"Where is the prefect!" Xiahou Chongyuan shouted angrily, scaring the yamen runner who had just tried to stop him so much that his hands began to tremble.
They have been working as officials for several years, but have never seen anyone with such a ferocious temperament.
The prefect was quite leisurely. Even after Xiahou Chongyuan broke into the government office, he slowly put on his official black hat and walked out with his hands behind his back and a bulging belly.
"Who is making so much noise here?" His pretentious tone makes people feel annoyed at first sight.
"Are you Li Chang, the prefect of Xunnan?"
When the prefect Li Chang heard Xiahou Chongyuan's question, he realized something was wrong.
When he looked up, he found that all the officers under his command were kneeling on the ground, their faces pale and they dared not move.
He panicked immediately, pointed at Xiahou Chongbai with a trembling finger, and shouted without any momentum: "You! Who are you! How dare you trespass into the government office? Do you know what crime you should be punished for?"
Xiahou Chongyuan took out his token and said, "I don't know what crime I should be charged with. Why don't you tell me what crime is it, Li Zhifu?"
When Li Chang saw the token, he was so frightened that his legs went weak. He immediately walked around to him, knelt down and kowtowed.
"I didn't know it was the prince who came, and I failed to welcome him. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Humph!" Xiahou Chongyuan did not ask him to stand up, but walked straight to the chair under the 'mirror hanging high' and sat down.
"Prefect Li, I remember that the court allocated 300,000 silver coins for disaster relief. Why are there refugees everywhere outside this government office?"
"Your Highness, this..." Li Chang was speechless for a moment.
Xiahou Chongyuan didn't have the patience to wait for him to make up a story, and immediately shouted, "Prefect Li, don't tell me you don't know!"
"Your Highness, please forgive me! I really didn't know." Li Chang's teeth were chattering with fear.
"You really don't know?"
"Really, really!" Li Chang still insisted on this answer.
Xiahou Chongyuan did not continue to question, but chose to suppress the anger in his heart temporarily.
"Since Magistrate Li doesn't know, you will pay to resettle the refugees first, and we can discuss other matters after the disaster is alleviated."
Although he was fully aware of what Li Chang had done, now was not the time to punish him.
There are many refugees outside. If they are not resettled quickly, more people will die.
Things have to be prioritized, and right now the lives of the people must be put first.
As soon as these words came out, Li Chang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He lowered his head, but was thinking about how to send a message to the nobles in the capital.
No one expected that a flood in such a small place like Xunnan would attract the visit of the Regent himself.
Those disaster relief funds have not been dealt with yet!
Seeing him kneeling in silence for a long time, Xiahou Chongyuan guessed that he must be hiding something from his mind, but he did not point it out to him in person. Instead, he asked him to stand up first.
The resettlement of refugees was urgent. Xiahou Chongyuan knew with his toes that Li Chang must have never taken care of these refugees before, so he was too lazy to ask so many questions. He just used force to force Li Chang to pay money and resettle the refugees on the street first.
However, the resentment of the people of Xunnan towards Li Chang really caught Xiahou Chongyuan by surprise.
When he took Li Chang and the yamen runners to appease the refugees, he only saw the refugees throwing stones at Li Chang.
"You bastard! You will die a miserable death!"
"Li Chang! You are unworthy of being an official!"
"Give my mother back to me! Give my mother back to me, you dog official!!"
"Ahhh, you bastard, give me your life!..."
"Dog officer..."
"Dog officer..."
There was a chorus of curses all around, and Xiahou Chongyuan only heard the people's hysterical roars, but did not notice the flying stones.
Xiahou Chongyuan's forehead was hit by a not-so-big stone, and the skin was immediately broken.
The bright red blood flowed down and left marks on the cheek.
"Your Majesty!"
Amid the people’s curses, there were the guards’ anxious calls.
Because he was injured, the guards who were originally prepared to comfort the refugees could only draw their swords to protect him behind their backs, and the government runners immediately became ferocious and took sticks to beat these skinny people, trying to control the situation with violence.
Xiahou Chongyuan hurriedly stopped the guards. He was not angry about it. He just raised his hand to wipe the blood off his cheek and shouted, "Stop! Everyone, retreat!"
Seeing this situation, he was very sad.
How difficult does it have to be for ordinary people to have the courage to take action against government officials?
In other words, how despicable must this official be to force the common people to take such a desperate path?
Looking sideways at Li Chang, Xiahou Chongyuan asked again: "Li Chang, do you have anything to say?"
"Your subordinate..." Li Chang lowered his head and remained silent.
Xiahou Chongyuan did not continue to beat around the bush and said directly: "Open the gate of the government office and let the refugees go in to take shelter from the rain. Lin Xian, you lead forty people to comfort the refugees nearby and prepare food. The rest of you, follow me!"
After that, Xiahou Chongyuan returned his gaze to Li Chang and continued, "Lord Li, take your people to arrange a few more resettlement points. I hope you don't do anything behind my back, otherwise, you will be sentenced to death!"
"Yes! Yes, yes!"
Li Chang received the order and asked someone to help him quickly arrange the house.
Watching Li Chang walk away, Xiahou Chongyuan's expression did not improve at all.
This Li Chang...
If the disaster had not been so severe and there were not so many refugees, and he needed manpower, he would have been killed long ago!
He flatters his superiors and bullies his subordinates. What's the use of such a dog official?
Xiahou Chongyuan shook his sleeves heavily, then led his men to look for refugees in a slightly remote area.
It took two days to settle all the visible refugees.
The local people didn't know who Xiahou Chongyuan was, but they knew in their hearts that he was a good official.
Because the flood in Xunnan lasted for so long, the local government did nothing. Even after some people were infected with the plague, the government quickly found those infected and burned them alive.
But when this person came, they had a place to stay. Not only did they have a place to shelter from the rain and wind, but they could also have three meals a day.
The people's minds have always been pure. They will like whoever can provide them with food to eat and a house that is not exposed to the wind and rain.
As soon as Xiahou Chongyuan arrived, he quickly and decisively solved their problem of hunger and cold, so everyone naturally looked up to him.
After settling the refugees, Xiahou Chongyuan immediately began to work on flood control.
Xiahou Chongyuan stood in front of the door, looking at the sky which was still raining heavily, and decided to go to the dam to take a look first.
They asked Li Chang to lead the way to the dam, but found that the dam had been washed away long ago, but no one had repaired it.
The flood rushed towards the land recklessly. He stood on a high place, and the flood directly reached his waist.
"When did the dam burst?" Xiahou Chongyuan's tone was filled with anger that could not be concealed.
Li Chang stood beside him and didn't dare to answer at all.
Xiahou Chongyuan stared at him, but did not expect him to answer anything. He just secretly took note of this and asked Li Chang to send people to repair the dam as soon as possible.
But now the water is flowing fast and it is raining heavily, so the dam is not easy to repair.
Fortunately, the people were eager to get rid of the disaster as soon as possible, and almost all those who were able to work came to help build the dam.