readytorunbook Chapter 274: County Magistrate Jiang is not a human
Chapter 274: County Magistrate Jiang is not a human
I have to say that Yang Lingzhao's name is really useful. Shen Nanzhi looked through a large stack of visiting cards and countless gifts, feeling a little emotional. When she sees Young Master Yang again, she will give him a good look.
Now almost everyone in Zhao County knows that the prefect’s son is coming in disguise, and everyone wants to meet him. Suddenly, the quiet county town becomes much more lively.
County Magistrate Jiang also heard about it and was a little confused. Should he also go and visit?
But he was visiting incognito, so it would be inappropriate to meet him without warning, right? What if Mr. Yang was upset if his identity was exposed?
Discussing with his master, the master said: "So many people know about it, it doesn't matter if there is one more person. Can Young Master Yang be so stupid? Would he reveal his identity?
He must be unable to endure hardship, but he has to go out to meet the prefect and wait for tributes from the local government."
County Magistrate Jiang suddenly understood: "So I still have to go visit?"
"That's right, sir."
Magistrate Jiang sent a visiting card, but without any gifts. Giving gifts at this time would make one feel guilty and might be suspected of bribery. Magistrate Jiang was quite cautious in his work.
Shen Nanzhi did not meet him at the first time, nor did he meet other wealthy businessmen and gentry. He only made an appointment to meet with the medicinal materials merchant Xue Ziliang alone.
Xue Ziliang was flattered. It was still the same teahouse as last time, but in a private room. When he arrived, Shen Nanzhi had already made tea and was waiting for him.
"Oh, Master Yang, why should I ask you to wait for me? I'm late. It's my fault. I apologize to you."
"Boss Xue, you are too polite. I came too early and was bored staying in the inn. I came out early to take a look around. Please take a seat."
"Thank you, Mr. Yang."
After three cups of tea, Shen Nanzhi asked, "I'm new here and would like to ask Boss Xue about something. Can you please be frank with me?"
Xue Ziliang's eyes were vague. What did Master Yang mean by this?
"Don't be afraid, Boss Xue. I'm not asking you to betray your friends or expose anyone. These are just some trivial matters in the county. If my father asks about them, I'll have an explanation."
Xue Ziliang asked tentatively: "What do you want to know about, sir?"
"Is there a snowstorm in the county? Are there any victims? Where are they resettled? The county magistrate's family affairs. Just talking about it. I heard that his wife is of noble status? Her background is not simple. Is this true?"
Xue Ziliang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Everyone in the city knows about this. Madam Gao's family is a high-ranking official in the capital. It seems that he is the Governor-General of the Northwest, in charge of the military and political affairs of the Northwest. He is in a high position and is a minister that the emperor relies on very much.
Ten years ago, County Magistrate Jiang was just an ordinary boy from a poor family. He went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and won the first place in the imperial examination. He was then spotted by the Gao family and a marriage was arranged for him.
County Magistrate Jiang got married in the capital, and the Gao family prepared a house for him, so he lived a carefree life.
He stayed in the Hanlin Academy for three years, but couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked Madam Gao to ask the family for a post outside the capital. This is his third term as magistrate in Zhao County."
Shen Nanzhi was filled with emotion. Mrs. Gao had such a prominent family, but she was completely dominated by her husband's family. Should we say that she was incompetent, or that the feudal dogma was harming her?
"The third one? Doesn't he want to return to the capital to be a high-ranking official? Didn't the Gao family help him get promoted?"
Xue Ziliang whispered: "This is a well-known secret. Madam Jiang doesn't like Madam Gao and wanted Lord Jiang to marry his niece, who is also Lord Jiang's cousin, but the Gao family intercepted her.
Because of the conflict between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, Madam Gao did not want her husband to be in a high position and refused to help him, so he could only endure the position of county magistrate. "
"Oh, Mrs. Gao is right. When a man has power, he might target his father-in-law's family who once helped him."
Xue Ziliang said: "That's not the case. After all, without the Gao family, Lord Jiang's life wouldn't be so easy.
How many top scholars in the capital spent their entire lives editing books in the Hanlin Academy? Without connections, life in the capital would be difficult."
Shen Nanzhi snorted coldly: "Boss Xue, you underestimate the evil of human nature. Unless the Gao family continues to meet his demands, Lord Jiang will feel that he sacrificed his reputation and talent but did not get what he wanted, and resent Madam Gao."
"What did he sacrifice? Madam Gao is dignified and gentle, a first-class noble lady. I have met her several times, and she is a very good woman.
Apart from giving birth to a daughter, she has not given birth to a son for the Jiang family yet, so she has done well enough. "
Shen Nanzhi shook his head and said nothing, "I won't talk about him anymore. You will know later."
Lord Jiang is now dissatisfied with Madam Gao. Since he has no hope of promotion anyway, he kills her and falls in love with his cousin Bai Yueguang.
"What about the disaster in the county? Other counties have more or less disaster victims, why is Zhao County so quiet? There's not even a beggar to be seen?"
Shen Nanzhi didn't believe that County Magistrate Jiang could manage the county so that it had enough food and clothing and could withstand the snowstorm.
Xue Ziliang was a little hesitant. Should he tell this?
Shen Nanzhi added fuel to the fire: "Master Xue is in the medicinal materials business. In such a cold day, the medicinal materials for expelling cold should be in short supply. This is the time to make the most money, not to sit idle and drink tea.
I can help you make connections. There is a shortage of medicinal materials in the nearby county, so your family will be given priority."
Xue Ziliang was tempted. Businessmen value profits. Shen Nanzhi was right. Business was usually best in winter, but this year no one bought the medicinal materials stored in the warehouse. Ultimately, it was because the people above were not human beings.
Before leaving, Xue Ziliang wrote her an address, which he wrote with tea and didn't dare to speak it out loud.
Shen Nanzhi wrote it down and then erased it so that no one would notice.
Afterwards, she made appointments with several wealthy businessmen, including those in the grain business, the timber business, as well as cloth shops and silver shops, without exposing Xue Ziliang.
She did not go to see County Magistrate Jiang. She was afraid that she would not be able to control herself and deal with this ungrateful and ungrateful man, just like the other children she had raised.
After a busy whole day, he had met everyone he needed to meet. At night, when everyone was asleep, Shen Nanzhi changed into night clothes and quietly went to the northwest of the county, which was a slum area in the county, a separate market town called Baoningfang.
The people living here are all poor people. They are the first to be abandoned when a disaster occurs. The county magistrate sends soldiers to guard them, not allowing them to go out at will, and only giving them a small amount of porridge every day to sustain their lives.
As for whether the house is warm enough or whether there is charcoal fire, these are not taken into account.
Shen Nanzhi searched for half an hour and finally found Baoningfang, which was separated from the county town. The tall city walls blocked their way out and the only exit was guarded by soldiers. This was the reason why there were no disaster victims in Zhao County.
The officers and soldiers in charge were all complaining. In such a cold day, who would be willing to guard these untouchables? Who wouldn't want to hide in a warm bed and sleep soundly?
But they did not dare to neglect their duties. An order had just been issued from above that an important figure had come to the county town and that everyone must be kept under close watch. If anyone escaped, they would all be killed.
The officer roasted himself by the fire, stamped his feet, and could not help saying, "The county magistrate is really a jerk. Since he has done evil, he should just cut off the food supply for these lowly people. They will all starve to death within three days. We don't need to keep them under guard anymore."
Another officer said, "What do you know? There are tens of thousands of people. Some of them will survive. They will be the population next year, and the lords will have to collect taxes. If everyone dies, who will do the hard labor?"
Besides, with so many lives at stake, the adults would not give such an order to save their reputation. If someone catches them, they will be in big trouble.
In the current situation, the higher-ups have intervened and the county magistrate has also given instructions. In order to maintain peace, grain has been released as disaster relief. Doesn't that mean he is ignoring the victims?
Stop complaining, or your superiors will punish you if they hear you."
Shen Nanzhi, who was hiding in the dark, heard it all clearly. He originally thought that County Magistrate Cao was already a worthless person, but this County Magistrate Jiang was even more abominable and was simply not a human being.
He climbed up the city wall and climbed over without alerting the officers.
Compared with the blue brick and tile houses in the county town, there are only shacks and thatched houses here, and tall people have to lower their heads to go in.
There are no windows, only broken curtains to block out the cold wind.
The street is very narrow, only enough for two people to walk side by side. Fortunately, it is winter and there is no smell. If it is summer, with so many low houses crowded together, one can imagine how terrible the smell of eating, drinking, defecating and urinating would be.
Shen Nanzhi did not alarm the people here, and didn't know how many people were still alive.
There were flashes of fire in the distance, and Shen Nanzhi walked towards the fire. Where there were fires, there must be people, and only with people could he get information.
She intuitively felt that Shen Desheng and his men were trapped here, unable to get out and pass on the message.
There were quite a few people near the fire. It was a dilapidated City God Temple, but at least there was a courtyard wall to block the cold wind. A bonfire was lit in the middle, and everyone gathered around the bonfire, absorbing a little bit of warmth to keep themselves from freezing.
Shen Nanzhi was lying on the roof and saw Shen Desheng at a glance. He was so thin that his original face could not be seen, except for his pair of eyes which were still bright, making Shen Nanzhi feel somewhat familiar.
There were a few familiar faces, all of whom were villagers who came out with Shen Desheng. Fortunately, they were all alive.
"Boss Shen, just tell me, what should we do? If this continues, everyone in the entire market will freeze to death or starve to death."
"That's right. The elderly can't bear it anymore. We hardly see any elderly people anymore. Many children are also sick with fever. I'm afraid they won't survive this winter. The damn officials don't give us medicine, quilts or charcoal. They are forcing us to death."
"If it weren't for you, Boss Shen, taking out all your savings to buy food and charcoal for us, someone in our family would have died."
Shen Desheng sighed: "I don't have any money either. My ability is still too limited to help you."
"It's not your fault. Boss Shen, you did your best."
Shen Desheng said: "Our only way to survive now is to escape. As long as we escape from the county and return to my hometown, I can ensure that everyone has food to eat, and everyone can eat and wear warm clothes, and no one will freeze to death."
"We have tens of thousands of people. How much food do we need to feed them? Boss Shen, we can't let you get in trouble."
Shen Desheng said calmly, "You don't have to worry about this. The high-yield crops grown in our village can yield thousands of kilograms per mu. If there is more than every household can eat, every household can spare thousands of kilograms. Are you still worried that we can't feed you?"