Chapter 188 Disaster Relief Silver

Xu Qingyan and her friends walked around the street for a long time before they found the male and female servants who had become beggars and were in a miserable state in a corner.

The man was skinny, with one hand disabled, and was using his other hand to feed the woman in his arms a bowl of thin porridge. The woman was blind, also skinny, with a pale face and few hairs left. The two looked like a beggar couple.

When Xu Qingyan and the others approached, a hint of vigilance clearly flashed across the man's eyes. He fearfully hugged the woman in his arms tightly and slowly moved behind him.

Xu Qingyan and the others walked up to the two people and asked directly, "Are you He Shu and Chunhua?"

Hearing this, the man looked at Xu Qingyan in astonishment, and stammered, "You... who are you?"

No one has called them by this name for many years! How come people still know them after more than ten years? Especially, the couple in front of him looked like they were only in their teens, so how did they know them? The man's eyes were full of confusion.

"Don't worry! We are not here to harm you, but to save you. Come with me, and we will not let you starve to death. From now on, you don't have to hide like this anymore." Seeing how scared the two looked, Xu Qingyan comforted them softly.

But the two still didn't believe Xu Qingyan and the others. They didn't speak for a long time and just huddled in the corner cautiously.

After Xu Qingyan and Pei Jingchuan exchanged a glance, Pei Jingchuan said, "Let's have someone take them back first. They probably won't believe it easily for a while."

So the two of them had someone secretly take them back.

On the second day after returning to the Governor's Mansion, Governor Fang went to see Pei Jingchuan and the King of Qin in person.

"Your Highness, Young Master, the food you brought this time is not much, and I'm afraid it won't last for a few days. I learned that a merchant in the neighboring county has food. I want to go there to buy food to continue disaster relief, but I don't have enough cash in my mansion. I wonder if Your Highness and Young Master can write another letter to the court and ask them to allocate more money?" Governor Fang looked at the King of Qin and others sincerely and said.

At this time, Xu Qingyan was also sitting next to Pei Jingchuan. She couldn't help but quietly rolled her eyes: [Is this governor trying to cheat money again? He has been plundering the people's blood and sweat over the years, and he is very rich. The book says that he has hidden 4 million taels of silver! When Pei Jingyuan seized the silver, he took half of it and only reported half to the court. But even if it was only half, it shocked the court and the public at that time. You know, a governor embezzled millions of taels of silver in Yuzhou. How long did it take to accumulate it? Now, he even dares to set his sights on the court? He wants his husband and others to ask the court for money for him. This appetite is really big! ]

Pei Jingchuan was shocked when he heard this. This Governor Fang actually embezzled 4 million taels! You have to know that the wealth accumulated by the three generations of the Duke of Ying might not be enough to reach 4 million taels. This little Governor of Yuzhou actually embezzled so much here! It is conceivable how hard the lives of the people in Yuzhou are!

He couldn't help but clench his fists under his sleeves, trying to suppress the storm in his eyes. After exchanging a glance with the King of Qin, he looked at Governor Fang calmly and asked, "How much silver does Governor Fang need?"

When Governor Fang heard this, he was secretly delighted and said hurriedly, "The grain we have now can only last for a month. That merchant is really cunning and took the opportunity to raise the price. I have already used my official status to tell him that it is an extraordinary period and he should not raise the price maliciously, so he lowered the price a little, but it is still higher than usual. In addition, it will cost some money to transport the grain from the neighboring county to Yuzhou. I asked someone to roughly calculate that it will cost about one million taels."

Pei Jingchuan and King Qin couldn't help but take a breath when they heard this, and they didn't say anything for a long time. This tone is really big! He actually dared to ask for one million taels!

When Governor Fang saw this, he said cautiously, "I know this is a huge sum, but Yuzhou is currently suffering from natural disasters and man-made disasters. If there is no food, I am afraid that the people in the city will die one after another. I don't know when it will rain. If it continues like this, I am afraid that the people will not be able to survive, and Yuzhou will become an empty city!"

After saying this, Governor Fang hypocritically wiped away his crocodile tears.

Xu Qingyan couldn't stand it any longer, so she said, "Aren't we going to suppress the bandits? The bandits have been rampant in Nengyuzhou for so many years, so they must have saved up a lot of money. When we eliminate the bandits, won't we have money? Governor, since you care so much about the people, why don't you sell the items in your mansion first and go find that merchant to buy a small amount of food."

Pei Jingchuan and King Qin smiled when they heard this, and thought Xu Qingyan's idea was a good one.

So the King of Qin said, "That's right! I see that there are still many valuable items hanging in the governor's house. It would be better to sell them first! I think they can also be used as silver."

After Xu Qingyan's reminder, he realized that although the Fangshi family pretended to be very poor and pretended to drink porridge in front of them every day, they forgot to clean up some things in the house. Especially the famous paintings and antiques in the hall, which were obviously valuable.

When Governor Fang heard this, he also felt a pang in his heart. He then regretted that he had forgotten to put those things away. He could only smile and said, "In this year of famine, only food is the most valuable. The common people can't even get enough to eat. Who would have the heart to spend a lot of money to buy these calligraphy and antiques? At this time, these things are also worthless. Those merchants are vulgar and don't know how to appreciate these things."

"Really? Since Governor Fang thinks so, why don't you hand over all the calligraphy and antiques in your house to me? I promise to find a way to sell them for you. Then, you won't have to wait to ask the court for the one million taels of disaster relief silver!" Xu Qingyan chuckled.

"Well said! I also think this is a good idea. Governor Fang, you said it yourself that these antique paintings and calligraphy are worthless, so it is better to sell them. When the time comes, the silver from the sales will be regarded as your contribution to the people of Yuzhou. If the silver from the sales is not enough by then, I will report to the court." Without waiting for Governor Fang to refuse, the King of Qin spoke first.

Governor Fang's heart was bleeding with pain. He had originally wanted to take advantage of Pei Jingchuan and his men to get some money from the court before they were killed by the bandits, but he didn't expect that he would end up getting himself into trouble!

However, the King of Qin had made the final decision, and he could only cry without tears. So, he could only reluctantly retreat, trying to comfort himself in his heart: Forget it, wait until they are all dead, and then I will get these things back!

At the same time, the person Pei Jingchuan sent to follow the man also came back and reported the man's information.

"You said he was an orphan and lived with an old man in the mountains, and that old man was a doctor?" Xu Qingyan showed a hint of surprise in her eyes as she listened to the secret guard's report.