Volume 1 The Wind Rises Chapter 25: The Yellow River Bursts its Banks
In November of the first year of Xian De, the Yellow River broke its dike, and the flood rushed directly to the border of Yunzhou, and the surrounding Puzhou and Yanzhou were all affected.
Luo Youdu sat in the court, looking at the five thieves who were beaten so badly that they had no strength to get up, and sighed. Life in this world is already difficult, and now God is joining in the fun.
These five thieves fled from Puzhou.
Because he was very hungry, he secretly killed a pig belonging to the people in the suburbs, beat up the villagers, and reported to the authorities.
Faced with this situation, Luo Youdu had no choice but to put the thief in jail. At least he would have something to eat in prison. If he was left outside, he would either starve to death or continue to commit crimes, or be beaten to death, or even commit murder for resistance and lose his life.
As for those who lost their livestock, Luo Youdu once again displayed his peacemaker skills: "Look at how they beat you. If they had been more ruthless, someone would have died. It is true that they were wrong in the first place, but the crime does not deserve the death penalty. If someone really died, you would feel bad, right? I think even if you stripped them of their clothes, it would not be enough to pay for the pigs. Otherwise, when they get out of prison, punish them by making them do hard labor for you?"
The people who came to report to the police looked at each other, and finally their eyes fell on an old man.
He is an elder in the village.
The old man sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. We are all miserable people. Let's just leave it like that. Sir, I will take my leave now."
Not long after Luo Youdu returned to his office, the voice of Kaifeng Prefecture's magistrate Gao Ze was heard.
"Brother Luo, please excuse me."
The duties of the Kaifeng Prefecture Procurator were to maintain local public order and arrest thieves.
When they caught a thief or civilians engaging in a fight, they would hand the case over to Luo Youdu, the legal officer, for trial.
Due to long-term contact, the relationship between them is quite harmonious.
Luo Youdu stood up again and asked, "What's going on?"
Gao Ze said: "Two groups of beggars were fighting on West Street, disrupting many stalls. The specific reason will only be known after Brother Luo has interrogated them. It is probably because of a dispute over territory!"
Luo Youdu greeted and walked towards the Kaifeng Prefecture Court.
"Snapped!"
As Luo Youdu struck the gavel, more than a dozen ragged beggars were escorted into the court by yamen runners.
Luo Youdu looked around the hall and found more than ten beggars divided into two groups. One group was relaxed and showed no fear, while the other group was cowering and obviously fearful of him, the official.
I have been working as a military officer in Kaifeng Prefecture for about a month, and I have come across many beggars.
Most of them are lazy people with a clear organization. They usually live on charity and commit petty thefts from time to time.
People like this are not afraid when they are caught. They treat the prison as a free canteen and dormitory.
It's like a piece of meat being cut into pieces.
They have not yet realized the horror of accumulating criminal records. They just think that it is just a matter of being imprisoned for a longer period of time, and do not care at all about adding a little more criminal stain to their already shabby household registration books.
Luo Youdu asked the group of cowering beggars, "What's going on? Why are they fighting in the street?"
The group of beggars shrank back and could not answer for a moment because of fear.
A beggar from another group said, "They are taking our territory..."
"Snapped!"
As the gavel rang, Luo Youdu said, "You are disturbing the court. Give me twenty strokes of the cane!"
He really looked down on beggars like this.
It is not shameful to beg for a living, people will always encounter difficulties. In this chaotic world, being able to survive is a skill and not shameful. But when you have hands and feet and strength, it is hateful to treat begging as a profession to survive.
After being hit with twenty fire sticks, the beggars, who were as fragile as a rolling pin, immediately became timid.
"We came from Yanzhou and just wanted to ask for food."
Luo Youdu looked at the beggar who had the courage to speak, his face suddenly changed, and he realized a problem, and hurriedly asked: "How many of you are there, and what is the current situation in Yanzhou?"
"I don't know. The flood submerged our village. We don't know if anyone escaped. We went into the mountains to collect herbs and escaped. We thought there was food in Bianjing, so we came here first."
Luo Youdu was too lazy to ask any more questions. It was obvious that this group of refugees had a conflict with a group of beggars who regarded West Street as their territory in the city over territory, so they simply ordered the yamen runners to detain them temporarily .
He hurried back to the office and found an old map of the Tang Dynasty's territory from the bookshelf in the room.
I have read a lot of military books and also spent some time studying maps.
He didn't take the trouble to look for the latest map, but just randomly got an old map of the Tang Dynasty, which was from the time of Emperor Li Zhi , and the territory was drawn to Central Asia.
Soon he found Puzhou and Yanzhou on the map, which were not far from Bianzhou on the map.
Bianzhou was the name of Kaifeng in the Tang Dynasty, and therefore Kaifeng is also called Bianjing.
"Zhang Jin, you have acquaintances at Kaifeng Wharf. Go and investigate whether there are many refugees who have infiltrated the city recently. Also, check whether there are refugees gathering on both sides of the waterways to and from Kaifeng."
Zhang Jin has already started working as the head of the Kaifeng government servant team.
It was he who beat the beggar with twenty fire sticks.
After receiving the order, he set off immediately.
Zhang Jin was quick and agile and returned in just half an hour.
Luo Youdu also got the expected answer and strode towards Cui Yan's office.
Cui Yan has been living a very comfortable life recently.
Luo Youdu had tried all the cases that could be tried. As the top leader, he had nothing to do. He took a high salary, drank tea, read books every day, and lived a contented life.
"Taizhi Cui, I suspect that tens of thousands of refugees will soon pour into Kaifeng. We must prepare in advance. Otherwise, they will have conflicts with local residents, which will eventually lead to trouble. Today, I have tried two cases caused by refugees. This should be the first wave, some people who are fast and have no family to support them. The second wave is those with their families, and the third wave will include the elderly, the weak, women and children. I looked at the map of the disaster area, and there are no particularly large cities. Kaifeng is the only place where refugees can get food and is the most likely place to get it. They will definitely come..."
Cui Yan was shocked and said in a lost voice, "No way! General Luo, please stop exaggerating! The Yellow River has burst its banks and the imperial court has sent Prime Minister Li to Yunzhou to supervise the construction of the river bank and provide relief to the victims."
Luo Youdu said anxiously, "This is not alarmist. After the disaster occurred, the news spread to Kaifeng. The government was planning to send officials to rescue the disaster. It has been quite some time since then. The victims cannot stay where they are and wait for rescue. That would only lead to death. They have to scatter and look for food to have a glimmer of hope. Kaifeng is definitely the first choice for all the victims. Now that we have seen the first signs, it is time to prepare."
"When the second and third batches of disaster victims arrive, it will be a mess. We must make first-hand preparations as soon as possible... Cui Daizhi, disaster relief has nothing to do with our Kaifeng Prefecture, but Kaifeng Prefecture is in charge of all trivial matters of the people's livelihood in Kaifeng. The gathering of refugees will bring immeasurable harm to people's livelihood. We have the obligation to meet with the government for the sake of the people of Kaifeng and let the government make preparations early."
