"There's no need to be so serious, I saved Jiao Zhong and Jiao Guan, can't I just let their family members suffer? Lin Xuan helped Hu Zhiyong father and son up, saying "For now, the disaster relief matters, I have a use for you, other things don't need to be rushed..."

  Lin did not tell Hu Zhiyong the details of Changshan Island, and naturally would not easily accept Hu's surrender. For now, disaster relief is the most urgent matter, other things can be considered after the rescue efforts are over.

  "The Hu family will obey your orders from now on." Hu Zhiyong finally stood up and said.

  Lin Xie did not expect to encounter such a severe disaster this time. The people he brought with him, Zhou Pu, Wu Qi, and Ge Cunxin, were all skilled in martial arts and leading troops into battle, but they were not good at providing relief to the victims of the disaster. Those who were skilled in these matters, such as Lin Mengde, Cao Zikang, Lin Jingzhong, and Ge Cunxin, had been left behind by him in Jiangning.

  Lin Zhen was short of manpower, and Hu Zhiyong, Hu Zhicheng, and Hu Qiaoyi happened to be the ones he needed.

  Xiao Taoyuan is the most urgent threat to Changshan Island. Once the news leaks out, before Xia's family can expand their pirate forces northward into the Eastern Sea, Xiao Taoyuan will dispatch troops to annihilate Changshan Island. For Xiao Taoyuan, preserving Changshan Island and the families of the young men there is also his greatest threat. Perhaps the imperial court will be constrained by the situation in the southeast and tolerate him for a while, but such a large scandal - his political enemies in the military or at court will certainly not let it slip through their fingers. Of course, he must eliminate the stain completely before he can rest easy.

  Although Changshan Island has limited manpower, Ninghai Town's Shuizhen and Chongzhou County have sent people to keep a close eye on the situation, paying attention to every move on both sides.

  The information of all young family members was gradually compiled into a book. Lin Xie couldn't meet with the young family members, but he understood their situation clearly.

  Chongzhou originally belonged to the Huainan Salt and Iron Bureau. It is said that due to the Yangtze River flowing into the sea in Chongzhou, the eastern waters were diluted by the large amount of river water pouring in, making the salt production in Chongzhou very thin. Large areas of salt fields gradually fell into disuse and became grasslands affiliated with the Huainan Salt Bureau, specializing in providing cooking salt fodder for the Huainan Salt Bureau. With only 70-80 years of history since its establishment as a county, there were no truly powerful families or clans within the county.

  The Hu family was originally a humble salt-making household, but when Chongzhou County was established, they were able to break free from their salt-making duties and become tenant farmers. After two generations of hard work and thriftiness, they finally had a sugar refinery that was passed down to the brothers Hu Zhiyong and Hu Zhicheng, making them one of the wealthiest families in Chongzhou.

  Last year, in order to scrape together two thousand taels of silver to redeem himself, Hu's family had already been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

  Hu Zhiyong and Hu Zhizhong were both educated, having managed workshops for many years. Compared to ordinary rural landlords who only knew how to guard their hundreds of acres of good land to make a living, they had more knowledge, broader vision, economic acumen, and talent, making them the right people for Lin Xian to use in times of disaster relief.

  Lin was tied up in the tent and talked to Hu Zhiyong and his son Hu Qiao about many disaster relief matters. When Hu Qiaozhong heard the news, he rushed back, and Lin then went out with Ao Canghai to let them meet their parents and brothers.

  *********

  Dai Yaya Ge Cunxin and Hu Zhicheng returned from Chongzhou only at noon the next day. Chen Kun, the magistrate of Chongzhou, did not come out to meet them. The disaster in other parts of Chongzhou was also severe. He sent his attendants Geng Weide and Li Shuyi, a clerk from the Ministry of Revenue, to accompany the boat and inspect the disaster situation.

  "What right do you have to arbitrarily dispose of the disaster situation in Chongzhou?" Chen Kun's attendant, Geng Weide, came to the island and saw Lin Xie's face. Without any other pleasantries, he walked into the tent and loudly scolded him in front of the crowd that had gathered to welcome him: "You arbitrarily sent people to the county to massively purchase rice, causing the price of rice in Chongzhou to skyrocket by 40% to 50% in one day. The people in the county are resentful and angry. Can you, a small prison officer, bear this responsibility?"

  "When Xisha Island encountered this great disaster, all officials and gentry had the responsibility to rescue the victims. Mr. Lin also happened to be there to bravely take on the task of rescuing the victims. Master Geng, do you want Mr. Lin to sit back and watch these 20,000 to 30,000 refugees starve to death?" Hu Zhiyong had just joined their side, so he naturally couldn't stand seeing Geng Weide being so arrogant in front of Lin.

  "What are you, this is where you speak?" Geng Weide saw Lin Xie not making a sound, his tone becoming even more arrogant, saying: "No one to rescue the disaster, these scattered and inferior people will disperse on their own. You are here rescuing the disaster, causing them to gather and not leave, which is even more of a calamity for Chongzhou."

  Inside the tent, apart from Zhou Pu, Ao Canghai and Hu Zhiyong, there were also several representatives elected by the refugees. In fact, they were also leaders of the refugees. Upon hearing Geng Weide's words, their faces changed greatly, but since this was not a place for them to speak, they stood aside silently, gritting their teeth as they looked at Geng Weide.

  "Sit down and talk..." Lin said with a gloomy face, and then impatiently asked the person beside him, "Why hasn't the tea been brought over yet?"

  Geng Weide raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Xie with a glance, seeing him so diligent, he sat down quite satisfied.

  At this time, the attendant brought tea over. Lin Xie didn't hurry to sit down and held the teacup in his hand. Geng Wei thought Lin Xie was offering him a cup of tea and reached out to take it, but unexpectedly Lin Xie flipped his wrist and poured a scalding hot cup of tea directly onto his face.

  "Ah!" Geng Weide never expected that Lin would, at the slightest disagreement, pour scalding hot tea on his face, letting out a blood-curdling scream, and roll around frantically to find something cool to apply to his face to ease the pain.

  "You thing, how dare you sit in front of me? Don't you know your own qualifications?" Lin Xian coldly smiled and said, ignoring the wailing Geng Wei De. He turned to Li Shu Yi, the bookkeeper of Chongzhou Prefecture, and bowed, saying "Bookkeeper Li, please take a seat and let's talk."

  Geng Weide's men, who had been brought over by him, heard Geng Weide wailing in the tent and rushed in with swords drawn. Ao Canghai and several guards quickly disarmed them and pinned them to the ground.

  "What are you doing?" Lin Fu looked at Ao Canghai and others, scolding, "Who allowed you to be so unreasonable to the yamen runners of Chongzhou County? Li Shuban is here, do you want to rebel or not?"

  Li Shuyi's heart was in his throat, and his hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably. He didn't dare to help Geng Weide, who was still rolling on the ground, and instead looked at Lin Xie, who was still gesturing for him to take a seat. Trembling slightly, he sat down and ordered the attendants: "We are discussing the disaster situation, what are you doing bursting in here?" His voice had changed tone, fearing that if he responded incorrectly, he would receive the same treatment as Geng Weide.

  All the yamen runners only listened to Ge Wei's orders, and they pressed Ao Canghai and the guards to the ground, struggling in vain. After a moment, they also saw the situation clearly. After all, Li Shuyi was nominally the only formal official present at Chongzhou County, and Ge Wei was just a gatekeeper for County Magistrate Chen Kun. At this point, they could only temporarily follow Li Shuyi's orders and give up struggling.

  Lin tied up Ao Canghai and gave him a look, letting him take Geng Weide and Chongzhou County government officials to take them out for surveillance first.

  "That dog is spouting nonsense, stirring up the people's hearts. Cutting off his tongue wouldn't be enough, today he's getting a lesson," Lin Xuan finally sat down and calmly discussed disaster relief with Li Shuyi, the head of Chongzhou County's book office. "This concerns the lives and deaths of nearly 30,000 refugees. Chongzhou County absolutely cannot turn a blind eye. Haven't the lessons from Hongze Pu been enough? Please tell Magistrate Chen that if he dares to ignore this matter and provokes a big riot among the starving people, there's always room for him in the Jinjiang prison."

  "Yes, yes, it's absolutely impossible to ignore this. I'll go back and report to Magistrate Chen, and we must carefully consider this." Li Shuyi followed Lin Xie's words like a nodding insect, but in his heart he thought: The reputation of "Pig Butcher Crazy Scholar" wasn't earned for nothing. It's just that Geng Weide doesn't know what's good for him, coming over here to try and intimidate Lin Xie.

  Lin tied up a small boat for Li Shuyi, Geng Weide and other officials of Chongzhou County, letting them row back to Chongzhou County by themselves. Watching them leave, he couldn't help but sigh deeply. This is the attitude of Chongzhou County towards the scattered refugees from Xisha Island. These bastards really want to force the refugees to rebel before they know that these "lowly people" and "inferior people" are not so easy to bully.

  "Mr. Hu probably knows why my reputation is so bad, right?" Lin Mou turned around and smiled bitterly at Hu Zhiyong, "This world is so unbearable, if I don't bare my teeth and brandish my claws, I don't know how many dogs will climb on my head to defecate and urinate! By baring my teeth and brandishing my claws, the number of people I've offended is by no means small. People like me usually don't have a good ending, maybe one day I'll die without a place to be buried. The Hu family should carefully consider whether they want to follow me on this path until the end."

  "If it weren't for your mercy, would the two sons of the Hu family still be alive? If it weren't for your mercy, would Zhi Cheng and Qiao Yi still be alive?" Hu Zhi Yong knelt down and said, "How could I not know what's good for me? The lives of refugees are cheap, and the Hu family is now also a declining household. Can we still expect those high-ranking officials to care about us?"

  Those refugee leaders saw the attitude of Chongzhou County officials, and Lin Xie's arrogant attitude towards Chongzhou officials only made them feel delighted. Although Li Shuyi promised to provide disaster relief with all his heart, they knew clearly that if they wanted nearly 30,000 people not to starve or disperse, their hope could only be pinned on Lin Xie; otherwise, they had no other way out except gathering crowds to rebel.

  Hu Zhiyong knelt down, and several leaders of the refugees also knelt down together, saying: "Please, sir, don't abandon us!"

  "Get up, all of you," Lin said. "The disaster relief cannot rely solely on Chongzhou County, and Chongzhou County does not dare to stop me from providing disaster relief here. Many things still require everyone's concerted effort to overcome the current difficulties."

  What he is most anxious about at the moment is that there is no legitimate excuse for disaster relief, otherwise it will be a lawsuit with Chongzhou County that cannot be dragged on. Even if Gu Wu Chen can temporarily suppress everything for him, it will still be a hidden danger in the future.

  Fortunately, Lin Mengde arrived in time at dusk to resolve the issue. Lin Mengde rode a fast horse from land to Chongzhou, bringing with him official documents from the Surveillance Commissioner's office that authorized Lin Xuan to take charge and assist in disaster relief efforts in Chongzhou County. The document also allowed Lin Xuan to use the grain and fodder raised by the Dongyang militia for disaster relief purposes.

  What is strange is that this order was personally signed by Investigating Censor Jia Pengyu.

  This order has many twists and turns. As soon as Lin Xie got the document, he saw that Jia Pengyu had other intentions even when he was helping him out, but since it concerned the lives of nearly 30,000 refugees, he couldn't care too much about it. At present, Lin Xie really needs this document to temporarily handle the situation.

  ******************

  P.S: Looking for red envelopes.