The British Duke's Mansion is not far from here, at Zhengnanfang. Zhang Yanling soon arrived in front of the Duke's Mansion.
There was a chaotic scene elsewhere, but the front door of the British Palace was clean. The servants of the mansion had already cleared all the snow in front of the door. The wet green brick floor was flat and open. Zhang Yanling got off his horse and tied the horse to the hitching post.
Then he ran up the steps of the gatehouse. Two healthy servants were chatting at the door, but Zhang Yanling was startled and stopped him to ask.
"Who are you looking for? Don't break into the British government."
"I am a friend of your young father-in-law. I am Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang. Please inform me." Zhang Yanling did not hesitate, and directly took out a piece of silver from his waist and threw it into the hands of the servant. At this time, money is more effective than any explanation.
.
"It turns out to be the Marquis of Jianchang. I'm so young. Why should I ask you to spend money?" The servant quickly bowed and said.
"Go quickly!" Zhang Yanling waved his hand. One of the servants rushed into the house to report.
Soon after, the sound of laughter came from the door. Zhang Lun came quickly and held his hands towards Zhang Yanling who was standing at the door from a distance.
"Jianchang Hou, Zhang Houye, hahaha, why are you here?" Zhang Lun said with a smile.
Zhang Yanling stepped forward, grabbed her and walked out. Zhang Lun shouted: "Hey, hey, what are you doing? What's the matter?"
Zhang Yanling pulled him to the door and said in a deep voice: "Young Master, the time has come for our family to become famous. Now that we have done this, we will be praised. From the emperor to the common people, we will be praised."
For praise.”
Zhang Lun said: "What's going on?"
Zhang Yanling quickly explained the situation of the victims who were affected by the disaster. The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works were unable to provide relief. I am afraid that the people will have a hard time tonight.
Zhang Lun's mind was spinning rapidly, and he pondered for a moment before saying: "You mean, we got the job done before the court, and saved the people, and got credit for it? We also have a good reputation, right?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's right, the young master can tell you the truth. I just want to understand. We are usually not allowed to interfere in the affairs of civil servants. But when it comes to the 100,000 fire rescue and life-saving matters, if we intervene, they can't say anything."
What, the emperor still wants to praise us. People say that we are rich and unkind, and this time has just changed the people's reputation. Opportunities are rare and will never come back."
Zhang Lun nodded and said: "That's right. I will also arrange for people to set up porridge sheds for relief."
Zhang Yanling said hurriedly: "Now it's not about the porridge sheds. What we need is shelter from the cold for the people at night. A large number of bamboo tarpaulins and manpower. We want to prevent the people from sleeping on the streets tonight. I have sent people to invite Mr. Zhu.
With Brother Xu. The four of us will work together to find a way to solve the problem at hand first. They will be arriving at Yongdingmen Square in a while, and you have to help me convince them."
Zhang Lun smiled and said: "You made a good plan and asked me to help you convince them. Xu Yande is your future uncle, you still need me to convince you?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "You three have the best relationship. Naturally, they will listen to what you say. This is a really rare opportunity. I can't do it alone without knowing you."
Zhang Lun spat: "Come on. If you are capable, why would you come to me? Forget it, let's go and see the situation first. Let's all agree on the idea. Let's do it together."
Zhang Yanling nodded repeatedly. Zhang Lun ordered his men to prepare their horses, put on a large cloak and followed Zhang Yanling to the square inside Yongding Gate.
Half an hour later, Xu Yande and Zhu Lin arrived one after another. Xu Yande lived in the inner city and came later. When he arrived, he saw the three people chatting happily together, so he asked loudly: "Where are we going to drink today? I’m afraid all the restaurants in the city are closed.”
Zhang Lun laughed and said, "Would you like to drink? Brother Yande, please drink some porridge. Do you really think this is Marquis Jianchang's treat?"
In fact, Xu Yande had already sensed that something was wrong. He was surrounded by disaster victims. Many officials and handymen were building shacks in the square. A large group of people were shouting around the porridge shack. It didn't look like they were at a party.
"Zhang Yanling, what are you doing? Are you trying to trick me?" Xu Yande shouted.
Zhang Yanling hurriedly held up her hands and apologized with a smile, and explained the purpose of calling him here. Xu Yande frowned and said: "Relief? Why are you getting involved in these things?"
Zhang Yanling explained: "The imperial court is not doing enough to provide relief. This is our opportunity to grab the credit. The time has come for my family to win over people's hearts. It doesn't cost a few dollars, so why not do it? Not for the people, but for us." It’s worth earning some fame and credit for yourself.”
Xu Yande was not stupid, and immediately understood Zhang Yanling's intention. He turned to Zhang Lun and Zhu Lin and asked, "What did you say?"
Zhang Lundao: "I think it's feasible. This is a good opportunity."
Zhu Lin said nothing, but nodded.
Zhang Yanling looked at the sky and said: "It's getting late, we have to act quickly. It will be dark in more than an hour. If we make a decision, please mobilize manpower and supplies immediately. We have to act immediately."
Xu Yande frowned and said: "But where will the manpower and materials come from? Call all the manpower in our house? Where will the materials come from?"
Zhang Lun said solemnly: "Assemble our troops and horses. The materials can be used from the army."
Xu Yande said in shock: "Are you crazy? You mobilized troops without permission? That is a big crime. Using military supplies is also a big crime. How can you do that?"
Zhang Lun said: "Brother Yande, are you stupid? Why do you need to be fully armed? Just ask the soldiers to take off their armor and come in civilian clothes. It doesn't take much. The three of us can go back and call more than a hundred people. As for the soldiers in the army, We'll just replenish the supplies later. Complete the shanty building in a surprise attack and return to camp immediately. What do others know?"
Xu Yande frowned and thought for a while and said, "That's fine, let's do it."
Half an hour later, a large number of people arrived carrying a large amount of moso bamboo, ropes, mats, oilcloths and other items. The victims in the square thought that the relief workers from the court were coming, but they soon discovered that it was not the relief workers from the court at all, but that Zhang Hou My people. There was less than half an hour before dark, and time was pressing. Everyone began to work quickly. Many people also knew that this was their shelter at night, and spontaneously joined in to help carry the goods. Be there to help.
In order to ensure the quality of the shanties and prevent secondary damage caused by heavy snowfall at night, Zhang Yanling called Xu Gao, a foreign minister from the Ministry of Industry, to come for guidance. Xu Gao was obviously a technical officer and was very good at construction and bundling. .He worked very hard, running back and forth to provide guidance and ensure the strength of the shack.
It quickly became dark, and everyone lit bonfires and continued working. By the time of the first watch, more than two hundred simple shacks were lined up along both sides of the city gate, and all were built. The shacks were supported by the city wall and were made of wood and bamboo. As a frame, it is covered with tarpaulins and straw curtains, which are enough to block wind and snow. Xu Gao required that the roof slope angle must be large. Although this will make the shack low and ugly, it is extremely useful in preventing snow from collapsing the shack. Because it can be used at any time Use a long pole from above the city wall to push the snow down the roof to avoid accumulation.
The people were quickly arranged to settle in shacks, with more than ten people crammed into each shack. Even so, after more than 200 shacks were filled with people, many people were still unable to move in.
In desperation, everyone had to use the remaining scraps of materials to build a simple forehead grass pavilion in the square, surrounded the huge space with a curtain, and allowed the remaining people to collectively enter and settle down. Of course, the remaining ones were all those who were physically strong.
The young and strong people should not freeze to death if they raise a fire to keep warm at night. This is all that can be done so far.
The porridge shack of Zhang Yanling's family has not stopped from the beginning, and has been cooking and supplying porridge since the afternoon. Several large trucks of rice and noodles have been exhausted. Fortunately, the people finally have hot food and have a place to live. The situation