As soon as the two of them sat down, Leng Yu couldn't wait to say:
"I just came back from the Ministry of Revenue. According to Mr. Zhang, there are 8.5 million taels of silver available in the national treasury. I think we can use the money from the national treasury to resettle these victims."
Hearing this, Liu Dechang frowned.
"Resettling these disaster victims is not a small amount of money. Now that the emperor is seriously ill, we can't make this decision lightly. If the emperor blames us, you and I can't bear the consequences."
"The Emperor has issued an edict, granting me full authority over all matters at court. Besides, what's wrong with opening the warehouses and lending money to these disaster-stricken people? Even if Father really blames me, I can bear the responsibility alone."
"This isn't something you can shoulder alone. The treasury's silver isn't allowed to be used easily, as it's reserved for emergencies. Even in times of emergency, only a tiny amount is used. Now there are so many disaster victims, how are you going to accommodate them? Rebuilding their homes will be a significant expense!"
Leng Yu frowned, pondered for a moment, and said seriously:
"There are so many victims this time. If we don't resettle them in time, it will inevitably cause unrest. To properly resettle them, we have no other choice but to use the silver in the national treasury. General Liu, rest assured, I will bear all the consequences alone and will not implicate others."
After saying this, he turned around with a serious expression, "Xiao Lingzi, call Ali over."
"yes……"
After receiving the order, Xiao Lingzi quickly walked out of the main hall.
Liu Dechang sighed and shook his head to explain,
"I'm old enough to not be afraid of being implicated. I just think it's better to wait until the Emperor wakes up before making a decision on opening the treasury to take money to help the victims. That way, we can be sure that nothing goes wrong."
Leng Yu took a sip of tea, and when he put down the cup, he looked up at Liu Dechang.
"General Liu, you may not know this. Lan'er said that the Emperor's health will not return to normal for at least six months. These victims can't wait, and neither can we. Their daily food and drink expenses are already double what we expected. The only way is to settle them down as soon as possible. I will take charge of this matter. If any problems arise in the future, I will be solely responsible."
Seeing that he spoke seriously, Liu Dechang did not refute him. He also knew that if he wanted to properly resettle these victims, there was no other way but to take out the silver from the national treasury.
After a while, Xiao Lingzi came with Ali. After greeting, Ali replied directly:
"Your Highness, in response to your instructions, I've roughly calculated that to accommodate these over 30,000 disaster victims, assuming each household has three people per house, we'll need 11,000 houses. Following your suggestion of combining all the houses, while we can save on materials for one wall, each house will still cost 15 taels of silver, meaning we'll need 165,000 taels of silver just to build the houses."
"Well, what about the cost of flood control and renovating the land?"
"The affected land in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is approximately 120,000 mu. The cost of tilling the land is approximately 35,000 taels. The cost of flood control needs to be determined through local measurements. I conservatively estimate that water conservancy projects, river channel repairs, and river embankment construction will cost at least 30,000 taels. The cost of food and drink for these people on the road will be at least 180,000 taels over three months. Giving each person another 5 taels for daily expenses will cost 150,000 taels. In total, resettling these victims will cost 560,000 taels. Adding the cost of food, clothing, and other expenses for the officers and soldiers you brought to the capital, 600,000 taels will be needed from the national treasury to cover the cost."
This number made Liu Dechang gasp.
"Do you need so much? According to what you said, this is almost one-tenth of the silver in the national treasury. This is not a small number!"
"Only one-tenth of the national treasury's reserves can be used to resettle these disaster victims. I think it's worth it. I will start preparing now. If possible, I will personally go to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas."
With this decision, Leng Yu immediately decided to enter the palace. He wanted to talk to Luo Lan first so that she wouldn't worry about it.
When he arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he was stunned by the scene before him.
Although it was already evening, there were still no less than ten princesses kneeling here, led by Concubine Li and Concubine Li.
Seeing Leng Yu coming, Liu Xi hurried over to greet him.
"Prince Yu, you are here?"
Leng Yu frowned and nodded, then asked in a low voice:
"What's going on?"
Liu Xi shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"They insist that Princess Yu wants to harm the Emperor and kneel down to die here, pleading for the Emperor. Even this old servant can't persuade her to go back. What do you think we should do?"
Leng Yu glanced at these people. Among them, except for Concubine Li and Concubine Li who had firm eyes, the rest of them were looking around from time to time. From their expressions and actions, Leng Yu could see that they did not want to kneel here all the time, or in other words, they were lured here by Concubine Li.
So, he came in front of everyone and said with a serious face:
"Why are all the ladies kneeling here for so long?"
The dozen or so ladies all looked up at her, and Concubine Li was the first to say:
"We learned that the Emperor was imprisoned here by Princess Yu, and his life or death was unknown. We were worried, so we wanted to go in and take a look, but Eunuch Liu wouldn't let us in. We had no choice but to kneel here and wait..."
Leng Yu's face darkened, and he understood in his heart that it seemed that these women were deliberately causing trouble.
So he cleared his throat and said coldly:
"The Emperor is seriously ill, and Princess Yu is treating him. It's understandable that Eunuch Liu wouldn't let you see him. If you insist on kneeling here, then please do as you please. Someone, arrange for two hundred Imperial Guards to guard this place. Anyone who tries to enter will be killed without mercy."
After leaving these words, he frowned coldly and said to Zhang Yuan:
"Zhang Yuan, Xiao Tanzi, the two of you stay here and guard. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will not be spared."
Zhang Yuan and Xiao Tanzi both clasped their fists and replied:
"I understand."
Leng Yu looked at these ladies again and continued indifferently:
"It's not too cold, nor too hot, but it might be a bit chilly at night. It's only natural for you ladies to kneel here to show your concern for the Emperor. However, the Emperor needs seven days to wake up, and kneeling here for seven days is really a burden. Someone, please prepare some cushions for you ladies, and some hot tea. Oh, and there are a lot of mosquitoes at night, so please prepare some incense..."
Before he could finish his words, a lady stood up from behind him.
"My back hurts recently and I can't kneel for long. Ladies, I'll be leaving first."
Seeing that someone had left first, the others also stood up and walked away in shame without even saying goodbye.
Concubine Li looked at these women who were fleeing from the battlefield and wanted to call them to stop, but because Leng Yu was in front of her, she could only feel hatred.
When only Concubine Li and Concubine Li were left here, Leng Yu suddenly sneered.
"Xiao Lingzi, we still have important matters to attend to, so please do not disturb the two ladies from kneeling here for so long."
After saying this, he looked at Eunuch Liu again.
"Zhang Yuan and Xiao Tanzi stay here. If you need anything, just call them. You don't have to do anything. Just guard this door."
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