"Listen to my advice, giving timely assistance is worse than icing on the cake. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the Zhou family, right?"
Chen Song waved his hand and said, "Go back and don't mention this matter anymore."
"Even for the sake of the common people, I have to go to Lanzhou."
"Come back." Chen Song shouted, "Why are you so stubborn, kid? You're so stubborn that you won't do anything that's not profitable. I'm confused as to why I accepted such a fool like you!"
Chen Song was truly regretful. "Forget it, forget it. I'll go talk to Old Li. Forget about the position of Imperial Envoy. Just be his assistant."
Zhou Siheng's eyebrows lit up when he heard this, and he bowed with his head raised. Chen Song quickly supported him and said, "This is just this once, and it won't happen again."
"Yes, the students remember it."
Chen Song warned: "Once the disaster is over, return immediately, understand?"
Zhou Siheng nodded. "The students understand."
Two days later, the imperial edict came down, and Zhou Siheng finally got his wish and became the assistant of the imperial commissioner Qian Huai. He rushed to Lanzhou along with the disaster relief supplies.
Peking is thousands of kilometers away from Lanzhou, and it took a month to travel by horseback.
After arriving in Lanzhou City, Qian Huai and others revealed their identities and were led into the city by the local city guards.
It was winter now, and the weather was even colder than in Beijing.
Qian Huai wrapped his fox fur cloak tightly around him and drew aside the curtain to observe what was happening in Lanzhou City.
The severe drought caused the people to have no harvest, and the weather was so cold that it would be difficult to survive the winter without cold-resistant clothing and medicine.
After traveling westward, Qian Huai discovered that not only Lanzhou was suffering from drought, but the entire northwest was affected.
Displaced, the victims lived a life of hunger and starvation. No matter how much manpower and material resources were invested, the situation could not be changed.
Qian Huai looked at Zhou Siheng and said, "Come with me to the government office to visit the county magistrate first. We can discuss other matters after we understand the specific situation."
"good."
Along the way, Zhou Siheng found that the disaster was not as serious as he had imagined.
Porridge was distributed regularly at the city gate, and ragged refugees lined up in an orderly manner to receive the porridge. There was no crowding and no one talked loudly.
After finishing their porridge, the refugees would go out in groups of two or three to repair the city walls, or line up to wait for the guards to assign them work. Even the weaker ones did not give up, and everything was arranged perfectly.
"arrive."
Qian Huai and Zhou Shiheng got off the carriage one after another. The local county magistrate Zhang Xin was already waiting at the gate of the county government office.
Seeing Qian Huai was as happy as seeing his own father. He pulled Qian Huai and said, "I have been waiting for Lord Qian like a long drought waiting for rain. I have been waiting day and night for you and finally you have come."
This almost stunned Qian Huaigan. After greeting Zhang Xin, he asked, "Master Zhang, what is the current situation in Lanzhou City?"
"They said inside, someone come and prepare tea."
Zhang Xin held Qian Huai's hand and complained incessantly about the lack of money and grain in the court. No matter how much money was poured in, there was no effect. The grain had been distributed before it lasted even seven days. Zhang Xin wrote memorial after memorial, but still no money or grain was delivered.
Meeting Qian Huai now is not like meeting his biological father. At least Qian Huai's arrival can temporarily solve Zhang Xin's urgent problem outside the city.
Zhang Xinxing looked at Qian Huai and asked, "Have you brought the food and fodder?"
"Three more days."
"Ah." Zhang Xin sighed heavily and said, "Come here, go and invite the King of Qin to come over for a chat."
Qian Huai was stunned. "King Qin?"
"If the King of Qin had not come to my rescue, I would have lost my official hat."
Qian Huai was a little surprised. "Oh? What did the King of Qin do?"
"The King of Qin donated all his property. It was because of his leadership that I was able to collect a large amount of grain from the local wealthy families, but it's still not enough!"
Zhou Siheng was also shocked when he heard that King Qin had donated all his property. Not everyone has the courage to donate all his wealth.
Zhou Siheng asked, "May I ask, Master Zhang, was the resettlement of the refugees outside the city also arranged by the King of Qin?"
"Isn't it?" Zhang Xin then turned his attention to Zhou Siheng and asked, "Who is this?"
Zhou Siheng saluted. "I'm Zhou Siheng, temporarily serving as a Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works. I'm assisting Lord Qian with disaster relief efforts."
"I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Zhou. He's really accomplished at a young age."
Zhang Xin complimented him, and the tea server arrived. "I don't have any good tea to serve you, so I'm sorry to bother you two."
Qian Huai smiled and said, "Master Zhang, you are too polite. I am new here and I hope that Master Zhang can speak up for me and explain the details of the disaster area in detail."
"I understand." Zhang Xin waved at Master Bai, who leaned closer to listen. Zhang Xin whispered a few words to him. Within half a cup of tea, Master Bai had his subordinates bring all the accounts and registers in the city. "Master Qian, please take a look first. If there's anything you don't understand, please let me know. I'll be happy to tell you everything I know."
"Thank you." Qian Huai carefully looked through the account books and found that all the expenses and income were well documented. He picked up a few and showed them to Zhou Siheng, who said, "That's right."
Zhang Xin looked up, a sense of pride rising. "Please take a closer look. If there's anything wrong, I'll arrange for someone to conduct a thorough investigation. However, checking Lanzhou City's accounts for the month will probably take quite a while. If Lord Qian isn't in a hurry, we'll wait until the disaster relief effort is over before conducting a thorough investigation."
"Then you underestimate my brother." Qian Huai pointed at Zhou Siheng and said, "Just give him ten days and he will definitely finish reviewing all the accounts."
Zhang Xin laughed and said, "Your Excellency, you must be joking. I'm not exaggerating, but the warehouse currently has over 3,000 account books. Ten days might not be enough. Brother Zhou, you should spend some time to check them thoroughly. If there are any mistakes, they can be reconciled, right?"
"That's enough." Zhou Siheng said, "I'll leave this matter to you. If there's anything wrong, I'll come and have a proper discussion with Master Zhang."
"Then I will wait patiently for good news. Come, send the two adults back to rest first. We can discuss other matters later."
"yes."
After lunch, Zhou Siheng was brought to the main hall of the Zhang family's private residence. Before he could even take a seat, a servant announced, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin has arrived."
He stood up straight, looking eagerly. He saw a figure approaching from the corridor, draped in a white fox fur cloak, moving with a swift, wind-like pace. Outside, a cold wind blew, and snowflakes began to fall without him noticing. The snowflakes scattered down on him, adding a touch of loneliness to his mood.
After not seeing him for a month, Xie Yunqi looked less handsome and more mature. His eyebrows and eyes were full of depth, and I couldn't bear to look away after looking at him for a while.
Only when he got closer did Zhou Siheng suddenly wake up from a dream and hurriedly bowed. "Your humble servant greets the King of Qin. May His Highness live a long and healthy life."
"No need to be polite." Xu Jing said, "I hope Jingxuan is well."
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