I studied in modern times

Chapter 933 Prepare for a rainy day
In November of the second year of Yuanyou, Renzi Shuo (the first day of the lunar month).

Zhao Xu had just finished washing up and was about to have breakfast when Tong Guan came up to him and reported something in a low voice.

Zhao Xu laughed after hearing this: "It seems that Wen Jifu has learned a lot from Xing Shu!"

Wen Jifu is not suitable for politics.

Because his political wisdom and political sensitivity are absolutely zero!

wrong!

It should be negative!
Zhao Xu remembered that in his previous life, during the Chegaiting case, Wen Jifu, the son of Wen Yanbo, was instigated by Xing Shu and actually wanted to overturn Cai Que's verdict!
The reason why Wen Jifu was persuaded by Xing Shu is very funny - he and Cai Que's son Cai Wei are buddies!
You have to help your buddies when they are in trouble!

But then again, no one can match Wen Jifu's ability to make friends.

Moreover, he really made a lot of close friends.

Because when Wen Jifu makes friends, he always treats them with sincerity.

Back then, when the Xiangzhou Chen Anmin case broke out, in order to help Wen Jifu rescue Chen Anmin, most of the second-generation yamen officials in Bianjing City, and even some yamen officials of the New Party, helped.

This kind of damn succubus-like social ability is not found in the people Zhao Xu knows so far.

Apart from Xing Shu, only Wen Jifu had it.

During these days, Xing Shu became the number one figure in the Bian Jing Wa Si.

As Xing Shu's best friend, how could Wen Jifu not follow him to learn?
So, yesterday, Wen Jifu directly held the banquet for Li Ziyi at Fanlou, which was only a few steps away from Sangjiawazi.

According to the report of the Investigation Bureau, almost immediately after the banquet at Fanlou, Wen Jifu put his arm around Li Ziyi's shoulders and entered the most upscale brothel in the Sang family's theater.

I heard that Wen Jifu invited some of the most popular labels in Bian Jing to come over.

What are Li Shishi, Xu Poxi, Zhang Qiqi, Wang Jingnu...

Good guy!
This is a thousand years in advance, allowing the Goryeo dignitaries to begin to experience the taste of chaebol!
After this operation, even if Li Ziyi was a man of iron, he would be corrupted.

What's more...

Zhao Xu knew that Li Ziyi's knees were very weak.

Otherwise, they would not have chosen Yi Tian as the leader of the compradors.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Xu ordered Tong Guan: "Send someone to summon Wen Jifu to the palace for me!"

"promise!"

It was naturally impossible for Wen Jifu to enter the palace immediately.

It would take him until the afternoon to enter the palace.

So, after having breakfast, Zhao Xu went to Baoci Palace and Qingshou Palace to pay his respects.

Things have been much quieter at the Qingshou Palace recently.

Maybe she knew that none of the officials wanted her to come back and continue to govern.

Therefore, she has been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures these days, and has hardly asked about the affairs of the court.

But has she really given up?

Or do you have other plans?

Zhao Xu didn’t know.

But Zhao Xu would not give her a chance.

Now, the military commanders of the entire Imperial City Division have been replaced by Zhao Xu's own people.

He replaced key positions in the Imperial City Department, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs under various pretexts.

Those who replaced them were either the Yulongzhi who had guarded Zhao Xu in the Qingning Palace, or the loyal ministers who had expressed their loyalty to Zhao Xu as early as the eighth year of Yuanfeng and passed various tests of Zhao Xu in the past two years.

The main point is that ability is not important, loyalty is the most important!

Anyway, this mission from the palace doesn't require any special abilities.

Just being faithful is enough.

After leaving the Qingshou Palace, Zhao Xu and Empress Dowager Xiang walked in the corridor back to the Baoci Palace.

Today's weather is a little colder.

"It might snow!" Empress Dowager Xiang raised her head and looked at the gloomy sky.

"Yeah!" Zhao Xu nodded.

Empress Dowager Xiang frowned: "Your Majesty, in recent years, the celestial phenomena have changed repeatedly..."

"Should we prepare for the Southern Suburbs Sacrifice Ceremony?"

Empress Dowager Xiang is becoming more and more superstitious nowadays.

Not only did she worship Buddhism, she also began to believe in Taoism, just like other heroines in history.

Zhao Xu even heard that she had sent people to Yimenfang to issue an edict to the priests, pastors, bishops and others in the Hujiao temple in Yimenfang, ordering them to hold ceremonies and pray for the Song Dynasty.

Of course, Empress Dowager Xiang was never stingy when it came to offering sacrifices to the gods.

All temples were given a thousand strings of cash.

As a result, Zoroastrianism, Arab Islam, Nestorianism and even Ishteiya Christianity all began to hold various sacrifices and rituals in a chaotic manner.

The Investigation Department reported that Yimenfang has been quite lively recently.

Many people from Bian Jing ran over to watch the fun.

The various Hu religions seized the opportunity and began to preach.

However, the effect is almost negligible.

no way!
In China, even in the Middle Ages, religion was about practicality.

There are indeed many superstitious fools, but the pie in the sky you paint for them must be visible and tangible.

From the early days of the introduction of Buddhism to the East until today, great monks, in addition to preaching, have to take on the secondary job of being doctors.

Otherwise, it will be very difficult to carry out the work of spreading the Fa.

Being able to cure diseases is one of the core competitive advantages of a great monk!

"Mother, Nanjiao is a national ceremony. It can only be held when there is a happy event in the country!" Zhao Xu said softly. He had no interest in such grand ceremonies in Nanjiao.

It's mainly because it's too complicated and too expensive.

Once he came down from the southern suburbs, according to the usual practice, the prime ministers, the close relatives of the royal family, and the generals of the three yamen were all promoted to a higher rank and given additional fiefs.

This would require at least several hundred thousand strings of cash more in expenditure.

Not to mention, rewards had to be given to officials across the country and rewards to the imperial guards in Beijing.

It would be impossible to get relief if the national treasury did not spend several million strings of cash during the Southern Suburbs Campaign.

Therefore, in Zhao Xu’s previous life, after he held the Southern Suburbs Ceremony once during the Shaosheng period, he resolutely refused to hold the Southern Suburbs Ceremony again.

This kind of thing not only tortures others, but also tortures him as the emperor and the national treasury!
Don’t play if you can avoid it!

When Empress Dowager Xiang wanted to persuade her, Zhao Xu said directly: "Mother, the lesson of the Heavenly Book is not far away!"

Empress Dowager Xiang was suddenly speechless.

Book of Heaven...

This is something that the Zhao officials are ashamed to mention.

no way!
An incident involving the Heavenly Book directly caused the once sacred Mount Tai to lose its inviolable status that had been enjoyed since the time of the Three Kings.

All the relevant participants were nailed to the pillar of shame.

To this day, people always laugh when they mention this matter.

The royal family is extremely sensitive about this.

Therefore, as soon as Zhao Xu mentioned the incident of the heavenly book, the Queen Mother's idea of ​​holding the Southern Suburbs Ceremony and praying to God for good weather and good harvests disappeared instantly.

no way!
Tarzan is already dirty!

Are we going to defile this ancient tradition of reporting to the gods in the southern suburbs once again?
If this happens, you will be condemned as such in future history!
Seeing this, Zhao Xu immediately gave Empress Dowager Xiang a way out: "What's more, if there is a disaster, reporting it to the gods in the southern suburbs will only give others a handle to make the heroes among the grass-roots have second thoughts!"

Nodding to the Queen Mother, "Sixth Brother is right!"

"I was overthinking it!"

As she spoke, she began to mention government affairs: "By the way, Sixth Brother, the governor wrote a letter today saying that Yuan Fa, the direct scholar of Longtu Pavilion and the governor of Yunzhou, is about to expire, and the governor wants to appoint him as the governor of Yingzhou..." "What do you think, Sixth Brother?"

Naturally, she would have to discuss this matter with Zhao Xu before she could get a reply.

Because the person involved is called Teng Yuanfa.

This person was Fan Zhongyan's cousin, Fan Chunren's classmate and uncle (both of them studied under Hu Yuan).

At the same time, he was also a beloved minister of Zhao Xu's father, and the relationship between the monarch and his minister was very close.

Even though Teng Yuanfa was implicated in Zhao Shiju's rebellion and demoted that year, he was soon reinstated.

How can ordinary people get such treatment?
"Yuanfa, the governor of Yunzhou?" Zhao Xu pretended to think, then asked, "Is it Teng Yuanfa, who won the third place in the imperial examination twice?"

Nodding to the Queen Mother: "That's the man!"

Zhao Xu said: "My father once mentioned this minister, saying: In terms of being loyal as a minister, governing the people with love, and governing the army with benevolence, there is no one better than Yuanfa!"

Zhao Xu had never seen the minister Teng Yuanfa in his previous life.

Because he died of illness on the way to Yangzhou in the sixth year of Yuanyou.

But in modern times, when Zhao Xu followed his teacher to study Song Dynasty figures.

But he had a deep affection for this old minister.

Because this old minister doesn't look like a civil official of the Song Dynasty at all.

According to what Zhao Xu's teacher said, Teng Yuanfa is just like a cadre trained by our party!
Because his resume contains too many records of disaster relief work on the front line.

Moreover, his disaster relief strategies and methods are very similar to those used by modern governments.

The military and civilians all join the battle, unite the scholars, farmers, merchants and workers, and when one side is in trouble, all sides will support it.

For example, during the Xining period, there was a major earthquake in Hebei.

Teng Yuanfa was in charge of disaster relief. He personally led the army to the disaster area and went into the ruins of the earthquake to dig out people.

They even brought the army to repair a large number of houses in the disaster area to make them habitable.
But people at that time were afraid of aftershocks, so they did not dare to stay and slept outside.

Teng Yuanfa took the lead and was the first to move into one of the renovated dilapidated houses. He publicly said: If the houses are destroyed and people die, I will suffer with them!
As a result, the victims dared to return to their hometowns and live in their old homes.

After the disaster relief work was completed, Teng Yuanfa presided over a series of post-disaster reconstruction work in the local area.

Collect the dead, request the court to exempt rent and taxes in the disaster-stricken areas, rebuild dams, arrest thieves, and maintain public order.

As a result, Hebei, which should have been in chaos after the disaster, quickly stabilized.

From then on, Teng Yuanfa became the best disaster relief expert in the Song Dynasty.

He would be thrown there almost wherever there was a natural disaster or epidemic.

And he did a great job every time.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu said, "Mother, Zhao Zhen from Huainan East Road made great contributions to disaster relief last year. I think we should promote him to a higher position, give him a higher rank and salary, and let the world know about it!"

"With Zhao Zhen's relocation, the post of Huainan Transport Envoy has become vacant. Why not appoint Teng Yuanfa to Huainan Road?"

"He was appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Huainan East Road, and his position was transferred from the position of the Direct Scholar of Longtu Pavilion to the position of the Waiting Officer of Longtu Pavilion!"

If Zhao Xu remembered correctly, this summer's drought coupled with the upcoming snowstorm will directly lead to a famine in Huainan Road and Jingdong Road next year.

Due to the famine, countless people died, and no one collected their bodies, so a plague broke out.

The imperial court eventually sent Teng Yuanfa, the fire captain, to the front line.

And he delivered a nearly perfect answer in the Middle Ages - by isolating the epidemic area, providing relief to the victims, mobilizing local gentry and landlords to participate in disaster relief, and setting up shelters, he was able to control both the victims and the epidemic.

It is said that in Huainan alone, there were tens of thousands of living people.

Empress Dowager Xiang naturally did not notice anything unusual.

After all, Teng Yuanfa was the beloved general of the late emperor, and also the cousin and classmate of Fan Chunren, a close confidant of Zhao Xu.

His appointment and dismissal should have been decided by Zhao Xu.

"In that case, let's follow Sixth Brother's wishes!"

"But, what position should Zhao Zhen be transferred to?"

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Mother, I think that we should call Zhao Zhen to the imperial court to be appointed as a Hanlin scholar to reward his merits. This way, the world will know that the court likes to employ ministers who care for the people!"

"Alright!"

……

Returning to Funing Palace, Zhao Xu took off his mink coat and sat in the warm and comfortable study.

"Zhao Zhen is a capable official...but his specialty is river management, not disaster relief!"

"Replacing him with Teng Yuanfa in advance will minimize the impact of famine in Huainan Road next year!"

Zhao Zhen almost couldn't survive this year's drought. It was Zhao Xu who urgently ordered Song Yongchen to lead the imperial army south and recruited gold-mining heroes in Jingdong Road to participate in disaster relief.

At the same time, the private salt dealers in Liangzhe Road and Jingdong Road were mobilized.

Through the Silkworm Salt Law, a loophole was opened for them, allowing them to smuggle salt into Huainan Road.

This was how the people’s livelihood in Huainan Road was saved from collapse during the severe drought.

After the disaster, Zhao Xu issued an edict, ordering the Jianghuai Shipping Bureau to increase the number of transfer warehouses in key areas along the canal and store a large amount of grain in these transfer warehouses.

In addition, the sea transportation of grain through Liangzhe Road did not end after the drought.

On the contrary, he continuously increased his investment in sea transportation, intending to use sea transportation of grain as an important supplement to the canal to prevent the Grand Canal from being cut off again, which would cause the price of rice in Bian Jing to soar.

Therefore, Zhao Xu issued an edict to start building warehouses for storing grain in Haizhou, Xuzhou, Laizhou, Dengzhou and other places.

Today, there are at least hundreds of thousands of stones of rice stored in the warehouses in these places.

Together with the rice stored along the Grand Canal, Zhao Xu had at least two million shi of rice reserves in his hands, which could be used to provide relief to disaster victims.

Just ...

If a large-scale famine really occurs next year, all this rice will be used for disaster relief.

There will be a grain shortage of more than one million shi in Bian Jing!

Going there and finding the gap of one million stones became the problem that Zhao Xu had to start thinking about now.

"In Fujian, Cai Que wrote to the court a few days ago saying that the affairs of the Maritime Customs have come to an end, and the number of merchant ships in Quanzhou Port has increased..."

“Is it feasible to transfer grain from Fujian to Beijing by sea?”

This is really a question that needs to be thought about.

After all, there has never been an example of large-scale grain transportation from Fujian to Haizhou, Laizhou and other places by sea in the past.

Even if it is feasible, the scale of the first sea transport will not be very large.

In addition, Fujian is not a major grain producing area, so it is considered impressive to be able to transport 500,000 shi of grain to Beijing in a year.

As for Guangdong and Guangxi, we can also consider letting them try to transport grain to Beijing by sea.

At least, the cost should be lower than river transportation.

But we have no experience in the first year, so the scale cannot be very large. At most, it would be good to have tens of thousands of stones.

This still leaves a grain shortage of 300,000 to 400,000 shi.

"I wonder if Goryeo can gather 100,000 shi and ship it to Dengzhou by sea?"

Zhao Xu is probably in danger!
The Liao Kingdom...

It should be no problem to collect 200,000 to 300,000 dan of rice from Liaoyang Prefecture and northern Goryeo and transport it to Dengzhou by sea.

That is, once Zhao Xu made this request, the Liao people might ask for an exorbitant amount of money.

Money is secondary. The trouble is that the Liao ruler may propose to marry the princess.

"Let's talk first!" Zhao Xu thought.

It just so happens that the Xinglong Festival is coming soon, and the Liao people should send envoys to congratulate.

After the Xinglong Festival, which is the first month of the lunar calendar, both the Song and Liao countries would send envoys to each other to express congratulations.

This is all room for negotiation and trial.

(End of this chapter)