Zhang Zhong was the first to receive the news. He was worried that the Emperor would listen to Tang: Governor Of Ning's words and send him to a more remote place. He did not care about the remote place, but he was unwilling to accept the fact that the construction of this place had not been completed yet.
He asked someone to inform his son of this matter and see what his son would decide. If it did not work out, he would compromise. No matter what, he had to settle for Lu Zhou.
In the end, he received news from the inner academy. To think that they didn't want to compromise, but rather, they wanted to attack. Yes, Zhang Zhong understood the consequences of doing so. The commoners of Ginkou would definitely follow him here. After all, Ginkou was much better off compared to the other prefectures.
Since his son said so, Zhang Zhong naturally wouldn't object. Until now, his son seemed to have never made a mistake. The only thing that could be considered a mistake was that he didn't know in advance about the flood at the beginning. But that was something that couldn't be helped. No one could have guessed that there would be such a big flood.
Zhang Zhong made a decision in his heart and immediately began to make arrangements. He called the people who came from Qin Province to the yamen and prepared the rations. Then, he sent the commoners to Qin Province to recruit people to his side.
In fact, he did not need to do much to recruit them. The people who were affected by the disaster in Qin Province had already begun to make their way here. This was especially true for the people from the few villages who were saved by Huzi and the others. They were bitterly disappointed with the local government. After the disaster, the first people to come to them were Lu Zhou's people.
It was obvious that those people had spent a lot of effort to come here. How could an official who was good to the surrounding provinces not be good to the people under his rule?
Hence, the commoners organized themselves and brought everything they could with them as they traveled along the mountain path toward Lu Zhou. It was not easy to bring a family along, but the journey was difficult. The commoners were determined to make their way to Lu Zhou. They could no longer continue living here.
Those who could walk left immediately. Those who could not walk ran to the edge of the Qin River and hid in the ships, waiting for the ships to bring them back. Apart from the people who could not walk properly, only the patients whose conditions had stabilized were left on the ships. The doctors on the ships had done their best to save those who could be saved.
At that time, a few people died every day. Now that the patients had stabilized, no more patients were sent over. The two ships distributed some food to the local people and prepared to return. During this time, Ning Zhongze came twice.
He thought he could win some people's hearts by coming here. After all, he was a Provincial Governor. He thought the people would be very touched by his visit.
However, the result was different. The people were not touched at all. The people were grateful for the guards and doctors that Lu Zhou had sent over. Without them, more people would have died. Not to mention how many people were dug out from under the ruins of the houses, the people who were saved would not have been able to survive if it were any other time.
Even if some people were not saved in the end, none of the people would say that the doctors on the ships were not good enough. Many of the patients were already dead in their eyes, but they were saved by the doctors on the ships. This was the ability of the doctors, let alone the doctors sent by Lu Zhou.
With this, the people were more willing to go to Lu Zhou. They heard that Lu Zhou did not charge for medical treatment. In this way, not only was Lu Zhou's official good, but they also did not have to worry about getting sick. Many people died because they did not have the money to pay for medical treatment. If the doctors could treat those who were seriously injured, it was needless to say that the doctors could treat their minor illnesses.
Initially, the population of Qin Province was much larger than Lu Zhou. However, after this incident, more than 10,000 people wanted to leave Qin Province and go to Lu Zhou. These people were very smart. They were afraid of being stopped, so they left separately. Today, a small portion of them left with all kinds of things.
Tomorrow, a small portion of them would return and leave again. It gave people the impression that they were looking for work outside. Who would have thought that they were just trying to confuse the officials sent by Qin Province? Just like that, before Zhang Zhong's people arrived, and before the officials of Qin Province noticed anything, more than 10,000 people had all entered the mountains.
When they arrived at the mountains, they found a place to gather. Then, the people marched toward Lu Zhou in a mighty manner. That was the life they yearned for. That was the heaven in their hearts.
Hu Zi and the others were considered to have completed their mission. They followed the two large ships that were basically empty and headed back. Ning Zhongze also knew this news. He really wanted to keep the person who was being pulled by the large ship, but he didn't have that many doctors to do what he was going to do next.
After giving it some thought, he felt that these injured people would be a burden so he gave up. Two days later, when news came one after another, Ning Zhongze was completely dumbfounded.
"What? All the people who were affected by the disaster are gone? Where did they go? Can't you tell from the footprints? Go after them! Don't let them leave! More than 10,000 people have left! Who's going to farm here? Who's going to do the work? "
What Ning Zhongze heard was the news of the people leaving the villages. He was shocked, but at the same time, he could not figure out how so many people could leave so easily. Logically speaking, he should have received the news long ago.
The steward had a bitter expression on his face. When he heard the order from the Master, he said, "Master, it's too late. I think those people have already entered the mountains. Even if there are traces, the people would have specially made the traces fade away. If we really send people to chase after them, we might be able to catch up with them. However, what can we do? How many soldiers do you have to send to force the people to come back?
If we send too many, we won't be able to handle the situation here. If we send too few and force the people into a panic, it will easily lead to a rebellion. Master, you better think of a solution quickly. "
Of course, the steward knew why those people left and where they went. Apart from Lu Zhou, he could not think of any other place where the people could go by themselves.
Ning Zhongze was also aware of this. However, as the steward said, once those people left, they did not intend to come back. This was not easy to handle. Even if he sent the soldiers to catch some people who left slowly, it would take a few days to catch up with them. After all, riding on the mountain was not allowed. If things went wrong, it would arouse a rebellion. At that time, even if he had a thousand mouths, it would be useless. The Emperor would not spare him easily.
Thinking of this, Ning Zhongze became more and more annoyed. After a while, he sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have sent people out earlier and given them food. Now, they have left. Even if I catch up with them and give them food, they may not agree to come back.
All of this is caused by Zhang Zhong. If he didn't send a boat to deliver food and treatment, if he didn't send a small team of more than 100 people, how could the people be willing to go to Lu Zhou? I don't know what the report will do. I think the higher-ups will soon make a decision to send Zhang Zhong to a farther place. "
Ning Zhongze was at his wit's end, so he pushed all the blame to Zhang Zhong. He was still waiting for his report to work. If he went to the Official Post, he would get the news in two days. Of course, he did not know that the Zhang family had already known about this in advance. Just like what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan thought, Zhang Jiuling also had some pigeons in the capital. They were responsible for communication.
No matter how fast a horse could run, it was far slower than a pigeon, and its endurance was much worse. Ning Zhongze knew that it was faster to go to the Military Post, but he did not dare to do so. If someone caught him, everything would be over.
While Ning Zhongze was anxiously trying to think of a solution, those people had already walked a long distance away. It was very lively along the way, especially the cries of the children. Not only was it loud, but it was also very penetrating. The people on the side were shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Go, go, go! Zhang Zhong, you and I are irreconcilable. You took away many of my people before, and then you bought a lot of things from me. Then you stopped my boat and took away all the things on my bed. Now you dare to do it again?
Humph, if you don't let me have a good life, I won't let you have a good life either. Don't you want to collect some things as tributes? Collect, collect, collect. You haven't collected the money from the last disaster, right? I'll make sure you can't sell these things at a good price. "
Ning Zhongze said angrily. He ordered the steward, "Do we have a lot of things that should be used as tributes in our house? Take half of them and ship them to the capital. Quickly, yes, take the land route. Otherwise, if we continue to take the sea route, it will be easy for them to stop us again.
I don't know how Cao Herui and the other two are doing. It seems that they encountered a strong wind. And the people on the boat, I don't know how many of them can't be found. Let's not talk about this for now. When you have people bring the goods to the capital, sell the local specialties we brought over at a cheaper price. "
"Ah? Master, are you saying that you want to sell those tributes? That's not worth it. Why don't you let me think of a way? Even if we don't sell so many things, it's fine. Some of the tributes can't be used by ordinary people, but that's not a big deal. What can't be used by ordinary people can be used by rich people. As for the medicinal herbs and other things, everyone can't live without them.
When we get there, we can sell them at a cheaper price. Then we can let the servants go there to buy them. We can say that they are sick after eating something and don't call a doctor. Let them pretend and see who will laugh in the end. After a few times of this, the price of the same goods will become cheaper. When the Zhang family sells them, people will be worried, so there will be fewer people who don't buy them. At that time, we can take out the other things in our house and sell them very cheaply.
Although doing this will cause us a lot of losses, it's still better than Zhang Zhong's family. What do you think, Master? If we sell them now, when Zhang Zhong's family also sells them, we won't have anything to lower the price. "
When the steward heard this, he immediately knew what the Master was thinking. However, he thought further. He lowered his head and explained the plan, which was more detailed and more reliable.
"Okay, I'll leave it to you now. You must do a good job. I don't believe that Zhang Zhong is so rich that he won't be anxious if he can't sell the things he bought. Oh right, tell the local people about the goods that Zhang Zhong's family shipped here. Especially tell them how much those things are worth in other places. Then find some reasons to say that these things are not good. See what Zhang Zhong will do."
Ning Zhongze couldn't wait to find Zhang Zhong and bite off a piece of meat from Zhang Zhong. This Zhang Zhong was too hateful. He couldn't let him go so easily. The only thing he regretted was that he helped Zhang Zhong write a good memorial.
He didn't know what the people in the imperial court would think. They would probably say that he went back on his word, right? But he couldn't care so much. When the time came, he had to keep the people who came to check. Wasn't it just a benefit? He could give more, but he definitely couldn't let Zhang Zhong have an easy time.
Ning Zhongze's hands clenched into fists. His nails dug deep into the flesh of his palms.
This time, the steward didn't say anything. He could see that the Master wanted to use the family's wealth to fight with Zhang Zhong. He didn't know how much money Zhang Zhong's family had. Although the Ning family was an aristocratic family, they didn't keep a lot of money at home. They used it to do business. The two ships that came back this time were part of that money, and the goods that Zhang Zhong took away were all worth a lot of money.
Now, the goods were gone, and one ship was missing. In such a strong wind, the ship was likely to have sunk. He just didn't know what happened to the people on the ship. Until now, there was no news at all.
The steward took the order and left, leaving Ning Zhongze alone in the study. He stared blankly at the books on the table and murmured, "Zhang Zhong, oh Zhang Zhong, when the people sent by the higher-ups arrive here, I'll see what kind of consequences you will have. You dare to steal my place, my people, and my goods. I'll make you regret being born."
Ning Zhongze was now thinking that when the time came, Zhang Zhong couldn't compete with the Ning family and didn't take back all the money he spent. Then, Zhang Zhong would come to him and beg face to face. In this way, he could enjoy the fun of life.
Thinking of this, Ning Zhongze's mood improved a lot. It was as if he could really do it.
When he thought of the money, he also thought of the money Cao Herui and the other two took from him. The money was Flying Money. When the time came, they could come here and withdraw the money with the Flying Money.
"No, if the three of them die, the Flying Money will be taken by someone else. Then, it will be easy for someone to come here and take the money away. In this case, they may not survive anyway. It's better to make arrangements first and not let others take the money away. Yes, someone come."
After muttering a few more words, Ning Zhongze shouted outside and waited for someone to come in. Then, he said to the person who came, "Tell those pawnshops that the Flying Money sent out a few days ago, except for Cao Herui and the other two, don't care about the others. Also, why haven't the people we sent out to inquire about the news come back yet? If we send out more people, it will be difficult for us if we don't know about Lu Zhou's situation.
If we want to deal with Zhang Zhong, we have to know what he is going to do. Even if we can't destroy them this time, we have to make them suffer. Humph! How dare they go against me? "
When the person who came in heard this, he left in a hurry. As soon as he left, the person who went to inquire about the news came back. He looked travel-worn. When he saw Ning Zhongze, he said, "Master, we're all back. We've almost finished inquiring about the situation over there."
"Oh? You've found out? Tell me, what's the situation over there? "Ning Zhongze was finally a little happier. At least, he could learn about the situation over there as soon as possible.
"To answer your question, Master, Lu Zhou is still repairing the seawall and has spent a lot of money to build the road. The local people are working hard at their jobs. Basically, there isn't much to do. Oh, there's a dock at the docks. We can't go there because it's too closely guarded. However, we can see that the dock is very big. Perhaps they're going to use it to build big ships.
Also, Cao Herui and the other two have gone back. They are more honest over there. They do some small business every day. They don't make much money, but they don't have to worry about continuing to pay their debts. We also found out that Zhang Zhong seems to be building some wooden houses over there. It's on the mountain. Some of the people have already built them there. "
The person who came in told Ning Zhongze what he had heard. There were also some small things that seemed to be nothing serious. When he said it, he did not care.
Ning Zhongze listened quietly, but he was very shocked. He did not expect the Zhang family to spend so much money to repair the road and the dock. He did not know why they were building a dock here. Wasn't there a dock in the capital? Apart from a dock, they were also building houses on the mountain? What was the use of that?
Ning Zhongze was even more puzzled when he thought about it. However, he really could not guess the Zhang family's plan. At the same time, he was also jealous. From what he heard, Lu Zhou's province would undergo a great change at the beginning of spring next year, the kind that would change for the better.
This was something that he really didn't want to see, especially when it came to road repair. If the people who came to investigate found out about this matter, and there were some people who were straightforward, his plan might fall through.
"How did you come back? Did you see a large number of people going over there? " Ning Zhongze temporarily suppressed the displeasure in his heart and asked the person who went to inquire about the news.
"In reply to Master, we didn't see any people. We came back along the river. We also saw our boat. It has fallen on the shore, and some of it is still soaking in the water. Master, the boatmen on the boat were also sent to the yamen by Zhang Zhong. I don't think they will come back."
The person who inquired about the news answered as he was asked. At this time, he knew that Master was in a bad mood and was afraid that he would be whipped if he angered Master.
This news was not good for Ning Zhongze. He thought that the boat was so damaged that it would take a lot of effort to repair it. He also needed people to go over there to repair it. He could not bring the boat back, could he?
"Well, the three of them have gone back. In that case, their debt was paid with the Flying Money? Zhang Zhong, oh, Zhang Zhong, don't say that I'm unreasonable, but it's you who asked me to meet you. You can forget about getting the money. Anyway, you should give the debt to the three of them. "
Ning Zhongze waved his hand and asked the person who inquired about the news to leave. He sat there and said with a sinister smile. He was going to do things not according to the rules. The reason was very simple. He would find an excuse to say that his pawnshop lost something, including the Flying Money.
If it was any other time, he would definitely not do this. He would lose his credibility, but who asked the flying money to be in Zhang Zhong's hands? Since that was the case, he would rather lose some credibility. As long as he found a good excuse and treated others the same as before, he would not be worried.
Time passed quickly while he was thinking about how to deal with Zhang Zhong in the future. Just when it was time for dinner, the person who went to talk to the pawnshop came back anxiously. As soon as he saw Ning Zhongze, he said, "Master, those pawnshops have gone, but the money has been taken away. What should we do, master?"
"What? Taken away? So fast? Oh, damn Zhang Zhong. I didn't expect him to do this. It seems that he sent people to take the Flying Money away as soon as he got it. What should we do? It's tens of thousands of strings of coins. What should we do? "
When Ning Zhongze heard that the money was taken away, he immediately changed his expression. His face was gloomy, as if he didn't like anything.
He didn't know that Zhang Zhong had long expected him to do this. After taking the Flying Money, he didn't directly cancel the debts of the three people. Instead, he asked people to go to the mountain first and then take the money out as quickly as possible. The money that was taken out had not been returned yet.
Only when the money was seen could the three people be released. Otherwise, they would have to continue to pay the debt. Of course, they didn't have to pay any interest these days. After all, the other party had taken out the Flying Money.
Ning Zhongze just stood up from the futon in surprise. Now that he thought about it, he fell back down dejectedly. His eyes stared straight ahead, without any focus at all.
The person who went to do the thing quickly came over and massaged his back. He was worried that the master couldn't bear this kind of blow. If something happened, it would be difficult for the Ning family to get a provincial governor. He said while massaging the person,
"Master, isn't it just that little bit of money? I don't think they have time to take the money away. Send someone to investigate. Maybe we can find out where the money is. At that time, it's not a big deal. "
The person stopped massaging his back and made a beheading gesture, which meant that he wanted to get the money back.
"Yes, yes, we must investigate. No matter where they hid the money, we must find it for me. I don't believe that they could transport so much money away so easily. Fortunately, I sent people to watch the other side of the river. Otherwise, they would have very likely taken the money onto the boat.
Go and arrange it right away. Tell the people who investigate that as long as they find the money, reward them. Reward them heavily. Even if it's a reward of 1,000 strings of coins, it's worth it. They want to take away the money from me? Dream on. "
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