Hearing that Liu Ziqiu was going to appoint him as the prefect of Fufeng, Zhuo Xiangdian was overjoyed and quickly raised his hands and said: "Please rest assured, sir. I will write to the county magistrates now and ask them to surrender as soon as possible!"
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and asked, "Master Zhuo, how much food is left in the city?"
Zhuo Xiangdian had a bitter look on his face and said, "I dare not hide this from you sir. The whole Guanlong is short of food. There is only ten days' worth of food left in Fufeng City."
Liu Ziqiu knew that Yang Xuangan was short of food, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed to attack Xiao Mian. But Liu Ziqiu never imagined that Yang Xuangan was short of food to such an extent that Fufeng City only had ten days of food left. He frowned and said, "Then
What about ten days from now?”
Zhuo Xiangdian shook his head and said: "Now is the time of drought. Food shortages are normal at this time of year. It's just that Yang Xuangan has been too harsh in collecting food throughout the winter. Now, except for some big households, ordinary people don't have much food in their hands. Some
People’s homes don’t even have grain.”
Liu Ziqiu was taken aback and asked repeatedly: "This situation is only in Fufeng County, or is it the same in all surrounding counties?"
Zhuo Xiangdian sighed and said: "The situation in Fufeng is slightly better, but the situation in other counties is probably worse than Fufeng. I wonder if your Excellency has ever heard of Li Shanfei?"
Liu Ziqiu nodded and said: "Li Shanfei's real name is Wei Dao'er, and he is a horse bandit active in the Guanlong area. What does the lack of food have to do with him?"
Zhuo Xiangdian said worriedly: "The food shortage has nothing to do with Li Shanfei, but Li Shanfei has a lot to do with the food shortage. Last year, Li Shanfei could only have three to five thousand men. But after one winter, he suddenly grew to nearly one hundred thousand men.
. Among the newly added troops under his command, many are farmers who have insufficient food to eat. Recently, Li Shanfei has swept through the two counties of Pingliang and Anding in the north, looting large households, opening warehouses and stocking grain, and there will be many people following him. I am afraid that not long ago
It will invade Tianshui and Fufeng."
Liu Ziqiu was silent for a while and said: "Although Wei Daoer has a large number of people, they are still a mob and are nothing to worry about. The top priority is to feed the people. Since those big families still have surplus grain, let them donate some."
Since Zhuo Xiangdian was a member of the Li family, he would naturally side with the aristocratic family. He couldn't help but said with a face full of embarrassment: "I'm afraid they won't, so I can't rob it by force."
Liu Ziqiu knew that he wanted to block her mouth, so she couldn't help laughing and said: "Liu is not a robber, how could he commit robbery? If they don't want to donate, then Liu can always pay to buy from them, right?"
?However, Liu wants to speak ugly words first. If anyone dares to take the opportunity to drive up food prices, don’t blame Liu for being ruthless!"
Zhuo Xiangdian saw that Liu Ziqiu's hand seemed to be pressing on the handle of the knife. He couldn't help but shuddered and said cautiously: "Master Liu, even if those big families are willing to sell grain, the government can't come up with that much money."
ah."
Liu Ziqiu pondered for a moment and said, "Liu remembers that there is a Qiyang Palace in Fufeng. I wonder if it is still there?"
Zhuo Xiangdian didn't understand what Liu Ziqiu meant, so he quickly said: "Sir, Qiyang Palace is in Fufeng City. Is it possible that you want to stay in the palace tonight?"
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "Liu shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, and naturally stayed in the camp. Liu asked you, can Qiyang Palace remain as it is?"
Zhuo Xiangdian laughed and said: "Although the Yang brothers are treasonous, they have not overstepped the boundaries of the late emperor's palaces. They still send troops to guard the palaces, and the servants and maids in the palace are well fed. Please rest assured, sir."
Yang Guangxing liked to travel and built countless palaces all over the country. Because Yang Xuangan and Li Yuan both regarded the Yang family as orthodox, and the palace was also a symbol of the royal family, they both carefully maintained the normal operation of palaces in various places. Of course, on the other hand,
, they also hope that after they dominate the world, these well-preserved palaces can also become a place for them to have fun. For example, Li Yuan protected Shanglin Xiyuan in Luoyang very well.
So far, there are only three palaces that have been really damaged. One is Longxi Palace, which was first occupied by Yu Wenhuaji and later moved away by Liu Ziqiu. The other is Jiangdu Palace, which was occupied by Wang Shichong. However, Li Jing did not snatch the treasures in the palace.
, but ordered people to protect the palace. The most miserable place was Fenyang Palace. It was first caused by Duo Jishi and others. After learning about the accident on the grassland, Duo Jishi hurriedly returned north and had to take those beauties away.
and property were abandoned along the road and fell into the hands of the rebels.
When Liu Ziqiu heard that the palace was in good condition, he also laughed and said, "This will make Liu feel relieved. The late emperor built all these palaces with extreme luxury, and Qiyang Palace must be no exception. As long as Qiyang Palace was not robbed by Yang Xuangan
Once empty, those treasures will be enough to feed many people."
Zhuo Xiangdian was shocked and quickly raised his hands and said, "Sir, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."
Liu Ziqiu shook his head and said: "There is nothing wrong. Those treasures are dead, but the people are alive. Mr. Zhuo, I will leave this matter to you. Use the treasures in the palace to play with those wealthy families.
In exchange for grain and grain seeds, they will be distributed to the people throughout the county to help the people survive this difficult time."
Zhuo Xiangdian hesitated and said: "There are just two things that I would like you to tell me. The first one is whether to distribute food in the form of opening porridge for disaster relief, or to distribute it directly on a per capita basis. The second one is, if the food in Qiyang Palace is distributed
Now that all the treasures and artifacts have been taken away, how will the concubines, maids, and chamberlains be placed in the palace?"
Liu Ziqiu was silent for a while and said: "There is no need to open a porridge restaurant. Grain is distributed directly to the people according to household registration and population, and grain types are distributed according to acres of land. All people who receive grain and grain seeds must register. You can
After the autumn harvest, they will be returned in equal amounts. All those in the palace asked them to release the Ning family."
Zhuo Xiangdian added: "Master Liu, there is no problem in distributing food. It's just that the people in the palace come from all over the world, and the world is in chaos. Even if you let them go home, they won't be able to go back. I hope you will think twice."
If it were anyone else, they would just follow Liu Ziqiu's instructions, without considering the safety of the palace maids and concubines. Liu Ziqiu did not expect Zhuo Xiangdian to have such a kind heart, so he couldn't help but nodded vigorously and said: "
Mr. Zhuo, you are very thoughtful. Many of Liu's men are young and unmarried soldiers. If the palace maids and concubines are willing, they can marry Liu's soldiers. If they are not willing, Mr. Zhuo will make arrangements at his discretion.
It can be allocated to fields and houses.”
These palace maids and concubines actually did not live a happy life. Many of them would never see the emperor in their lifetime. There was only one man in the palace, so most of them had to remain widows for the rest of their lives. But they still belonged to the emperor's women.
, they will never be able to get out unless the emperor opens his mouth. And no emperor will agree to let his women out of the palace. Even after their death, the fate of these women is either to become a monk or to be buried. Now.
, Liu Ziqiu let them live with just one sentence, how many of them are still willing to stay in the palace?
Zhuo Xiangdian, the Prime Minister of Fufeng County and also the Palace Supervisor of Qiyang, understood the pain of those women and the purpose of Yang Xuangan to keep them. Seeing that Liu Ziqiu was very generous in letting all those women go, Zhuo Xiangdian couldn't help but be very fond of Liu Ziqiu.
After looking at it for a while, he quickly said: "Master Liu doesn't know that there are two palaces in Fufeng, one is Renshou Palace and the other is Anren Palace. Are these two palaces treated like Qiyang Palace?"
Liu Ziqiu didn't know that there were three palaces in Fufeng County. He secretly calculated that the treasures and utensils in the three palaces should be enough to satisfy the people of the county to survive these lean days. He couldn't help but nodded and said: "Please come with me, Mr. Zhuo."
Let’s handle it.”
…
Liu Ziqiu released all the women from the three palaces in Fufeng, but a certain woman in the Luoyang Palace was not so lucky. Li Yuan came to kill her early in the morning and came to investigate.
The only confidants around Empress Dowager Xiao were the maids and eunuchs. When she got up in the morning, she suddenly found that all the people serving her today had unfamiliar faces. She couldn't help but be shocked and asked: "Who are you?"
A fat palace maid said in a rough voice: "Go back to your Majesty, the servants and others are here to serve your Majesty on the orders of Manager Li."
Manager Li is Li Cheng. After he returned to the palace yesterday, he immediately mobilized his cronies and changed all the maids and eunuchs in Empress Dowager Xiao's palace, inside and out.
Queen Mother Xiao was naturally furious: "Call Li Cheng to the Ai family!"
But the fat palace maid said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Manager Li is drinking tea with the prince. The prince has ordered his servants to wait on the Queen to take a bath."
Queen Mother Xiao was startled and said repeatedly: "Why are you taking a bath in broad daylight?"
The fat palace maid chuckled and said: "Congratulations to the empress, congratulations to the empress, the prince will be here soon to congratulate the empress!"
There is only one prince in Luoyang City now, and that is Li Yuan, the king of Tang Dynasty. After hearing these words, Empress Dowager Xiao's face suddenly turned pale, and she stood blankly for a long time. Then she suddenly shouted hysterically: "Li Yuan, what is Li Yuan going to do? He wants to rebel.
No!"
But the fat palace maid was very calm, bowed and said: "What the prince wants to do, I have just made it clear. The fragrant soup is ready, please invite the queen to take a bath!"
Empress Dowager Xiao grabbed the edge of the bed with both hands and refused to move. The fat palace maid sneered and said, "My Majesty, don't blame me for being rough. Come on, change your clothes!"
Poor Empress Dowager Xiao's delicate body was no match for those stupid palace maids. The palace maids swarmed up, raising their hands and feet, and actually dragged Empress Dowager Xiao to the outside. As expected, there was a baby sitting outside.
It's just a big bathtub with spices added in it. The mist is lingering, and you can vaguely see many petals floating on the water. It's winter now, so it probably takes a lot of effort to find these petals.
Empress Dowager Xiao struggled desperately, but those stupid palace maids did not know how to show mercy to her, and took off her clothes with all their hands. Empress Dowager Xiao was anxious and shouted: "If you don't let go, the Ai family will commit suicide!"