Chapter 272: The Great Disaster
On the fifth day of April, the weather was half cloudy and half sunny.
Jiang Shu and Yu Zheng went to Yu Lan's princess mansion as agreed.
When they arrived, Yu Lan and Zhou Boxu had already arrived. After waiting for a while, Sun Yijun and Yu Yuan also came.
The construction in the mansion was completed, and the servants were doing the final cleaning and tidying up.
The six of them walked around carefully from the front yard to the backyard.
"Sister, this mansion is decorated so beautifully." Jiang Shu was amazed.
Although Yu Lan's princess mansion is not as big as the prince's mansion, it has everything from the garden, lotus lake and rockery. It is very delicate and beautiful with a new scene at every step.
Yu Lan smiled and said, "You can come often in the future if you like it."
The princess mansion was decorated according to her preferences after the Ministry of Works drew a drawing for her to choose from, which was very much to Yu Lan's liking.
"It's so close, I will come often." Jiang Shu was tired, and the others sat down in the pavilion in the back garden.
The Princess's Mansion is only two streets away from the Prince Jing's Mansion, and it only takes about a quarter of an hour to walk there, which is very convenient.
Hearing what they said, Sun Yijun curled her lips and said, "Have you forgotten me?"
The Prince Rong's Mansion is in the opposite direction of the Princess's Mansion and the Prince Jing's Mansion, and it takes half an hour to take a carriage.
"How can I? My door is always open to you." Yu Lan smiled and raised the teacup.
"Really? Wouldn't Lord Zhou be unhappy?" Sun Yijun looked at Zhou Boxu.
Zhou Boxu said, "You are most welcome."
He was busy with official duties during the day and was rarely in the mansion. Zhuang Yun also had to go to school, and he was more than happy to have someone to chat with Yu Lan and relieve his boredom.
"Hey, hey, do you think I don't exist?" Yu Yuan said dissatisfiedly.
Sun Yijun glanced at him and snorted, "Don't you have anything to do? Don't you care about Cuiyunlou?"
Yu Yuan stopped talking when he heard that.
Cuiyunlou's business is booming and can make a lot of money every month. Now that he has married and has children to raise in the future, he must run it well to make more money.
I have been delayed for a long time these days, and I have to go and have a look tomorrow.
The few of them rested for a while and continued to stroll around the main courtyard.
Entering the inner room of the main house, they saw the large carved bed at a glance.
Jiang Shu looked at it for a few seconds and joked, "Why isn't this bed bigger than the one you gave us? Is it enough?"
"Enough..." Yu Lan blushed and did not dare to look at Zhou Boxu beside him.
Zhou Boxu's face did not change, but his ears were almost red.
Fortunately, the conversation stopped there, and Jiang Shu walked around the house.
The tables, chairs and utensils in the house were all new, complete with everything.
Jiang Shu was in a dilemma, not knowing what wedding gift to give Yu Lan.
There were only two months left before Yu Lan and Zhou Boxu's wedding.
The weather in April changes suddenly. There was still a few rays of sunshine in the morning, and it suddenly rained in the afternoon.
Jiang Shu woke up from a nap and stared at the rain.
There was really a lot of rain this year. Jiang Shu had a bad feeling.
During dinner, Yu Zheng walked into the house with a slightly frowned brow.
"What's wrong?" Seeing that he looked wrong, Jiang Shu asked.
Yu Zheng sat down at the table, washing his hands while saying, "I just received news that torrential rains have hit Duanzhou, submerging several villages and towns, hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and the number of casualties is unknown."
Such a big flood will be discussed again in the morning court tomorrow.
After listening to this, Jiang Shu looked at the drizzling rain outside the house and frowned slightly.
She knew that it was not only in Shangjing that it rained a lot.
"What should we do?" Jiang Shu asked worriedly.
Yu Zheng put down the handkerchief, looked at Jiang Shu's slightly wrinkled face and said, "Provide disaster relief to the people and prevent and control epidemics."
After a pause, Yu Zheng said, "You don't have to worry about these things, don't think too much."
That's right, the king and his officials have their own concerns about the national economy and people's livelihood. It's useless for her, a woman in the inner house, to think about anything.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu felt relieved and concentrated on eating.
In the evening, after the two of them took a bath, they sat on the couch and read as usual. Before going to bed, Zhuiyun's voice sounded from outside the house.
"Master, there is an urgent report."
Yu Zheng got up and walked to the outer room, opened the door and listened to Zhuiyun's report.
"Li Xu committed suicide out of fear of crime."
Yu Zheng sneered after hearing this: "He is so impatient, it seems that Li Xu knows a lot."
After thinking for a moment, Yu Zheng said: "After handling it, he will first heal him and take good care of him. In addition, protect his family."
Duanzhou was hit by a disaster, and he certainly had no time to get away in the next few days. And Li Xu's 'committed suicide out of fear of crime', his injuries were not light, and he needed to be recuperated.
"Yes." Zhuiyun agreed and turned away.
The rain was getting heavier again.
Yu Zheng closed the door and went into the inner room, and went to bed with Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu couldn't help with the court affairs, so he didn't ask and fell asleep quietly in Yu Zheng's arms.
The next morning, the atmosphere in the court was low and depressing.
Zhang Ting, the Minister of Dali Temple, first reported that Li Xu committed suicide in prison.
This matter should have caused a sensation, but it was suppressed by the disaster in Duanzhou, and the emperor and the officials had no intention of investigating it.
This was exactly what Cao Qian wanted.
Everyone's mind was on Duanzhou.
"The Ministry of Revenue has allocated 500,000 taels of silver for the last earthquake. This time, the flood in Duanzhou has affected a wide range of people, and it may cost a million taels of silver."
A million taels of silver is only the lowest estimate.
According to historical experience, a major disaster is often followed by a major epidemic. If it is not properly prevented and controlled, it will be another catastrophe.
The civil and military officials in the court expressed their opinions, but no one wanted to fight for the disaster relief mission.
It was not that they did not want to fight, but that they did not dare to fight.
First, the disaster was so severe that too many people were affected and it would be difficult to deal with it. Second, the epidemic was so fierce and severe that no one wanted to take the risk.
The emperor listened for a long time, and his brows knitted more and more tightly.
These officials usually fought for good jobs that would lead to promotion and merit, but when faced with difficult tasks, they all hesitated.
The emperor looked at him coldly, unwilling to listen to any more nonsense, and ordered his ministers to go back and think of a good plan and discuss it tomorrow.
After the court session, the emperor called Prime Minister Xie, Minister of Revenue Yu Zheng, Yu Cheng and others to discuss the matter in the Yuci room.
It was not until almost noon that Yu Zheng left the palace and returned home.
After having lunch with Jiang Shu at noon, Yu Zheng left the house. After returning in the evening and having dinner, he went to the study and worked until late at night.
Jiang Shu had never seen Yu Zheng so busy before, and knew that this matter was serious and difficult.
The next morning, the emperor and his ministers agreed on the preliminary matters.
"Money and food for disaster relief are urgent. Start to raise money and food immediately and send them to Duanzhou in batches." The emperor ordered in a deep voice.
"Yes." The ministers and others responded respectfully.
After a moment of silence, Grand Tutor Zhou said, "The escort of money and grain is extremely important, and we must send someone trustworthy."
"Such a huge amount of silver and grain, if there is a mistake and it falls into the hands of corrupt officials, the people affected by the disaster will not be able to get relief, which will cause a large number of deaths from famine and cause public resentment."
"And once the disaster victims flood into other towns and areas, the impact will be great, and it will also be easy to spread the epidemic. In this way, the situation will become more serious and out of control."
Grand Tutor Zhou's words reminded the ministers of a similar disaster during the reign of the previous emperor.
Corrupt officials caused the disaster victims to scatter, and the epidemic spread to all parts of Dazhao, even the capital was not spared. All the doctors in the Imperial Hospital were dispatched, and it took three years to stabilize the situation.
Although the corrupt officials involved were severely punished, the casualties were heavy and Dazhao suffered a great loss. The treasury was empty, the people were living in poverty, the people complained, and many places rebelled. Dazhao almost changed the dynasty.