Chapter 141: Secrecy Makes Success
Du Ruhui read through several memorials carefully and pondered for a while.
"What do you think, my dear minister?" Tian Khan was very hesitant, his tone full of pride.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Lingnan has achieved this. Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent and is able to employ capable people." Du Ruhui said with a smile.
"My dear, what about this?" Tian Khan pointed at the vermicelli again.
In fact, when Du Ruhui finished reading the memorial and glanced at the plate of vermicelli, he had already guessed that it was related to vermicelli.
However, since he did not see the frost disaster in Henan and Hebei, he only thought of the locust plague in Guanzhong.
"Is this Lingnan vermicelli?" Du Ruhui picked up the vermicelli and looked at it, nodding continuously.
It is indeed a good thing, but it is not suitable for disaster relief. It is expensive and has a high wear and tear. It will take only a few days to dig out all the stuff in the mountains and fields.
"Yes! It sells for thirty cents per pound in Lingnan! It's only bought by rich people," said Fang Xuanling.
"Thirty cents per pound?" Du Ruhui looked at Fang Xuanling intently.
The two of them worked in perfect harmony and immediately understood the meaning of the words. The old man had no intention of using this for disaster relief.
"Keming, here are memorials from Henan and Hebei provinces!" Fang Xuanling handed over two memorials.
Du Ruhui read it slowly and said with certainty, "Xuanling wants to exchange vermicelli for aged rice for disaster relief?"
"Haha, what a coincidence!" Fang Xuanling laughed, "What do you think, Keming?"
"This is a very good plan!" Du Ruhui thought for a moment and said, "But it's not appropriate for the imperial court to intervene!"
"That's great! Lord Fang and I have the same idea!" Tian Khan laughed. He didn't expect that the emperor and his ministers all thought of the same thing.
When the imperial court stepped in, the aristocratic families immediately noticed the difference and deliberately lowered the price of vermicelli and raised the price of grain. It became difficult to raise relief grain and the cost increased.
If merchants from Lingnan sell it all the way to various prefectures, the capital, and the wealthy Jiangnan.
Even if some noble families knew that the raw materials were fern roots, kudzu roots, etc., they would not care much.
Lingnan merchants used the profits from vermicelli to purchase aged rice from various places at low prices, and secretly transported it to Henan and Hebei Provinces. They opened many grain shops, limited the supply, and suppressed the rise in local grain prices.
This matter must be done secretly, and the aristocratic families must not be aware that the court is pushing it behind the scenes.
Otherwise, if they join forces to manipulate the grain prices in Henan and Hebei, many people will starve to death.
The current concern is how to select merchants from Lingnan Road.
Businessmen forget their principles when they see profit. In the face of such huge profits, how many people can keep their original intentions?
And one must have a strong enough mind to fight against the aristocratic families, accomplish the task well and achieve success and fame in one battle.
If you don't complete it well, you will be disgraced and may even be wiped out by the powerful families, both mentally and physically.
After their joy, the king and his two ministers became worried.
It is not so difficult to send officials with great fanfare. The main purpose is to avoid alerting the enemy and bypass the interference of the aristocratic families.
The imperial court did not have enough money and grain to provide disaster relief, as the disaster affected a large area and lasted for a long time.
Vermicelli, a new food, could be exchanged for old rice at a low price in various places. If handled well, the court could provide disaster relief to the people at a very low cost.
Of course, this inevitably affects the interests of the aristocratic families.
"Your Majesty, looking at the memorials submitted by Feng Xu, Wei Shutong, and Li Boyan, although they were received at different times, I believe they submitted them after consultation. I believe they also saw the value of vermicelli and intended to promote it to the people of the Tang Dynasty."
Fang Xuanling carefully studied the memorials of the three people, and found that the contents had different emphases.
But when Wei Shutong and Li Boyan went to Lingnan Road, shouldn’t they go to see Feng Xu, the highest administrative chief of Lingnan Road, first?
Although there were differences in the time of delivery of the memorials, the intervals were not long, which made it seem a bit deliberate and the attempt to cover up something was even more obvious.
"Yes, I agree." Tian Khan nodded. "My dear, do you mean to ask them to find someone?"
"Yes!" Fang Xuanling bowed.
If things are kept secret, they will be accomplished. This matter can be done without involving anyone in the capital. Feng Xu, Wei Shutong and Li Boyan can find someone in Lingnan. As long as these three are reliable, the matter can be accomplished.
"What do you think, Lord Du?" asked Tian Khan.
"Very good!" Du Ruhui agreed.
So the emperor and his two ministers made arrangements overnight and sent a secret order to Feng Xu, Wei Shutong and Li Boyan in Lingnan, asking them to keep it secret and carry out the exchange of disaster relief grain quietly.
In order to get it up and running quickly, the court also needs to provide a sum of money.
This amount of money cannot go through the Ministry of Revenue. The funds have a certain flow, and smart people can see through it at a glance.
It can only be paid from the imperial treasury, which is equivalent to the emperor's small treasury. The emperor is responsible only for its whereabouts. As long as it is not used for extravagance and waste, the Censorate will not pursue it relentlessly.
Otherwise, Wei Zheng would have killed Tian Khan with his anger.
In the early years of Zhenguan, the treasury of Tian Khan was actually not abundant, and the entire harem was frugal under the advocacy of Empress Zhangsun.
However, if vermicelli that costs thirty cents per pound can really be exchanged for old rice that costs three cents per pound, even if it is reduced to six cents per pound after consumption, it will not cost much.
Therefore, Tian Khan used the treasury overnight.
The streets of the capital were as cold as water. It was late autumn, and the emperor and his two ministers were all happy in the Chongwen Hall, celebrating their success in bypassing the aristocratic families.
When some vermicelli dishes and konjac pork were brought in, the king and his two ministers suddenly realized how hungry they were.
The soft and chewy vermicelli tastes like nothing I've ever tasted before!
“Alas, transportation is inconvenient, roads are difficult, and communications are blocked everywhere.
Konjac has long been a common vegetable for the people of Shu, but few in the capital know about it! I doubt anyone knows about this method of drying it to eliminate its toxicity!
Tian Khan sighed as he ate the fragrant and sticky konjac.
This time, in order to raise disaster relief grain for Henan and Hebei, the method of making vermicelli was deliberately suppressed.
When the disaster is alleviated, people will gradually know where the vermicelli is produced and how to make it, without the need for the court to publicize it.
"Your Majesty, I think the governor of Wuzhou in Lingnan was Lu Zhaoshi. He served in Wuzhou for quite some time. How did he suddenly come up with the strategy of governing the Li people?"
Du Ruhui was the Minister of Personnel, and the chief officials of various prefectures and cities had a general impression of him.
In the remote and wild Lingnan Province, officials have been in office for several years without moving, and no one is willing to take over. There have been no political achievements there for years, and there are no achievements even if they want to move.
"Yes, Wuzhou has always been at the bottom of the Lingnan Road. How come they suddenly came up with such a strategy? Could it be that they had some guidance from an expert?" Tian Khan also felt strange.
"Submit the evaluation of Wuzhou to me at the end of the year. I want to see what kind of expert is hidden in Wuzhou who can make Wuzhou suddenly enlightened!" said Tian Khan.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Du Ruhui bowed. Not only the emperor wanted to know, he also wanted to know.
The Li people, who had been isolated from the Han nationality for thousands of years, were impressed and won over by a small act of learning advanced technology together. This was really beyond their expectation.
For a long time, the reports received said that the Li people were barbaric, disrespectful of education and difficult to govern.
But judging from Wuzhou's actions, the Li people are not so difficult to approach or govern.
As long as they are not hungry, have land to farm, and are not pushed into a corner, they are easy to manage, just like the Han people.
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