Chapter 1601 Xin Zijuan points to
Shi Jishi left, but the reminder to Feng Ziying still made Feng Ziying a little nervous.
The three prefectures of Hejian, Zhending and Baoding in the south are densely populated. The drought this year is also extremely serious and the situation is worse than expected. Once the famine problems caused by the drought in these three prefectures are not solved, the actual situation will be very serious. It is impossible to solve the problem, which means that it is almost inevitable for the refugees to go north to the capital city.
In contrast, the situation in Hejian Prefecture mentioned in historical records is actually better. The real situation is serious in several prefectures and counties in the northern part of Zhending Prefecture and the southwest of Baoding Prefecture, such as Dingzhou, Quwo, Xingtang, Gaocheng , Lingshou, Fuping and Mancheng, Tangxian, Wanxian and Wangdu prefectures and counties, Shahe and Zihe have almost stopped flowing. Even the most important Hutuo River has less than half of the water volume in previous years due to scarce precipitation, and its drought level One can imagine.
The drastic changes in climate during this Little Ice Age are really powerful. Continuous droughts are becoming more and more serious. This situation is particularly prominent in the North. Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Beizhi have suffered from drought and lack of rain for many years in a row. The livelihoods of local people are also facing difficulties. serious threat.
Under normal circumstances, two consecutive years of drought can basically force a family that was originally doing well in the countryside to go bankrupt, while families that are slightly worse off will either be enslaved by local wealthy families, or they can only go out to work as refugees. , otherwise there will only be an ending of starving to death.
Recalling that there is still a big gap in the grain deficit in Jingtong Ercang, Feng Ziying is even more worried. The Gyeonggi area is narrow and densely populated, and food has to come from the south. Once the water transportation is interrupted, I am afraid that there will be an immediate disaster. A disaster.
Jingtong Ercang was originally prepared to make up for such natural disasters and accidents. Now even Jingtong Ercang still has a large deficit that has not been made up. How can Feng Ziying not be anxious.
Thinking of this, Feng Ziying picked up the letter from Song Tongyin again.
Song Tongyin was both Feng Ziying's classmate at Qingtan Academy and Feng Ziying's fellow Shandong fellow, but the two did not have much contact at Qingtan Academy or even during Guanzheng, because Song Tongyin was ten years older than Feng Ziying, and the huge age gap between them made them Usually it's just a general exchange.
Until Feng Ziying was appointed as the magistrate of Yongping Prefecture and Song Tongyin was appointed as the magistrate of Gaocheng County, the two people had more contact with each other.
After all, they all took office in Beizhili Prefecture. Everyone was a novice. They were all slowly getting familiar with things that no one would teach you in books or in the Six Parts of the Central Dynasty. It was also appropriate for them to learn from each other and communicate with each other.
After Feng Ziying became the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, Song Tongyin sent people to Feng Mansion to congratulate him and gave him gifts, which moved Feng Ziying very much.
There wasn’t much contact between them in the academy before, but unexpectedly, the two of them had more interactions after becoming an official.
Song Tongyin also mentioned the situation in Gaocheng this year in his letter, saying that the water level of the Hutuo River has dropped by half compared with normal years. Except for the areas along the Hutuo River and some tributaries, there can be some harvest, and other areas, especially mountainous areas, are experiencing special drought conditions. Severe, even to the point where trees die.
In addition to the drought, the locust plague also attacked Gaocheng, Luancheng, Zhaozhou, Wuji, Jinzhou, and Shulu and Shenze areas adjacent to Baoding Prefecture. The situation in Gaocheng was relatively good, but Luancheng, Zhaozhou, and Shulu Prefectures and counties such as Shenzhen, Shenze and Wuqiang were almost wiped out by locusts. The soldiers and people were frightened, and rumors spread everywhere.
What worries Feng Ziying is not just the spread of the locust plague, but also the spread of rumors after the soldiers and people were frightened.
The spread of rumors means that there are monsters causing trouble inside, and most of these monsters are specially sent by secret societies to confuse people and disturb people's hearts, creating a basis of public opinion for these societies to absorb the people. These may seem clumsy, but they are often found in the countryside. There is no disadvantage, and the foolish man and woman believe it very firmly.
Feng Ziying suspected that this might be the work of the White Lotus Sect. Thinking of the activities of the White Lotus Sect in Beijing and even Shuntian Mansion, Feng Ziying became more and more anxious.
There are very frequent exchanges of people between Shuntian Prefecture and Baoding and Zhending Prefectures. It can even be said that many people in the capital city are originally from Baoding Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture. Many people maintain contact with their places of origin and have many relatives and friends. Under such circumstances, if the White Lotus Sect develops rapidly in Baoding and Zhending, it will inevitably have a stimulating impact on the activities of the White Lotus Sect in Beijing and make the White Lotus Sect in Beijing active.
Feng Ziying also sent some potato and sweet potato seedlings to Gaocheng. However, Feng Ziying estimated that even if Song Tongyin strongly promoted it, without such a planting atmosphere in Zhending Mansion, it would probably be better than nothing. But no matter what, as long as it is planted and as long as someone sees the advantages and benefits of this crop, others will follow suit. This is equivalent to sowing seeds and seeing how many will bear fruit.
After replying to Song Tongyin, Feng Ziying felt a little more relaxed.
Feng Ziying and Cao Wenheng are not familiar with each other, and the reason is very simple. Cao Wenheng is also seven or eight years older than him. When he was in the academy, Feng Ziying was more close to his peers, but now he realizes that he is familiar with them. A few of them are basically in the seven departments of the Central Government, but there are not many locally, especially in Beizhili. Song Tongyin has contacted them, and Cao Wenheng should also contact them.
So he also asked Qi Yongtai to write a letter to Cao Wenheng, and then he also wrote a letter to proactively contact Cao Wenheng.
For no other reason, apart from strengthening connections to enhance feelings in the future, more importantly, Quang Binh Prefecture is also where the activities of the White Lotus Sect are very rampant.
Although Guangping Prefecture is small, it is the intersection of four provinces, with Shandong to the east and Shanxi and Henan to the west. It radiates to the Central Plains and its geographical location is very important.
Cao Wenheng has not replied to him yet, but it is estimated that there will be a reply in the next few days.
Feng Ziying now also doesn't believe in the local situation reported to the court by the local government. The possibility of covering up fraud is too great. If she wants to grasp the actual situation, it is better to rely on her classmates to find out some real situations.
Judging from the situation obtained from Song Tongyin, it is estimated that the Guangping Mansion where Cao Wenheng is located will not be much better. It is a kind of kindness to remind Cao Wenheng so early and let him make preparations early.
Feng Ziying feels more and more that she is not like the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, but more like the Governor of North Zhili or the Governor of North Zhili. She has to take care of the affairs of Shuntian Prefecture and worry about the affairs of Yongping Prefecture. Now it is really He is also meddling in the affairs of Ding, Baoding and Guangping Prefecture. Isn't this the pattern of the governor of Northern Zhili?
After thinking about it, he asked Baoxiang to call Wu Yaoqing.
“Yao Qing, I’m still not too worried about the White Lotus Sect. How are you doing with your investigation?”
"Sir, it's been a little weird this time. This group of people seems to have disappeared. They haven't been seen for more than a month." Wu Yaoqing said thoughtfully: "It can't be said that none of them have been seen, but that most of them have not been seen. , at least there is no movement in the city, only occasional people will show up. We have arranged for reliable people to keep an eye on Cuihua Hutong, and they will report whenever there is any movement, but there has been no news. "
“Oh?” Feng Ziying was also surprised, “Did they notice something?”
"It doesn't look like it." Wu Yaoqing said with certainty: "Our people are far away, and there are three to four rounds of people taking turns to keep track of them. We also use several merchant shops in the area, so they should not be discovered. In addition, they There are still people moving around, but the movement is much smaller than in the past few months, and my subordinates wonder if they have temporarily moved to another place because they are not in the capital due to some actions."
"How many people do they still have in Hongqing Temple?" Feng Ziying agreed with Wu Yaoqing's judgment. The White Lotus Sect is currently developing rapidly and has very frequent activities. Without interference or impact from other factors, it is unlikely that it will actively shrink and can only move to On other matters, just outside the capital city, it is unrealistic for Wu Yaoqing and the others to grasp all the movements of the White Lotus Sect with their small manpower.
"Two to three people rarely come out. Usually there is one person who is out and about. He often goes out for two days and comes back. This rotation makes it more like a contact point." Wu Yaoqing replied: "These three people are very alert. , and they all had the skills to do it, so we couldn’t follow him, and the furthest we tracked him was near Niulan Mountain and lost track.”
"Niulan Mountain? Between Shunyi and Huairou? That means they haven't gone too far. A journey of two or three days means they are still in our Shuntian Prefecture."
Feng Ziying subconsciously stood up and walked to the west wall, opening the curtain. This was a map of Shuntian Prefecture, but it was different from ordinary maps. It was already somewhat similar to a modern map. The rough proportions and contours began to change. Add to the top, and all kinds of legends are also listed one by one.
"We also suspect that it is still within Shuntian Prefecture, and it should be in the north or northwest." Wu Yaoqing analyzed: "The Changping-Huairou-Miyun line is the most likely, but there seems to be nothing special about this line, and the population is also It’s not dense. Logically speaking, the White Lotus Sect shouldn’t develop in this direction.”
Wu Yaoqing also had some doubts, "If they are afraid of being exposed if there is too much movement in the capital city, they should go to places such as Tongzhou, Xiangsanhe, and Baodi, or go to Liangxiang and Zhuozhou, which are close to Zhending and Baoding. Over there, the White Lotus Sect is more powerful and has a deeper foundation."
Feng Ziying also thought hard, but the Ministry of Punishment and Long Jinwei were not helpful or caring, which made many things difficult for him, the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture.
Yongping Mansion himself has sent several letters to remind Lian Guo, but this guy is now focused on iron smelting, potato and sweet potato cultivation, and the construction of Yuguan Port, or after the road is gradually completed Maybe the refugees who stayed behind were resettled in the wasteland, and they obviously didn't pay much attention to his reminder.
(End of this chapter)