Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 760: Two Prefects Arm Wrestling

The letter said that because the officials of Xining government were busy with post-disaster reconstruction, there was no time to send anyone to receive the grain.

On the other hand, Xining Prefecture had not paid the money for the rice, so Hualei was asked if she could give her the rice first and then pay for it when Xining Prefecture had money.

Hualei was furious when she saw it.

If the officials of Xining government office really have no time to receive the grain, they can send someone to inform them first, and everyone can re-arrange the handover time.

If there is no silver to be delivered, you can send a message in advance and I can make concessions. Feng Shuangxi and his men can also deliver the grain directly, and the matter will be completed.

When the people were asked to purchase this batch of grain, the Xichang government office paid the grain money in advance because it took the people's difficulties into consideration.

He was not worried that Xining Prefecture would cheat. After all, neighboring prefectures often borrowed money and grain from each other. Moreover, this was an imperial decree issued by Emperor Shengwu, and neither side dared to commit fraud.

But Prefect Cheng did not send anyone to receive the grain, nor did he send any verbal message in advance. He just left dozens of people who were delivering grain to Xichang Prefecture stranded halfway on the road, and they were left stranded for twenty days.

After playing a trick on me, now he comes to bargain with me and ask me to give him food first. This is really something that my uncle can tolerate but my aunt cannot.

So, Hua Lei simply pushed the letter from Prefect Cheng to the bottom of a pile of documents, pretending that she had not seen the letter.

You can take the food or not. Anyway, it is the people of Xining Prefecture who are hungry. When the time comes, it will be the people of Xining Prefecture who are causing trouble. It has nothing to do with Xichang Prefecture.

I delivered the grain to the handover point in accordance with Emperor Shengwu's instructions. It was you who did not send anyone to receive it. Even if Emperor Shengwu asked about it, I would be right.

One and a half months later, Cheng Zhifu of Xining Prefecture had not received any reply from Hua Lei after sending the letter, and he became anxious.

This year, many people have only harvested 10% of the grain, which is almost finished, and they need to start buying food.

However, the rice and flour reserves in many grain stores under Xining Prefecture are almost gone. In the past few days, the price of grain has been rising.

So, Prefect Cheng wrote another urgent letter and sent someone to deliver it as fast as he could. Unfortunately, after more than 20 days, he still didn't receive any response from Hua Lei.

Hualei was of course unwilling to respond. Since you like to drag it out, I'll let you drag it out as much as you want. During this time, you can also raise money to buy food, which is just right.

The special letter sent at full speed did not receive a response from Hua Lei. Prefect Cheng knew that he had made the staff of Xichang Household Affairs wait at the handover point for twenty days, which annoyed Hua Lei.

At that time, I was just a little angry. You know, in previous years, droughts rarely occurred in Xining Prefecture. The reason why the water level in Xining Prefecture dropped so quickly this year was related to Hualei digging canals and wells in Xichang Prefecture.

Moreover, Xining Prefecture was unlucky again. After the drought, there was a major locust plague. Then, Emperor Shengwu fined him a year's salary.

When I think about it, I have been an official for more than 20 years and have never been as unlucky as I have been this year. It's to the point where even drinking water gets stuck in my teeth. Isn't it normal for me to feel angry?

This bud was lucky. Not only did Xichang Prefecture not suffer from drought this year, it even avoided a locust plague. Not only that, it also received a reward from Emperor Shengwu and a book for the imperial examination. Good things happened one after another.

But, she was so narrow-minded. She was so arrogant because she just didn't send anyone to take over. It wasn't like she had waited at the handover point for more than 20 days. Why should she be angry?

Prefect Cheng was also very angry.

The situation remained at a standstill. Hua Lei was still busy with her own affairs and ignored Prefect Cheng.

Rong Jin and Wan Tongpan read the letter from Prefect Cheng and, in order to keep things quiet, they both advised Hua Lei to write back and reschedule the handover date. However, Hua Lei did not reply.

Seeing Hua Lei's tough attitude, Wan Tongpan was dumbfounded again. This was very different from Hua Lei's usual style. However, Wan Tongpan did not agree with Cheng Zhifu's approach.

More than half a month later, Uncle Han brought some people to the Xichang government office to look for Hua Lei and Rong Jin. This time, as soon as he saw Hua Lei, he handed the banknote given to him by Prefect Cheng to Hua Lei.

Then he carefully told Hualei that the people in Xining Prefecture who were going to receive the grain had been waiting at the agreed handover point for ten days, and asked Hualei when someone could be sent to take over the handover.

After looking at her second uncle Han and the silver note in her hand, Hua Lei stamped the word "tong" on the handover form for one thousand dan of grain, gave it to her second uncle Han, and asked Feng Shuangxi to take people to take the handover.

The secret rivalry between the two prefects finally came to an end.

I thought that the matter was over. However, the letter sent by Yao Zhizhou of Changyouzhou made Hualei angry again.

It turned out that the two county magistrates of Shuangshan County and Shuangcheng County under Changyou Prefecture ignored the notice issued by Hualei before that prohibited the private resale of corn.

Half a month ago, 800 kilograms of corn seeds were secretly sold to Dashu County in Xining Prefecture next door at a high price. Hualei was really angry when he heard this.

It's not that they want to strangle the lifeblood of Prefect Cheng and not sell it to him. It's just that since Emperor Shengwu began to promote corn seeds, he issued a new temporary decree, called the "Corn Order."

Corn seeds are precious, not because of the price, but because of the quantity. When Emperor Shengwu promoted corn planting in Shangjing City, he asked for a high price and sold corn to wealthy families.

However, when it was promoted to several prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, the price and quantity of this corn seed were directly controlled by the imperial court and the Ministry of Revenue. Even if you had money, you might not be able to buy it.

Furthermore, it was strictly stipulated that all personnel below the fourth rank were not allowed to resell the goods at a high price. Those who violated the regulations would be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. The seller would be fined and all the proceeds would be confiscated.

After the purchaser was punished with a cane, if he used the corn for planting, the matter would be forgiven as long as the corn harvest was good. If he wasted the corn seeds or used them for food, he would be punished with an additional 30 canes.

Don’t think that just 30 strokes of the cane doesn’t seem like a heavy punishment. In fact, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, this caning was a heavy punishment.

If an adult man received ten strokes, he would probably be bedridden for a month. If he was unlucky and received thirty strokes, he might die.

Alas, these two suicidal county magistrates dug a hole for themselves. If I let them off easily, similar things might happen again in the future.

When I was promoting corn planting in Xichang Prefecture last year, I also issued this decree. Maybe the communication was not in place, and now this problem has arisen.

Hua Lei rushed to Changyouzhou angrily.