Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 167 Order to Leave the City
Cangzhou was certainly not as wealthy as the capital, and the prison in the government office was much simpler, with each cell holding dozens of people.

Xue Pan, a dandy young man, seemed to be in his element among them.

To use Xue Pan's words, everyone here is talented and speaks well, and he really likes being here.

It’s a pity that the environment was too bad for Xue Pan to bear, and the food was not good either.

"Master, can you really go out?"

Xue Pan patted his chest and laughed, "Of course. What do you think my Jinling Xue family is? Besides, I did nothing wrong. I was beaten up by that thief for nothing. What crime did the prefect punish me for? Is it a crime to be beaten up?"

Although being beaten is not a glorious thing, at the moment, it seems to make Xue Pan's words more convincing.

Looking around at the envious eyes around him, he couldn't help but feel complacent.

"You take a rest first, I'll come and meet someone else later."

Just as they were about to play, they heard the prison door being opened. Light shone into the prison, making it seem as if a path had been paved in the dim prison.

Many prisoners spontaneously approached the iron railings, trying to grab the food that was about to be delivered, and Xue Pan was caught up in it.

But when Xue Pan looked up, he saw that the person who came was not the jailer, but another familiar person.

Liu Xianglian walked with a frown on his face when he suddenly felt a disgusting gaze cast upon him. He looked around and found Xue Pan in a cell nearby.

Another minor official stepped forward and said respectfully, "Young Master Liu, the young master of the Xue family is now imprisoned here."

Liu Xianglian nodded. "I am here to take him by order of the Marquis. You take him out of this prison and put all the shackles and irons on him."

The clerk didn't understand what he meant, but he did as he was told and went to the prison to look for Xue Pan.

"Master Xue, someone is here to take you out."

When Xue Pan saw Liu Xianglian, he backed away as if he had seen a ghost. "I won't go. He is the thief you are looking for. Why would he come to pick me up?"

Liu Xianglian frowned, looked at the idiot, and said angrily: "This is not up to you! The Marquis has ordered that Xue Pan be sent back to Nanjing for retrial. You should act quickly, the speedboat is ready outside the city."

"what?"

When Xue Pan heard this, it seemed as if the sky was about to fall.

"Why do we have to go to Jinling Prison right after we got out of Cangzhou Prison? I won't go. I want to see my mother and my sister!"

Liu Xianglian drew his sword and said, "You're not going, huh? You filthy thing, I'd rather chop you up right here and be done with it, saving the trouble."

Xue Pan immediately gave in, knelt on the ground and said, "Good brother, if you forgive me, I will go with you."

Liu Xianglian sheathed his sword and said, "Hurry up! Don't delay the Marquis! The Marquis ordered me to send you back to Jinling. I should take good care of you along the way."

Xue Pan followed Liu Xianglian closely, not daring to say a word.

Liu Xianglian snorted coldly, patted Xue Pan's face, and said: "You are quite comfortable in this Cangzhou prison. When you go to Jinling, I have a few friends in the martial arts world. Let them take good care of you in prison."

"Don't you like men? I'll make you happy then!"

Xue Pan wanted to cry but had no tears. "What kind of immortal have I offended again? Who is the Marquis?"

……

After seeing Lin Daiyu off, Yue Ling returned to the government office in the government office and actually took care of the government affairs of the government.

Yue Ling was not familiar enough with government affairs. He could only rely on his knowledge that was beyond his time, various historical books, and film and television dramas he had read in the past, combined with his current situation, to determine his next strategic direction.

Cangzhou is located at the junction of southern Hebei and Shandong. From north to south, it governs eight towns: Qingxian, Xingji, Nanpi, Yanshan, Dongguang, Qingyun, Ningjin and Wuqiao, with a population of more than 500,000.

Among them, the four towns of Dongguan, Nanpi, Qingxian and Xingji were the most severely affected along the canal. Yanshan, as the name suggests, is the traditional salt-producing area of ​​Cangzhou Prefecture. There are still several salt mines gathered here, but because Yanshan is far away from the canal and transportation is inconvenient, it is difficult to compete with the salt industry in other places. Like Cangzhou City, it is in a dying situation.

There are still many difficulties in developing Cangzhou.

However, this is also an opportunity for Yue Ling to hone himself and improve himself.

At present, the most serious problem in the city is the food problem for the people.

Near noon, the officials Yue Ling sent out to supervise the granaries returned with the city's granary envoys.

As soon as the warehouse keeper entered the room, he fell to his knees with a thud, "Sir, in recent months, the warehouses in the city have been managed by Pu Zheng and Ji Qing. I have only checked the accounts of the warehouses, and I don't know anything else!"

"If I tell even a lie, you will chop off my head and tie it to a tree outside the government office to vent the anger of the people."

Yue Ling frowned slightly and waved his hand, saying, "Get up first, and answer whatever I ask."

The warehouse envoy hurriedly thanked him and stood up.

"How much food is left in the warehouse now?"

The warehouse keeper replied in a trembling voice, "Less than 3,000 jin." Yue Ling remained calm and continued to ask, "How many jins should have been originally recorded?"

The warehouse keeper added, "If we calculate based on the amount that was stored before the New Year, minus the losses, the large warehouse in the city alone should have at least 2,000 shi."

Yue Ling nodded. "If we set up a tent to distribute porridge once in the morning and evening based on the number of refugees in Cangzhou Prefecture, how much food would we need?"

The warehouse keeper pondered for a moment and gave Yue Ling the answer, saying, "If the porridge is thinner, it can save the lives of the people. It will take about 5,000 kilograms of food a day."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "So, they asked the Xue family for 300 dan of grain, just to wait for me to come and open a shed to distribute porridge for show?"

"Then how will they explain the empty treasury?"

The warehouse keeper replied, "Prefect, the Tongpan has close contacts with the merchants in the city. They should first bring a batch of grain into the warehouse to deal with the situation, and then we will give them money or ship the grain out."

Yue Ling nodded slightly. That was why they were so anxious because they couldn’t sell the head.

"You don't even know where the original food went?"

The warehouse keeper knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Sir, I really didn't know. If I had known that the two of them dared to embezzle the warehouse so brazenly, I should have slept in front of the gate."

Soon, the soldiers from the Beijing camp who had gone to search the houses returned and entered the room to report to Yue Ling: "My Lord, we searched the houses of the criminal officials and found only 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver and banknotes in each of their houses, as well as some antique jades."

Yue Ling thought for a moment and replied, "Thank you for your hard work."

Jia Yun was very confused, "They did such a heinous thing and used all kinds of means to make money, but the family combined still doesn't have 100,000 taels?"

Yue Ling sighed and said, "It's not something to be surprised about. This means that there are others above them, and they probably spent a lot of money as tribute."

Jia Yun suddenly came to his senses and stepped back.

Yue Ling looked around and gave another order: "There are three things to do now. First, mobilize the soldiers and farmers in the city to build mud houses and thatched huts with local materials outside the city. They don't have to be built very well, just enough to keep out the wind and rain to cope with the upcoming hot summer. Second, order the officials of all levels in the eight towns to come to the Cangzhou government office within three days, and I will personally review their performance."

"Third, issue an order to all merchants in the city. Now that I am in charge of all government affairs, there will be no room for them to seek personal gain. If you think you are guilty, give me half of your stored grain and I will forgive you. Otherwise, don't blame me for being too sharp."

Cang Shi straightened up slightly and looked at Yue Ling.

Yue Ling frowned and asked coldly, "What? What do you want to say?"

The warehouse envoy trembled and said, "I dare to suggest to you, sir, that we should win over some and defeat others. If you offend them all right after entering the city, won't they become united and stick together? Before you, several imperial censors did what I said."

Yue Ling snorted coldly and said, "That's why they didn't solve the situation in Cangzhou Prefecture!"

Curling his lips, Yue Ling said, "I'm afraid they won't stick together. When I cut them, I hope no more innocent people will be hurt!"

The envoy shrank his neck and dared not say anything more.

Looking around again, Yue Ling said, "Okay, let's all go down and do our work. Envoy Hu Cang, remember to assign people to repair the porridge shed."

The envoy kowtowed hurriedly, "Yes, I will follow your orders."

By the time everyone had left, it was getting dark.

Yue Ling took a deep breath and asked Jia Yun beside him, "Have Miss Lin and the others been received?"

Jia Yun nodded repeatedly, "She has been admitted. We have driven out the original servants. Miss Xueyan is tidying up the house."

"Why is she so diligent?"

Yue Ling shook his head and said to Jia Yun, "I'll give you another task. Find out the details of Pu Zheng and Ji Qing. Find out their origins, their backgrounds, what they did as officials before coming to Cangzhou, and who they have been spending time with recently."

“Including but not limited to these.”

"Also, you need to keep a closer eye on the merchants. The accounts are in your hands. If any merchant comes to deliver food and their names are on the list, cross them out first."

Jia Yun quickly responded, "Yes, Master, rest assured, I will do my job well."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "After returning from the battlefield, you seem to be much more capable. Although you were not bad before, you were always hesitant in doing things, which was really not mature enough."

Jia Yun scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I have been around the master for a long time and have been influenced by him. I must be smarter so that I can do a good job for the master."

Yue Ling stood up and patted Jia Yun on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Forget it, this is not my credit. Ni Er, I don't think there will be any changes. He is just suitable to stay at home with his wife and children to guard the door."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it for now. Miss Lin is in a very strange mood today. I will go back to the courtyard first."

Jia Yun bowed and said, "Okay, Master, take care."

　(2/3)

　　There is one more update, and the monthly votes have reached 2,000. Thank you very much for your support!!

　　So awesome!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)