The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

The other party made repeated requests, offering more money and pleading, showing that they were indeed in a hurry.

Perhaps the other party really has something urgent to attend to.

Zhu Ziming wasn't a pushover, but he wasn't one to stand by and watch someone die either. Taking up a little of his time wouldn't hurt, so he nodded.

……

After brewing a pot of hot tea, Zhu Ziming and Chongzhen sat down in their familiar seats.

"What's the problem? Tell me."

"It's like this." Chongzhen organized his thoughts, considering how to approach the topic: "A natural disaster has occurred in a certain place. If... if you were asked to provide disaster relief, what would you do?"

"Disaster relief?"

Zhu Ziming looked surprised.

He thought the other party had some urgent matter to attend to. What kind of business was it to ask him to go to disaster relief?

But the other party firmly replied, "Yes, disaster relief."

Zhu Ziming was puzzled and said, "To be honest, I have never done disaster relief, so I only know the general idea of ​​how disaster relief works."

Chongzhen said, "I would like to hear what you have to say, sir."

Since the other party had said that, Zhu Ziming had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to answer: "First, we need to request funding from higher authorities to establish an emergency command center, coordinate all forces, and assess the disaster situation. Second, we need to organize disaster relief efforts, with professional teams prioritizing the search and rescue of trapped personnel, medical teams providing on-site treatment for the injured, relocating and resettling affected people, and providing temporary shelters. Finally, we need to call on all regions to donate money and supplies, and to provide preferential policies for the reconstruction of the disaster area."

Emperor Chongzhen frowned: "But what if there are no funds allocated, no donations of money or goods?"

This time it was Zhu Ziming's turn to be stunned: "No? How is that possible!"

How can we provide disaster relief if we don't have money?

Moreover, China is a powerful nation now, how could it not have disaster relief funds to allocate? And with so many caring enterprises and individuals in society, how could it not have donated money and supplies?

The other party remained firm, saying, "No, I don't have any!"

Suddenly, Zhu Ziming realized: "You're talking about disaster relief in ancient times?"

Emperor Chongzhen was taken aback, but then he realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly: "Ah, yes, yes, disaster relief in ancient times."

The two finally clicked.

Zhu Ziming may not understand modern disaster relief, but he does know a lot about ancient disaster relief. After all, he writes novels, especially historical novels, where disaster relief is a classic plot element and appears frequently in film and television works, so it's essential for him to understand it.

He was just wondering why the other person was also concerned about this issue.

Zhu Ziming could only think of one possibility: "You write novels too?"

"what?"

Emperor Chongzhen paused for a moment, unsure how to explain, and could only nod.

Zhu Ziming finally felt that the whole thing was at least plausible; otherwise, why would someone treat disaster relief as an urgent matter and consult others? They were probably stuck on their writing.

And when I read the History of Ming before, I was probably researching for information.

"Okay, tell me the conditions you set."

Emperor Chongzhen no longer needed to hide anything and replied, "Shaanxi is suffering from a drought. The sky is as red as blood, and the land is barren for thousands of miles. The affected people are displaced and in dire need of relief. Shaanxi's granaries are empty. We have appealed to the court for help, but the court has neither money nor grain, not a single coin."

Zhu Ziming stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "You've set pretty harsh conditions!"

Historically, there have been many classic disaster relief cases, which have also served as examples for many historical novels. For instance, Fan Zhongyan's classic strategy of raising grain prices to encourage grain storage in the market, as well as the use of work as a form of relief, and Zhou Chen, a Ming Dynasty governor, who established the "Jinong Granary" in Jiangnan to store grain in peacetime and distribute it as relief during disasters. He designed a sophisticated grain dispatch system that used the Grand Canal to regulate the surplus and shortage of grain between regions, which can be considered the most scientific famine preparedness system in the Ming Dynasty.

But all of these are based on a certain economic foundation.

Now, we're faced with a situation where there's no money, no food, no local resources, and no government support.

Zhu Ziming thought it was a novel, but it was actually the reality of Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen could only smile helplessly.

Zhu Ziming said, "Disaster relief is nothing more than money and food; it has always been the same from ancient times to the present."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded; these words had already been spoken by the court officials.

Zhu Ziming said, "So, the key is how to find money and supplies, and where to find them."

Emperor Chongzhen continued to nod, and everyone understood the key point.

Zhu Ziming continued, "Then let's broaden our thinking. If the local areas have no money or food, and the imperial court has no money or food, then does that mean the entire country is penniless?"

These words finally made Emperor Chongzhen feel as if the fog had lifted, and he shook his head slightly: "No."

Zhu Ziming continued, "Then who has control over the money and grain?"

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and replied, "Landlords and gentry."

Zhu Ziming nodded: "That's right. To be precise, they should be bureaucrats, nobles, landlords, and gentry. We call them officials and gentry. Do you remember what I said before? During the development of the dynasty, officials and gentry will continuously accumulate land and wealth, eventually leading to an extreme gap between the rich and the poor. Land and wealth are concentrated in the hands of officials and gentry. The common people have no land and no money, and even the court has no money. So, at this time, officials and gentry not only have no money and no food, but they also think about taking advantage of natural disasters to annex land."

"So, the problem now is, how do we get money and grain from the officials and gentry for disaster relief, right?"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded in deep agreement.

He finally started to get some ideas, unlike last night when he was in court, when his mind was a complete mess.

Zhu Ziming asked, "How about inscribing the achievement on a stone?"

The practice of "carving stones to commemorate achievements" initially referred to the story of Dou Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty who defeated the Northern Xiongnu, ascended Mount Yanran, and carved a stone to record his merits. This practice was imitated by many dynasties afterward. In fact, it is also a classic disaster relief strategy in many films, television dramas, and novels, using this method of publicizing and commemorating merits and virtues to attract officials and gentry to donate money and grain.

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and shook his head: "I estimate...it will be very difficult."

In times of peace and prosperity, some officials and gentry might donate, since such a lasting reputation is still somewhat useful. But in times of hardship and chaos, who would care about such so-called reputation?

"Has the situation become that dire?"

Zhu Ziming pondered for a moment and said, "If this won't work, and that won't work, then we'll have to take it by force."

"Rob?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head immediately: "If the court sends troops to plunder the money and grain of officials and gentry, I'm afraid there will be bloodshed in the court, and local officials and gentry will also unite to resist the court. In that case, disaster relief will not only fail, but may also cause unrest!"

Emperor Chongzhen was inevitably somewhat disappointed. He had seen Zhu Ziming's analysis beforehand, which seemed very logical, but in the end, he came to this conclusion.

If it were that simple to just rob, he wouldn't have needed to come to the bookstore overnight to find Zhu Ziming.

Is there still no solution?

Although Chongzhen was disappointed, he did not blame Zhu Ziming. After all, if the entire court could not find a solution, where could a bookstore owner find a solution?

However, at this moment, Zhu Ziming shook his head and said, "The court won't do, but there is one person who will."