Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Lord Xue is looking for Xue Fenglin everywhere...
Lord Xue looked everywhere for Xue Fenglin's people and sent his servants directly to the Ye family.
After all, the Marquis is Xue Fenglin's father. Since his father summoned him, he had no choice but to go back. So he had no choice but to say goodbye to the Ye family and Shen Xuan and take his people back to the Xue family.
After Xue Fenglin left, Shen Xuan chatted with Madam Ye for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
On the way home, Shen Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Don't rush back, let's go to the west of the city to have a look."
The carriage headed westwards of the city. The closer it got to the city gate, the more it saw the road filled with soldiers and escorted food and fodder, creating a scene of chaos and disorder.
Jingui had never seen such a scene before and felt a little scared when she saw it. So he advised, "Brother Chen, it's so chaotic outside, shall we go back first?"
Chen Xuan was calm and said to Jin Gui, "Don't panic. Lord Ye is guarding the city gate with so many soldiers. Nothing will happen."
When the carriage arrived near the city gate, he got off, climbed up the city wall and looked out. He saw endless white snow outside the city. The city gates were closed, and a few tents were set up at the entrance, with people huddled together in thin clothes. There were many women and boys holding their children.
These refugees all came from the northwest, and by the time they arrived near the capital, they were already emaciated from hunger.
The weather is cold now, and people are huddled together to keep warm. The children are pale and keep coughing, obviously they are very cold.
The court sent people to deliver food, and there were two porridge stalls on the left and right of the city gate distributing food.
Shen Xuan saw that there were long queues in front of the porridge stalls, and they were crowded with people. Most of those in the front are strong men. The thin women, boys or children were squeezed to the back.
According to the regulations in Beijing, these refugees should line up and take turns to get a bowl of porridge. But there were always some strong men in the team who had already eaten a bowl of soup and then sneaked in, pushing the other women and boys out.
"These refugees are so miserable." Jin Gui exclaimed in shock upon seeing the scene. He was a house-born child who grew up in a marquis's mansion. Although he did not eat as much simple food as his master, he had never been hungry. I have never seen such a scene before.
If he were to end up here, he wouldn't even be able to get a bowl of porridge and would starve to death!
Shen Xuan frowned and watched for a while, and saw that many women and boys among the refugees did not get any food at all, while the men who had received porridge several times started to make trouble again after eating their fill. They gathered at the city gate and clamored for the officers and soldiers to open the city gate and let these refugees enter the capital.
This won’t do, Shen Xuan thought to himself.
In the modern world. When disaster strikes, the government provides disaster relief, so everyone can have enough to eat.
However, now in Dajin, due to the limited disaster relief food, it is impossible to guarantee that everyone will have enough to eat, and many people cannot get any food at all.
Shen Xuan looked around, found a soldier at the city gate and said, "Sir, my surname is Shen, I am an acquaintance of the Xue family's heir, and I would like to ask to see Lord Ye."
The soldier was busy directing others to move rice when he saw Shen Xuan's brother coming over. He rolled his eyes and said, "It's very busy here now, how can Lord Ye have time? Why are you here alone? Don't you think you are causing trouble? Why don't you go back quickly?"
The soldier saw that Shen Xuan was just a boy, so he naturally didn't think that he had any serious business to discuss with Lord Ye.
Seeing that the other party ignored him at all, Shen Xuan knew that he could only find someone else.
At this moment, he saw a familiar figure. It was Captain Pei whom he had met in the paddock that day.
At this moment, he was wearing armor, riding on a black warhorse, commanding a group of soldiers to come over, obviously to suppress the group of victims who were making trouble outside the city wall.
"Captain Pei, Captain Pei?" Shen Xuan called Captain Pei a few times and said, "Do you still remember me?"
Pei Xia was busy with disaster relief when he suddenly heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw that it was Shen Xuan, whom he had only met once.
Last time, because of the Ye family, he really considered marrying this Brother Chen as his husband.
But this Brother Chen was so ignorant that he rejected him directly and made him feel very embarrassed.
Although Pei Xia was born into a commoner family, he was talented and had a rather arrogant temperament.
Seeing Shen Xuan calling him, he raised his eyebrows and said, "What brought Brother Shen here? Did you think about it for a few months and regret it now? Do you want to warm my bed?"
Shen Xuan's face turned serious, and he said to Pei Xia: "I have something serious to discuss with Captain Pei, so please stop joking with me."
"Look outside the city gate, there are disaster victims everywhere." Pei Xia pointed outside the city gate and said, "Is there anything more important than disaster relief? You should wait until I am done with this busy period before coming to see me!"
"I'm looking for you because of the disaster relief." Shen Xuan then said, "This matter is extremely important. I want to see Lord Ye."
Pei Xia looked at Shen Xuan seriously, and seeing the serious look on his face, he said, "Okay, I'll go inform Lord Ye now. But he's busy, so it's up to him to decide whether to see you or not."
After a while, Pei Xia hurried over and said to Shen Xuan, "Master Ye wants to see you. Please come with me."
Shen Xuan followed Pei Xia to a small house under the city wall.
The room was not big, but there were several adults standing inside. Looking at the official titles on their bodies, they were all civil servants of the fifth rank or above in the Ministry of Revenue, and one of them was none other than Lord He whom Shen Xuan had met at Ye’s house this morning.
"The imperial court has now opened porridge stalls to provide porridge to the victims three times a day, but the refugees are still causing trouble."
"It is already very difficult to collect grain in the capital now. It is the New Year, and many ministers in the court have taken out their own rations. They will have to go hungry for the next few days."
"If these unruly people continue to be disobedient, we will have to suppress them by force. We can't let them really break into the capital."
"There are so many people outside the city. They use up 50 dan of grain in just one day. It will only take 40 days to use up all the 2,000 dan of grain in the granary. Add to that the grain raised by everyone, and we will last no more than two months before we run out of food."
…
Lord Ye had a solemn expression on his face, and his hair seemed to have turned a lot whiter. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Let's hold on until spring. When the snow melts, we can dig up wild vegetables and catch fish in the river. The victims will also go home to sow seeds and plough the spring fields, so they won't have to rely on the court for food."
Shen Xuan stood at the door for a while. After Pei Xia went in and whispered a few words in Lord Ye's ear, Lord Ye came out.
He hadn't slept all night and looked unhappy. It was also because of the relationship between Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin, and thinking that Shen Xuan had hoarded grain before, they thought he was here to donate grain, so they let him in.
"Brother Chen, you came to me specially and said there was disaster relief. What is it?" Lord Ye asked patiently.
"Sir Ye, I just watched the situation of the victims below from the city wall for a while, and I have some thoughts in my mind. Please allow me to speak." Shen Xuan said.
…
After an incense stick, Lord Ye patted Shen Xuan's shoulder with a red face and said, "Brother Shen, your insights are really useful. You really helped me a lot. After the disaster relief is over, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
"Master Ye is too polite." Shen Xuan said hurriedly, "It's just for the safety of the capital and the people of Dajin."
After Lord Ye exchanged some pleasantries with Shen Xuan, he ordered Pei Xia to send him out.
After walking for a while, Shen Xuan stopped and said, "Okay, Captain Pei will take me here."
Pei Xia then said, "You are smarter than I thought. But you said you wanted to let those men starve. That was a very evil idea."
"They ate too much and used all their energy to cause trouble. Aren't you soldiers the ones who are in trouble?" Shen Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, "If they really make trouble, their lives will be in danger. I just let them go hungry for a few meals and give more food to children, women and boys. How can I be so vicious?"
Shen Xuan's eyes lit up when he said this, and he looked particularly good in high spirits.
Pei Xia was stunned for a moment, and then he said after a moment of silence: "The weather is cold, be careful not to catch a cold if you keep standing in the snow and talking. You're a boy, you should go home and rest."
Shen Xuan didn't know why Pei Xia suddenly changed his attitude, so he just said goodbye to him and left.
Only after he got on the carriage and drove away did Pei Xia retract his gaze and return to Lord Ye.
Sure enough, not long after, Lord Ye said to Pei Xia: "Take your men over and separate the victims outside. Men over the age of sixteen will be divided into one group, and the rest will be divided into another group. They are not allowed to stay together."
"Yes." Pei Xia immediately took the order and quickly ordered his officers and soldiers to forcibly separate the victims.
After the victims were divided into two sides, a few soldiers came over with two tables and pens and ink.
Pei Xia stepped forward and shouted to the victims: "From now on, all men between the ages of sixteen and fifty should stay over here and help with disaster relief work. Everyone else should stay over there, and no one is allowed to run around."
"As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding victims immediately began to whisper among themselves, and a dissatisfied man asked loudly: "Why do you want us men to do the work? How can you have the energy to work if you don’t have enough to eat? ”
"If you don't want to work, you won't get any porridge. It's up to you whether to work or not." Pei Xia rolled his eyes and said.
The man was about to rush forward to resist, but several soldiers stepped forward and drew their swords.
The man was not a fool. Seeing such a scene, he dared not move and retreated back into the crowd obediently.
There were other people around him who were ready to make a move, but they were also frightened by this sudden attack and fell silent, not daring to say anything.
Seeing that the man had finally quieted down, Pei Xia looked at the disaster victims on the other side and said, "All of you, line up now and come over to get the porridge. Those who have received the porridge should put an ink stamp over there. No duplication is allowed."
These disaster victims were all old, weak, sick and disabled. The porridge shed was in chaos before, and many of them didn’t get anything at all. They hadn’t eaten for a long time.
When she heard that she could queue up for porridge and no men were coming to grab it, a rare smile appeared on her face. They immediately followed the order and lined up obediently under the guidance of the soldiers. ”
"Lord Ye has ordered that in the future, the elderly, the weak, women and children should be given priority when distributing porridge. After they have all received it, the men will be distributed according to the order of their work." Pei Xia said, "If anyone still has objections, they can just refuse to receive the relief porridge and leave now."
Pei Xia held a saber high in his hand, with a cold glow on the blade. The men among the disaster victims dared not speak out and could only accept this arrangement.
However, the women and the boy who heard the news kept praising Lord Ye for his wisdom and were moved to tears of gratitude.
Some officials from the Ministry of Revenue were also somewhat confused when they saw Lord Ye's arrangements. He then asked, "The Jin Dynasty has always respected men. Women and boys follow their husbands and have lower status than men. Why are they allowed to receive the disaster relief food first? Isn't this disrupting social order?"
Lord Ye said, "A man is still not full after eating three bowls of porridge. If they come to eat immediately, at least half of the victims here will starve to death. These people have nothing to do after eating, and they are making trouble at the door. If the trouble spreads to the capital, won't it be a mess? If you are willing to give another 50 stone of grain, I have nothing to say. I am also thinking about the people in the capital."
When the gentleman heard Lord Ye bring up the grain collection issue again, he immediately fell silent. However, every time grain is collected, everyone has to tighten their belts. There are still some adults in the capital who have not paid their grain yet!
So when this round of porridge was distributed in the evening, Pei Xia asked the soldiers in charge to count it and found that nearly ten stones of food were used less in the evening than at noon.
He was delighted and immediately reported the matter to Lord Ye. Lord Ye also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Then he said, "Thanks to Brother Chen's idea, we can save a lot of rice. The disaster victims who were making trouble before have calmed down a lot."
These men could only get one bowl of porridge for one meal, and before eating they had to help the soldiers carry food bags. They were already exhausted, so how could they have the energy to cause trouble?
In addition, with the help of the disaster victims in moving food, the soldiers' tasks were greatly reduced.
Gradually, order was restored outside the city gate. The victims also got used to Lord Ye's arrangements. They took turns to get porridge on time, and then made a mark after getting the porridge. Everything was in order.
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