When Wu Ge and others arrived in Haizhou, the prefect of Haizhou, Han Tiexin, and the people from the government office hurried out to greet them.
"General Wu, I have heard of your great name for a long time. After seeing you today, I can see that your reputation is well-deserved!" Han Tiexin started to flatter him as soon as they met.
Wu Ge smiled slightly and said, "I wonder what reputation Lord Han has heard of this general?"
"Alas, General Wu is a favorite of Your Majesty. He also led the Imperial Guards to conquer the Jin Dynasty and is said to have saved Your Majesty's life. These stories have become legendary and will surely be recorded in history."
It had to be said that Han Tiexin was quite good at flattering others. Wu Ge could only smile and say, "Master Han, you are too kind. I think Master Han has been very virtuous in keeping the region peaceful. It is said that taxes in Haizhou have not been reduced, and I heard that the imperial court has already appointed Master Han to be transferred to Xuzhou as the prefect of Xuzhou. This is even more cause for celebration!"
Unexpectedly, Han Tiexin's face paled, and he sighed, "General Wu, I was originally planning to be transferred to Xuzhou. Now, the Privy Council has even issued a transfer order. But Haizhou is facing a severe drought, and the people are suffering. The court had no choice but to allow me to remain in office. Alas, it brings tears to my eyes just to talk about it."
"Sir Han, this general has come here to provide disaster relief on the orders of the emperor. Let's not beat around the bush. Has the 40,000 dan of disaster relief grain allocated by the court arrived in Haizhou?" Wu Ge went straight to the point.
Han Tiexin looked embarrassed: "This, this..."
Wu Ge looked at him straight in the eyes: "Master Han, please speak frankly!"
Han Tiexin made a gesture of invitation: "Please come into General Wu's mansion to talk!"
Wu Ge nodded and brought his guards to the Haizhou government office. He saw a few people sitting in the hall, including Liu Yu, the grain transport envoy. He couldn't help but feel a little angry. Liu Yu was so arrogant. He didn't even come out to greet him, but instead sat in the mansion, casually drinking tea.
Liu Yu stood up and said, "General Wu, I am honored to meet you. I'm sorry I can't go out to greet you."
Wu Ge then saw clearly that Liu Yu's foot was bandaged, so he asked in surprise, "Master Liu, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Yu said with a bitter face: "General Wu, our grain transport team was ambushed by bandits in Yishui. All the grain was stolen by the bandits."
Han Tiexin also echoed, "Yes, Lord Liu was slashed on the left leg by bandits while trying to protect the grain, so he couldn't go out to greet General Wu."
Wu Ge sneered, "Master Liu, you lost the relief grain, which is a capital crime. Where did these bandits come from in Yishui? Besides, that bandit was so powerful that he could even rob the escort team carrying 40,000 dan of relief grain!"
Han Tiexin swung his sleeves and said, "Hey, General Wu, please listen to what Lord Liu has to say first."
Liu Yu continued, "Even if I lose my life, I will ensure that there is no shortage of food. This bandit group is very fierce, so for safety reasons, I had no choice but to bring 20,000 dan of grain to Haizhou. I only arrived here the day before yesterday. The remaining 20,000 dan of grain will arrive in about half a month."
Wu Ge nodded. "Lord Liu, you're incredibly quick. The several thousand dan of grain I reorganized from the capital arrived almost two months later than you did, and yet you only arrived two days earlier. Don't you understand that disaster relief is like putting out a fire?"
Liu Yu slammed the table and said, "You! I told you we encountered bandits in Yishui, that's why we're late."
Wu Ge ignored him and turned to Han Tiexin and asked, "Master Han, since the relief grain has arrived in Haizhou, can you register the victims and start distributing it?"
Han Tiexin smiled and said, "Don't worry, General Wu. The government office is registering them one by one."
Wu Ge held back his breath and said, "I wonder how long this registration will take?"
"Well," Han Tiexin thought for a moment, "it will probably take at least a month."
"One month!" Wu Ge looked at him coldly. "I wonder how many victims will starve to death in Haizhou this month? What kind of registration are you doing that still takes a month? Why can't you first centrally house the victims and distribute them while registering them? Also, when I entered the city, I noticed why you didn't set up soup kitchens to provide relief to the victims?"
Han Tiexin was speechless: "This, this..." He looked at Liu Yu.
Liu Yu sat down again and said, "General Wu, I am the grain transport envoy appointed by His Majesty. I will handle the disaster relief work in Haizhou. As for the centralized resettlement of the disaster victims you mentioned, I will consider it!"
"Good!" Wu Ge clasped his fists and said, "This general is also the grain transport envoy sent by His Majesty. This time, I have also brought 4,000 dan of grain. Tomorrow, I will set up a porridge stall in the city!"
Liu Yu touched the teacup on the table and said sarcastically, "General Wu is so arrogant! The grain sent by the court must be registered one by one before being distributed to the victims. General Wu set up a porridge stall privately without registering the names or making a list. Aren't you afraid that the rice porridge will be snatched away?"
"Don't worry about that, Lord Liu! Goodbye!" Wu Ge snorted coldly and walked out with a wave of his sleeves.
Han Tiexin was panicking: "Lord Liu, Wu Ge is not easy to deal with. He wants to open a soup kitchen. When the disaster victims gather here, he will report the situation here to His Majesty. Are we afraid?"
Liu Yu put down his teacup and said, "What are you afraid of? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Your Majesty can't grow wings and fly to Haizhou. As long as we hold our ground, we won't be afraid of him."
"But what if Wu Ge goes to the granary to check the disaster relief grain? We don't have 40,000 dan of grain!" Han Tiexin asked anxiously.
Liu Yu thought for a moment and said, "I've already sent a pigeon to the prince. I'm going to have the Guangyuan grain store immediately transport 20,000 dan of grain to Haizhou. As long as the granary is full, Wu Ge will be powerless against us. As for disaster relief and grain distribution, he, a mere imperial commander, can't do anything about it!"
Han Tiexin gave a thumbs-up: "Great! Sir Liu is really great!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
