Chapter 47
In fact, there is no need to say much. Just by looking at their expressions, you can tell who is guilty, who is angry or confused.
Although Wen Yi brought a small number of people this time, he still had a few guys who could take over most of the affairs. Naturally, the new things he brought couldn't be handed over to these people.
I thought someone would raise objections or do something extreme. Wen Yi even grabbed a dagger in advance, but I didn't expect him to be taken away so calmly. The person in charge even looked much more relaxed, giving people the feeling that this was exactly what he wanted.
"Let's count the items first. Arrange people to go to those outside the city that can be salvaged. Those that can't be salvaged will be turned over to the soil and replanted with those that mature quickly."
We can’t catch up in the autumn harvest, but we can still harvest those fast-growing vegetables. Combined with other foods, at least the winter will be better.
"Also, find a few more people to go with you from the treasury and take the account books with you to check." Wen Yi handed over a copy of one of the documents. "Record any anomalies and report them to us when we're done."
Several people responded and turned to walk out.
*
In addition to Wenyi, several places such as Xinyi also made some arrangements based on the different disaster conditions.
Song Jin also knew that Wen Yi had encountered some problems and would not be back in the near future. Most of these things were summarized to her. After all, Pingyi was a relatively central city, so it would be convenient to spread information.
"Both of them ran away and left this stall to me."
Song Jin was naturally referring to Wen Yi and Yao Wenjun, but she also seemed to be enjoying it somewhat, so when others heard her, they just smiled and were mostly busy with their own things.
He Xuan would be at the academy most of the time, but today he came to the affairs office, which was rare, and it seemed that he had something to discuss with Sang Yu.
Hearing Song Jin's words, He Xuan also laughed, "It's hard work."
This wasn't a polite remark; when the locusts attacked, these people had stood in the most dangerous places. In an era when famine was a common occurrence, this was already considered an innovation, but Wen Yi and the others were still dealing with the aftermath, and no one seemed to realize what this meant.
However, after thinking about the various things in Pingyi, He Xuan felt relieved again. He thought that the purpose of these little guys would not be limited to those small things, so he let these idle people be responsible for recording and disseminating these things.
After the cost of paper production decreased, many storybooks quietly appeared in places that originally only sold serious books.
Although the content seemed a bit simple to Wen Yi, and was mostly limited to anecdotes, mixed with some even contradictory mythological stories, and although it could not stand up to verification, it was a great way to kill time.
Even Wen Yi would be drawn to some of these stories, let alone those who rarely encountered them. In the past, these stories were mostly passed down orally, with one story being told over and over again for years, a rare occurrence, as most people still prioritized agriculture and sericulture.
The pressure of survival is not that great nowadays. Although we still need to work, there is always free time every day to get together to chat and rest.
Many people heard about this and thought that the price was not high and buying a copy could help them pass the time while working outside during the day. A little bit of money added up and it turned out to be quite a lot of money.
There are even some simple paintings that are not sold at a high price. They soon become the favorite and cherished things of children, and are ranked alongside building blocks of different materials as the most popular toys in Pingyi.
Inspired by these, Wen Yi simply asked people to make more common educational toys that he remembered, and they sold well.
Song Jin was holding a wooden ball in his hand. It was made of four pieces of wood of different shapes. There were pictures carved on the surface, and it was quite relaxing when pressed.
"Let Wenjun make her own arrangements, and Xinyi will do as it did in previous years." Song Jin thought of Wenyi. "Oh, check the accounts carefully. Inquire with all the caravans returning from those cities. If there are any discrepancies, hold off until someone investigates."
After checking, it was found that some places had over-reported or concealed the data, but the number was very small. There were also a few places where the data were missed or erroneous during registration or transcription.
After Wen Yi found out the truth, he called the city's chief over, looked at the man carefully, and said with some disbelief:
"So, your so-called brother sent you a letter asking you to give up your position to him, and you actually replied agreeing?"
The person in charge lowered his head and whispered something, but Wen Yi didn't hear it clearly.
This man was not taken seriously at home at first, but he also studied some books and left early to seek a living. He originally sought a position as a counselor to help with some miscellaneous matters. After being conquered by Yao Wenjun and others, he passed the assessment. This year, after his predecessor left, he took the position of the head of the city.
But this also brought disaster. His family members found out from somewhere that he was now the head of the city, and immediately sent him several letters. At first, they were quite kind, but when they saw that he had no intention of giving them any benefits, they threatened him and said all kinds of bad things.
They even sent a few managers to urge them over.
Under various psychological pressures, even though he tried his best to deploy according to the strategy issued by Wen Yi, there were still some obstacles. In addition, the insect plague here was originally more serious, with more insects than in other cities, which led to such consequences.
Although I have been away from home for many years, the fear of my childhood seems to have never left.
What he has been hearing since he was a child is "Don't compete with your elder brother" and "Recognize your own identity and status". He always assumes that the best things belong to his elder brother. Over time, without him noticing, those words that he originally disagreed with have become a part of himself.
But the experiences during this period eventually planted some different seeds in his heart. People around him who knew about his family affairs were angry at him for not fighting for it, and finally came up with such a bad idea.
In recent years, he realized that since his city had suffered such a huge loss, Pingyi would definitely send people over. However, he did not expect that Wen Yi would come in person. This was not a good thing for him, but he felt relieved.
The stewards sent by the families were immediately detained by the soldiers brought by Wen Yi. Naturally, those people could not withstand the questioning, or they did not think that there was anything wrong with their behavior. The results were soon summarized in Wen Yi's hands.
Wen Yi pressed his aching forehead and didn't know what to say for a moment.
She couldn't understand what had happened that would make such a capable person give up on himself.
But no matter what his reasons were, the unnecessary losses were ultimately caused by him, and he must bear the consequences.
"Take him away. If the rest of the people have no other faults, they will be dealt with according to the regulations."
Aside from this chief, the rest were fined a month's salary at most. Everyone else accepted the punishment, but they also pleaded for mercy on behalf of the chief. While this man was somewhat confused about family matters, he was highly capable in public affairs and fair in his rewards and punishments.
Many people in the city also think that this person in charge is very good, which makes things a bit difficult.
Moreover, Wen Yi had never thought that such a thing could happen before.
Yao Wenjun, Song Jin and others are all very opinionated. Over time, Wen Yi also thought that people who can leave their familiar places and venture out will generally not be bound by others and can stick to their own ideas. Even if they stand in opposition to their former relatives and friends, they can still stick to their own ideas and not waver.
But this incident made her realize that her previous thinking was a bit simple.
Many people will change for social reasons or for the sake of their loved ones. When doubts mount, they may even question whether their actions are truly right, and their actions may become inconsistent. Even if this type of person is extremely talented, they cannot truly serve as the ruler of a relatively independent city.
It's like once a rule is determined, it can't be changed frequently, or it can't be implemented without any advance notice. Even if there is no impact for the time being, subordinates will have more uncertainty in their hearts. They will always leave some room for maneuver in the next things and will not be so dedicated, because they don't know whether it will be changed, so they always have to leave some way out.
This was not something that could be resolved in a short time. Wen Yi thought of Song Jin's cousin, who was very independent and capable. However, there were no vacancies elsewhere recently, so she stayed in the academy. Now it seemed that such a person was exactly what was needed here.
Thinking of this, Wen Yi immediately wrote a letter, asking him to let the man come over first if there was no accident.
"I will make meritorious contributions while serving my sentence. Someone will take over the position of head of this place in a few days. We will settle the accounts when this storm is completely over."
Without status, there is naturally no salary, and one has to survive under other people. Perhaps many people cannot accept this, but the former leader was really relieved. After paying a solemn salute, he left the house and was taken back by the soldiers.
Those relatives were not within their sphere of influence, and there was no way to deal with them in a short period of time, which made Wen Yi somewhat unhappy. It was really annoying that such a good person was dragged down like this.
But soon her attention was drawn to other things.
According to the news brought back by the caravan, the situation further south is not very good.
The leaves of vegetation were gnawed by locusts, and the roots were dug up and eaten by the already hungry refugees. The bark and other things were also food. Even the caravan was nearly surrounded by guards from other cities and could not return. They only managed to return safely after opening the carriage frames to show that there was no food inside.
Of course, some of the reasons are due to the current military strength of Yao Wenjun and Wen Yi, but these do not need to be written on paper.
Because of their proper blocking, the grasslands in the north did not suffer much damage. In recent years, Yao Wenjun and Nan Xun would fight from time to time. The originally united barbarians were divided into many small tribes, which could no longer pose a threat to Xinyi and Pingyi, but they could exchange them for some food.
In addition to the information collected by the caravan, Wen Yi also had in his hands several documents that the city lords had asked the caravan to bring, which were supposedly for the purpose of making friends but were actually for surrender.
Of course, if you want to gain control of these people's territory, you have to promise them sufficient benefits. However, many areas have been severely affected by the disaster, so there is still some room for negotiation.
After careful consideration, Wen Yi put aside those that were not excessive and marked them on the map; while some that seemed excessive were crossed out, as a reference for the subsequent expansion of power.
After reading several letters, Wen Yi felt a little better.
Not only are there several more cities that can be taken without expending military force, but the nearest city that needs to be attacked happens to be where the family of the former leader is.
"That's...great." She put down the pen.
Hearing Wen Yi's voice, the guys in the office who had been fined their salaries but had come back to handle business pricked up their ears, but they didn't dare to ask. They just felt a little itchy in their hearts and were very curious about what could make Wen Yi so happy.
But no one will ask.
Before Song Jin's cousin came, Wen Yi temporarily took the position of head in the affairs office and helped to handle things every day.
Compared with the documents collected from Pingyi, the affairs of this small city are really easy to handle, and there is still a lot of time every day to check the letters sent by Song Jin, Yao Wenjun and others.
This made many people in the Affairs Office speed up the process silently. It was impossible for Wen Yi to complete the work summarized by several people very quickly, while their review was even slower than the processing, which would make it seem too inefficient.
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