In the hall, the veins on Ding Xihou's face almost popped out.
The right hands placed under the table were clenched tightly, and the nails were almost embedded into the flesh.
For many years, I have been at peace.
But now, unpleasant words that I had not heard in these decades were actually spoken endlessly from the mouth of the imperial envoy in front of me.
Judging from his appearance, he had no intention of stopping if he didn't stop him.
Forget it, I'll show some restraint today and see how many ugly words you can say.
He took a few deep breaths and tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart.
Wei Li, the magistrate of the government office, walked over with a smile, carrying a hot water kettle and two tea bowls filled with some unknown tea leaves.
He placed them in front of the two of them and filled them with hot water.
Then he gently placed the hot water bottle on the table, then bowed his body and said: "Two adults, please use it with caution. The disaster relief is urgent. There is only one person on duty in the kitchen. I will go and help him."
"Go." Xiao Chen nodded, picked up the tea bowl in front of him, blew on the leaves floating on it, and took a sip.
Ding Xihou looked at the tea bowl, and after a long while, he determined that there were only a few bamboo leaves floating on it, and he couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
No matter how urgent the disaster relief is, no matter how scarce the supplies are, and this tea cannot be used as food, I don't believe that the entire Gongchang Mansion has even consumed all the tea for entertaining guests.
Do you want to serve me with tea to make me cry about my poverty, and then make the lion open its mouth?
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, if I am not mistaken, the tea bowl is filled with fresh bamboo leaves. I wonder what the significance of this is?" Ding Xihou said calmly.
"Master Hou doesn't know," Xiao Chen waved his hand, "Due to this disaster, the people's bodies became extremely weak due to hunger, causing diseases to take advantage of the situation. Over there in Shouyang Town, the deaths of the victims were not calculated by one.
, but fell down in pieces. According to the report from the doctor who later arranged to go there, this is a fever caused by an exogenous disease. The weaker the body is and the hotter the weather, the easier it is to get sick."
"Bamboo leaves are just for this symptom. In addition, the doctor said that bamboo leaves also have the effect of clearing away heat and relieving troubles, so I asked the officials in Gongchang City to use bamboo leaves instead of tea. I calmed down first before I could carry out disaster relief in an orderly manner.
."
Looking at Ding Xihou, Xiao Chen's attitude was extremely sincere and he had no intention of deliberately offending him.
Picking up the tea bowl, Ding Xihou sniffed it gently. He couldn't detect any strange smell, so he put it to his mouth and took a sip.
"How about it? Can Mr. Hou also drink it with a refreshing taste?" Xiao Chen asked.
"No." Ding Xihou said lightly, "It just smells like boiling water."
Xiao Chen slapped his thigh: "Oh, how could I ask such an ignorant question? We are facing a famine, we are a little overwhelmed, and we are troubled. Mr. Hou followed Taizu and conquered the world. There are no big storms.
I’ve seen how a mere famine can shake the Marquis’ mood.”
"Haha." Ding Xihou smiled lightly.
The captain in purple is indeed extraordinary.
This sentence seems to be praising myself for being experienced and knowledgeable, but it is actually accusing myself of being indifferent in the face of disasters.
By setting up a trap for me, are you taking advantage of the famine and preparing to shed some blood in Dingxi Houfu under the guise of making profits for the victims?
As long as my son is safe, bleeding is nothing.
If you let go of my blood but don't let go of my son, let alone the imperial envoy, even if you are the prince, I will use all my strength to drag you down.
After looking around for a while, Ding Xihou said: "In the current government office, I see that Tongzhi Wei Li is always busy. How did the imperial envoy deal with the prefect?"
"What else can we do? Put him in jail first, wait until the disaster relief work is clearer, and then handle it together with the two officials from the Shaanxi Chief Secretary stationed in Gongchang." Xiao Chen said casually.
The Marquis of Dingxi was stunned: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Envoy will even move the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi Province this time?"
"As long as those responsible for the Gongchang disaster, no matter who they are, they will all be punished. In the emperor's heart, the people are the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. If you ignore the people and the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, what is the use of keeping them?
?”
Xiao Chen had a straight face, his expression at this moment was very serious.
While he was talking, a sound of footsteps came into the hall.
Wei Li, the governor of the government office, walked in with two plates in his hands.
Behind him was an old man in an apron, holding a wooden plate with a pair of chopsticks and a bowl of dry rice in his hand.
"This drought has been going on for too long. All kinds of meat were gone a month ago. I spent a long time in the kitchen before digging out some dried vegetables. Don't mind, Lord Marquis."
Wei Li explained awkwardly while putting down the two plates of food in his hands.
Then he turned around and took the plate from the old man's hand, placed the rice and chopsticks in front of Ding Xihou one by one, turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wei Tongzhi." Dingxihou stopped Wei Li and pointed to the plate of dried radishes in front of him, "We have guests in the government office. We only have dried radishes. What do you usually eat?"
Grinning, Wei Li clasped the wooden plate in front of his chest and bowed his body slightly: "Back to the Marquis, for more than half a month, we can only eat a little dry rice and sprinkle some salt."
"Alas." Ding Xihou sighed and waved his hand, "Go down."
He picked up the rice bowl, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dried radish, put it into his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.
This dried radish, like the dried branches, has a faint astringency.
If it weren't for the bit of salt that slightly covered up the astringency, Dingxihou would have wanted to spit the dried radish onto the ground.
In the entire Gongchang Mansion, only the most distinguished guests were qualified to eat the unpalatable dried radish, while the others could only eat dry rice with salt. All this was thanks to his unsatisfactory son.
Kuan'er indeed has an unshirkable responsibility to shoulder when it comes to disaster relief.
But he is just a "child" after all, so he can be punished and the damage caused will be borne by the Dingxi Houfu.
As for the people who died because of this, they really have no power to recover.
In the face of natural disasters, whether you die or survive depends on your fate.
Seeing Wei Li and the old man disappear from sight, Ding Xihou put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hands.
"Master Hou, does this dried radish taste good?" Xiao Chen asked hurriedly.
"It has nothing to do with the food." Ding Xihou shook his head.
"What about you?"
"When the imperial envoy set off, the emperor never told you about Gongchang Mansion?"
"I said it, of course I said it. After receiving the news about the drought in Gongchang, the emperor couldn't eat or sleep well for several days in a row, and he lost a lot of weight. The day before I was leaving, the emperor summoned me in
The imperial study room looked at me with a sad face and said, "I leave the life and death of the people of Gongchang to you. Remember, they are not just the people of Gongchang, they are refugees affected by the disaster. They are the cornerstone of our Ming Dynasty.
They are my brothers. Therefore, when I came to Gongchang this time, even if I only eat dry rice and eat salt, my heart is full of strength. With the backing of the imperial court, this drought will definitely be completely defeated by us."
Xiao Chen started rambling again.
Staring at Xiao Chen, Ding Xihou was silent for a long time.
When there was a drought in Gongchang Prefecture, the first thing the Emperor must have thought of was the Prefect of Gongchang. When he thought of the Prefect, he would also think of me, the Marquis of Dingxi.
When sending people to provide disaster relief, the emperor should mention something about the relationship between Kuan'er and me.
But judging from the current words of the purple-clothed captain, it was clear that he didn't mention it at all.
Is this because the emperor was really worried about the disaster and forgot about it, or was he a little angry at Kuan'er for the disaster in Gongchang, and by the way, I was also angry at him?
If this is really the case, we have to be even more cautious when saving Kuan'er's life.
"Before the imperial envoy came, did you not have a general understanding of the situation in Gongchang Mansion?" Dingxihou asked, still a little unwilling to give up.
"Has the Marquis heard about the case of Jin Yiwei's commander colluding with court officials and Jin Yiwei's subordinates to use the construction of water conservancy projects to embezzle imperial resources in his hometown?" Xiao Chen asked.
"No." Ding Xihou shook his head.
"In those days, my Dongchang and the Ministry of Justice were working together to handle the case. I had just killed nearly five hundred officials outside the Meridian Gate, and I was already exhausted. The emperor suddenly issued a decree asking me to
I came to Gongchang to provide disaster relief. I am so worried that I have no time to understand the situation in Gongchang Mansion." As if he was helpless, Xiao Chen shook his head.
