Chapter 121: The First Disaster Relief (V)
It was already the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and a month had passed since Huo Chong met with Master Liu of the Duizi Sect of the Tianli Sect, presided over by Taoist Priest Changxin. Huo Chong read the documents sent by the local county branches and made some specific adjustments based on the overall situation. At the end of the report, it was emphasized that "since you are interested in disaster relief, we must not mention this matter. If you do it, you have to do it, no need to show off. If you show off, it means you did it intentionally . If you do it intentionally, you will not be rewarded for your kindness. Because that is calculation."
Although he felt a little ashamed when he wrote it, Huo Chong still emphasized this paragraph. After all, Huo Chong found that the public's favorability towards the Zhongfu platform has increased significantly. This favorability does not come from future disaster relief, but from the fact that the Zhongfu platform does not take advantage of everyone selling their household items at a low price, nor does it stand idly by and do nothing.
As long as everyone feels that they are in trouble and still tries to find opportunities through various channels on the Zhongfu platform, they can get paid for their work. The platform did not explain the reason, but only told everyone that before the autumn harvest next year, the short-term workers who come here can choose the type of labor remuneration. The prices of copper coins, grain, oil, and food will not change from now until the autumn harvest next year.
After personally visiting some places and meeting those who were seeking help, Huo Chong realized that doing practical things for the people was right. The people's reactions were sincere. As long as they really understood the content of the short-term work, most people would support and even thank them.
So when he returned to the headquarters, Huo Chong immediately wrote such instructions. It seems that the main thing is to do the work, and doing it just for the sake of gaining benefits is really a failure.
As soon as the document was sent out, someone reported, "The county magistrate sent someone to invite you, sir."
Huo Chong had no choice but to go to the magistrate, hoping that the magistrate would not impose levies. Even if the magistrate imposed levies, Huo Chong would rather lead a few places and personally organize the establishment of porridge stalls and other disaster relief sites. If the things were handed over to the magistrate, who knows how much they could be used to help the victims.
When Huo Chong saw the county magistrate, he heard the magistrate sigh: "The emperor has passed away."
Kangxi is dead? Huo Chong was shocked. It was almost the Spring Festival, and Huo Chong had prepared himself for the 62nd year of Kangxi. At this time, Kangxi finally did not show any particularly outrageous changes. Huo Chong was surprised at first, but then felt relieved, and quickly asked, "Who is the new emperor?"
The magistrate showed an indescribable look on his face, and replied in a somewhat strange tone: "Prince Yong will succeed to the throne."
Huo Chong wanted to sigh, but he closed his mouth tightly. The look on the magistrate's face was so strange that Huo Chong couldn't help but notice him. After a little thought, Huo Chong understood what the magistrate meant. No matter what Huo Chong thought, these officials all thought Huo Chong was the Fourteenth Master's man. And because the Fourteenth Master was considered very likely to become the emperor, these people looked up to Huo Chong.
Now the Fourth Master is the emperor, and although the Fourteenth Master's status is still honorable , the honor now is a world apart from the honor of having the possibility of becoming the emperor before.
Huo Chong really didn't want to say anything, so he asked the magistrate what the taboos were for a reserve official like Huo Chong, and what he could and could not do during this period.
The magistrate probably didn't expect Huo Chong to ask this, and he couldn't answer it for a while. In the end, he invited the lawyer to tell the two of them, and the lawyer was also very vague. After all, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty was Kangxi, and it had been 61 years since the last emperor passed away. In fact, no one knew how to handle the funeral.
Because he asked such a good question, Huo Chong also avoided trouble. No matter what the county magistrate had been thinking before, his attention was now on how to deal with the matter appropriately. He no longer mentioned Huo Chong's matter. In the end, although no solution was discussed that everyone thought was good, at least everyone understood that they didn't know what was truly appropriate. After reaching a "cautious" decision, they dispersed.
After returning to the headquarters, Huo Chong immediately asked the headquarters to spread the news of Kangs' death to all branches, and asked the branches to be "cautious". All things related to celebration should not be done to avoid trouble.
Huo Chong himself also hid in the headquarters and refused to go out. His identity was really embarrassing, and Huo Chong also knew a little about the fate of the Fourteenth Brother through TV dramas.
Forget about the legendary story of Qiao Yindi in the TV series. Huo Chong's impression is that the Fourteenth Prince was directly recalled to the capital by Yongzheng from the western front after Kangxi's death. Yongzheng ordered the Fourteenth Prince to guard Kangxi's body. It seems that after the death of the Fourteenth Prince and Yongzheng's mother, they were basically imprisoned. It seems that they were released only after Qianlong ascended the throne.
If those officials really believed that Huo Chong's backer was the Fourteenth Prince, it would not be long before Huo Chong's backer fell. After that, it was unknown what those officials would do. The fickleness of human nature was particularly evident in the officialdom.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong was in a bad mood and felt a little uneasy. In the end, Huo Chong simply ordered someone to prepare a few dishes, brought them into his own room, and drank alone.
Just when he was a little dizzy from drinking, the door rang and Qian Qing came in. Huo Chong put down his glass and said unhappily, "What's the matter?"
Qian Qing looked around and replied calmly, "Nothing. Can I have a drink with you, sir?"
Huo Chong sighed , "Alas..., if outsiders knew that I was drinking at a time like this, I'm afraid someone would make up stories about me being disrespectful."
"I'm not a stranger." Qian Qing said as she sat down opposite Huo Chong, poured a glass for Huo Chong and also poured a glass for herself.
Looking at his apprentice who was already quite generous, Huo Chong sighed again and stopped refusing. After all, having someone by his side made him feel a little better.
The master and the apprentice drank a cup, and as Qian Qing poured the wine, he asked, "Why are you so uneasy, sir?"
Huo Chong simply told Qian Qing about his impression of Yongzheng and the situation he was facing. Qian Qing frowned and fell into deep thought. Just as Huo Chong drank another glass of wine alone, Qian Qing picked up the glass and drank it all. Then he put the glass down and took a big bite of scrambled eggs. Qian Qing asked, "Sir, are you worried that Yongzheng will deal with you?"
"I will be punished by him sooner or later. The reason for punishing me depends on what reason Yongzheng can think of at that time."
"Then sir, are you preparing to..."
"No, no, no." Huo Chong quickly objected. Qian Qing was very tight-lipped. For several years, none of Huo Chong's men knew Qian Qing's specific background. Of course, this also proved that Yang Youfang was equally tight-lipped. Yang Wangfu also had the advantage of being the most strict.
So Huo Chong explained to his eldest disciple, the only one who might follow him in the rebellion: "Qian Qing, I have gained some experience in disaster relief these days. That is to tell the truth and do practical things."
Qian Qing continued to pour wine for the two men, and then asked, "Sir, what do you mean?"
"We would choose that, but we know those people will not let us go. If they do evil to us, we may not be able to just sit back and accept it. But if someone has that intention from the beginning, we may not be able to afford to provoke them."
Hearing this, Qian Qing burst out laughing, "Sir, your words are really becoming more and more pleasant to listen to."
Huo Chong didn't know whether he should thank his apprentice for his praise, so he could only continue, "If someone is willing to follow us, they probably have the same mentality as I just said. They are unwilling to accept everything and then lose everything. Everyone does everything for themselves, and the reason is just an excuse. If they can live comfortably, who would be willing to do that?"
Qian Qingxin nodded again with a sympathetic look, "Sir, I had nothing back then and was about to lose my life. You saved me and let me live a decent life these years. If someone else leaves me with nothing, no matter who that person is, I will fight them to the death! If you are willing to take me with you, I will definitely follow you."
Under the influence of alcohol, Huo Chong felt that he did not have the same determination as before. "Qian Qing, don't think too much. If possible, I really don't want you to suffer. Okay, that's it, I won't drink anymore. Go back and rest."
