Heaven's Formula

In the past two days, whenever Liu Ruyan was free, he devoted his time to pinyin.

The more she studied, the more she felt that this method was promising.

For children who have not received enlightenment, this simple and easy-to-use new phonetic method will definitely greatly improve their word recognition speed.Even for a person like her who has a small success in learning, it is also of great significance-after having this set of standards, Liu Ruyan found that she could easily annotate a poem.

In the past, this was something only famous masters could do.

In the years after being sold into a drunken brothel, she also learned a lot of things, such as music, dancing, and even techniques to please men.But that was all forced, and every time I think about it, the memories are full of pain.

Now, she seems to have returned to her childhood. Learning is out of interest, and it makes her feel the joy that she has not seen for a long time.

……

On the outskirts of the west gate of Jinxia City, Hong Siqi, the new prefect, is completing his first mission.

"Master, the refugees... are coming."

The servant Ding Pan swallowed.

"I saw it." Hong Siqi said calmly.

"You...do you really want to stay here?" He looked back, and there were less than 50 people who followed them on this trip.Compared with the dark crowd in the distance, this small group is like a rock in the torrent. If the refugees get restless, they can be trampled to pieces just by their feet.

Ding Pan has followed the master for so many years, and he is the one who has really seen riots.

As long as there are enough people, even unarmed refugees can cause great harm.

Therefore, one of the things that the governments of various places are most afraid of is that the vagrants gather in groups, and they will be dispersed as soon as possible if they can be driven away. If they cannot be driven away, the local garrison must be notified.

Mr. Fu Cheng didn't explicitly embarrass the master, but the Bureau only sent so few people here, so what's the difference between embarrassing and embarrassing?He has already seen that the people sent here are all young lads with less experience than him. It would be foolish to expect these people to stop the refugees when they are in danger!

"I don't have to stay here, or even just leave, but then?" Hong Siqi glared at the servant, "This place is no longer for me, and neither is silver! It’s just to take over the government office, so I can still count on the officials to understand my suffering and issue a new transfer order?”

He turned to the crowd in the distance again, "So I have to do this, and I have to do it properly, so that I have a chance to gain His Highness's attention!"

"Then the resettlement of refugees...how can it be considered properly?" Ding Pan wondered.When it comes to expulsion, let alone the experienced master, even he can imitate it well.But this resettlement... Really want to gather all the refugees together?If there is a riot, it will really be called digging one's own grave.

"Stupid words, there is no unchanging standard in this world. Satisfying Her Highness the Princess and Lord Xia, this matter is naturally considered appropriate." Hong Siqi snorted coldly, "So what you should ask is not how to calculate appropriate, but What is the standard of satisfaction for these two people?"

Ding Pan felt that his thoughts had broadened a lot after being told by the master, "That's why you spent several days wandering around the market area and the wharf area..."

"That's right. As far as I can conclude, His Highness seldom reveals his attitude, but Master Xia's thoughts can still be figured out." Hong Siqi patiently explained - there is a shortage of people around him now, if the servants can be It's better to cultivate it than to work alone. "First of all, he emphasizes order and discipline, so it is definitely not enough to just gather refugees together. Secondly, he does not like direct charity, but prefers to mobilize people's enthusiasm, just like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey. As for the second Three o'clock..."

"What's the third point?"

"Forget it, pretend I didn't say it." Hong Siqi took back the words that came to his lips, because it was really unbelievable - judging from the answers he asked everyone, Xia Fan really fed carrots to people.In other words, he really cares about the living standard of the people and tries to improve it continuously.

The question is, what is he trying to do?

achievements?The Ministry of Officials will not care about a Privy Council official.status?Judging from the princess' trusting attitude, no one can shake his position in Jinxia City.Currency?That is obviously a cost-effective way to put the proceeds in your own pocket.Even those scholar-bureaucrats with lofty aspirations and dedication to the country, the essence is to make their official careers to a higher level.It was the first time Hong Siqi saw someone like Xia Fan.

Maybe he has a deeper plan, but he hasn't figured it out yet.

Considering this point, Hong Siqi decided to temporarily press the third clause.

"But master, will these people really listen to you?" Ding Pan worried.

"Whether they will listen or not, just try it."

When the black crowd approached, Hong Siqi took a step forward and shouted to the refugees, "I am Hong Siqi, the prefect of Jinxia City, and I will place you here in the name of the princess!"

"My lord, give me something to eat, my child is starving to death."

"Let us rest on the edge of the city, please!"

"My lord, we won't make trouble for you..."

Accompanied by pleading, the crowd did not stop, but slowly crowded towards where they were standing.

Immediately, Hong Siqi's palms were sweating. There were at least seven or eight hundred people in this wave. Just standing in front of him could feel the pressure brought by the crowd. In normal times, he had asked the yamen servants to raise their guns. blocked before.

"Are you deaf? Let me stop!" He resisted the urge to back off, and reprimanded sharply, "Whoever dares to take a step forward, I will cut off his dog's legs!"

After finishing speaking, he pulled out his saber and thrust it into the ground in front of him!

Chapter 235 Welcome to Jinxia City!

Seeing the shining long sword, the person walking in the front showed timidity.

On the opposite side is the official ordered by the imperial court and the prefect of a city. If it is not a desperado, no one wants a conflict between the officials.

After a commotion, the momentum of the crowd slowed down.

Hong Siqi knew that the pause was only temporary, and he couldn't frighten everyone with a sword, so he shouted loudly, "Listen to me, Your Royal Highness is merciful, and I won't kick you out like bastards!" Let’s go, on the contrary, we have prepared food and drink for you. But——you must obey Lao Tzu’s command!”

This is not what a fourth-rank civil servant should say, but rather the style of a martial artist. If it is on the streets of Gyeonggi, someone will definitely ginseng him the next day.But Hong Siqi couldn't take care of those at the moment-elegant shouting was obviously not as easy to understand as swearing.

"Listen to me, from now on, whoever is obedient will have something to eat. Whoever dares to make trouble, the people around will have nothing to eat!"

As soon as these words came out, the restlessness suddenly subsided a bit, and everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and the atmosphere seemed to be wary of who was making trouble.

"My lord," a woman asked tremblingly, "Is what you said true? Princess...won't you drive us away?"

"And there's food to eat?" Another person asked.

This is also a concern of the vast majority of refugees.

"This matter involves the face of the royal family, do you think I will say it out to tease you?" Hong Siqi drew his sword and pointed at the west gate, "The tent has been set up, and the hot porridge is being cooked, but you must obey my arrangement. To stay in the camp! Ding Pan!"

"Sir, please tell me."

"Read the rules!"

"Yes!" Ding Pan quickly unfolded the long scroll in his hand - this is also the regulation set by the master last night, "Everyone is not allowed to push or preempt, and must follow the guidance of the staff of the secretariat, and move into the camp in batches."

"First of all, men and women are separated left and right, each forming six teams! Children under six years old can follow their mothers regardless of gender, and those over six years old line up according to gender!"

Obviously, this step cannot be accomplished by the refugees themselves.Hong Siqi nodded to the staff provided by the Bureau, and the latter immediately acted.

The prefect unexpectedly discovered that these people were young, but they were very agile in their work.It seems that Xia Fan was not perfunctory when he said that they were all masters trained by the guide, at least he understood the meaning of the order immediately.

This process took nearly half an hour.

Someone in the line has already started to complain that the queue is too slow.

What a bunch of thugs who don't know what to do!

Hong Siqi waved to Ding Pan, signaling him to move on to the next step.

The latter cleared his throat, "Now, start counting in a group of ten people, and those who are counted will follow the guide to the camp! The counting method is point by point, jump by point, regardless of whether it is a column or a row!"

"My lord, that's my brother!"

"We are one family! My lord, please let us be together!"

At this point, disagreements finally arose, and some refugees lined up were forced to separate because they were skipping people. This unexpected decision caused a commotion in the crowd.

Hong Siqi will definitely not let the beggar do what he wants.

Or rather, disrupting small groups of refugees was his goal.When these people gather together, it is easy to breed troubles. If there are many small groups gathered together, as long as there is a little internal contradiction, it will lead to fights.Conversely, if the Bureau of Affairs is under strict supervision, they will be temporarily hugged tightly and unanimously open to the outside world, which can be said to be unfriendly.

Therefore, the most reasonable solution is to isolate them when allocating camps.

"Want to be together? That's fine." Hong Siqi said coldly, "How about getting out of Jinxia City together? I don't want to repeat what I just said - only those who obey the command can have food!"

"Don't worry, everyone, this arrangement is only temporary. After you register your identities and become residents of Jinxia City, it doesn't matter how you gather!" Ding Pan, who acted as a red face, added, "In addition, there are special guards in the camp, so don't worry about it." It's a safety issue. It's just a matter of patience for a few days, so I advise everyone to follow the advice of the prefect."

Probably because it has been bumpy for too long, everyone is eager to find a place to settle down, and not many people follow and beg.In addition to the prefect's previous warning, even if some refugees do not want to be separated from their families, they will inevitably restrain themselves a bit when they see the expressions of everyone around them watching them.

After all, this step is passed smoothly.

Hong Siqi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Once the refugees were broken up and reorganized, their potential deterrent power would be much smaller.

After that, things went smoothly.

Distributing porridge, registering, inquiring... These matters are all handled by special personnel from the secretariat, and he does not need to worry about them.After a busy day, most of the tents outside the west city gate were already occupied.

"As expected of a master." Ding Pan said with emotion sincerely, "Things that I had no experience with before can be done in one go, and it's done so smoothly! So Her Royal Highness will think highly of the master, right?"

"This is just the beginning." Hong Siqi said indifferently, "Leizhou is corrupt, how could there be only seven or eight hundred people who escaped. It is a flood, and the peak has not yet reached Jinxia City. Wait until the next time thousands of people will escape." When people are flocking here, the fifty or so people in the secretariat alone are not enough to see."

"Then you ask Lord Xia for some more?"

"Oh, that's only if they have enough manpower." Hong Siqi stroked his beard and chuckled, "But don't worry, I've already thought of a countermeasure, and maybe I can make a fortune."

The next day, the prefect came to the camp and announced a message to the refugees—there is a large demand for porters in Jinxia City, and they can be paid daily.He intends to select a hundred young men from the crowd to do the job.

This news immediately caused a wave of waves. Everyone left their hometowns and was driven all the way here. It was hard to fill their hungry stomachs yesterday, and the next thing they thought about was naturally what to do in the future.Everyone knows that there will be a day when the free rice porridge will cease to be available. If you can save some money here, it may save lives in critical times.

The [-] places were quickly filled up, and even if the eunuch proposed that [-]% of the remuneration would be introduction fees, no one objected.

After all, drifting away and managing some money are commonplace, especially when the government takes the lead.The other party only charges [-]%, which is considered a good official who cares about the people.

On the third day, Hong Siqi brought more daily job opportunities, and this time the number increased to more than two hundred.

That night, everyone in the refugee camp knew one thing—Jinxia City is full of opportunities, as long as you are willing to work, it is not difficult to earn money; It's not the same, the work involved is very reliable, and you can pay as much as you need in one day, and you are never in arrears until the next day.

This is the case on the fourth and fifth days.

On the sixth day, Hong Siqi himself offered a job: recruiting 400 people to help him guide the newly arrived refugees.Although the remuneration offered was not high, everyone knew that this was helping the prefect, and the responders were quite enthusiastic. Many women tried to get this job opportunity.

When Hong Siqi came to the old place in the western suburbs, the wave of refugees gradually came into view—the scale of this wave of people was obviously larger than that of the previous wave, and it was conservatively estimated that there were more than 2000 people.

But now behind him are no longer only fifty guides from the Bureau, the new team formed by refugees is standing in several rows and is supporting him.These people held long sticks and tied red satin around their shoulders, looking like a city wall.

Facing this eye-catching "defense line", the migrating refugees consciously slowed down and stopped in front of the prefect without even needing him to shout.

Hong Siqi stroked his beard and nodded to Ding Pan.

The latter took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Everyone must have worked hard all the way. This is the end of the refuge. Welcome to Jinxia City!"

……

Chapter 236 A New Department

"This man... has some skills."

After listening to Wei Wushuang's report, Xia Fan raised his eyebrows unexpectedly.He thought that the officials transferred to Jinxia by the Ministry of Officials were mainly to inquire about the situation, and to put it bluntly, they were cannon fodder, so his idea was also very straightforward, find something for the other party to do, and if there is a mistake, he will be kicked out. Enable it again, so that neither side has anything to say.

But after a week, Hong Siqi not only met the basic requirements for taking in refugees, but also organized a group of people to deal with the next wave of refugees, which was very surprising.

Now the first batch of civil servants are still being trained, and it can be said that the Bureau needs people everywhere.It is undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for Jinxia City, which is operating at full capacity, to save manpower for him and solve the resettlement problem by himself.

According to Xia Fan's original plan, when the number of refugees from Leizhou reached a peak, the princess' army would be used to maintain order.

"Master Taishou is indeed very skilled," Wei Wushuang agreed. "He has almost become a regular visitor to the Bureau of Affairs, and he will come every day to ask where a large amount of labor is needed to work. And as far as I know, he not only contacts affairs Bureau, as well as foreign merchants in the dock area, and even made an idea of ​​the elves."

"Oh? Tell me in detail later?" Xia Fan suddenly became interested.Although the "overseas people" and "exotic customs" announced to the outside world have weakened the concept of monsters in elves, the long pointed ears are still a symbol of aliens in the eyes of most people, so that city residents will not treat elves Yelling and shouting, but they also kept a certain social distance, willing to deal with them, so far only some fishermen outside the east wall.

Unexpectedly, the new prefect has accepted the existence of elves in less than half a month, and is trying to expand overseas channels?

"He has observed tree boats for a while, and he thinks that catching fish, killing fish, drying fish, and transporting fish requires a lot of manpower, and at the same time, they don't need too much craftsmanship." Wei Wushuang laughed, "It's a pity that there are not many people who can communicate with elves. Well, he couldn't find a way to connect with Mr. Mo, so he had to give up in the end."

Xia Fan also laughed.

Apparently, in order to get this seat, Mr. Hong wandered around the city a lot.Compared with the officials he had seen who sat high in the lobby and kept out of the door, Hong Siqi was undoubtedly a man of action. This ability to adapt to local conditions alone was enough to prove that he was a man of action.

So here comes the question, how did such an official with a good foundation and a formal Jinshi background be thrown into Jinxia City?

Judging by the enthusiasm with which he expressed his service to the princess on the spot, he didn't seem like a rigid and stubborn person.

"But the [-]% money... Brother Xia, what do you think?" Wei Wushuang asked after hesitation.

As an "insider" inserted into the guide, he almost participated in the whole process, and naturally saw the scene where Hong Siqi secretly collected introduction fees.

Xia Fan didn't answer immediately, but asked instead, "What do you think?"

"Uh..." Wei Wushuang touched his head honestly, "If it was in the past, I would only think that such a good thing would only charge [-]% of the intermediary fee. At that time, the Dawan grain store had to prepare in advance when dealing with the government. I'm so filial to Yin. But after following Brother Xia for so long, I feel that...some things that have been agreed in the past are not necessarily right."

Xia Fan raised the corners of his mouth in relief. He didn't care what others thought, but Wei Wushuang was an old friend who had followed him since he was a scholar in Qingshan Town.Being able to gradually reverse his thoughts in the deep-rooted secular concepts proves that what he did in Jinxia City has begun to have a different impact, just like a stone thrown into a pond. Although the ripples are small, they will continue to spread.

"Yes, this is not the correct course of action."

"Do I need to remind him then?"

"It's not necessary, let him do it first." Xia Fan smiled lightly, "He is not an official trained by the Bureau of Affairs, and he may not stand on the princess's side in the future. As long as it does not cause substantial damage I can temporarily turn a blind eye to the damage—on the premise that he can successfully complete the task entrusted to him by the secretariat as he is doing now."

He could feel that the other party was actually testing.

He only charged [-]% of the money, and then spent more than half of it when organizing the refugee guide team, probably to find out the attitude of him and the princess.

Hong Siqi can be afraid, and won't stretch his hand too long in a short time.

In the final analysis, the management talents of Jinxia City are really lacking.

"I understand." Wei Wushuang nodded.

"By the way, I want to set up a new branch recently to manage the transactions and reserves of staple food." Xia Fan changed the subject, "The number of refugees is still increasing, and the risk of food supply in Gaoshan County alone is too high. Before winter, I plan to buy a batch of grain from other places in Qiguo, the price is not an issue, the more the quantity, the better."