In the living room of the Zizhou government office, Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan were drinking tea and waiting to be received by Zhang Yong, the prefect of Zizhou.
Unlike Yang Yunfan who was drinking tea calmly, Chen Zishan looked at Yang Yunfan with suspicion, and finally asked: "Junior brother, you just asked someone to inform the magistrate that there is something important to report, is it true? Do you want to tell the prefect about this? As the prefect of a state, you must be involved in everything. Junior brother, don’t want to offend the prefect just for a meal."
"Senior brother, don't worry, I'm sensible." Yang Yunfan said with a smile.
After a while, there was a man wearing red clothes and red clothes, with a white singlet inside, a large belt with red material on the outside, and a crimson material covering his knees. He was wearing a brocade ribbon, a jade pendant, a jade bracelet, and white silk stockings. The middle-aged man in black leather shoes walked into the living room, followed by several state officials.
The person who came was none other than Zhang Yong, the magistrate of Zizhou. Yang Yunfan and the other two stepped forward to salute Zhang Yong. Seeing that although the two were young, they looked neither humble nor arrogant, and behaved appropriately, Zhang Yong also nodded secretly.
After he sat down, he gestured for the two of them to sit down as well, and then asked: "I heard that you have something important to report? Come quickly. The prefecture is busy with government affairs. In the afternoon, "Lu Bin, the Inspection Envoy of the Twelve Routes in Central Shu" Lu The inspection team is coming to Zizhou for inspection, and I have to make arrangements."
Yang Yunfan nodded and said: "Yes, I have come here to report something to the prefect...".
Zhang Yong was stunned when he heard this, interrupted Yang Yunfan and said, "Wait a minute, do you have a military position?"
"Yes, thanks to the kindness of the official family and the legacy of my father and ancestors, I am now the eighth-rank imperial martial arts captain."
Zhang Yong nodded, thinking that the eighth-grade imperial martial arts captain could only be regarded as a minor official, but he still asked: "I don't know your surname?"
"My father, Yang Yanhui, died in battle eighteen years ago."
"Are you from the Tianbo Yang family?" Zhang Yong asked in surprise.
"Yes, junior Yang Yunfan." Yang Yunfan returned.
Zhang Yong nodded and said: "The Yang family has been loyal for generations, and you are also the queen of the general. You just said that you have something important to report to me. I don't know why?"
Yang Yunfan stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Back to the magistrate, do you know that many victims from Xichuan have arrived in Zizhou recently?"
"Yes, I heard about this a few days ago. Hey! There is a severe drought in Xichuan and hungry people are everywhere. I didn't expect them to travel so far and come to my land of Zizhou." Zhang Yong sighed.
Yang Yunfan continued: "There are more and more victims. They have no food and clothing, and no place to stand. Wandering in the city is always a hidden danger. I heard that there are already victims in Xichuan causing trouble. Why don't the prefects think of a way to resettle these victims? Just in case something unexpected happens.”
Zhang Yong nodded when he heard this. It's not that he hadn't thought about this issue, but he just put it aside because of the many things he had to do these days. Seeing Yang Yunfan mentioning this matter, he asked why, and Chen Zishan on the side told him that the victim of the disaster had sold his daughter to save his wife. The incident was narrated before and after.
After listening to Chen Zishan's words, Zhang Yong looked at the two of them again and said to Yang Yunfan: "In your opinion, how should these victims be settled? The state government's finances are also very difficult, with nearly a thousand victims. , and the victims from behind are still coming here in a steady stream. The state government can't afford the money to resettle these victims, and this officer is also having a huge headache."
Seeing Zhang Yong posing this problem to him, Yang Yunfan smiled and said, "In my humble opinion, there is a way to settle these victims."
"Oh? My dear nephew, come and tell me." Zhang Yong was so excited when he heard Yang Yunfan said there was a way to resettle the victims that he unknowingly changed his name to Yang Yunfan as "my nephew".
"Junior saw that there are several large rivers outside the city, and many people are cleaning the rivers and dredging the water. If the prefect organizes these victims and arranges them to do these things, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone? It can not only resettle the victims, but also save a lot of money. For expenses, we don’t have to pay wages to the victims, we only need to take care of their food, and if there is a war, dig the dam of the river outside the city and let the river water surround the city wall, which will be a natural moat."
Zhang Yong's eyes lit up when he heard this, his lips moved but he didn't speak. He paced back and thought about Yang Yunfan's words again, then clapped his hands and said, "Wonderful, wonderful, with this overall perspective, you are worthy of being the queen of the generals."
"Thank you, sir. Since the prefect has official business in the afternoon, I won't disturb you. My senior brother and I have to rush to Chengdu Mansion. I'll say goodbye." After saying that, Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan clasped their fists and raised their hands to leave.
"Two worthy nephews, wait a minute." Zhang Yong called to the two who were about to say goodbye, then took out some money from his sleeves and handed it to them. He said with a smile: "I just heard that you gave all the money you had to that couple." Father and daughter, you probably don’t have any money now. You can take this money. Although it’s not much, it’s enough for you to get to Chengdu.”
Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan smiled awkwardly. Seeing this, they no longer gave in. They said cheerfully: "In that case, thank you, Lord Magistrate. This junior is disrespectful." After saying that, they took the money. Zhang Yong saw that the two of them did not hesitate to give in, but accepted it readily. He also admired the two of them for their bold character, so he smiled and stroked his beard and watched the two of them leave.
At the same time, in the county government office of Qingcheng County, far away in Xichuan, a tea vendor was kneeling in the lobby of the county government office and explaining something to the county magistrate.
The tea seller's name is Wang Xiaobo, who is from Qingcheng County, Yongkang Army, Sichuan Province. Qingcheng County is mountainous and cannot grow food. Most of the locals make a living by growing tea. However, Wang Xiaobo's family is extremely poor and does not have a single tea tree, so they can only live with My wife's brother makes a living by selling tea.
Wang Xiaobo had learned some martial arts since he was a child. He was outgoing, good at making friends, and had natural leadership skills. The tea vendors also admired him and elected him as the leader of the tea vendors in Qingcheng County.
However, the imperial court set up a "Bo Buying Service" in Shuchuan last year and nationalized the right to sell tea, wine and salt in Shuchuan. Private trading among private parties is strictly prohibited. The merchants bought low and sold high, competing with the people for profit. Many merchants were unable to compete with the court and had to switch to other industries.
Wang Xiaobo's family had no land, so the only way to survive was by selling tea. Now that the court had banned it, he had to sell tea secretly. He was caught selling tea yesterday and will be put on trial today.
Zhang Yan, the magistrate of Qingcheng County, said impatiently to the tea vendor who was begging for mercy in the hall: "The imperial court has clearly prohibited the private sale of tea, but you are such a cunning man who still sells tea secretly, and you are still making sophistry. Come on. , give him twenty sticks first."
Wang Xiaobo said sadly: "Your Majesty, the common people are selling tea privately because they have no way to survive. Since the imperial court set up the "Bo Buying Service", we tea sellers can't survive at all, and the tea farmers' tea has also been sold by the Bo Buying Service. Many families are suffering due to the low-price acquisition, so please ask the county magistrate to show mercy and give the poor people a way out."
Zhang Yan said angrily: "The reason why the imperial court set up a free imperial court with "buying services" is not the turn of unscrupulous people like you to make irresponsible remarks. Stop making noise and ask your family to pay the money to redeem the person, otherwise it will be hard for you. of."
