671 Food shortage, the emperor wants disaster relief
Just as Feng Qingchen had thought, after hearing Tong Jue's report, Prince Su smiled and helped the man up, telling Feng Qingchen not to worry, that he would handle the matter and would give justice to the victims.
Tong Jue had seen many officials who said one thing in public and another in private, so when he heard Prince Su say this, he was immediately disappointed. This was clearly a perfunctory remark, but he didn't expect that Prince Su would turn around and look so murderous that no one dared to look at him.
"Bring me the court robes. I want to enter the palace."
The veterans who fought on the battlefield risked their lives, didn't they just want the people to live and work in peace and not be affected by the war and displaced? But those bastards actually dared to oppress the people under his noses, which is simply an unforgivable crime.
Prince Su entered the palace immediately. Tong Jue stood outside the door and watched him leave until he could no longer see his shadow. Then he turned around and walked out of the city.
No wonder the young lady knew so many high-ranking officials, but only went to Prince Su who didn't care about worldly affairs. It turned out that Prince Su, like Prince Dongming, hated evil.
The young lady was right. As long as she told the truth and described to Prince Su how the victims behaved at that time, he would take care of the matter. With Prince Su's intervention, they had nothing to fear.
A mere Nine-Gate Commander is not even worthy of carrying Prince Su's shoes.
Prince Su rushed into the palace and met the emperor directly. Prince Su was not Zhai Dongming and Feng Qingchen, and this was not outside the city but the palace. Prince Su did not need to cover up the emperor's shame. With an expressionless face, Prince Su recounted the actions of the officials of the Nine Gates Governor's Office one by one, and at the same time did not forget to mention the victims who were lying on the ground licking the white porridge.
Prince Su is definitely a down-to-earth person. He would never exaggerate or favor anyone. He only reflects the situation truthfully. But it is precisely because the emperor knows Prince Su's style that he is angry.
It's embarrassing, so embarrassing.
Although the Nine Gates Admiral was not the emperor's personal soldier like the Imperial Guard, he was also the emperor's confidant. It was really embarrassing for him to do such a thing in the imperial city and be caught on the spot.
"Don't worry, Prince Su. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and will never let them oppress the people. I will give an explanation to the victims." The emperor promised angrily.
The snow disaster has given the emperor a headache. In front of his desk are reports of disasters in various places. More and more people have died from the snow disaster, and the emperor's temper is getting worse and worse.
Now, whoever is involved in the snow disaster will be in big trouble. This time, the Nine-Gates Admiral definitely meant well but ended up with a nasty outcome.
"Your Majesty is wise. With you by our side, we will definitely survive this snowstorm." Prince Su knew better how to advance and retreat than Zhai Dongming. He would not blindly confront the emperor. After getting the emperor's promise, Prince Su immediately praised.
The one who made the mistake was a minor official, and it was the emperor who punished the official. Of course, the emperor was making decisions for the people.
"I believe that my people will be able to survive this snowstorm." There was a determined light in the emperor's eyes. He would never admit defeat, not even in the face of God.
Such a severe snowstorm only occurs once in a century, but he happened to encounter it. Coupled with the so-called "winter thunder" incident, the people blamed him a lot. If he doesn't handle the snowstorm well, he will definitely lose the support of the people.
What else can an emperor who has lost the support of the people have?
This snowstorm is an opportunity for him. He must suppress the impact of the snowstorm and reduce the number of deaths caused by the snowstorm.
"I am willing to donate all the stored grain in my home to help the victims overcome the difficulties." Prince Su not only knew when to advance and when to retreat, but also understood the emperor's heart. The emperor's words meant that he was preparing to provide large-scale disaster relief. In that case, he handed over the grain in his home early to set an example for all officials and give the emperor a reason to ask the ministers for grain.
"Okay, okay, with Prince Su's support, I have nothing to worry about." Sure enough, the smile on the emperor's face grew bigger.
How could a dignified emperor be overshadowed by an unknown person? The other party could give the victims white porridge and steamed buns, so how could he, an emperor, not be able to do the same?
"Your Majesty is wise. This is a blessing for the people of the world." Prince Su did not dare to take credit for himself, and only spoke well of the emperor. The emperor also knew what Prince Su meant, and immediately ordered the guards to act aggressively and suppress what happened near the city gate. At the same time...
He had to ask civil and military officials and wealthy families for food. The amount of food needed for disaster relief was an astronomical figure, and the government's grain reserves were far from enough.
Just as Feng Qingchen had expected, the events at the city gate were quickly suppressed. Zhai Dongming had done nothing wrong, and the admiral was removed from his post and replaced by a newcomer, who was said to be from the Wen family. It seemed that most of the aristocratic families had already sided with the emperor, leaving only the Wang family still struggling.
When all the aristocratic families try to get close to the emperor, they will no longer be aloof. They will only become pawns in the emperor's hands, with their honor and disgrace controlled by the emperor. But...if they don't get close to the emperor, they will soon decline.
Of course, these things have nothing to do with Feng Qingchen. What she has to do every day now is to run back and forth between Feng Mansion and the free clinic, and take turns with Sun Sixing to take care of Cui Haoting.
It wasn't that Feng Qingchen was trying to take credit for the work, it was just that Sun Sixing was so stubborn that she brought up her excuse of wasting medical resources.
He said that Cui Haoting's condition had been completely under control and that Cui's doctor could be asked to take care of him. There was no need for him to stay with Cui Haoting. If he had spent the time staying with Cui Haoting, he could cure dozens of patients.
Feng Qingchen almost cried. You little idiot, Cui Haoting is not an ordinary person. It is more important than anything else to have a good relationship with Cui Haoting. For example, if the officials smashed the porridge stall, can ordinary people help you deal with the government?
No, but Cui Haoting can.
Making friends with high-ranking officials can sometimes not only protect yourself, but also protect the people you want to protect. The doctor was born with such resources, but Sun Sixing didn't know how to make good use of them, which really made her angry.
Feng Qingchen forgot that when she was in the military hospital, she did not know how to take advantage of the opportunity to make friends with the powerful and influential, so much so that she made the old doctor who was taking care of her so angry... and almost sent him to the ward.
There is nothing shameful in making friends with the powerful and wealthy, as long as you remain true to yourself. All you want is protection and the power to live in peace.
The free medical consultation and porridge distribution went exceptionally smoothly, not only in the imperial city, but also in other towns and cities. Everything was in order. But what puzzled Feng Qingchen was that after so many days, there was still no rumor that the Ninth Prince was the one distributing porridge. This made Feng Qingchen very confused.
However, Feng Qingchen understood that the Ninth Prince had his own plans, and she didn't need to care about them. She just had to do her job well. On the third day of the porridge distribution, Su Wenqing came to her door.
"Qingchen, help!" It had only been a few days since they last saw each other, and Su Wenqing had become incredibly thin. If he hadn't been wrapped in thick clothes, Feng Qingchen would have suspected that he had seen a matchstick man.
The head is very big and the limbs are very small.
"What happened?" After returning from the free clinic, Feng Qingchen required everyone to disinfect and take a bath before entering the mansion. When Su Wenqing came, she had just taken care of herself and had no time to eat.
"Food, food, the food needed for the porridge is out of stock." Su Wenqing was really about to cry. The food needed for the porridge was far beyond his expectation. He tried his best to adjust the food and finally managed to hold out for a few days, but the food could not be transported in.
Heavy snow blocked all the roads, so he sent people to transport grain. They barely cleared a path, but the progress was extremely slow. At this speed, he had no way of transporting the grain to the required towns within the specified time.
Woo woo woo... He regretted it. He should have listened to the Ninth Uncle and asked Feng Qingchen earlier. Now, he didn't know if it was too late. If there was a food shortage, their plan would fail.
"Are we unable to keep up or are we out of food?" Feng Qingchen realized the seriousness of the matter upon hearing it, and asked hurriedly without caring about his hungry stomach.
"We can't keep up. The food is on the way. The heavy snow has blocked the road. The carriages are too slow. If the food doesn't get into the city, we won't be able to get any food in two days."
The amount of food consumed in one day for disaster relief is more than that consumed by an army of 500,000 in one day. If the emperor had not taken thundering measures and ordered the opening of warehouses for disaster relief, the little food they had would definitely not have lasted more than three days.
"Horse-drawn carriage?" Feng Qingchen was furious when he heard it. It was snowing heavily, so using a horse-drawn carriage to transport grain was stupid. "How can a horse-drawn carriage move in such heavy snow? The wheels are stuck in the snow, so the speed is probably a little faster than a snail. How long will it take for you to use a horse-drawn carriage to transport grain into the city?"
Disaster relief food was the main topic, but Su Wenqing actually told her that there would be a food shortage, which really made her angry.
"If not a carriage, what can we use?" Su Wenqing looked at Feng Qingchen in confusion. In order to transport this batch of grain, he had transferred the best war horses from the stable to pull the grain. Dozens of horses died along the way, and his heart was bleeding.
"It's snowing heavily like this, and a carriage can't travel on the snow. Using a carriage will only cause delays. We must use a sled at this time."
"What is a sled?" Su Wenqing asked without hesitation, and at the same time he regretted not listening to his Ninth Uncle earlier and asking Feng Qingchen.
What is a sled? A sled is a tool that can move quickly on the snow. Feng Qingchen really wanted to strangle Su Wenqing to death. I don't know why he didn't ask earlier.
Feng Qingchen patiently told Su Wenqing how to make a sled, and told him that as long as the carriage was improved, it could be turned into a sled, which could shorten the time to the greatest extent.
Su Wenqing got the solution and returned home with a happy face. As soon as he got home, he ordered his subordinates to convert the horse-drawn carriage into a sled to make it easier to transport grain.
On this snowy day, everyone was short of food. Su Wenqing's problem was solved, but the emperor's problem was not solved. The emperor found that there was a serious food shortage in the area under his rule.
He didn't expect that the food these powerful families could provide was not enough to support the victims for three days. Even with the government's grain reserves, the food could only be fed for five days at most. And this was the result of saving food and the secret man still distributing porridge.
Five days. The government’s disaster relief can only last for five days. So what happens next?
The emperor was so anxious that his hair turned white...