The sky was filled with dark clouds, the rain was coming and the wind was coming.
The pouring rain enveloped the entire city of Chang'an, and the water levels of various rivers in Guanzhong surged. Many dams faced the risk of breaking. County officials from various places organized government servants and civilians to continuously rush to the dams to fight the danger.
Floods are ruthless. Once the rivers burst their banks, their homes will become ruins, and the people who depend on the land for a living will have to leave their homes and become homeless.
In the Jingyang County Yamen, the county magistrate Wei Yifang was sitting in his study, with a frown on his face and full of worries, and his mood was as gloomy as the clouds and rain outside the window.
Ever since the documents from the imperial court were delivered to the Yamen in a hurry, Wei Yi was frightened and distracted. He was not only worried that such a heavy rain would cause the water level of the Jing River to surge and burst the dam, in which case he, the county magistrate, would be held responsible.
I am even more worried about the upcoming "disaster relief yamen" officials, especially the Minister of War, Fang Jun...
The grievances between Fang Jun and the Wei family were constantly being cut off and confused. Although they were not considered political enemies, Wei Yifang knew that the other party had no reason to treat him well.
The heavy rain was pouring, and the Youwuwei army had already set off from Chang'an. Since the fast horse had delivered the documents, the army must have followed closely. Dozens of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Shangshu Province... and many yamen were gathered as scheduled.
Then, this made Wei Yifang feel very confused.
All right, how could such an "emergency disaster relief office" appear?
This is simply killing people!
If the lid cannot be kept and is opened, will Fang Jun use Shang Fang's sword to kill himself, a corrupt official, first and then punish him?
Thinking like this, even if it rains heavily and cool breeze blows, Wei Yifang still has a layer of white sweat on his back...
*****
The clouds were low, the sky was dark, and the rain curtain obscured the sight. Five thousand well-trained Youwuwei troops went upstream along the Wei River. After reaching Xianyang, they turned north and followed the official road beside the Jing River to attack Jingyang.
.
The rain was too heavy, but fortunately the official road was paved with a layer of cement. Although there was water everywhere, there was not much mud, and the army moved forward quite quickly.
Just on one side of the official road, the waves of the Jing River are rolling and the water is rushing. The water is turbulent and roars...
Fang Jun rode his horse and walked at the front of the team with Cheng Yaojin. The raincoat on his body could not protect him from the rain. The clothes inside were all soaked. When the wind blew, a chill hit his whole body.
Fang Jun wiped away the rainwater and saw a shadowy person coming towards him in front of him, and asked loudly: "How far is it?"
Cheng Yaojin put up a pavilion with his hands to protect his eyes from the rain. He raised his head and waited for a moment before replying: "It's less than three miles away. We can get there in an instant. There should be people sent by Jingyang County in front of us, right?"
Before he finished speaking, the scouts from the front rode back and reported: "General, the magistrate of Jingyang County is here to greet you."
A group of people approached behind him, one of them jumped off the horse, trotted two steps to the front of Cheng Yao's golden horse, crossed his hands and saluted, and said: "Xiaoguan Jingyang County Prime Minister Dou Zhili, I have met Lu Guogong and the Fang Shilang.
."
Cheng Yaojin sat upright on his horse and let out a "hmm" sound from his nostrils, which was almost inaudible amid the wind and rain.
Fang Jun glanced at the county magistrate and wondered if he was a son of the Dou family, but he didn't care and asked directly: "How is the danger of the river embankment?"
Dou Zhili was not dissatisfied with Cheng Yaojin's contempt. He immediately replied: "As for the servant, the situation is not stable. An hour ago, a flood peak just passed by, and the water surface has overflowed the river embankment. Fortunately, everyone
The people and officials in the county are all clinging to the embankments, and the danger has been passed. However, the heavy rain has not stopped, the water has not receded, and the embankments have shown signs of collapse in many places. Although the officials and the people have tried their best to repair it, they are not sure whether they can survive safely."
Although the yamen servant beside him held an umbrella over his head, his official robe had already been soaked by the rain, and the skirt was covered with dirty mud. He looked embarrassed and haggard.
The disaster was so intense that Fang Jun did not care to ask for more details, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty cares about the people of Jingyang, so he appointed our 'Disaster Emergency Command Office' and the Youwu Guard Army to help build the dam. We will have more money and food later."
When the supplies arrive, please ask Prime Minister Dou to arrange for the manpower to be properly placed at a location within the county."
Dou Zhili was immediately overjoyed.
When he saw the document before, he thought it was just the imperial court dispatching a large army to help fight the crisis, but now he learned that more supplies had arrived, which could be regarded as a solution to an urgent need.
Thousands of young people in the city have gathered on the Jinghe River dike. Although everyone is here to fight floods and save their homes, the county government must also arrange medicine, food and other necessary supplies. We cannot let the people go to the dike to rescue and rescue themselves.
Do you bring meals at home?
However, for some unknown reason, the county magistrate Wei Yifang repeatedly refused to open the charity warehouse to obtain food for the rescuers. The reason was that it was not appropriate to open the charity warehouse without permission from the court, and it could only be done when the disaster was uncontrollable.
Relieve victims with food.
This made Dou Zhili both puzzled and angry!
"Yicang" has been in use since the Sui Dynasty and is still in use today.
In the third year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, Sun Ping, the eldest son, was conscripted and worshiped as the Minister of Duzhi. He saw that many prefectures and counties in the country were suffering from floods and droughts, and the people would not give them. He ordered the people to store grains and wheat every autumn, which was less than one stone.
Luxiang was named Yicang in preparation for the bad years. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty commended it and adopted his suggestions.
During the harvest, grain was collected from households to save grain to prepare for relief in famine years. Because it was set up in Lishe and managed by local people, it was also called the Shegang. Later, the method of accumulation was stipulated, and the upper, middle and lower taxes were quasi-taxed.
A household can only hold 1 stone, a middle household can only hold 7 bushels, and a lower household can only hold 4 bushels.
Since then, prefectures and counties all over the world have begun to set up charity warehouses. Whenever there is famine, they open warehouses to provide relief.
When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the concepts of free warehouses and social warehouses were gradually separated. Free warehouses were set up by governments at the state and county level, while social warehouses were set up at the commune level (twenty-five households of common people were one commune).
Different from Changpingcang, which is established by the state with the main function of stabilizing rice prices, free warehouses are more like a private behavior, ensuring that the poor among the people in a region receive appropriate relief, and also making all people safe in disaster years.
As for having no rice to eat.
Although Jingyang is not rich, the land is rich and the people live in peace, and the weather is good and there are few natural disasters. In recent years, a lot of food has been stored in the charity warehouse. The flood in Jingyang is now urgent, and it is very likely that the river will burst out of its banks in the next moment. By then
Not to mention that Jingyang on the river bank was razed to the ground, and even Xianyang not far away was in danger. If we don't open the charity warehouse at this time, do we have to wait until the flood breaks the embankment to feed the rice and grain to the fish?
But being a high-ranking official was overwhelming. Even though he was telling the truth, the county magistrate Wei Yifang would not relent, and he could do nothing.
Facing the hungry people on the embankment who were still working desperately to repair the embankment, Dou Zhili was filled with shame but had no choice but to leave the embankment in a hurry in the name of greeting the superior. He really couldn't bear to see those people who were working for a long time without clothes and hungry.
The people’s eyes are questioning and probing one after another...
Now with the arrival of Fang Jun, the food problem has been solved. How can Dou Zhili not be so happy and happy?
"Don't worry, Mr. Fang, I will personally arrange the manpower and ensure that the food is safe!"
Dou Zhili replied with an excited expression.
Fang Jun wiped the rainwater from his face and said: "If you talk any more, I will take my officer to the embankment immediately to see how the situation is. There are many officials from the Ministry of Industry accompanying us, and they are all experts in river embankment management."
Your hands are much stronger than those under your hands!"
When Dou Zhili saw Fang Jun acting vigorously and resolutely, he naturally would not refuse, but he pondered for a moment and said: "It's just that the county magistrate is still waiting in the Yamen for the arrival of all the angels..."
"You said the Jingyang County Magistrate is still in the Yamen?"
Fang Jun was greatly surprised and raised his thick eyebrows: "Why didn't he go to the levee to organize rescue operations? As a parent of a county, when natural disasters are coming from the sky, how could he not go to the front line to stabilize the morale of the army and lead the people of the county to fight against floods and rescue people?
risk?"
Dou Zhili's heart skipped a beat, he swallowed, and replied hesitantly: "Well... the county magistrate has to be centrally responsible for the overall situation. For things like being on the front line in person, it's enough for a lowly officer like us to go there..."
These words seem to be defending the county magistrate Wei Yifang, but in fact they are full of resentment...
Fang Jun didn't know whether he heard the hidden meaning, and he suddenly became angry and said angrily: "Does a mere county magistrate think that he is the prime minister of the dynasty? And he still manages things from the middle? Damn! Where is Liu Jie?"
The last sentence was shouted while turning around and shouting behind him.
All the officials around you are sweating profusely... Listening to this tone, why do you think that the dignified scholar and censor is your follower?
Dou Zhili was so frightened that he dared not speak. He was happy that his trick had succeeded, but also horrified by Fang Jun's power...
That’s Liu Ji!
Who among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were helpless and deeply afraid of his mad dog-like behavior?
Liu Jie in the crowd behind you is so angry. Do you, a second-guessing stick, have to be so arrogant?