Lu Wan thought about it and saw no reason to refuse, so he agreed. "But Chen Yan, I think the main purpose of this trip is not to control the flood. The most urgent task should be how to provide disaster relief! We should first raise funds for disaster relief."
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Shen Yan had a headache. He encountered such a big difficulty at the first step. Shen Yan had no choice but to ask the emperor for more funds.
The next morning, Shen Yan said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the money allocated to Jiangnan for disaster relief has been used up." The emperor was unhappy when he heard this, so he asked, "Do you want me to allocate more funds?" Shen Yan lowered his head and immediately said, "That's exactly what I mean."
The emperor said angrily, "I just allocated 300,000 taels of silver not long ago. How could it be gone in a short time?" Shen Yan explained, "Your Majesty, this silver was used to buy grain for porridge, a lot of medicinal materials, and to build sheds for the victims to live in, as well as clothes and quilts. All of these cost money."
The emperor was still unhappy: "Why are these things so expensive? Why do they cost so much silver?" Shen Yan said: "Now the grain prices near Jiangnan have risen to a high level. Brown rice, which used to cost a few coins, now costs one tael of silver for half a catty, and white rice and flour cost five or six taels of silver per catty. The closer to the disaster area, the more expensive the grain is, with some costing ten taels of silver per catty."
The emperor was so angry that his beard stood up: "Humph, these people actually made a fortune from the national disaster. How many people starved to death in vain."
Chen Yan said, "I have asked my family to send 100,000 taels of silver, and asked the grain store in the north to transport the excess grain to Jiangnan. If everything goes well, the grain should have arrived by the time I arrive in Jiangnan. Lu Wan is also collecting money from the public to give the people in Jiangnan a little more hope. The people in Kyoto, from high officials to beggars, have all contributed their efforts. Your Majesty, even beggars who are naked and hungry are willing to donate a few copper coins to support the disaster area. What should we hesitate about?"
Shen Yan's words made the ministers explode. How could they be worse than beggars? The prime minister immediately took the lead and said, "Your humble servant is willing to donate 30,000 taels of silver, and I will have someone send it to Miss Lu after the court session." The Minister of Works said, "Your humble servant is willing to donate 6,000 taels of silver, and I will also send it after the court session." The general said, "I will also donate 100,000 taels of silver. This was rewarded by Your Majesty when I made meritorious services in the past. Now I can use it in the right place." This general was very upright and Shen Yan was willing to make friends with him. Before, when he heard that Lu Wan was going to raise funds, he immediately donated 10,000 taels of silver, and now he donated another 100,000 taels of silver.
Not willing to be outdone, each minister donated a sum of no less than one thousand taels of silver. It seemed that there was a lot of money to be made. In fact, many people were reluctant to donate, but who would dare not donate in front of the emperor? They all gritted their teeth and donated one thousand taels of silver.
In this way, Chen Yan followed Lu Wan's method to provide disaster relief, and the flood in the south of the Yangtze River was quickly controlled. After that, the country was peaceful and the people were safe. Chen Yan wanted to go out for a trip with Lu Wan and appreciate this beautiful land.
Two people and a horse then began their journey.
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