Chapter 383 Snow Disaster
The wind and snow caused disasters, and deaths and injuries from house collapses due to snow occurred almost every day. In addition, reports from various neighborhoods indicated that the number of people who died of freezing to death and starvation continued to rise. Emperor Jingyuan was anxious and sent more people everywhere to prevent the cold and provide disaster relief.
Zhao Lan was away from home all day again, and Su Ruojin began to worry about her parents. Since they had been married for almost two months and could move around, she asked Princess Jin to let her go to her parents' home to check on the situation.
The children were worried about their parents, so Princess Jin did not stop them and nodded in agreement.
The Minister's Mansion was not far from the Prince of Jin's Mansion, and it was only two or three streets away. But when Su Ruojin walked out of the alley of the palace and turned onto the street, she found that traveling was difficult and the carriage could not move at all, so she had to walk.
Moreover, the snow was very deep when walking, not even reaching above Su Ruojin's ankles.
Mao Ya said: "This is because someone cleans it regularly. If not, it would be up to the knees."
She had not been out for more than a month since her wedding, and all the information about the disaster was either heard from the servants who left the house or from Zhao Lan's conversations when he came back. This was the first time Su Ruojin felt about the snow disaster.
Looking at the houses and mansions covered with snow, the situation of a snow disaster in the previous life immediately appeared in my mind: avalanches and house collapses, water and electricity outages, and blocked roads, causing inconvenience to people's food, clothing, housing and transportation.
That was in modern times. Even if such a situation occurred, in addition to avalanches and house collapses that would cause great harm to ordinary people, problems such as water and power outages and road blockages, even if they could not be resolved in one or two days, there would definitely be cadres, volunteers, etc. who would deliver water and food to the homes on the third day, so at least people would not starve to death.
What about ancient times?
According to Zhao Lan, he and his staff were responsible for cleaning the Imperial Street and three nearby streets, as well as maintaining the roofs of residential buildings. Often, after they finished cleaning the streets today, after a night of heavy snow, there would be another foot of snow, which was impossible to clean.
But you have to sweep even if you can't finish it.
Su Ruojin walked forward slowly and found that there was also a patrolman sweeping the street in front of her. After a while, the sweep reached her heels and the road ahead became easier to walk on. She looked up and saw snowflakes falling again. It looked like by the afternoon, the ground that had just been swept would be completely covered again.
It really is...
She hurried back to the Minister's Mansion, "Dad, Mom, how are you? Is there enough food in the house?"
Su Yanli nodded. He was no longer a parent official, so he was not involved in people's livelihood. The snow was heavy, so he had to work in the office for half a day and then leave. He had nothing to do at home. When he saw his daughter, he said, "Rich families have an easy life, but the common people have a hard time."
Cheng Yingzhen was also worried. "If things continue like this, not only will the common people run out of food, but we will also run out of rice at home."
The roads were blocked, so even if there was food and vegetables, they couldn't come in.
Su Yanli said, "I asked Sanlang to go to the city gate to help distribute porridge, which is also a small contribution."
Su Ruojin was just about to ask, but it turned out that her eldest brother was sent out by their father.
Su Ruojin had also heard from Zhao Lan about the matter of distributing porridge. It was very important, but the population of Bianjing City was one million. If the problem of road obstructions caused by the snowstorm was not resolved, more people would be trapped in the snowstorm.
After lunch, Su Ruojin returned to Prince Jin's Mansion and met Zhao Lan on the way home.
"Ajin, are your parents okay?"
He followed Su Ruojin in calling Su Yanli and his wife father and mother.
Su Ruojin nodded, "Mom is worried that if the snow doesn't stop, the family's supplies won't make it to the New Year."
This is also a problem that many families in Bianjing City are worried about.
"How is the court going to solve this?"
Zhao Lan said: "There are people clearing snow inside the city, so the roads are still passable, but the snow outside the city is very deep, and carriages and mules are useless. Now we can only rely on pure manpower to transport much food and vegetables."
Su Ruojin asked, "How many patrol officers does the Imperial City Department have?"
"About two thousand." Zhao Lan asked, "A Jin is asking these questions..."
"What about the Imperial Guards?"
"About five thousand."
"These people are sweeping snow in the city?"
"Um."
Seeing that Zhao Lan had no intention of continuing, Su Ruojin had to remind him, "What about the troops stationed in the imperial city?"
There are 50,000 to 80,000 troops stationed in the capital area, and no one knows this better than Zhao Lan.
He looked at his little wife without blinking, what she meant was...
"If we mobilize the garrison, so many people can clear a road to the capital to deliver food and vegetables, right?"
The New Year is just around the corner, and it is also the time for people to make big purchases. Su Ruojin reminded again, "I guess there must be many big merchants in the south who know about the snow disaster in the north and want to transport supplies here to make money, but if there is no waterway or land transportation..."
Zhao Lan understood, and his wife asked them to prepare a snow-free road for the speculative merchants.
"Mobilizing troops..." He was thinking whether it was appropriate to talk about this matter in front of the emperor.
Su Ruojin reminded again, "In the year of the great disaster, the court doesn't have much money, and I'm afraid there isn't much money to pay the army. If merchants pass by and sell goods to the disaster-stricken areas, will they be taxed?"
The court has money now, so it’s time to pay the soldiers!
Zhao Lan smiled and reached out to hold his wife's hand. "I'll go to the palace first. You prepare the hot pot at home. I'll be back soon."
"good."
Logically speaking, matters of natural disasters, no matter whether they were caused by the government offices or the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works at the imperial court, had nothing to do with Zhao Lan, who was in charge of the Imperial City Investigation Division. But since he was assigned to clear the snow, he proposed to the emperor to use the army to assist in the disaster relief.
Standing in front of Emperor Jingyuan, Zhao Lan said, "I was reminded of the outside of the city by the Imperial City Bureau sweeping the roads. The runners in the small counties outside the city are not as many as those in the Imperial City Bureau, but the roads are long and lead to Bianjing. If they are not swept, rice, flour, grain, oil and other goods will not be able to reach the city."
Emperor Jingyuan nodded and said, "I can ask the army to clear the roads, but only the rich can enjoy this. What about those who have no money?"
Zhao Lan raised his eyes.
His eyes met Emperor Jingyuan’s.
He remained silent.
Emperor Jingyuan saw something in this silence, "Zijin, if you have any ideas, please tell me now."
He paused before saying, "I heard that the wife of the Prince of Yingnan County is donating money to the snow disaster, and I would like to do my part."
A few days ago, the Queen mentioned to him that her niece wanted to donate money for the snow disaster. He felt that the matter had not been resolved at the root and did not take it seriously. He did not expect Zhao Lan to bring it up.
If all the dignitaries in the capital donated, perhaps it would be a lot!
Emperor Jingyuan said, "Yes!"
Zhao Lan said, "Then my wife and I will donate two thousand taels together."
"good."
Back home, Zhao Lan and his wife, who had their own kitchen, sat in a small warm room and ate hotpot. As supplies were difficult to transport into the city, it was more of a hodgepodge than a hotpot, eaten to keep warm.
After a while, the two of them sat on the couch to digest their food, feeling warm.
Zhao Lan then slowly talked about the donation, "I donated two thousand taels to the emperor. Tomorrow you can have someone deliver it to the Yingnan County Prince's Mansion."
Su Ruojin agreed, "Oh."
Seeing her lack of interest, Zhao Lan asked, "No?"
"No, it's fine."
In future generations, when disasters such as floods and snowstorms occur, people from all walks of life will contribute their bit of help. She just didn't expect that Xie Qingyu would be the first to initiate the donation.
Zhao Lan said, "Not really. Jingzhao Yin had already asked all merchants to donate money and goods. It was just that the wife of the Prince of Yingnan County took the lead in the circle of dignitaries."
Su Ruojin understood. Xie Qingyu was the leader and was probably a role model in your circle!
As long as the donated money and materials are truly used for the disaster-stricken people, Su Ruojin will strongly support it.
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