Miao Chu

Chapter 344 Opposition

This recipe didn't come out of thin air; it was the result of a long period of collaborative research by many people on Pingyang Mountain.

At that time, it was a chaotic period. The barbarians were moving south and bandits were rising up everywhere. My uncle could not sit idly by. Although the others had different opinions, they all contributed their efforts in the end.

Some followed the uprising, while others refused to go the same way but helped recruit men and prepare weapons and clothing.

Song Miao's biological mother, Aunt Wu, and several uncles spent many days improving upon the military rations of past dynasties to create this kind of bean porridge cake.

Its characteristics are that the ingredients are inexpensive and it keeps you full for a long time. Even if you can only eat this for ten days or half a month, you will not feel too weak.

No need to cook, boil, or heat; it can be eaten plain or mixed with soup, making it ideal as rations for rapid marches.

But there was only one deer.

My uncle's business was incomplete when an accident happened. Those who were supposed to stay behind all went down the mountain and never returned...

Although times have changed and the world has changed, the recipe for this bean porridge cake has always been firmly remembered by Song Miao.

Last time in Huazhou, she tried replacing some of the ingredients, changing the more expensive ones to cheaper ones. It was a small trial, and the effect was still excellent. The laborers and the river patrolmen only needed to eat a small piece to keep them full for half a day.

Water conservancy officials and students who went out to investigate the waters only needed to carry a few bean porridge cakes with them. Even if they couldn't return in time or didn't encounter any houses with cooking smoke along the way, they didn't need to worry at all.

The floods in Chanzhou destroyed villages and fields. Soldiers and officials were busy rescuing people. Such dry rations were very useful, whether for their own use or to temporarily supply the trapped disaster victims.

Empress Dowager Yang had ruled the country and was experienced in affairs. As a woman, she naturally paid more attention to details and cared more about the people's food and clothing. Although she did not have high expectations, she immediately said, "Go and fetch it quickly!"

When the palace maids followed Song Miao back from the restaurant with the so-called bean porridge cakes, they also invited the imperial guards to eat them—each serving was a small piece the size of a child's palm, and it wasn't heavy at all.

Upon further inquiry about the materials, a careful calculation revealed that compared to the rations currently in use in the camp, the price was lower and the materials were more convenient to carry.

Looking at the recipe and the finished bean porridge cake, if there's anything wrong with it, it's that it takes a bit of effort to make.

But this is not good. In such a critical moment, compared with human life, it is nothing.

Empress Dowager Yang was a cautious person. Although she had seen the bean porridge cakes with her own eyes and the imperial guards eating them, she couldn't help but ask many more details while waiting to see how long the cakes would keep her hungry.

Seeing that the other party was asking such detailed questions, Song Miao said, "Why don't I make it with the palace maids and show it to Your Highness?"

Empress Dowager Yang was immediately intrigued and asked, "Should we send a few people from the kitchen to help?"

Song Miao said, "I would appreciate it if you two could help with the fire and grinding the ingredients. Making these cakes doesn't require any special skills."

This is by no means an exaggeration.

In front of Empress Dowager Yang, Song Miao, along with several palace servants and eunuchs, ground all the ingredients into powder, added them to boiling water to knead into dough, flattened them into cakes, and steamed them.

According to the recipe, the food should be sun-dried after steaming, but since Song Miao was eager to see the results, she baked it in an oven instead.

By roasting over a fire, several bean porridge cakes were made in just over an hour.

Seeing that the food was ready, Empress Dowager Yang was very curious and asked her attendants and the palace servants who had helped to taste it.

Several people ate it, and their opinions were very similar.

"It doesn't taste very good."

"It's not delicious, but it's not bad either."

"Yes, it tastes like dry rations, but it doesn't hurt your throat, and you can eat it without water."

"It's a bit crumbly, not hard or gritty, and edible, but the taste isn't good."

Song Miao explained at the right moment: "If you want it to taste better, you can actually add some glutinous rice or japonica rice. However, when I was in Huazhou, I learned from an old man that the more unpalatable the food used for relief or military expeditions is, the better."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Yang also took a piece to taste.

Just as those palace servants had said, saying that it wasn't bad was already a compliment.

But she didn't mind at all. Instead, she said, "Old people don't speak without reason. They have great experience. These kinds of rations are meant for marching and providing relief. Even if they are made to taste good, who knows if they will reach the disaster victims or soldiers? And if they do, it's not good if people can't help but eat more."

With Empress Dowager Yang's approval, the prescription written by Song Miao was quickly sent to the Chuigong Hall.

The matter was discussed in the Chuigong Hall for half a day and was actually nearing its end, but the faces of all the ministers were not very pleasant.

Among them, the two from the Ministry of Revenue had the most unpleasant expressions.

Fan You, the Vice Minister of Revenue, felt his head buzzing.

He and his superiors used many methods to stall and delay, because they felt that things there would definitely not work out.

Although pressured by several prime ministers in the court, he relied on buying land and property from abroad and levying taxes on tea and wine, etc., and on the surface he was making a big show of it, but in fact he had reduced what he really had to take out of his pocket to a minimum. Who knew that he could only be happy for a few days before he received such bad news.

Having confirmed that Liutahe was indeed incapable, and realizing his foresight had been correct, he felt no joy whatsoever.

Previously, the methods that could be used to deceive and maneuver were now ineffective because of the disaster that had struck Chanzhou, and now it was time to actually spend money, allocate grain, and transport supplies!

At this time, the autumn harvest in the north had not yet been completed, and it was the lean season between harvests. If it weren't for the fact that he was in front of the emperor and his colleagues and couldn't lose his composure, he would have really wanted to curse Lü Zhongchang's ancestors for eight generations.

Sure enough, not long after, the Minister of Revenue was appointed by the Emperor to be in charge of raising funds and grain.

At times like this, Shangguan only dared to whimper a little, not daring to utter a single loud word.

Seeing that the situation was not good and the given deadline was too tight, Fan You couldn't help but step forward and say, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Although the Ministry of Revenue has the responsibility of management and overall coordination, it still needs the assistance of various departments and offices. Especially now that the new grain in the north has not been harvested, even if the capital tightens its belt and temporarily forwards all supplies to Chanzhou, it will still be limited. Only the two circuits in Jiangnan and a few places in the south can be transferred to provide relief. But now that the canal transport is blocked, even if the Ministry of Revenue allocates funds, they still won't reach the places!" In addition to Fan You, Pang Zhong, the commander of the Palace Guard, also stepped forward.

He was ordered to immediately lead troops to Chanzhou for disaster relief and rescue. At this moment, he hurriedly added, "Your Majesty, I am leading troops to Chanzhou. Putting aside the troop deployment for now, if we rely entirely on Chanzhou for logistics, I'm afraid it will be difficult to guarantee anything!"

"It would be best to bring them from the capital. If that's not possible, we should arrange for the prefectures and counties along the way to share the burden. Otherwise, Chanzhou is already short of supplies and the people are displaced. If we go there, wouldn't that just create more trouble for us?"

Once someone took the lead, one person after another immediately began to raise their demands.

Zhao Yu sat in the chair, asking questions to the chief ministers one by one and urging each department to take on their duties. As he sat there, he felt his whole body burning up, especially his eyes, which were hot and swollen, and his gums were swollen again—on the right side, just like last time. Even a light touch of his tongue was painful.

As the questions raised by others were broken down or resolved one by one, there were also those that could not be resolved but could be temporarily shelved. The two biggest issues, which could actually be combined into one, were the matter of transporting supplies, which remained unresolved for a long time.

Zhao Yu covered his right cheek and couldn't help but urge the ministers to answer.

The crowd looked at each other, or stared at the scepter they still held in their hands after the court session, none daring to utter a sound.

When one of them was urged by the emperor and had no choice but to recommend someone—who turned out to be a protégé of another official—the latter almost immediately recommended a third person's subordinate.

Soon, the ministers began to show each other unusual modesty and deference. Apart from a few who recommended capable people but were clearly either unsuitable in terms of background or lack of ability, most of them were recommending each other's people, praising each other to the skies as if they were afraid of getting a hot potato.

The canal transport was actually a lucrative job, but this year the weather was abnormal, with drought in the south and floods in the north. There were several places along the route from the south to Beijing where the canal transport had been blocked for a long time. When the boats were halfway there, they had to either change to smaller boats or switch to land transport. They would then change boats again when they reached the next section of the waterway with deeper water.

With such a hassle, goods on a single route have to be moved and transferred three or four times, and the time, effort, and cost involved are unimaginable.

The shipping company tried many methods, but they could not be resolved due to various reasons. At this time, in the midst of the chaos, the Liuta River flood was imminent, and they were waiting for money and grain. Who would be foolish enough to face the challenge head-on without any preparation?

Zhao Yu was already feeling unwell, and seeing everyone pushing and shoving each other, his temper flared up instantly. He shouted, "Minister Cao! You and Li Zhai were the ones who first proposed that Lü Zhongchang take charge of the Liuta River project. Now that Li Zhai is in Chanzhou for disaster relief, you're not doing a single thing here?!"

Although he addressed me as "you," his tone was extremely strained.

Cao Xiangong could clearly see that the emperor was furious.

However, he neither wanted his own lineage to get involved in this mess nor did he want to offend the emperor. Looking at the others, he knew that if he were to shift the blame further, he would incur public wrath. So he reluctantly agreed, saying, "This matter is naturally my responsibility. However, the canal transport is both crucial and complex, and it cannot be managed immediately upon taking over. It is too urgent now. I would like to recommend two people to take over, but the person in charge should preferably be drawn from the Transport Department to ensure that the important matters are not neglected."

As he spoke, he indeed recommended two elders from his own faction, but neither of them were key figures.

Everyone in the hall immediately realized that this was a case of sacrificing a pawn to save the king, but seeing that the fire hadn't spread to them, they all chimed in to support it.

While this statement may seem to downplay the issue, it is not entirely without merit.

Zhao Yu then selected another person from the shipping department.

The transport commissioner knew he couldn't escape his duties, and since getting things done was more important, he didn't bother with further elaboration. He decided to get straight to the point and, after a moment's thought, said, "If we're talking about the southern grain transport, Wang Shuji, the deputy transport commissioner for the six routes, happened to be in the capital this morning. He's been in charge of the Jiang, Huai, Liangzhe, and Jinghu routes for many years and is very familiar with the situation. Your Majesty, why don't you summon him and ask him about it?"

So, after the court session ended early and he returned to his office, Wang Shuji, the deputy minister, was busy urging various departments to provide manpower while secretly planning how to take some time during the midday break to visit the so-called Suanzao Lane and find the legendary Song Family Restaurant to get a bite of "Song food" when he was suddenly summoned to the palace.

When he stood in the hall, he was told that the Liuta River had burst. The events along the way were truly like being doused with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter, chilling him to the bone, and even his teeth were chattering.

When asked again if he would be willing to oversee the transport of goods from the two routes south of the Yangtze River northward via the Grand Canal, he, a native of Chanzhou, gritted his teeth and agreed.

"The timeframe is far too tight, and both manpower and resources are insufficient, especially for the river transport, which requires capable individuals—I request the transfer of several people..."

As Wang Shuji spoke, he called out the names of several people, all of whom had served in the shipping or transit departments and were familiar with the north-south canal transport.

In addition, several other people were selected, including a group from the Water Conservancy Bureau led by Wu Gongshi.

When Wang Shuji mentioned the first few names, Zhao Yu nodded immediately. When he heard Wu Gongshi mentioned, he knew that this person was a key talent of the Water Conservancy Bureau and was in charge of the water affairs outside the city. Although he thought that the flood had not completely receded, he hesitated for a moment, glanced at the Water Conservancy Bureau official, and finally nodded.

After listing all the officials, Wang Shuji hesitated for a few moments before finally saying, "Besides you officials, I would also like to borrow a few Imperial Academy students and some other students..."

This time, the Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau suddenly asked, "Which students from the Imperial Academy?"

Wang Shuji said, "The rest are not yet decided and still need to be recommended and discussed. There are only two people: one surnamed Han, named Han Li, and the other surnamed Kong, named Kong Fuyang..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau said, "That student surnamed Kong is still in Huazhou. We can issue a transfer order to urge him to return to the capital. As for Han Li—he should stay at the Water Conservancy Bureau. He still has important matters to attend to."

At this point, the Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau hurriedly turned to Zhao Yu and said, "Your Majesty, although the water level outside the city is gradually receding, there is no guarantee that it will not rise again. Official Wang has appointed several key officials, including Wu, Sun, and Feng. With them all being transferred, the task is already very difficult. Han Li has always been in charge of carpentry, sweeping, and other matters, and he also helps supervise the students and laborers. If he is transferred as well, it will be very difficult to arrange for him within the Water Conservancy Bureau..."

"It was my fault!" Wang Shuji immediately changed his tune, turned to Zhao Yu and bowed, "The capital is of utmost importance. I will forgo the two officials, Feng and Sun, and only need those two Imperial Academy students!"

The Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau was so shocked that his hair stood on end. He realized that the other party had come prepared, and hurriedly stepped forward. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Yu above said, "You can discuss such details later. However, after all, you are still students of the Imperial Academy, unlike officials in the court. In addition to issuing transfer orders, we must also ask for your wishes."

After saying that, he instructed the commander of the palace guards and the other relevant personnel, saying, "Tell the Imperial Guards and the kitchens of the local militia to prepare cooked rations for the march as soon as possible."

The commander before the palace couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, it's already difficult for an army to keep enough cooked rations for three days during a march..."

Zhao Yu said to the Hanlin Academician beside him, "Send orders to the prefectural and county governments along the way, instructing people to make preparations early and prepare sufficient grain."

The commander opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only sighing inwardly.

Even if this approach only addresses the symptoms and not the root cause, it's still better than going empty-handed.

He didn't want to ramble on in front of so many people, so he planned to stay behind later for a private audience to vent his frustrations.

After discussing for half a day, although we don't know the final outcome, we have done everything we can. The rest is just a matter of doing our best and leaving the rest to fate.

Apart from the Commander of the Palace Guard who volunteered to stay behind, the other officials received their orders and went about their busy business. Among them, Wang Shuji and the Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau were the fastest to run.

Contrary to the others was a eunuch from the Ciming Palace who had been waiting at the door for a long time with a tray in his hand, and was finally allowed to enter after being informed.

(End of this chapter)