The other party often travels in a sedan chair when he wants to come, and it is only a few steps from the yamen to the city gate. Chen Luan ran out of breath, and only managed to squeeze out a smile until Tang Fan: "Sir, please stay! Tang Fan, the imperial censor of Zuoyao?"
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows: "Who are you?"
Chen Luan hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Chen Luan, the magistrate of Wujiang County, I'm going to meet you."
Tang Fan half-smiled, "Chen County magistrate, I neither wear an official robe nor identify myself. How can you be so sure that I am Tang Fan? If I recognize the wrong person, wouldn't it be a joke?"
Chen Luan said: "Your Excellency, Long Zhangfeng, has an extraordinary appearance, like standing out from a group of chickens. You can see that you are not ordinary people at a glance. When the lower official heard that the imperial court was going to send a censor to inspect the disaster, he instructed the city gate soldiers to pay attention. Come here."
He is not very old, he looks only in his thirties, and his facial features are neat and handsome, which makes him a lot of goodwill. He is a typical image of a shrewd and capable young official.
Although the imperial examination system has already matured since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and some of the underprivileged children have been elected to officials, but generally speaking, children from wealthy families can get more resources, they can hire famous teachers, have elders teach them, and can enter famous universities In the academy, the chances of being able to pass the test in the end are naturally much higher than that of ordinary children.
Like Tang Fan, although his family was down, he still came from a family background and received a good education since he was a child. Not to mention Chen Luan, his uncle was the minister of household affairs in Nanjing, and he was also an official himself, which means that The Chen family is at least a scholar of three generations, and it is very likely that it is an official family. This situation can be found everywhere in Daming officialdom.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Chen Luan has such an outstanding bearing even though he is the magistrate of Qipin.
After hearing his explanation, Tang Fan just smiled and said nothing.
Chen Luan had expected to wait for him to interrogate him, but he did not expect that this Tang Yushi was very calm, so he had to open his mouth again: "Your Excellency has come from a long way, and the subordinate officials should do their best to entertain them, but last year Wujiang suffered a catastrophe. , Now the vitality is badly damaged and has not yet recovered, if there is any neglect, please forgive me."
Tang Fan nodded and said with a smile: "It's okay, you are the host, so it's up to you to decide. We will go how you arrange it."
Chen Luan said: "Why don't you let the lower official take the adults to take a look at the resettlement of the victims?"
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows.
The three people he met after he came to Suzhou, the prefect of Suzhou, Hu Wenzao, avoided seeing them, and Yang Ji, the censor of Nanzhili, was not there. Now the magistrate of Wujiang, who is in the center of the vortex, offered to take Tang Fan to see him. disaster victims.
Upright, with no intention of concealing whitewash.
Tang Fan's eyes met with him, only to see that Chen Luan's eyes were unavoidable and flashing, and he also looked back, with a slight smile, inquiring.
The seventh-rank magistrates and the fourth-rank magistrates seem to be on top of each other.
Tang Fan smiled and said, "Then ask County Magistrate Chen to lead the way."
Chen Luan: "Master Tang, please."
Chen Luan took Tang Fan and others to the south of the city. This was originally an abandoned temple, but now it has been cleaned up, and the Buddha statues and things inside should also be cleaned up and turned into a good hall. The original monk's house is also were demolished to accommodate more beds.
Naturally, these beds are very simple, just straw mats spread on the ground, and then people lie on them and cover them with a quilt. Rain, and a place where you can eat and wear warm, is already like paradise.
When Tang Fan and the others passed by, it happened to be just in time for lunch. The porridge was sent by the government after it had been boiled. The victims lined up in a long queue, holding bowls and waiting for their turn. It didn't happen as Tang Fan imagined. It's a situation of crying and crying.
Chen Luan explained to Tang Fan: "This porridge is served twice a day, one at noon and one at night. Now the number of victims has been reduced a lot. Since this year, many people have started to go home one after another, so the order is still in order. However, there have been several incidents of robbing and hurting people in order to distribute more food."
Tang Fan nodded, looked at the bowl held in the hands of the victims who passed by, and frowned slightly: "Is this porridge too thin?"
Chen Luan smiled bitterly: "I teach you to know that the granary in the county can be allocated now, and the lower officials have already allocated it, and the rest has also been handed over to Nanjing as tax grain. The current granary in the county, In fact, it has been evacuated long ago, if you don't believe it, the lower official can take you there to take a look."
Tang Fan didn't speak to him, but pulled an old man passing by and asked, "This old man, where are you from?"
The old man raised his head to see Tang Fan, and then saw Chen Luan in an official robe beside him, tremblingly, he was about to kneel and salute.
Tang Fan naturally didn't let him do this, and immediately helped him up: "Please don't be too polite, old man, where did you come from?"
The old man said: "The little people have fled from the city, and many of the old parents in this county are merciful. They opened the city gate and let us in, so that we have a tile to cover our body, and we won't starve to death. The old parents are on top, please. Be humbled by the people!"
Say goodbye and pay your respects.
Chen Luan smiled and helped him up: "The old man didn't hear what Master Tang said, please don't be too polite. This is what this county should do. Since I am a parent official, I should do what I should do."
The old man was resigned, his expression restrained, holding the bowl and not daring to answer.
Seeing that he was at a loss, Tang Fan let him go and asked Chen Luan, "Didn't Suzhou House allocate food?"
Chen Luan shook his head: "It's not enough at all, let me tell you the truth, Wu County was also hit by disaster. Because it was the Suzhou government office, so it was close to Wu County first. As a result, our Wujiang County was raised by the stepmother. The food allocated was only about thirty stone."
Tang Fan frowned: "Why so few?"
Chen Luan said: "These are all documented cases, please, my lord."
He brought Tang Fan to the county warehouse and ordered someone to open the door. When Tang Fan saw it, it was really empty, and there was not even half a grain of rice.
Chen Luan brought the grain book to Tang Fan again, and behind the grain allocated by Suzhou House, it was indeed written three hundred stones in plain language.
Tang Fan asked, "How many days can the food for the victims be distributed now?"
Chen Luan said, "It will probably last for three days."
Tang Fan: "After those three days, what are you going to do?"
Chen Luan: "Xiaguan plans to borrow grain from the grain merchants in the county. Also, now that the lake has receded and the fields can be re-cultivated, Xiaguan plans to have people persuade the victims to go back in batches. After all, there are only a few left. It’s always easier when there are a hundred people, and if you can go home, except for those ruffians, generally no one wants to die here. So you just need to borrow two or three days of grain from the grain merchants.”
Tang Fan: "Are they willing to borrow it?"
Chen Luan smiled: "Of course they won't, but if the subordinate officials coerce and lure them, they can always make them take out some."
Tang Fan also smiled and said, "Hongya can be called a capable official!"
He used to call the county magistrate Chen, and it was official business, but now it has been changed to a name, and it has become much closer to him, and it also indirectly expresses Tang Fan's attitude.
Chen Luan cupped his hands and said, "I don't dare to be praised as an adult. This is an internal matter for a lower official, and it is nothing more than doing my duty."
Tang Fan patted him on the shoulder: "To be faithful to your duties, these four words are easier said than done, and even many officials fail to abide by them. It is not easy for you to do this. After returning home, I will report truthfully and will not let You are wronged."
Chen Luan smiled: "Your words are serious, but it is not easy for the prefect. There are several counties that have been affected by the disaster, and there must be priorities. The lower officials can understand."
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows and said, "But as far as I know, the two places that suffered the most were Wujiang and Wuxian, and before, the victims in Wuxian heard that the porridge provided by Wujiang was more abundant, so they all came to you. Wujiang is here, what is the matter?"
Chen Luan said: "The victims of the disaster have indeed exceeded expectations, so Wujiang's side is stretched. Otherwise, if it is based on the usual number, the county warehouse should have enough food. It is because of this that Yang Ji, the censor of Southern Zhili, will impeach the lower officials. But after the lower official explained it to him, Yang Yushi didn't bother much."
Tang Fan nodded: "I will ask Yang Ji to confirm this."
Chen Luan took Tang Fan around the south of the city and answered a lot of questions, all of which were well organized, making Tang Fan's smile even warmer.
Compared with Chen Luan, who was well-spoken and well-documented, Hu Wenzao, who was in a state of panic and eccentricity, was not only inferior, but also looked extremely suspicious.
Tang Fan stayed for a meal in Wujiang County, and Chen Luan's hospitality was also very simple. He didn't make a big deal because Tang Fan came here. Naturally, it wouldn't be too shabby.
Chen Luan, Tang Fan, Lu Lingxi and Qian San'er, plus the two accompanying people from Chen Luan's side, seven dishes and one soup are all common dishes, but they are very delicious.
Aside from their identities as officials, Tang Fan and Chen Luan had similar backgrounds, and the two also had a lot of topics to talk about.
After the meal, Tang Fan declined Chen Luan's escort, saying that he would go back to see if he was in the county, and let Chen Luan go on official business, so he didn't need to accompany him.
Chen Luan didn't insist, and after a few polite words, he left.
Looking at Chen Luan's retreating back, Qian San'er sighed with a smile: "This is the official bearing of an upright and upright official, but he has some similarities with adults!"
Tang Fan turned to Lu Lingxi: "What do you think?"
Lu Lingxi: "It's suspicious."
"Not bad." Tang Fan withdrew his smile, his face sank, completely no longer the genial look he just had. "I'm afraid this person is even more difficult to deal with than Hu Wenzao."
Qian San'er was very strange: "Sir, what's so suspicious about Chen Luan?"
He didn't see it at all. In his eyes, Chen Luan's words and deeds were normal, but he was much better than Hu Wenzao.
It was Lu Lingxi who spoke: "As soon as we entered the city, he knew right away. If he knew that we might be coming as he said, so let the city gate soldiers pay attention. I absolutely don't believe it. If this is the case, So early at the city gate, the soldiers would stop Big Brother Tang directly and ask Chen Luan to come to see him. Now it is clear that he sent someone to follow us early, so he knew our whereabouts very well. This is enough to show that his motives were impure and he did not tell us. to be frank."
Tang Fan nodded: "Yes, there is one more point. The clothes of the victims we saw in the shantang were very clean and tidy, which means they were newly changed, but no matter how good the conditions of the shantang are, there is absolutely no government to pay for them. The reason for the victims to buy clothes and wear. Do you still remember what I just stopped an old man to ask?"
Seeing that both of them nodded, he smiled: "Do you guys find anything wrong with him?"
Qian San'er scratched his head, he really didn't pay attention to such details, so naturally he couldn't answer.
Lu Lingxi said, "The old man was acting a little strange, he was very restrained at first, but his answers were very fluent, as if he had memorized it in advance, and I saw him go to see Chen Luan from time to time. It's strange, so it's fine to look at it a few more times, but that person's eyes are very strange, it feels like, like..."
He frowned and thought of a suitable adjective, and Tang Fan continued, "It's like looking at Chen Luan's wink."
Lu Lingxi gave a high-five: "Yes, that's it, Big Brother Tang is really careful, he has no plans!"
Tang Fan was numb to praise him from time to time.
Strictly speaking, Lu Lingxi wasn't flattering. Even if he was, his kung fu was really clumsy.
It would be fine if it was really a slap in the face, but Lu Lingxi was full of sincerity and perseverance. Whenever he took the opportunity, he would express his ironic admiration and admiration to Tang Fan. After a few times, Tang Fan had already learned to listen and not listen.
Tang Fan glanced at him: "Yi Qing."
Lu Lingxi: "Brother Tang, what's your order?"
Tang Fan's expression was light: "You should have known that someone was watching our whereabouts?"
Instead of denying it, Lu Lingxi admitted it happily: "Yes!"
Tang Fan frowned: "Then why didn't you say it earlier?"
Lu Lingxi was innocent: "I thought you knew it from the beginning, but I just didn't want to startle the snake!"
Tang Fan glared at him. The latter was both innocent and aggrieved, and said with a bit of flattery, "But you didn't ask before. If it's a big deal, I'll tell you everything you want to know, okay?"
Tang Fan was speechless for a moment: "After all, what else do you know?"
Lu Lingxi said, "Two groups of people were staring at us outside the official post, and they followed us all the way here."
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows: "Two calls?"
Lu Lingxi nodded and said with certainty, "Two calls."
Tang Fan: "Are you sure you're not the same person?"
Lu Lingxi: "No, you also know that people who learn martial arts are always smarter than ordinary people. One of them is probably from Chen Luan's side. I don't know about the other."
Tang Fan thought for a while: "Will it be from Dongchang?"
Lu Lingxi: "It's also possible."
Tang Fan pondered for a moment: "Let's go back first."
Qian San'er was stunned for a moment, but he was still a little confused: "Where are you going?"
Tang Fan said, "Go back to Wu County first, then come back."
Tang Fan didn't explain what he was doing back to Wu County.
However, when Tang Fan returned to the official post in Wu County, he was told that Yang Ji, the censor of Southern Zhili, had returned and had come to pay his respects.