Chapter 32 Chapter Thirty-Two

An official ship sailed down the river for a day and a night, and entered the Inner Canal on the morning of August 11th in the fifth year of Daoguang.The official boat drifted in the inner canal for another half a day, and at noon that day it docked at a water transport pier.Mr. Boqin Ruobai, the alternate magistrate of the relief committee on board, led his four entourages ashore.There was already a big blue sedan chair waiting there on the shore, Mr. Bai boarded the sedan chair, and rushed to the Linjiang magistrate's yamen surrounded by four servants.Zhu Jianning, the elder of the prefect, summoned him immediately and entertained him with a feast that night.The next day—that is, August 12th, Mr. Bo abandoned the big blue sedan chair, changed into casual clothes, and led four entourages to Jinkou County.

When he traveled to Jinkou County, Mr. Bai didn't know that tens of thousands of hungry people in Jinkou County had risen under the mobilization of brothers surnamed Hong.He never expected that this trip would take a huge risk.When he was having a banquet at the prefect's yamen in Linjiang, Mrs. Zhu's words aroused some thoughts in him. He had a vague feeling that this trip might not be so smooth, and if it was not done well, he might offend some people. , and even provoked a lot of displeasure from the county lord of Jinkou. He still remembers Mr. Zhu's words clearly at this moment. Mr. Zhu said it implicitly, but he could hear the meaning inside.

The old man said: "Brother Bai, the investigation of the relief is absolutely untrue. It is a custom for the court to release relief in disaster years. After the relief is released, it is also a common practice for the committee members to check the relief. Those who are old and sophisticated in officialdom are mostly just going through the motions! Brother You are young, and you are new here, and you will be the magistrate in the future, and you will work with everyone here, so you must not accumulate any grievances for the investigation and relief!" He immediately became suspicious, and asked bluntly: "Master Zhu heard something? Could it be that Chen Rongjun, the lord of Jinkou County, committed fraud?"

Mr. Zhu shook his head quickly and said: "No! No! Chen Rongjun is an upright official, and the people in the county are well-known! I don't mean to say this for the county magistrate Chen, but for you, brother! You are only twenty-five or six years old this year, but I have already won the Jinshi, and I have become the master of the county waiting for vacancies. The future is boundless. Chayan is originally a temporary commissioner for Futai Master, not an official career. Don't be too serious, care about every detail, and make a lot of trouble. .There is a saying: those who know the current affairs are heroes.”

When he heard this, he felt a lot of unhappiness in his heart—obviously, the words of the magistrate already contained a threat, and he immediately got up without being humble and said: "The magistrate has one heart, and I will accept it. I will return it later." Please give me your advice and support. It’s just that the relief is a special favor of the imperial court. It is related to the life and death of the people in a county. died!" Mrs. Zhu was naturally unhappy when he heard this. Bo Qinruo immediately noticed that Mrs. Zhu gave a sneering smile, and a thick nasal sound came out from his round nostrils. It's about money.When I came to say goodbye the next morning, the elders were also quite negligent, and couldn't even get up while sitting on the grand teacher's chair.From this, Bo Qinruo concluded that the old man had an extraordinary relationship with Chen Rongjun, the magistrate of Jinkou County. Suchang probably received a lot of filial piety from Chen Rongjun, so the relief this time may not be so innocent!It is not known that the old man himself had a hand in the peddler.

However, no matter what, if Master Futai sent him down to investigate the relief, he had to make a serious inspection tour, even if he really offended Master Zhu and Chen Rongjun, it would be no big deal!Firstly, he may not be able to fill the vacancy in Linjiang Mansion in the future; secondly, what he eats is the salary of the imperial court, and he is an official ordered by the sage, so he must be loyal to the emperor and protect the people, and do his duty; thirdly, Master Futai knows him well Entrusted with a heavy responsibility, he must also be worthy of Mr. Futai. Bai Qinruo, a native of Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province, was 26 years old at the time. He was born in the Renwu Imperial Examination in the second year of Daoguang, and was a Jinshi in the Guiwei Division in the third year. Supplementary questions.In February of this year, my father passed away and I rushed back to my hometown Ding You in Kaifeng.In April, the county magistrate of Tangquan County under Liangjiang died of illness and took office. Yu Lianrong, the master of Futai, invited the sage to "retain talents and talents so as to receive practical results", and was ordered to limit his funeral for 100 days.Unexpectedly, there was an accident. Just as he came all the way to meet the Lord Futai, a Manchu official in the court had already recommended a bannerman Ma Ling'a to Tangquan to take up his post.Master Futai was angry, but it was not easy to explode, so he had to keep Bo Qinruo by his side for later use. In his spare time, he would often talk to him about the way of being an official and governing the world.

Yu Lianrong, the master of Futai, believed that Bo Qinruo was extraordinary and had a bright future. At the age of 22, he was selected as a scholar, and at the age of 23, he was selected as a Jinshi. It is absolutely possible for ordinary people to do it. Practical learning, also can not reach this step of glory.After talking about it in detail, it turns out that Bo Qinruo has great ambitions and extraordinary intelligence, especially his upright nature, which has not been contaminated by the dirty atmosphere in the officialdom, which makes Yu Lianrong think highly of him.Therefore, Yu Lianrong appointed him to investigate the traffickers after the Jinkou tide relief. He believed that this young man from Bao Gong's hometown would live up to his high expectations.

Before leaving, Yu Lianrong warned earnestly: "The wind in the officialdom nowadays is extremely depraved, especially those state and county land masters who are in the seventh rank are even more disgusting; these stupid officials dare to destroy the emperor's decrees, and dare to exhaust them. Whenever the people's assets are released for relief, there must be greed, hiding and misappropriation. Most of the relief committee members sent down are in collusion with them in order to benefit from it. Even some honest and honest people, because of all kinds of unspeakable sufferings Dare to report the truth! These stupid officials are short-sighted, they don’t know the benefits and disadvantages of it! There is a saying: People are like water, officials are like boats, water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it! If they are too greedy, one day It will cause chaos! This flood of mouths is unusual. If the county magistrate surnamed Chen keeps messing around, I'm afraid something will happen. So, when you go down this time, you must strictly check it, and don't let them cheat in the slightest. Remember! Remember!"

Bo Qinruo naturally remembered, not to mention Master Futai's painstaking efforts to be loyal to the emperor and love the people, even with all the hardships he has experienced in the past ten years, he can't tolerate the gang of corrupt officials harming the country and the people!He can't forget Gaotang, his parents who were clothed as vegetarians for him to study as a teacher, and the gang of corrupt officials who robbed him of all kinds of tricks, and he can't forget the words from the heart that his old father took his hand after he was named on the gold list. After becoming a Jinshi, the old father said to him: "My son, it is not easy for you to have today. You can wear the official uniform of the imperial court, and you have to learn from Mr. Bao Chengbao of our Kaifeng mansion and be a man who makes decisions for the people." An upright official, a good official! You must never carry out the order once you have it in your hand, regardless of the pain and life of the people under you. Gao Tang, a poor and impoverished parent! You must be loyal to the imperial court and serve the common people!"

Now, the old father has passed away, but the words that the old father said resounded in his ears from time to time, making him unable to forget even if he wanted to... In deep thought, Bo Qinruo led four followers across the boundary stone of Jinkou County from Hekou Town.What I saw along the way was desolate. Although the tides of the two high tides had receded long ago, muddy muddy water was accumulated on the hollows in the wilderness. There were still some rotten wood, rags, dead cats, dog.As far as the eye can see, the fields on both sides of the yellow mud road are all withered, and there is hardly any greenery.

Bo Qinruo stopped by several paddy fields, and carefully inspected the rotten roots of rice in the fields.Once, I put my hand into the dirty water and tasted the water.The water in the field was bitter and salty, so he judged that the dried yellow rice floating in the water had been soaked to death by the backflowing seawater. When Bo Qinruo was standing in a field again, a servant named Wang Tang advised in a low voice: "Master Bai, don't try this water again, this water is too unclean, if it damages your body , is the sin of the villain!" Bo Qinruo shook his head and sighed: "Yes! Yes, the water is indeed unclean, but if you don't taste it yourself, you won't know the taste of it, and you won't know how serious the tide is! An official doesn't know his feelings, so how can he talk about it? What about the people?" That Wang Tang was deeply moved, and said again: "Master Bai, it's not just a small flattery, there are fewer and fewer honest officials like Mr. Bai in the officialdom! Therefore, the villain does not want Mr. Bai to experience this uncleanness all the time. The water will damage the body." A servant named Li Xing behind him also said: "Yes! Yes, Master Bai has a long way to go, and he has to take care of himself!" "Wang Tang, Li Xing, think about it, if you were at home, who would not be a commoner farming? If you planted the field in front of you, can you be indifferent? Can you not taste the water in this field? Although you are said to be officials in the government, you must not forget the duty of the common people!" The four servants Wang Tang and Li Xing were more and more moved, and said in unison: "Master Bo is right! If it wasn't for the reminder from your lord, we might really be in a daze!" Bo Qinruo obviously felt a little happy, and said more casually: "I'm just talking casually! Let's go! Let's go! It's getting late, and we have to rush to Changwangzhuang ahead for lunch!" When we arrived at Changwang Village, it was past noon, and the group of five had lunch at a restaurant in the market at the head of the village, and then wandered around in the market. There are not too many people in the market, and there are some stalls along the official road at the head of the village. There are not many people selling things, and there are not many people going to the market to buy things.Bo Qinruo asked an old man who was going to the market, but the old man said that today coincided with the big market.Bo Qinruo couldn't help having some doubts in his heart: above the big market, there are so few people, could there be something hidden in it? Thinking suspiciously, he had reached the end of the market.There were many people crowding at the end of the bazaar, and the sound of music and singing could be heard from the crowd.Bo Qinruo squeezed into the crowd and saw a white-haired old man staring blankly at a beautiful young woman. The young woman was holding a pipa and singing by herself, with a melancholy and moving voice: At the end of the song, there were bursts of sighs mixed with exclamations. The young woman sang another song: Before the singing was over, the young woman's eyes were watery, she was choked with tears, and she couldn't stop crying.The onlookers couldn't help but heaved and sighed, and dropped some copper coins in the field.Bo Qinruo noticed that a few luxuriously dressed dandies around him were using the copper coins in their hands to smash the three-inch golden lotus under the young woman's slender legs.Maybe the young woman didn't notice it, or maybe it was out of helplessness, but she just pretended not to know, letting the gang of vicious youngsters be contemptuous. Tears fell silently for a while, and the young woman raised her tearful face and said sadly: "Thank you, fathers and brothers, for taking pity on my concubine's family and giving the slaves copper coins and silver corners, but these small coins cannot save the lives of the concubine's family. Six There were two tides in January and July, and the fishing boats and houses of the concubine’s family were all gone with the tide. The mother-in-law and the young daughter died of fish belly, and the husband and two young sons were seriously infected. My father-in-law is old and weak Struggling, the concubine is helpless, so I have to sell myself to save my husband, son, and father-in-law. I hope that all the elders value the filial piety of the concubine. It is a great merit to spend fifty or sixty taels of silver to buy the concubine. .The concubine eats hard, gets a female celebrity, plays and sings ditties..." When the young woman spoke up to this point, she was sobbing. Big, big drops of tears fell down like broken pearls, and wet the satin embroidered shoes under her feet. The onlookers were in awe for a while, and no one made a sound for a long time. Later, it was a short, fat, evil young man in silk beside Bo Qinruo who yelled, "Little girl, in terms of appearance, you're not a bad boy! That little voice is still mellow, but it's just that you always sing that miserable song." The song is too annoying—do you want us to cry with you? Sing a happy tune with me. If I like it, I will buy you and make it a vase for you! Sing! Come on! Sing with me a tune of love and righteousness, meat and vegetables!" The young woman seemed to be moved, so she had to hide her tears and pretend to be happy, and sang "Chrysanthemums Bloom": It's a good one, "Sing like this without feeling cold on your naked body, and sing with me again!" The young woman was quite capable, she raised her head and glanced at the evil young man, probably thinking that the evil young man was a student of a scholar, and she sang a song to encourage students in a serious manner: After listening to this persuasive song, Humpty and Evil didn't like it, and said nonsense: "Is this also a song with meat and vegetables? What's 'Ten Years of Cold Window', 'Enke Fengyun', it's up to him." Damn nonsense! We don't read any books, as long as we have money, we can also donate Dangdang as an alternate magistrate or county magistrate, and by then, we can pick flowers if we want!" After finishing speaking, he laughed out loud. The other villains around him also laughed. Only then did the young woman realize that she had been duped by someone else, and after being coaxed in vain, she was stunned for a while, and burst into tears. Bo Qinruo couldn't stand it anymore, he separated from the people around him, squeezed into the arena, first saluted the old man next to the young woman, and then said to the young woman: "Sister-in-law, don't cry, and put away your things, and go I will sit in the tea shed over there for a while, and I will think of a way for my sister-in-law." Seeing this, the short, fat and evil boy took the lead in booing: "Hey, hey, there are really people who pick flowers and fruits? Yo! The man's business failed to be negotiated, so he came up!" "Really, didn't you hear the sound of water!" "Look, look at his tenderness, I'm afraid he hasn't tasted meat before!" "Hahaha……" Bo Qinruo couldn't bear it anymore, he turned around abruptly, and shouted angrily at the evil young man: "You wicked people, don't talk nonsense, you are so reckless and bold, you do evil, don't show mercy to the poor, don't you fear the retribution from heaven? " "Hey, are you really playing with men? Come on, we men want to see how brave this kid is!" The short and fat boy yelled, and three guys with teeth and claws rushed out of the crowd and entered the arena. The four Wang Tang and Li Xing in the crowd saw that the scoundrels were about to use force, so they rushed to Bo Qinruo's side and protected him. Wang Tang said: "Bold and rambunctious, do you know who this lord is? He is a member of the investigation and relief committee sent by the Futai Yamen, an official appointed by the court, and a seventh-rank candidate magistrate Bo Qinruo lord! Bo lord and your county magistrate Chen Rongjun are also equals." of!" When those evil young men heard this, their prestige suddenly lost, who would dare to charge forward?They froze for a while, then withdrew from the crowd and fled. Bo Qinruo dispersed the crowd, asked two servants to support the old man, cleaned up the copper coins and silver pennies on the ground, and took the young woman to a tea shed at the entrance of the village. Sitting down after brewing a few cups of tea in the tea shed, Bo Qinruo asked, "What's the name of the sister-in-law, and where does she live?" The young woman lowered her head and bent her knees. She bowed to Bo Qinruo before replying: "My concubine's surname is Li and her name is Xiangyu. She lives in Xia Fishing Village by the sea in Qingpu Town. Because of the flood, her family was destroyed and her family was destroyed. It was a last resort." , to sing and sell oneself." Bo Qinruo said: "I heard about this when you sang a ditty just now; my sister-in-law is so loyal and filial, which is admirable; I'm just a little puzzled, after the flood disaster, didn't the imperial court allocate 93,500 relief money?" A hundred taels? Don’t tell me that no one cares about your life and death! Even if you have one tael per person, your family can share a few taels of silver! Not to mention that some wealthy families don’t need to give money.” The young woman said: "The court's grace, the common people know about it, and I have heard about the relief from the Holy Majesty, but...just..." Bo Qinruo said: "Just what? Don't be afraid, but it's okay, Mr. Futai sent me to Jinkou to inspect, just to release relief!" The woman still didn't dare to speak, and said, "Just a few taels of silver can't save the lives of the whole family." Bo Qinruo insisted: "How many taels of relief money did you receive, or how many loads of relief rice? Tell me the truth! Don't be afraid, no matter who dares to hide the relief money, the imperial court will take it seriously." do it!" The young woman still dare not speak. But the old man couldn't hold back, and spoke out of breath: "My lord! Let me tell you! I'm desperate to die, but I have to tell my lord! The people have not seen any of the nearly 100,000 relief money allocated by the imperial court! The government only set up a few in Jinkou and Qingpu. A porridge shop, every day make some porridge for everyone to eat! The people are suffering so much that they all rebelled! Yesterday, I saw many posts in Changwang Zhuangtou, saying that the county lord surnamed Chen was greedy and hid for six months. Ten thousand taels of relief money! My lord, it’s not six taels, it’s sixty thousand taels! He’s not letting the people live! Can the people not rebel?” Bo Qinruo turned pale with shock: "What? What? Then County Lord Chen hid 60,000 taels? The people have turned against each other? Is this true?" The old man said: "every sentence is true, I am willing to guarantee it with my life!" Bo Qinruo asked again: "When did the people rebel? How many people are there, and where are they now?" The old man replied: "Just this morning, hundreds of Lianyong villagers in Changwangzhuang came out of the village with swords and sticks, saying that they wanted to unite with people from all over the country, and went to the county town to kill those corrupt officials. I heard that , Qingpu and Ruanjiaji are all reversed, if we don't meet the officers and soldiers right now, we may be in Jinkou City soon." It was only then that Bo Qinruo suddenly realized: No wonder there were few people in Daji. It turned out that the common people had all gone to the county seat, and those who stayed at home were either wealthy families or righteous people loyal to the court.This young woman and old man in front of her is undoubtedly a respectable righteous citizen.They were forced to such a level by corrupt officials, but they did not participate in the rebellion. As an official of the imperial court, he is a relief officer with heavy responsibilities, if he can't stand up and make decisions for the people, he is nothing! He immediately ordered Wang Tang to pour out the more than fifty taels of silver that he brought during his patrol, and put them on the table. Going around singing and selling yourself, the world is too chaotic now, there is a famine, there are too many villains, they will be bullied!" The old man and the young woman stared at the silver for a moment, then they both knelt down, wept and said to Bo Qinruo: "My lord! My lord! We appreciate your great kindness! We can't accept the money! You said It’s not rewarding for nothing, the old man and the young girl are very lucky to know the adults, how dare they take the money from the adults again?” Wang Tang beside him also whispered: "My lord, let's keep a few taels of money too, we need to use it along the way!" Bo Qinruo gave Wang Tang a hard look: "Stop talking too much!" Busy to help the old man again: "You two, please get up and talk!" The old man and the young woman could not afford to kneel. Bo Qinruo said again: "Don't thank me, thank you Majesty! No matter how many corrupt officials there are below, Majesty is a wise man! I am entrusted with this tour to investigate corrupt officials for Majesty! Let Majesty govern them sin!" "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you for the imperial court! With Master Qingtian like Master Bai, we ordinary people have hope!" After the old man and the young woman got up, they told Bo Qinruo all the news they had heard, saying that Chen Rongjun was so cruel and merciless, and he wanted Bo Qinruo to be careful.At this time, many people who went to the market also gathered around, and even talked about some plots of giving money and cheating, Bo Qinruo remembered all of them in his heart, just waiting to enter Jinkou County, and settle accounts with Chen Rongjun... However, he doesn't know what the county is like right now?Have the rioters overrun the county?Did Chen Rongjun die under the knife of the rioters?He even hesitated: Should he rush to the county seat now, or should he rush back to Futai Yamen to report the rebellion news to Futai master Yu Lianrong? Later, he made up his mind to continue passing through Qingpu and rush to Jinkou, trying to calm down the public anger and suppress the tide before the bigger turmoil came, so as to win a chance and time for the court and Lord Futai to defeat the rioters. When he left Changwangzhuang, he only sent a servant to report to the prefect of Linjiang.