Every time the Yellow River floods, it is a huge disaster for the people in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
In particular, the Wei Dynasty suffered from financial difficulties in recent years, which led to the lack of water conservancy.
This resulted in unprecedented losses from natural disasters.
The two prefectures in Shandong were the most severely affected.
First hit by drought and then floods, the people were really in dire straits.
If what Prince Zhongshun said is true, then the Jia family and his son deserve to die!
Feng Yibo was already furious.
Although he himself also took advantage of the opportunity to profit, what he was "fishing for" was the benefit of the population.
The people affected by the disaster were moved to Donghai County, which also helped the local area to resettle the victims in disguise.
It was precisely for this reason that the local officials acquiesced to, and even estimated, his behavior to a certain extent.
For this reason, Donghai County has never been impeached.
But according to what Prince Zhongshun just said, the Jia family's actions are making it difficult for the country to make money!
Anyone who hears such a thing may find it difficult to accept it.
To be honest, the political system of Wei Dynasty was an authoritarian centralized system after all.
Living in such an era, what Feng Yibo expects in his heart, the bottom line of this era, is naturally not like that of later generations, which truly pursues a harmonious society where human life is greater than heaven.
Due to the limitations of the times, a house that gives tolerance and dignity to its slaves like Jia's house is already a benevolent house.
Compared with other dignitaries, even those in the Ning Mansion have very few slaves who have been killed or degraded in these years.
For these powerful people, taking a few human lives is nothing.
Especially the death of a maid or a servant, such a slave's life.
Even if it occasionally reaches his ears, Feng Yibo can only sigh with emotion.
This is not because he is insensitive, but because he cannot completely change the current situation of cannibalism for the time being.
In an era like this, it is not an exaggeration to say that something like this happens every day.
He can't control other families, and he can't control the Jia family.
Even if you really want to take control, you should make systemic changes.
Only by completely changing the fundamentals can we prevent this kind of thing from happening to the greatest extent.
This was one of the reasons why he tried to abolish the humble status in Donghai County.
However, he can ignore a few lives for the time being.
It can also be said that I am waiting to accumulate enough in the future to carry out institutional reforms.
However, it is different to make it difficult for the country to make money!
This is not a common problem in this society!
But it is a bottom line that should not be touched by anyone at any time or under any system!
This is a matter of great importance, and he cannot turn a blind eye!
As long as you are still a "human", you cannot tolerate such things happening!
"Does Your Majesty know who was involved in this matter?"
Feng Yibo's eyes were filled with evil energy as he looked at himself.
Prince Zhongshun was inevitably a little surprised. He sat up straight and frowned:
"What? Do you really want to take care of this?"
Upon hearing this, despite being furious, Feng Yibo was still a little distracted.
Prince Zhongshun's words are credible, but they cannot be believed entirely.
If the Jia family and his son really did such a thing, someone should have impeached them long ago.
Even if Ke Dao Yan Guan changed to a vegetarian diet, it would be impossible for him to remain indifferent to such a matter, right?
"No, I just asked casually."
Feng Yibo realized that his emotions were exposed and quickly calmed down.
He smiled, waved his hand towards Prince Zhongshun, and said:
"Ping'an Prefecture is only a small section of the Yellow River, so I wondered whether other rivers vacated by diversions also have similar problems."
During the Yuan Dynasty, the Yellow River was flooded the most.
There were fifteen executions at that time, and eventually three tributaries were formed.
One of them passes through Zhongmou County and enters Huaihe River from Yingshui River.
One branch turns southward in Kaifeng and enters Huaihe River from Guohe River.
The largest one reaches Pei County, passes through the Dan and Feng rivers, and then enters the Cao River in Ping'an Prefecture.
In the past few years, the tributaries of the Yellow River have gradually become silted up.
The Yellow River began to trend eastward, that is, it mainly entered the sea along the Cao River.
However, the Shan and Fengjian rivers are narrow and shallow, and the water flow is not smooth.
Therefore, in this area of Ping'an Prefecture, embankments often burst and overflow.
This time, the land of the two mansions was devastated.
Now, after two years of management and dredging, the waterway in the lower reaches of the Yellow River has completely changed its direction.
Today, the Yellow River no longer flows through the Caohe River.
Instead, they descended from Heze, passed through Dangshan and Xuzhou, and finally captured the Huai River and entered the sea.
It was when he thought of this that Feng Yibo realized something was wrong.
Because although Ping'an Prefecture was severely affected by the disaster, the Yellow River only merged into the Cao River from there.
Even if the Yellow River changes its course now, there probably won't be many river channels that can be freed up.
After all, the Cao River is not just a tributary of the Yellow River, it has its own source.
In other words, Ping'an Prefecture has a river bed to occupy.
But in terms of quantity, it shouldn’t be too much.
The real big head should be Jining in the southern part of Ping'an Prefecture.
There used to be a Yellow River waterway there, but it was also the transitional part from the Yellow River to the Cao River.
Therefore, what Prince Zhongshun said should be true.
But obviously, there are still reservations about the overall situation.
"There are indeed many others, but the Jia family is definitely the most blatant one."
Sure enough, upon hearing Feng Yibo's inference, Prince Zhongshun paused slightly before replying with a smile.
Although it's not obvious, it must be a little embarrassing?
However, he covered it up promptly and said:
"I'm not sure if there is such a situation elsewhere, but the river channel vacated by Ping'an Prefecture was almost swallowed up entirely by the Jia family, and the profit from it was at least 100,000 taels."
Sure enough!
These moths!
As soon as he heard this, Feng Yibo understood in his heart.
Although Prince Zhongshun talked about him, he was talking about the Jia family.
But obviously it’s not just the Jia family!
It is very likely that multiple forces were involved in this matter.
No wonder someone was impeached!
From what I heard, even Prince Zhongshun himself was not clean!
It's just that he didn't touch the rivers of Ping'an State, so he dared to say it openly.
“What about other state capitals?”
Feng Yibo tried again.
But this time Prince Zhongshun did not continue, but continued what he had just said, saying:
"To be honest, if you hadn't recruited many victims, there would have been a civil uprising long ago."
Donghai County’s immigration policy gave Shandong victims a way to survive.
This is also one of the important reasons for Donghae County’s explosive population growth.
Seeing Prince Zhongshun change the subject, Feng Yibo couldn't ask more about the river.
"It's just a modest effort. Besides, Donghai County also lacks a population. It's a good thing for both parties."
He first smiled and waved his hand, thought for a while, then asked about the victims, and said:
"What's the real situation there now?"
Upon hearing this question, Prince Zhongshun was slightly startled.
He looked at Feng Yibo with some surprise and said:
"It seems that I have always underestimated you, Yibo. Not only can you make profits for yourself, but you also have a heart that cares about the country and the people?"
Originally, he thought Feng Yibo had always been dedicated to personal gain.
Not only did they dig into the corners of the Wei Dynasty, but they also moved the coastal population.
He also cooperated with upstarts and made a lot of money together.
When he just inquired about the river, Prince Zhongshun thought he wanted to know more secrets.
After all, the reason why he mentioned these things was to distance Feng Yibo from the founding family.
I also wanted to provide him with some information as a trump card.
Let him be less passive when meeting the Prince of Beijing.
But now when he heard Feng Yibo's question, Prince Zhongshun reacted.
He had just heard that the Jia family and his sons had occupied those rivers in Ping'an Prefecture and were about to turn them into farmland.
The anger shown does not seem to be feigned.
But really showing emotions?
Hearing this, Feng Yibo smiled and said:
"How can I care about the country and the people? At most, my conscience is still intact, right?"
"Uh... your conscience is still there?"
Prince Zhongshun was even more surprised when he heard this.
"Hahahahaha!"
Prince Zhongshun kept laughing as if he had heard some joke.
Finally, he sat down in the soft chair and said:
"I didn't see it, Yibo, you still tell such a joke?"
Feng Yibo smiled and said nothing, thinking about how to find out the news again.
"There are civil and military officials throughout the Wei and Manchu dynasties. Who doesn't look like a human being on the surface, but secretly they are men who steal and women are prostitutes?"
At this time, Prince Zhongshun started talking about this topic.
Seemingly seeing that Feng Yibo didn't believe it, he also said:
"Maybe you think I've gone too far, but if you've seen Dragon Scale Guard's profile, I'm afraid you'd scold him even more harshly than me!"
"oh?"
When Feng Yibo heard this, he still looked unconvinced and asked:
"Are there just a few good ones?"
"Even if some are decent, others from other clans may not be."
When mentioning these, Prince Zhongshun showed disdain and gave another example:
"For example, some people appear to be upright officials and never accept bribes, but their families are sitting on thousands of hectares of fertile land. When they retire and return to their hometown, they will still be local residents when they return. I'm afraid it will be worse than being an official in the capital. Much more comfortable!”
Having said this, he smiled slightly and asked:
"How do you think he got this fertile land?"
merger!
When these two words appeared in Feng Yibo's mind, he pretended to be stupid and said:
"Handed down from our ancestors?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Zhongshun looked at Feng Yibo in surprise.
As if to determine if he was joking.
After thinking about it, Feng Yibo was just a rural official after all.
It is understandable that he doesn't know much about Xungui.
Thinking of this, he said angrily:
"How many generations have the four princes and eight princes passed down? After allocating more than ten or twenty houses, how much land do you think will be left?"
When the Wei Dynasty was founded, among the four kings, except King Beijing, he voluntarily gave up.
The other three kings all have fiefdoms.
However, with the inheritance of titles, the three kings have been reduced to feudal officials guarding one side.
Now, Emperor Jingshun only needs to use his mouth.
They either rebel and wait to be suppressed by the army.
Or just be obedient and hand over your territory honestly.
Fortunately, the backbone of the old emperor, the Supreme Emperor, is still there.
The three families have been operating in the local area for several generations, and have long become the real and nameless local emperors.
In addition, the Wei Dynasty has been experiencing constant natural and man-made disasters in recent years, and Emperor Jingshun has been unable to spare any time.
If it weren't for these many factors, the three kings would have moved places long ago.
But Hachigong is different from the three kings.
Although they did not have a fiefdom, they were allocated a lot of fields.
Many of the prefectures and counties around Jinling were divided up by these veterans.
However, after several generations, the eight families have gradually branched out, and their fields have also been divided.
After hearing this, Feng Yibo continued to pretend to be stupid and said:
"The four bastards should be cleaner, right?"
He seemed to be pretending to be stupid and asking about the four bastards.
In fact, it brought the topic back again.
"Among the four princes and eight princes, the Jia family is the cleanest."
Prince Zhongshun thought of Feng Yibo's humble background, but now he was the king of the county.
It seems that since he has taken refuge in him, he has an obligation to educate him.
"Of course, and the stupidest."
Speaking of the Jia family, Prince Zhongshun added another sentence before sighing:
"With the Jia family's little wealth, if the one in the palace had not given birth to an imperial heir, it is estimated that without the imperial brother's intervention, within one or two generations, there would only be two imperial palaces left in the family."
He holds the Dragon Scale Guard in his hand and knows very detailed information about each family in the court.
The evaluations made are often spot on.
In the Jia family's inheritance, there is no one who can hold the title.
If Yuanchun had not given birth to a son, the wealth of the Jia family would have come to an end if the waste of the Yu generation took over completely.
If it is not both made by imperial decree, resale is not allowed.
He estimated that the Jia family might not even be able to save their mansion.
Feng Yibo agreed with the comparison. He nodded when he heard this, and then asked abruptly:
"Are there any other companies involved in the Shandong incident?"
"Other families will naturally..."
Zhongshun was about to answer smoothly, but he felt something was wrong as soon as he was halfway through speaking.
He frowned and stared at Feng Yibo, as if trying to figure out what he was going to ask.
When Feng Yibo saw him stop, he smiled and said:
"Just asking. After all, I am also an official in the court. It would be good to know more about the domestic situation."
Prince Zhongshun naturally did not believe such an excuse.
However, he also felt that Feng Yibo might be inquiring about information about Jianguo's lineage in preparation for meeting the Prince of Beijing County.
So I didn’t take it too seriously and just said:
"The disaster in the two prefectures of Shandong has ended, but it has not yet recovered. Especially the bandits are rampant and have spread throughout Shandong."
He answered Feng Yibo's question, but only talked about the situation in Shandong.
There was no mention of occupying the river.
Obviously, I don’t want to say more.
Seeing this, Feng Yibo nodded and said doubtfully:
"But for such a big event, why is there no news in the court?"
This question is actually still being explored.
There was no news in the court, naturally because of the entanglement of many forces.
As long as Prince Zhongshun answered this question, he would quickly get back to the original question.
In other words, what forces are involved?
"What kind of big deal is such a thing? It is always inevitable after a major disaster, and banditry is nothing more than a delicate disease."
After the disaster, chaos arose.
Compared with plague and civil unrest, banditry is indeed nothing.
But the banditry that spread throughout Shandong is obviously not the disease he mentioned.
Feng Yibo frowned slightly, but before he could ask any more questions, Prince Zhongshun said again:
"I have reported this matter a long time ago, and I believe all states have also reported it secretly."
As he spoke, he waved his hand and explained:
"Things like this are still under the control of the court. I guess that person didn't take it too seriously, so he didn't discuss it in the court, right?"
It seems that Prince Zhongshun's interest in talking has lost.
Or maybe, just like the river incident, something else is involved...
In short, he only said a few casual words about the banditry in Shandong and said directly:
"These have nothing to do with today's topic, so I won't mention them further."
