The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 122 Disaster

Meanwhile, the cabinet was also full of people, including the six ministries, the nine ministers, and some busybodies. It was just that the nobles were busy making merry in the snow and didn't want to get involved in these matters.

The duty room couldn't accommodate so many people, so those of lower rank stood under the eaves, huddled together in scarlet and blue robes, hunching their shoulders in the wind and snow, but none of them were willing to leave first.

Although the fire in the charcoal brazier burned brightly, the cold air, mixed with snowflakes, rushed in with every lift and closure of the curtain, making people shiver.

Yan Song sat in the Grand Secretary's seat with his eyes closed, and everyone in the room was waiting for him to give his opinion on the tone of this deadly snow.

But he seemed to be asleep and wouldn't say a word.

Lu Ben sat in the second seat, looking around. He saw that everyone was looking at each other, some talking in hushed tones, some shaking their heads and sighing, but no one stood up to say the first word.

He sighed inwardly. This offensive remark had to be said eventually, so he said in a deep voice, "The blizzard has caused disaster, the capital region is in turmoil, the city has collapsed, the people are suffering, and food and firewood are running out."

Today, I have summoned the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to discuss matters. We must quickly determine policies for disaster relief, public security, and maintaining stability. All of you are welcome to express your opinions; please do not shirk responsibility or delay.

Seeing that his godfather was reluctant to speak, Zhao Wenhua, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, immediately said, "The snow has only fallen for a few days, how could it have reached such a severe state?"

"Ha." A cold laugh came from the corridor. "Zhao Tongzheng still calls it auspicious snow?"

Zhao Wenhua immediately grinned: "What, you didn't attend He Biao's event?"

"snort."

The man fell silent. The matter of the congratulatory message was handled by everyone together, and no one dared to claim innocence. This thorn was stuck in everyone's throat, making it difficult for anyone to speak up.

"Alright, alright, we're in a meeting!"

Zhou Xuan, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, said, "Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure. If we do not make a plan now to prepare for any eventuality, won't we be caught off guard and in a panic when the time comes?"

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices sighed, "But we just submitted a congratulatory memorial not long ago. If we go and tell His Majesty now that it's not an auspicious omen, but a disaster?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. The dilemma lay here: given the snowy weather, was it acceptable not to present a congratulatory message?

His Majesty has been sincerely fasting and praying for over a month. According to Grand Secretary Yan, His Majesty has even lost weight from exhaustion. Are they going to turn a blind eye to this? They would be asking for trouble.

Ouyang Bijin began, "You all must have seen how deep the snow was and how cold it was on your way from your own residences to the palace."

"Since we receive the emperor's bounty, we must be loyal to him. We cannot turn a blind eye and wait for disaster to unfold; that would be disrespectful to our sovereign. I wish to go and meet with the emperor later to request his decree."

Once Ouyang Bijin spoke, Zhao Wenhua and the others couldn't say anything more.

A group of upright censors and officials from the Censorate and the Imperial Secretariat bowed and echoed, "Minister Ouyang is absolutely right. The people's livelihood is of utmost importance, and the nation's well-being is paramount. Even if we slightly disobey His Majesty's will, we cannot stand idly by and watch the people suffer!"

The Vice Minister of Works pulled an urgent report from his sleeve and said, "This morning we received news that forty-three shacks along the Tonghui River alone have collapsed, and twenty-nine people have died. This is only along the river, not counting the alleys in the city or the places where refugees gather in the suburbs."

If we were to actually count, the number of people who died from the collapsed buildings and freezing to death would probably be well over a hundred.

The Ministry of Revenue official shook his head: "The price of rice and firewood in the capital is rising several times a day. Today, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of coarse rice is already selling for one tael and three mace."

The Minister of Justice said gravely, "Merchants are hoarding grain and firewood to speculate and drive up prices; there are also unruly people taking advantage of the disaster to rob and steal; and even lower-ranking officials are embezzling from their posts—"

As the information was gathered and verified one by one, everyone understood the answer: if no food or firewood was provided for relief, a riot would surely break out within three days.

This is clearly no longer a matter of "if you want to succeed, you will succeed; if you don't plan ahead, you will fail," but rather a matter of life and death.

Yan Song finally opened his eyes, his voice slightly hoarse, and said, "Things have come to this point, and we have to find a solution. Everyone, please speak up. The Ministry of Revenue will go first. Can you provide some grain to distribute as porridge to the people?"

, 7

Minister of Revenue Xia Bangmo stood up: "I'm not complaining about being poor, but the imperial court receives about 3.7 million shi of grain into the two granaries in the capital every year, while the annual expenditure has been more than 5 million shi since the tenth year of Jiajing. We have been living beyond our means for almost 20 years."

Last month, the grain rations for the nine border troops were just sent out. The remaining supplies are needed for the expenses of the Beijing garrison, the imperial palace, and officials of all ranks.

If we forcibly open the granaries to provide relief to the people, and the government's grain reserves run out, leading to shortages of food and pay for the army, and a mutiny among the soldiers of the Beijing garrison, who can bear such a catastrophic disaster?

Everyone can do the math. Most of the grain stored in Jingtong is military pay that absolutely cannot be touched. There is really not much left that can be used for relief.

Yan Song sighed: "The military rations of the Beijing garrison must not be short. Everyone should make concessions on their salaries and get through this difficult time first. Officials of the fourth rank and above should set an example."

They were going to lose their salary again, but it wasn't easy to refuse in front of everyone, especially with the censors around. If they were discovered to be wealthy and unwilling to help the court through its difficulties, they could easily be found to have their property confiscated.

However, some people were in dire straits and said, "My family is in dire straits. If I were to give up my salary, I'm afraid my whole family would starve and freeze to death."

Yan Song did not make things difficult for them: "If they are really not wealthy, they can receive their normal salary."

"Xie Yuanfu is considerate."

The Minister of Works spoke up: "The Ministry of Revenue is short of grain and silver, and the Ministry of Works is also constrained. I have already mobilized craftsmen and laborers in the capital to repair the city walls and roads. Now the most urgent task is to build warm sheds and shelters in the open temples and government land outside the nine gates to take in the elderly, weak and displaced people, and to allocate firewood from the government mountains."

Hearing about the many difficulties, someone in the corner spoke up: "It was just a blessing from heaven for our Great Ming Dynasty. It was just a normal snowstorm in winter. Some common people are afraid of the cold and some houses have collapsed. It's all a minor matter."

Why make a mountain out of a molehill, disturb His Majesty's presence, and spoil His Majesty's intention to offer prayers and blessings?

In my opinion, all that is needed is for the Shuntian Prefecture to provide some compensation, and everything will be fine.

This person was a junior official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in charge of sacrificial rites. He was used to accompanying the emperor in the Western Garden for religious ceremonies, and he always spoke of the emperor's will and the will of heaven.

He spoke with an air of composure, as if the hundred or so lives frozen to death outside the city were nothing more than a topic of conversation over tea.

Before the words were finished, a furious shout suddenly erupted from the corridor: "Bah! You sycophantic traitor, why doesn't this snow collapse your house?!"

This angry rebuke was clear and upright, coming from a young, upright censor in the corridor. His face was flushed, and he stood among a group of silent officials, his eyes stern and full of indignation.

"How dare you insult me!"

The man was about to rush over and teach him a lesson, but with so many people between them, how could they be allowed to fight? The room and its surroundings were thrown into chaos, with people trying to break up the fight, pulling people apart, adding fuel to the fire, and watching from the sidelines. It was noisy for a while before things calmed down.

Lu Ben slammed his fist on the table several times, his voice almost hoarse, before he could barely calm the situation down.

Since the Ministry of Revenue was short of money and grain, some people set their sights on the Emperor's private treasury: "If we were to beg His Majesty's mercy, we could temporarily allocate funds from the private treasury to provide relief—"

Before he could finish speaking, his voice suddenly dropped three degrees, as if he knew how ridiculous his words were.

Xu Jie sighed, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "We still need to request an imperial decree before we can unify the relief efforts. Please lead us to the Emperor to request the decree."

Without an imperial edict, the Ministry of Revenue dared not risk distributing grain, the Ministry of Works dared not start construction, the Shuntian Prefecture dared not act arbitrarily, and the Ministry of War dared not deploy troops to maintain stability. Whether it was disaster relief or anything else, it all had to start by requesting an imperial edict.

The matter has come full circle: should we go and tell His Majesty that the auspicious snow is not so auspicious after all?

A moment later, the others also stood up and clasped their hands in greeting. Yan Song nodded and said, "Alright, but there's no need for everyone to go. Ministers of each department, please come with me."

"Yes," the others replied readily.

With so many people wanting an audience with His Majesty, we naturally need to ask first whether His Majesty is busy or not in seclusion to cultivate immortality.

After the messenger was sent to inform them, the news quickly reached back, and His Majesty summoned him.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that His Majesty was dining with Prince Jing.

The atmosphere in the duty room suddenly changed. Yan's group members looked worried and exchanged meaningful glances with each other, while Qingliu's face became even darker.

Yan Song slowly rose and straightened his sleeves: "Let's go, don't keep His Majesty waiting."

The group put on cloaks and filed out, stepping into the swirling snow.

At that moment, Zhu Zaizhen was eating heartily, still struggling with how to begin, when he heard an eunuch announce that the officials had come to see him.

Jiajing frowned slightly. He knew immediately what this group of people wanted to do, which was really disappointing.

Before long, the soft sound of boots and the sound of wind and snow came from outside the palace. A eunuch quietly entered and announced: "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Yan Song is waiting outside the palace with the ministers of the six ministries."

"Announce."

The word fell, concise and cold, revealing no emotion.

But Zhu Zaizhen noticed a hint of impatience in his father's eyes.

In a short while, Yan Song led the officials of the Six Ministries into the palace in single file. They had come through the wind and snow, and even though they were wearing heavy cloaks, their shoulders and hair were still covered with snowflakes.

The moment they stepped into the warm room, the snowflakes melted upon contact with the heat, condensing into a thin layer of mist that gradually turned into water droplets that flowed down their beards and hair.

The high-ranking officials immediately knelt down in unison, bowing their heads and kowtowing: "Your Majesty, we pay our respects. May Your Majesty be well."

"I am well."

"Your subject pays respects to His Highness Prince Jing."

Zhu Zaizhen stood up and nodded, without saying anything like "no need for formalities".

There's a saying: "Don't punish the diligent, don't punish the lazy, only punish the blind."

If Father Emperor were in a good mood, that would be fine, but now that he's saying "all officials may dispense with formalities," who knows what Father Emperor will think?

"What brings you here?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall became even more tense.

It was really difficult to bring this up, but Yan Song took a deep breath. In his position, he had to bear both the good and the bad. If he didn't speak up now, the disaster victims would cause trouble in a few days, and the result would be the same.

Yan Song lay prostrate on the cold blue bricks, his aged body slightly hunched, and spoke in a deep voice, his tone full of remorse: "Your subject is guilty."

Jiajing showed slight interest: "What crime has Grand Secretary Yan committed?"

"Your Majesty has been devoutly fasting and praying for peace and prosperity throughout the land. Your sincerity is as clear as the sun and moon. The first snowfall from Heaven is an auspicious sign."

But the snowstorm persisted, turning into a disaster. This was due to my incompetence in governing, my lack of virtue and high position, and my failure to harmonize yin and yang and bring peace to the world. Thus, the heavens brought this severe cold, and the people of the capital suffered."

"Great!" Zhu Zaizhen breathed a sigh of relief. Having Yan Song as a teammate was good; at least he could handle things in crucial moments.

The tension between him and the six ministers eased slightly. With the chief minister taking the lead, the rest would be easier.

"You need not do this," Jiajing said calmly, his voice losing its previous coldness. "The ways of Heaven are unpredictable, and the course of wind and snow is not fixed. I know you have been busy with state affairs these past few days, and you have not intended to be immoral."

>