Huazhou is under the administration of Xi'an Prefecture and is located 200 miles east of Xi'an City. There is Shaohua Mountain to the south and Taihua Mountain to the east, hence its name.
At noon.
On the avenue in western Huazhou, a cavalry team of several hundred people was galloping fast. At the head of the team was a red flag with the word "Qin" in it. Under the flag was a young man riding a fire dragon pony, none other than Qin Feng.
It turned out that Qin Feng was ordered by Yang He, the governor of the three countries, to inspect the disaster situation and relief situation in the northwest prefectures, states, and counties, and Huazhou was the first stop.
"Stop moving forward, take a rest in the village ahead, set up a pot to get water, light a fire to make food, eat and drink before moving on!"
"As you command!"
The team that had been running for a long time was already a little tired. A village happened to appear in front of them, so Qin Feng gave the order to rest and then led the team into the village.
There is a stone tablet at the entrance of the village with the three characters "Leijia Village" engraved on it.
Leijia Village has a large area with wide and smooth streets. It can be imagined that it was once a very prosperous village, with men farming and women weaving, and the population was prosperous.
But now, there are no common people in the village, most of the houses are destroyed, and bones can be seen everywhere among the ruins, with obvious marks of swords and axes on them.
Obviously, Leijia Village was plundered by bandits, bandits, or rebels, and it became like this. Such dilapidated and deserted villages can be seen everywhere in the Guanzhong area.
This situation reminds people of Cao Cao's song "Hao Li Xing" written by Emperor Wu of the Wei Dynasty:
The armor is infested with lice, and thousands of people die from it.
White bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.
One of the many things left behind by the living people will break people's hearts just thinking about it!
…
"Give me the order to collect the bones of the people, dig a deep pit and bury them, and let them rest in their graves!"
"As you command!"
After burying the corpses of the common people, the soldiers gathered firewood and water to cook. After eating and drinking, and resting for a while, the team continued their journey and soon arrived at the foot of Huazhou City.
After learning of the situation, officials of all sizes in Huazhou City immediately came to greet them.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a medium build and good appearance. He was wearing a half-worn blue official uniform, and his feet were even more worn-out soap-colored official boots, stained with a lot of mud.
"Ding Buqun, the magistrate of Huazhou, met with General Qin along with his officials. General, thank you for your hard work along the way!"
"It turns out it's Ding Zhizhou, Qin is so polite!"
…
Because of his meritorious service in the battle, Qin Feng was promoted to the rank of general, third rank, while Ding Buqun was the magistrate of the state, from fifth rank, there was a whole five-level difference in rank between the two.
Etiquette stipulates that if there is a difference of more than three ranks between officials, the one with the lower rank should perform the salute.
Ding Buqun did not kneel down, but only handed it over. People around him did not realize that it was rude to do so, because the Ming Dynasty had a serious tendency to value civility over military affairs, and the status of military generals was far lower than that of civilian officials.
In fact, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the status of civil and military officials was equal. Because the borders were not peaceful and wars were frequent, military generals sometimes had greater power.
During the Renzong and Xuanzong periods, the country was at peace and wars were reduced. The imperial court gradually emphasized civility over martial arts. Coupled with the cabinet group's control of power, the status of civilian officials rose rapidly, completely overtaking military generals.
After Jiajing and Longqing, the situation of emphasizing civility over military affairs became more serious. When military generals and civil servants of the same rank met, the former must kneel down and salute the latter, calling himself the junior general, disciple, or junior, otherwise he would be severely punished.
There have even been cases where low-level civil servants privately beheaded senior generals without consulting the court. In the second year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan, a second-rank official, beheaded Mao Wenlong, a first-rank official. This is the most typical example.
Military generals were not taken seriously and were often bullied by civilian officials, which was also one of the important reasons for the Ming army's declining combat effectiveness.
………
"The banquet has been prepared. I would also like to invite General Qin to come into the city, have a few drinks, take a short rest, and wash away the dust on your body!"
"Don't be in a hurry to drink. Let's do some business first. Ding Zhizhou, how is the local disaster situation?"
"Hey, a few months ago, the bandits
The army looted the state, and the people fled to death, leaving no one alive. Countless fields were destroyed, and the situation was terrible! "
"The disaster was so severe, how did Ding Zhizhou provide relief?"
"I ordered people to post notices everywhere to let the exiled people return, and set up a number of porridge sheds to provide food for the people. At the same time, I distributed cattle, seeds, farm tools and other supplies to prepare for tomorrow's spring plowing. Let the people rebuild their homes sooner."
"Where is the porridge shed located?"
"There is one in front of the Kou Gong Temple in the east of the city!"
"Okay, let's go take a look!"
"General, please come this way!"
…
Kou Gong, also known as Kou Zhun, was a native of Huazhou and a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was upright, fair and honest, and was praised by the common people.
After the death of Kou Zhun, the villagers raised funds to build a temple for Kou Zhun outside the east gate of Huazhou City to pay tribute to the famous prime minister. They held worship services every year and the incense was very popular.
Previously, the rogue army looted Huazhou City and destroyed many buildings. However, the Kou Gong Temple was spared and completely preserved.
"Don't crowd or grab. There's plenty of rice porridge. I'm sure everyone will be full!"
"Those who have eaten go to the east. There are shacks and tents set up over there for everyone to rest."
…
There is a large porridge shed in front of the Kou Gong Temple. Tens of thousands of ragged victims are queuing up to receive rice porridge to drink. There are also more than a hundred policemen and government officials holding water and fire ruthless sticks to maintain order.
Qin Feng jumped off his horse and went to the front of the team to take a look. He saw dozens of large iron pots lined up in a row, with corn porridge cooking in them, and the aroma was permeating.
Picked up a chopstick from the side and inserted it into the porridge pot. The chopstick stood upright and did not fall down, indicating that the rice porridge was very thick and genuine.
Qin Feng nodded, and accompanied by Ding Zhizhou, inspected the warehouse in the city.
There are hundreds of villages in the warehouse made of bamboo strips, wicker and straw. They are two feet five feet high and one foot eight feet in diameter. They are filled with various grains. They were allocated by Yang He, the governor of the three sides some time ago. , specially used to relieve disaster victims.
"General Qin, please check!"
While talking, Ding Zhizhou took a refined iron poke from Cang Ding's hand. It was about six feet long and three inches thick. It had a sharp front end and a groove inside.
Since ancient times, corrupt officials have often embezzled public grains. In order to avoid being exposed, they have made fraud in the grain farms. They are filled with straw and soil and covered with a layer of grain, which is not visible from the outside. In order to cope with inspections, they can get away with it. .
And the poke made of this kind of fine iron can be inserted into the interior of the grain farm and use the groove to bring out the grain inside. Whether it is true or false can be known at a glance!
"Whoosh...swipe!"
Qin Feng held a fine iron prod and stabbed a grain farm hard. When he pulled it out, he found that the groove was full of golden corn without any impurities.
Qin Feng didn't stop and walked into the warehouse again. He randomly checked more than 20 grain farms and found that there were no problems in them all, so he nodded.
Next, I checked the cloth warehouse, salt warehouse, coal warehouse, and sundries warehouse...all were fine, and the account books were clear and accurate!
"Master Ding is conscientious in his duties and there are no mistakes in all warehouses. He is a model among officials!"
"General Qin is ridiculously complimenting me. I am ashamed of myself... It is getting late. General Qin, please come to the state government office to have a meal and rest!"
"good!"
After the inspection, it was already dusk. Accompanied by Ding Zhizhou, Qin Feng came to the state government office.
The state government office was very lively, with the sounds of children playing from time to time.
It turned out that hundreds of children, both men and women, were gathered in the courtyards on both sides of the government office. The oldest was no more than fifteen years old, and the youngest was still a toddler.
There are dozens of handymen and women taking care of these children, washing their clothes and cooking food.
"Ding Zhizhou, who are these children?"
"Hey, they are all orphans who lost their parents and relatives in the war. I saw that they were pitiful, so I gathered them together and temporarily lived in the cross-yard on both sides of the state government office, and prepared to build a
A school is specially designed to accommodate these children so that they can have food and education. It can be considered a good deed! "
"Yes, Lord Ding loves his people like his own children, which is really admirable!"
"I don't dare to be, I don't dare to be... Come here, prepare a meal and help General Qin wash away the dust!"
The meal prepared by Zhouya is very simple, just a few ordinary vegetarian dishes, millet, and a pot of turbid wine.
Qin and Ding sat opposite each other, eating and drinking, and talking about rescuing the victims. They were very speculative.
Eat and drink enough, sleep and rest.
A night of silence.
In the next three days, accompanied by Ding Zhizhou, Qin Feng inspected several other porridge sheds and warehouses in Huazhou, and there were no problems in any of them.
On the fourth day, the inspection was over. After saying goodbye to Ding Zhizhou, Qin Feng led the team to leave Huazhou and go to the neighboring Tongzhou for inspection!
