Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Didn’t he go to Suzhou to recuperate?
The rain kept falling, the air was sticky, and nothing felt exciting. Zhu Song slept at home for three days, making up for all the sleep he had missed. He was idle at home for another two days, and when he was so idle that hair was almost growing on his body, Emperor Liang urgently summoned him to the palace.
Jizhou suffered a flood. The dam that had just been built five years ago collapsed, causing heavy losses to Jizhou.
Emperor Liang had a gloomy expression. Although he didn't say anything, the atmosphere around him was so oppressive that it was almost suffocating.
Zhu Song read the report from Jizhou at a glance. He first pretended to be deaf and dumb and made a comment, waiting to see what Emperor Liang meant. "Natural disasters are unpredictable. Your Majesty, please calm down."
After hearing his words, Emperor Liang was so angry that he slammed the table and said, "If it was really a natural disaster, I would accept it. But you know that the dam that cost me five million taels of silver didn't hold up for half a day. It was like tofu. It collapsed as soon as the water came in."
Zhu Song's shock was evident. "This dam was only built five years ago, and it's too much of a hassle."
Emperor Liang was so angry that he didn't want to say a word. He looked at him and said, "Take my imperial sword and get to the bottom of this matter. Make sure to find out all the corrupt officials."
Zhu Song responded, "Yes, I will definitely live up to your Majesty's high expectations."
After venting his anger, Emperor Liang calmed down a bit and continued, "The victims are very angry at this time and it's not appropriate to add fuel to the fire. You are still going there as an imperial envoy to provide disaster relief."
Zhu Song bowed and said, "I will go there first to provide disaster relief. Once the disaster situation has stabilized and the victims have been settled, I will then hold them accountable."
Emperor Liang nodded in satisfaction, "This is a serious matter. You should take Ling Ye and Ling Wang with you. We should set off without delay."
The blessing should be: "Follow the holy commandments"
After coming out of the Qinzheng Palace, Zhu Song went home to pack his things. Shortly afterwards, Zhu Lingye and Zhu Lingwang also received the imperial edict and went home to pack their things. After leaving a message for the housekeeper, the three of them hurried to Jizhou.
After two days of galloping, they arrived in Jizhou. Once inside, Zhu Song understood why the Liang Emperor was so angry. Victims were everywhere, wailing filled the air, and the floodwaters were above the horses' knees and were still rising.
Zhu Song and the other two went straight to the governor's office. A flood had just occurred in Jizhou, and Jizhou had submitted a memorial to the emperor. The emperor sent Song Shunran, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, and Zhang Wanping, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, with 200,000 taels of silver to provide disaster relief, but the effect was worrying.
When the imperial envoy arrived, Jizhou Governor Yi Kangning, Jizhou Governor-General Duan Zhenghong, Song Shunran, and Zhang Wanping greeted him at the door. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to business.
Yi Kangning reported, "As soon as the flood struck, the governor's office opened its granaries and released grain, and dispatched officials to actively rescue the victims trapped in the disaster. However, the disaster was too severe, and the governor's office could no longer continue, so they submitted a petition to the court. After the court's disaster relief funds arrived, I and the others actively set about building refugee shelters and distributing porridge. However, the continued severity of the disaster not only destroyed all the refugee shelters that had been built, but the number of people affected also increased day by day. The 200,000 allocated by the court is now almost gone."
Zhu Song raised his brows slightly when he heard this. He had just arrived and he was already complaining to him.
Zhu Song, who was sitting at the head of the table, asked solemnly, "How much is left?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Kangning quietly looked at Song Shunran, but Song Shunran just drank his tea slowly and didn't even glance at him. So he looked at Duan Zhenghong again. Duan Zhenghong raised his eyebrows slightly at him but didn't say anything.
Zhu Song was getting angry watching his little actions and asked again, "Can't you report it?"
Yi Kangning quickly replied: "It can be reported, there are probably 50,000 taels left."
Zhu Song asked him in return, "Fifty thousand taels left is not much?"
Seeing Zhu Song's bad tone, Yi Kangning explained, "Zhang Jianzheng predicts that the disaster will continue. Even if the number of victims does not continue to increase, these 50,000 taels of silver will not be of much use."
Zhu Song didn't continue to argue with him about the money. "What's the current situation at the scene?"
Yi Kangning replied: "The refugee camp was destroyed, and we are now working on rebuilding it. We will distribute porridge three times a day at the city gate to ensure that the victims have enough food to eat."
Zhu Song asked, "The refugee camp has been destroyed. Where are the victims now?"
"Uh..." Yi Kangning paused for a moment and replied, "There are too many people, and there is no way to accommodate them all together. We are also worried that they will enter the city and cause chaos, so they are still outside the city for the time being. But once the refugee center is built, it will be ready."
Zhu Song got angry when he heard this. He stood up and said, "Take me to the refugee center."
Yi Kangning was a little surprised. "But it's inconvenient to go out in such heavy rain. Lord Zhu should wait at the government office. I sent someone to check the scene and report the progress to you."
Zhu Song looked at him sullenly, "Lead the way."
Yi Kangning wanted to persuade him again, but Zhu Song just glanced over and fell silent.
Zhu Song was about to leave, and Yi Kangning and Duan Zhenghong naturally accompanied him. Song Shunran said that he had a headache after being exposed to the wind and rain a few days ago, so he rested in the government office. Zhang Wanping was not among the inspection team and did not go either.
The group arrived at the city gate in a carriage. It happened to be time for dinner. Five large iron pots were set up at the gate, steaming and smelling very fragrant.
Yi Kangning said as if to take credit: "In order to ensure that the victims have enough to eat, we have called in rice merchants from all over the country. They eat rice every day, and today we made potato risotto for lunch."
Zhu Song nodded, a rare gesture. He got off the carriage and walked over to the large pot of rice. It was indeed white rice, but there were so many people that it was impossible to see the end. Zhu Song asked, "With so many people and only five pots, how long will it take?"
Yi Kangning replied, "Sir, although there are many people, the food is served quickly. It will be all served in less than an hour."
Zhu Song nodded, and Yi Kangning shouted beside him, "Today we're having potato risotto, one bowl per person. If you don't have enough, you can always get more. Everyone, hold on tight, the refugee shelter will be ready soon."
The victims at the front of the line all had rosy cheeks. Although they were wearing coarse linen clothes, they were very clean. However, they were not covered and were soaked like drowned rats. Hearing Yi Kangning's words, they replied with gratitude: "Thank you, sir." "Thank you, sir."
Yi Kangning smiled broadly, "It's nothing. This is what an official should do." He then introduced Zhu Song, "This is Zhu Song, the Imperial Envoy appointed by His Majesty for disaster relief. You can tell me if you have any needs. He will definitely help you solve them."
"Thank you, Your Excellency." "Thank you, Your Excellency."
With the person in front taking the lead, the people behind followed suit, fearing that they would be left behind. For a while, the voices kept coming one after another. Yi Kangning smiled and walked up to Zhu Song and said, "Master Zhu, we have finished reading. Let's go back."
Zhu Song glanced at him with a half-smile and said, "Since Lord Yi is so busy, please go back first. This imperial envoy will take a walk." After saying that, he walked against the team.
"Hey," Yi Kangning saw that he had failed to persuade Zhu Song, so he gritted his teeth and followed him, "Sir, the disaster victims are like this, it's raining so hard, and it's already noon. We have prepared a welcoming banquet, let's go back."
Zhu Song ignored him. As he walked forward, the victims began to look pale and thin, their clothes were torn and tattered, and their skin was white from blisters. When they saw Zhu Song and the others coming, they shrank back and dared not say hello. Zhu Song walked along the way and found that the people queuing were all young and strong men.
After walking out of the pipeline, the victims were hiding from the rain in the woods. The trunks of some big trees had been hollowed out, and children were standing inside, staring at Zhu Song with eager eyes. More houses were made of rows of tree trunks to make simple roofs covered with thatch, but the rain was too heavy and they still leaked.
Zhu Song noticed that the elderly, the weak, women and children did not line up, so he asked, "Why don't you line up?"
Everyone looked weak and sick, and few people even looked at them. They lay there expressionless, with a sense of despair and depression all around them.
Yi Kangning explained beside him: "There are not enough doctors in the city. It's probably gonorrhea."
Zhu Song walked to the nearest tree hole, squatted down and looked at the child standing next to him in the tree hole. He asked gently, "Little boy, why don't you go and line up?"
The youngest child was probably only four or five years old. He blinked his wet eyes and asked doubtfully, "Are you new here?"
Zhu Song replied: "Yes, I'm new here."
The child said, "You are an adult, you can go and queue up."
Zhu Song asked, "What about you?"
The child replied, "We don't have the strength to work even if we eat, so we won't eat."
Zhu Song asked: "Why?"
The child replied naively, "If they eat, the uncles will have nothing to eat. They won't have the strength to build a house, and we'll be killed by the rain."
Yi Kangning quickly said, "Sir, don't listen to the kid's nonsense. We have enough food. If they don't go to get it themselves, we don't know why. You can't ask us to deliver it to them one by one."
The crowd, who had originally been unresponsive, became furious upon hearing his words. "There clearly aren't that many, so why are you asking us not to fight on our own?"
"You guys said there's only so much food, first come, first served. Let us figure it out."
"Sir, we don't ask for food, but please open the city gate and let us into the city to avoid the rain. We have been soaked in the rain for too long and our bodies are starting to fester."
"Please let us into the city."
"Please have mercy on us, sir, and save us."
Yi Kangning quickly explained, "Sir, there is absolutely no such thing. We have enough food. They are just talking nonsense and slandering the government."
"We're not talking nonsense." "That's right, there's just not enough to eat." "We take turns eating three meals a day, and there's never been enough."
Yi Kangning was furious and started arguing with the victims, "Nonsense! Do you have any evidence to prove that we don't have enough food? It's time for dinner, but none of you are going to line up and are just slacking off here. Can you blame me for that?"
The two sides were arguing fiercely, and just when Zhu Song was about to speak out to stop them, an incompatible voice rang out.
"I can prove it."
Everyone looked over and saw a man in a green robe in the rain. The person next to him was holding an umbrella for him. As the umbrella moved upwards, half of his gray face was revealed.
Half of his face was enough for Zhu Song to recognize him. Didn't he go to Suzhou to recuperate? Why was he here? Zhu Song was very surprised, but he didn't show it on his face. He just asked calmly, "What evidence do you have?"
The man replied, "I am the evidence."
If an ordinary person had said this, Yi Kangning would have definitely refuted it, but now his attention was completely focused on Zhu Song. He noticed that Zhu Song had been staring at the man, as if he was very special to him. Yi Kangning then took a closer look and was immediately stunned by his beauty. Although only half of his face was exposed, it was still stunning enough. No wonder Zhu Song couldn't take his eyes off him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
