Just then, something happened in Dengzhou, and it was something the Dengzhou prefect could no longer hide. After the report was submitted, the court was furious, and the Dengzhou prefect and the magistrates of the four counties under his jurisdiction were all dismissed and investigated. Xu Di and the other four were appointed to their posts in a time of crisis. However, due to the way the Ministry of Personnel issued the documents, the appointment documents for the five people were not issued at the same time. Xu Di was the first to receive the documents. After receiving the documents, he left with his family. At this time, it is estimated that the other four colleagues have not yet arrived.
Tong, the registrar, sighed and said, "Lord Xu, I also grew up in Dengzhou Prefecture, so I know that it's not easy for people living by the sea. Everyone says that those who live by the sea eat from the sea, but going out to sea is not so easy. Fishermen by the sea live a very hard life."
Xu Di nodded and said, "Lord Tong, I know that. I am now the magistrate of Penglai County. The people under my jurisdiction have suffered a disaster, so I must go and visit them. Lord Tong, I noticed that you looked worried just now. Is there something troubling you?"
After thinking for a moment, Tong, the registrar, said, "Lord Xu, the number of Japanese who landed this time was actually not large. If Lord Li had led the county officials and organized some militia, they could have driven the Japanese away. But Lord Li closed the city gates and let those Japanese run rampant on the beach."
At this point, Chief Clerk Tong looked resentful. Xu Di naturally knew that his predecessor, Lord Li, had closed the city gates, and the Japanese had even killed some unarmed people in front of the gates.
Xu Di said, "That was all done by my predecessor. I was sent by the imperial court to be the county magistrate in charge of this county. I can't keep taking the blame for Lord Li, can I?"
Registrar Tong shook his head and said, "Lord Xu, there's no need for that. But the people are very resentful of us officials right now. If you go now, wouldn't you just be adding fuel to the fire? Why don't we wait a while, until their emotions have calmed down a bit, and then we can go?"
Xu Di stood up and walked to the window. Under the governance of the previous Lord Li, the county government office of Penglai County was renovated and looked very nice. Not to mention the front of the county government office, all the places that needed to be painted were painted with brand new paint. As for the backyard of the county government office, the corridors and pillars were connected, and even the window frames were repainted with green paint.
In fact, many county magistrates are like this: they don't seek merit during their term of office, but only to avoid mistakes. After three years of evaluation, they rely on personal connections and bribery to get an excellent rating, and then try to go to the capital to become an official there.
Xu Di understood very well that if the prefectures and counties were well-governed, the country would be at peace. The county magistrate was in charge of the governance of a county, which meant he controlled the lives of the people in that area. Whether the people lived well, whether they had enough to eat, and whether they had spare money to buy what they wanted, ultimately depended on the county magistrate.
Xu Di shook his head, turned around, and said to Chief Clerk Tong, "Lord Tong, I understand what 'loving the people like one's own children' means. I don't care what those before me did; I'll just do my job well."
After thinking for a moment, Xu Di said to Registrar Tong, "Lord Tong, could you and Magistrate Yuan help me compile a list of the specific situations in the villages? I'll go myself. The weather is so cold. I heard that many houses have been burned down and it's difficult to rebuild. We must make sure that those displaced people have a place to live and can get through this cold winter."
After hearing Xu Di's words, Chief Clerk Tong said with some shame, "Lord Xu is right. We will do as Lord Xu arranges."
The next morning, Xu Di obtained information about the massacre in several villages along the coast.
The villages by the sea are all very small, and the people there generally make a living by fishing. Their lives are very hard. Xu Di looked around carefully and saw that not many people had survived in the villages. He couldn't help but sigh. He didn't even eat lunch before taking a few guards and riding to the seaside.
Several small fishing villages are scattered on the hills by the sea. Because of the disaster a few days ago, even though it was already time to cook, there was no smoke from the chimneys, and the village looked devoid of any signs of life.
Xu Di entered the nearest small village and saw that many houses had been burned down to their bare walls. The walls stood blackened and upright, with large gaps in them, as if they were crying out to the heavens about the injustice they had suffered.
Xu Di walked slowly along the village path until he reached the mountain behind the village.
Looking at the lifeless village, Xu Di felt very sad. According to the documents compiled by Magistrate Yuan, there should be survivors in this village. However, in this cold weather, not a single chimney in the entire village was smoking. Xu Di was a little anxious, as the temperature had been very low day and night for the past few days.
Xu Di saw a small figure coming down from the side of the mountain and entering a house. He quickly walked over and realized that the house was located on the outermost edge of the village. It had no courtyard wall, but only a half-person-high fence made of local sorghum stalks. It was probably the furthest from the sea. The house had not been burned down, and the door was tightly closed.
One of Xu Di's attendants quickly stepped forward to call for help. After a long while, a small figure pushed open the door and poked his head out, asking, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Xu Di said, "We're just passing through. Last time we passed through here, we bought some seafood, and we were thinking of buying some more this time."
After hearing this, the child turned around and said a few words to someone. After receiving permission, he pulled his padded jacket, which was showing through its cotton quilt, over his shoulder and came over to open the fence gate.
After Xu Di went inside, he stood in the courtyard and asked, "Where are your parents?"
The child's age and gender were indiscernible. He wore a black cotton hat and kept his head down. When Xu Di asked, he didn't raise his head and said, "Only my grandmother and I are left in the family. The rest were killed by the Japanese."
Upon hearing this, Xu Di asked, "What about the people in your village?"
The child finally looked up, his face blank, and said, "There are only about ten people left in our village: six children, plus my grandmother, and four adults."
Upon hearing this, Xu Di felt a lump in his throat, let out a sigh of relief, and asked, "What about your grandmother?"
The child said, "Grandma is sick and is lying on the kang (a heated brick bed)."
Upon hearing this, Xu Di quickly said, "Would it be convenient for us to go in and see your grandmother?"
The child nodded, opened the door, and invited Xu Di inside.
The room had small windows and a wooden door, so the light was poor. Xu Di felt dizzy for a while after entering, and it took him a while to adjust. He saw a stove with an iron pot on it as soon as he entered. Next to the stove was a low fire wall, and behind the fire wall, next to the window, was a kang (a heated brick bed).
The rest of the room was dark. Xu Di saw a person lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered with a quilt of indistinct color. He quickly went over and asked, "Grandpa, how are you feeling?"
The old man lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at Xu Di, and said weakly, "Are you here to buy dried fish? I have some salted fish drying in my backyard. If you don't mind, you can buy some."
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