Chapter 118
Article 1: Pingxian porridge, Pingxian porridge shops, Pingxian porridge stalls…[1]
Most of those affected and awaiting rescue were farmers living near the river and wealthy gentry living in the county town. Some of those who were not affected by the disaster must have stored grain at home.
These people need to be mobilized to help.
Article 2: Work-for-relief and reserve storage[2]
Enhance the enthusiasm of the people for self-help, reduce negative emotions, and give people hope of rebuilding their homes, so that there will be no riots or chaos.
Article 3: Separate tents for men and women, separate tasks for women and children, and separate isolation and treatment for the injured.[3]
Article 4: Adoption of orphaned children and provision of medical care[4]
The first few items deal with disaster victims and food shortages, while the latter ones deal with preventing post-disaster epidemics. These are after the disaster, and the latter ten items deal with post-disaster reconstruction.
Including but not limited to reclaiming fertile land, migrating people to neighboring counties and other late-stage measures.
Below the twenty articles are the specific implementation details. Qu Dubian also drew small stars as marks in key places.
The further he wrote, the faster he wrote, and the messier his handwriting became.
If he didn't finish writing, he felt that Liu Liu would knock him out and throw him on the bed to sleep.
He signed his name at the end: Mr. Broad Bean.
When he finished writing the last word, it was already dawn. Qu Dubian hid all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table to finish concealing any traces.
Then he moved to the bed, fell on it and fell asleep.
Before going to sleep, he murmured: "Liuliu, call me at dawn..."
Fall asleep in one second.
He didn't even have time to cover himself with the quilt, change his clothes, or take off his boots. There was a light blue color under his eyes.
Yi Twelve helped him take off his boots, loosened his collar, half-lifted him up and adjusted his sleeping position, then put him down again and pulled up the quilt.
After finishing, he walked to the table and gently flipped through the stack of post-flood disaster management methods that had been rushed out overnight.
Having been with His Highness for twelve years, he knew that His Highness was not as mediocre as he appeared to be. He also knew about the agreement between His Highness and Master Fang, but he still couldn't help being shocked.
How many skills does His Highness have hidden?
He flipped through it for a moment and put it away carefully.
I wondered how many points I would get if I filled in the details of disaster relief on the answer sheet that Taifu Fang gave to His Highness.
The bright pearl is hidden by the dust, and only when there is a storm can a little light from under the dust be seen.
-
Ten o'clock in the morning.
Qu Duanbian slept for five hours. Yi Twelve didn't call him, but he woke up suddenly.
After two days of non-stop travel, he finally arrived at the county government office one day. Exhaustion crept over his body during his short rest.
Qu Dubian performed a set of Tai Chi, and his internal energy circulated in his body, restoring most of his energy. He simply ate two bites of breakfast, biting a pancake in his mouth, and went out with the stack of details on the table.
Before going out, he paused, stepped on the stack of papers a few times, looked at the shoe prints on them, and nodded with satisfaction.
As soon as he went out, he shouted: "Hua County Magistrate! Hua County Magistrate!"
In the midst of his busy schedule, Magistrate Hua was called upon to hear that the Seventh Prince wanted to see him.
He almost couldn't suppress his irritable emotions caused by the disaster victims, and couldn't help complaining in a low voice: "Alas! It's a busy time. If the nobles in the capital have any business, they can just tell the people in the county government!"
Master: "You should go and take a look, sir. It's not easy to offend the prince."
Magistrate Hua: "How could I not know?"
He brushed the dirt off his body, put on a smiling face, and went to the main hall.
Qu Dubian sat cross-legged on a chair, chewing a piece of bread, and waved at him: "Lord Hua."
Magistrate Hua bowed and said, "Your Highness, what do you want to call me for?"
Qu Dubian pointed at the stack of papers beside him and said, "It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered that when I was wandering around the capital, I met some strange people and things. I helped a dying man before. After he recovered, he gave me this as a thank you gift."
"It's probably for disaster relief. I don't understand it either, but I thought it might be useful, so I brought it here. Lord Hua, please see if it can be used?"
What strange people and things, what gifts of thanks for curing illnesses.
And also to cure disasters.
That sounds totally bullshit.
Magistrate Hua looked at his clear and bright eyes, and thought that the Seventh Prince was probably inexperienced and had been deceived by some charlatan from nowhere, so he believed such words.
Of course, he didn't show it, because big shots all have to save face.
Even if this stack of paper is useless today, he still has to praise it a few words.
With this in mind, Magistrate Hua picked it up and took a look. He was attracted by the handwriting. Hey, the handwriting of the liar is quite distinctive.
Then, one disaster relief measure after another came into view, even with detailed steps. The more Magistrate Hua read, the wider his eyes opened.
He rose step by step from a humble background and is a man of great talent.
During the days when he was handling the disaster as the county magistrate, he was extremely overwhelmed. With so many things weighing on him, he had absolutely no idea what to do.
Therefore, he knew how important it was to have a clear plan, clear steps, and regulations that took the people into consideration at every turn.
This could definitely, definitely be written by someone who has experienced a flood, or has done in-depth research on floods and cares about the world!
Magistrate Hua raised his head with a fiery and eager look in his eyes, and eagerly grasped Qu Dubian's hand: "Your Highness!"
Qu Watanabe was startled: "What are you doing!"
The Magistrate of Hua County pointed at the signature and said, "May I ask if Your Highness knows where the lay Buddhist Biandou, who wrote this regulation, is now? He must be a rare hermit in the world. I don't know why he fell to the point where he didn't even have money to treat his illness. He almost died. Fortunately, he met Your Highness."
"This kind of pillar of society must not be destroyed by illness. If he is found, it will be a great thing for the Great Zhou! The three counties of Xianghe need an expert who can control floods!"
Qu·Takato·Watanabe's ears turned red, and he coughed twice in embarrassment, "Really? So amazing."
Magistrate Hua said solemnly: "This is a plan to save tens of thousands of lives!"
Qu Dubian patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, it's okay. I almost used it to wipe my boots."
Hua County Magistrate: “…”
Shine your boots?
He lowered his head and looked carefully at the stack of papers that he treasured. There were obviously several shoe prints on the back of the papers.
Magistrate Hua's face twisted, he felt heartbroken but also relieved.
Oh my God, it’s a good thing that the Seventh Prince showed mercy, otherwise he would probably be heartbroken to the point of bleeding.
He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Fortunately, fortunately, God bless the Great Zhou..."
Magistrate Hua bowed and said, "Seventh Prince, I would like to submit this book to the county governor."
Qu Watanabe: "You can do whatever you want. I don't know much about these things. Professional things should be done by professionals."
Yi Twelve, who had seen his own prince's dramatic performance, said: "..."
I really don't understand.
In view of the fact that there were shoe prints on the disaster prevention book, Magistrate Hua hurriedly copied a copy himself and sent it to the county governor on horseback, hoping that it would be implemented as soon as possible.
He pondered carefully, "How can we make the rich households in the county who have surplus grain willingly share their grain?"
Just as he was thinking, the lawyer came in hurriedly, "Sir! It's bad! Mr. Lin is coming outside with the disaster victims who are causing trouble."
Magistrate Hua stood up suddenly and said, "I'll go take a look."
The master pulled him out.
Qu Dubian also heard the noise outside the county government office, and followed the county magistrate out to take a look.
I saw a group of ragged people being escorted by servants and guards arriving in front of the county government office. Leading them were several well-dressed country gentlemen. When they saw Magistrate Hua, they cried,
"Mr. County Magistrate, please make the decision for us!"
The gentry have always been the people that the county magistrate needs to befriend.
Either there are officials in their families, or they are well-established and local tyrants who have offended the gentry, and the issuance of the county magistrate's policies will be affected to some extent.
The one who led the wealthy families here to seek justice was Mr. Lin.
He pointed angrily at the group of people who were brought here by the servants: "This group of unruly people dared to rob the rice store on the street! After being discovered, they even dared to beat up our family members, beating them until their heads were broken and bleeding. If it weren't for the servants in my house, I wouldn't have been able to catch them!"
Hua County Magistrate: "Everyone, please be patient."
He tried his best to calm the emotions of the gentry and wealthy families.
Qu Dubian listened for a while before he figured out what was going on.
There were also wealthy families in Le'an County. Several of them opened rice and grain stores in the county and doubled the price of grain stores to make money. Some smart ones closed all the rice and grain stores for fear that someone would rob them.
However, even with such caution, people will do bad things when they are extremely hungry.
Last night, several rice shops were robbed. Today, some people went to smash a closed rice shop, hoping to find some food inside, but they were caught red-handed.
He was directly sent to the county government office.
The people who were taken away knelt on the ground with their heads down, not saying a word.
Mr. Lin said angrily, "Everyone has no food. Everyone knows that food is precious now. If they are really hungry and have no other choice, they can come to me directly. Even if I starve to death, I can still give them some rice. But if you just rob them, is that any different from robbery?"
The wealthy households all echoed: "Yes. We don't have any food either."
"Yes, the county government is distributing porridge, but you are here to rob us. We are also ordinary people, right?"
"The county magistrate is the one who makes the decision."
They had good reasons and requested the Magistrate of Hua County to severely punish the people who committed the crime to prevent such incidents from happening again.
But Qu Dubian knew that as long as the people were hungry, the looting of food would continue. If the root cause was not addressed, such incidents would only increase.
The leader of the oppressed people was called Geng Da. He had been silent until he suddenly said, "Kill them if you want. Starving is death. We have lost our houses, fields, children... everything. What are we afraid of?"
"Who knows, after death, you may be reincarnated and no longer hungry or suffer disasters."
Mr. Lin said angrily, "Who is weaker? Who is right? You suffered a disaster, but we didn't? You built up your huge family business through hard work, who do you blame? You blame yourself for not working hard, and blame God for not having mercy on you, but it's just an excuse for you to grab things."
"Yes, we stole something, and we accept the punishment if we are caught. You just need to punish us."
"Punish! Punish hard!"
Magistrate Hua was not frightened by them. He first ordered people to detain the offending civilians, then he appealed to their emotions and reason, assured them that such robberies would not happen again, and persuaded Mr. Lin and others to go back.
It took them nearly half an hour to leave.
Magistrate Hua was already thirsty, so he returned to the county government office and drank a lot of water.
Qu Dubian had been watching from the sidelines, and only spoke up now: "How does Lord Hua want to resolve this matter? Do you really want to punish the victims?"
Magistrate Hua sighed and said, "It's just a punishment for the sake of appearance. When everyone is out of food, I won't punish him too severely, and Mr. Lin and his men won't hold on to it."
"It's just treating the symptoms but not the root cause. If Le'an County wants to get through these few days safely, we all need to work together."
Hua County Magistrate: "You mean to ask the rich families to voluntarily provide porridge and grain? How is that possible?"
Qu Dubian sat down on the chair, leaned back and raised his head.
"Although I am uneducated in the academy, I am sometimes asked to listen. Lord Hua, have you heard of the merit tablets of the previous dynasty? We can also set up a merit tablet in the county. All the top 30 wealthy families who give out porridge and grain can be included in the merit tablet, which can inspire some people to do good deeds."
Magistrate Hua had heard of the stele of merit, but he knew that smart people had already used this trick, and over time, it had become less useful.
"Mr. Biandou also analyzed with me how to get the rich to contribute to disaster relief. Let me think about what he said..."
Qu Duanbian was a little annoyed that he did not write down on paper the method of inducing the rich households to pay taxes. Now he could only make up stories crazily and push the blame on the vest.
Magistrate Hua's eyes lit up, and he controlled his temper: "Take your time to think about it, Your Highness. There is no rush."
He looked at the Seventh Prince, who was pacing back and forth with a frown on his brow, and he held his breath, fearing that he would accidentally interrupt the Seventh Prince's train of thought.
The Seventh Prince scratched his head three or five times before he finally seemed to remember and said:
"The above is a reputational benefit, which is considered virtual. The latter is the actual benefit linked to their family. Lord Hua must have their household registration in his hands. Among the children of each family, there must be quite a few who have taken the imperial examination."
Hua County Magistrate: "That's right."
In the imperial examination, there are countless candidates every year, but only a few can pass.
"You can order that anyone who is listed in the top 30 of the merit stele can have a sentence added to their descendants' registers: 'In such and such a month, such and such a family was ranked so and such on the Le'an County disaster relief merit stele.' This will help in the imperial examinations."
Magistrate Hua was in deep thought.
After a moment of shock.
Ordinary people cannot change the household register at will, but the county magistrate can make slight changes if there is a reason.
People in the world attach great importance to clans. If there is a sentence like this with an official seal on the register, 90% of the people who read the register will look at it with higher regard and show some respect.
Nowadays, when traveling or when students are looking for famous teachers, they need to hand in their registration books.
To give a specific example, two students want to take the imperial examination at the same time, but the master only accepts one person. This sentence on the register is a natural plus point.
It is still possible to add a sentence to the register according to the power of the county magistrate.
This is a serious conspiracy.
Magistrate Hua clapped his hands and said, "With this idea and the merit stele, even if Mr. Lin and his men are really out of food, they will find ways to provide porridge to everyone!"
God knows how many times he went to ask these gentry for help?
Every time he went, he returned empty-handed. The people at home had food but refused to give it to him. What could he do? He couldn't just rob them.
"I'll spread the news right away and prepare the merit tablet immediately!"
Magistrate Hua's face flushed with excitement, and he bowed deeply to the sky: "Master Biandou, you are truly a god!"
Qu Duanbian coughed lightly.
"Don't be impatient. We need a target. It's best if you don't take the initiative, otherwise those gentry will just bargain."
Hua County Magistrate: "Target?"
Qu Watanabe nodded.
If nothing unexpected happens, Uncle Lok Tim should be here soon.
Magistrate Hua calmed down, poured himself some cold water, and after drinking two glasses he calmed down a lot. He looked at Qu Duanbian.
Qu Dubian: "I'll go see Empress Xuan first. When the time comes, I'll have someone call you."
When he reached the door, Qu Dubian was stopped by Magistrate Hua: "Seventh Prince."
The sky outside was still overcast, stuffy and damp, and it was a little dark inside the house.
Qu Dubian stopped and looked back slightly.
The Magistrate of Hua County bowed deeply to him, clasped his hands and saluted, and did not stand up for a long time.
"Thank Mr. Lentil for me."
Some things cannot be covered up. After all, they have to be handled by Magistrate Hua. Moreover, Qu Du didn't cover it up carefully enough and there are many loopholes.
Even though Magistrate Hua was slow to react, he was able to realize many things were wrong.
He may suspect that Mr. Bian Dou is right next to Qu Dubian, or he may suspect that Qu Dubian is Mr. Bian Dou.
The former was more likely, but he was smart not to ask.
If he asked too many questions, he might get into trouble. Since the Seventh Prince wanted to help but also wanted to hide the truth, it would be fine if they knew each other clearly.
All these strategies came from the layman Bandou.
As for the Seventh Prince, it was just that he had some connection with that master by some coincidence.
Qu Duanbian smiled and said, "He can't hear me even if I thank you."
After saying this, he walked away.
-
The Hua County Magistrate implemented zoning management for the people in accordance with the post-flood management guidelines.
Men and women are separated, and the elderly, the weak, women and children are given special care.
Naturally, some people were unwilling to move, so Magistrate Hua asked people to put more rice in the porridge today. When the aroma of rice spread, he stood on a high place and said loudly:
"Everyone, hurry up and finish dividing your area so that you can have the thick porridge today. The slower you are, the later you will get it!"
The aroma of rice soup aroused the motivation of the hungry people.
In order to get a bite to eat, they moved quickly under the coordination and management of the officers and soldiers. Those who moved slowly were even urged forward.
All the idle people in the county government office started working and went out to help. Inspired by the aroma of rice porridge, they became more and more enthusiastic.
Qu Dubian did not go out. Firstly, the county magistrate would not ask him to do hard work. Secondly, he did not want to go out and smell the blood in the air unless it was necessary.
Soon, the prototype of zoning control took shape.
The wounded area received special attention. The few doctors all went there and fumigated every corner with mugwort, which could prevent the growth of bacteria to a certain extent.
-
Had lunch.
A convoy escorted by a hundred people slowly entered Le'an County.
The convoy was filled with medicinal herbs, grains, and precious wines, all covered with cloth, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.
At first, only a few people noticed them. Later, the boss named Xue in the convoy suddenly stopped outside the street where rich families lived and began to distribute porridge and food.
As soon as the news spread, it immediately attracted a large number of people.
The boss surnamed Xue was surrounded by more than a hundred guards, all of whom were armed with knives. Even though the common people coveted the carts of food behind him, they did not dare to steal them - and Boss Xue was a kind man, so if he gave them food, they would be willing to go hungry and wait for a while.
When there are many people, it will naturally be noisy.
Mr. Lin couldn't resist his curiosity and sent someone out to inquire.
The servant who went out to inquire came back soon, "Master! That boss surnamed Xue is really rich. You don't know how much food he brought here, at least 20 or 30 carts!"
"I've seen that there's not only food, but also medicinal herbs and even precious wine!"
"But he won't sell his wine. He said he would use it to disinfect the wounds of the injured people. I think that's what he said."
Mr. Lin widened his eyes: "Good boy..."
Treasure wine, that is a wine of sky-high price!
As soon as it appeared in Nanning, it suppressed the original restaurants and made them unable to survive. It was not until the last year that Zhenbao Liquor gradually became popular among the nobles of the Great Zhou Dynasty and slowly flowed from the nobles to the wealthy families.
Even he would only dare to drink a few sips during festivals.
That Boss Xue who came from nowhere is so extravagant!
Mr. Lin asked quickly, "Just give it to the people like this? You don't ask for anything at all."
The servant said, "How is that possible, sir? I have inquired and found out that Boss Xue is a boss who goes to disaster areas to do charity work. He has only one purpose."
Mr. Lin: "What's the purpose?"
Servants: "Stamp the official seal on the register."
It turned out that because Boss Xue had once provided disaster relief in his hometown, the local county magistrate wrote a special sentence "a benevolent family providing disaster relief" on his household register and stamped it with the official seal.
From then on, Boss Xue tasted great sweetness.
The servant said enviously, "It is said that Mr. Xue's son became a disciple of a very famous teacher just because of this sentence, and now he has become a scholar!"
“So now he is doing charity everywhere, and he just asks the local county magistrate to stamp his name on the register to show that he has also come here to help with disaster relief.”
After hearing this, Mr. Lin's eyes lit up.
Just ask yourself, who doesn't have a few students in their family? Who doesn't want their clan to prosper and their descendants to be successful?
He clenched his right fist and tapped it on the palm of his left hand. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly made up his mind: "Call Mr. Gu and the others, and let's go to the county government office again!"
-
Apparently, Mr. Lin was not the only one who realized the benefits of adding official seal to the household register.
That was a benevolent family certified by the government, which could bring real invisible benefits. After finding out everything, everyone went together to find Magistrate Hua.
The master stopped them and said with a smile: "Boss Xue just arrived, would you please wait a moment?"
Mr. Lin: "Is it Mr. Xue who is giving out porridge?"
Master: "That's right. Boss Xue's good deeds have eased the pressure on the county. The master is thanking him inside."
Thank you? How to thank you?
Isn’t it just stamped with the official seal?
Mr. Lin couldn't help but stick his head to look inside.
Not long after, a bearded boss came out with the register in his hand. He put it in his sleeve and said to Magistrate Hua with a grin, "Don't worry, the grain I brought will be handled as you said."
Magistrate Hua also smiled and said, "Okay, okay."
He personally escorted Boss Xue out the door, and his reluctant look made Mr. Lin and others feel very upset.
Mr. Lin called him, "Master Hua."
Magistrate Hua seemed to have just noticed them, and the smile on his face faded. "Oh, it's you. Don't worry. Geng Da and the others who went to rob the rice grain station this morning have been forced to do hard labor by me. I will never appear in front of you. I will compensate you for your losses after the disaster, so don't worry about it."
"No, no, how can I trouble the county magistrate for such a small matter?"
Mr. Lin followed Magistrate Hua into the house attentively.
"We heard that Boss Xue came to ask you to stamp the official seal, right?"
Magistrate Hua was surprised: "You are so well-informed?"
Mr. Lin looked at the other gentry and couldn't help asking, "Sir, if we provide porridge and food, can you also add words like 'Benevolent Family' to our register?"
Magistrate Hua frowned and said, "It's really troublesome, and it won't be of much use to you."
Why is it not very useful!
Mr. Lin and others were about to slam the table.
Twenty to thirty carts of food and precious wine were given just like that. If they were not of much use, would Boss Xue be so generous?
There are clear distinctions between the scholar-farmer, artisan and merchant classes. For the wealthy, as long as it is of some benefit to the career development of their children and grandchildren, they will try their best to squeeze in.
Mr. Lin said directly: "Master Hua, don't you want us to release grain? As long as you agree, we will distribute porridge when we return!"
Magistrate Hua hesitated: "But...even if I agree, even if it is useful, how do I divide it? I can't just give official seals to those who distribute the porridge."
As soon as these words were spoken, Mr. Lin and others immediately looked at each other.
Mr. Lin said patiently, "Why not? Lord Hua, you just need to put in some effort. We are paying with real money."
Magistrate Hua felt very relieved.
Mr. Lentil has a really good idea.
All it takes to go from being the one asking for help to being the one being asked for help is the snap of a finger.
Magistrate Hua pretended to be serious and said, "It's not appropriate to have everyone stamp their name with the official seal of 'House of Benevolence'. Let's talk about it later."
-
The other side.
Xue Lok-tin took off his disguise and removed his fake beard.
Yi Shier took him to the room where Qu Watanabe lived.
"Uncle Le Tian, long time no see."
Xue Letian blinked and said, "Long time no see, Xiaoqi, you have grown so tall."
Qu Watanabe: "I haven't thanked Uncle Le Tian for his help yet. I staged a show with Magistrate Hua to lure all the rich families in the county into joining the game."
"It's nothing. I really don't know what's in your head. The plan you came up with is simply..." Xue Letian couldn't help but laugh, "I'm afraid those officials are now surrounding the county magistrate and vying to offer grain."
As soon as he arrived here, Yi Twelve found him and told him about Qu Dubian's plan to let him and Hua County Magistrate act out a play.
Qu Watanabe: "Eh, that's not what I thought, it's Mr. Flat Bean."
Xue Letian: "Okay, okay, Mr. Flat Bean. But Xiaoqi, I think the Magistrate of Hua County can guess a little bit. Can he be trusted?"
Qu Watanabe: "Don't worry, I know my limits. At worst, I can just say you are the monk Flat Bean." He hooked his arm around Xue Letian's shoulders, "We are uncle and nephew, so we are uncle and nephew, right?"
Xue Letian: “…”
The smile on his face fell, "How come you two uncles and nephews caught me alone and tricked me?"
Qu Watanabe: "Anyway, the title of Biandou Layman can be given to anyone except me."
Xue Letian was helpless: "Okay, okay, don't worry, uncle will clean up for you. I will stay here for a while. If you are not convenient to tell me, I will go and tell Magistrate Hua. If you are not convenient to do it, leave it to me."
"But let me make this clear in advance. If you reveal your true colors and get caught, it's none of my business."
Qu Watanabe chuckled.
"Yeah!" It feels so reassuring to have elders around to help him.
Xue Letian paused for a second: "Empress Xuan...?"
Qu Dubian looked towards the backyard: "Still unconscious."
"But Ye Banban and the others should be here soon."
-
evening.
A carriage that was about to fall apart braked suddenly in a cool way and stopped tremblingly outside the county government office.
The imperial physician, with shaking legs, staggered out of the carriage, hugged his medicine box, and squatted on the side of the road, vomiting violently.
Imperial Physician Yang and Imperial Physician Qiu still felt pain in their necks and were in tears.
Ye Xiaoyuan cleaned the dust and dirt off his face and body, waited for them to finish vomiting, and considerately asked them to rinse their mouths. Then he picked up one in each hand and carried them both to the county government office.
"Your Highness! We are here!"
They came super fast!
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