kvmb Chapter 201 Chen Gong's Methods
Chapter 201 Chen Gong's Methods
Chapter 201 Chen Gong's Methods
Early the next morning, Chen Gong did not eat breakfast, got on the carriage, and headed straight for Henan Yin.
Inside the carriage, the staff member was a little sleepy, but quite awake, and said: "Dong Weng, I checked carefully last night. The disaster in Henan Yin this year is not as serious as in previous years. The total number of people in Henan Yin's jurisdiction will not exceed 20,000."
Chen Gong knew all this better than his staff. He remained calm and said, "What Zhao Bi said makes sense. If we wait for disaster relief from the imperial court, it may take a month or two, and many people will die."
The staff nodded, sighed, and felt helpless.
The grain embezzled by the Henan Yin this time was the autumn grain of Henan County, which had not been stored in the warehouse. Theoretically, the imperial court did not know about the existence of this autumn grain, so how could the imperial court provide disaster relief?
As the saying goes, "In an emergency, one must take the necessary measures." The actions of Henan Yin were not an exception throughout the Han Dynasty, but rather very common.
"County magistrate, someone is following us." Suddenly, the officer outside the carriage came closer and whispered.
The aide was startled and wanted to lift the curtain to observe, but was stopped by Chen Gong.
Chen Gong looked calm and said calmly, "Don't move."
The staff member reacted and whispered, "Dong Weng, something is wrong."
If you really have a clear conscience, why send people to follow them?
Chen Gong sat still and said, "According to the plan."
The staff nodded slightly, secretly feeling that Chen Gong's trip might not be so smooth.
The officer outside the window responded, rode his horse, moved away a little, and continued on his way as usual.
It was early in the morning and there were very few pedestrians on the road. Chen Gong's carriage was moving at a leisurely pace. After turning a few corners, it suddenly sped up and headed straight for the city gate.
The two men following not far behind looked at each other, found two horses from somewhere, and quickly caught up.
Chen Gong's carriage quickly left the city and headed non-stop to the area in Henan Yin where the disaster was most severe.
Along the way, Chen Gong's carriage hardly stopped. Even his meals were eaten in the carriage or on the horse. After taking a few bites, he continued on his way.
The two people who followed were hanging far away, neither too far nor too close, trying their best to hide their tracks.
In the afternoon, perhaps because he was tired, Chen Gong's carriage moved a little slowly, and even stopped at a farmyard.
The two people who were following got off their horses, took out bread from their arms, and looked at the distance.
One of them said, "Brother, our horses can't take it anymore."
The other man, who was obviously taller, looked directly at the farmer and said, "Their carriage is even more unbearable."
The younger brother bit into the bread, took the kettle from the horse's back, and said, "Brother, it would be better to just kill him. Is there any need to go through all these twists and turns?"
The eldest brother glanced at him and said, "This is the Luoyang magistrate. If he dies outside the city in such an unclear way, do you think the court will let it go?"
"Aren't there a few county magistrates who die every year?" The younger brother said nonchalantly, "At most, we can blame it on the robbers."
In the Han Dynasty, not to mention the county magistrates who died unexpectedly every year, even the prefects of a county could be killed at will.
The provincial governors and governors were not so safe either. In recent years, there were quite a few provincial governors and provincial governors who died in various strange ways.
The eldest brother snorted coldly and said, "Things are different now. This is the capital, and we must follow the rules in everything."
The younger brother didn't say anything, but still looked disapproving.
The eldest brother didn't say much. He ate while keeping an eye on the farmyard to prevent Chen Gong from doing anything tricky.
Two hours passed, and just when the two were getting a little impatient, Chen Gong's carriage drove out of the farmyard.
The eldest brother watched coldly, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Mark the road along the way, don't let them get out from under your noses!"
Without saying a word, I quickly mounted my horse and chased after him at a close distance.
The eldest brother waited for them to go far away, then stared at the courtyard for an incense stick of time. Seeing that there was no movement, he quietly sneaked in with a sharp knife in hand.
The small courtyard was not big, with only six rooms. The "big brother" quickly figured it out, and when he saw that Chen Gong was not playing any tricks, he mounted his horse and chased after him.
"Is there anything unusual?" the eldest brother asked in a deep voice after catching up.
The younger brother shook his head and said, "It's just that we're walking a little slowly. It's almost dark."
The eldest brother looked up and said, "We can't make it today. They will probably need to rest at night. Let's take turns sleeping tonight and keep a close eye on them."
The younger brother was somewhat disdainful and said, "Brother, this is just a small county magistrate. Are you too cautious to be afraid that they will play some tricks?"
The eldest brother snorted.
I didn't dare to speak for a moment.
Just as Big Brother had expected, Chen Gong's carriage traveled until it was completely dark and found another farmer's house.
Naturally, the two men could only guard outside and found a high place. The "little brother" even climbed up a big tree and stared down at the courtyard from above to prevent Chen Gong from escaping.
Silent all night.
The next day, Chen Gong's carriage drove out of the courtyard and continued on his way slowly.
The two brothers followed behind, and within half an hour, the elder brother's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he said, "Something is wrong!"
The younger brother was eating a piece of bread. Hearing this, he looked around and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
The eldest brother frowned and said, "There is something strange."
The younger brother looked confused.
The eldest brother thought about it for a long time, but couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he said, "Just keep an eye on it."
The younger brother shook his head and continued to eat the cake, saying, "This Chen Gong has been under our noses all the way, what could go wrong?"
The eldest brother listened, thought about it and agreed, and felt a little less uneasy.
Not far ahead, Chen Gong's carriage seemed unaware and continued moving forward as usual.
At the same time, Chen Gong appeared in a disaster relief center outside Henan County.
He was alone, wearing tattered clothes and with disheveled hair, blending in with the victims.
Looking at the big iron pots under the awnings and the victims queuing up to receive porridge, he observed carefully and then went over to get a bowl.
"Hurry up, hurry up, come and get another bowl after you finish eating, don't block others!" The clerk who was distributing porridge urged Chen Gong when he saw him staring at the porridge in the bowl.
Chen Gong didn't say anything. He took the bowl and walked to the side. He took a sip and found that it was corn porridge, which was quite thick. After finishing a bowl, he was no longer so hungry.
Chen Gong observed silently for a while, and then changed several porridge distribution points in succession. He found that not only was the porridge genuine, but the victims seemed to be accustomed to it and were not surprised at all, and did not fight for it.
At noon, Chen Gong arrived at the seventh place and found that there was not only porridge, but also soup noodles and meat soup!
Chen Gong squatted in the corner with a noodle in one hand and chicken soup in the other. He ate while constantly calculating in his mind.
"There are about 10,000 disaster victims here. In the past five days, at least 1,000 stones have been lost. Am I overthinking?"
Chen Gong thought about it, looked up at the disaster victims not far away, and subconsciously drank the soup and ate the cake.
"You are not a commoner, are you?" Suddenly, an old man sat down next to Chen Gong, smiling contentedly after eating and drinking.
Chen Gong glanced at him and asked, "How do you know?"
The old man shook his head and said, "Although you are dressed in rags, your skin is fair and tender, and your hands and nails are not covered with dust. Look at us disaster victims."
Chen Gong compared them briefly and nodded calmly, "The family was robbed."
The old man leaned against the wall, found a comfortable position, and sighed: "These days, you scholars don't have an easy life either..."
Chen Gong ignored him and thought about the matter while eating.
If Zhong Ji really did not embezzle the autumn grain but instead used it to provide relief to the victims, the nature of the matter would have changed and he would need to seriously consider countermeasures.
Seeing him eating slowly and politely, the old man couldn't help but smile and said, "You are in a good time now. God has eyes, and the governor of Henan is kind. He has opened the granary to release grain to help us. If you were like this in the past, you would have starved to death long ago."
Chen Gong paused, then suddenly turned to him and asked, "What do you think of Henan Yin?"
The old thief was startled, looked at him seriously, and said, "Are you a refugee from Yanzhou?"
Although Chen Gong spoke Mandarin, his words still had a Yanzhou accent.
Chen Gong remained calm and said, "He came from Shanyang and has only been here for a few days."
The old thief nodded suddenly, put down his guard, and sighed: "I know Shanyang County has been at war for the past few years, and it is not better than us."
At this point, he laughed again and said, "However, Henan Yin is a rare good official. Not long after he took office, he dealt with a group of corrupt officials, and all the proceeds were used to help us disaster victims. A while ago, there was a flood that submerged many places. If it were in previous years, many people would have starved to death. Henan Yin was kind and opened the granaries to release grain. In just these few days, countless lives have been saved. He is really kind-hearted..."
Chen Gong heard a lot of such words along the way. In a short period of time, Zhong Ji won the hearts of the people of Henan Yin, and his official reputation and fame were very good.
"At least one thousand stones have been used in the past few days." Chen Gong said to himself calmly.
The old man shook his head and said, "I don't know about these, but I heard that the court is investigating the governor of Henan. Alas, these days, the people are like grass, and the scholars are miserable. If you want to be a good official, you may not die well."
Chen Gong frowned, glanced at him, and remained silent.
He turned his head and looked not far away. The disaster victims were well fed and gathered together. Their words were all praising Zhong Ji.
Chen Gong looked at the soup cake and chicken soup in his hand again, his heart was suppressed, his eyes gradually became firm, and he said to himself: "If Zhong Ji really has such a heart for the people, what if I, Chen Gong, take the blame for him!"
Chen Gong finished his meal in a few bites, returned the bowl, and left the place where the victims were gathered.
After changing into casual clothes, Chen Gong went straight to Henan County.
He asked around quietly along the way and quietly arrived at Dacang, Henan County.
I saw that the warehouse was surrounded by a lot of people, including officials from Henan County and many officials from Beijing, who seemed to want to seal up the warehouse.
Chen Gong stood not far away and recognized that some of them were from the Household Department. He looked thoughtful.
Zhong Ji, a tall and fierce military commander, stood not far from the gate, sword in hand, watching coldly.
Not long after, the warehouse was sealed, and the people from the Household Department seemed to have said something to Zhong Ji, which made Zhong Ji very angry. He snorted, turned away and strode away.
The people from the Household Department discussed the matter in groups of three or four, and then left separately.
Chen Gong glanced around, pondered for a moment, and followed the officials from the Ministry of Revenue.
Not long after he walked out, Zhong Ji was caught up by a noble servant, who whispered in his ear: "Master, Chen Gong played some tricks and probably arrived at Henan Yin several hours earlier. I don't know where he is now."
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