spend time

The court worked at full capacity and sent people to the affected counties to provide relief. The court officials were divided into six groups and went to six counties respectively. Large amounts of rice and grain were continuously transported in.

Thanks to the court's quick response, the disaster victims, who were already in turmoil and chaos, quickly settled down after receiving the relief food issued by the court.

Death was inevitable. The flood submerged fertile fields and villages, and a huge number of people died in the flood. Afterwards, some people died of illness and starvation. However, it was finally controlled within an acceptable level.

Chen Changshi went around every day to inspect and found several corrupt officials. Some of these officials tampered with the accounts, some tampered with the grain during transportation, and one bold one even colluded with the grain merchants and sold the embezzled grain to them.

Chen Changshi was not polite at all. He executed several people he found out on the spot, no matter if they were members of the Prime Minister's party or the Emperor's party.

The guillotine flashed, the head fell to the ground, and blood splattered all over the ground.

When the victims saw this scene with their own eyes, they knelt down and kowtowed, shouting "Great Lord, Heaven is the Lord".

Such iron-blooded measures were extremely intimidating. Looking at the elite troops sent by the imperial court, the officials who had originally thought of making a fortune from the disaster relief grains gave up the idea silently.

While Chen Changshi was busy patrolling and killing people, General Song was also busy. He divided his elite troops into three groups, one group stayed in the military camp, and the other two groups were sent out to eliminate the bandits everywhere.

In less than two months, several gangs of bandits that had been plaguing the area for years were wiped out, which was a pleasant surprise to the victims.

To the common people, the Empress of Daliang was no longer a distant and vague figure. She sent people to deliver food to them, killed corrupt officials, helped them rebuild their homes and settle down, and would distribute grain and seeds to them in the future. Such kindness was like their second parents.

What's wrong with a woman becoming an emperor?
Their Empress is the most wise ruler in history! They all support and love her!

A major disaster is often followed by a plague.

The imperial court was well prepared. Not long after the food delivery arrived, Imperial Physician Sun arrived with doctors from the Imperial Hospital and a large number of medicinal materials.

Doctor Sun had been in Pingzhou for more than a year and was very experienced in preventing and treating plague. After he arrived, he asked all the medical officers to set up medical tents and boil some anti-plague soup every day.

In front of the porridge stall, you can drink thick hot porridge, and after filling your stomach, you can drink a bowl of anti-plague soup. The victims quickly formed a new habit: before drinking porridge and taking medicine, they would kowtow three times in the direction of the capital's palace.

Thank you, Her Majesty!

May Her Majesty bless them and help them get through this disaster. They will have a good life in the future.

Perhaps the court's disaster relief efforts moved the gods, or perhaps Dr. Sun's measures to prevent the spread of the virus were effective, but after this great disaster, there was no plague. This made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Two months later, Chen Changshi wrote a memorial and sent it to the capital.

After two months of hard work, most of the starving people had been settled and grain seeds were distributed to the victims.

After reading Chen Changshi's memorial, Jiang Shaohua relaxed his brows and smiled at Lu Zhen and others: "The court is united in its efforts to provide disaster relief, and it has indeed achieved results."

Lu Zhen smiled and replied: "The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Internal Affairs provided money and grain, and Nanyang County also contributed a large amount of money and grain. In addition, a group of officials in the court donated generously, and the people in the six counties affected by the disaster were also blessed." Wang Shu took over the conversation: "This is all thanks to the emperor. I remember that when I was six years old, the Yellow River also overflowed a major flood. The court also sent people to provide disaster relief, but the result was that the people starved to death and there was civil unrest. The court later sent troops twice to encircle and suppress the unrest. It took more than two years of unrest before stability was barely restored."

Li Fangfei also sighed sincerely: "The emperor is kind to the people and has tried every possible way to provide relief to the victims. The people are able to survive because of the emperor's grace."

In order to get money and food from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the emperor even resolutely turned against the Empress Dowager. That night, the palace was in turmoil, and she hid in her bedroom in fear, not daring to open the door from beginning to end. When she came out at dawn, she realized that the palace had completely changed.

There were fewer palace servants and eunuchs in the palace, and the imperial guards were purged. The Empress Dowager, who had been domineering for decades, was stripped of her minions overnight and placed under house arrest. The palace affairs fell into the hands of Empress Dowager Li, and the head of the Internal Affairs Department was replaced.

In the past two months, the palace has been combed over and over again. The palace servants and eunuchs are all trembling with fear, wishing that everyone could shrink their heads into their bodies and not be noticed.

Several young imperial servants witnessed the changes in the palace with their own eyes, and their admiration for Her Majesty the Empress almost overflowed from their chests.

Jiang Shaohua was in a good mood and was in the mood to joke with his followers: "The people work hard in the fields and pay taxes to the court. The court should protect their safety and stand up for them when they are in trouble. Otherwise, I am not worthy of being the emperor of Daliang."

Lu Zhen immediately smiled and said, "In my heart, Your Majesty is a wise ruler of the Daliang Dynasty. The people of the Daliang Dynasty are all blessed."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and asked casually: "By the way, has Minister Zhou submitted any memorials?"

Chen Changshi was in charge of disaster relief, while Zhou Shangshu led people to survey and map the destroyed river embankment in preparation for rebuilding it.

On Chen Changshi's side, things became smoother after he chopped off a series of heads.

On the other hand, things were not going so well for Minister Zhou. The river overflowed and broke the riverbank. Now the flood is slowly receding, leaving behind a patch of muddy land with potholes. With a little tidying up, it can be turned into a rice field. But it is not conducive to rebuilding the riverbank. We need to choose a new place to build the riverbank and dredge the river. These are huge projects.

Even if the imperial court had more money, it could not afford to spend it this way. Not to mention that it would consume a lot of manpower in the future. The coastal victims would have to rebuild their homes and reclaim land, so how could they afford the heavy labor?
Minister Zhou has been busy running around for two months, and he is so exhausted that his hair is falling out. But he still hasn't come up with a real plan.

Lu Zhen replied: "Your Majesty, Minister Zhou has not submitted his memorial yet."

Jiang Shaohua raised his eyebrows and said calmly: "Pass on my oral order and urge Minister Zhou to make a decision as soon as possible. He doesn't have to return to the capital until the riverbank is repaired."

The emperor was very courteous and polite to his useful ministers. For example, Chen Changshi and Feng Changshi showed the emperor's gentle side.

Ministers like Dong, Yang, and Ding would be reprimanded from time to time. Then there were Ministers Zhou and Zhang, who had to constantly check the emperor's mood.

Lu Zhen accepted the order and immediately started writing the official document.

This life-threatening document was delivered to Minister Zhou at an expedited speed of eight hundred miles.

Minister Zhou, who had become darker and thinner, sighed deeply. (End of this chapter)