You have truly caused me great suffering!

This occurred shortly after Chen Shao published the Dajing Daily.

Big news is coming soon.

An earthquake struck Qin Prefecture. (From the "Treatise on the Five Elements" in the History of Song Dynasty: "In 1132, an earthquake struck Qin Prefecture, causing landslides, destroying the city walls and houses, killing tens of thousands of people. Aftershocks continued for several months, the Wei River dried up, and a dam formed, creating a lake.")
Following that, Hebei also suffered from a severe drought, resulting in a very low harvest this year.

After the drought, a locust plague struck. These successive natural disasters left Chen Shaohe and the imperial court somewhat overwhelmed.

Chen Shao hurriedly descended the mountain and returned to the capital to oversee disaster relief efforts in various regions.

Disaster relief is extremely difficult to do, and even in later generations, it would be very difficult to provide relief in the event of an earthquake of this magnitude.

Not to mention now.

Chen Shao had just given orders for all the fortified villages in the northwest to mobilize manpower and be ready to enter the area at any time after the aftershocks subsided.

He was extremely busy when Li Tangchen came to pay his respects.

Chen Shao waved for the eunuch to bring him in.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Tangchen said, "I have heard that Heaven's warnings always come from people's misbehavior. Now, since Your Majesty launched the New Report and the Institute of Ingenuity, you have been determined to reform, but... some have neglected the suburban sacrifices, some have been lax in their fasting and purification, and some..." He gritted his teeth, "...and some, as the emperor, have personally tested firearms in the training ground—all of these are acts against the harmony of Heaven!"

What he said was painful, Chen Shao felt even more pained, but he couldn't refute it.

As everyone knows, under His Majesty's current rule, the Great Jing Dynasty is thriving.

Moreover, the imbalance of the four seasons began at the end of the Song Dynasty, not at the beginning of the Jing Dynasty.

But there's no way around it; the core principle of modern etiquette is the "interaction between Heaven and humanity."

Heaven only sends down natural disasters when it is dissatisfied with the ruler of the human world. If you deny this, then you are denying your own foundation—the rites and doctrines.

With such a massive natural disaster, Chen Shao had no choice but to issue an edict of self-reproach and make several more sacrificial rites.

While it appeared to be an edict of self-reproach, it was in reality a strengthening of imperial power.

Li Tangchen felt wronged on behalf of his king, and Chen Shao himself knew even better that this was related to his military officers, but they could only swallow their pride and have one offer advice while the other reflected on his actions.

According to Biden's formula, it means 'You can't only love etiquette when it benefits you.'

Li Tangchen, a great Confucian scholar, hadn't slept for the past few nights, and finally realized where His Majesty had gone wrong.

It's simply that after His Majesty established the Great Jing Dynasty, he didn't hold many sacrificial ceremonies, and when testing firearms, he liked to personally handle them.

As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall. Perhaps it was because of this that Heaven sent down natural disasters to make the emperor reflect on his actions.

The two exchanged a glance and both gave a wry smile.

One after another, some officials submitted memorials, and Chen Shao immediately admitted that he had recently neglected rituals and sacrifices, and promised to follow the rules, revere Heaven, be strict with officials, and eliminate malpractices, etc., in order to appease Heaven's anger.

Although Chen Shao had a clear conscience and felt that he had done his best as emperor, he could not and would not change people's perceptions overnight.

The underlying logic is that Heaven and earthly emperors are inextricably linked; disasters are Heaven's punishment for human transgressions. In other words, Heaven bestows power upon the ruler, therefore the emperor must be accountable to Heaven.

Even in early autumn, the capital city of Jinling was still hot. People stood by the Yangtze River and felt a little coolness as the wind blew from the river.

Jinling Prefect Zhao Shan, along with his entourage, was at Longjiang Port, watching as large boxes were being loaded onto ships one after another.

This is all grain sent for disaster relief.

Over the years, Chen Shao built thirteen large warehouses near the Yangtze River.

This is exactly the kind of thing that came in handy.

We should also take this opportunity to count the number of items and see if any "big rats" have stolen them.

High salaries to encourage integrity are indeed effective; no one is willing to risk losing their head to do such a thing.

After all, there's no need to take risks now, and people can live a decent life.

The later Ming Dynasty's founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, used harsh punishments to punish corrupt officials, which should have been praised. However, some people felt that the salaries of officials in the early Ming Dynasty were too low, which forced some to take risks.

The officials of Dajing had no such concerns; they had enough money to live very well and comfortably.

Moreover, the various benefits are very generous, and the rewards during festivals are enough to cover the food, clothing and other expenses of a large family.

It must be said that this is indeed useful, but the greed of the human heart is always boundless.

Chen Shaoneng used his skills and prestige to deter them from interfering, but what would happen in the future was uncertain. He didn't intend to worry about it.

Let's trust in the wisdom of future generations.
Chen Shao is facing considerable problems right now, after all, his empire has only been established for three years.

This unpredictable climate is indeed quite harmful, and we don't know if there will be any major disasters in the future.

In fact, historically, this earthquake can only be ranked as the second most serious disaster.

In recent years, there has been another major disaster, which was truly devastating, leaving the land barren and causing millions of deaths and injuries.

That was the Yellow River breaching its banks.

Fortunately, Chen Shao appointed Yang Cheng to manage the river effectively, and the ban on cutting down trees upstream for three years resulted in significant success in preventing sand erosion and consolidating soil.

The Yellow River did not breach its banks this year, but in terms of the number of people saved, Chen Shao's contribution to repairing the river may be even greater than the destruction of the Jin dynasty.

As Zhao Shan watched ship after ship carrying away grain, leaving the large warehouse empty, he couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

I accompanied His Majesty back then, watching them unload the goods and fill the warehouse.

Looking at the mountain of supplies, Zhao Shan thought that Da Jing would never lack supplies again.

But I didn't expect that it would be so hard to accumulate them, but so quick to use them.

"Life is unpredictable!"

Chen Shao was also sullen, so after finishing his official duties, he rode out of the palace.

I went outside to clear my head.

As they walked, Chen Shao had his guards turn around and together they arrived at Longgang.

Seeing that Zhao Shan was not slacking off and was personally supervising the work, Chen Shao was very satisfied.

Compared to his previous edict of self-reproach and promises of more sacrifices, Chen Shao preferred this kind of practical approach.

Although Zhao Shan and Zhao He were both ordinary farm laborers, neither of them showed any great talent.

Over the years, Zhao He has worked diligently and conscientiously. Although he has not done anything particularly outstanding, he will do whatever he is told to do.

Of the people who left Chenjiazhuang together, apart from Cui Lin who was busy working in other places, the others are still with Chen Shao.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to leave, but rather that the two brothers had limited skills and high positions, so there were no suitable places for them to be sent out.

They are barely usable when they are by your side and can make their own decisions.

Seemingly sensing something, Zhao Shan suddenly turned around and looked at the crowd.

Then, unexpectedly, they discovered the current emperor.

Zhao Shan dared not delay, so he quickly grabbed his official robe and ran up.

Because there were many people and it was outside the palace, Zhao Shan did not bow, but asked in a low voice, "Why has Your Majesty come?"

"I've come to check on the disaster relief supplies."

What was transported out of Nanjing was only a small portion of the disaster relief supplies.

The majority of the grain was purchased locally in the Northwest by the imperial court.

The transportation costs alone are a considerable expense.

Zhao Shan carefully reported the situation of each warehouse.

Chen Shao waved his hand, signaling him not to continue.

Looking at his still-young master, the Emperor of Dajing, Zhao Shan mustered his courage and said, "Your Majesty, it would be best if you did not personally test firearms in the future."

Chen Shao looked at him with some surprise. He believed that Zhao Shan had no other intentions and was only concerned for his own safety.

This also shows that he believed in the interaction between Heaven and man, and that the natural disasters were brought about by Chen Shao.

Chen Shao couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even those closest to him believed this kind of story, let alone others who rarely saw him. (End of Chapter)