Chapter 43 The Law-Abiding and Good-Citizen Su Family (5,000 words, please read and vote)
If you were to ask what the magistrate of Longcheng County was busy with during the period when grain prices soared before the Dragon Boat Festival, you would ask him.
Yan Liulang can immediately answer:
The magistrate was sightseeing and enjoying himself, while also taking advantage of the situation to freeload.
However, in the former case, in the words of the prefect himself, he was preoccupied with important matters, and sightseeing was just a side thing, yes, an appearance, just an appearance.
But no matter how Yan Liulang looked at it, it seemed that sightseeing and enjoying the scenery was the more important thing...
It's estimated that only the dull-witted Liu Ashan brothers, who followed behind, truly believed what the magistrate said.
In any case, in the past few days, Ouyang Rong took Yan Liulang and Liu Ashan on a tour of the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek.
From the ruins of the Di Gong Gate, which connects to the ancient Yunmeng Marsh upstream, to the confluence of the Butterfly Creek and the Yangtze River downstream, and along the dozen or so marshlands that have not yet fully receded, Ouyang Rong personally measured the entire route on foot.
Today, the three of them went to Donglin Temple on Dagushan Mountain again and found Abbot Shandao. However, this time it was not Abbot Shandao who gave them guidance, but the kind and amiable Magistrate Ouyang who gave Abbot Shandao guidance:
Therefore, both sides engaged in frank, in-depth, lengthy, and constructive communication regarding the disaster situation, and agreed that the dialogue was timely and beneficial, deepening mutual understanding between the county government and Donglin Temple. Magistrate Ouyang noted the abbot of Donglin Temple's statements and positive intentions regarding post-disaster reconstruction, and expressed high appreciation for this. Magistrate Ouyang pointed out…
Well, in the end, Master Shandao waved his hand and decided to renovate another old temple and take in a group of homeless disaster victims to cultivate the temple fields as tenants... Let the Buddha suffer a little more, and he will take the merit.
No one knew what the magistrate and the master had talked about. The young novice monk with white hair had never seen such a generous and magnanimous master. Perhaps this was the true meaning of the close relationship between officials and the people.
The young novice monk with flowing hair sighed, completely unaware that after the magistrate left, his master was rubbing his head and sighing, and hadn't gone to read the palms of the female benefactors and bodhisattvas that afternoon.
"Sir, there are still many things to do at the county office. Shouldn't we go back?"
Halfway up the mountain, Ouyang Rong stopped again, and together with Yan Liulang and Liu Ashan, they looked out at the scenery from a pavilion with a beautiful view and a plaque that read "Covering the Eyes". Yan Liulang couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"Look, this is our county town. This Butterfly Stream really does look like a butterfly's wing. The name is just right."
Ouyang Rong suddenly pointed to the stretch of green-tiled buildings below the mountain; Longcheng County had no city walls. When the Sui Dynasty conquered the Southern Chen Dynasty and unified the north and south, it ordered the demolition of the city walls of most of the prefectures and counties in the south; the county town was located on both sides of the Butterfly Creek, which meandered and had sails like clouds on the river. Further away, there was the vast Yangtze River flowing eastward, with a muddy yellow sandbar at the river mouth.
Yan Liulang interjected:
“Our Butterfly Stream is indeed a wonderful place. Its waters nourish hundreds of sword furnaces on the west bank. I’ve heard from the elders that once the red-hot swords taken from the furnaces are poured with water from the Butterfly Stream, they will hiss and emit blue smoke, making the swords of exceptional quality… Since the pre-Qin period, this stream has nurtured countless famous swords.”
Glancing at Ouyang Rong's profile as he listened intently, Liu Ashan, who had been silent all along, also spoke up: "I used to work as a shop assistant in a sword shop. I heard from the senior swordsmiths that the most amazing thing about Butterfly Creek is not its strategic location connecting Yunmeng Marsh and the Yangtze River, but that the creek has dragon energy and is one of the few places in the world where cauldron swords can be forged."
Seeing that the magistrate seemed interested, Yan Liulang chimed in:
"I heard that back then, before the previous dynasty, the Great Sui, unified the north and south, the last kingdom of Chen in the south used all its resources to forge the Ding Sword here. Unfortunately, the kingdom was destroyed by the Great Sui as soon as the sword was completed. Later, the mad emperor of the Sui dynasty exhausted the resources of the north and south again and built a furnace to forge the sword on the banks of Butterfly Creek. This time, the sword was not completed before the world fell into chaos and rebel armies rose up everywhere..."
"Later, Emperor Taizong cleaned up the mess. After establishing the country, he learned from his mistakes, focused on the people's well-being, and stopped forging those harmful things. The sword shops in Longcheng gradually declined until the Liu family reopened the Guyue Sword Shop."
Liu Ashan recalled, "An old swordsmith in the sword shop said that Butterfly Creek is a blessed place, but also a source of trouble."
"What is this cauldron sword you're talking about?" Ouyang Rong asked curiously.
Liu Ashan shook his head, "I don't know, it should be the most powerful sword. I heard that kings and generals all want to get their hands on it."
Yan Liulang chimed in, "Not only that, I've heard that cultivators both inside and outside the mortal world also want this thing. Some say that the struggle for the cauldrons during the Northern and Southern Dynasties was all about these cauldrons and swords."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, just like his junior sister's stories about mythical Daoist lineages and the Yunmeng Sword Marsh, he listened to them only as curious tales.
Returning to the matter at hand, the young magistrate turned to Liu Ashan and said:
"The old swordsmith was right. This Butterfly Creek is indeed the source of chaos. It not only nurtured a wicked 'willow' that sucks the marrow of the people, but it also became an accomplice to the floods in Dragon City."
“Every time Yunmengze floods, if the Digong Sluice Gate fails to hold it up, the Butterfly Creek overflows its banks and floods Longcheng County. This winding creek has absolutely no flood discharge capacity…”
Ouyang Rong gazed down the mountain.
As the magistrate of Longcheng County, his responsibilities during this flood included not only disaster relief but also flood control.
As for the latter, Ouyang Rong had spoken with Magistrate Diao when he first took office at the county government. However, at that time, he didn't even have enough grain for disaster relief, let alone for flood control. Magistrate Diao suggested that he go to the Liu family to "beg for food" and, like the previous officials, rebuild the Di Gong Sluice Gate to block the water from the Yunmeng Marsh upstream.
After all his efforts, he has managed to provide enough food for disaster relief, and with the mobilization of the entire county, the implementation of work-for-relief programs, and the organization of the Dragon Boat Festival celebrations, he is now able to feed the refugees outside the city.
Therefore, flood control has become the most urgent task at present.
He knew that the heaviest rainfall period of the plum rain season would arrive after the Dragon Boat Festival. At present, Longcheng County had no water conservancy projects at all. In front of Yunmengze, which is basin-like in shape and easily stores water during the rainy season, it was like not wearing underwear. Its size was completely exposed. It would be strange if the flood peak did not flood Longcheng.
Others, like Magistrate Diao, relied on the local chronicles and rhyming sayings to predict floods, such as "a major flood every four years," implying that since a major flood had already occurred this year, there wouldn't be another one...
Ouyang Rong had never encountered any supernatural forces in this world, so his education did not allow him to believe in rhymes; he could not deceive himself.
In the past few days, he visited the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek to understand the water conservancy situation.
The current situation is both simple and tricky.
Yunmengze, Butterfly Creek, and the Yangtze River can be seen as forming an "工" shape, with Butterfly Creek being the middle vertical line. Yunmengze can be seen as a reservoir covering thousands of square kilometers, the largest freshwater lake in Jiangnan Province. Its water mainly flows into the Yangtze River from this vertical line, and then flows eastward into the sea from the Yangtze River.
Right now, the "vertical line" that Ouyang Rong sees is crooked and twisted.
The most difficult waterways to discharge floodwaters are the winding waterways.
How can this water be treated?
Is it to continue repairing the Di Gong Gate, following the old path of the former Di Gongzi, and like the subsequent county magistrates, patching it up every four years?
The young county magistrate, who came to Longcheng to accumulate merit, asked himself a question.
Yan Liulang and Liu Ashan were both stunned after hearing Ouyang Rong's clear explanation in just a few words.
Yan Liulang pondered for a moment and tried to suggest, "How about we... widen the river?"
Ouyang Rong didn't nod. Yan Liulang realized something and muttered to himself with a worried look, "That won't work either. Even if we have the manpower, we don't have enough silver and grain to support this project."
Ouyang Rong stood up upon hearing this, lowered his eyes, and patted the dust off his clothes: "Who said there's no silver or grain? Hasn't the silver and grain for flood control already arrived?"
"Where is the silver and grain that you mentioned, sir?"
"Isn't it right down there? It came here on its own with legs."
Ouyang Rong pointed lightly to the county town below the mountain, then sat alone for a while, quietly watching the scenery below. He turned around first and said, "The view here is indeed expansive. Let's go, it's time to go back."
After the young magistrate stepped out of the pavilion, he turned and glanced at the plaque above it, muttering to himself:
"What a magnificent pavilion! It does not obstruct the view at all... As the saying goes, 'I am not afraid of the floating clouds that obscure my view, for I am standing at the highest point.'"
Having already made up his mind, he chuckled and went down the mountain to eat "meat".
...
Ouyang Rong never expected that he would be given a "meat" as soon as he returned to the county government office.
The county government hall.
"What? You're saying the Su family came to see me while I was away?" Ouyang Rong was somewhat baffled. "Which Su family? What did they want with me?"
He genuinely did not recall any family with the surname Su among the thirteen largest local gentry clans in Longcheng.
County Magistrate Diao shook his head. "That eldest son of the Su family said that he came to pay back taxes for his family. When the magistrate audited the accounts, they did some self-examination and found that there might be some ambiguous taxes that had not been paid, so they are now presenting them to the magistrate."
Ouyang Rong asked in surprise, "There are actually people who are thinking of our government and taking the initiative to fill in the gaps? Um, how much did they pay in back taxes?"
County Magistrate Diao swallowed hard. "One thousand taels of silver."
Ouyang Rong's eyelids twitched. "What kind of tax did they miss that they have to pay so much back?"
Magistrate Diao spread his hands and said, "I had my men check the Su family's accounts and found that they have paid their taxes on time every year without missing a penny."
"Then why don't you return the money?"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Diao's gaze towards Ouyang Rong became somewhat strange:
"But the eldest son of the Su family said that if there was no leakage, then the money should be donated to the county government and let the magistrate handle it himself. They only ask for a piece of writing brush and ink from the magistrate, and they can give it to him whenever he wants."
Ouyang Rong's lips twitched, and he got up to look at the huge sum of money on the table.
The table was wobbling a bit from being weighed down by the silver.
A thousand taels of silver! That's half the amount he coerced and bribed those tyrants and gentry into donating.
The young magistrate tossed the silver back onto the table, paced a few steps in the main hall with his hands behind his back, and couldn't help but turn back:
"Does our Longcheng County still have such law-abiding citizens?" he asked in surprise.
The main reason was that Ouyang Rong had long been disillusioned with the landlords and local tyrants in the county, or rather, he had never had any hope for them. These days, the battle of wits and courage had been more difficult than touching their souls when it came to matters of interest...
But now, suddenly, a pure and innocent woman has appeared, even more so than the most law-abiding citizens, leaving both men speechless and women in tears. How could he not be shocked?
Goodness, thinking about it this way, I almost teared up.
This wave, this wave is called PUA.
Ouyang Rong sighed.
County Magistrate Diao remembered something and added, "By the way, Your Excellency, the Plum Deer Garden where you and your aunt are currently living was also donated free of charge by the Su family."
Ouyang Rong was speechless.
Before long, Magistrate Diao left on official business, leaving a young magistrate standing alone in the main hall, facing a table full of gleaming silver.
He touched his chin.
"The Su family on Luming Street... is right next door? I remember my junior sister lived in that Su residence next door; she said it was her uncle's family... So, this Su family is an old friend of my master?"
Ouyang Rong put on his clothes and prepared to go out, but hesitated for a moment and then hung his official robes back up.
The person donated a thousand taels of silver under a pretext, only asking for a piece of calligraphy or painting from him. This had the air of a gentleman's friendship. If he were to visit them in person, it would seem a bit vulgar. Moreover, the Su family were his mentor's old friends, so he couldn't be too familiar with them and had to avoid suspicion.
Ouyang Rong nodded, noted the favor, and immediately sent someone to summon Yan Liulang.
He gestured with his chin toward the silver: "Take this to buy grain. Spend it all, don't leave any."
After a pause, the young magistrate smiled slightly embarrassedly: "Especially the newly opened rice shops on the street, we must take good care of their business."
"Here you go."
...
The first rays of dawn fell upon the bell tower atop Donglin Temple.
However, the gray-robed novice monk who went upstairs to ring the bell today was not paying attention to the bell at all, and kept looking absentmindedly towards Butterfly Creek below the mountain.
If an early-rising monk were to pass by at this moment, he would not pay any attention to it, because there would certainly be few offerings at the temple today, and the abbot would be leading a large group of monks down the mountain to preach at Penglangdu in the city.
Today is May 5th, which is the Dragon Boat Festival again.
Within Longcheng County.
Before dawn, the newly expanded ferry terminal was the first to come alive. Strong men, laborers, peddlers, servants, clerks, and vendors selling breakfast crowded the dock, setting up tables and ladders to hang decorations.
On Butterfly Creek, which has just been warmed by the morning sun, the most eye-catching sight right now is not the large ships transporting grain from other places, but the colorful dragon boats.
Looking down from the city, one can see that on the main streets, where the daylight has not yet fully illuminated, the heads of people emerging from various neighborhoods and alleys converge into a continuous stream of people, all flowing towards the Butterfly Creek ferry where the dragon boat races are held. Refugees from outside the city are also pouring into the city, and blue-clad constables patrol the streets and alleys to maintain order...
The Dragon Boat Festival, spearheaded by the Longcheng County Government, has finally begun.
It's only morning.
"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!"
On Luming Street, at the Longcheng County Government Office, the officials who had finished their reports were all heading out to the dock to watch the dragon boats. Only a certain resentful constable ran against the flow of people into the county government office, shouting as he caught up with an acquaintance and quickly asked:
"Zhao Silang, have you seen Magistrate Ming yet?"
“In the morning, some brothers went to deliver breakfast to the magistrate, it seems to be in the back residence.”
"It's so late. The dragon boat race is waiting for the magistrate to open. Why are you still in the inner quarters?"
Helpless, Yan Liulang pushed his way through the crowd and arrived at the abandoned county government compound, which had been destroyed by the flood.
As soon as he entered, he saw a young county magistrate wearing a blue robe bending over and fiddling with a strange "sand table" in the courtyard.
Yan Liulang thought that the thing in the courtyard should be called a sand table, because it looked a bit like a sand table used by the army to simulate the terrain and mountains. However, the one that Mingfu had set up was an enlarged version, filling the entire courtyard, and it also had simulated waterways with water sources connected to another well.
"Your Excellency, it's time to go out."
"oh."
Ouyang Rong responded without turning his head, squatted down by the pool to wash his dirty face and hands, then walked over and turned off the well pump.
The rapidly flowing "stream" in the huge "sand table" in the courtyard has stopped.
Yan Liulang fetched the official robes, unfolded them, and helped the young county magistrate put them on; during this time, the impetuous blue-clad constable couldn't help but glance at the strange "sand table" in the courtyard.
Ever since returning from his 'sightseeing' trip to Donglin Temple on Dagu Mountain, Mingfu has become obsessed with this thing.
He first asked Liu Ashan to find a lot of tools and materials, and then found a large courtyard in the back of the county government where no one would disturb him. He ate, drank and slept there, and spent two days working on it. Finally, he created this "sand table" in the courtyard.
Judging from the scenery, Yan Liulang felt it resembled the Butterfly Creek and Longcheng County terrain he had seen halfway up the mountain that day. However, upon closer inspection, there were some changes. Some of the winding river channels seemed to have straightened out, and some of the terrain seemed to have shifted...
Yan Liulang couldn't understand what was going on, but... that was normal. He thought that if he could understand the magistrate's thought process, he would be truly successful and wouldn't have to be this meddlesome head constable.
Yan Liulang sighed.
Ouyang Rong put on his official robes, bent down to adjust his cuffs, and asked as he left, "What's the price of grain now?"
"Your Excellency, it's been twenty coins a bushel for half a week now!"
"Well done."
Yan Liulang said modestly, "It is thanks to Your Excellency's excellent command."
"No, I mean those out-of-town grain merchants did a good job."
Yan Liulang: "..."
Ouyang Rong led Yan Liulang out of the county government office and boarded the carriage driven by Liu Ashan. After settling in, he smiled and explained:
"According to the information you brought back from the dock warehouse the day before yesterday, these out-of-town grain merchants have gathered at least 100,000 shi of grain in Longcheng. However, the price of grain is still maintained at 20 qian per dou. There has been no vicious competition among them. Among these out-of-town grain merchants, there must be some clever and shrewd people who are working together to sell grain in a tacit manner."
Yan Liulang suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
Ouyang Rong chuckled, "It seems they're not entirely unprepared; they're all shrewd people... This piece of meat is a little tough."
Yan Liulang tentatively asked, "Then today..."
"Everything is as usual. Let's go. This annual Dragon Boat Festival should be a good one for everyone in the city."
Ouyang Rong smiled and said, and Yan Liulang nodded.
At this moment, as if remembering something, the young magistrate asked again, "By the way, have you seen my junior sister recently?"
Yan Liulang pondered for a moment, "The last time I went home, I saw her coming out of Yuanming Tower on the street."
"Why would she go there for no reason? What could she possibly be doing there? Um, could it be that Junior Sister has a thing for women...?"
The young county magistrate frowned.
Yan Liulang hesitated, wanting to ask, "Miss Xie is so obvious, yet even the Prefect can't see it, neglecting his beautiful junior sister for several days. Could it be that she has a penchant for men?" The blue-clad constable, the only son in his family, couldn't help but shrink back.
Ouyang Rong was unaware that the atmosphere had suddenly become scorching. Before long, the carriage arrived at Penglangdu. He was the first to lift the curtain, and a wave of intense heat immediately hit him.
Hmm, it smells like savory rice dumplings...
My dear brothers... it's going to be released soon, I'm so nervous, sob sob, I feel like it's going to flop. Please keep an eye on the book these next few days... (bowing repeatedly!)
(End of this chapter)
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