Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 489 Who am I? Where am I? What am I going to do?
Emperor Jingtai really admired Wang Zhuoheng. Although he was the son of Wang Shichong, this did not affect his ability and knowledge. These days, Emperor Jingtai could clearly discover a problem through observation, that is, although Shan Xiongxin was the commander-in-chief of the Green Forest Army, the one who actually managed the internal affairs was the young Wang Zhuoheng.

Military discipline, military affairs, logistics, dispatch, etc., and Zhuo Heng is simply a serious version of Xia Daosheng. He may not be as changeable and smart as Xia Lin, but the overall feeling is really strong. He can be ranked in the top three among the younger generation.

Early the next morning, Zhuo Heng had made all the arrangements in order, but the carriage he arranged for the emperor was very low-key, even a little simple.

Emperor Jingtai asked why, and Zhuo Heng replied: "Your Majesty, in a flood-stricken area, there will inevitably be thugs causing disasters. To protect Your Majesty, it is proper to act in a low-key manner."

"That's true. Let's go and have a look."

The chariots and horses, with a total of more than 200 guards, headed straight north. Everywhere on the road, they could see the desolation after the flood. There was nothing they could do about it. It has been said since ancient times that water and fire are merciless, and natural disasters are truly not something that ordinary people can resist.

"Hey, Henan Road, it's either drought, locust plague, or heavy rain and plague. When will it end?" Emperor Jingtai sighed, "Zhuo Heng, why didn't I meet any disaster victims along the way? Did they all run away?"

"Reporting to your majesty, the Green Forest Army had already moved the people to higher ground and set up camp before the flood. Lord Xia said that no matter what disaster comes, if we save the people first, we will have everything."

"Yes, Daosheng is right. This is what I taught him." Emperor Jingtai sat up straight, tightened his clothes, and a bit of majesty appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Emperor Jingtai's vanity was greatly satisfied. He continued to ask: "How many people were transferred?"

"The first batch will be around 100,000 people, and there will probably be 200,000 people later on."

"Two hundred thousand? Wow... what should we do with the grain? Do we need the imperial court to allocate funds for disaster relief?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Xia once said that we should be prepared for rain when the weather is clear, so we purchased a large amount of food before the flood season to prepare for the disaster."

Emperor Jingtai was stunned for a long time, then stretched his neck and asked, "Where did the money come from?"

"Your Majesty, part of it is the money from merchants who leased land, part of it is the stolen property seized from bandits, and part of it is donations from monks in temples."

"Good, good, a great donation." Emperor Jingtai took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Daosheng did a good job. He remembered everything I said."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Jingtai was originally a narrow-minded person. After coming here, he thought he could rely on his own strength to turn the tide and enjoy the feeling of being extremely respected.

But after arriving, he found that everything here was in perfect order. The Green Forest Army helped with disaster prevention and relief, and the people were not in a panic and everything was in order. There were no starving people and no one was selling their children. There were even businesses doing business outside the resettlement site.

Everything was not quite what he expected. Apart from showing up everywhere and getting cheers, it seemed like he really wasn't of much help.

This made him feel somewhat unhappy, but the only thing that could comfort him was that people believed whatever he said, and that everything he did was smooth sailing because of his foresight.

If even this one rule were gone, the emperor would have no dignity left.

The journey took about four hours, and it was already afternoon when we arrived at the worst-hit area. The roadside was full of Green Forest Army soldiers covered in mud and resting. There was also a group of people spreading lime in various wells to bury the cats, dogs, pigs and sheep that had been drowned or washed away. There were also people recording the losses nearby.

In short, the soldiers were doing their respective jobs in disaster relief and relief, while the local people spontaneously brought large jars filled with noodles, rice porridge and other food to distribute to the Green Forest Army soldiers.

Not far away is the endless Yellow River Flood Plain, but there is not a trace of despair here. Most of the people are unwilling to leave their homes, so they temporarily stay in high places with the military camp and do what they can.

After Emperor Jingtai got off the car, he first came to the dam, but saw that a high flood-control embankment had been built here. Now that the flood peak had passed, the danger was basically lifted, and there would probably be nothing to happen later.

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai turned around and said with emotion: "It is rare to be able to ask soldiers to follow the disaster relief."

"Lord Xia said that disaster relief is also part of war, and it is a great test of the ability of food and logistics and organizational planning. Moreover, the Green Forest Army originally came from the people, and they should return to the people. They are not saving disasters, but their own parents, brothers, sisters, and neighbors."

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips and looked back at Zhuo Heng. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Then what is the point of me coming here?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhuo Heng still said in a serious tone with the most sincere and honest tone: "Your Majesty's coming here can greatly boost morale. The soldiers know that Your Majesty still cares about them, and the people also know that they deserve to be treated like this. Many achievements are also due to Your Majesty's good guidance and planning, which has prevented the people from suffering the same tragedy as before, and no one has to eat their own children or die in poverty." These words instantly made Emperor Jingtai's mood turn from gloomy to bright. He stood up and faced the surging Yellow River with his hands behind his back: "Yes, I want everyone in the world to know that I will never give up my people."

He was just pretending now, but he was the emperor and he was the most powerful, so he had the final say and there was no need to argue with him.

In fact, everyone knows who are the people who really do the work. Xia Daosheng is in charge of forecasting and strategizing, Shan Xiongxin is quick in commanding troops and dispatching them, and Wang Zhuoheng is conscientiously and meticulously placing the relief workers. The emperor just comes to show his face, and he doesn't know what he is going to do.

But it doesn't matter. After all, he is the emperor, and it's good enough that he can come. And I heard that there has been turmoil in the court recently. He doesn't go back and stays here probably to avoid the limelight.

Come to think of it, it would be neither good nor pleasant to hear the news that he, a new emperor, had purged the court as soon as he came to power. But he let the people below him take responsibility for themselves, and then he would go back to take charge of the situation. By then, both sides would be punished, and the matter would be settled. Not only would he achieve his goal, but he would also gain a good reputation.

However, Zhuo Heng discovered through his observations during this period that this emperor did not seem to be a man of great wisdom and strategy. He probably used this method because he had a master behind him.

But the master behind him is too mysterious. Until now, no one knows who he is, not even Xia Daosheng.

But it doesn't matter. Before Xia Lin left, he told Zhuo Heng that if the current plans and programs cannot be surpassed, no one can take away this power. But if there are contents that exceed the current plans and programs, then it is not a big problem to have this power taken away, because they will eventually follow the route they want to take, which will speed up their progress.

So at this moment, Zhuo Heng is actually very relieved and confident.

Under Zhuo Heng's arrangement, Emperor Jingtai first visited the officers and soldiers to comfort them. It was justified for the emperor to comfort the troops. He spent money to comfort the troops. The soldiers were happy, and the emperor also had emotional value. He even complained that he brought too little this time, and directly asked someone to go back to Dugu Han to borrow some money, saying that he would comfort the troops again in two days.

Then he visited many resettlement sites for disaster victims and brought various supplies. When had ordinary people ever seen the emperor personally visit and comfort them? The emperor was so pleased with the shouts of "Long live the emperor" that his pretentious nature came back.

This is just like when you go to a foot massage parlor and the technician says, "Boss, I've been working here for so many years, and you're the first customer who impresses me," and then adds eight more hours. Emperor Jingtai asked Dugu Han to borrow another 1.5 million taels of silver.

If you give me food, you must eat it! Give it all to me!

In the following days, for the first time in history, the people affected by the disaster had so much food that they could not eat it and could only watch it rot.

Childish, emotional and with a bit of romanticism, Xia Lin's evaluation of Emperor Jingtai is still increasing. If there is any psychological research at this time, Emperor Jingtai will definitely be included in child psychology. He cannot stand being coaxed and will take the bait once coaxed.

However, when the news of Emperor Jingtai's childishness reached the other side, the situation was different. The Green Forest Army was confronting the major families in the north. All the people in Henan Province suffered from the disaster, but the scene here seemed a bit tragic. A large number of people suffered from the disaster. After hearing that the emperor was providing disaster relief in the south, they ran there with their families.

Overnight, their numbers were like a swarm of carp swimming across a river, and it was impossible to catch them all. However, if we were to let them run wild, we would end up with nine out of ten houses empty-handed. By the time the flood was over, we would have no weapons left, and the other side would have nothing to worry about.

Therefore, under pressure from the south, the big families in the north had no choice but to open their warehouses and give food to those poor people, and this was the only way to barely maintain the situation.

But this is not the end. The emperor suddenly did this, and the situation was so bad that the people under their rule began to restless again, so the northern clans had no choice but to raise the disaster relief standards again.

It was not enough to just improve the treatment of the common people. When the troops under them heard about the treatment of the Green Forest Army, they were about to revolt. The northern clans held back their tears and began to improve the treatment of the soldiers...

Once this treatment was mentioned, their resources were consumed extremely quickly. What was originally enough for a confrontation of three to five years might now only be enough for one year or even less.

But if that were the case, it would be fine. The key is more than that. News came from the other side that the Green Forest Army would rebuild their homes wherever the water receded.

It’s not over, right?
There are millions of people below, millions of mouths and millions of eyes, just staring at them. To do it or not, it is a matter of life and death.

Grit your teeth and do it!

So the confrontation between the two sides turned into a strange way: tax cuts! Money increase! Rebuilding homes! But what about building materials? Where to get food?
I can only buy it.

Whose to buy from? Who has extra? Now the merchants from Jiangnan Road have come to the door, and relatively cheap food and building materials are on display here at a reasonable price...

For a while, calls for rebuilding homes were heard one after another on both sides of the Yellow River. No one was willing to submit to anyone else and they just went against each other.

"After we leave, they will build schools and housing for you, and increase your salaries. This is not because they have a change of heart, nor because they have become good people, but because we have been here." Zhuo Heng put "Liaoyuan" on the table after reading this sentence to the officers of the Green Forest Army: "Now I will explain the meaning of this sentence to everyone, and give everyone corresponding answers based on the current situation."

(End of this chapter)