Chapter 1590 Errand
Bai Shan said, "In that case, don't worry about the disaster relief. I'll do it for you. You wrote the memorial, so you'll definitely get some credit when the time comes."
Manbao nodded and encouraged him, "Go ahead and do it. You don't have to use my name. The emperor won't give me a promotion right now, and there won't be any other rewards for my meritorious service. The emperor can't reward me for my meritorious service, right?"
She glanced around and lowered her voice, "I heard that His Majesty is out of money in his private treasury."
Bai Shan: "...How did you know?"
"Mingda whispered to me," Manbao said. "She once overheard His Majesty and the Empress whispering that it would be better to postpone Changyu's marriage for two years, as the inner treasury was short of money and they couldn't prepare much of the dowry. Princess Changyu was so delighted when she heard this that she even treated Mingda and me to a bowl of cheese."
Bai Shan: ...
The prince acted quite quickly. He had just told Bai Shan and the others about it, and the next day he found an excuse to get all the students in Chongwenguan to come to the Zhanshi Mansion to help.
It is impossible for a group of students to sit in the Zhanshi Mansion to do their work, so they naturally have to go outside to find out and fill in the gaps.
So Bai Shan and the others left the palace. Man Bao escorted them to the gate of the East Palace and told them to wear their bamboo hats and avoid getting sunburned. He then gave each of them a medicine bag and said, "This is for repelling insects. When you go to the countryside, there are many mosquitoes at night. Wear this to repel insects. If there are too many insects, take some medicine from the bag and slowly roast it over a fire. The smell of the medicine will be more effective."
Bai Shan and the others took them one by one. Zhao Liulang and others saw it and couldn't help but step forward to stare at Manbao.
Manbao only prepared a few, and was able to give them to Feng Zongping and Yi Ziyang because they were close to each other.
She met the gazes of Zhao Liulang and the others, paused, and said, "Shall I write the prescription for you?"
Zhao Liulang thought she was too stingy. After all, they had been together in Chongwenguan for several months, but she was reluctant to give even a medicine bag to those who were about to go on an expedition.
Yes, this time, they will not only be dispersed throughout the capital, but may also go to Yongzhou and Shangzhou. For these young masters who have rarely traveled far, this is considered an expedition.
Moreover, they had to take copper coins to the countryside to collect medicinal materials, and then donate them to people in need. Although they did not need to do it themselves, they had to keep an eye on them. And because there were few officials, these people could be moved wherever they were needed.
Since there was no extra charge for using them, the prince was not stingy in using them.
But among these twenty-nine people, twenty are the prince's confidants. Now that the prince's eldest son has not been born yet, his position is not particularly stable, so they are eager to make achievements for the prince and are very concerned about this matter.
Bai Shan, Bai Chengyin, or a few of them were the initiators of this matter. In addition, due to their special relationship with Zhou Man, they had long been secretly labeled as the crown prince.
In contrast, Feng Zongping and Zhao Liulang, who came in simply to study, passively accepted this matter with a confused look on their faces.
Feng Zongping and Yi Ziyang are fine. Although they suffered some hardships in the countryside, they will all become officials in the future, so they may as well consider this time as an opportunity to accumulate experience.
Zhao Liulang was unwilling from the bottom of his heart, because he had no intention of studying in Chongwenguan, nor did he want to make great achievements or accomplish great things.
Wouldn't it be better for him to study hard in the Imperial College?
When he reaches a certain age, his family will give him an official position, either a nominal one or a real one, which will only be a job, but he will never do such a hard job.
The sun is so strong that he sweats after walking a few steps. Why should he endure such suffering?
Zhao Liulang reluctantly mounted his horse and followed the men to the city gate. He was lucky enough to be assigned to Bai Shan's team, and was mainly responsible for the capital.
However, the capital city is also very large, and if they have to go to the countryside, it will take most of the day to return to the city, so they don't have to go back to the city, and they can live wherever they do their work.
It is not known whether the prince promoted them intentionally or took care of them unintentionally, but this group consists of people Bai Shan is familiar with, including Bai Erlang, Yin Huo, Liu Huan, Feng Zongping, Yi Ziyang, and Zhao Liulang. The seven of them are responsible for two counties in the capital. Because most of the herbs needed have to be picked in the wild, they need to go down to each village.
As the county magistrate of Chang'an County, County Magistrate Tang actively set up several tents for them in the countryside as offices, and then went to the fields with them.
Seeing the tents set up on the grass, not only Zhao Liulang and Feng Zongping, but even the experienced Bai Shan and his companions were stunned and asked, "Are we staying here?"
County Magistrate Tang nodded, then glanced at the servants and guards behind them and said disdainfully, "Because you brought too many people, I can't find enough houses to accommodate you."
Bai Shan glanced at Daji and Gao Song who had come along, then glanced at the long line of attendants behind Yin Huo, Zhao Liulang and the others, and immediately said, "This is not the fault of Bai Er and me."
Liu Huan wanted to say that it was not his, but after taking a look at the two servants and two guards sent by his family, he swallowed his words.
Yin Huo didn't argue at all. He picked among several tents and pointed to one and said, "I'll stay in this one."
Zhao Liulang and the others remained silent and went to choose a tent.
It was the first time for Bai Shan and Bai Erlang to live in a tent, so they were a little excited. So after putting the blame aside, they happily went to choose a tent.
After they settled in, County Magistrate Tang nodded and said, "The Imperial Astronomical Observatory says it's not the hottest time yet. It's only the first ten days of summer. In ten days, it will be the middle ten days of summer. It will be even hotter and more humid, making it very uncomfortable. So it's best to store these herbs before then."
He smiled and said, "The common people in the capital are still waiting for your medicinal herbs to relieve the summer heat."
Bai Shan took the lead and agreed.
County Magistrate Tang left two yamen runners to help and lead the way. There was no other way. Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were fine, but he was afraid that the others would mess up his rule.
After they finished the task, they just walked away. He was the governor of a county and had to take good care of his people.
County Magistrate Tang gave the seven younger students a hint, telling them to take it easy with their work, because if they caused trouble under his jurisdiction, he would show no mercy.
As soon as the others left, Bai Shan immediately took a few people to find the officials sent to assist them. After a discussion, the next day Bai Shan went to the fields to pluck a handful of Centella asiatica and gave it to the villagers as a model...
When Yin and his companions saw him walking on the road, they squatted down and pulled out a handful of grass, then had people take it to each village and announce it. Only then did they realize what was happening and were amazed. "Is this the medicinal herb?"
Bai Shan nodded, "Not bad."
Zhao Liulang couldn't help but say, "They're everywhere. We can just spread the word and let the people take them home and cook them. Why should we go through the trouble of buying them up and then providing disaster relief?"
Bai Shan said, "Because it's just an announcement, they won't cook it. But after this year, they should know how to cook it during the dog days of summer."
See you at 4 p.m.
(End of this chapter)
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