fully clothed on a bed made of two door panels. He was thinking hard about today's events and how to deal with the civil uprising, and slowly fell into a deep sleep.
The entire Mengyuan County was buzzing with people, and the large influx of victims and Tongguan guards in armor made the people in the city frightened and curious.
After finally staying up until dawn, the people and refugees in the city slowly began to move around, and began to gradually inquire for news.
Dang...dang...
After a few gongs sounded, the county government official shouted at the top of his lungs: "Porridge sheds have been opened in the city, and the people go to the corresponding areas to receive porridge according to Lijia..."
The people in the city were stunned after hearing this, and couldn't believe their ears.
It has been four or five months since the disaster, but the government has never done any disaster relief. Now they have opened a porridge shed. How can they not be surprised?
Then everyone remembered that they saw Tongguan guards at night, maybe they were sent by the imperial court.
"Folks, the heads of most of the county magistrates, county magistrates and other officials are hanging at the entrance of the market. It's a scary row."
"What? Lin Jianhua is dead. How is this possible? I saw him last night?"
"And the bully Xu Yizhen and those black-hearted businessmen are dead. It's really an eye-opener for God."
"This is nothing. Not only are they dead, but their homes have been confiscated, and their families have been sentenced to three years of hard labor. It's so satisfying!"
"It wasn't the Tongguan guards who did it. I heard that Yuan Keli, the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court to provide disaster relief, discovered the refugees gathered outside the city yesterday and called in the Tongguan guards for a thorough investigation. Then the county magistrate was killed..."
"None of this is important. What's important is that we finally have hope of living, even if it's just a bowl of porridge a day."
…
The people in the city discussed that their situation was not much better than that of the people outside the city. At most, they only had one more house to stay in.
Originally there was some money left over, but Xu Yizhen and other profiteers raised the price of food, and all the money left in the family was squeezed out. Even if the family had one meal of porridge a day, it was almost impossible to open the pot.
The people gathered towards the porridge shed, while Yuan Keli inspected the situation of the porridge shed under the protection of Cui Ming.
Although there was some commotion at the scene, it gradually became orderly under the organization of the county government officials, district chiefs, and Tongguan guards.
What pleased Yuan Keli was that not only did he put a little salt in the porridge, but he also made some herbal soup for the sick people to drink.
"Dear fellow villagers, my husband Yuan Keli, although the food provided by the imperial court cannot satisfy everyone, it can at least guarantee a bowl of hot porridge every day. When spring comes, everyone will be saved.
But I will tell you the ugly things first. During this period, anyone who dares to cause troubles and fights or hinder the porridge delivery will be punished without mercy. I hope you will obey the arrangements. "
After Yuan Keli finished speaking, he got on the carriage and walked towards the outside of the city. Along the way, countless people knelt down to see each other off.
A bowl of porridge can keep them alive, which is their lifesaver.
The carriage left the city, gradually accelerated, and headed towards Weinan.
The further we go to Weinan, the colder everyone's hearts become.
Starting from Meng Yuan, the trees on the road still had some bark. After entering Hua County a day later, the big trees had no bark at all. From time to time, a corpse could be seen on the road, and a few vultures were circling.
Some of the refugees I met occasionally had numb eyes and headed towards Weinan with faith.
Another day later, Yuan Keli and others arrived outside Weinan City. At this moment, a large number of victims had gathered outside the city, but there was no disaster relief.
After entering the Weinan City Government Office, all the people sent by the imperial court arrived.
"Mr. Ge, you are finally here!"
Zeng Xian, the right minister of Hube who led the team, breathed a sigh of relief. Yuan Keli was not around, and he was under great pressure.
"Mr. Ge, according to our investigation in the past few days, we have roughly determined the scope. With Baishui as the center, surrounding Chengcheng, Pucheng, Tongzhou, Yaoxian, Tongchuan... a total of eighteen counties were affected, a total of eighty Thousands of people were affected by the disaster,
The severe drought started in the spring and was at its worst in July. Then a civil uprising broke out. Now the price of food is as high as five taels of silver per stone.
The gentry and businessmen in these counties did not accept the ban issued by the imperial court and continued to increase prices, especially..."
When he said this, Zeng Xian lowered his voice: "Especially some clans under Prince Qin's Mansion have taken the lead in raising prices. Part of their grain is stored by themselves, and part of it is obtained from the county granary.
Basically, in the name of disaster relief, food was transferred from the granary, and then the food was given directly to the refugees, and then false reports were made. For example, they falsely claimed that only 10,000 copies were distributed, and they falsely claimed that 50,000 copies were distributed, and they asked people from the government to receive them in different ways. ,
Although they did it secretly, Jin Yiwei still found out.
We estimate that at least 70% of the food in the granary went into their own warehouses. "
At this point Zeng Xian paused, took out a booklet from the box behind him and handed it to Yuan Keli.
"Mr. Ge, according to the records of the county government, the warehouses in eighteen counties totaled 120,000 shi of grain. When we randomly checked, there was not even a grain of rice in them."
PS: The granaries of the Ming Dynasty were divided into five categories: reserve granaries, water secondary granaries, social granaries, Jinong granaries and Wangfu granaries. Each granary had different functions and faced different targets. Preparatory granaries were built in the provincial capitals. Most of the secondary warehouses are located on both sides of the canal. Shecang and Jinongcang are basically everywhere. Wangfucang is the warehouse of the prince's family.
After hearing this, Yuan Keli's expression did not change, but he let out a long sigh.
He was really afraid of what would happen. Regarding Meng Yuan's incident two days ago, he speculated that the catastrophe in Shaanxi might be related to the Prince of Qin's Palace, and now it was confirmed.
However, the clan did a better job than Mengyuan County.
But this is also a big taboo. The members of the clan will never be official, and farmers and merchants will not be connected. This is a rule set after becoming an ancestor.
Normally, when the clan makes small moves, officials from all over the country would turn a blind eye and act as if they didn't see it. But if you do this now, isn't it because you won't die quickly enough?
Fortunately, he has reported his speculation and the situation of the disaster in Shaanxi to the court. With the expedited speed of 600 miles, it is expected that the court will know in the next two days, and the results will be available in a few more days.
Although the emperor gave him privileged rights in Shaanxi, he could directly kill even the second-rank governor, let alone the seventh-rank county magistrate, but when it came to the royal clan, he hesitated.
It's not that he doesn't dare to kill, it's just that the clan is a big trouble. If it's not handled well, the emperor will suffer infamy.
Now he just hopes that this matter has nothing to do with the Qin Palace, but is just something that the princes, governors, and generals below did privately, otherwise the trouble will be big.
Deposing the prince, this is a big deal.
Do you want to go to Xi'an Mansion to check the situation so that you can deal with it?
Yuan Keli was deep in thought, but at this time there was some noise outside the door. Zeng Xian frowned, and before he could reprimand him, a figure rushed into the lobby.
"Jinyiwei Baishui Army has an urgent report. Is Mr. Yuan Ge here?"
