Perhaps the ancient saying is right: poverty breeds evil schemes, while wealth breeds conscience.
Although rich people may not necessarily have a conscience, they may still force you to work overtime and exploit the value of your labor.
But at least Chen Xiliang's family is rich, and he himself is kind and just.
So although his family was well off, he lived a very simple life. He never asked his family for money and relied entirely on his own salary to support himself.
Moreover, although the salary he received was large, several times higher than that of the first-rank officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties, he used most of it to help the poor. He was a man of integrity.
It was because of his political achievements, the love of the local people for him, the appearance of the yamen, and the life he lived that made Zhao Jun particularly like him.
I like him even more than the talents I have seen before, such as Wang Su, Yang Cha, Yang Gao, Zhao Pin, etc.
Strictly speaking, the above-mentioned people are not bad either. For example, Zhao Pin has good political achievements, and his character, ability, and personality are all pretty good.
But he was thirty years old and looked too old-fashioned, like a little old man.
On the contrary, Chen Xiliang passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen, became a county magistrate at the age of eighteen, and is now twenty-four. Zhao Jun also happens to be twenty-four this year, and perhaps because they are of the same age, they have more topics to talk about.
After entering the house, normally if there was no official business to deal with in the county, I would read a book or go to bed early, but today we could continue chatting.
Trapped in Changsha recently, Zhao Jun chatted with Chen Xiliang every day, talking about the people, the crops in the fields, the landlords and bureaucrats, and the future development of the country.
Zhao Jun discovered that Chen Xiliang could talk about anything, and his explanations were clear and coherent. He was far superior to those high-ranking officials who rarely even worked in the fields, fearing they would get their legs dirty. He even knew how to plant rice and rice; he grew all the vegetables in the vegetable patch behind the yard.
"The people of the Song Dynasty are suffering."
As soon as Chen Xiliang sat down, he sighed, "After a year of hard work, I can only barely make a living. Hunan is a mountainous region with little farmland. Du Fu once said, 'Hunan is a barren land, with the people digging for food in the dirt.' If there were a famine, the casualties would be untold."
Zhao Jun raised two fingers and said, "Increasing grain production is key, but until that's achieved, killing more corrupt officials and local tyrants will also alleviate the difficulties facing the country."
Chen Xiliang smiled bitterly and said, "I can't be as magistrate as the chancellor. I kill corrupt officials at will. I dealt with a powerful official, reported it to the court, and received a commendation in return. But I heard that the powerful official who was taken to Kaifeng for trial was released not long after. It's a pity for the people who were wrongly killed by the powerful."
"Tell me the person you can't kill, and give me the evidence. I'll do the killing. It's just a small matter."
Zhao Jun smiled.
Fan Zhongyan probably had a lot of similar experiences, but he would not indulge Zhao Zhen. If he was not allowed to kill, he would not do it. Whoever wanted to save the broken Song Dynasty could do it.
Anyway, as the successor of the new era, although Zhao Jun used to be quite angry, his position of loving the country and the party has not changed.
Our party has only been committed to three things from the beginning to the end: fairness, fairness, and damn fairness.
He came to the Song Dynasty to give justice to the people of the Song Dynasty, to kill those who should be killed and to save those who should be saved. If he is not allowed to do so, no one will have a good life.
"It's still the Zhiyuan's courage!"
Chen Xiliang said with admiration, and then turned the topic to the heavy rain outside. He stuck his head out and looked at the door with a little worry, saying: "Now is the late rice growing season. Although we need rain, it seems that the rain is a bit heavy. I am worried..."
After Champa rice was introduced, Hunan had two seasons of rice. Early rice is a traditional rice in ancient China. Its growth cycle is four to five months, so it is usually sown in February or March and harvested in June or July.
At this time, Champa rice can be grown in dry fields. The growth cycle of Champa rice is short. After the early rice is harvested, the late rice can be planted immediately. Basically, the late rice can be harvested by October.
It is now August, and the Champa rice has just been planted. It does need water, but Chen Xiliang sees that it has been raining for more than ten days, and the rain has been getting heavier in recent days, with a tendency to turn into a rainstorm, which makes him a little worried.
Zhao Jun had been in Hunan for a long time, and only after being reminded by him did he realize that something seemed a little unusual. He couldn't help but look outside, frowning and asking, "Did it rain this hard in previous years?"
"Yes, but it usually only lasts a few days and then stops."
Chen Xiliang said, "It rained lightly for seven or eight days before, but the rain has been getting heavier in the past two days. There's no sign of it stopping. If it continues for a few more days, Changsha City will probably be flooded."
"No, this is not right."
Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then immediately asked, "How is the drainage situation in the city?"
Chen Xiliang said: "After I took office, I dug a lot of flood diversion channels, all of which led to the Xiang River."
"What if the Xiang River also rises?"
Zhao Jun asked again.
"Don't worry about that, Master. I've built dams at all the water gates in Changsha. They're usually open, but if even the Xiang River rises, we can just close the gates. The water in the city can flow to the East City and into the Liuyang River."
Chen Xiliang is still quite confident. Although there were no cement pouring projects in ancient times, small dams could still be built, and ancient cities also had the function of intercepting water flows.
Although people need water for daily life or to use boats for trade, branches of the river are allowed to pass through the city to form a moat or inner city river.
However, sluice gates are large iron gates that are raised and lowered by a winch. Once lowered, ordinary floodwaters cannot rush in. For example, in 1991, when the Huaihe River flooded, the water level reached 25 meters, but Shou County in Anhui Province remained safe and sound, thanks to the protection of the Song Dynasty city wall, which is over 900 years old.
Hearing Chen Xiliang's words, Zhao Jun nodded. "Hunan has a lot of rain, especially in the Dongting Lake basin. Flood prevention is a top priority. Although you've already taken precautions, we can't underestimate it. We'll go to the river tomorrow to take a look. It's always better to be cautious."
"yes."
Chen Xiliang responded.
The two chatted about other things for a while. It was almost three quarters past midnight, which was ten o'clock in the evening. This was also the time when nightlife began in the Song Dynasty.
The problem is that it has been raining recently, and Changsha’s nightlife has basically stopped, so it’s time to go to bed.
They were about to go back to their rooms to rest.
At this moment, the gate separating the front yamen and the backyard was violently knocked on, and anxious shouts were heard outside.
"Chief Justice, County Magistrate!"
The backyard was spacious. Jiang Dalang, Huang Sanlang and others cleaned up a few rooms and accommodated more than 20 guards.
Hearing the noise outside, someone immediately went to open the door.
A moment later, Cao Tan, a clerk from the government office, rushed in wearing a straw raincoat and shouted anxiously, "Oh no! The dam outside the west city has been destroyed and the water is flooding into the city!"
(End of this chapter)
2015
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