At the end of Song Dynasty: I want to be the master of ZTE

Chapter 257 The Great Drought
"Hey yo~ hey yo~"

Ten strong men shouted slogans and stepped on the waterwheel together.

The clear river water was lifted out of the river, fell into the canal, and trickled into the wheat fields.

Beside, Li Tingzhi, who was watching this scene, was still worried.

Li Tingzhi said: "The water level drops too fast. Only the nearby can be irrigated, but there is nothing to do in the distance. This year is difficult."

Lin Jingxi shook his head and said: "The weather is like this, it is impossible for human beings to do it, what can I do if I just cry out?"

"Always try your best." Li Tingzhi said.

Lin Jingxi said: "According to His Majesty's decree, all officials have gone down to the villages to direct the people to fight the drought and provide disaster relief.

It's just that there is no water in the fields, so we can barely save some wheat. We can't plant rice anymore, so we have to plant some beans to make up for it. "

Li Tingzhi said: "Fortunately, the people have a lot of surplus food, so they can last until next year if they save a little."

"If the countryside can persist, food prices in the cities will definitely skyrocket, and the court will have to allocate grain and rice to maintain it." Lin Jingxi said.

"The center has a plan, so there is no need to worry," Li Tingzhi said.

Meng Qi found that the weather was not right and gave Li Heng advice. There were also capable people in the Song court who noticed that the weather was wrong and reported it to the court immediately.

Between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, there has been only one rain since February, the one when Zhang Yuli Yingwai took down Jiuning Mountain, and the ground was barely soaked.

Although it has little impact on wheat, it has already affected summer planting.

Rice is a big source of water, and in this year when it all depends on God to provide food, it really won’t be possible to plant rice unless it rains.

It's all carried by shoulder and hand, and the whole family can work together, and they can't cultivate an acre of land in three to five days.

Therefore, Li Tingzhi held the emperor's envoy to supervise the drought relief in the Jianghuai River.

Waterwheels have been around for a long time. Nowadays, the court pays money and food to hire people to build them, and then they carry water day and night.

"Grow as much rice as you can. Don't waste time and manpower. The imperial court will ensure that everyone does not starve to death."

"We can't grow rice, so we can grow beans wherever there is water. At least we can fill our stomachs."

"Young and strong can join the army, and they have money and food to settle down, enough to survive the famine."

"If you have surplus grain at home, don't hide it, send it all to the government. The price of grain is high this year, and the price will drop again next year. It's better to earn more."

"The imperial court is merciful and the canal water can be used, as long as the embankments are not dug, there are no restrictions on the means."

In every village and township, officials shouted and promoted some basic policies.

In the current Jianghuai region, drought relief is the top priority.

Shouting slogans alone is not enough, work-for-relief is a must.

As food gradually arrived from the south, various places began to organize manpower to build water conservancy projects.

On July [-]th, the weather was still hot, even in Chengtian Mansion.

Li Tingzhi, who returned to the center, went to court and said one thing.

"Gaoyou 36 lakes are connected by rivers, and now most of them are flat land. The government wanted to take the opportunity to organize the people to dig deeper to make it a big lake. However, there are many beach fields opened by the people around, and the construction is not allowed. The local government can't cope..."

"Ignorance and selfishness should be punished according to law." Chen Yizhong said coldly.

If it were that simple, could Li Tingzhi still be able to speak to the court?So the emperor ignored him and signaled Li Tingzhi to continue.

Li Tingzhi said: "I have compiled statistics from various places. Due to years of war in Jianghuai, there are fewer people and more land. This situation is rare.

The one to worry about is the south.

In Fujian, Guangdong and other places, the common people surrounded lakes and cut rivers, and the small lakes and rivers disappeared in places that could be opened.Three years to now, four years, there have been 220 droughts and 310 floods on the two roads, [-]% of which are confined to a county, and [-]% affect a state.

After careful analysis, I found that it was all due to water conservancy damage.

The recent severe drought in the Jianghuai River is a natural disaster, and we can only do our best to obey the destiny. However, the floods and droughts in the south are mostly man-made, and I think this should be changed. "

People in Fujian and Guangdong love to open fields, and they don't have any plans. If they think they can grow food, they will be turned into farmland. How can fertile land like small lakes and rivers be spared?

Just like Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, if the government didn't protect it, it would have been destroyed long ago.

There are no lakes or rivers, no water can be stored in rainy days, and there is no water in Haotian, will there be disaster?

Those reported are serious ones, with at least a [-]% reduction in production. Minor cases will not be reported and cannot be counted at all.

You won’t know if you don’t investigate, but it’s really shocking once you investigate.

"This matter involves countless people, and there are bound to be many obstacles. How do you think we can solve it?" Zhao Shi asked.

"No matter who is moved, they will move, regardless of officials, gentry or soldiers." Li Tingzhi said: "If the compensation is enough, the obstacles will not be too big."

"The court has no money!" Ma Shangshu jumped out.

"You don't need too much money and food." Li Tingzhi said: "Replace the fields on Zhendong Road and Qiongzhou Road, three for one. The court will be responsible for the relocation and resettlement expenses. I think there are many people who are willing."

"How many people do Li Xiang think need to be moved?" Ma Tingluan asked.

Li Tingzhi said: "There is a lack of data and no statistics have been made. It is necessary to come to 20 million households."

Ma Tingluan sneered: "One or two hundred thousand, even if you have 20, a family of six, or 15 people, does Prime Minister Li know how much it costs to move one person? And it also costs a lot to hire people. Does Prime Minister Li think the court can support it?"

"Ma Shangshu, please be patient and don't be impatient." Chen Yizhong said: "If we do it in batches and implement it year by year, I think we can handle it."

"Even if it is divided into ten years, it will still cost 50 guanshi per year. If the political affairs hall takes over the household department as well, I will just retire and return to my hometown." Ma Tingluan refused to give in.

"Ma Qing, don't do this." Zhao Shi said: "What Prime Minister Li said is related to the long-term stability of the country and it is imperative to do it.

If ten years is not enough, let's put it in 20 years. As long as we work hard, we won't have to worry about things failing. "

"Your Majesty, your Majesty," Li Tingzhi flattered him perfunctorily.

"The people are prosperous, business travel is prosperous, overseas income is increasing, and central tax revenue is also increasing. Although military expenditures have been huge in recent years, some can still be saved." Chen Yizhong agreed.

Zhao Shi waved his hand and said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs will give you a budget, and the Political Affairs Hall will send people south to conduct an inventory of water conservancy starting from Hangzhou and make an implementation plan."

"I obey the decree." Everyone responded.

"Your Majesty," Li Tingzhi said again, "I would like to request that the Capital Water Supervisor be reinstated to take charge of the world's water conservancy affairs."

"Is there a suitable candidate?" Zhao Shi asked.

The capital water supervision had existed for a long time, but Zhao abolished it in order to streamline the organization, and its water conservancy functions belonged to the Ministry of Industry. Obviously, Li Tingzhi thought that the Ministry of Industry was not very good in this regard.

In fact, the emperor also thought that the Ministry of Industry was not very good. In fact, Chen Zhongwei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, had no sense of existence.

"I have no choice," Li Tingzhi replied.

"I think Wu Baoqian might give it a try." Chen Yizhong said: "He is the eldest grandson of Wu Qian. He has a rich family background and is now the magistrate of Pingjiang County."

In addition to being a good prime minister, Wu Qian was also good at water conservancy when he was a local official. However, the emperor did not comment on whether his grandson was qualified.

"The Zhengshitang and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will jointly investigate. If they are available, they will be used. If they are not available, they will look for talented people. There are countless talents in the country. Is there anyone who is not good at water conservancy?" the emperor said.

On the surface, the situation was calm, but after the court, Zhao Shi asked Zhang Shuangguo to kidnap Guo Shoujing.

Of course, kidnapping is not what the emperor should do, and the risk is not small, so the shooting can only be done quietly and without publicity.

(End of this chapter)