Qing Yao

Chapter 336 Birth or Promotion? Double Happiness!
Suburbs of Suzhou.

In September, the entire Anhui province experienced rainfall, with several counties in northern Anhui, which were severely affected by drought, receiving torrential rains that nearly caused flooding.

This long-awaited rain was like a life-giving rain, slowly mending the wounds of the parched earth. The air was no longer filled with the stench of decay, but with the fresh scent of earth.

After Zhu Gui left, Zhao An immediately returned to Suzhou to oversee disaster relief and prevention efforts. Under his unified command, financial, material, and human resources from across Anhui Province were continuously transferred to the disaster area.

The abundant rainfall replenished the dried-up riverbeds in time, allowing grain donated from various parts of northern Jiangsu to be transported to various parts of northern Anhui via Hongze Lake.

The White Lotus Sect has also disappeared again, as if it had never existed.

Three days ago, Zhao An, in his capacity as acting governor, issued a warrant for the arrest of Liu Zhixie, the leader of the White Lotus sect. He also ordered the Green Standard Army in various regions to continue searching for and arresting the remaining members of the White Lotus sect in northern Anhui, in order to completely eradicate the breeding ground for the White Lotus sect in Anhui and ensure that the common people would follow him, Lord Zhao, instead of being misled by the White Lotus sect into becoming rioters and mobs.

According to recent messages from the White Lotus followers who were turned against the sect, after learning of the failure of the uprising in Suzhou, the sect leader Liu Zhixie, fearing arrest by the authorities, secretly fled to Henan with several hundred followers.

However, Zhao An suppressed this information and kept it a secret. The leader of the White Lotus Rebellion in his memory was a woman named Wang Cong'er, not Liu Zhixie, who called himself the Three Yang Master. Therefore, it can be inferred that Liu Zhixie either died before the White Lotus Rebellion or had no influence in the rebellion.

However, according to the confessions of the White Lotus followers who were turned against him, Liu Zhixie had been preaching in Hubei Province and had taken in many local powerful figures as his disciples. One of them was the chief constable, and the chief constable's concubine, whom he had taken in last year, was also taken in as a disciple by Liu Zhixie.

This led Zhao An to suspect that the chief constable's concubine might be the famous Wang Cong'er.

If the suspicion is correct, then Liu Zhixie should not only not be arrested, but should also be allowed to continue his activities for three more years, leading a group of disciples to accumulate enough strength for a rebellion.

Or rather, to act as Zhao's vanguard.

The hasty uprising in Suzhou this time must have taught the White Lotus Sect some lessons. If they make a comeback three years later, they will surely dazzle the old man.

Of the White Lotus sect members who had been captured earlier, Zhao An symbolically kept a dozen or so, releasing the rest under the pretext that they were innocent civilians who had been coerced. The dozen or so who were kept were all notorious criminals, and their names were attached to the detailed report he had given to the old master last time. It was estimated that they would all die, and one or two might even be subjected to slow slicing.

The large amount of grain transferred from various places and the continuous rainfall have appeased the disaster victims. Now, under Zhao An's supervision, local governments are organizing the disaster victims to return to their hometowns.

The number of disaster victims in Suzhou has been reduced by half. Cui Yingxiu, the acting prefect, said that the disaster victims could be sent back in ten days at most.

Sending people back is not the main objective; restoring production order in a timely manner is the most important thing.

To this end, Zhao An ordered the provincial treasury to allocate a large sum of money to purchase seeds and agricultural tools to provide free of charge to the disaster victims. In addition, he exempted the disaster victims from taxes for one year, and there were other auxiliary measures as well.

It can be said that with Zhu Gui's departure, the people of Anhui truly ushered in a new era. There were no more religious bandits causing trouble, and no more Nian rebels robbing and looting.

Zhao An has already instructed local authorities to compile relevant death statistics and has strictly ordered all regions to report accurate data. He will also have random checks conducted later.

It's easy to find out how many people died. Just look at how many people lived in the village before the disaster, how many were still alive after the disaster, and then compare that with the yellow registers of the six households in the county.

Zhao An retained the militia policy implemented by Zhu Gui during his tenure and planned to promote the organizational method of brigades and squads throughout Anhui. For example, a village with 100 people would be a squad, and a village with 1,000 people would be a brigade.

Ten people were selected from small teams and one hundred from large teams for militia training. The government provided subsidies to the farmers who participated in the militia training. If this was implemented effectively, Anhui would have at least 200,000 militia members available in three years.

The funds required for such a large-scale militia training program must be astronomical, because if farmers are not given some "sweetness," they will not be motivated to participate.

If even the farmers have to bear the cost of training rations and weapons themselves, then the militia training will eventually end up just like before, all written down on paper.

Raising money—raising a lot of money to support local militias, to acquire equipment, and to boost production—became the biggest task for Zhao An, a third-rank official who held both military and political power in Anhui.

Previously, Dai Zhiyuan, the prefect of Sizhou, proposed to petition the court to establish a temporary donation system. Zhao An had already asked Lao Song to "speak out" in Anqing and convene a meeting with people from all sides to come up with a relatively good plan.

As long as the old master approves Zhao An's memorial requesting merit, Zhao An will submit a memorial proposing this matter.

He's so busy right now that he only gets two or three hours of sleep a day and doesn't even have time to take care of his braids. Even so, Zhao An is full of energy, like a wind-up alarm clock.

This is probably the effect of power as a nourishing force.

This is similar to the case of many bureau chiefs in later generations who looked young and energetic before retirement, but quickly aged after retirement.

Despite his busy schedule, Zhao An still managed to find time to conduct a large-scale production activity in the rural suburbs.

Besides the relevant officials from Suzhou and the governor's entourage, two thousand Green Standard Army soldiers participated in the large-scale production activities.

Zhao An hoped that this event would show the people how much the government valued them, and that more officials would realize that he, as the acting governor, wanted officials to connect with the people instead of sitting in the yamen all day "pointing fingers" at account books and documents.

It's already September, so rice seedlings can't be planted yet, and there are still two months until wheat planting. But the land that has just been moistened by rain can't be left barren. So Zhao An suggested that various regions encourage farmers to plant corn, sweet potatoes, and other crops with shorter production cycles as a temporary transition, based on their own circumstances.

This large-scale production activity organized was the collective planting of sweet potato seedlings. The acting governor personally led the way in working in the fields, and which officer or soldier dared not be enthusiastic?

The atmosphere at the scene truly felt like a close-knit community of officials and the people.

Chen Dahua, who had just traveled from Jiangning through Chuzhou and Fengyang to Suzhou, was one of the four scholars from the canal gang who came to Jiangning with Zhao An to make a living. Zhao An arranged for him to work in a department of the government office. Later, due to his good performance, he was noticed by Zhao An's father-in-law, Ding Tai, and transferred to the office.

Equivalent to the role of a section chief.

Chen Dahua set off from Jiangning half a month ago, but when he arrived in Fengyang, the government troops blocked the official road because of the White Lotus Rebellion in the north. After the rebellion was quelled, it rained for several days in a row, which is why Chen Dahua only arrived in Suzhou now.

Upon hearing that Lord Zhao had taken his men to the outskirts to farm, Chen Dahua dared not delay and quickly ordered the hired driver to head to the outskirts.

When they arrived at their destination, Chen Dahua was stunned by what he saw.

Red flags and colorful banners were everywhere, and large slogans were displayed in the fields. The content of these slogans could be summarized as "Labor is the most glorious thing" or "Only when officials love the people can the people love the officials."
Chen Dahua, his face beaming with excitement, had just stepped off the bus when he heard the sound of bamboo clappers clapping: "Clap bamboo clappers, the sound echoes to the heavens, fellow villagers, listen to me. Today I won't talk about anything else, just about labor. What is labor, you tell me? It's the family heirloom! It's the axe that cuts through mountains! It's the bridge to prosperity!"

After walking a short distance, the sound of Fengyang Flower Drum Opera reached my ears again: "Speaking of Fengyang, talking about Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place. Since Zhao Qingtian came, every household has been busy with work. Hey hey hey yo, every household is really energetic!"

Whether they were officials, soldiers, or local farmers, everyone was full of energy at this moment, some pushing carts, others planting seedlings.
In the fields, there were many girls with red braids carrying buckets of water, asking the soldiers who were working if they wanted some water.

"This"

What he saw before his eyes was an eye-opener for Chen Dahua. Others might have been completely baffled, but as someone who worked in the grain transport office, he found it all quite unsurprising.

Because wherever Lord Zhao is, there will surely be vitality and thriving life!

The same is true in Yangzhou, Jiangning, and especially in Anhui! Amid the busy scene, a group of people stood out. Several old farmers surrounded a young man who was wearing a coarse cloth jacket with his trousers rolled up to his knees. He was barefoot, with his feet covered in mud, bending over to plant sweet potato seedlings in the field.

It's Zhao An!
Zhao Qingtian, a figure widely praised by the people of Anhui!

An old farmer with a full head of white hair saw that Zhao Andu had been working for half an hour without stopping, and couldn't help but advise, "Sir, please take a break. We can do this rough work. You are such a high-ranking official, you have so many things to do every day, how can you do this kind of work like us common people?"

"Old man, aren't our hands and feet meant for working? Although I am an official, you should know that I am also from a farming family. I've done countless farm chores since I was a child, and I often went down to the river to catch fish and shrimp. Besides, every grain of rice I eat as an official was grown by you farmers. Only by understanding the hardships of the people can one be a good official!"

Zhao An smiled, straightened up, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. A mud stain was left on his not-so-handsome face, but he didn't care at all.

Looking at the sweet potato seedlings already planted in front of him, Zhao An looked satisfied. Sweet potatoes are not picky about the soil, grow quickly, and have a high yield, making them perfect for replanting after a disaster.

He doesn't deny that the large-scale production activity he personally organized today has an element of showmanship, after all, he even wrote the lyrics for the flower drum opera and the bamboo clapper. But the significance of this show is not to highlight how he, as the acting governor, shares weal and woe with the people, but to set an example.

This serves as an example that encourages more officials to set aside their official positions and go to the fields and villages.

Do not underestimate the role of this example; when superiors have certain preferences, subordinates will follow suit.

As the governor of a province, you share the burdens of the people. If the officials below you don't learn from you, do you not want to improve yourselves?

As long as officials have the desire to advance, they must closely follow in the footsteps of their leaders, otherwise they will easily fall behind.

Looking around at the neighboring field, they saw that the officials from Suzhou were also working quickly. When they saw the governor watching them, the officials quickly stood up and waved the sweet potato seedlings in their hands: "You've worked hard, sir!"

"It's not hard, it's not hard at all,"

Zhao An smiled and waved: "The working people work the hardest!"

At this moment, a guard who had come with Zhao An to the fields timidly asked, "Sir, do you think my row of seedlings is planted well?"

Zhao An examined it carefully, nodded, and said, "It's a bit too deep. Half a shade shallower would be better. Sweet potatoes are like people; if they're buried too deep, they feel suffocated; if they're buried too shallow, they can't stand up straight."

As he spoke, he skillfully planted the last sweet potato seedling into the soil, precisely and perfectly.

Several elderly farmers nodded in agreement, remarking, "Adults are indeed adults; even their explanations of farm work make perfect sense."

Zhao An chuckled softly, and just as he was about to speak, two people ran towards him from the edge of the field.

The man in front is Zhuang Yingjiu, a member of the grain transport gang, whom he appointed as an official in the headquarters. The man behind him appears to be Chen Dahua from the Jiangning Grain Transport Office.

"My lord, it's born! It's born!"

Overjoyed, Zhuang Yingjiu, along with Chen Dahua who had come to share the good news, stumbled along, nearly slipping into the nearby ditch.

"What gave birth?"

Several old farmers, unaware of what was happening, saw Lord Zhao suddenly rush excitedly to the edge of the field and grab the messenger: "Which lady has given birth!"

His eyes were full of urgency.

"My lord, they've all given birth! They've all given birth!"

Chen Dahua presented the letter, his face beaming with joy, "Congratulations, sir, on the birth of your son and daughter!"

"Oh?!"

Zhao An quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and took the letter.

Upon opening the letter, one is greeted by elegant and graceful handwriting. The letter details the birth process and states that both mother and child are safe.

Chunlan gave birth to a daughter, and Wanqing later gave birth to a son. Because there was a disaster in Anhui at the time, there were too many refugees on the road and they were afraid of accidents. In addition, Zhao An kept changing locations, so he did not send anyone to report the news immediately. It was not until things calmed down a bit and it was confirmed that Zhao An was in Suzhou that Chen Dahua was sent north to report the good news.

Chunlan was a little weak after giving birth but was fine, while Wanqing said she was doing well and described the two children in her letter.

As Zhao An read the letter, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, and the smile in his eyes was impossible to hide.

How could I not like it!

This son and daughter are his own flesh and blood, just like the sweet potato seedlings that were just planted, which he planted himself.

Of course, it is also related to the fertility of the soil.

"Congratulations, sir, on this double blessing!"

Cui Tongzhi, who was working in the neighboring field, immediately offered his blessings: "The birth of your son and the bountiful harvest of the people are both joyous occasions!"

Xiao Cui is a good person.

Zhao An laughed heartily and was about to speak when he saw someone running towards him from afar. It was Qing Yao, the imperial bodyguard who would be returning to the capital soon. He ran very fast and shouted from a distance, "My lord, you've been promoted! You've been promoted!"

Zhao An replied with a smile, "Guard Qing, slow down, I know something's happened."

"what?"

Qingyao, who had run over, was panting and looked stunned: "Does the lord know about the promotion?"

Zhuang Yingjiu laughed from the side, "My lord already knows that the lady has given birth to a son and a daughter for him!"

"Huh? It's not 'birth,' it's 'promotion'!"

Qingyao hurriedly pointed into the distance: "My lord, it's not the 'birth' of childbirth, it's the 'promotion' of official rank! An imperial edict has arrived from the capital, my lord, you are being promoted to the position of acting governor of this province, please go and receive the edict immediately!"

(End of this chapter)