"Imperial decree! Appoint Song Lian as General Who Suppresses Japanese Pirates, and order the dispatch of 5,000 elite troops from the Southern Camp of the Capital Garrison to the southeastern provinces to suppress the Japanese pirates. All government offices and garrisons in the southeastern provinces shall fully cooperate and there shall be no mistakes!"
The Empress's decree signifies that the selection of the person in charge of the anti-Japanese pirate campaign has been finalized.
Lee Jong-min secretly pursed his lips, as if he was quite pessimistic about the matter.
Qin Chuan watched this unfold, inwardly cursing the cunning old fox. Even if Song Lian's efforts to suppress the Japanese pirates were ineffective, at least he dared to kill them. But which of the high-ranking officials in the court dared to kill the pirates? They watched helplessly as the pirates slaughtered the coast. Aside from the local militias organizing themselves to resist, even the soldiers in the garrisons were desperately trying to avoid them…
Is this what the civil officials meant by "great undertaking"?
They can't even handle a small Japanese pirate, yet they dare to call themselves the Celestial Empire. They are utterly foolish.
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan regained his composure and looked at Song Lian, asking, "Minister Song, when will you set off south?"
Song Lian's thick beard twitched, and he clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor, this humble official can depart immediately!"
Qin Chuan nodded, smiled, and said, "No rush. It will take some time to transfer people from the Southern Camp. The earliest we can set off is tomorrow. Today, you should say goodbye to your family. When you set off tomorrow, I will give you some nice things."
"A good thing?" Song Lian's face lit up with surprise. "Could it be that the Imperial Advisor has another military strategy to bestow upon you?"
"No, no, you'll find out tomorrow..." Qin Chuan smiled slightly.
Qin Chuan and Song Lian were chatting in the main hall when the Empress suddenly interrupted them: "Grand Preceptor, you just said there were two most important things. So, what is the second thing?"
"Settle the refugees," Qin Chuan said.
"During my trip to the capital, I have discovered quite a few refugees in the vicinity of the capital. I wonder how much Your Majesty knows about the refugee situation?"
"This... I don't know..." The Empress frowned slightly, hesitant, as if she found it difficult to answer the question.
Even though she didn't say it, Qin Chuan knew perfectly well that the officials below were definitely hiding the truth, only reporting good news and not bad, creating a false impression of a peaceful and prosperous world.
In reality, the situation had reached a critical point.
Qin Chuan bowed to the Empress and said, "Your Majesty, how many refugees are there in this world? Each province, prefecture, county, and county should report the truth as soon as possible, instead of deceiving Your Majesty. After investigating, you should actively carry out the treatment and resettlement of the refugees, instead of pretending not to see it and letting the situation worsen..."
"Once a large number of refugees gather and they have no means of making a living, they will resort to theft and robbery to survive, gathering in the mountains and forests, becoming bandits, and causing chaos in the area. But as the situation continues to deteriorate, for example, if they encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities, they will not be able to steal anything as bandits, and they will not be able to survive. What will they do then?"
"They will rebel, slaughter the royal family, kill officials, disrupt order, and deal the dynasty the heaviest blow..."
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's words, the Empress gasped, closed her eyes, and couldn't bear to imagine such things.
She had also read history books and knew very well that what Qin Chuan said was true. However, having lived in the deep palace for so long, she still felt that the outside world was peaceful and idyllic...
General Xiao Yun, who had remained silent until now, suddenly asked, "May I ask, Grand Preceptor, how should the refugees be resettled?"
"What I mean is, if a natural disaster causes a large number of people to become displaced, the land cannot be cultivated, and if it is cultivated, there will be no harvest, and the people will have no food, what should be done?"
Looking at Xiao Yun's handsome face, Qin Chuan felt relieved. As expected of the royal family, he knew how to care for the people's livelihood. He said, "The refugees have no food and have left their place of origin, causing a situation of desolation and people fleeing. Then we will have to see how the court handles it."
"Does the Imperial Advisor mean that we need to provide porridge as a form of relief?" Xiao Yun asked.
"What's the point of giving out porridge!"
As soon as Qin Chuan said this, the hall was filled with surprised voices, and the ministers began to whisper among themselves again.
"If distributing porridge is useless, then what's the point?"
"Does the Imperial Advisor have a better method?"
"In previous years, when there were major disasters and famines, wasn't the problem solved by distributing porridge?"
"I think the Imperial Advisor is deliberately spreading alarmist rumors to scare us..."
Hearing the chattering around him, Qin Chuan clapped his hands twice and said, "Quiet down! Let me finish!"
The officials all fell silent, their gazes turning to Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan was satisfied with the ministers' cooperation and said with a faint smile, "If there are really a lot of refugees, what good is that little bit of porridge? Not to mention the corruption in various government departments and their embezzlement, less than one-tenth of it will actually reach the refugees. Even if the court provides enough money and grain, and corruption is not serious, and the refugees can really eat their fill, what good will it do?"
“Once the migrants have eaten their fill, they just wait for the next meal. They get used to eating ready-made meals, so who would want to go back to their hometown to farm? This is not a fundamental solution.”
Upon hearing this, the ministers nodded silently. Indeed, this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.
Upon hearing this, the Empress couldn't help but ask, "Then what good plan does the Imperial Advisor have?"
Qin Chuan stroked his chin and slowly said, "We still need to provide porridge. Not only should we provide porridge, but we should also send them back to their hometowns for free, exempt them from corvée labor and taxes for the following year, and provide them with oxen and farm tools if they lack them, so that they can farm with peace of mind. This is the way to solve the problem at its root."
Just as Qin Chuan finished speaking, Zhang Xun, the governor of the capital region, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"speak."
"Your Majesty, I just received news from various prefectures and counties in the capital region. According to my calculations, there are approximately 200,000 refugees in the capital region..." Zhang Xun said tremblingly.
He spoke very carefully, saying, "I only received the intelligence today," and "I just calculated it." As for when exactly he received the intelligence, and whether it was concealed beforehand, he left it to people to guess.
"The refugees in the capital region all came from Henan and Shandong. As for the situation in Henan and Shandong, you should ask Governor-General Li of the two provinces."
Zhang Xun cleverly shifted the blame to Li Yunrui, the governor-general of the two provinces.
Li Yunrui rolled his eyes at Zhang Xun, stepped forward, and reported, "Your Majesty, the provinces of Henan and Shandong have suffered from drought and locust plagues this year, resulting in harvests less than half of what they were in previous years. Meanwhile, the imperial taxes have not been reduced, thus creating the current situation..."
Seeing that he had no other way to shift the blame, Li Yunrui had no choice but to blame the natural disaster, which is partly true.
The Empress had read the reports on the disaster situation in the two provinces before, but she was not aware of the refugee situation. Moreover, she had already allocated one million taels of silver to the two provinces for disaster relief, so she thought the problem had been solved.
Qin Chuan quickly found the crux of the problem and questioned Li Yunrui: "Governor Li, tell me the truth today, how many displaced people are there in the two provinces under your jurisdiction?"
Li Yunrui's forehead was covered in sweat: "Your Majesty, Grand Preceptor, the number of refugees in the two provinces should be... should be no less than a million..."
"What?!"
Almost all the ministers in the court exclaimed in surprise.
Millions of refugees!?
Has the situation escalated to such a serious point?
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