Chapter 240 Emperor and Empress Treat Disasters
Jin Sui was very clear about one thing, that is, before the treasury was rich enough to allow the emperor to do whatever he wanted, building a garden would be criticized in history books, and using too much in the army would be criticized as warmongering.
If the commotion was too loud and aroused public outrage, and if bad luck led to a natural disaster, the emperor would have to issue an imperial edict of guilt, and from then on, no matter how hard he tried to do something to benefit the country and the people, he would be suspected and stopped, and the reform would be shelved.
To put it simply, movable type printing is currently disguised as military industry, but it has no income and has to be maintained by using military funds, which is very likely to bring bad reputation to Gu Changxiao.
It just so happened that printing technology was currently being used in the public colleges built by the Empress, and all officials were worried about not being able to find anything to scold the Empress. Before scolding the Emperor, they would definitely scold Jin Sui, the "politically involved" Empress, so that she would not dare to leave the palace.
Therefore, the printing industry had to make money on its own, without using military funds. The more money it made, the longer it could be hidden in the military. If it could feed back military funds, no one would find fault.
Jin Sui gave Cheng Yu another idea: "You can hire some writers to write some novels with educational purposes, and then find some great scholars to publish their collections of works. You can also publish more enlightenment books. In this way, you will definitely be able to make enough money."
Cheng Yu agreed with this idea and immediately went to the Hanlin Academy to consult with some great scholars. When they heard that it was the Queen's decree that they were willing to help them publish their own works, the great scholars were very excited.
You have to know that publishing a book in this era is much more difficult than in later generations, especially publishing a Yang-carved book, which had to be discussed in the court. And the Empress did not afford Yang-carved books, and she funded the publication, so how could the Confucians not be happy?
At the same time, Jin Sui collected rare books from all over the world in the name of the Queen. She established the "Ancient Book Protection Association". Anyone who was willing to donate rare books could become a member of the association.
Jinsui personally designed membership medals, points levels, etc. Members held an annual meeting, which the Queen would also attend, and established contribution medals.
Needless to say, this idea was immediately popular among young people, and they were all proud to join the association. The elders in the family deliberately turned a deaf ear to it, and some even said that they would rather burn the ancient books in their home than donate them to the queen in order to make things difficult for her.
However, the young people were so enthusiastic that with the full assistance of Yan Shiyi, Jin Zilin and other young men from aristocratic families, Jinsui soon received a large number of ancient books.
She immediately organized manpower to repair and classify these ancient books, then print them, build a library, and reluctantly rent them out to scholars all over the world.
The library also has a huge lecture hall that can accommodate a thousand people. Scholars from the Hanlin Academy come here to give lectures every day, and all scholars can enter to attend the lectures.
A huge stone tablet was erected in front of the library, on which the emperor personally wrote: "Establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, inherit the lost knowledge of the past sages, and create peace for all generations."
Scholars regarded it as the spiritual pursuit of scholars, and scholars all over the world regarded the Capital Library as a place of pilgrimage. They didn't care that this was another battlefield between the Queen and the aristocratic families, they only praised the Queen.
Thinking back to when he was studying, he had suffered many injustices in order to borrow a book from a local noble family. Now the Empress was lending these books that they had been longing for for free.
It is said that anyone can apply for a library card in the library, and the library even provides pens and ink and accepts submissions. Poor scholars can earn a lot of money by writing articles in the library, and no longer need to sell calligraphy and paintings.
After the news spread, scholars from all over the country rushed to the capital. Those scholars who had been studying in private schools of the nobles also plucked up their courage and made up their minds to no longer suffer the humiliation of being a borrowed student and set out to study in the capital.
You have to know that they studied in the private schools of the gentry, had to serve as servants to the children of their own families, were bullied and often driven away.
The removal of the firewood from under the cauldron made those noble families who monopolized educational resources dumbfounded. How can I describe this feeling? If we say that before, the noble families and the royal family were competing for chips at the poker table.
Now what the Queen does is to overturn the table. She seems not to seek benefits or bargaining chips, and does not negotiate with you at all. She just overturns the table and sets new rules.
Some stubborn old nobles could only say: "Humph, just wait and see! This woman is so bold and fearless, she will cause disaster sooner or later!"
But it was just self-consolation. As far as the current situation was concerned, the queen was admired by the people and respected by scholars. The biggest difference between her and previous queens was that, strangely enough, she also had the support of the army.
It's a bit difficult to see her get into trouble and be pulled down! Throughout April, Jinsui was fighting these noble families in another way, and the Black Feather Camp could not help at all in this war. No, it could help.
At least someone was secretly trying to stir up trouble, and the Black Feather Camp came to maintain order and arrest people. If it was the Imperial Guards or the Imperial City Guards who came to maintain order, there would most likely be spies from the nobles among them, but the Black Feather Army definitely had no spies, they were the most loyal royalists.
The nobles thought that this battle was a big deal, but to Jinsui it was just a drizzle of rain and did not take up much of her energy, because she put more energy into spring plowing.
Whether it is the promotion of new crops, the cultivation of improved varieties of old crops, fertilizer cultivation, improvement of agricultural tools, leasing of oxen, redefinition of village organizational structure, etc., although it is handled by the Ministry of Households.
But Jinsui and Gu Changxiao didn't trust the speed of the Ministry of Revenue. They still followed the customs of Chang'an, and if something didn't take three months to complete, it was considered fast. So Jinsui had to supervise and give orders in person.
The organizational structure of the village team was reorganized by changing the previous town, li, and village to town, li, village, and team. Ten households formed a team, and the team leader rented farm tools, oxen, good seeds, and fertilizers from the government.
Team members helped each other complete the spring ploughing, so that there would be no widows and orphans who were unable to complete the spring ploughing in time due to lack of labor. The team leaders could spread the imperial decrees faster and more accurately.
The officials in Chang'an once again witnessed the speed of the border town. The queen was in charge in person, and the Black Feather Camp fully cooperated, completing the government orders at the speed of marching.
In the past, in Chang'an, this kind of grassroots system reform would not have taken three to five years to complete. But in the Xin Dynasty, 70% of the work was completed in the spring, and the remaining 30% was in some remote states, but it was estimated that it could be completed before the summer plowing.
While working, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue cursed in their hearts that the Queen treated people like animals and did not regard them as officials appointed by the court at all. In all these years of being officials, the soles of their shoes had never been worn out, but during the spring plowing season this year, the soles of their shoes were almost worn out from walking so much.
While complaints were raging, spring ploughing was completed successfully. The emperor praised the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and gave everyone rewards.
At that time, the officials changed their tone, no one cursed the queen behind her back, and they were all proud to have participated in the spring ploughing reform. In the morning court, they stood up straight and looked very proud. Originally, the censor wanted to report the queen's involvement in politics.
As a result, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue changed their tone and praised the queen for working hard for the people without any complaints or regrets. The censor felt that he was betrayed by the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and did not dare to submit the memorial he had written.
After Gu Changxiao left the court, he and Jin Sui laughed and said, "Our queen is really amazing! With her left hand, she dealt with the education monopoly of the aristocratic families, and with her right hand, she dealt with the spring ploughing reform of the Ministry of Revenue. She can make clouds with a flip of her hand and rain with a flip of her hand."
Jin Sui rolled his eyes: "Your Majesty, please don't laugh at me. It was you who set up the framework in advance, and I was just cooperating."
Gu Changxiao put his arm around her shoulders and said, "No matter what, I want to thank Sui Sui. I am so lucky to marry Sui Sui."
Jin Sui nodded heavily: "Yes, you are indeed very lucky to marry such an excellent wife! But not as good as me."
Gu Changxiao was stunned: "How can I be inferior to you?"
"I have a better husband! I take care of these little things so that my husband can focus on building the navy."
Gu Changxiao glanced at her and then burst into laughter: "Sui Sui is the best at coaxing people with his mouth! I think as long as you are willing, even the gods in heaven can be coaxed down to earth."
Liu Yun at the side: ...
Your Majesty is wrong, the gods in heaven have come down to earth! That's what you are holding.
In the blink of an eye, it was May. Yan Shiyi set off for Chang'an to pick up Twelve Niang. Jinsui prepared a lot of gifts for him, or rather, they were prepared for Twelve Niang.
The new four-wheeled carriage had springs on the mattress, so it wouldn't be bumpy during long journeys. Fearing that the safety of the Yan family guards alone was not guaranteed, a Black Feather Battalion was sent to accompany them.
After all, Han Xing had killed many people in Chang'an, so there must be people who wanted revenge. Jin Sui summoned Yan Shiyi and told him about Han Xing's situation.
Yan Shiyi said seriously: "My brother has also told me about these things. Don't worry, Madam. I will definitely bring Shier Niang back safely."
The saying "extreme joy leads to sorrow" is exactly how Jinsui and Gu Changxiao felt about May. The spring ploughing in March and April went so smoothly that all the officials in the court wanted to curry favor with the emperor and ask him to go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
As a result, when the rainy season arrived in May and it was time to harvest the summer wheat, urgent news came from the Central Plains that heavy rains were continuing and the Yellow River was about to burst its banks.
The whole court was horrified. The Yellow River had burst its banks many times, and each time it caused great suffering. In the past, local officials did not dare to report such incidents before the bank burst, fearing that they would be held accountable and beheaded first to appease the public anger.
But because of the incident in Minzhou, the Japanese pirates robbed several villages and reported it quickly. They didn't understand the new emperor's temper and were afraid that they would be beheaded even after reporting, so they hurried to report to the court during the rainy season.
Gu Changxiao immediately sent people to investigate and found that the dam had burst and at least hundreds of thousands of people would be affected. The investigation of the officials who repaired the dam had to be postponed, and the first priority was to rescue the fire.
When there is a natural disaster, there will always be people who curse the emperor. Sure enough, a new round of lobbying began in Chang'an, because His Majesty's relocation of the capital would affect the country's destiny, and this was a punishment from heaven! Such news spread from Chang'an to the disaster area, and people's hearts were in turmoil. A civil uprising was about to start.
Then this time, Gu Changxiao and Jinsui worked together to show the world how the new emperor and empress dealt with the disaster. Let the people of the world see clearly that the new emperor is different from the previous emperor, and the new capital is also different from Chang'an.
The emperor chose Cheng Yu as the imperial envoy to deal with the disaster. There is no doubt that Cheng Yu was Gu Changxiao's most trusted and most practical official.
At the same time, the Black Feather Battalion was sent to assist Cheng Yu. The officials objected that sending out the army at the beginning would make the people panic. Gu Changxiao said directly: "The people are never afraid of the army, but the army that exploits and oppresses them! My Black Feather Battalion is different."
The Black Feather Battalion proved His Majesty's words with practical actions. They rescued civilians during the flood regardless of their own safety and evacuated civilians from the disaster area in the middle of the night with gas lamps.
Use your body to form a defense line in the flood, and let the people walk through it on your shoulders...
From the people's rejection and fear of the army in the beginning to their trust and respect later, a natural disaster made the saying "bandits are like combs, soldiers are like rakes" completely become history.
From now on, our Black Feather Battalion is not only the most loyal royalist army, but also the people's soldiers.
Because the disaster area was evacuated in time, the number of people affected was less than expected, and there were only a few thousand casualties. This was completely different from the previous situations where the Yellow River burst its banks and left corpses everywhere.
Hundreds of soldiers from the Black Feather Camp died in the disaster, and each of them was named a martyr. Their remains, along with those of the people who died in the disaster, were buried in a cemetery built by the Yellow River to commemorate the flood.
A natural disaster that should have hit the emperor and empress and caused a civil uprising instead made the people trust the emperor even more.
If the imperial envoy sent by the emperor was a powerful rescue and saved the lives of the people, then the queen comforted them afterwards and led them to a new life, saving their spirits and souls.
The Queen sent Chen Yunniang and the medical team of the Women's College, as well as all the students of the Gewu College. They brought a large amount of supplies, and there was also help from the noble caravan headed by the Yan family.
The cement and steel they brought became powerful tools for repairing river embankments, as the water flow was changed in time. Although the three counties downstream were sacrificed and were completely flooded, the people were evacuated in advance and there were no large-scale casualties.
The court decided to convert these three counties into canals and re-plan the flow of the Yellow River. All the people in the three counties were relocated, and the court gave them resettlement fees. The queen gave them seeds, farm tools, clothes, and food.
The people moved to the northwest and northeast respectively, which helped to disperse the overpopulated Central Plains and increase the amount of land per capita.
The people in Chang'an were waiting to instigate a civil uprising in secret, but they found that they could not do so at all. In fact, their reaction speed was not as fast as the speed of the imperial court in dealing with the disaster.
During this period, Huo Zian and Han Xing cooperated to kill a wave of rebels who intended to overthrow the government, including many royal relatives and dignitaries. Chang'an completely lost the confidence to cause chaos.
There will inevitably be a major epidemic after a major disaster. Jinsui sent a lot of epidemic prevention drugs from the capital to the disaster area overnight. Unexpectedly, the first public hospital was not opened in the capital, but in the Central Plains.
Jin Sui originally wanted to go to the disaster area in person to comfort the people, but Gu Changxiao disagreed. Jin Sui said that if the royal family went there after the disaster, the morale of the victims would be greatly boosted, and it would also consolidate the image of the royal family in the hearts of the people.
This candidate is different from the imperial envoy, it is best if he is from the royal family. Gu Changxiao did not allow Jinsui to go, but the other members of the royal family were either in Chang'an or not famous enough.
There was no other way. Gu Changxiao had killed too many royal relatives in Chang'an. At this time, it would be best to have a trusted princess to inspect, but in the end, no one could be chosen.
Gu Changxiao felt a little guilty: "It was my mistake for not promoting a clan member." It should be said that his relationship with the clan members was too bad, and he had killed too many of them before.
Jin Sui comforted him: "It's okay. There is no princess who can do this job now, but there will be one when our daughter grows up."
My daughter isn't even here yet, but I'm already shouldering heavy responsibilities.
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