Impossible! It's fake! It's all fake!
How could Jingnan be so peaceful and peaceful with birds singing and flowers blooming? It should be dark and full of corpses!
The Taiping County Magistrate could not accept all this. He gritted his teeth and coughed, saying very heartbreakingly: "Ahem, Zhu Ping'an actually spent so much money to trick ignorant refugees to come to Jingnan..."
Wang Meng, Peng Cheng and Zhang Wenbo nodded subconsciously when they heard this. They also didn't believe it, or perhaps they didn't want to believe what they were seeing.
Xu Hai and Tan Lun looked at the scene with serious and complicated expressions and did not respond to the words of Taiping County Magistrate.
Zhang Guyi glanced at the Taiping County Magistrate with a look full of sarcasm, as if he was looking at an idiot.
The group continued along the flat official road in Jingnan amid mixed emotions of shock and doubt.
After walking about a mile, they saw another crowd gathering in front of a high platform. On the platform, a man dressed as a clerk was shouting with a strange trumpet-like iron sheet. The voice was quite loud and could be heard from far away. Xu Hai and his friends could hear it clearly from a distance of about 20 meters. There were many police officers maintaining order below the platform.
"My fellow villagers, we in Jingnan have organized a work-for-relief program. Simply put, as long as you participate in the construction of our county government, the county government will pay you wages, no less than 20 coins per person per day, and all are paid every day; don't worry, the elderly, the weak, women and children can also do some light work such as washing clothes and cooking, and the wages are the same; children under ten years old, the sick, and the elderly over sixty can have free meals every day even if they don't work, and if they do some light work within their ability, they can get more wages. Our project area provides three meals a day, breakfast is 1 coin, lunch is 2 coins, and dinner is 1 coin, and the quantity is large and full. If you want to cook for yourself, it's okay, but it's a little more expensive, and you can eat meat and vegetables for 2 coins more."
"We are currently focusing on six major projects, namely the East Lake Project, the City Wall Project, the Anti-Japanese Fort Project, the River Desilting Project, the Land Reclamation Project, and the Home Reconstruction Project. The wages are all the same, and you can choose one to participate. After choosing, report to our subordinates and follow them to the corresponding flood shelter for resettlement."
"Of course, you all must abide by the rules when you come to Jingnan to participate in the work-for-relief program. First, you must abide by the discipline and follow the instructions. Second, you must not cheat or act sloppily. Once you are found cheating or acting sloppily, your wages will be deducted depending on the situation. If you commit the same offense three times in a row, no matter who you are or what the situation is, you will be expelled and will never be employed again. Also, when you arrive at the flood shelter, you must pay attention to hygiene, wash your face and face every day, change your clothes regularly, and go to the bathroom at designated locations. You must not urinate or defecate anywhere. Fellow villagers, please do not underestimate hygiene. There are many people in our flood shelter, and the flood has not receded yet. If you do not pay attention to hygiene, it is easy to cause an epidemic, which is no joke."
... ...
The clerks on the high platform held tin loudspeakers and preached impatiently to the people who had fled.
Work for relief! 20 cents a day! Follow the rules and pay hygiene... ...
All of this was very fresh and thought-provoking to Xu Hai, Tan Lun and others, and they found endless truths when they savored it carefully.
Especially when they heard about hygiene and prevention of plague, Xu Hai, Tan Lun and others couldn't help but glance at Taiping County Magistrate. The disaster resettlement area built by Taiping County probably caused the plague because of ignoring this point. By the way, Taiping County's disaster resettlement area, couldn't it be learned from Zhu Ping'an's flood shelter? ! It's just that he didn't even copy, and only learned the superficial things, but didn't learn the essence, and ended up causing the plague! A project for the people turned out to be a project that harmed the people.
The Taiping County Magistrate was already feeling guilty, and when he was looked at by Xu Hai, Tan Lun and others, he couldn't help but blush.
"Ahem, since ancient times, we have directly distributed food to help the people to show the grace of the court. Zhu Ping'an actually forced the refugees to work and charged for food. Doesn't this show that our dynasty is cold and heartless?! Isn't this forcing the people to become alienated from our court?!"
After blushing, the Taiping County Magistrate criticized Zhu Ping'an's work-for-relief policy. As the initiator of the impeachment of Zhu Ping'an, he had no choice but to continue walking down the "Zhu Hei" path.
No one from Xu Hai or the others responded, not even Wang Meng or the others.
In fact, it was not Zhu Pingan who first proposed the idea of using work instead of relief. The Spring and Autumn Annals of Yan Zi recorded that "Yan Zi used the road and bed camp to provide relief to the people during the famine in Qi." During the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan recruited workers to repair temples, which was also a way of using work instead of relief. However, Zhu Pingan's use of work instead of relief was a step further than that of the ancients, and it was groundbreaking in both scale and form.
The Taiping County Magistrate criticized Zhu Ping'an for implementing "work-for-relief", saying that the court seemed cold and heartless and that he was too crooked.
About three miles ahead, we saw the bustling Donghu Project Area. We knew it was the Donghu Project Area because there was a tall flagpole erected in the project area, with a cloth hanging from it, which read "Donghu Work-for-Relief Project Area". The area was so large that you couldn't see the edge of it as far as you could see. A rough estimate was that it was at least 10 to 20 miles long, and there were as many as 50,000 to 60,000 people digging, carrying, and transporting soil... Although there were many people, the project area was not chaotic at all, and the organization and planning were surprisingly orderly.
There were five horse-drawn carriages parked dozens of steps apart on the lakeside, with boxes of copper coins on the carriages sparkling in the sun; there was a planned kitchen area in the lake area, where hundreds of women and children were preparing lunch, and the aroma of rice wafted far away; encouraged by copper coins and food, fifty or sixty thousand people rushed to the front and sweated profusely.
A huge artificial lake has taken shape, with the distinction between the upper and lower lakes vaguely visible.
Everything is full of hope, everything is so vibrant!
Compared with other areas of Jingnan that have been ravaged by floods and are struggling with despair, the contrast is stark, like heaven and hell.
Xu Hai and others stood by the East Lake, looking at the bustling scene inside the lake, and were shocked.
"Why did Zhu Ping'an dig such a big lake? He wasted money and abused the people's power..."
The Taiping County Magistrate once again attacked Zhu Ping'an.
"Well, that makes sense. Zhu Ping'an's move is suspected of wasting money and abusing people's power." This time Peng Cheng responded to the Taiping County Magistrate. He looked at the Taiping County Magistrate encouragingly and nodded slightly.
Right, that's barely the point.
"Father, may I ask, why did you dig such a big lake?"
Tan Lun saw an old man passing by carrying a bundle of goods on his back, and he politely stopped the old man and asked curiously.
"Haha, you are from other places, right? You ask what this Zhugan Lake is used for?" The old man was a talkative person. After being stopped by Tan Lun, he put down the firewood on his back, wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeves, and said with a smile.
"You have a really discerning eye, sir. Hey, isn't this called Donghu Lake? Why do you call it Zhugan Lake?" Tan Lun replied with a bow.
"Haha, this lake is officially called East Lake, but we privately call it Bamboo Pole Lake. The reason why we call it Bamboo Pole Lake is because our county magistrate leaned on a bamboo pole, crossed mountains and ridges, waded into the river, and stepped on our Jingnan three or five times before he figured out the reason why our Jingnan often suffers from floods. It seems to be the terrain or something, but I don't understand it. Anyway, after the county magistrate figured out the cause of the flood, he chose this place and personally used bamboo poles as the boundary to circle the boundary of this East Lake, so we privately call it Bamboo Pole Lake. This Bamboo Pole Lake can protect our Jingnan from floods for a hundred years. When the river water rises sharply during the flood season, the gates are opened to discharge the flood into the lake and store water to divide the flood; during the dry season, the stored lake water is returned to the river to irrigate the farmland... ... Tell me, is our county magistrate a god? We common people all said that we should erect a monument, a statue, and a temple for our county magistrate to express our gratitude and commemorate him. However, our county magistrate never agreed. We have privately agreed that when our county magistrate is promoted, we will erect a monument, a statue, and a temple for him. Not only will we express our gratitude and commemorate him, but our descendants will also remember the kindness of our county magistrate and pay homage to him every year. "
The old man's words were full of respect for Zhu Ping'an. In his eyes, Zhu Ping'an was simply on the same level as a god.
"What?! We're also building a monument, a statue, and a temple for Zhu Ping'an?! We're also building a memorial for him and offering sacrifices to him every year?!"
Upon hearing this, Taiping County Magistrate, Wang Meng and others felt uncomfortable as if they had swallowed a fly.
Are you kidding me?! Zhu Pingan colluded with grain merchants, drove up grain prices, and accepted bribes. Shouldn't he be spit on and cursed by you?! Why are you still thanking and commemorating him? You even want to erect a monument, a statue, and a temple for him?! You can't even refuse?!