"Gao Heng?" He reluctantly recovered his speechlessness, and Zhang Tao silently muttered in his heart, "Master Gao, please rise."
"I wonder why your Excellency passed by this place? If I am lucky enough, why don't I let you be my host and take you on a good tour?" Although Gao Heng has a fat face and small eyes, he is quite dignified in his silk silk.
"Master Gao, what is this?" Zhang Tao asked knowingly.
Gao Heng had a smile on his face, "It's not a good time to talk here, how about we talk to the lower government?" Indeed! Because it had just rained here, the ground was muddy, and when the sun was shining, a stench suddenly filled the air, which made people feel uncomfortable.
People frowned frequently. Seeing some of these refugees even standing barefoot in the mud, Zhang Tao was secretly angry. Could it be that all the imperial funds had been misappropriated?
"In this case, I will trouble you, Mr. Gao." Zhang Tao wanted to find out what was going on, so he had to agree to his request, and Zhang Tao would not let his dagger be stolen in vain.
What is certain is that this unknown thief must be one of the refugees. He is very skilled at stealing sheep, but he has a huge flaw.
"Master Gao!" Zhang Tao said.
"I'm here!" Gao Heng responded immediately.
Zhang Tao didn't intend to alert the snake, but he planned to seal it off. "How many refugees are there?"
"Less than two hundred." Although Gao Heng was surprised by Zhang Tao's question, he still answered honestly.
Zhang Tao nodded, "I hope you will gather the refugees together. From now on, no one will be allowed to leave in the middle."
Gao Heng was even more confused, but he did not disobey Zhang Tao for this little matter. "I will take care of it immediately," he said.
In fact, Zhang Tao was very confused. Are there only such a number of refugees? Or have they moved a lot? After handling everything, Zhang Tao did not enter the carriage, but stood on the carriage and closely monitored all the refugees.
It wasn't until the refugees entered the concentration camp behind the city that Zhang Tao finally looked back.
"Sir, please." The concentration camp is a specially opened refugee shelter. It has unified medical care, shelter and food provided by the imperial court. There are a lot of refugees here. Zhang Tao nodded secretly, but found that these refugees seemed to have little food.
"Don't be in a hurry." Zhang Tao smiled and waved his hand. If he left easily now, the dagger might never be found. This thief was among them, and coming to such a crowded and complicated place, wouldn't it be a fish into the sea?
Although he didn't know how effective it would be, Zhang Tao had to try his best no matter what! "Sir?" Gao Heng asked.
"Huanran, how much money do we have in total?" Zhang Tao ignored Gao Heng.
"More than 40,000 taels. Including the scattered silver, there may be more than 41,000 taels." Qin Huanran said.
"Master Gao, could you please get me a desk?" Zhang Tao asked.
Gao Heng was stunned and said, "Come here, prepare a table for your Excellency."
Not long after, Zhang Tao sat at the table: "Fellows and elders, natural disasters are inevitable, but as an official of the imperial court, I must not ignore them, and the imperial court will not ignore them. I still have some money, which may be a drop in the bucket."
, but it can also relieve your urgent need. If no one comes forward to receive a tael of silver, go and eat and buy clothes." There are less than 40,000 refugees present. Even if Zhang Tao is so generous, he can still save himself nearly 20,000 taels in the end.
silver.
However, Zhang Tao's plan and purpose was to find the person who stole his dagger. Gao Heng looked on blankly. For him, this was obviously an incomprehensible thing.
Whenever a refugee came up to him, Zhang Tao subconsciously observed it, but he didn't take it seriously. After the money was finally distributed, the sky gradually darkened, "Master Gao."
"The official is here."
"Gather the refugees who have not received money. I would like to ask them a few questions." Zhang Tao's purpose is already obvious. If a thief steals such a good dagger from him, he may not take the risk to come to him to collect money, and a guilty conscience
Naturally, people would be left, but Zhang Tao obviously underestimated the thief, because no one came forward to collect the money.
"Huh... okay... I lost." Zhang Tao was helpless. "Huanran, let's keep more than a thousand taels and distribute the rest to the refugees." Zhang Tao sighed, and Zhang Tao's actions aroused cheers from the refugees below.
"I am lucky to gain, but my life is lost." In the end, only these eight words could comfort me.
"Thank you, sir. Please leave your name." Countless people knelt on the ground. Zhang Tao's kindness was unforgettable to them.
Zhang Tao looked at this scene and his heart stirred, "You just need to remember that I am an official of Honghao Kingdom." Zhang Tao did not leave his name, but he only had other plans in his heart.
"Stop them!" Gao Heng said sternly, and then the officers and soldiers blocked the crowd who wanted to come forward to thank Zhang Tao.
"Your Majesty is so noble, and I admire you. How about I ask you to prepare some drinks for your Majesty to wash away the dust?" Gao Heng said with a smile.
Zhang Tao did not object and nodded. Gao Heng was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to tell him, "Zhang Tao, why bother with this?" Qin Huanran asked. Originally, Zhang Tao's purpose was to go back quickly.
"This matter has to be dealt with. The country and the country are interdependent. People who are not in their positions do not take charge of their affairs. But since I am an official, I absolutely cannot sit idly by and ignore it." Zhang Tao sighed.
Qin Huanran did not continue to speak, but her eyes were filled with admiration. As for Wang, she had never questioned Zhang Tao. She had always believed that Zhang Tao was an upright man.
At night, there was laughter and laughter in the palace, and Gao Heng kept toasting. He originally wanted to arrange for a beautiful lady to accompany the wine, but later he saw that Zhang Tao had a wife who was in love with the country, so he immediately omitted the unnecessary scene.
At the banquet, Zhang Tao and Gao Heng were polite to each other, but they were very happy. Regarding the refugees, Zhang Tao did not mention a word, "Master Gao!" During the banquet, a guard suddenly ran in.
Gao Heng was slightly unhappy, "What's the matter? Didn't you see that I was greeting the distinguished guests?"
"Master Gao, you don't have a small reputation? You actually made me wait outside the mansion for a long time. The master was drunk and singing in the mansion, while I was drinking the northwest wind." Without waiting for the communication, an unhappy voice came into Zhang Tao's ears.
"Who is it? You are so arrogant when talking to local officials? Is it the person I am waiting for?" In fact, Zhang Tao had some ideas when he agreed to Gao Heng to attend the banquet. If there was someone behind Gao Heng who was hosting the banquet, he would definitely introduce him along with it.
Now, please come out as well.
I just didn't expect that the banquet was really just for me and others, and no outsiders were present. "So it's Master He? It's my fault. I originally thought that the master would not return tonight, so I didn't notify you. I am guilty." Gao Gao.
When Heng heard such aggressive words, he put on a smile instead of showing any anger.
Soon, a handsome young man walked in with a disapproving look on his face. Zhang Tao was curious, who is he? Can he make this local official grovel?
Mr. He also saw Zhang Tao and frowned slightly: "Haha, Mr. He, come and introduce to you. This is Mr. Zhang from the Imperial City. Although he is young, he is a second-rank official. Mr. Zhang, although this Mr. He
He is not a member of the officialdom, but he is the confidant of the second master." Gao Heng's introduction was obviously to prevent Mr. He from offending Zhang Tao, but it also let Zhang Tao know who Mr. He was and not to think that he was a second-rank official.
Talking nonsense.
"Second Prince?"
"Master Zhang?" Mr. He's heart jumped almost at the same time as Zhang Tao...
"It turns out it's Mr. Zhang. I've heard his name for a long time. I didn't know that Mr. He is here. He is really disrespectful." Mr. He hurriedly clasped his fists. This made Gao Heng dumbfounded. Although Zhang Tao was the second grade, Mr. He was the second master's man, so he wouldn't
Is this respectful? Unknowingly, Gao Heng looked at Zhang Tao even more highly.
"Hello, Mr. He!" Zhang Tao roughly understood, but he didn't expect that he was actually related to the second prince. This matter can be regarded as a stepping stone, right?
Zhang Tao's attitude toward Mr. He seemed relatively indifferent, but Mr. He didn't care. Zhang Tao's reputation in the imperial city was not comparable here. He was someone close to the second prince, so of course he knew about Zhang Tao.
Mr. He entered the banquet as a matter of course. Everyone was polite, and then raised their glasses... As soon as the wine was drunk, Zhang Tao got straight to the point! "Mr. He, I wonder what you think of the refugees here? The imperial court allocated funds for food distribution, but
It’s really strange that the refugees still have no clothes and no food to eat.” Hearing Zhang Tao’s words, Gao Heng almost spit out the wine he just drank.
Hearing Zhang Tao's words, Mr. He raised his brows, "He is not in charge of this matter, so I don't know how to answer your lord. As far as I know, your lord is the second rank of the Ministry of Industry and is responsible for the carriages and horses of the palace. For other matters, it is best for you."
It’s better not to bother.”
Zhang Tao smiled, "I am indeed an official of the Ministry of Industry, but when I go out and encounter people suffering, as an official, of course I set an example."
Mr. He's face was slightly gloomy, but Gao Heng beside him was sweating on his forehead. Neither of these two people could be offended by him. He just hoped that this topic could end quickly. This was also the sadness of being a person at the bottom.
"My lord is very virtuous. I admire He, but there is something He said that I don't know whether to say or not?" Mr. He asked. He was originally a person close to the second prince. He never suffered any grievances on weekdays. Local officials were respectful when they saw him. This
Zhang Tao didn't take him seriously enough? So unknowingly, there was a trace of anger in his eyes.
"What do you want to teach Mr. He?" Zhang Tao smiled calmly.
"If a dog meddles with a mouse, I'm afraid it will cause a fire and burn you. I'm afraid you will regret it later?" Mr. He said calmly.
Hearing these words of advice, Zhang Tao's face suddenly darkened, "Who is Mr. He? How dare he speak so rudely to me?" Hearing Zhang Tao's cold words, Mr. He also lost his temper, "I am working under the second master.
I am only doing my part-time job to help the second prince with his private affairs!" After saying that, Mr. He looked proud. Obviously being able to help the second prince with his private affairs is something worth talking about.