Although Gao Buyi was well prepared to deal with the famine, people still starved to death in mid-July, which made him very angry.
"Li Gan, as the governor of Chang'an, you actually starved to death despite abundant supplies. You are incompetent. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down and I will die!"
"Ten thousand deaths? Do you have ten thousand lives? Now go back immediately and provide disaster relief. If this kind of thing happens again, you will be severely punished!"
"Yes Yes Yes!!!"
"Pei Aiqing, ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to send people to assist, and at the same time find out what happened to this starving man. The dignified Governor of Chang'an actually suffered from such a situation despite abundant supplies. He is even worse than a pig."
"yes!"
When the ministers retreated, Gao Buyi felt very agitated. According to the report from the governor of Chang'an, the disaster had just begun. People had starved to death at the beginning. He couldn't say what would happen next, because he He knew very little about the disaster relief system of the Tang Dynasty, so if there was a tragedy in which a child was exchanged for food, his fingers would get cold at the thought.
"No, we can't stay in this deep palace anymore. This is the only way the big policies can be for the time being. We need to see how they are implemented. Hearsay or just reading the official memorials is always untrue, especially if you want to get rid of the smooth faces of the officials. It’s harder to hear the truth from your mouth.”
After making up his mind, he called the prince to handle daily government affairs, while he quietly left Chang'an City with Shangguan Pei Hui. No one knew his whereabouts, and only the well-trained Pei Longwei followed him as a guard.
Before leaving Chang'an, Gao Buyi suddenly thought of Li Bai. He had been busy with government affairs before, and he had agreed to meet him. But it turned out that he was too busy, so he had to go ahead and let him become a Hanlin scholar. I don't know what is going on now, so he asked Shangguan Pei Hui. Send someone to call Li Bai and Cui Yuan together.
In this way, you can have someone to talk to, and you can also learn more about humanistic customs through them.
But as soon as he left Chang'an and turned into a small road, the scene in front of him made him feel like he was struck by lightning. His memory of the countryside was still in the 21st century. Although it was not said that every family had a red brick house, he estimated that 60% of them should. It wasn't a problem. After all, this was the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, reality gave him a loud slap in the face.
Red brick house? Those that don't exist, there are just low thatched houses made of clay, and those from better-off families just use green bricks to build short four-corner foundations. Nowadays, due to the famine, there is no smoke hole in every household. Looking into the yard, which is surrounded by a few crooked wooden walls, everyone, old and young, is wearing patches of clothing.
Seeing this, Gao Buyi's mind went blank. First of all, he felt that he was sorry for the people in front of him. It was his own preconceived notions that caused them to suffer.
Unable to bear it, he pushed open the firewood door of the house in front of him and saw four strangers walking in. The women and children in the courtyard were so frightened that they hid behind the men.
"Where do you guys come from?"
"I'm traveling to Chang'an from out of town. I'm passing by here and it's already getting late. I want to borrow a place to stay. Is it convenient for me to stay at my host's house?"
"It turns out that accommodation is okay, but food cannot be entertained. Because there was a disaster, the family can only rely on government relief. It is really impossible to provide extra rations, which makes the distant guests laugh."
"It doesn't matter, we brought our own dry food, as long as we have a place that can protect us from the wind and cold."
The man thought for a while and then said: "Damn, clean the main house and make it available for guests."
"How about this? Just lend us a cabin."
"There is no need to refuse the guests from afar. I am already sorry for not being able to offer food. If we don't show some courtesy, we will let the clan elders know tomorrow and our family will not be able to stay in the village."
Gao Buyi still wanted to disagree, but Li Bai took his clothes off from behind. Gao Buyi looked back at him strangely, and Li Bai smiled and said, "The master is kind and it's not good to refuse."
Only then did Gao Buyi agree.
After they moved in, the woman and child went into a small thatched hut in a corner until night and never appeared again.
"What evil have I done!" Gao Buyi originally thought that it would be easy for him to make the people rich, but when he saw the people's lives with his own eyes, he realized how naive and taken for granted he was. The people of Chang'an were still like this. Thinking of what the lives of the people in other places, especially the northwest and northeast, would be like, he wanted to escape.
With a long sigh, Gao Buyi came to sit on the wooden pillar in the yard, the moonlight was very good.
Shangguan Pei Hui saw that he was worried, but didn't know why, so he stood aside quietly and didn't dare to disturb him.
At this time, Li Bai also came out: "Mr. Lang is very worried, I don't know why?"
"Mr. Li, you have traveled all over the north and south. Have you ever been to the northwest or northeast?"
"I've been traveling."
"How is the people's livelihood there?"
"We are struggling with material resources. Many people are still wearing animal skins. I am not afraid of your ridicule. When I traveled back then, I only wore a white robe and linen clothes."
"No way. I heard that the lady is the daughter of a wealthy family."
"There is no money left to purchase clothes. Relatively speaking, the Jianghuai region is relatively prosperous, but there is more water and less land. A large number of people are still concentrated in the north. The people at the border are even more difficult. It's hard to describe. If you have a chance, go see it for yourself. "
"In that case, how did you come up with the sentence about the incense burner emitting purple smoke when the sun shines on it?"
"At that time, I was depressed and had no aspirations. I couldn't stand the corruption of the court, and I couldn't stand the suffering of the people. Therefore, when I traveled, I would visit famous mountains and rivers, focusing on the mountains and rivers, and then drink to numb myself."
"good idea!"
"Haha! That's ridiculous."
"Several guests are still up so late."
"I'm sorry, did we make too much noise and disturb the master's house?" Gao Buyi apologized.
"No, no! The whole family hasn't slept yet. I brought you some well water. Please use it."
"I'm interested, can you sit down and have a chat together?"
"Okay, okay." After saying that, the man sat down on the spot.
"It's been most of the day and I haven't seen a fire in the master's house. Didn't the government provide relief food today?"
"I gave it, but it was not enough for a pot. I left it for two days to cook together. I also gave some pancakes. The family ate what they had. In order not to be hungry again, they all went to bed early."
"What?!" Gao Buyi heard what the man said, and stood up after a moment. It was not enough for one pot, and the porridge was not enough for one pot. Where was the food? Not to mention the official warehouse, even the powerful men hoarded millions of dan.
Seeing Gao Buyi's anger, the others immediately stood up. Soon, Gao Buyi suppressed the anger in his heart and said with a smile: "It's okay! It's okay! I just have a cramp in my face. Master, can I give you the relief food you received today?" Can you take it out and let me take a look?"
"Okay, please wait a moment, guest from afar."
When he saw the rice, which was barely more than the bottom of the bowl, Gao Buyi almost cursed. The family of four, old and young, was given a handful of rice a day. At this time, he was filled with anger.
Seeing the host staring at the bowl of rice in his hand with a worried look, Gao Buyi felt unspeakably distressed. This little thing made people grateful, but these officials deserved to die.
