This group of hundreds of horsemen and horses were all well fed and lightly equipped. Jiangzhou was six or seven hundred miles away from Chang'an. With the speed of these good horses and the official road, they could usually arrive in three or four days without too much rush. But Li Ke was obviously a little impatient, so he became ruthless and ordered to travel day and night to reach Jiangzhou within two days.
Qin Mubai didn't care anymore. With the strength of Huoyunma's legs, if the weather was not too bad and the road was too rough and difficult to travel, he could easily run six hundred miles in a day. The ancient saying that a good horse "travels a thousand miles in a day" is an imaginary number, but it is indeed not difficult to convert it to the current five or six hundred miles.
Jiangzhou is very close to Taiyuan, where Li Tang made his fortune. During the Wude period, the Jiangzhou General Administration Office was established, which administered more than ten prefectures and counties, including Jinzhou Taiyuan. Later, Taiyuan was changed into a prefecture and became the northern capital of the Tang Dynasty, and Jiangzhou was reduced to a state with a total of five counties under its jurisdiction. However, it was still an important state and county in the place where the Jin Dynasty merged with the Jin Dynasty, and it was valued by people.
The one that suffered the most severe disaster this time was Jishan County under Jiangzhou.
Qin Mubai and others hurried on their way in a hurry. When they entered Jiangzhou, they clearly felt that the weather was different. You can often see many people migrating in groups on the official road, supporting the elderly and the young. They are mourning and wailing like a war, and they have become refugees.
The Zhenguan Tang Dynasty had always been a time of peace and prosperity for the people, and such a situation was very rare. Li Ke, Quan Wanji and others were shocked. Stopping the procession, they stopped a few refugees for questioning. When the homeless people saw that they were dressed in luxurious clothes and that they were armed with soldiers, they naturally understood that they were officials' families, so they cried bitterly and told them that Zhu Chengwen, the magistrate of Jishan County, had forced them out of their homes. They had no choice but to Wander out and find another place to live. But the house and land are all gone, and I don’t know how to live in the future.
Li Ke asked again how the flood disaster over there was now. The refugees replied that nearly 10,000 soldiers from Jiangzhou Prefecture and nearby prefectures had arrived the day before yesterday and tomorrow, and the flood problem had been temporarily relieved. However, there were piles of victims with no one to resettle them. Hundreds of soldiers and horses had no food to eat, so they came to seize the people's only food reserves, even seeds and cattle for the coming year.
Now, the whole Jiangzhou has become a mess, just like the chaos of war in troubled times. The officials did not act and were busy shirk- ing their responsibilities, while the military leaders allowed their troops to plunder the people. Among them, the situation in Jishan County is the most serious.
After hearing these words, Li Ke and Quan Wanji were furious. Without saying a word, Li Ke got on his horse and said, "Let's go to Jishan!"
Qin Mubai has been following Li Ke without saying a word. In public, he understands his identity and responsibility - Li Ke provides disaster relief. He is responsible for protecting Li Ke and impeaching local officials and generals.
After galloping for a while, Qin Mubai saw that Li Ke's anger had calmed down and said, "Your Highness, the situation in Jishan County is rather strange."
"How to say?"
"Now that the flood has been lifted, the county magistrate should cooperate with the state officials and soldiers to help the people and settle the lives of these victims. But instead of doing this, the county magistrate drove the people away. Don't you think this is abnormal? "?"
"That Zhu Chengwen is probably tired of living." Li Ke snorted coldly, "Aren't you afraid of being crushed to pieces by the imperial power when you abuse the people like this?"
Qin Mubai shook his head: "If I were Zhu Chengwen, I would definitely understand this truth. But why should I do this?"
Li Ke was startled for a moment, turned his head and asked, "Why?"
"That's because I must have unspeakable difficulties." Qin Mubai said, "I would rather risk being punished by the king's law than have to drive away the people of Jishan and move them away from this place. "
Li Ke's brows twitched, he was silent for a moment thoughtfully, and said, "Then you mean to say that Jishan County is still very dangerous now?"
"It's possible." Qin Mubai said, "Your Highness, think about it, now that the flood has been eliminated, we should quickly provide relief to the people, rebuild houses and reorganize the farmland. But Zhu Chengwen did not do this, he drove the people away - note , it was expulsion, not relocation! In other words, he must have forcibly driven away all the people without the consent and arrangements of the superior state government. Why was this that Zhu Chengwen violated the king's law and was disobedient? If Shangguan is good at making opinions, is he really not afraid of disaster?"
"Listening to what you said, things in Jishan County are really a bit strange. Thank you for reminding me. I was so angry just now that I made a mistake." Li Ke nodded and said, "Okay, I'll find out when we get there. . Let’s hurry up!”
Soon after, Qin Mubai and his party entered Jishan County.
From a distance, everyone could smell a strong smell of muddy water. The walls of the county town had obviously been soaked by water, and traces of water left on the walls several feet high could be seen. Countless houses were washed away, and the whole city was in a state of disarray. Occasionally, drowned cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs could be seen, and a pungent stench of floating corpses could be smelled.
A large county is like a place of death!
"It seems that the disaster is more serious than I imagined." Li Ke frowned, "Why don't we see any state or county officials or government soldiers here to provide disaster relief?"
"They probably all went to the outskirts of the city, right?" Quan Wanji said, "The flood started from the large lake on the outskirts of the city. The lower areas in the county were affected, but the floods have slowed down here. Therefore, the really serious disaster is It’s in the countryside.”
"Then let's not go into the city and go straight to the countryside and the lake!" Li Ke said.
"Your Highness, be careful!" Quan Wanji said, "Plagues are prone to occur after floods. Looking at the silence in Jishan County, the residents in the city must have fled to avoid the plague. The top priority now is to find Jishan County Magistrate Zhu Chengwen , and then make a decision after asking about the situation here.”
"No need to say it. I am here to provide disaster relief, why are you afraid of the plague?" Li Ke said decisively, "Go to the countryside! Whoever is afraid of the plague will stay. I will not force you!"
"Your Highness is not afraid, so what should I be afraid of?!" Quan Wanji said seriously, "I must warn you if there is danger. Since Your Highness is not afraid, even if you go through fire and water, Quan Wanji will follow you!"
"Walk-"
There were hundreds of people in the group, walking on the muddy road towards the lake in the countryside. After walking for more than ten miles, I finally saw the smoke rising.
"That's the army, right? Burying pots to make rice?" Li Ke took a look and said, "It turns out they are stationed here!"
"Your Highness, Rong, please step forward first!" At this time, it was Qin Mubai's turn. Li Ke nodded in agreement, and Qin Mubai came forward first with a hundred cavalry soldiers.
There are many troops stationed here, at least three thousand troops. The camp was obviously recently built and was relatively simple and rough, but there were many patrolling horses and soldiers guarding the camp. It was in order and was heavily guarded, just like the situation when facing an enemy.
Not far after Qin Mubai and others stepped forward, they were stopped by a group of exploring horses.
"Stop!" shouted the other side's primary school, "Who is coming? You are not allowed to trespass into a military-rich area!"
The brigade commander next to Qin Mubai shouted: "How brave! Don't you recognize the flag of the Royal Guards led by Baiqi? General Qin, the commander of Baiqi, is here. Dismount your horse quickly to greet him!"
"Royal Guards Leading Hundreds of Cavalry?!" The colonel and the sergeants were stunned for a moment - to them, this kind of thing was as far away as a phoenix in the sky, but now it suddenly appeared in front of them!
A group of military academies hurriedly dismounted to greet him. Qin Mubai said: "No courtesy. Go in and report that His Highness the King of Wu has led his generals to visit the army under the protection of hundreds of cavalry. Please ask your general in charge to come out to greet you!"
"yes!"
The sergeants who were exploring the horse hurriedly turned around and ran away. Soon the horns were blown in the entire military camp, and the troops and horses gathered quickly. The smoke rising from the army was extinguished. The flags were fluttering and the drums and horns filled the sky. The troops and troops were quickly deployed and marched out. The gate came to greet Li Ke.
Li Ke looked at this scene from a distance and couldn't help but smile and said to Quan Wanji: "Chief Quan, it's really easy to have hundreds of cavalry accompanying you. You and I are not familiar with the army, and we will be a little unfamiliar with the soldiers. But Qin Mubai has a unique advantage in this regard. He is a Baiqi Envoy. Although his official rank is not high, he is the commander of the imperial guard. When he goes out to do things, the person standing behind him is the emperor! No matter how arrogant and powerful a general is, he would not dare not give his Majesty some face!"
"Your Highness is absolutely right," Quan Wanji said, "Everything is born, and one thing comes down to another. Your Highness has a noble status and is proficient in officialdom. He is more than capable of dealing with those state and county officials. But these military academies have always been beyond the control of His Highness. You have your own rules, so you may not take His Highness seriously, and it may be difficult to avoid things that go against your will. Your Majesty sent a Baiqi Envoy who is familiar with military affairs and has a special status to help you, which is a great move!"
"Indeed." Li Ke nodded and smiled, thinking, you Quan Wanji only know one thing but not the other. If you want to send someone who knows military affairs, it would be enough to send a general from the Twelve Guards. Hundreds of cavalry were mobilized, but for such a simple reason...
The soldiers of the government lined up and were already out to greet him. Three people came out from the front of the line. One was wearing armor, one was wearing a scarlet robe official uniform, and the other was a green official uniform. According to the official uniform system of the Tang Dynasty, those above the fifth rank wear crimson official robes, and those below the fifth rank wear green robes.
Qin Mubai rode on horseback and led hundreds of soldiers to form a formation, and Li Ke rode forward from behind. The three men bowed down head on.
"Cheng Songnian, the governor of Jiangzhou, Ma Kun, the captain of Jiangzhou Prefecture, and Liao Lirong, the captain of Jishan County—congratulations to His Highness the King of Wu!"
Li Ke got off his horse and walked in front of them, raised his hand: "Everyone, get up! In extraordinary times, there is no need to be so formal."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The three of them stood up. Li Ke pointed to Qin Mubai and said, "This one is Qin Mubai, the Baiqi Envoy."
The three of them glanced at Qin Mubai neatly, then hurriedly lowered their heads and clasped their fists in their hands: "I've seen General Qin!"
"No need to be polite." Qin Mubai returned the gift, wondering why the governor of Jiangzhou and the county lieutenant of Jishan County were here together? —Why is it a county captain and not a county magistrate
A county lieutenant is an assistant officer of a county order. He is in charge of military affairs and is equivalent to a deputy county magistrate. His function is the minister of the county's armed forces department.
Li Ke obviously thought of this. After the introduction and greetings, he asked: "As the governor, why is the magistrate of Jishan County?"
"He..." Cheng Songnian was startled for a moment. He glanced at Ma Kun and Liao Lirong each with a troubled expression. He lowered his head and said, "Magistrate Zhu Chengwen of Jishan County... committed suicide today out of fear of crime!"
"What?!"