The big ship of Qincha puffed up the sails and broke the waves, passed through the Qing Dynasty, passed through the city, sailed out of the canal on the same day, entered the Yellow River, and then went upstream, docked at Yedu for one night that night, continued to go west the next day, and finally arrived at the destination in the afternoon - Shouzhang County Wharf.

This time, the section of the Yellow River lacking embankment is 100 miles upstream of Shouzhang County, among which Fanxian, Puzhou, Yuncheng, Caozhou (now Heze) and other areas are the most seriously affected, and the impact here in Shouzhang County is relatively small.

The big ship stopped at the wharf and set up a springboard, and the five hundred Jinyi guards led by Lu Xing (Lu Bing's father) rushed out and stood on both sides of the wharf road, pressing the handle of the embroidered spring knife one by one, and the murderous spirit.

Xiao Huai, Xu Jin, and Huang Jin then got off the boat, and the local officials who had been waiting on the dock immediately greeted them, led by Song Chi, the governor of Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhang Wensheng, the governor of Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhao Fengchun, the commander of Yanzhou Wei, Ma Debing, the county commander of Shouzhang County, and a number of subordinate officials of Shouzhang County.

Song Chi is about fifty years old, with a national character and a long beard under his chin, and he is born with a dignified appearance, with a righteous face, and takes the lead in saluting Xiao Huai and Xu Jin: "Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou, Xiaguan, see Lord Qincha." ”

Other local bureaucrats also saluted and reported to their homes, and Xu Jin silently memorized the official positions and names of these people, and he would have to deal with these people for a while in the future.

After greeting each other for a while, after introducing each other, Ma Debing, the commander of Shouzhang County, said with a smile: "Several Qincha lords have worked hard all the way, and the lower officials have already prepared a banquet for you to receive the wind and wash the dust, and the place to stay is also ready, and several Qincha lords can stay and rest at any time." ”

Xiao Huai waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "This official is here to come for disaster relief on the orders of the emperor, not to come here to enjoy himself, the people are in dire straits, and the banquet or something will be exempted, immediately take the official to check the granary of the county, if there is a deficit, don't blame the official for being polite." ”

The officials present were all awe-inspiring, and it was rumored that Xiao Huai was upright, and he couldn't rub sand in his eyes, it seemed that it was really true, and he was going to check the granary as soon as he arrived, and he was really not good!

Ma Debing patted the horse's leg with an embarrassed face, and his face was red and white. Song Chi, the prefect of Yanzhou, said calmly: "The lower official has already checked, and there is no shortage of 20,000 stone of grain stored in the Changping warehouse in Shouzhang County, if Lord Xiao does not believe it, he can go into the city with the official to check." ”

Xiao Huai nodded and said: "What is in front of you is true, this official naturally has to check it in person, lead the way!" ”

So, Xu Jin and others entered Shouzhang County surrounded by a group of local officials.

As the saying goes: if the country has no savings for three years, it is said that the country is not its country. This sentence translates to mean that if a country does not have more than three years of grain reserves, it is not a country. Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, also once said to the household department: "The key to the country, the food of the soldiers is the first, and the country's grain reserves must not be unprepared." ”

The rulers of all dynasties have attached great importance to grain reserves, and the Ming Dynasty is no exception, and has established a relatively complete grain reserve system.

The granaries of the Ming Dynasty are mainly divided into two categories, one is the national granary, and the other is the local granary. The grain stored in the national granaries was mainly for the army and paid to the officials and vassal kings, while the local granaries were called Changping, which were mainly used for disaster relief and to suppress prices and other occasional needs.

However, as the so-called wealth is moving, in the feudal society with backward productive forces, grain is equal to silver spent in vain, and the mountains of grain that are piled up in the local often closed warehouses are really eye-catching, and it is inevitable that some people will hit the idea of this, secretly transport the grain in the warehouse and resell it for profit, and then find a way to slowly smooth out the books. For example, using rat food, insects, mold and other losses as an excuse, or taking advantage of the grain harvest to buy grain at a low price to replenish the stock, etc.

It has been 150 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and the corruption of officials has been quite serious, and it has been a semi-open secret in the officialdom that landlords and officials steal and sell grain from Changping Warehouse, and even form a top-down chain of interests, so as long as it is not a sudden special situation, it can cover up and fool the past.

Besides, Xu Jin and the others entered the county seat of Shouzhang surrounded by local officials, and went straight to the street where the county government was located, only to encounter a long queue of ragged victims of the disaster, who were receiving relief materials distributed by the yamen.

Seeing this, Xiao Huai asked: "Mazhi County, how many people have been affected by the disaster in Shouzhang County now?" ”

Ma Debing, the county magistrate, immediately replied: "So far, the county has resettled a total of 1,357 refugees, and each household has been given rice, flour, money and silver according to their population, and free medical treatment and medicine, and they will be sent back to their hometowns after the flood waters have receded." ”

Xiao Huai nodded with satisfaction when he heard this, and was about to continue walking, when suddenly three refugees knelt on the side of the road, kowtowing to Xu Jin and his party, and there was still half a bag of food they had just received next to them.

Seeing this, Xiao Huai stepped forward and asked with a pleasant face, "Why are you kowtowing?" ”

At this time, the three refugees kneeling on the ground were obviously a family, a man and a woman, and a ten-year-old girl, who replied with tears in his eyes: "Back to this adult, the grass people are thanking the Futai Lord for saving his life!" ”

Xiao Huai glanced at the prefect Song Chi in surprise and asked, "Why is this?" ”

"The grass people are from Fan County, the village was flooded a few days ago, the people in the village are almost dead, the grass people and a family of three escaped by luck, and walked in the rain and darkness for a day and a night before coming here, the little girl was cold and feverish, and almost lost her life. Lord Fuzhi sent medicine to the hospital, and he is a good official who loves the people like a son! When the man had finished speaking, he prostrated again, and his mother-in-law and daughter also kowtowed.

The prefect Song Chi hurriedly stepped forward to help the man up, and said with a kind expression: "You are the people under the rule of this mansion, and this mansion has not encountered it. ”

The refugee thanked him again and again, and then left "reluctantly" with the bag of food.

Xu Jin couldn't help but be speechless, this "show" is too obvious, right? But looking at Xiao Huai's nodding face, it seems that he believes it, isn't it possible that the ancients were so easy to deceive?

At this moment, in the queue of refugees waiting for relief, a little boy was picked up by the officials who maintained order and fell heavily to the ground.

The little boy was about five or six years old, with a cuppy bun, but his clothes were dirty, probably from the pain, and he sat on the ground and cried.

Xiao Huai couldn't help frowning, Song Chi's face was slightly gloomy, and he glanced at Ma Debing, the magistrate, who hurriedly stepped forward and shouted at the officer: "Why are you beating people? ”

The official said aggrievedly: "Lord County, this little king...... The child did not receive a bamboo skewer for relief. ”

"The county lord is the eldest man, Xiaomin is new here, so there are no bamboo sticks...... Wow, I'm so hungry, I want to eat! The child cried and shouted.

Ma Zhixian glared at the servant, then picked up the child and personally led him to the front of the line, and the child took a bag of flour and ten cents and ran away. This hurt Ma Zhixian, who was about to touch the child's forehead and show how to love the people like a son, and scolded secretly: "Little bastard!" ”