Chapter 49 Brother Pei is angry
On the way from Bianjing to Jinzhou, they split into two groups. Pei Wu rushed back to Jinzhou first and sent people to collect grain along the way. Because he had to hurry, he returned to Jinzhou much faster than before, arriving in less than half a month.
Back in Jinzhou, Jiang Ru felt as if she had been transported to another world. All she could see was yellow sand. Jinzhou already had few trees, but now it was a desolate wasteland where plants had almost disappeared.
Unlike the lush greenery of modern times, trees were a scarce commodity in those backward times. Sometimes, even gathering firewood required a long journey, not to mention the devastation of droughts that stripped the trees bare from the mountains.
Jinzhou has suffered from drought for two seasons, with no harvest in the most important summer and autumn. Now, apart from a few wealthy households, the rest of the people are starving and emaciated. The poorest have become corpses by the roadside.
After Jiang Ru transmigrated, she experienced two famines. She was lucky to survive, but many others were unfortunate.
Before the long convoy even entered Jinzhou, many disaster victims gathered together. They walked slowly and unsteadily, but when they saw the food, they rushed forward as if they had seen hope, and just followed the convoy.
The drought was not limited to Jinzhou; several neighboring counties and villages were also affected. At this time, people from neighboring counties also entered Jinzhou territory one after another with the convoy.
Pei Wu had previously sent documents to various counties, instructing them to compile statistics on the disaster situation. Upon entering the Jinzhou government office, the Jinzhou prefectural magistrate and other officials were already lined up to wait. As soon as Pei Wu alighted from his carriage, several officials in official robes hurriedly came to greet him.
Pei Wu had met these men before during the provincial examination, when he was still a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination). Now their positions had reversed, and the officials bowed and scraped before Pei Wu, who remained unfazed. As soon as he got off his carriage, he reached out to them and said, "Disaster report."
Pei Wu was transferred here. The original prefect was transferred due to poor performance, and now only the sub-prefect remains.
It was only after the prefect Wang Zuolin belatedly realized that he had sent someone to present the document. Pei Wu's expression turned cold, but Wang Zuolin did not understand and just kept trying to please him: "Lord Pei, you have been traveling a long way and are tired. I have already prepared a banquet to welcome you back and wash away the dust of your journey."
This time, Pei Wu finally turned his gaze to his face. Wang Zuolin thought he had a chance, but Pei Wu's voice deepened: "Lord Wang, if you were smart, you would have prepared the documents well in advance and presented them to me as soon as I arrived, instead of holding a banquet to wait for me."
Wang Zuolin's face stiffened, and he said in a fearful tone that he had failed in his duties, but Pei Wu ignored him.
Not long after, Jiang Ru ran out of the government office. The clerk who was ordered to fetch the documents was slow. She had run ahead of him earlier. She had run so fast that she was still a little out of breath when she stopped. She handed the documents to Pei Wu: "Here you go."
Pei Wu took the document, glanced through it, and frowned. It was too chaotic; it was as if nothing had been compiled, and the necessary data was missing.
Pei Wu made a list and sent people back to compile the statistics, which should be completed in one day at most.
Immediately afterwards, Pei Wu issued another order, exempting all grain merchants traveling to and from Jinzhou from taxes, and transferring grain to many other places. At the same time, he called on wealthy merchants to donate grain. For a time, the clerks coming and going in the Jinzhou government office did not stop working. They were busy until night, and the Jinzhou government office was still brightly lit.
The disaster situation reports from various counties have been placed on Pei Wu's desk. They didn't bring much grain, so they could only use the grain from the state granary for a while, which would last them some time.
Once the grain supplies from various regions arrive, things will be much easier.
Pei Wu had already prepared for the drought to last a long time, and now he could only stockpile as much grain and charcoal as possible, otherwise many people would probably freeze to death when winter came.
It was past midnight when Jiang Ru pushed open his door. She had been running around all day, mostly visiting nearby villages. If she encountered a place in dire straits, she would give them some food first, and then distribute the rest tomorrow so that the disaster situation could gradually ease.
She was so busy running around that she only had a couple of sips of thin porridge for lunch. Pei Wu was even worse off; he didn't eat anything at all.
The porridge that the constables had brought to him that day was still on his table. Because of Pei Wu's impressive display of power when he first arrived, the constables in this area no longer dared to serve him any fancy dishes; all that was left on his table was a bowl of plain porridge.
Jiang Ru was exhausted from her work and took a nap after returning home. However, Pei Wu was still busy. She rubbed her eyes and asked Pei Wu, "What time are you leaving tomorrow morning?"
Pei Wu said, "It's past the hour of Yin."
He'll wake up in less than two hours. If he's already pushing himself like this right after arriving, won't he exhaust himself in a couple of days?
Jiang Ru sighed: "You can't rush things. Even if I ask you to go out and work right now, you won't be able to do anything. Go to sleep first."
Given Pei Wu's health, he would definitely collapse after a few days of this.
Seeing that Pei Wu was outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, saying he would go to sleep immediately while his hands were still writing furiously, Jiang Ru helplessly stepped forward and placed the bowl of porridge in front of Pei Wu.
She said, "If you don't eat, I'll feed you."
Pei Wu nodded again, almost subconsciously.
Jiang Ru picked up a spoon and fed him a spoonful of porridge.
Pei Wu looked up in surprise, a little porridge still on his lips. He pursed his lips, hastily looked away, and quickly picked up the bowl and gulped down the porridge.
After finishing his porridge, Pei Wu told Jiang Ru, "You go to sleep first, I'll go later."
Jiang Ru was silent for a moment, then sat down next to Pei Wu: "Never mind, I've had enough sleep, let me help you."
There's a lot to tally and count, including the population and households in every county and village, as well as the distribution of grain; it's really not something that can be done in a short time.
The two worked quickly and methodically, managing to handle the emergency before finally being able to catch their breath.
Both of them were full of energy, not sleepy at all, and stayed up all night to arrange the distribution of food and personnel, and to prepare the orders to be issued the next day. It was just getting light outside.
After getting up in the morning, the grain carts escorted by the state government had already been transported to various counties and villages. Pei Wu stipulated the amount of grain each person would receive. The initial distribution of grain was not much to avoid false reporting. Pei Wu would have to visit various places in the next few days. If the data reported from below was accurate, then the distribution of grain could continue.
Jiang Ru and Pei Wu split up into two groups. She took Pei Wu's fish tally, which allowed her to represent Pei Wu, and the officers and soldiers below would obey her orders.
Pei Wu didn't trust many people. The local officials in Jinzhou were incompetent and always incompetent, so Pei Wu couldn't trust them. Fortunately, the errand runners who came with him were specially selected by the Prime Minister's Office, and they were all capable people.
Jiang Ru had traveled through several villages in half a day. When she reached the official road shared by the neighboring Junzhou, several men suddenly jumped out from the hillside. They were all carrying large knives, their faces covered, and they were dressed in tattered clothes. They said menacingly, "Robbery!"
Jiang Ru glanced at the official flag on the carriage, then at the grain loaded on the back, and couldn't understand whether these bandits had lost their minds.
They even dared to stop government vehicles.
Jiang Ru sat on a small pile of grain. She stood up and gestured to the soldiers behind her. The soldiers stepped forward and quickly subdued the thieves.
Although the leader of these bandits was thin and not very tall, he was extremely difficult to deal with, and several soldiers almost couldn't subdue him.
The soldiers originally only wanted to capture him alive, but when they saw that things were not going well, they took out their knives to cut him. However, the boy nimbly dodged, and in the struggle, the square scarf covering his face was knocked off.
The bandit kicked a soldier nearly twice his size, knocking him to the ground. It was at this moment that Jiang Ru saw the bandit leader's face clearly.
Jiang Ru stared in shock, her voice almost cracking: "Zhang Xingjun!"
The bandit she called Zhang Xingjun was stunned. He was about to slash at him with his knife, but he rolled on the ground a few times and dodged it.
Jiang Ru quickly said, "Stop! Stop!"
Although the soldiers were puzzled, they stopped.
Jiang Ru jumped off the carriage and walked quickly to the bandit. Yes, it was the same face.
It had been almost a year since I last saw Zhang Xingjun. He had grown taller, but his face hadn't changed much. He had just become too thin, and his eyes looked fierce, but they became clear again when he saw Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru raised her hand and gave him a hard punch on the head: "Are you sick? Why are you trying to be a non-mainstream bandit? How old are you? Do you know that being a bandit will get you arrested and thrown in jail?"
However, Zhang Xingjun seemed completely oblivious, stubbornly turning his eyes away: "The court doesn't care about us, we can't afford to eat, Jingjing is almost dead, so we have no choice but to rob, at least we won't starve to death."
Jiang Ru glanced at the soldiers behind her, who pretended not to hear her. Jiang Ru punched one of them again: "You say the imperial court doesn't care, then what are we here for?"
Jiang Ru pointed at the flag on the carriage, almost laughing in exasperation: "Look at it yourself, can't you recognize the character for 'official' on it? You've forgotten everything your brother Pei taught you."
Zhang Xingjun seemed to realize at this moment that Jiang Ru and the others had been sent by the imperial court. He stared at the carriage in astonishment, but he simply explained, "I have no other choice. If we run out of food, no one will survive."
Jiang Ru and her group arrived too late. After arriving in Jinzhou, Jiang Ru specifically asked the soldiers who went to Muxi Village to register their information to inquire about the situation. The news she received was all good, so she was relieved and did not go back to Muxi Village to check.
As a result, she unexpectedly found a "surprise" here.
Jiang Ru covered her face helplessly: "What did you manage to rob?"
Zhang Xingjun nodded: "I intercepted some rice a few days ago and have already sent it home."
Jiang Ru quickly covered his mouth. She couldn't bear to think about how long Zhang Xingjun would have to stay in jail for what he had done. The minimum age for committing a crime in Daxia was ten, and Zhang Xingjun was well over that age.
This section of the official road is half a day's journey from Muxi Village. Zhang Xingjun is quite something, managing to get here.
Jiang Ru glared at him a few times, but Zhang Xingjun broke free from her grasp and said, "I don't rob the poor, I only rob the rich. Besides, I told them that they can come to me after the drought is over, and I will pay them back."
Jiang Ru: "...I still want to praise you."
Seeing that Zhang Xingjun was about to speak, Jiang Ru pointed at him and told him to shut up before telling him, "I'm telling you now, the imperial court has sent people here, we've also transported grain over, and the support has already been sent to your home, so you can rest assured."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingjun's expression brightened, and he immediately pressed his advantage: "Then can you release them all? They only followed me because they had nowhere else to go."
Jiang Ru glanced around and saw two from Muxi Village and two others she didn't recognize. They all looked quite young and were as thin as monkeys due to malnutrition. Jiang Ru gave a wink to the soldiers behind her, and they stepped forward to untie them.
After the group was released, Zhang Xingjun continued to emphasize to Jiang Ru, "Trust me, I have already written down the names of the people who were robbed, and I will definitely repay them in the future."
Jiang Ru: "It's no use saying anything now. I'll just tell you one thing: you're finished."
Zhang Xingjun asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with me?"
Jiang Ru continued, "Your brother Pei is here too. I will tell him everything you did today. You'd better think it over and be prepared to face your brother Pei's wrath."
Zhang Xingjun was worried for a moment, but soon he straightened his head and said, "Brother Pei won't blame me. If he knew that I was desperate, he definitely wouldn't blame me."
In truth, Jiang Ru couldn't blame him too much. He was just trying to survive; he hadn't killed or set fires. The court didn't care, so she didn't blame him for going astray.
But in truth, that's not right.
Jiang Ru said, "You must come with us to visit all these villages. We'll be returning to the government office in a couple of days. If you come with us, you'll be able to see your brother Pei."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingjun's expression turned slightly guilty. He took a few steps back and said, "I'd better go home first before seeing Brother Pei. Jingjing is still lying in bed."
As Zhang Xingjun spoke, he ran back a few steps and waved to Jiang Ru, saying, "Goodbye."
Jiang Ru sighed, "Go ahead, the grain should be delivered to your house soon, you won't go hungry."
Jiang Ru watched his retreating figure, thought for a moment, and then said, "Remember to come to the government office to find us after the situation stabilizes."
After saying this, Zhang Xingjun was so frightened that he stumbled and almost fell.
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Author's note: The Jinzhou chapter may not be very long.
And, the second update will be at midnight, while the first update will be at a fixed time.
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