met free Chapter 296 The Three Major Problems of Dengzhou Prefecture
Chapter 296 The Three Major Problems of Dengzhou Prefecture
There are many benefits to marrying two princesses. The most obvious benefit is that when Yang, the imperial son-in-law, travels, he will be escorted by a thousand-household guard from the imperial son-in-law's mansion, depending on the distance of the journey. The guards can range from a small banner unit of fifty men to a hundred-household unit.
For example, when Yang, the Imperial Son-in-Law, went from Ningyang County to Jinan Prefecture to pay his respects to Wang Guangyang, the Vice Minister of the Shandong Provincial Secretariat, the Imperial Son-in-Law's guards arranged for an entire 100-household unit of soldiers to accompany and protect him.
Therefore, Wang Guangyang felt a tightness in his chest the moment he saw Yang Fuma.
One hundred cavalrymen!
A full one hundred!
Wherever Yang the Madman goes, he has a hundred cavalrymen protecting him, while I, Wang Guangyang, a dignified second-rank Vice Minister, have not a single one by my side! Not a single one!
While mentally ranting, Wang Guangyang led Yang Shaofeng into the yamen.
Upon arriving at the main hall of the rear office, the two men took their seats as host and guest, and after exchanging pleasantries, Yang Shaofeng explained his purpose: "To be honest, Councilor Wang, I wanted to see the information from Dengzhou. I will head to Dengzhou tomorrow."
Wang Guangyang immediately smiled and sent someone to fetch the relevant information about Dengzhou. Even the gloom he had just felt because Yang Shaofeng had a hundred cavalrymen accompanying him for protection dissipated considerably.
Finally, the one who took over did something good.
With Yang the Madman appointed as the Prefect of Dengzhou, I, as the Vice Minister of the Shandong Provincial Secretariat, no longer need to deal with the mess in Dengzhou.
Things like the resettlement of the people of Hongzhou City, the reconstruction of Hongzhou City, and the troublesome matters of the salt fields and salt producers will all be things that Yang Dianfeng will have to worry about from now on.
I can finally relax a little!
Just as Wang Guangyang was secretly pleased, Yang Fuma's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
The situation in Dengzhou Prefecture was far more complicated than he had imagined.
The first issue is the resettlement of the people of Hongzhou City.
Although Wang Guangyang organized the relocation of people immediately after the earthquake and tsunami and provided them with places to rebuild their homes, building a city is not something that can be done in a day.
According to the materials reported by Dengzhou to the provincial government, the people of Hongzhou City are currently in a state of barely being resettled and guaranteed not to starve to death. There is still a long way to go before they can truly resume their lives and production.
Secondly, there's the issue of the several counties under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou.
Dengzhou Prefecture administers Penglai County, Haiyang County, Huang County, Qixia County, Zhaoyuan County, Laiyang County, Fushan County, Wendeng County, and Rongcheng County, plus Ninghai Prefecture, a separate prefecture.
However, the situation in all nine counties and one prefecture was basically the same as that in Ningyang County in the first year of Hongwu.
It's small and tattered.
They were both poor and miserable.
Their situation was probably a little better than that of the people in Hongzhou, but only slightly better. At most, they had a place to shelter from the wind and rain and some food at home, unlike the people in Hongzhou who could only live in shacks and had to rely on government relief grain to barely survive.
Unfortunately, the officials of these nine counties and one prefecture were not very competent. From the first year of Hongwu to the third year of Hongwu, the various data reported by these nine counties and prefectures to the provincial government did not fluctuate much. It was like a stagnant pool. The situation was the same in the first year of Hongwu and it was still the same in the third year of Hongwu.
This situation is not normal.
Because this was the early period of the Ming Dynasty, even if other data remained unchanged, the number of acres of land and the number of people should have fluctuated.
If there are no changes, there are only two possibilities.
First, officials are collectively falsifying data, concealing the true figures for various reasons.
Secondly, the officials were collectively lazy in their duties and had not fulfilled their responsibility to encourage agriculture and sericulture.
As to which category Dengzhou Prefecture should be considered, Prince Consort Yang felt he had to personally visit Dengzhou to find out.
The third issue is the security of Dengzhou Prefecture.
Unlike Ningyang County, which is located in the heart of Shandong Province, Dengzhou Prefecture is surrounded by the coast on three sides. Not only are there frequent raids and plundering by Japanese pirates, but also many bandits and sea pirates.
Even though Wang Guangyang repeatedly ordered the garrison stationed in Dengzhou Prefecture to wipe out the bandits and pirates, the bandits and pirates were very familiar with the terrain of Dengzhou and the waters around Dengzhou. Often, before the soldiers of the garrison arrived, the bandits and pirates had already disappeared without a trace.
Therefore, the Dengzhou Prefecture that Yang Fuma is facing now consists of only three major problems and troubles, but there are countless minor problems. Just sorting out the threads of this situation will take an unknown amount of time.
After a long silence, Magistrate Yang raised his head and looked at Wang Guangyang, saying, "Vice Minister Wang, I have reviewed these documents and will be departing for Dengzhou soon. Is there anything you wish to instruct me on, Vice Minister Wang?"
Wang Guangyang opened his mouth, hesitated several times before finally saying hesitantly, "Dengzhou is not like Ningyang, Your Highness must be careful."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and bowed to Wang Guangyang, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Councilor Wang. Without further ado, I shall depart immediately."
……
Zhaoyuan County is located in the northwest corner of Dengzhou. It was originally under the jurisdiction of Laizhou Prefecture. However, after the Ministry of Personnel officially issued the document appointing Yang Fuma as the prefect of Dengzhou, Zhaoyuan County became under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou Prefecture.
This change in administrative division will not have any impact on ordinary people. Everyone will continue to farm as before, and everything will remain the same.
But for Xu Zheng, the magistrate of Zhaoyuan County, this change was like a bolt from the blue.
Especially after Yang Shaofeng stepped into the Zhaoyuan County government office with a dark face, the heart of Xu Zheng, the magistrate of Zhaoyuan County, sank to the bottom.
"This is my official document."
Upon entering the Zhaoyuan County government office, Yang Shaofeng went straight to the magistrate's seat, sat down imposingly, and then had Lame Wu hand over the official seal to Xu Zhengyan for inspection.
"From now on, no one is allowed to leave Zhaoyuan County Government Office except for those who are allowed to enter. All assistant officials, clerks and servants shall live and eat in the county government office, and all their food and supplies shall be purchased by someone arranged by me."
After Limpy Wu brought back the official seal, Yang Shaofeng said with a dark face, "Send someone back to Ningyang County and transfer all four centurions—front, back, left, and right—to Dengzhou."
"In addition, transfer some older children who are good at arithmetic from the Confucian Temple in Ningyang County, and have Zuo Baihu Office accompany and protect them along the way."
"Also, take the seal given by His Highness the Crown Prince and have Weihaiwei, Chengshanwei, Jinghaiwei, and Dasongwei each send out a thousand-household garrison to blockade the county and prefectural governments of the nine counties and one prefecture. They will allow entry but not exit."
"All the files in the county and prefectural government offices are sealed up. No one may touch them before I arrive. Anyone who dares to touch them will be chopped up."