Fu Shanhe

Chapter 407 Disaster Relief
The case of Prime Minister Wan has not yet been fully investigated, but Shuntian Prefecture has already become the biggest loser.

In order to ensure the safety of the capital, the imperial court conducted a large-scale screening.

Although they caught few Northern Tartar spies, they did catch a lot of corrupt officials, both big and small, and physically cleared out the Shuntian government office.

Since taking office, Su Zhicheng has been busy cleaning up the mess, and now he has not yet filled the staffing gap.

"waste!"

After angrily cursing, Emperor Yongning turned his gaze to the Imperial Observatory.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I..."

Halfway through his words, the director of the Imperial Observatory fainted from fright.

The Imperial Astronomical Observatory was responsible for observing celestial phenomena, calculating solar terms, and formulating the calendar, but they were still human after all.

As long as we are human, we will make mistakes.

When faced with such extreme weather, all previous experience is no longer applicable.

It is normal if it is not predicted in advance.

Everyone knows the general principles, but when something goes wrong, someone has to take the blame.

As the person directly responsible, the Imperial Observatory was the first to bear the brunt of the consequences.

Emperor Yongning gave Xu Zhongen a look and understood what he meant. He immediately summoned the guards to take the man out of the hall for treatment.

Even if the supervisor is to take the blame, he has to be alive to do so.

"My dear ministers, do you have anything to say?"

Emperor Yongning asked.

The role of a supervisor is limited. At most, he can be held responsible for inaccurate predictions of celestial phenomena. He cannot bear the responsibility for this natural disaster.

In order to resolve the conflict, more influential officials need to step forward.

“Your Majesty, the celestial phenomena are a warning that Elder Wan must have been wrongly convicted.

If there were no traitors’ cooperation, how could the Northern Tartars sneak into Shuntian Prefecture?

The fact that a large number of officials in Shuntian Prefecture committed suicide out of fear of punishment is also full of mystery.

And why didn’t the soldiers who were supposed to escort Lord Wan back home arrive in time?
Someone in the court must have covered up the truth!"

As soon as the young censor opened his mouth, he aroused everyone's emotions.

Linking natural disasters with the case of Lord Wan may seem a bit metaphysical, but this is what everyone believes these days.

As soon as the court announced the results of the investigation, a natural disaster occurred. This must be because the investigation was unfair, which caused the wrath of heaven.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to thoroughly re-investigate the murder of Elder Wan!"

Seeing someone taking the lead in firing, a group of Qingliu party members immediately followed suit.

This move, which was almost like forcing the emperor to abdicate, made Xu Wenyue very embarrassed.

In name he was the leader of the Qingliu party, but in reality there had long been factions within the party.

Everyone recognizes him as a leader simply because they want to use his reputation to rally people's hearts.

When it comes to specific actions, each party has an independent stance and is not controlled by him.

The time between the natural disaster and the start of the morning court session was too short to allow for any connections to be made.

The scene before us was clearly a spontaneous action by the various Qingliu factions.

But just because he knew these truths didn't mean the emperor thought the same.

The thorough investigation into the murder of Prime Minister Wan seemed to be tracking down the traitors who colluded with the Northern Tartars, but in fact the target was the emperor.

The six government offices, namely the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Dali Temple, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Five Cities Military Command, represent the three major factions of civil servants, eunuchs, and nobles.

The three parties jointly investigated the case, and no one in the court had the ability to ask these people to help cover up the case.

The only one who could get the three parties to work together to cover it up was the emperor.

It seems that he is questioning the unfairness of the investigation, but in fact he is criticizing Emperor Yongning for interfering with the investigation. He is just short of saying that he murdered Wan Junhui.

If concessions are made at this time, there will be no need to continue the investigation and a direct confession of guilt will be sufficient.

Although the "edict of repentance" often appears in operas, it seems insignificant.

In today's life, it is totally impractical.

The emperor's authority not only comes from his status as a ruler, but is also constrained by the Mandate of Heaven and the will of the people.

Once the "edict of repentance" was issued, it was tantamount to admitting that the emperor could make mistakes, the sacredness of imperial power no longer existed, and people all over the world no longer believed in the emperor unconditionally.

After the White Lotus Rebellion, the foundation of Emperor Yongning's rule had already been shaken, and with this incident, the power of Emperor Yongning would become unstable.

As the product of the death of the elder brother and the succession of the younger brother, the Yongning Dynasty had regent ministers.

When the emperor makes a mistake, it is reasonable for the regent to come out and share more of the work.

The actions of the Qingliu Group are essentially an attempt to seize more power.

After all, of the eight regents appointed by the previous emperor, only three are left in the court.

Two of them were noblemen, and they were the only ones from the clean lineage among the civil servants.

After weakening the imperial power, Xu Wenyue could no longer control the situation alone. If he wanted to dominate the government, he needed the support of these "virtuous ministers".

It is only natural for everyone to share power.

"Bastard!"

"Are you guys trying to force me to abdicate?"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but curse.

Since the dismissal of Wan Junhui, his control over the court has been weakened.

Without a prime minister to mediate, there was a confrontation between the emperor and the officials.

The emperor, who was originally an arbitrator, became a member of the political struggle.

What’s worse is that Emperor Yongning did not discover this in time and repeatedly personally participated in the game, which led to a sharp deterioration in the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

As the experience went on, people's awe of the emperor gradually changed.

When the emperor was no longer sacred in the eyes of the people, everyone became bolder.

"I don't dare!"

They said they didn't dare, but judging from their expressions, no one had any intention of backing down.

"Report!"

"Henan is rushing 600 miles, the Yellow River has burst its banks!"

The sudden bad news broke the deadlock in the hall.

If natural disasters and unusual phenomena only shook Dayu's foundation politically, then the Yellow River bursting its dikes was an all-round attack.

Without any hesitation, Emperor Yongning stood up from the dragon throne, walked over and snatched the urgent report.

He opened the emergency report and glanced at it, and he was so unsteady on his feet.

Fortunately, the eunuch was quick to support the emperor and thus avoided embarrassment.

"The rebels under the Taiping King dug up the Yellow River ten days ago.

It happened that heavy rain suddenly hit the upper reaches, causing the water level of the Yellow River to rise and destroying countless fertile fields along the coast.

Many government troops responsible for encircling and suppressing the rebels also lost contact in the flood, and the losses were incalculable.

......"

After a brief statement of the content, the faces of all the officials changed drastically.

When the Yellow River bursts its banks, it is always a fatal event.

The downfall of many dynasties in history began with the bursting of the Yellow River dikes.

Although it is the dry season now, there has been abnormally heavy rain in the upper reaches, causing the flow of the Yellow River to increase instead of decrease.

The greater the water flow, the greater the disaster it will bring.

Whether we like it or not, we have to face the reality that millions of people in the Dayu Dynasty will soon be displaced.

"Your Majesty, the traitor has committed atrocities and his entire clan should be executed!"

Xu Wenyue was the first to speak out and state his position.

The bursting of the Yellow River's dikes was a disaster for the Dayu Dynasty, but for him personally, it was a savior.

The Qingliu Group's abdication operation put him in a very dangerous situation.

If he succeeds, he will certainly gain power, but if the emperor refuses to compromise, the first target of his counterattack will be him, the leader of the Qingliu clan.

If verbal fighting doesn’t work, you can try physical fighting.

He had personally experienced the era when the Censors were rampant, and he was not as naive as the young members of the Qingliu faction.

If Emperor Yongning is pushed into a corner, he will probably restart the imperial guards to suppress dissidents. It's not impossible for him to do so.

The Qingliu faction seems to be very powerful, but in essence it is just empty talk.

Playing within the political rules, they are the largest political group representing the interests of the gentry throughout the world.

Once they break the rules, they are nothing.

"Ok!"

“The rebel king is indeed guilty of a heinous crime, but we have to wait until he is caught before we can punish him according to the law.

The most urgent task is to deal with the aftermath of the Yellow River bursting its dikes.

My dear ministers, do you have any countermeasures?"

At this moment, Emperor Yongning's mind was exceptionally clear.

Compared with previous power struggles, the Yellow River bursting its dikes is the most fatal.

The White Lotus Rebellion destroyed the Great Yu Dynasty's century-long accumulation.

If it happens again, the Dayu Dynasty does not have enough foundation to withstand the constant turmoil.

“Your Majesty, after the Yellow River bursts its banks, the flood will inevitably deal a fatal blow to the dams.

I implore the court to allocate one million taels of silver to repair the Yellow River embankment.”

Shen Qiyuan, the Minister of Industry, was the first to answer. The problem of the Yellow River has a long history. Because of the war in the past few years, the court reduced the funds allocated for river management.

After being cut by bureaucrats at every level, the money is not even enough for daily maintenance at the local level.

As a result, he, the Minister of Works, was worried all day long, fearing that the Yellow River would burst its banks one day and he would become the scapegoat.

The rebels dug up the Yellow River and directly settled the account with the Ministry of Works.

Now all the problems with the rivers are all the fault of the rebels, and he can justifiably ask the court for money.

One million taels of silver for river management is just the beginning. In the future, the court can continue to be asked for money based on the progress of the project.

How much money it will cost to solve this problem depends on the integrity of the officials.

"Pang Aiqing, you heard it.

The Ministry of Revenue must pay this amount!"

Emperor Yongning said without any doubt.

“Your Majesty, the funds for river management must be allocated, but the Ministry of Works needs to come up with a comprehensive budget plan.

River management is a major project. If there is no plan in advance, it will be troublesome if the subsequent funds cannot keep up. "

Pang Chengjie thought for a moment and said.

The Yellow River has burst its banks, and it is necessary to spend a lot of money to control it.

Otherwise, such floods would occur every now and then and no one would be able to bear it.

But there are still some opinions on how to govern it specifically.

Based on his understanding of the Ministry of Industry, when encountering such a large project, it is inevitable that a layer of oil will be peeled off.

If there were no restrictions, let alone one million taels, even ten million taels of river management money might not be enough for them to squander.

"Shen Aiqing, it's your turn to speak."

Emperor Yongning nodded and said.

The reasons given by the Ministry of Revenue are sufficient. To control the Yellow River, there must be a budget, and you can't just say how much it is.

Having been emperor for so many years, he was still worried about the integrity of his officials.

“Your Majesty, please rest assured.

The Ministry of Industry will come up with a detailed budget plan as soon as possible."

Shen Qiyuan immediately assured.

Making a budget is not a problem for them, as the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Industry are also experienced in this area.

Just follow the normal plan and get the money first.

If the follow-up funds are not enough, then we will exaggerate the difficulty of construction and incur additional expenses.

River management is different from other projects. Once a project fails, all previous investments will be wasted.

Every time the Yellow River bursts its banks naturally, it explodes at a weak point.

After the issue of river management came to an end, the hall suddenly became quiet.

Compared with the management of the Yellow River, the subsequent resettlement of refugees is the biggest challenge.

The displacement of millions of people would have been a fatal event in any feudal dynasty.

Disaster relief is not a problem that can be solved by simply allocating funds from the court.

In the cold winter, disaster victims not only need to eat, but also need to consider heating.

If we are not careful, it will lead to civil unrest.

Whoever has to do this kind of hard work will be unlucky.

"Do you have any ideas about disaster relief?"

Emperor Yongning spoke to break the silence.

It is better to provide disaster relief as early as possible rather than late.

The longer you delay, the more likely an accident will occur.

Once local people rise up in rebellion, it will be too late to provide disaster relief.

“Your Majesty, judging from the terrain, Henan Province suffered the most from the Yellow River’s dike breach.

The Nanzhili in the downstream will most likely also suffer.

Parts of Shandong may also be affected.

Therefore, the focus of this relief effort should be on Henan.

As for Nanzhili and Shandong, the disaster situation was relatively light, so the local government offices could find ways to resettle the victims on their own.

Taking into account the large number of people displaced, we must prepare at least 300,000 tents, 1.5 million cotton-padded jackets, and 6 million shi of grain.

After a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic, and a large amount of medicinal materials will need to be prepared to treat the plague.

......"

When Xu Wenyue reported a string of numbers, all the ministers were dumbfounded.

The imperial court simply couldn't provide such a large amount of supplies in a short period of time.

However, no one objected immediately, because at this time of year, keeping warm and filling hunger are equally basic necessities.

The areas flooded by the Yellow River bursting its banks are all densely populated areas, and the population affected is definitely more than 1.5 million.

By the time the court's relief supplies arrived, nature had already completed a process of survival of the fittest.

“Lord, let alone 300,000 tents and 1.5 million cotton-padded jackets, it would be difficult for the court to come up with even one tenth of them all at once.

The large warehouses in the capital were all empty, and the treasuries in various places had also been emptied long ago.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue could allocate funds for purchases from the private sector, it would not be able to buy so many goods in a short period of time.

Due to the disaster, there is no hope for autumn grain in Henan this year.

Without this income, the autumn grain to supply the capital and the nine border areas cannot be moved.

The only way to get disaster relief grain was to get it from Southern Zhili and Huguang.

If so much is purchased at one time, the food prices that have just dropped will probably rise again soon.

The Ministry of Revenue could only take out 4 million taels at most to purchase food for disaster relief.

As for tents, cotton-padded jackets, medicinal materials, and various supplies needed for post-disaster reconstruction, I can't take care of them for the time being.

Anyway, even if the Ministry of Revenue allocated funds, there would be no place to purchase.

Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality.

If other supplies are not available and only distributed to some people, it will easily cause chaos.”

Pang Chengjie said with a serious face.

This decision is undoubtedly very cruel to the victims.

But there was no way, Dayu was an agricultural dynasty and productivity was very limited.

Tents and cotton-padded jackets are scarce supplies, and medicinal herbs are purely wild and have a pitifully low yield.

The northern provinces are basically bare, and timber is mainly produced in the south, so transportation alone cannot be cheap.

“The allocation is too little, this little money is barely enough to buy food.

Even if we cannot provide clothing and shelter, we must at least provide some firewood to keep the people warm, otherwise half of the victims will not survive the winter.

Even if a batch of coal is provided as an emergency measure, it is better than nothing at all."

Gu Jiaxi suggested with a little sadness.

"Lord Gu, it's not that I'm stingy, it's just that the Ministry of Revenue owes too much.

Half of this year's autumn tax has been collected and has already been spent.

Even for the 4 million yuan in disaster relief funds, the Ministry of Revenue did not have cash and had to wait for taxes to be paid from the southern provinces.

We just happened to be going there to purchase food, so we can just ask them to not ship it over."

Pang Chengjie spread his hands.

After the rebellion was quelled, the court's fiscal revenue increased, but the corresponding expenditure also increased.

The Ministry of Revenue is still short of money as always.

The current Dayu Dynasty is like a gold-devouring beast that can spend all the money.

In order to save money, the palace has not been renovated in recent years.

Now that the palace has collapsed, we must prepare some money to repair the palace first.

Otherwise, the palace would become a dangerous building, and if the emperor had an accident in the palace one day, they would become a laughing stock for all eternity.

……

Watching the Ministry of Revenue arguing with his ministers quietly, Emperor Yongning's brows furrowed even more.

The imperial envoy for disaster relief hadn't been selected yet and there was already a problem with the money and grain issue.

"My dear ministers, let's first elect a minister for disaster relief!"

Although he knew that party disputes would be sparked again once the disaster relief issue was resolved, he still wanted to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

Floods have been raging in the area for some time.

The displaced people are fleeing everywhere.

If timely measures are taken to provide relief, the victims can be kept in Henan.

If the time is delayed for too long, the refugees will flow into neighboring provinces and become a natural supplement to the rebel forces.

Emperor Yongning felt overwhelmed when he thought of the millions of rebels in the north who might be trying to survive at any time.

"Your Majesty, I recommend Lord Xu!"

Hearing this voice, Xu Wenyue immediately glared at him.

If looks could kill, Marquis Wuxiang would have been torn into pieces.

(End of this chapter)