Chapter 61

It was a day and a half away from Zhizhou to Huaizhou. After sitting in the carriage for half a day, Zhao Yelan lifted the curtain in a moody mood, and saw that there were few people outside, surrounded by farmland, and some people were sitting on the ridges, looking up at the sun.

Zhao Yelan also looked up, and then his eyes were dazzled by the scorching light, and he hurried back in the car, fanning his fan quickly: “It’s too hot here, is there still ice?”

“It’s already melted.” Yan Mingting took his fan and fanned it more vigorously, “Be patient, we will soon be in the forest, and it will be cooler under the shade of trees.”

Compared to the heat, Zhao Yelan was more afraid of the cold. He turned his head and looked at the sweat on Yan Mingting’s face. As expected, it was about to drip, so he moved the fan a little towards him, and said, “Fan yourself.”

“how about you?”

Zhao Yelan simply took off his coat.

Yan Mingting’s eyes flickered, and he took off his coat in a similar manner.

“My lord, there is still an hour before the post station. This is a town, why don’t we stop and find something to eat first?” Xiao Gao opened the curtain, saw the two people undressing, blushed, and immediately backed out.

“Go and buy something, we won’t go down anymore.” Zhao Yelan ordered, “If you have fans, buy a few more.”

“it is good.”

After a stick of incense, Xiao Gao came back, handed over the things in his hand, and said awkwardly: “I only bought these.”

Zhao Yelan took a look, there were a few steamed buns, and a piece of Yunpian Cake: “It’s gone?”

“Well, many inns are closed.” Xiao Gao said again, “I went to fetch water, but those people didn’t fill us with water anymore, the water in the water bag might not be enough.”

Zhao Yelan looked at Yan Mingting subconsciously, both of them put on their coats in unison, their expressions were a little heavy.

Yan Mingting jumped out of the carriage first, Xiao Gao was about to get the horse stool for Zhao Yelan, but found that the lord had already been carried down by Yan Mingting, he opened his mouth slightly, then put down the horse stool, and followed silently.

There were only a few scattered shops on the street that were still open. After finally finding one that sold food, Zhao Yelan asked, “Shopkeeper, can you fill us with some water? We have to hurry.”

“Water? It’s not that I don’t give it to you. We all need water now. Do you want these biscuits?” the shopkeeper asked.

Zhao Yelan looked back at the street, there were few pedestrians, and waves of heat could still be seen in the air.

Zhao Yelan first bought some cooking cakes, and then asked, “Where did everyone in the town go?”

“I went to fetch water.” The shopkeeper pointed to a small hill in the distance, “There used to be a mountain spring there, but now the big guys went to fetch water, and our family also went, so I left me alone to look after the shop. After selling this last bit, I’m going to rush over.”

“Is there a shortage of water here?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Yes, it has been drought for almost two months, and the crops are almost done.” The shopkeeper said helplessly.

The carriage started again, Zhao Yelan’s face was not very good, he kept watching the movement outside, and when he passed the mountain, he saw the spring.

People are crowded, everyone is carrying wooden barrels in their hands, even the children are holding basins or ladles in their hands, scrambling to catch the spring water, but there is not enough water, and the people behind are impatient, so they start to go. Looting, and soon there was a commotion, and a fight was about to start.

“Stop!” Yan Mingting shouted loudly.

Everyone was stunned by his yelling, and when they looked at the officers and soldiers behind him, they subconsciously fell silent.

Yan Mingting asked them to line up one by one, then took the ladle from the little girl next to him, and began to distribute three ladles of water to everyone, and then continued to line up after receiving a round.

Zhao Yelan pulled the child over and asked, “Do you come here to fetch water every day?”

The child nodded and said aggrievedly: “It’s been more than ten days since we came here. At first, it was only our family. Later, when everyone saw us coming, they also followed.”

“Has your family grown any crops?”

“It’s planted, it’s there.” The little girl pointed to the rice fields in the distance.

“Can you take me to see it?”

The little girl turned back to see her mother worriedly, so Zhao Yelan called her mother to go to the field together.

Rice is planted in the field, but the originally wet field has dried up at this time, and the countless cracks are shocking.

Zhao Yelan squatted down to look at the rice. The leaves were yellow and the grains were as small as sesame seeds, and they were about to wither.

The girl’s mother’s eyes turned red, and she wiped her tears with her sleeves: “The family is waiting for this year’s harvest, and it looks like it will be harvested soon, but at this critical moment, the drought has started, how can we live?” .”

Infected by her emotions, the little girl also stood aside and began to cry.

Zhao Yelan gave them some pancakes. At this time, food was far more reliable than money, and he distributed the rest to other people. By the way, he inquired about the surrounding situation with these people, only to realize that it was not just this place. There was a summer drought, and the same situation happened one after another in some small places around.

It was just because the situation was not very obvious before, and the officials were too lazy to manage the affairs of this remote place, and they were busy dealing with the imperial envoy’s investigation, so they were neglected.

After everyone received the water and gradually dispersed, Zhao Yelan said, “We must go back to Huaizhou immediately.”

These places belong to Huaizhou, and now there is no leader among the dragons. It will take a few days until the new magistrate arrives, but the disaster is imminent.

On the way without stopping, Zhao Yelan seemed to have forgotten the heat, and kept discussing with Yan Mingting how to treat it until late at night, when he closed his eyes and rested for a while.

As soon as the sky dawned, he heard the lively voices outside, woke up from Yan Mingting’s arms, and was taken aback for a moment: “I… didn’t seem to fall asleep like this last night, did I?”

“If you fall asleep on the table, can you feel as comfortable as my chest?” Yan Mingting joked.

“Shameless.” After his gag, Zhao Yelan felt a little more relaxed. He opened the curtain and saw that he had already arrived in Huaizhou City.

The carriage went straight to the government office. After sitting in the carriage for a day and a night, his legs and feet were a little weak. As soon as he got out of the carriage, Yan Mingting picked him up, and after walking a few steps on the ground, he almost fell on Yan Mingting.

“You’re such a prodigal son, you even offered to throw yourself into your arms.” Yan Mingting teased.

Zhao Yelan gave him a sideways glance, opened the fan, recovered for a while before striding into the yamen.

These two days, the master was in town, seeing him back, it was like seeing a relative: “Master Zhao, you are back, Kuang Sheng and Miss Yin have come here to remind you several times.”

“They’re looking for me?”

“Yes.”

Zhao Yelan guessed what was going on, and said, “Go and send them here.”

Taking advantage of this time, Yan Mingting hurriedly took him to wash up, and then directly brought Kuang Sheng, Yin Pinglu, and Li Yucheng to the dining table.

Zhao Yelan was eating, looking at them.

“Have you eaten? If you haven’t eaten, let’s sit down and eat together to save time.” Yan Mingting said.

The three of them looked at each other, Li Yucheng was thicker-skinned, and immediately sat down, followed by Yin Pinglu.

Kuang Sheng scratched his head, then sat down cautiously, ate two mouthfuls of steamed buns, and said cautiously: “My lord, although I am no longer a water reporter, I still have something to report.”

“Are you going to talk about the drought in the surrounding area?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“My lord knows?” Kuang Sheng was surprised for a moment, then nodded, “There are several lakes in Huaizhou, and the Huaihe River passes by, so it is not as obvious as other places. But Huaizhou has not rained for almost two months. I was worried a few days ago, so I went around the neighborhood, only to find that several small counties below have been dry.”

“We came back from there.” Zhao Yelan said, “I’m afraid there are more than these places. Later, you will take people to other places to see and sum up the number.”

“it is good.”

“I’ll go too, I’m very familiar with the area around here.” Yin Pinglu said.

“Can you do it?” Zhao Yelan looked at her, “This Fu Han is no joke, it will take half your life if you go all the way.”

“It’s okay, sir, don’t worry about me, I’m also someone who ran across the border of the desert.” Yin Pinglu said calmly.

“Okay.” Zhao Yelan smiled, handed her his imperial envoy badge, and asked Yan Mingting to send a small group of people to follow her, “Then you go and check the officials in those dry places nearby. If you receive a report from the people and ignore it, if this happens, scare them and let them deal with related matters quickly. After the disaster is resolved, deal with their slack in duties.”

Yin Pinglu suddenly felt that the token was a bit hot: “My lord, are you asking me to investigate other officials? Wouldn’t this be inappropriate?”

“What’s inappropriate? You’re just running errands for me. I’m not familiar with the place here, and I don’t have many people to trust. Besides, you’re still smart.” Zhao Yelan said, “Just do it, I’ll take care of it if something goes wrong. .”

“Go.” Yan Mingting also agreed.

Yin Pinglu looked at everyone, and solemnly put away the token: “Okay, the mission must be completed.”

Zhao Yelan: “You have to pay more attention to your own safety. Only by being alive can you do more things for me.”

“yes!”

Yin Pinglu and Kuang Sheng immediately went out to do errands complacently, and Li Yucheng was the only one left, looking at the two of them eagerly: “Then what… Do I have to do some work too?”

“What do you want to do?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Li Yucheng thought about it, he is a handsome and suave son of the right minister, he can’t lose to an old man and a weak woman, right? He gritted his teeth: “Just do it! Tell me, where will you send me?”

“You just have to stay in Huaizhou.”

“It’s that simple?” Li Yucheng was speechless.

Yan Mingting pursed his lips and smiled: “This is not simple at all, you have to think it through.”

“What’s so difficult about it, just leave it to me.” Li Yucheng patted his chest, paused suddenly, and asked, “What is the main reason for me to stay in Huaizhou?”

“The main thing is to convince your uncle and other big merchants to be mentally prepared to help the victims.” Zhao Yelan said.

Li Yucheng fell off the stool directly: “They are businessmen, and the most important thing is their profit. Isn’t this bleeding their blood? How can I justify it?”

“The fields in the south of the Yangtze River are the granary of the world. If the fields here can no longer grow rice, it will be difficult for their businessmen to survive.” Zhao Yelan rubbed his brows, “This is just the beginning, and we won’t touch them until necessary. I leave it to you, if you can make this group of people willing to open warehouses or sell rice at a low price, you won’t have to pay back the remaining nine thousand taels of gold you owe me.”

“I’ll try my best.” Li Yucheng sighed, lying on the table like a dead fish, “I have to think about my words…”

Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting had already got up and left the dinner table. Li Yucheng tried to persuade them to stay: “Hey, where are you going? Can’t you help me think about how to persuade them?”

Zhao Yelan went to write the letter for the imperial court on the seal, ordered someone to send it out quickly, and then went to the official house to check the money in the government treasury. The only thing that was fortunate was that the disaster money had arrived, which could temporarily relieve the pressure.

When the official heard that he planned to distribute the disaster money, he advised, “Sir, can you wait for two more days? When the new magistrate arrives, it’s better for someone to decide these matters, otherwise you…”

Zhao Yelan knew what he was thinking. Now that no one has reported the disaster, and without the approval of the court, he distributed so much money without authorization. When the time comes, he will slap his **** and leave. He is a master who is not easy to deal with. Who will come to this mess? None of them are suitable.

“Even if the new magistrate arrives, it will take some time to understand the situation and get used to the affairs of the government office. Isn’t this time wasted in vain? Don’t worry, I won’t leave until the matter is resolved. Bear it, I won’t implicate you.” Zhao Yelan said

“That’s not what I meant…” The official gave a smug smile, and then expressed his sincerity, immediately expressing his willingness to cooperate in everything.

Zhao Yelan walked out of the warehouse and turned to look at Yan Mingting: “Send someone to send a letter to Zhifu’s side, asking him to quickly check the situation around Zhizhou. His government office also has half of the disaster money.”

“Don’t worry, I just sent someone there.” Yan Mingting waited for a while, seeing that he hadn’t opened his mouth yet, he smiled and said, “Tell me, Mr. Zhao, what kind of person is going to send me?” task?”

Zhao Yelan looked at him hesitantly.

“Even Li Yucheng has assigned tasks, so it’s impossible for me to be without me.” Yan Mingting said arrogantly, “Besides, I’m more useful than all of them, right?”

Zhao Yelan sighed, sometimes he thought he was stupid and disliked him very much, but sometimes there was a kind of tacit understanding, which made him feel distressed.

“I’m worried that the imperial court will suspect that the disaster is true and false, and they will quarrel, and it may take a lot of time to discuss the amount of supplies. I’m also afraid that officials from various places along the way will discuss supplies and disaster funds, so a trusted person is needed to supervise .”

“It’s enough to have this sentence, so naturally I have to go.” Yan Mingting laughed.

“Only you can do it.” After all, he is a general, and anyone who sees him has to be obedient, and he dare not act recklessly at such a critical time.

“Ok.”

“You go all the way north to the capital, and every time you pass by a place, show them my letter, just in case, and let them prepare countermeasures and disaster relief supplies earlier. If you encounter the imperial court’s disaster relief team on the way, Come back with them, and be sure to keep a close watch on the supplies, and don’t pass through the hands of other officials. If the team is going by water, you should join them and check the water level of the canal. The worst case is the imperial team Before you leave, you will hand over this letter to the emperor, and then send it in two batches, you are traveling fast, bring a group of soldiers who are good at fighting, and send the first batch over as soon as possible.”

Zhao Yelan handed him the letter, which described the current situation in detail, and put a dry rice plant as proof, so the situation was clear at a glance.

“Don’t worry.” Yan Mingting took the letter and solemnly put it in his arms.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t help worrying: “It’s just that the journey is long and hard, and you may encounter all kinds of difficult officials…”

“You underestimate me?” Yan Mingting blocked his worries back with one sentence.

“Then you go quickly.” Zhao Yelan said expressionlessly.

Yan Mingting laughed loudly, and went to order the lieutenant general to prepare rations and troops, but when he turned around, he found that Zhao Yelan was still standing not far away, sulking.

He stepped forward, touched the other person’s head, took him into his arms, and said, “Don’t worry about me. Instead, you stay here alone, so you have to be careful. When I come back, if you don’t If you lose a single hair, I will beat you.”

“you dare.”

“I dare not.” Yan Mingting smiled helplessly, and then asked him with a sigh, “By the way, do you know the name of that little girl yesterday?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head, he didn’t have time to ask what the little girl’s name was, he went to ask about the rice field.

“Her name is Mengting.”

Zhao Yelan raised his head in surprise.

“There are still tens of thousands of Mengting waiting for our Mengting to rescue.” Yan Mingting lowered his head and kissed his forehead, “Today’s Mengting is very different. I am very honored to have Zhao Mengting.”

Zhao Yelan looked moved, and sent him to the gate, watching him jump on the horse and lead the team, the horse’s hooves sounded, and he gradually drifted away from him.

“Wait…wait!” Zhao Yelan suddenly chased him out.

The people on the road all looked over curiously, Yan Mingting heard the sound, immediately reined in the reins, turned around, and rode forward a few steps.

Zhao Yelan panted, looked up at the man on the horse, and said, “I have one more thing to explain.”

“What’s up?”

Zhao Yelan beckoned.

Yan Mingting bent down, and was about to put his ear close to him, when Zhao Yelan suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips.

There was a sudden exclamation all around, and even the soldiers with majestic faces couldn’t help but look sideways and peeped one after another.

Yan Mingting’s face turned reddish, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his face.

Zhao Yelan bit his lips gently: “Come back early.”