At this point, since the higher-ups had already expressed their views, the court officials had no choice but to believe it, regardless of whether they believed it or not. However, they also pointed out that while holding a sacrifice was fine, issuing an imperial decree forcing all the people in the city to leave was almost impossible.
The Chu Dynasty had enjoyed peace for a long time, and the population of the capital had grown rapidly. The city had even expanded several times, and now there were nearly a million people living in the city. Not to mention that many people simply wouldn't obey the imperial edict, and even if they did, there would be nowhere to accommodate so many people.
Therefore, several important officials were of the same opinion: "This matter is too disturbing to the people and may cause chaos. It is better to cancel it."
"No!" Empress Dowager Zhang, who truly knew the situation, objected immediately. "Since Emperor Taizu warned me in a dream, this must be extremely important. What if I bring disaster upon myself because of my lack of sincerity?"
This was the first time that Empress Dowager Zhang stood up and clearly expressed her opinions in front of the court officials.
But at this moment, neither the Grand Empress Dowager, who was at the head of the group, nor the several important officials standing below paid much attention. After all, the dream was the dream of Empress Dowager Zhang, and she had it more than once, so she naturally paid attention. And since they were supposed to follow the instructions, it would be difficult to explain if they only did half of it.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has a point, but this matter is truly serious," Xue Zhidao said. "You must know that there are nearly a million officials and civilians in the capital. To support so many people, countless workshops and shops must be operating day and night. It's easy to get them out of the city, but how do we calculate the losses of this one day?"
Others also echoed and cited other examples to illustrate that this matter was really difficult to handle.
This is not a question of getting everyone out of the city, but a question of completely paralyzing this metropolis at the center of the country for a whole day and doing nothing.
What it will bring about will be a very terrifying chain reaction.
Empress Dowager Zhang listened to the explanations of several important ministers one after another, and gradually realized that even if she could really get all the people to leave the city, not to mention the numerous difficulties and obstacles in the process, the losses would probably be no less than an earthquake.
After all, she and He Qing were both women in the deep palace, and it was inevitable that they would be negligent in such a big situation.
But at this moment, it was impossible to go back and consult He Qing. Empress Dowager Zhang felt troubled and lowered her head, saying nothing more. Seeing this, the Grand Empress Dowager said, "This matter is difficult to decide at this moment. When you return, please draft your memorials and submit them. We will discuss this tomorrow."
…
The next day, an expanded meeting was held. In addition to several ministers from the Council of State, the six ministers were also summoned. Furthermore, Gu Zheng, the president of the Hanlin Academy, was also present, clearly a result of the Empress Dowager's extra favor.
Of course, the most important thing is that He Qing himself was present.
The news of the ancestor’s dream was not spread out for the time being, but the Empress Dowager did not hide it from He Qing.
After hearing the courtiers' concerns, He Qing realized she'd been overthinking things. She pondered the old saying, "One person's shortcomings are often accompanied by two people's strengths." She couldn't handle this matter directly, and concealing it would be useless. So, she simply asked the Grand Empress Dowager, "What kind of disaster would require the entire city to flee? It sounds like a tsunami."
When the Empress Dowager was reminded of this by her, she also felt that this was most likely the case.
Knowing what kind of disaster you are going to face is naturally much better than receiving vague instructions in a dream. At least you can find targeted solutions instead of running around in confusion.
Because she thought He Qing might be able to offer some useful advice, the Grand Empress Dowager asked her to come and listen. However, she was seated next to Empress Dowager Zhang, so she was not noticeable and could not speak unless necessary.
Since there were more people present, Empress Dowager Zhang recounted her dream, and the Grand Empress Dowager also ordered the eunuch to show the self-portrait of Emperor Taizu.
After hearing all this, the first person to speak up was Gu Zheng. "Since the people are being asked to stay away, I dare to speculate that this so-called disaster might be an earthquake."
As soon as he said this, those who didn't know the situation were drawn in by him and looked over. Even those who knew the situation, such as the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and He Qing, couldn't help but look at him in surprise. He Qing, in particular, could barely conceal the surprise on his face.
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