Chapter 1353 Benevolence

It snowed heavily for a whole day and night. The snow piled up to above the knees. It seemed as if this snow had returned all the snow for the entire winter. It was difficult to even open the door from indoors.

On a snowy day like this, not to mention canceling the morning court session, it’s impossible to get to the government office on time.

Zhou Shuren was used to getting up early. When he got up, the servants were sweeping the snow outside the door. He went out for a walk and when he came back, he saw that his wife was also up.

"Why did you get up so early today?"

Zhulan had already changed her clothes. "I woke up when I heard the sound of snow shoveling. Is it snowing heavily outside?"

Zhou Shuren, "Well, the places that were not cleaned yesterday, I saw that the thickness was above the knees."

Zhulan stood on tiptoe and looked through the glass window with the light of the lantern to see the snow. "I don't know if it's just in the capital or if it's widespread."

Zhou Shuren washed his hands and said, "It should be a large area."

After the couple washed up, it was still dark. The sky became a little brighter when breakfast was served. Looking carefully at the sky, they found that it was still covered with dark clouds and it looked like there would be heavy snow.

After breakfast, Zhou Lao Da and his friends came to the main courtyard. Zhou Lao Da was responsible for clearing snow in the entire house and also for a section of road in front of the mansion gate. Since the road was built in the capital, the road in front of the mansion gate has been under the management of each household, which increases the efficiency of snow clearing in winter.

Today, except for some important government offices that need to be visited, other departments are closed today.

Chang Yi said, "Dad, I will take you to the Ministry of Revenue in a while."

Zhou Shuren waved his hands, "No need."

Just now, the guards in the palace told him that he would be going into the palace soon. His guess was correct, the heavy snow covered a large area.

Chang Zhi held a hand warmer in his arms, "I was worried when it didn't snow in winter, but now it's snowing and it's a disaster. This is damn weather."

Zhou Shuren remained silent. He had a good memory. During the Little Ice Age in the Ming and Qing dynasties, natural disasters occurred frequently, the climate in the north and south was abnormal, and the temperature dropped significantly. Unfortunately, he did not learn about the Little Ice Age. He just had an impression of it but did not remember the exact time.

"Dad, Dad."

Zhou Shuren came back to his senses, "What did you just say? I was distracted."

Chang Zhi said, "I told you to wear more shoes and clothes. It's windy outside."

Zhou Shuren smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

It doesn't matter if he doesn't remember. We just need to vigorously support agriculture and produce more food.

Zhou Shuren entered the palace not too early, and some people had already arrived.

The emperor noticed the snow on Zhou Shuren's cloak, "It's snowing again."

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yeah, it's quite a lot."

Your Majesty, "It seems that the snowstorm will not stop you. There are no problems in the capital right now. The main thing is that disaster relief must be in place in the nearby states covered by heavy snow."

Fortunately, the roads have been repaired, making snow removal much easier and transporting supplies more convenient.

The emperor issued orders one by one, and Zhou Shuren was in charge of paying the money. The weather had been good in the past two years, and there had been no war, so the grain in the granaries was relatively surplus, and the granaries in various states had enough grain for disaster relief.

In the past, some people dared to tamper with the grain in the granary, such as passing bad grain off as good grain, adding sand and gravel to the grain, or simply storing grain that could not be stored.

Before the emperor abdicated, Zhou Shuren vaguely mentioned to him that the granary was the bottom line and whoever touched it would die, and this standard could not be crossed.

The then retired emperor heard this and did not make any plans at first, but then he took action and killed several chickens, finally making everyone realize that food should not be touched.

The emperor at that time even changed the law to punish the three clans without any leniency.

As a result of a series of actions, the granaries were full of surplus food, and the court had the confidence to deal with disasters.

It was snowing hard outside, so the ministers received orders to leave the palace, and Zhou Shuren was left behind by the emperor.

The emperor said, "I want the crown prince to go to the disaster area. Lord Zhou, I want you to lead the team."

Many of the ideas regarding disaster relief were proposed by Zhou Shuren, and Zhou Shuren made an indelible contribution to the court's gradually improving disaster relief system.

He and his father had the same intuition, and Zhou Shuren had other ideas, but he just didn't mention them.

Therefore, he hoped that Zhou Shuren would take the prince around to show him around so that he could understand the severity of the disaster, and he also hoped that Zhou Shuren would teach the prince more.

Zhou Shuren's beard twitched. The Ministry of Revenue took out the silver and some officials in the Ministry just kept an eye on it. He, the Shangshu, was left with nothing to do. He wanted to rest at home for a few more days, but the emperor did not let him rest.

The Emperor continued, "The Crown Prince is different from me. When I was a child, the country had just been established, and my father and I were always under pressure. The Crown Prince is happier than I am, so he is not as mature as I was when I was a child. I cannot cause unrest in the court for the sake of training the Crown Prince, and the country in the future does not need an ambitious crown prince. What the country needs is an emperor who can govern the country well, so teach him more, let him put the people in his heart, and let him grow up to be able to shoulder the burden of the country."

Zhou Shuren was deeply moved. Whether he was an emperor emeritus or an ambitious emperor, it was undeniable that both of them were good emperors to the people. "Yes."

The smile on the emperor's lips widened. Why did he keep holding on to Zhou Shuren? Because both his father and he knew that Zhou Shuren had a lot of ideas in his head. Zhou Shuren's abilities might not be the best, but no one could surpass Zhou Shuren in ideas.

When Zhou Shuren left the palace, it was snowing heavily. Someone was holding an umbrella beside him. When he left the palace, the streets had been cleared for the carriage to pass.

Zhou Shuren first went back to the Ministry of Revenue to arrange things, and then called Qiu Yan and Mr. Liu to look after the Ministry together, as he would be out of Beijing for some time this time.

In the afternoon, Zhulan was surprised, "Why did you come back suddenly?"

Zhou Shuren took off his hat, and the remaining snow on it fell onto his neck, causing him to shrink from the cold. "I will be leaving Beijing with the prince tomorrow, and the trip will take at least ten days. Please help me pack my luggage."

Zhu Lan frowned, "The prince left the capital?"

"Well, the emperor asked me to teach the prince."

Zhulan's brows were still furrowed. "It's too painful to go out in such a cold weather."

"The Emperor is willing to let the Crown Prince suffer."

Zhulan said nothing, "I'll bring you some clothes. Please take care of yourself when you go out."

She understood the emperor's intentions, but she just felt sorry for her husband.

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "If the crown prince succeeds to the throne and there is a benevolent emperor, it will be good for the country, the people, and our family."

Zhulan sighed, "I'll go pack your luggage now."

"Um."

Changzhong heard his father coming back and ran back from the study in the front yard, "Dad, you came back so early today."

"Have you studied hard at home?"

Changzhong does have some clever tricks because he is smart, but after living with Mingrui for a while, he became more serious about studying. "My son is really serious."

Zhou Shuren held his son's hand and could already feel the cobwebs on his fingertips, which were left over from practicing calligraphy since childhood. He felt emotional and thought that if it were in modern times, he would definitely not ask his son to do this.

But in ancient times, Changzhi was his youngest son, and he had been blessed since childhood. To enjoy the top resources, he had to put in a lot of effort to learn. "Isn't it tiring?"

Changzhong shook his head, "Not tired."

Zhou Shuren stroked his son's hair and said, "I agree with what you told me."