blogombal Page 463
Page 463
Normally, the prefect of Xi'an would report the situation of Xi'an Prefecture to the provincial governor of Shaanxi Province. The provincial governor was in charge of the important affairs of the province, and the office of the provincial governor of Shaanxi was located in Xi'an Prefecture, which was under the jurisdiction of the provincial governor. However, the position of the provincial governor of Shaanxi was vacant at the time, so the prefect of Xi'an could only write memorials to the imperial court.
Yue Buqun nodded, not saying much about it, but said: "Prefect, it will take some time to request disaster relief from the court. I'm afraid there won't be enough food during this time. You can buy food in the market to provide disaster relief."
The Xi'an Prefect said helplessly, "I understand that, but the prefecture is short of silver and cannot purchase much grain. We can only open the granaries for disaster relief first and wait until we get through this period. I will then try to borrow grain from other places."
At this moment, Yue Buqun said, "Your Excellency, I can donate silver to purchase grain for the government's disaster relief efforts."
The prefect of Xi'an was overjoyed upon hearing this.
"Is this true?"
Yue Buqun nodded, then took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket.
"Here are 100,000 taels of silver notes, which can be used by the Prefect to purchase grain for disaster relief."
"If it's not enough, Yue can provide more."
Looking at the stack of silver notes, the prefect of Xi'an was overjoyed.
He had been worried about how to get through the current situation, but with this money, he no longer had to worry.
One tael of silver can buy two shi of grain. Yue Buqun took out 100,000 taels, which is enough to buy 200,000 shi of grain, enough to feed hundreds of thousands of disaster victims for a long time. If the subsequent disaster relief is done properly, the disaster situation in Xi'an Prefecture can be completely controlled, and it will even leave a great mark on his resume.
"Sect Leader Yue, on behalf of the disaster victims of Xi'an Prefecture, I bow to you."
The prefect of Xi'an bowed deeply to Yue Buqun.
"The disaster relief efforts in Xi'an Prefecture depended entirely on the prefectural governor."
Yue Buqun cupped his hands in farewell and then took his leave.
"Master, why do we have to hand over the silver to the government so they can provide disaster relief? Why can't we provide disaster relief ourselves?"
Once outside the government office, Linghu Chong couldn't help but ask.
Yue Buqun explained, “It’s very troublesome for us to do this kind of thing, and we can’t manage so much right now. You have to know that it’s not just Xi’an Prefecture that’s affected by the disaster; other places are also affected. We also have to go to other prefectures to provide disaster relief. Only by handing it over to the government can we do our best to ensure that most of the people can survive.”
The Huashan and Hengshan sects combined only have a little over two hundred people, which is far from enough to cope with the disaster in Shaanxi. Only by doing this can more people survive.
But Linghu Chong was still somewhat uneasy.
"I'm afraid that if I hand over so much silver to the government, those corrupt officials will embezzle it."
Before Yue Buqun could speak, Jiang Ning spoke up.
"It's ok."
Jiang Ning remained calm.
"If they dare to do that, let them spit it out the way they swallowed it."
Chapter 630: Buying Grain
"Yes."
Yue Buqun nodded; he shared the same thought.
Actually, if there were other options, he wouldn't have wanted to hand over 100,000 taels to the government. However, their manpower was severely limited, and disaster relief was extremely complicated. Only by handing it over to the government could they save more of the affected people.
Hearing his master and junior brother say this, Linghu Chong had no objections.
Yue Buqun then looked at Jiang Ning.
"I will be setting off for other disaster-stricken prefectures later. You will stay in Xi'an Prefecture to help with disaster relief."
Yue Buqun wasn't one to simply hand over money and leave; he wanted to keep people behind for another reason besides assisting the government with disaster relief.
It means surveillance.
Yue Buqun knew that if he handed over the 100,000 taels of silver to the prefect of Xi'an, someone would definitely embezzle the disaster relief funds, and then they would have to take action.
"Ah."
Jiang Ning nodded.
"Here are fifty thousand silver notes. Take them for a rainy day."
Yue Buqun took out 50,000 taels of silver and handed it to Jiang Ning.
"It's Master."
Jiang Ning nodded and accepted it.
The group then returned to the inn. At this time, the disciples of Huashan and Hengshan were all there. Master Mo Da, Feng Buping, and Cheng Buyou had already led some disciples to other prefectures.
Yue Buqun left dozens of people in Xi'an and Jiangning to help with disaster relief, and then led Linghu Chong and other disciples to Hanzhong.
……
At this time, the Xi'an prefect had finished writing his memorial and sent it to the capital. He was about to ask someone which officials were in charge of repairing the river embankment last year when someone came in to report.
"My lord, someone else wants to see you."
The prefect of Xi'an frowned and asked.
"Who?"
Why are so many people looking for him today?
"I don't know, I just came with Headmaster Yue of the Huashan Sect."
Ok?
The prefect of Xi'an frowned and said, "Let him in."
"Yes."
The person who came in left, and a short while later, another person came in.
"Young hero, is there anything else?"
The Xi'an prefect asked politely.
Jiang Ning took off his bamboo hat and laughed, "The disaster in Xi'an Prefecture is severe. My fellow disciples and I are planning to stay here to do our part for the people affected by the disaster. So we have come to assist the government in disaster relief."
Assisting the government in disaster relief?
The prefect of Xi'an was overjoyed upon hearing this.
The government offices were currently facing a severe shortage of personnel, so the Xi'an prefect readily agreed.
"In that case, thank you very much, Sect Leader Yue, and thank you very much, young hero. We will remember your chivalrous act."
The prefect of Xi'an smiled.
"It just so happens that our government is preparing to send someone to the market to buy grain. If you don't mind the trouble, young hero, you can come along."
"of course can."
Jiang Ning smiled and nodded.
The Xi'an prefect sent someone to summon the official in charge of purchasing grain, and they waited in the side hall.
"May I ask your surname, young hero?"
The prefect of Xi'an asked with a smile.
As the prefect of a prefecture, he usually has many affairs to attend to, let alone during this flood, when he is extremely busy. However, the prefect of Xi'an still took the time to chat with Jiang Ning, which shows how important the 100,000 taels of silver was to him.
Jiang Ning smiled and said, "My surname is Jiang."
"Young Master Jiang, you are disrespectful and disrespectful."
The Xi'an Prefect bowed and said.
"I see that Young Master Jiang is handsome and has an extraordinary demeanor. He must be a favorite disciple of Headmaster Yue. If I hadn't known beforehand, I would have thought that Young Master Jiang was some young master from a wealthy family, haha."
I hadn't noticed it before, but now, during a casual chat, the Xi'an prefect has finally taken notice of Jiangning's character.
Previously, the Xi'an prefect had the impression of Jianghu people as a group of crude and vulgar martial artists who were always shouting for violence and were all desperate criminals. The Xi'an prefect avoided these Jianghu people.
However, Yue Buqun's previous refined image and his current Jiangning have broken the Xi'an prefect's stereotype of Jianghu people.
"You flatter me, Prefect."
Jiang Ning smiled.
The prefect of Xi'an couldn't help but shake his head.
"If other martial arts practitioners had the chivalrous heart of Master Yue and your sect, how could the people be suffering like this now?"
Jiang Ning did not argue with him, but waited. Before long, an official arrived.
"Your subordinate greets Your Excellency, Prefect."
The Xi'an Prefect said, "Wu Zhe, you will be in charge of purchasing grain later. This is Young Hero Jiang from the Huashan Sect. He is here to assist the government in disaster relief and will accompany you to purchase grain. You must not be negligent in the slightest."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Wu Zhe quickly replied.
The Xi'an prefect nodded and looked at Jiang Ning, saying, "Young Master Jiang, I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
Jiang Ning nodded.
After the Xi'an prefect left, the official named Wu Zhe said to Jiang Ning, "Young Master Jiang, let's set off now."
"it is good."
Jiang Ning nodded.
Without further delay, the two went out.
At this time, it was pouring rain, and there were not many people walking on the streets of Xi'an Prefecture. Most of the shops on the street were also closed.
The two arrived at a rice shop, and the shop owner immediately got up to greet Wu Zhe.
"Oh, Mr. Wu, what brings you here?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Wu Zhe didn't dare to delay the order from his superiors and said directly, "Xi'an Prefecture has suffered a disaster, and the government needs to collect grain for disaster relief. How much grain do you have in this shop? The government will buy it all at the market price of one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure)."
The shop owner was immediately perplexed upon hearing this.
"Oh dear, Mr. Wu, this...this..."
Wu Zhe frowned: "What? Is there a problem?"
The shop owner looked troubled.
“Master Wu, the price of grain has gone up now. It costs one tael and two mace to buy one shi of grain.”
"Ok?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhe's face immediately darkened, and he questioned, "You dare to deliberately raise grain prices?"
"Don't dare."
The shop owner hurriedly waved his hand.
“Master Wu, as you know, there is a flood in Shaanxi. Many places are submerged, and the roads are difficult to travel. The cost of manpower and materials has increased. The grains in my shop are all transported from other places, which is why the price of grain has increased. It’s not that I’m deliberately raising the price of grain.”
Wu Zhe's expression softened slightly, and he said, "I see, but the price cannot be changed; it remains one tael of silver per shi of grain."
The shop owner looked distressed and said, "Master Wu, one tael and two mace is already the lowest price in my shop. If it's one tael of silver for one shi of grain, I'll really lose money."
"That's it. One tael of silver equals one shi of grain. If you dare to say anything more, I'll just confiscate all the grain in your shop and not give you a single cent. Have you paid your taxes in full? Show me your ledger. If you've paid even a cent less, I'll take you to jail right now."
After Wu Zhe's threats, the shop owner finally gave in and agreed.
"Alright, transport all the grain in your shop to the government office later, and someone will pay you."
After saying that, Wu Zhe turned to Jiang Ning and said, "Young Master Jiang, let's go."
Jiang Ning hadn't said a word since he came in, but now he nodded and left.
On the way, Wu Zhe and Jiang Ning started talking.
"These troublemakers are all greedy and greedy. They keep complaining about how difficult things are here and there. How difficult can things be? More difficult than the imperial court? They all want to make money off the disaster. They don't even consider that with all the price increases, where will the imperial court get so much money to buy everything? Once the imperial court really stops caring, will those disaster victims have any way to survive? In the end, if the disaster victims rebel, won't they eat them alive?"