The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Hail! Huge hailstones!"

Wei Zheng was also hit, but only on the shoulder. Although it hurt a lot, he could still bear it.

Xiao Yu quickly pulled him to hide, urging Chen Huai'an, "Mr. Chen, come and get out of the way quickly, the hail is too big, it's not pleasant to be hit by it."

Chen Huai'an waved his hand, ignoring him.

What hurt others when hailstones hit them was no different from a tickle to him.

He was angry because he thought someone had hit him.

The hailstones fell heavier and heavier, pounding the bricks and tiles of the palace with a dull thud. Chen Huai'an bent down and picked up a piece; it was one of the larger and relatively intact hailstones.

After observing for a while, Chen Huai'an couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "There really are hailstones the size of chicken eggs! Some things from ancient times are indeed hard to see in modern times."

At this moment, Wei Zheng was no longer in the mood to think about the equal-field system or the militia system. He said with great concern, "Such a large hailstorm, I wonder how far it has covered. If it has, coupled with the locust plague, the losses suffered by the people will probably be very heavy."

"If the houses aren't sturdy, they might even be smashed through by these hailstones, leaving the people with nowhere to shelter from the wind and rain."

Xiao Yu fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

In the Tang Dynasty, 95% of people did not live in good houses. Forget about palaces or the mansions of dukes like Chen Huai'an's, which used the best materials. Most people lived in thatched huts, and those who were slightly better off lived in inferior tiled houses.

Their houses might not be able to withstand such large hailstones.

Moreover, the rice seedlings were already suffering from a locust plague, and just a few days ago Li Shimin issued an order to exterminate the locusts. Chen Huai'an personally recited the order to the people, saying that they would bear any divine wrath.

Now look what's happened: the order to eradicate locusts was issued, and then hail fell right afterward.

Doesn't this further confirm that locusts are natural pests and cannot be eradicated?

"Mr. Chen," Xiao Yu said slowly, "forgive my bluntness, but the vast majority of the people are uneducated. They are not enlightened and are rather...superstitious about many things."

"This is why many people say that the common people are ignorant."

"Today's hailstorm is like adding fuel to the fire."

He put it rather tactfully, and Chen Huai'an understood what he meant, also recalling the saying that killing locusts would anger the heavens.

Chen Huai'an was speechless.

The first three years of the Zhenguan era were truly filled with disasters and calamities.

Without him, how did Li Shimin manage to get through it all?

Even when a great flood occurred in the third year of the Zhenguan era, the emperor sent troops to the Eastern Turks. By the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, the country had achieved a bumper harvest and grain prices had dropped to their lowest point.

"Mr. Chen, aren't you worried?" Wei Zheng asked, seeing that he didn't seem worried at all.

"Worried?" Chen Huai'an turned around. "What's there to worry about?"

"Anyway, the worst locust plague is coming soon. Whether there's hail or not, the rice seedlings in the fields won't survive, so what's there to worry about?"

"As for the houses... it's not winter now, the situation isn't as serious as you think, no one will die."

Wei Zheng: "..."

What they said... does seem to make sense.

The situation is already bad enough, it can't get any worse.

Even if a house is damaged and has holes, it won't freeze people to death if it's not winter. By the time winter approaches, the people will probably have repaired it themselves.

The problem is...

"What about the Heavenly Worm's theory?" Wei Zheng asked, turning the question to, "If this matter is not resolved properly, it will be a blow to the court, to His Majesty, and to your reputation."

"Let them attack us then. Neither His Majesty nor I have much of a reputation to speak of anyway. At a time like this, what's the point of talking about prestige?"

Wei Zheng: "..."

Indeed, an emperor who killed his brother and imprisoned his father, and a street urchin reincarnated from a starving ghost, their reputations were certainly not good.

"..."

May 3rd, noon, inside the Ministry of Revenue.

Chen Huai'an looked at the preliminary disaster statistics report handed to him, somewhat surprised, and asked Liang Bingyi, "Are you sure this is true?"

"These past few days have seen such large hailstones, even if the duration was short. How come, in the end, such massive hailstones only caused minor damage to the homes of a little over a thousand households?"

"It's true, Minister." When Liang Bingyi first received the disaster report, he was also puzzled because the hailstorm covered a large area and affected many places in Guanzhong.

Logically speaking, a hailstorm covering such a large area should have caused quite severe damage.

However, when the initial disaster report was sent up, Liang Bingyi himself was shocked.

Apart from the rice seedlings, only a little over a thousand households suffered minor damage to their houses.

It wasn't too much, but too little, so little that he could hardly believe it.

Therefore, Liang Bingyi specifically asked the officials below what the situation was, and their answers surprised him greatly.

"Minister," Liang Bingyi cupped his hands and smiled, "You probably don't know, but you have been implementing work relief programs, and the areas within the Great Wall have benefited the most. Moreover, you have always strictly adhered to the standard of one person per household when recruiting people, recruiting from the bottom up little by little."

"Therefore, the damage caused by the hail was still within the people's tolerance. After their houses were damaged, they took matters into their own hands, spent some money to repair them, and did not complain or cry to the government."

"These more than a thousand households are truly difficult to manage. According to the rules you set before, these people must be recruited first, so the people below have compiled a list of these people."

"I see." Chen Huai'an was somewhat gratified, as his persistence had yielded initial results.

At least in general, the people have developed a certain ability to withstand risks.

The money wasn't wasted, and the work wasn't in vain.

"Let's continue with the statistics." Chen Huai'an pointed to the disaster report. "These people can be recruited to repair the Yellow River first; they need a lot of manpower there."

"In addition, arrange for these people to receive an advance of half a month's wages to settle their families. However, they need to sign a contract with the imperial court. You can decide the content yourself, and implement it as soon as possible."

"Yes... Minister." Liang Bingyi was somewhat taken aback; he really hadn't expected Chen Huai'an to make such an arrangement.

I've never heard of receiving half a month's wages in advance before.

How can you get paid without doing any work?

No, that's not right.

In the old imperial court, if I didn't beat you while you were working, you should be grateful. Forget about money; you'd be lucky to even get back alive.

Liang Bingyi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Minister, will His Majesty agree?"

"Why not?" Chen Huai'an retorted. "Recruiting over a thousand people from these thousand-plus households, and paying them half a month's wages in advance, that's just a few dollars."

"Why does His Majesty disagree? Does he have a reason to refuse?"

"Are you willing to abandon public support for such a small amount of money?"

"You must understand, no amount of money can buy the hearts of the people!"

"Those who abandon the people will eventually be abandoned by the people."

"..."