Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 315 Wealth Leads to Benevolence

Xihe County.

This place is a bit special.

The county town wasn't big, but there was a mountain stronghold outside the town, inhabited by a group of bandits.

The leader, nicknamed "Mountain Tiger," had over three hundred men under his command and specialized in robbing passing caravans.

When Lin Chen's team arrived, Zuan Shan Hu was robbing people about 20 miles outside the county town.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Chen was immediately delighted.

"Delivered to your door?"

He looked at Yanda: "Go, bring that mountain tiger here."

Yan Da responded and led three hundred Snow Dragon Riders away.

In less than fifteen minutes, the mountain tiger was brought over bound and escorted over.

This guy was a big, burly man with a fierce face. He was forced to kneel on the ground, trembling all over, but still stubbornly shouting:

"What right do you have to arrest me? I haven't broken any laws!"

Lin Chen looked at him and smiled: "Didn't break the law? Does robbing a caravan count?"

Zuan Shan Hu was taken aback, then stubbornly retorted, "I robbed wealthy merchants, not ordinary people!"

Lin Chen nodded: "Last winter, you went down the mountain and robbed three villages around Xihe County, stealing grain, women, and killing more than twenty civilians. Was that also considered robbing a wealthy merchant?"

The tiger's expression changed.

Lin Chen waved his hand.

A flash of light.

Heads fell to the ground.

The onlookers stood there stunned, and then suddenly some people knelt down, and then one after another they knelt down.

"The Prince of Zhenbei! The Prince of Zhenbei has avenged us!"

Lin Chen waved his hand, signaling them to stand up. He then proceeded to recount the Empress's sagacity as usual, before turning to Yan Da:

"Where are the people in the mountain stronghold?"

Yan Dadao: "They have all been executed. The stolen grain and women have been sent back to the village."

Lin Chen nodded, thought for a moment, and then said:

"Distribute the seized gold, silver, and grain to the people, and give a larger share to the families of the victims."

Yan Da cupped his hands and replied, "Yes!"

……

Xichuan County.

This place is nothing special, except that there are many refugees.

Last year they suffered a disaster, and this year they suffered another. The people can't survive, so they have no choice but to flee.

When Lin Chen entered the city, there was a row of refugees squatting at the city gate. They were all emaciated and had empty eyes.

He looked at those people and remained silent for a while.

Then he said to Yenching University, "Set up soup kitchens and provide soup for three days."

Yenching University agreed.

Lin Chen thought for a moment and said:

"Have the county government compile a list of how many displaced people are willing to stay and farm. Those who are willing to stay will be allocated wasteland, exempted from taxes for three years, and their seeds and farming tools will be provided from the county government's treasury."

The county magistrate standing next to him was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

Lan Fenghuang asked softly from the side, "Husband, why did you suddenly decide to get involved in these things?"

Lin Chen smiled and said, "I saw it while I was passing by and just happened to look after it."

Yao Yao blinked: "My husband is kind-hearted."

Lin Chen ruffled her hair: "Stop flattering me."

……

Xiyang County.

Before the procession even arrived, they saw people kneeling on the official road.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a group of ordinary people, men, women, and children, kneeling in the middle of the road, holding up petitions in their hands.

Yan Da rode forward, asked a few questions, and returned to report:

"My lord, these are the people of Xiyang County. They say that Magistrate Zhou Wenhua of Xiyang County is a good official. Please don't kill him."

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Zhou Wenhua? That old man who governs so well?"

Yan Da nodded: "Exactly."

Lin Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's go into the city and take a look."

The carriage entered Xiyang County.

The streets were clean, shops lined the streets, and the people all had smiles on their faces.

Upon seeing Lin Chen's carriage, they didn't hide, but instead looked around curiously.

Lin Chen walked around the street and got a sense of what was going on.

Zhou Wenhua is indeed a good official.

When the carriage arrived at the county government office, Zhou Wenhua and his men were already waiting at the entrance.

He was in his fifties, thin, and dressed in a faded official robe. He stood there, neither humble nor arrogant.

Lin Chen stepped down from the carriage, looked at him, and suddenly asked:

"Magistrate Zhou, did you make those people outside the city kneel?"

Zhou Wenhua was taken aback, then shook his head: "This humble official does not know."

Lin Chen stared at him for a couple of seconds, then smiled.

"Alright, let's go into town."

Zhou Wenhua took Lin Chen for a tour of the county town.

When Lin Chen reached the east side of the city, he suddenly stopped.

A group of homeless people were squatting by the roadside, all of them emaciated and pale, a stark contrast to the people on the street.

Lin Chen looked at Zhou Wenhua: "What's going on?"

Zhou Wenhua paused for a moment, then said:

"Your Highness, these are refugees from other places. They fled here last year after several counties in the west suffered from disasters."

"This humble official...this humble official has limited abilities; all I can do is have them set up sheds outside the city and provide two meals of porridge each day."

Lin Chen nodded without saying anything.

Keep going.

When we reached the north of the city, we saw a newly built school.

The sound of reading aloud could be heard from inside, the voices were young and clear.

Lin Chen stopped and listened for a while.

Then he looked at Zhou Wenhua: "Did you build this school?"

Zhou Wenhua nodded: "Yes. I think children should learn to read and write. Even if they don't pass the imperial examinations in the future, it would be good if they could recognize a few characters."

Lin Chen nodded slightly. "Magistrate Zhou, how many years have you been in office?"

Zhou Wenhua said, "Five years."

"Five years, didn't you ever think about climbing the ranks?"

Zhou Wenhua paused for a moment, then calmly replied:

"Your Highness is too kind. I am a mere scholar who passed the imperial examinations. It is already a blessing from my ancestors that I can serve as the magistrate of a county. As for climbing higher? I have neither the ambition nor the ability."

Lin Chen looked into his eyes and suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about settling these refugees down?"

Zhou Wenhua paused for a moment, then said:

"I've thought about it, but... I don't have that much money."

Resettling displaced people requires money, allocating wasteland requires money, buying seeds requires money, buying farm tools requires money, and the county government's treasury is insufficient.

Lin Chen looked at the group of refugees, remained silent for a moment, and then said:

"Magistrate Zhou, if I give you money, can you properly resettle these displaced people?"

Zhou Wenhua's eyes lit up instantly, and he knelt down with a thud:

"If Your Highness is willing to help, I guarantee with my life that I will make sure these people are settled!"

Lin Chen waved his hand: "Get up, get up, don't kneel down all the time."

He looked at Yan Da and said, "Take a portion of the recovered embezzled funds and give it to Magistrate Zhou."

Yan Da nodded: "Yes."

Lin Chen then looked at Zhou Wenhua: "I've given you the money. You can settle the person. I'll send someone to check on things in a while. If they find you've embezzled the money..."

Zhou Wenhua said solemnly, "Your Highness, rest assured, if I were to embezzle even a single coin, may I be struck by lightning."

Lin Chen didn't say anything, but took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket.

"This is my own money, to add some meat dishes for the kids."

Zhou Wenhua's eyes were a little red. He wanted to say something, but Lin Chen simply stuffed the silver note into his hand and turned to get into the carriage.

The carriage curtain was lowered, and the carriage slowly drove out of the county town.

Outside the city, the kneeling people were still there. When they saw the carriage coming out, they started kowtowing again.

"The Prince of Zhenbei! The Prince of Zhenbei is a good man!"

"Long live the Prince! Long live His Majesty!"

Lin Chen listened in the carriage, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Lan Fenghuang looked at him and asked softly, "Husband, how do you know Zhou Wenhua is a truly incorruptible official?"

"Look at his eyes!" Lin Chen chuckled.

"Those corrupt officials have shifty eyes and dare not look people in the eye, but Zhou Wenhua's eyes are upright and he looks at everyone with dignity."

Yao Yao chimed in from the side, "What do your husband's eyes look like?"

Suddenly, Yagyu Yuki spoke up: "His eyes are lazy."

Lin Chen: "..."

Lan Fenghuang laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Liu Sheng Piaopiao huddled in the corner, secretly smiling to herself.

Lin Chen looked at the women and reached out to pinch Liu Shengxue's face.

"You talk too much."

Liu Shengxue didn't dodge, but the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.