Natural disasters, man-made disasters, food, rebels...
A series of events made all the court officials anxious and confused.
In the seventh year of Wende, it was the year of Tai Sui!
Nothing good happens at the beginning of the year.
It's all a serious matter.
Any one of them could overturn the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty and cause the whole world to change its name.
Emperor Wende vomited blood and refused to see anyone. He sat quietly in the hall for three or four hours.
Someone is rebelling!
Someone actually rebelled!
He considered himself a very diligent and frugal emperor.
The late emperor left him a mess with countless huge holes before his death.
Over the years, he worked tirelessly, making up for it by scraping money here and there, and finally sorted out this mess, and gradually made up for the money owed over the years.
He has done the best that an emperor can do, so why would anyone rebel?
Why doesn’t God open his eyes and send down natural disasters and man-made calamities every year?
Is it really as the traitors said, that the father and son came to power in an illegitimate way, and that even God could not stand it and sent down divine punishment?
"Your Majesty, it's getting dark, take a rest!"
Is it dark already?
When Emperor Wende came to his senses, he found that it was already dark and the candlelight was flickering.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Chang En, "Am I a tyrant?"
"Your Majesty, spare my life!" Chang En knelt on the ground and kowtowed to apologize.
"I forgive you your innocence. Let me ask you, am I a tyrant? Answer truthfully, or I will kill you."
Chang En swallowed his saliva and said nervously, "Your Majesty is certainly not a tyrant. Your Majesty has been diligent in his work. Last year, the Ministry of Revenue finally had a small surplus. This is a good omen!"
"If it's a good omen, why are there people rebelling?"
Emperor Wende looked dejected and asked a series of questions, "For the past ten years, natural disasters have occurred year after year. I am afraid that the people will be overburdened and lose their land and go bankrupt. Since I ascended the throne, I have never increased taxes and have even reduced them several times.
He also repeatedly stressed that local governments should not impose harsh corvee labor. He even gave local governments extra money for corvee labor for three consecutive years out of fear that the common people would suffer from it.
I've done everything I can, so why are people still rebelling? Is it just a natural disaster? I've been trying to find relief, so why won't they give me a moment? Why do they have to rebel?
"I am by no means a foolish ruler, much less a tyrant, and I have done nothing wrong. Yet, every year there are natural disasters, and there has never been a year of good weather. And now there are people rebelling. Is this really a punishment from heaven?"
Chang En quickly said, "Your Majesty, please don't dwell on this! Those rebels, with their wicked ambitions, are not rebelling because they have no food to eat, but because they want to rebel.
"What kind of divine punishment, what kind of illegitimate position, those peasants have no idea about that. It's clear that someone is just trying to take advantage of the chaos and start a rebellion. But the true identity of the mastermind behind this is still unclear."
Emperor Wende frowned. "You have a point. Those words are definitely not something an ordinary person could come up with. There must be someone behind them who is giving them guidance. Tell me, could the person behind this be in the capital? Could someone be dissatisfied with my throne and plotting a rebellion?"
Chang En's heart was pounding so hard that it was about to jump out of his throat.
This is so scary!
There's a feeling of a coming storm.
He lowered his head and spoke cautiously, "Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to send troops to suppress the rebels. As for the people behind the rebels, they will be found out sooner or later. Secondly, we must find a way to raise food and fodder for disaster relief. We must not allow the disaster to escalate. We must also prepare sufficient grain and seeds."
Emperor Wende nodded repeatedly, "We must indeed send troops to suppress the rebels, and at the same time, order the Jinwu Guard to conduct a thorough investigation throughout the capital. If food is scarce in various places, plant sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a high yield and can be planted even in droughts. As long as we can survive, it doesn't matter if we eat sweet potatoes every day. Once we get through this year and wait until next year, things will definitely get better. Definitely!"
Chang En burst into tears of joy, "Your Majesty has finally cheered up! When the court officials knew about this, they would definitely be happy for Your Majesty. This is a blessing for the Great Zhou!"
Emperor Wende stared at Chang En, his eyes radiating a dazzling light. "Call the ministers of the three provinces and six ministries to the audience, and call the dukes to the audience!"
"Your Majesty, it's getting dark..."
"Announce!" Emperor Wende said in a loud voice, decisively interrupting Chang En's words.
"promise!"
Chang En accepted the order and summoned all the officials to the palace to discuss countermeasures overnight.
…
The next morning, Emperor Wende issued several decrees.
From now on, martial law will be imposed in the capital from the hour of Xu.
There is a price cap on grain. Anyone who dares to drive up grain prices or close their shop and refuse to sell will be strictly investigated by the Jinwu Guards!
Anyone who dares to spread rumors, create trouble, and cause panic among the people will be imprisoned, regardless of their identity. The Jinwu Guard has the power to deal with unexpected events and can execute them first and report to the emperor later.
Sanhe Express was ordered to deliver the relief food, sweet potatoes, to the disaster area within half a month.
He ordered the Ministry of Revenue to send officials to the disaster area to organize the victims to replant.
At the same time, several imperial edicts were sent to the Ministry of War and the Beijing Camp.
The whole state machinery was put into full operation when the rebellion broke out.
At the same time, the Jinwu Guards selected a group of elite troops and took the lead in going to the gathering place of the rebels to investigate the truth of the rebellion.
…
Sanhe Express’s Beijing headquarters is about three or four miles away from the Weishui Wharf and only a few miles away from the official road.
The surrounding terrain is open and there are no flammable materials in the mountains or forests.
Choosing this location makes both shipping and land transportation extremely convenient.
The express station leads to the Weishui Wharf and the official road, both of which are wide and smooth cement roads.
Behind the office building are rows of tall warehouses.
On the side of the warehouse, there are hundreds of neatly arranged horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and mule carts, which are maintained and guarded by special personnel.
Early in the morning, the Sanhe Express headquarters was bustling with people coming in and out.
One after another, horse-drawn carriages set out in an orderly manner, carrying documents to the imperial farm, the capital warehouse, and major grain stores, and brought back cartloads of sweet potatoes or miscellaneous grains.
The registrar weighed and registered each truckload, affixed the documents, and then transported them all to the Weishui Wharf and loaded them onto ships heading south.
The imperial edict ordered that the grain be transported to the disaster area within half a month.
The fastest way is water transport.
Land transport is the second option.
At Weishui Wharf, Sanhe Express dispatched hundreds of cargo ships in less than a day.
Fill a ship and set off immediately.
All other cargo ships, whether private or government, must stay aside and not occupy the dock.
Transporting disaster relief grain is the imperial order, and all ships must give way to the imperial order.
No concessions?
Then we will see who is tougher, the head or the sword of the Beijing camp soldiers.
Each cargo ship, in addition to transporting disaster relief grain, was also responsible for transporting dozens of Beijing camp soldiers south.
At Sanhe Express, everyone is busy working in an orderly manner according to their assigned tasks, step by step.
Everyone is familiar with his or her job, having done it thousands of times, and would not make a mistake even with his or her eyes closed.
The biggest advantage of proficiency is that it can minimize mistakes.
It can ensure that the process is complete and correct without errors, omissions or confusion.
Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, personally brought people to the Sanhe Express headquarters to check it out.
Everyone is only responsible for their own process, and although it seems very busy and chaotic, the efficiency is actually very high.
Watching the truckloads of grain depart from the express station, be transported to the Weishui Wharf, and be loaded onto ships, Lord Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"At this rate, if the entire process is transported by water, it will probably take less than two weeks for the food to reach the disaster area."
"Lord Zhao is too optimistic!" Bai Zhong accompanied Lord Zhao. "According to the news sent from the south, due to drought, some sections of the river have dried up. Once we reach the dry areas, we must travel overland."
Minister Zhao frowned. "What should we do? If we go by land, can we guarantee that the grain will be delivered to the disaster area within half a month?"
Bai Zhong said, "We are urgently dispatching vehicles and horses, and they are gathering at the cutoff point. We have also notified express delivery stations in various places to prepare to receive the goods. At the same time, all toll stations will fully cooperate. We can only do our best to ensure that the goods can be delivered to the disaster area within half a month."
Lord Zhao let out a long sigh. "We were right to establish Sanhe Express. If the imperial court had transported this batch of grain, it would have taken at least a month to reach the disaster area. Furthermore, the cost of the food would have been astronomical."
Bai Zhong smiled and asked curiously, "How could the court have thought of using sweet potatoes for disaster relief? They even planned to plant more sweet potatoes in the south."
"This is the only solution. The grain in the capital warehouse cannot be moved, and there is no grain anywhere else. The only thing we have is sweet potatoes, and there are plenty of them. Saving a life is saving a life."
"Are these sweet potatoes enough?"
"It's definitely not enough to eat! But at least it can solve the immediate problem."
That's true.
There are a lot of sweet potatoes, but there are even more victims.
Last year, a large number of sweet potatoes were used to make wine due to the sweet potato winemaking boom. The remaining sweet potatoes, though plentiful, were actually very few per disaster victim.
In the south, due to the fertile land and dietary habits, very few people grow sweet potatoes. Most people grow rice and winter wheat.
In areas like the south of the Yangtze River, people even use paddy fields to grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms.
Directly transform farmland into cash crop fields.
It is no wonder that the imperial court had to transport sweet potatoes from the north to the disaster-stricken areas in the south.
Sweet potatoes were never grown in the disaster area before!
There are no sweet potatoes to eat even if you want to.
Watching cargo ship after cargo ship leave the dock, Lord Zhao felt relieved.
He said to Bai Zhong, "I haven't seen Madam Zhao for a long time. How is she?"
"Madam is in the other courtyard nursing her baby. She's about to give birth. Apart from her temper becoming more irritable, everything else is fine."
Lord Zhao said earnestly, "Relying solely on sweet potatoes can only alleviate the immediate crisis. Furthermore, sweet potato reserves are limited. Last year, sweet potato wine production was rampant. 70% of the sweet potatoes in the north were used to make wine. With so many disaster victims, the few remaining sweet potatoes will soon be gone. We still need to transport a large amount of grain to the disaster area to completely solve the food shortage problem."
Bai Zhong said seriously, "Lord Zhao is concerned about the country and the people, which is admirable. But it's useless for you to tell me this! I'm just a small-time clerk in charge of miscellaneous matters, and I don't have any food on hand."
Lord Zhao looked at Bai Zhong and said, "You may not have any food, but your wife must have some."
Bai Zhong said simply, "My wife is about to give birth, so please excuse me for not seeing any outside visitors."
"Food is linked to the fate of the Great Zhou and the lives of millions of disaster victims. If your wife were just an ordinary woman in the inner chambers, I would never have bothered her. However, she is not only the wife of the prince, but also the owner of the Sihai Trading Company. She should shoulder her responsibilities at this time."
Bai Zhong bared his teeth and smiled at Lord Zhao, "There's no point in telling me this, sir. My wife has said she won't see any outsiders, and I can't help her. Why not wait until she gives birth before discussing this matter?"
"By then, it will be too late!"
"Then we can only say sorry!"
Lord Zhao was so angry that his forehead was flushed.
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