As soon as the porridge was brought out, the queue was in chaos before it was placed on the shelf. Everyone squeezed forward, holding wooden sticks in their hands, which was a certificate for receiving the porridge. The officers and soldiers who maintained order waved sticks and beat indiscriminately. The queue did not recover, but added a lot of howlings.

Han Ruzi held his mount and stopped by the roadside, looking at the chaotic scene outside the city gate.

Shang County is not big and not far from the capital. If you rush to the horse and get there in half a day, it is the only way to go east to Hangu Pass. Like many places, Shang County also has a large number of victims and refugees. The daily porridge is a meal that is critical for many people.

Dozens of followers stopped behind Juanhou, and Du Chuanyun said angrily: "What a group of officials' minions, I'll teach them a lesson."

Du Mutian stretched out his whip to stop his grandson, "Stop causing trouble. You beat the official and ran away. What should these people do? From now on, you come to donate porridge every day?"

Du Chuanyun was speechless, but he couldn't bear to see the bullying of the elderly, weak, women and children, so he had to say to the front: "Jianhou, go quickly, why are you stopping here?"

"Yes." Han Ruzi didn't move.

The toll crew outside the city gate had already seen this group of people. They knew that they were powerful people from the capital, but they did not recognize their identities. The toll chief was cautious and quietly ordered his subordinates to calm down. They walked over and smiled, "Did you come from the capital? What business do you do?"

Han Ruzi pointed to the team that received the porridge, "How many victims are there? How much rice is needed every day?"

The head of the toll was stunned, unable to understand the other party's background, and did not dare to offend him, and said in a daze: "The disaster victims...more than 500 people need rice...I don't know very well, I have to ask the county master. How dare I ask what the master calls him? I'll inform you."

"No need." Han Ruzi slapped into the city.

He came as promised.

Shortly after Guo Cong visited, Han Ruzi received a letter, and General Han Xing invited him to meet in Shang County. Previously, Yang Feng had written several letters to the General in the name of Juanhou. This was the first time he had received a reply, which was a good sign.

Like Choi Taifu, Korean star also played a trick. He met Juehou outside the capital. Not counting returning to Beijing, and the time he chose was also very subtle. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the Lantern Festival were also the day when Champion Hou married his bride. Champion Hou was eager to repair his relationship with Choi Taifu and advanced the date of getting married.

There were lights and decorations on both sides of the streets of the county town, but there were not many pedestrians. Han Ruzi came to the county government office and sent someone to report.

The person who came out to greet Juehou was neither a Korean star nor a Shang County Magistrate, but a county magistrate.

From the east of Shang County to Hangu Pass, they all belong to Hongnong County. The county magistrate Zhuo Ruhe was a son-in-law, his wife was the daughter of Emperor Wu, the sister of Emperor Huan and Princess Hengyang.

Zhuo Ruhe is about forty years old, with white face and a whisper, and is born in a scholarly family. Han Ruzi has heard of this person's name and must have met him in Tai'an Palace, but he has no impression of it.

The magistrate Zhuo was polite and personally welcomed Juanhou into the back hall of the yamen. The county magistrate of this county was not qualified to show up and did not want to participate in such a thing. He worked as usual in the lobby in front.

The two of them were not familiar with each other, so they naturally had more polite words. After drinking a cup of tea and the servant refilled the water, Han Ruzi said, "Did Prince Zhuo come with the general?"

Zhuo Ruhe smiled and said, "I inspected the disaster situation in various counties. The general is on the way and will arrive soon."

Han Ruzi couldn't figure out Zhuo Ruhe's intentions, so he chatted: "I saw porridge outside the city gate. There were more than 500 victims, not too many."

"Oh, this is only a small part. Some go into the mountains for robbers, some go to other counties, and some stay in the countryside. In early winter, there are the most riots, with seven or eight thousand people moving around, asking for food, and robbing them if they can't. Fortunately, the county is properly guarded and there is no big mess."

"What natural disasters are encountered in this county?"

"If you want to talk about natural disasters, the rain last year was less than in previous years, and it was not particularly serious. After autumn, it was rainy and destroyed some harvests."

"Since that's the case, why are there insufficient food?"

Zhuo Ruhe smiled, as if he was reluctant to answer, picked up the teacup and took a sip, and said, "Although natural disasters are weak, there are constant sensations."

"What are the **?" Han Ruzi was no longer chatting, and planned to ask clearly.

"The year before yesterday, the King of Qi was in chaos, and the imperial army fought eastward, and the world was in chaos. Hongnong County was located at a critical moment. The army traveled and the transfer of food and grass were all passed since then. The local area had to receive it, which consumed a lot. Last year, the army went north to fight against the Huns, and the whole country collected autumn grain to supply the border. There was an earthquake in the middle, and the people were exhausted and the grain prices soared."

Han Ruzi still didn't understand, "There were wars almost every year during the reign of Emperor Wu, and I have never heard of such a great impact on the people."

"Before Emperor Wu, only Emperor Lie was fond of martial arts, and the scale was not large. Cheng, An and He all took rest and rest as their main focus, and had decades of reserves for use. Emperor Wu reigned for more than 40 years and prepared for ten years before he fought with the Huns. Even so, the family of Da Chu was almost exhausted. Now that there is a sudden war and there is insufficient preparation in advance, all regions have to increase their taxes."

"As far as I know, the warehouse is full of grain and grass, and the official warehouses of all counties also have grain. Why do you refuse to open warehouses to provide disaster relief?"

Zhuo Ruhe smiled again, and did not answer directly, but said: "The military affairs of the Governor of Juenhou, Shenxiongguan, have you also worried about food and grass?"

"There is insufficient food and grass, which is even greater than the threat of the Huns."

"When Juanhou collects food and grass from the counties, does he hope to be satisfied immediately, and the more he sends, the better?"

"certainly."

"This is also the idea of ​​the court. With an order, which county is prepared well and fast, the county magistrate and county magistrate have made meritorious contributions, or the amount is insufficient, which is a serious crime. Therefore, once it is expected that there will be a collection, all regions must prepare in advance to deal with emergencies."

Han Ruzi finally understood, "First the King of Qi rebelled, and then the Huns invaded the border. Everyone thought this would be a war that lasted for several years, so they had to stockpile more grain to deal with the future collection of the court."

“That’s exactly that.”

"The government forced the collection of grain, and even mobs in various places caused chaos, and the imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellion. It was another war that would not be over. Therefore, localities even had to stock up on grain, and they did not dare to distribute it if there was grain in the warehouse. They were afraid that there would be no grain available next year or the year after."

Zhuo Ruhe nodded, "There is another point, the court is unstable, chaos has been established, and officials and people are all self-reliant, and everyone wants to reserve some food for themselves. In this way, the price of food is even more expensive, and the Great Chu seems to have food, but there seems to be no food."

"The warehouse of grain and grass are enough to supply the frontier army. Why did the imperial court refuse to use it and insist on me to collect it from the surrounding area of ​​Shenxiong Pass?"

Mancang is three hundred miles away from Shenxiong Pass and is not within the scope of the governor of General Zhenbei. However, Han Ruzi still requested grain many times, but Mancang was only willing to supply a small amount of food and grass every month as usual, and it was not even as good as a small county in the surrounding area.

"The warehouse of the whole warehouse is the warehouse of the emperor, not the warehouse of the Great Chu, not the warehouse of the Chu army, nor the warehouse of the people. Only when the emperor feels hungry will he use it."

"Without the people, there would be no Chu army, without the Chu army, there would be no Great Chu. How could the emperor come from without the Great Chu?"

Zhuo Ruhe stood up and bowed to Juenhou, "Jianhou wise."

A servant came in and Zhuo Ruhe said, "The general is here. Please wait for Juehou and I will go and greet him."

Han Ruzi sat alone in the hall, but still didn't understand what Zhuo Ruhe wanted to say. At this time, he felt that he needed Yang Feng in particular.

Yang Feng stayed in Juanhou's mansion and did not come with him.

Not long after, Korean star came in, alone, without a follower, and Zhuo Ruhe did not come with him.

Han Xing is an elder of the royal family. Han Ruzi stood up to greet him. Han Xing smiled and said, "I didn't expect that when Mayi City parted, I met again in a small county yamen. Alas, for a whole year, my only correct decision was to let General Zhenbei guard the Shati-Iron City. If someone else was replaced, I was afraid that the consequences would be unimaginable."

"If the general had not supported me, I and thousands of Chu troops would have already buried my bones and broken the iron city."

Han Xing made the appointment of military affairs for the general of Zhenbei to break the iron city, Shenxiong Pass and the surrounding ten counties was crucial. Without it, it would be even more difficult for Han Ruzi to convince the public.

Han Xing nodded with a smile, sat on the chair, signaling Han Ruzi to sit down, then took out a official letter from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it to Han Ruzi, "General Zhenbei should need this."

This is a dispatch order, which ordered General Zhenbei to return to the capital to report the military information on the frontier to the Ministry of War and the Grand Governor's Office. General Han Xing himself cannot return to the capital for no reason, but he can send his generals back to the capital.

Han Ruzi stood up to thank him. He really needed this order, otherwise his identity in the capital would be a problem after all. It was because the palace refused to approve the memorial, so there was nothing wrong for the time being.

But this is not the real reason why Han Ruzi came here to meet the general. "The general has received all the letters I wrote?"

Those letters were written by Yang Feng, Han Ruzi had read them, and the seal was stamped by him.

Han Xing nodded, "I am so old that I can still encounter such a thing. Who will come up with the idea of ​​fighting for the throne?"

"It is said that they were some people who were looking at the air, and they convinced the Queen Mother."

"Oh, things in the world are unpredictable. Just over ten years ago, who dared to show a little concern for the throne, even if it was private, or even just ask the emperor's safety, it would be possible to anger Emperor Wu and end up ruining his family. Now, the emperor is still in the palace, and the saying "fighting for the throne" can spread everywhere in a noble way. No one thinks it is a serious crime."

"The Great Chu needs another 'Martial Emperor'."

Han Xing came over and said, "It's not the Great Chu, it's the Han family. The heroine's dominance and the royal family declined. It's only been a few years. How will we meet Taizu after we die?"

Han Xing has always been silent in the court and is known for his tranquility and inaction. Han Ruzi was surprised when he said such words, "The general is against the throne of the throne?"

"It is okay to compete for the throne, but it cannot be decided by a group of warlocks in the world. The Queen Mother is really crazy."

“The general means…”

Han Xing smiled, "The royal family needs unity. The champion Hou forgot his surname and relied on ministers wholeheartedly, but there are also Juehou and... others. The Han family is full of branches and leaves. Even if only a small number of children work together, they can still maintain the great Chu country."

Han Ruzi vaguely guessed something, it was not what he and Yang Feng expected.

Han Xing patted his palms twice and walked in from outside.

King Donghai bowed to Han Ruzi and smiled, "Brother, will you forgive me, right?" (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!