"Man-made disaster?" Liang Qu frowned, "Tell me more." "I don't know either, I just heard it, heard it." Lin Songbao lowered his voice, "Do you know about the mountain ghost last time? In the town and water town where they live, a lot of those ghosts suddenly appeared, and many people died!" Ghost Mother Cult! Liang Qu connected the cause and effect. That bastard really raised the big elixir in more than one place in Pingyang Town! Liang Qu and his brothers had guessed early on that the Ghost Mother Cult would not only target one place when it appeared again, but should be carried out in many places at the same time. In this regard, they reported the news early in the morning, but now it seems that it is still too late. Pingyang Town blood sacrifice, such a big thing must not be concealed. Huang Zejun chose to act in advance, obviously believing that even if the news spread, other places would not be able to make it in time reaction. Dashun has no telephones, and the area is vast. Even if you use carrier pigeons to send messages, the message transmission is still slow, not to mention the need to verify the authenticity of the message in the middle.
Huang Zejun is stupid. He has never been in contact with society since he was a child. His brain is not smart and he is easily fooled, but he has basic logic in doing things. The more people there are, the slower the journey, especially when there are a large number of lonely elderly people. The refugees have just arrived today, but they may have set off five or six days ago, traveling through mountains and rivers. "In a large township, nearly 30% of the people died! Most of the strong men died, and the rest dared not stay. They all fled! With so many people, the local county officials did not dare to keep them, fearing that the matter would become bigger, so they released them all and led them to the surrounding towns. I asked, and there are people from all over the place. Huazhu County, Fengbu County, and the surrounding areas seem to have had problems, but our Chaojiang County is fine. Brother Shui, do you think we will not have any problems here?" "Don't worry, our problems have been solved. " Liang Qu patted Lin Songbao on the shoulder. Lin Songbao was confused. "Solved? When did it happen?" Liang Qu left the fishing pen and walked on the street. The air was filled with a foul smell. There were a lot of refugees. There were nearly 200 people who came to Yixing City alone, with their families, and more were coming. The clerk stood in the crowd and tried to maintain order so that the team would not be in chaos. Several people with disheveled hair were crazy and shouted about ghosts. The clerk whipped them to the ground and they stopped shouting. The 30% mortality rate was already an extremely exaggerated proportion, enough to cause the collapse of social order. Or the way they died was to be disemboweled and laid eggs by mountain ghosts. No one dared to live in the original place. Even if they risked being punished, they had to escape from the ghost den. With the first bird to escape, the rest of the twos and threes were all Come out with them, and migrate the whole village. The crowd was so huge that the county magistrate dared not stop them.
If he didn't stop them, it would just be the rebels causing trouble, and the rebels of the previous dynasty that even Duke Xu couldn't completely wipe out. What Duke Xu couldn't do, I, a small county magistrate, couldn't do either, so it's understandable, at most I'll be stripped of my hat. But if he did it too much and provoked a popular uprising, it wouldn't be the hat that would be stripped, but the head. It's better to report to the state government and list them as disaster victims, lead them to nearby towns and counties, and temporarily appease them, which is already the best way. Liang Qu walked on one side of the team, looking at the disaster victims, and the disaster victims were also looking at him. Guessing that Liang Qu was the son of a powerful family in the town, some women even tried to flirt with him, but unfortunately they were all for the blind. "Brother Shui, Brother Shui, I finally found you!" Chen Tongmin ran to Liang Qu, holding his waist with his hands, out of breath, "My grandfather asked me to go to Pingyang Town to find you, but I didn't find you. I finally saw you here. Come with me to the meeting hall. " "What does Chen Lilao want to talk to me about?" "It's about the disaster victims." Chen Tongmin lowered his voice, "The county lord wants every household in our village to donate grain and then distribute it to the disaster victims!" "Village heads, I am ordered by the county magistrate to collect grain from you to help the disaster victims who have fled from neighboring counties. This is the order of the county magistrate, representing the will of the court. I hope you can actively cooperate." A thin middle-aged man in a long robe sat at the head of the meeting hall and bowed to the village elders. Chen Zhaoan looked at the other old men and said helplessly: "I wonder how much grain Inspector Bian wants to collect this time?" "One bushel of rice for each adult man." "One bushel of rice? Isn't this too much?" Chen Zhaoan frowned, "It's winter now, not to mention that the farmers in the village have no income, the fishermen are the same. The fish I caught every day can only be sold for less than ten coins. I also checked the grain prices. Since the disaster, the price has risen to 26 coins per catty, more than three times the price. A dou of rice costs four or five coins. " "I have no choice. It's all the orders from the county magistrate." Patrol Inspector Bian spread his hands. "You also know that several nearby counties have been affected by the disaster this time, and a large number of victims have flocked to Chaojiang County. Chen Li has never been to the county town. There are more victims there, and the reserve grain is not enough. It is not enough to call on the big households, so this is the only way. " The patrol inspectors are officials, not clerks. Like the county magistrates, they are appointed by the imperial court, registered in the Ministry of Personnel, wearing official robes and hats. The main responsibility is to lead the soldiers to maintain local public security and investigate and punish crimes such as thieves and traitors. The scope of power is very wide, and they are powerful officials. They cannot be offended easily, otherwise they will be punished by law. Chen Zhaoan had no choice but to go out and summon the villagers to pay taxes. 】 "Sir, the village is willing to provide relief to the victims. Why don't we change the method? We don't need to distribute it through the county. It's such a long way and it's troublesome to go back and forth. We can directly build a porridge shed in the village to help the victims. First, it saves you trouble, and second, it's faster." A rather young male voice came from outside the meeting hall. Hearing this, Inspector Bian frowned. How can it be done without the county government? What do he and his subordinates eat and drink? Just as he was about to ask who was disregarding the law, he caught a glimpse of the happy faces of several village elders below, and immediately held back his words.
Something is wrong! "What do you think, Inspector Bian?" Liang Qu stepped over the threshold and came to the meeting hall, his voice calm. The young man was tall and extraordinary, wearing a belt engraved with cloud and thunder patterns, with ape arms and bee waist, and was as fierce as a leopard. Although his clothes were a little damp, he seemed to not feel cold at all, and even opened half of his clothes to expose his right arm to cool down. The exposed right arm had clear lines and was unusually strong. His fingers with distinct muscles and bones were placed on the dagger hanging on his waist, as if he could draw the knife at any time. Warrior! A warrior of high rank! Patrolman Bian immediately felt the aura of Liang Qu. Besides, how could the children of ordinary families have such a tall figure? Realizing that he was extraordinary, he turned his head to look at Chen Zhaoan on the side: "Mr. Chen, this is..." Chen Zhaoan smiled and said: "Let me introduce this to you. This is our Yixing City hero, the ninth direct disciple of the Pingyang Town Yang Master - Liang Qu." Pingyang Town, Yang Master, who else could it be? Yang Dongxiong! With so many people watching, how dare a group of village elders deceive court officials, and such easily verifiable news. Inspector Bian's eyes changed, and he changed the subject: "It's true that young men are heroes. Since the surrounding counties were hit by disasters, the county has always been short of manpower and has been so busy that I haven't been home to sleep for three days. After careful consideration, what Mr. Liang said makes a lot of sense, but is it too troublesome for the government office to do this? I feel guilty, so let our clerks do it." Liang Qu shook his head, pulling and closing his fingers, as if unconsciously: "No trouble, the villagers have no work to do in winter, and the county is short of manpower. It's time for us to do our part to help." Inspector Bian's mouth twitched, and the cold light reflected by the blade almost shot into his face. He didn't dare to insist anymore: "Mr. Liang's method is very good, so I'll trouble the villagers." "It's okay, it's okay, Inspector Bian is really too polite." Chen Zhaoan and others waved their hands again and again, indicating that this is what they should do. Everyone is a Dashun citizen and should unite and help each other. Patrolman Bian was unhappy, but he had to accept it. He had seen with his own eyes how Yang Dongxiong showed his power years ago. Later, he knew that it was the Ghost Mother Cult's deliberate act of making a feint to the east and attacking the west. After all, they were the remnants of the previous dynasty, and they had to avoid the great martial arts master. You can imagine their weight, and the county magistrate had to be humble. Although Liang Qu was only a disciple, he was a small patrolman, not a county magistrate, and he couldn't offend him. "It's getting late, and I have to go to other towns and cities to settle the victims before the sun sets, so I won't stay any longer." After a boring and fruitless visit, Patrolman Bian was bored. He ignored the requests of the village elders to stay for dinner, left a word and left. The village elders hurriedly stood up and shook Liang Qu's hands one by one. "A Shui, you helped a lot, A Shui." A bucket of rice is not a big problem for the village elders.
But the village elders, the elders in the village, must know which stool they sit on. Doing whatever the superiors say will eventually alienate the villagers, and then a bushel of rice will become a problem. "It's my duty, elders, don't be polite." Liang Qu bowed, but did not take credit. There are so many officials and clerks in the county, and after a while, what can be done with half a bushel of rice becomes a bushel of rice. Even in the end, half a bushel of brown rice was distributed. Avoiding this will benefit both the villagers and the victims. "Since it's not the county government's business, we have to settle the victims, otherwise it will be embarrassing for both sides." "Of course, Ah Shui, don't worry, I have experience in dealing with such things." Chen Zhaoan patted his chest and promised. He lived for more than 70 years. When he was young, Dashun founded the country, and he encountered countless natural and man-made disasters during that time. Wars, plagues, floods, he has experienced them all, and he knows best how to settle refugees, and he has rich experience. Management talents are rare, and elders are not all old-fashioned people, at least some of them have real skills. "Mr. Chen has his own ideas, so I won't get involved." Liang Qu nodded, knowing Chen Zhaoan's ability. The sound of horse hooves on the bluestone slabs came from far away. Is it a war horse? Liang Qu walked out of the meeting hall. The sound of a war horse running is completely different from that of a nag. He has only heard such powerful hoof sounds on a few horses in Yang's mansion. The silhouette of a black horse approached very quickly along the bluestone street, its hooves shaking up the dust and leaping into the center of Yixing City. "Where is Liang Qu in Yixing City?"