This year, the autumn grain harvest in Shandong was poor, and the tax burden had not been reduced. The people had a hard time at the end of the year. The victims fleeing famine gathered near several cities in Huaibei, Jiangsu. The court ordered local relief, but the official grain was not enough. The government wanted the wealthy merchants in the south of the Yangtze River to open their warehouses to relieve the disaster, and Blake Harrison was naturally no exception.
As soon as November began, the prefect of Yangzhou came to Blake Harrison to ask for 500,000 kilograms of grain. However, less than half a month later, snow began to fall in various parts of Jiangbei and the disaster worsened. The prefect of Yangzhou, under the pretext of expressing his gratitude, brought the governor of Jiangsu and the magistrates of several counties in Huaibei that were severely affected by the disaster and visited Blake Harrison again.
He said he was expressing his gratitude, but in fact he came to cry poor and ask for grain. The prefect of Yangzhou had some personal friendship with Blake Harrison, so it was not very formal for them to meet in private. But since the governor of Jiangsu was here, he was a second-rank official of the court after all, so Blake Harrison could not fail to give him face, so he held a grand banquet in the Penglai Villa. They talked about a lot of serious business, and the courtyard was filled with stringed instruments, dancing, and music all day long. At 11 p.m., both the host and the guests were having a great time and were almost drunk, so they let the servants help them back to their rooms.
Blake Harrison's health meant that he shouldn't drink, but he couldn't avoid socializing. His alcohol tolerance wasn't that great, and he vomited violently not long after returning home, causing chaos in Xiyuan.
Pei Siqing was well-informed and heard the news soon. He hurried over before Blake Harrison called him.
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