[Red Mansion] The happiness of a winner in life

The turmoil in the capital could not reach the northernmost part of the frozen water country. If Jia Amnesty hadn't occasionally visited the nursing home when he was out on patrol, he might have thought that the four counties were deserted.

The people are hiding in their homes and dare not come out. Only soldiers and yamen servants move around in the streets.He had never been here before, but he could imagine that the four counties before the disaster must have been extremely lively, and people all over the streets should be preparing for the twelfth lunar month.

A snow disaster killed more than half of the people in the entire county.The population of the counties in these remote places was not large at all, but at this time it suddenly decreased by half, and I am afraid that it will be difficult in the future.

In an agricultural society, population is the primary driving force for development.Even if the tax is reduced or exempted for health and interest, I am afraid that it will not be delayed for 20 years.

Jia Amnesty sat on the lower seat and stared at the teacup, pretending to be interested in the patterns.King Zhongjing called people from the four counties together to discuss matters, and Jia Amnesty could only sit below and accompany him.

King Zhongjing arrived in Sanshui County on the fourth day after Jia Amnesty arrived, and the journey along the way was full of dust and dust.They rushed to Sanshui along the road cleared by Jia Amnesty, but they brought more things, so the time to travel was about the same.

After the group came over, they asked people to divide their things into four parts and send them to the four counties, and temporarily stayed in Sanshui County.The county magistrate of Sanshui County couldn't help being overjoyed, the prince lived in his own county, although he was worried about the danger, but the joy of taking advantage of it prevailed.

As soon as the craftsmen came over, they began to clean up some houses in the county. If the houses collapsed and no one was home, they would tear them down, and if there were still people in the house, they would repair them.The timber from the demolished houses was picked up, and some large timber such as girders were stored in the county government warehouse.

They plan to split all the wood if the people don't have enough firewood, and they can use the wood to build houses after the disaster is over.

After cleaning up these dilapidated houses, although the sense of dilapidation in the county is gone, it makes people feel even more lonely.Jia Amnesty occasionally went to the county town to visit, but now he doesn't really want to go.

He also withdrew his troops as early as King Zhongjing arrived and stationed them all outside the city.Before, there was not enough manpower, but now that there are serious imperial envoys, Jia Amnesty is not willing to conflict with King Zhongjing.

King Zhongjing's coming here to help the disaster is just to show that the royal family cares about the people, but in fact it doesn't do much.But he also wants to make some contributions, although he doesn't intend to compete for anything, but he also wants to show his talent.

His biological mother was Depin, but she was born as a court lady.It is said that mothers are more expensive than their children, but in fact, the princes in the palace were more expensive than their mothers when they were young.

His mother's family is not as prominent as the first two brothers, and his biological mother is not as pampered as Zhen Guifei.Since he was a child, he knew that if he didn't fight, he would not be able to fight even if he fought, but he was inferior.The appearance of not fighting or grabbing is actually admirable.

Now that the father is getting older, he also faintly fears the prince, so he dare not show his head.At this time, you are either acting as a shield or as a stepping stone, as long as you are steady.

Zhongjing also knew that his father sent him here because he usually didn't fight or snatch, so he simply gave him this job, and he would be proud of himself when he finished it.He also specially arranged for An Guogong to assist, so that he would not make any major mistakes.

He wanted to win over Jia She, but he couldn't say much when he saw Jia She looked down at the teacup.Somewhat breathless, he asked the four county magistrates sitting below, hoping that they could come up with a plan to save the people.

Jia Amnesty seemed rather boring, the cases from previous years had been repeated over and over again, and the county magistrates really couldn't come up with any more plans.

After all, the snow has stopped now, and it can even be said that the snow disaster has passed.It's just that the heavy snow fell too fast and too much in those few days, and the common people were unprepared in the middle of the night, so many people died in one fell swoop.

Coupled with the thick snow, the roofs of many people have collapsed, and the livestock and grain in the fields are gone.The losses in the county were too great to be concealed.

These disaster relief came here with firewood and food, which is enough for the people who are still alive.I couldn't think of anything else to do for a while, so a few people just stayed in the tent in a daze.

Jia Amnesty felt a little helpless, "His Royal Highness, everyone said 'safety never forgets danger'①. Although the snow has stopped now, it is hard to guarantee that it will not fall again in a few days. It is better to let the carpenters help the people repair the roof. We should be prepared for snow again.”

King Zhongjing nodded and hesitated, "But I didn't bring too many carpenters, and it's unrealistic to repair all the houses in the county."

The county magistrate of Bao County bowed his hands after hearing this, "Your Highness, most of the houses in the county are bought by wealthy families. It shouldn't take much time for the carpenters to go around the house and see if there are any cracks. .”

The county magistrate of Sanshui also thinks it makes sense, "Your Highness, after all, there are not many houses in the county. We originally had a population of just over 8000, and the carpenters you brought can only be inspected once. There are so many people, it won't take long."

King Zhongjing sounded reasonable, so he ordered the chief carpenter to be called, and asked the three hundred carpenters to go to the county to go to the county in four parts as before, and check each house.

The carpenters listened to what the royal family had to say. Although they felt it was hard work, they did not dare to complain about it.King Zhongjing saw that he really had nothing to say and was about to let people go, but suddenly remembered a key question.

"Where are the people who died in your counties placed? Are they all buried? Why didn't anyone report this to me?" Zhong Jing only now remembered that there were still people who died, and was a little puzzled why no one told him.

Jia Amnesty looked at King Zhongjing in surprise, a little surprised that he didn't know.The four county magistrates all had bitter faces, and after looking at each other, one of them said: "Your Highness has a high status, and the common people died in miserable conditions, so I dare not stain His Highness's eyes."

"Tell me." King Zhongjing said lightly.

"Your Highness, the common people are placed in Yizhuang and Louze Garden. Because there are too many, we can only put them there temporarily and wait for the soil to freeze less severely before burying them." Sanshui County Magistrate said with a low eyebrow and pleasing to the eye.

"Then just leave it like this now? When the soil loosens and the sky warms up, you want to make us all have trouble by doing this?" Zhongjing frowned very upset. He didn't expect the county magistrate to be so bold and wanted to let it go again. put.

"This...Your Highness, it's not that we don't want to, it's really impossible."

"But you can't just leave it like this. Haisheng, come here. You transfer 100 people from my own soldiers. You find good places in various counties, and I have people dig holes and set fire to them. If there are still relatives alive, The body must be buried in the ground within three days."

Zhongjing directly issued an order, if the whole family died, it would be fine, and they would burn it together.If any surviving relatives are still alive, they must also be buried within three days.This must not be relaxed, in case there is a human plague, it is not a joke.

All the people in the camp were speechless for a while, these people were pitiful enough to suffer from the disaster, and now they can't even go to the ground.The four have been parents' officials for many years, and they have long regarded this place as their hometown, and they love the people even more.

Jia She raised his head and glanced, "Your Highness, this plague is only caused by the hot weather. At this time, the corpses are still frozen, so nothing will happen. Otherwise, it's better to dig a deep hole and bury it deep. This fire... "

"Don't say any more, and no doctor said that nothing will happen if the body is frozen. In any case, it is better to act as soon as possible, and don't delay." King Zhongjing emphasized again that he did not agree to waste time digging a deep pit.

King Zhongjing looked at their surprised and disapproving expressions, and felt in his heart that they were ignorant of compliments.Being a child of the royal family is the most important thing. If you really contract the plague because of a few untouchables, wouldn't it be ridiculous.

Seeing that King Zhongjing had made up his mind, and panicked where so many corpses were placed, everyone half-heartedly agreed.Anyway, they were not the ones who gave the order, and even if there was infamy, it would not reach them.

"Mr. An, why not..." King Zhongjing looked at what Jia She wanted to say, and Jia She stood up directly, "If Your Highness wants my subordinates to carry it out, don't worry, I won't do it."

After speaking, he sneered and left directly, letting the lieutenant pay attention to the situation and not planning to get involved.King Zhongjing was a little annoyed when he saw Jia Amnesty leaving, but he was just relying on his own merits.

He wanted to punish him, but he also knew that the nobleman was a Duke of the State, and his official position was the second rank, so he really couldn't move Jia Amnesty.He was even more depressed, and vowed in his heart that when he found a chance, he would kill his prestige.

The people in the camp saw that Jia She didn't show face to the lord so much, they wished there was a crack for them to get in, and they didn't dare to see the lord's jokes.Zhongjing looked at the person in front of him and stopped talking, he snorted and ordered the county magistrates to handle the matter.

The county magistrates dared not refuse, so they could only hold back their resentment and agreed.They have been operating here for so many years and it is completely ruined. If the people know that they have left the bones of their fellow countrymen and even relatives and friends...

Under the convenient condition that King Zhongjing sent someone over, Sanshui quickly dug a hole, and placed several large jars of wine around it.Afraid of accidents, Jia Amnesty brought people to guard him, but he didn't interfere.

In his opinion, cremation and burial are optional, but burial is still popular in this era.I'm afraid that when King Zhongjing returns to the capital, those idle censors will read a book.

King Zhongjing took a look from a distance, only those countless hands and feet were stacked together, and occasionally a pale and blue face could be seen.Even though it was far away, King Zhongjing was taken aback, and he believed that he was right even more in his heart.

Under the supervision of the prince, a big hole was quickly dug.There used to be a large vegetable field here, but the soldiers finally dug a hole after clearing the snow and burning it with fire.

This pit can't put so many people in at once, less than a hundred corpses were put in at a time.Pour strong wine, throw the torch into the pit, and the flame will rise with a brush.

With the crackling sound, a thick smoke also rose from the sky.The people living around were wrapped in thick clothes and watched numbly as the corpse was burned in the flames. In the distance, many people came over who had learned that the corpse would be burned today.

Some knelt down and begged, but when the soldiers asked if they should take them away and bury them within three days, they just knelt on the ground and kept crying.

Some looked like scholars pointing aside, although they dared not say it out loud, their expressions were contemptuous.He thought King Zhongjing was disrespecting the rules of his ancestors and ruining his morality.

King Zhongjing looked at these people pointing at the bottom, summoned the accompanying imperial physicians, and asked the soldiers to take the gongs and beat them in front of the group of people.The old imperial physician stood in front of the people and shouted as loudly as possible.

"This old man is the imperial physician in the palace. His Highness burned the corpse this time as a last resort. Please listen to me." Seeing the people in front of him all looking at him, he continued to raise his voice.

"After this catastrophe, there must be a plague because the dead bodies are not clean and are piled up together. In order to avoid the plague and for the lives of all of us, we can only choose to burn the bodies.

Otherwise, at that time, I am afraid that our four counties will be sealed off.His Highness really couldn't bear to cause a tragedy in the world, so he decided to take the blame on himself. I hope you can understand. "

The imperial physician had tears in his eyes, and his sincerity made many people believe his words.This is a doctor who came out of the palace. He said it might be possible.

For a moment, everyone panicked and wanted to stay away from Liuze Garden.

Some people even asked in unison: "My lord, there are still a few corpses in our neighbor's house, is there something wrong?"

"My lord, what should we do when the plague comes, my lord?"

"My lord, my parents' bodies are still in the hall, what should I do?"

...

The imperial doctor only felt that there were hundreds of ducks making noise around him, so he listened patiently and asked the soldiers to beat the gong.

"Boom—" The common people knew that this was the official who had something to say, so they no longer crowded and made noise.

"His Highness has ordered that those who have remains at home must be buried within three days, and they will be searched from house to house. The weather has not warmed up yet, so it doesn't matter if they are left at home, just arrange the burial as soon as possible."

After the imperial doctor finished speaking, he asked the soldiers to take him away. There are too many people here, and they look very fierce.As soon as he was old, he didn't dare to fight head-on with these young and middle-aged men.

Jia She keenly sensed that something was wrong. As soon as the word "human plague" came out, the people might not be able to live in peace for a few days.

Sure enough, there have been more fights and fights among the common people in the past few days, all because of the dead bodies of their relatives.Zhang San's family was afraid to bury the body early, so the neighbor Li Si's family still had his father's body and was naturally unhappy.

But Li Si wanted to keep his father for one more day and couldn't bear to bury him. Zhang San insisted on forcing him to bury him, and the two families immediately fought.The trouble didn't stop until the yamen servants came over, and Li Si spit on Zhang San's face before leaving.

After the noisy disposal of the corpses, there were still many skulls and bone fragments in the original pit.After all the fragments were buried, it was not finished. The county magistrate also summoned many monks and priests to perform a ritual ceremony.

After this incident, several counties seemed to recover suddenly, and the people dared to leave their homes.Occasionally there are children's laughter on the street.

A group of people stayed here until the Spring Festival, and it didn't snow again, as if the heavy snow a month ago was just a dream.Both King Zhongjing and Jia She thought there was no problem, and the group went straight back home.

It was clear that it was supposed to snow in the twelfth lunar month of winter, but it didn't fall. Jia She guessed that it was the blizzard that fell for a month's worth, so that he could go home smoothly without being trapped halfway.

When they returned to the capital, the emperor had already sent people to meet them. King Zhong Jing, Jia She and Vice General Yang all went to the palace to have an audience and report the results of the disaster relief to the emperor.

Jia Amnesty and Vice General Yang only talked about the casualties in the four counties, and King Zhongjing added the rest.The emperor made it clear that he wanted to do something for the four sons, so they naturally had to be dumb.

Of course, King Zhongjing would not be so foolish as to take the credit for himself, and report to the emperor exactly what Jia She did.

After An Guogong's mansion received the news, they sent people to drive the carriage to the gate of the palace to meet Jia Amnesty. After Jia Amnesty left the palace gate to bid farewell to the two, he got into his own carriage and went home.

When we arrived at Rongxi Hall, the pomelo peels and brazier were placed there, and Shui Ze sat inside with Jia Lian in his arms, waiting for him to come in.After Jia She stepped over the brazier and entered the house, Shui Ze wanted to come over. Jia She waved his hands and went to the back of the screen to take a bath with grapefruit peels to get rid of the darkness.

After Jia She came out wearing a loose undershirt, Mizusawa hugged Jia She.Jia Lian also held his parents' hands and stood obediently aside, and when Jia Amnesty remembered Jia Lian, Jia Lian's eyes were so red that he was about to cry.

Jia Amnesty picked Jia Lian up, took Shui Ze's hand and sat on the kang together.Mizusawa didn't speak, just kept looking at Jia Amnesty.It took me a long time to say "You've lost weight."

Jia Amnesty held Shui Ze's hand, "Didn't you come back safely? This time I went to provide disaster relief, and there was nothing good in that place, so I didn't bring you a gift. Next time, I'll take the two of you out to play together."

Mizusawa smiled, his eyes were a little moist. "I don't want any gifts from you. I just want to be with you forever. I can't sleep all night after you leave. I want to write to you but I'm afraid you're busy..."

After the couple talked for a while, Jia Amnesty changed his clothes and went to greet Jia Daishan.He should report a letter to his father when he comes back from going out, so as not to worry his father.