Chapter 406
In past years, whenever something like this happened, the Ministry of Revenue would wail and sob. The silver and grain for disaster relief clearly came from the imperial treasury, yet these people cried as if the money were being pulled straight from their own pockets, endlessly crying poverty. But now, their expressions seemed to say: "Ah, the common folk are suffering again. Who knows how they'll get by now. But it's fine—the court will send grain and it'll be alright."
What was going on?
Oh, right. There was chemical fertilizer.
With chemical fertilizer, what was there to fear?
Eunuch Huang read aloud the memorials reported from each region.
Linjiang: two hundred seventy-eight dead. Xiayang: two hundred sixty-three. Yuanzhou: two hundred eighty-five. Qinzhou: two hundred three. Hezhou: twenty-nine.
Huh?
The officials were stunned once again.
Hezhou only lost twenty-nine?
Could this be a false report? Or had Eunuch Huang's old eyes misread it?
It wasn't that they wished for more commoners to die, but…
Hezhou had the most disaster-stricken land. Though only a single county had been hit by the torrential rains, Hezhou was vast—one county alone contained dozens of villages, more than half again as many as Shangyang and Qinzhou. So for its death toll to be lower than all the other prefectures and counties made no sense.
But to say the prefect reported figures were falsified didn't make sense either.
Previously, the Emperor had been overwhelmed with state affairs and couldn't attend to everything. Moreover, Hezhou was remote and barren, rarely inquired about, so the Emperor had been deceived for decades. But things were different now. Hezhou had caught the Emperor's attention, and this matter could be verified with a single investigation.
Besides, if the prefect were going to falsify figures, this would be far too absurd.
No one would dare falsify.
But how was this possible?
In past years, when disasters struck, the situation should have been like Qinzhou's—that was normal.
Xia Jinghong's anger subsided, and as he came back to his senses, he too was astonished.
He immediately summoned the imperial guards that Fang Zichen had sent back.
"What happened? Tell me everything, leaving nothing out."
The imperial guards honestly explained.
The civil and military officials listened, their faces full of shock.
What!!!
Female soldiers???
This… this…
The imperial guards reported: "After the incidents in Anxi and Anbei villages, Lord Fang immediately led troops there. The injured commoners all received timely treatment, so most of them pulled through."
Linjiang was wealthy, with many medical halls in the county. But no matter how many, in the face of disaster, a dozen or so physicians were still stretched thin.
Most village houses were built of mud walls and wood, not like modern concrete buildings. When they collapsed, they could injure people, but the injuries were usually not fatal—unless someone was unlucky enough to be struck directly on the head.
But if an injury went untreated, how long could a person last? Especially in this sweltering heat—once a wound got infected and brought on inflammation and fever, that was the end of them.
The high death tolls in these prefectures and counties were mostly people who died because physicians couldn't reach them in time.
Earlier, Xia Jinghong had been furious, but he knew there was nothing to be done—he couldn't blame his subordinates. Now, though, hearing this, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment.
Look!
Look at him!
Why couldn't they learn a thing or two from that brat? He always had one idea after another.
He didn't ask for much—if these people could just learn two of his tricks, then when something like this happened, the casualties wouldn't be so high.
This was an earth-shaking move. One official couldn't help but ask in disbelief: "Conscripting women and gers as soldiers—the commoners of Hezhou didn't kick up a fuss?"
If this had been done in the capital, it would probably have sparked public outrage.
How could this be allowed!
Too outrageous.
Simply unheard of. If young women and gers went, they'd never be able to marry.
The current aesthetic favored women and gers being delicate, soft, and small. Conscripting them for the military, training them, having them live alongside a bunch of men—that was improper. Moreover, with all that training, if these young women and gers ended up with more muscle than the men, with hard, stiff bodies lacking that delicate softness, they'd have a hard time finding husbands.
In poor, remote areas, thinking was even more conservative.
The imperial guard said: "They did kick up a fuss…"
Xia Jinghong instinctively furrowed his brow. He had just thought this method was good and wanted the prefects everywhere to follow suit. But if the commoners couldn't accept it, then…
The officials nodded. That made sense…
The imperial guard continued: "The commoners kicked up a fuss at Lord Fang, wanting him to conscript soldiers again. They wanted to send their daughters and gers to the army. Lord Fang said he'd think about it, and then the commoners made a scene."
Xia Jinghong: "…"
The officials: "…"
Everyone exchanged glances again.
For a moment, the court fell silent, with only the sound of sharp gasps rising and falling.
In past years, when conscription came around, commoners would rather flee into the mountains to hide. Some who couldn't pay the silver had soldiers drag them from their homes and force them to the border. And now…
How was Lord Fang so capable!!
The commoners of Hezhou were indeed making a big fuss.
They wanted the prefect to conscript soldiers again. This time, they wanted to send their daughters and gers to learn from Tang Daniang—to become someone accomplished!
The village reconstruction work was handed over to the county magistrate. At the end of the eighth month, the new soldiers broke camp and returned to the city. The commoners of Anxi County saw them off for a hundred li, kneeling in tears before Fang Zichen, the new soldiers, and those young women and gers.
They deserved to kneel.
It was no exaggeration to call this a debt of rebirth.
This time, these young women and gers had performed exceptionally well in the disaster relief, fearless in the face of danger, fighting in the disaster zone. Their busy figures could be seen everywhere.
The news spread fast, like the wind.
Earlier, some people had lectured their daughters: "You're a respectable young woman. Don't learn from those people—it's unseemly."
"But they only went because they had no choice."
"So what if they went? They can survive, they have a way out, but they'll be spat on and pointed at. I say they'd be better off dead than bringing shame to their families."
Now the wind had changed.
People genuinely approved and accepted this from the bottom of their hearts.
There was nothing shameful about it.
It was glorious!
The commoners made a scene, demanding Fang Zichen conscript soldiers again.
Earlier, no one had understood what the notice posted outside the yamen meant about "priority benefits" for conscripted soldiers. Now, finally, they understood.
As it happened, it had rained a lot recently. Though other villages hadn't been hit as badly as Anxi Village, they had still suffered some damage. The rain kept falling. An old man from Pingxi Village, afraid the rain would flood the crops in his fields, went out to the fields in the rain the next day. That night, he caught a chill. The elderly weren't as sturdy as the young, and once illness struck, it hit hard.
The next day, his family found him burning with fever and unable to wake, no matter how they called to him. Fortunately, the village was close to the town, so his son hurriedly carried him there on his back.
Unfortunately, the town's physicians had all been conscripted by the yamen. Only Jiren Medical Hall was open, and it was packed, with the queue stretching out onto the street. The old man's fever was severe and he couldn't wait, so his family asked those at the front if they could cut in line.
No.
The person at the front had a stomachache, said his intestines felt like they were twisted together, and he'd already soiled his pants three times. But even so, everyone had to queue properly. Everyone was seriously ill—otherwise, who would come to a medical hall on a rainy day like this?
If it wasn't serious, wouldn't it be better to just lie at home and tough it out?
The family was frantic! The old man's wife looked at the long queue, then at the single physician inside the medical hall, not knowing how long the wait would be. Seeing the old man convulsing uncontrollably, she was so frightened she started crying in the medical hall.
The others, already feeling unwell, found her crying irritating and unlucky, and began to complain.
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