How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

Liang Wanda actually did it, forcing several wealthy gentry to raze the gardens in their mansions and use them for farmers to grow short-term crops.

Xie Chengze was also very cooperative. He came to the inn and found Ouyang Jiu, "Brother Ouyang, can you make a few paintings for me? I can pay for it."

At that time, Bian Yangchun and others were worried about the fact that moving stones was too tiring and they could not earn much money. To make matters worse, Ji Songhua tripped while moving stones and sprained his foot, so he had to stay in the inn to recuperate.

So Xie Chengze came to help, and although Ouyang Jiu had a feeling that something was wrong, he still took the job.

There's nothing they can do, they are so short of money.

Xie Chengze also met a few clever students with painting skills in the inn and provided them with pens, ink and paper.

After everything was ready, he set off with Jing Ze and several students. Zhu Xiaobiao, worried about the Second Prince's safety, also went to join in the fun.

Several people pretended to pass by the porridge stall and saw the prefect doing charity. Xie Chengze stopped and was inspired, and Zhu Xiaobiao, the "treacherous minister", immediately offered suggestions, saying that this scene should be preserved in a painting and passed down through the ages to serve as an example for future officials.

Xie Chengze deeply agreed with this idea, so he asked the students to paint for it.

The other students did not notice anything unusual at all. They just thought that this rich young master was an empathetic and sentimental person, and that Prefect Liang Wanda was so close to the people and loved things. They could not help but put their own emotions into it and painted the scene of the mutual love between the prefect and the people into the painting.

At the end of the day, all the students happily left with the money they earned from painting, except Ouyang Jiu, who seemed to be hesitant to speak before leaving.

Jing Ze was more straightforward, "Master, I always feel that you are being deliberate."

Xie Chengze was surprised, "Is it so obvious?"

Jing Ze nodded, frowned slightly and said, "It's not obvious, but it seems like he is deliberately creating an image of an honest official who loves the people like his own children for Governor Liang."

He didn't know what the Second Prince was trying to do. During the days he stayed in the government office, he only saw Xie Chengze doing nothing and not doing anything practical for Jiangdu County. After finally making some moves, it turned out to be just for these superficial efforts.

Jing Ze felt indescribable disappointment in his heart. He was worried that Zhu Xiaobiao did not join a wise leader, angry that no one cared about the lives of the people of Jiangdu, and annoyed by his own powerlessness.

Is following the Second Prince really a bright future?

Somehow, Jing Ze thought of the Privy Councilor Shen Yuan who had gone out of the city to resolve the disaster. He felt that he was a good official who truly cared about the people.

"Brother Cheng." At this time, Ouyang Jiu spoke.

Xie Chengze turned and looked at Ouyang Jiu.

Ouyang Jiu bowed lightly, put the purse in his hand back into Zhu Xiaobiao's hand, lowered his eyes and said softly, "I won't come tomorrow."

There are some money he is unwilling to earn.

Xie Chengze was not annoyed, but just raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Even if I do this, can it benefit the people of Jiangdu?"

Ouyang Jiu was stunned and looked puzzled.

"Brother Ouyang, why are you so anxious? Take this purse back. If you still feel that the money is dirty after a few days, you can come back and return it to me." Xie Chengze raised his chin slightly, signaling Zhu Xiaobiao to give the money to Ouyang Jiu.

Ouyang Jiu hesitated for a moment, thinking of the journey south together, Cheng Ze's kindness and sincerity were still vivid in his mind, Ouyang Jiu clenched his purse and said solemnly, "Okay."

After Ouyang Jiu left, Jing Ze asked, "What exactly are you planning, Your Highness? Do you really want to go along with that prefect Liang?"

Zhu Xiaobiao quickly pulled his sleeve and said to Xie Chengze with a dry laugh, "Your Highness, Jingze has a straightforward personality. You should not take it personally."

"No problem." Xie Chengze waved his hand, looking at the people queuing up to get porridge and smiling because the rice porridge became thicker, he said softly, "Look, they are really simple."

Just fill your stomach.

As long as you're alive, that's good.

As long as we can wait until Shen Yuan comes back, it will be fine.

Thinking of Shen Yuan's incredible look when he came back and saw the radiant faces of the people in Jiangdu County, Xie Chengze couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips and hum a folk tune from his hometown softly.

……

Two days later, a carriage loaded with seeds entered the city quietly at night. The next morning, Prefect Liang issued a notice, which explained the various difficulties in the city and the prefect's unwillingness to admit defeat. He now called on students and common people to go to a certain place to renovate the soil, grow crops to be self-sufficient, and overcome the difficulties together.

With the idea of ​​giving it a try, everyone went there and found that free grain seeds were being distributed at the gates of those gardens. Anyone who entered could form a team and get a small piece of land to grow short-term crops to solve their food and clothing problems.

Even though they know this cannot solve the current hunger problem, farmers will feel safe with land. The little green seedlings emerging from that small piece of land mean that they still have hope of survival. As long as they hold on, there will always be a bright future ahead.

The students and the people were all full of praise for the action of Governor Liang. The sentimental peasants burst into tears immediately, kneeling on the ground and kissing the land with tears in their eyes.

What they saw was not food, but the hope of survival.

With hope, there is cohesion.

And cohesion is what Xie Chengze is seeking.

A white chess piece fell quietly. Looking from above, the huge chessboard seemed to be shrouded in black fog and became blurry, making it impossible to see the situation clearly.

And that white chess piece fell into it, so insignificant, yet it emitted a faint luster.

……

Liang Wanda, sitting under the eaves, looked a little melancholy.

The Second Prince's trick would not work for long. After all, the relief grain in the city was very limited, and the granaries were filled with stale rotten rice and rice bran. Sooner or later, they would be unable to provide porridge, and public anger would erupt again.

Even if he described how difficult the situation was in the city, all his previous efforts would be wiped out, and the students would surely think to themselves: It turns out that Prefect Liang is just like that, not that great.

Then his dream of becoming an official in the imperial court would be shattered!

Damn it, if he had known this, he shouldn't have listened to that adult's empty words and embezzled the relief money, resulting in a lack of food now. If he had honestly bought the relief grain, he might have done something big by now and was taken to the capital by the second prince to serve as an official in the court!

And those old guys are so damn evil, they embezzled half of the relief money one by one, leaving not only not much money for him, but once the corruption is exposed, they will be the first to suffer!

Damn it! Since they were so unkind to him, don't blame him for backstabbing them!

Xie Chengze had no idea that the pie he casually drew would actually PUA Liang Wanda to this extent. When he woke up and went out, he saw Liang Wanda sitting under his eaves, looking melancholy and resentful.

"What is Magistrate Liang doing here?" Xie Chengze asked with a smile.

"Second Prince!" Liang Wanda quickly stood up and saluted. "I have thought about it carefully. This is not a long-term solution. Once the granary is empty, the people will make trouble again. By then, the students will see through our plan. It is better to find a reason to send them out of the city as soon as possible..."

Xie Chengze signaled him not to panic, "Prefect Liang, I see the grain in the granary is quite full, how could they eat it all? They will definitely be able to hold out until the riverbank is rebuilt."

Liang Wanda had no words to say, "Your Highness, I..."

Seeing Liang Wanda hesitating, Xie Chengze smiled slightly, his eyes secretly revealing a few chills, "Prefect Liang, don't worry, I'm here for you, and what's more, God will help you..."

His voice sounded mysterious. Liang Wanda looked up in confusion, but saw Xie Chengze smiling brightly. His handsome face was really dazzling.

Soon, Liang Wanda understood why Xie Chengze said that God helped him.

Heavy rain poured down again and the Minjiang River flooded again.

This time, the flood still rushed towards Jiangdu County.

In the original book, Yizhou suffered two consecutive floods. The second flood occurred after Shen Yuan and the Crown Prince arrived.

By then Shen Yuan had already found evidence of Liang Zhifu's corruption, but a sudden flood destroyed the granary, and all his efforts were ruined.

Xie Chengze didn't know the exact day when the rainstorm and flash flood would occur. At that time, he happened to be inviting Bian Yangchun and others to dinner in the inn. Ouyang Jiu liked to observe the changes in the sky and clouds, and guessed that there was a high probability of a heavy rainstorm in the next few days. Only then did Xie Chengze realize that this day was finally coming.

He immediately asked Prefect Liang to organize the people from nearby counties to seek refuge at the highest peak of Yuji Mountain.

A drizzle was falling, and the people didn't understand why they suddenly had to leave the city and go up the mountain. As they led the cattle and sheep up the mountain in the rain, they all complained in private. They wanted to turn back or rest halfway, but the yamen runners behind them had fierce expressions and blocked their way forcibly. They could only accept their fate and continue climbing the mountain.

It was not until the rain got heavier that the farmers were the first to react and began to persuade others to climb the mountain quickly. When the mountain torrents poured down and fiercely flooded the county towns along the way, the people and students who had already reached the top of the mountain realized the foresight of Governor Liang. They all cried bitterly and were glad that they had saved their lives.

And the granary was naturally also destroyed.

Fortunately, the edible rice had already been carried up the mountain by the officials, so it could last for some time. After this life-and-death experience, for the people, not being able to afford food became insignificant, and they even had more expectations and hopes for the future.

Just because they have a good prefect, and with such a wise and brave man like Prefect Liang leading them, they will definitely be able to survive and overcome the difficulties of this flood.

One farmer was so cruel that he decided to slaughter his cow to help everyone get through the difficult times and repay Liang Wanda for saving his life. However, Liang Wanda immediately rejected his kindness.

"This old ox is our farming partner, just like a relative. How can I eat it? When the floods recede, we will have to till the land again, so that the fields of Yizhou will be full of green rice and wheat again. We can't do without the old ox, just like I can't do without your support and cooperation."

The common people were moved to tears after hearing these words, and the students were even more excited. They vowed that when their names were on the imperial examination in the future, they would follow the words and deeds of Governor Liang, treat the people like their own children, and be benevolent and serve the country.

Xie Chengze took advantage of this good atmosphere and painted a big picture for Liang Wanda, "Look, Governor Liang, these students are likely to become your colleagues in the officialdom in the future, helping you to consolidate your position in the court and get whatever you want!"

Liang Wanda:!!!

Zhu Xiaobiao, Jing Ze and others on the side: ...

Second Prince, that’s enough, you are almost fooling people!!!