The people saw the crops getting dryer and drier, and also saw that it had not rained yet, the rivers were getting dryer, and even a few wells were drying up.
Only the deep well that was dug before has not dried up, which can provide drinking water for the people and their livestock.
Some people also thought about taking some water from deep wells to water their crops, but the local village chief stopped them.
At that time, His Majesty's order was very clear. Only the common people and their livestock were allowed to drink from all deep wells. The common people were not allowed to draw water from the deep wells to irrigate crops. Those who violated the order were severely punished.
There were also some people who secretly collected water for irrigation at night, despite the government's orders. They were caught by the village leader and handed over to the government, where they were severely punished.
At that time, he only issued this order as a last resort, because Li Er knew that these fertile fields were the lifeblood of all ordinary people.
The drought has caused these lifebloods to die. Seeing the deep well may be the last straw.
If all the deep wells are used up by then, it will be a real disaster.
Since Your Majesty asked us to dig a deep well, and now that the well has been dug, Your Majesty will not allow us to use the water from the well to irrigate the crops.
What your Majesty said has indeed come true. If so, I beg your Majesty to pray for rain for the people.
Yes, Your Majesty has already predicted that there will be a severe drought in summer since it is spring.
We must have made preparations to solve the severe drought for the people.
We, the common people, beg your Majesty to pray for rain and for disaster relief.
The voice is getting louder and louder, and more and more people are placing their requests on Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty can pray for rain.
Let God send down another nectar to help the people of the world.
One message after another, the news reached Chang'an, arrived at the palace, and was placed in the Tai Chi Hall and on Li Er's table.
Li Er frowned when he saw the contents of the letter.
If I had heard what these people said when I was young and energetic, I would have been furious.
When I asked you to dig wells and said there was a severe drought, you said I was a foolish king.
Now that the severe drought has really come, this deep well has at least protected you from thirst, but you still need the water for irrigation.
He also thought about letting himself go to pray for rain. If he was really that capable, he would definitely make the entire Tang Dynasty prosperous and the country and the people be safe.
Who would take such precautions in advance in spring?
But now that I have become an emperor, I have become more and more aware of this position.
What the people need at this moment is a backbone, and this backbone is himself, the emperor.
Why is it so easy for rebellions to occur in the world in years of great disaster?
This is all because in this year of great calamity, the people are in dire straits. If the emperor does nothing, many people will take the opportunity to confuse the people.
The reason why the common people are common people is because they have no so-called independent thinking.
As long as someone treats him well, he will support him without hesitation.
Especially in a major disaster like this, if the government fails to act, disaster will result.
As an emperor, he must consider the common people.
After hearing the news, Li Er continued to issue orders, asking all state governments and counties to arrange manpower to keep a close eye on the drought-stricken areas. People were not allowed to use deep wells for irrigation, and those who disobeyed the order were thrown into prison.
In addition, all prefectures and counties are also required to make preparations to provide relief to the victims and open warehouses to release grain when necessary.
Morning morning the next day.
As soon as I asked the question, a group of ministers stood up one after another and reported to His Majesty about the drought.
Now that summer has passed for such a long time and there is still no sign of rain, there is no doubt that there will be a drought this year.
Some ministers directly turned on the flattery mode.
Your Majesty is wise and wise. In the spring, he had already predicted that there would be a severe drought this summer, and he began to arrange for all the people to dig wells.
Now that the drought has really occurred, the rivers have dried up and the shallow wells have dried up. Those deep wells can actually provide relief to the people of the world.
And the occurrence of drought will not cause the people to lose their sense of proportion.
After hearing this flattery, Li Er was not moved by it.
Because he knew that what happened this time, fortunately, his wise brother informed him in advance.
If it weren't for that series of opportunities, I wouldn't have met my wise brother, and I wouldn't have known about it in advance.
This big disaster this year will definitely cause heavy damage to the people all over the world.
Nowadays, the most basic needs of the people can be solved, but the next thing that needs to be solved is the matter of food for the people.
Nowadays, the situation of severe drought is basically finalized.
"Your Majesty, if we are like this this year, it will definitely be a year of severe drought.
If it doesn't rain again, the entire Central Plains will really suffer heavy losses by then.
Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and mighty and has predicted in advance that there will be a severe drought this year, allowing the people of the Tang Dynasty to dig wells in advance.
The deep wells are not dry yet, so the people will not be able to drink water."
"Your Majesty, it's easy for us to solve the water issue. Shouldn't we prepare food as well?"
When a major disaster occurs, there will definitely be a shortage of food. Since prevention has been taken in advance, do we also need to prepare in advance for food?
When it came to food, the faces of the clans became ugly and they hid aside and just watched quietly.
Speaking of the last snow disaster in Datang, it can be said that the incident is vivid in my mind.
The emperor used some so-called merit book to deceive them all.
Surprisingly, they are the clan that donated the most, but in fact, if they donated, they would just donate.
But in the end, all these benefits will be obtained by the emperor.
On the contrary, in the end, the common people only remembered the benefits to the emperor. Those who actually donated the most things selectively forgot.
That group of people are all just a bunch of untouchables.
Whoever treats him well is unknown and deserves to suffer.
At this moment, an official from the Ministry of Revenue stood up.
"Your Majesty, due to the drought this year, we have to prepare food reserves in advance to provide relief to the victims.
It's just that the Tang Dynasty is at war with the Turks, and the food and grass consumption is very large, and now we don't have enough left.
I sincerely request your Majesty to organize another fundraiser, build a merit monument, or call on ministers and even wealthy businessmen in the world to make donations."
"Yes, Your Majesty, if you want to make a donation, I will be the first to donate."
"Your Majesty, I will reconsider this."
"Your Majesty, I will reconsider this.'
really.
After hearing what these people said, the faces of the clan members became even worse.
It's just that this time everyone understands that if you want to donate money, just donate directly.
Anyway, they won't donate a penny.
Li Er shook his head.
The last snowstorm broke out so suddenly that the entire Tang Dynasty was completely unprepared for such a situation.
I happened to meet Brother Xian, and after consulting him, I adopted that method and held a fundraiser.
The group of disciples from the aristocratic clan who were beaten were caught off guard. They accounted for the majority of the donations last time.
But this time Li Er knew that if he used that method again, he would definitely not be tricked by him like he did last time.
As the saying goes, if there is no benefit, maybe they won’t donate a penny.
At that time, I can't force them to donate, right?
What if they don't donate and put a knife to their necks?
Maybe people will point out what happened last year. We donated so much last winter, and we really have no food this year.
If His Majesty continues to force us like this, if it doesn't work, we will resort to selling the iron.
In the end, he turned into a villain.
Where should I put my face?
After thinking for a moment, he rejected the proposal.
"I know that if we, the Tang Dynasty, were collecting donations, all the civil and military officials in my court would also lend a helping hand to the people of the world.
But this time, at the beginning of spring this year, I arranged for the Ministry of Revenue to purchase a large amount of grain from all over the world.
It should be able to withstand it for a while.
First take out all this grain and use it to provide relief to the people.
At the same time, we are dispatching manpower and making a large number of acquisitions.”
"This is Your Majesty, I will take your orders."
Hearing what His Majesty said, the disciples of the family laughed disdainfully in their hearts.
To put it nicely, if no one donates by then, all you will lose is your face.
"My dear friends, do you have anything else to do?"
Everyone shook their heads. There was nothing else to do at the moment. Li Er waved his hand, and the ministers shouted to see off His Majesty.
Li Er left the main hall, returned to Tai Chi Hall, and arranged for those people to come over.
Ask them to use Wanbao Pavilion to continue to prepare food, sell wine and ice, and must ruthlessly ruffle their feathers.
"Your Majesty, there are people who are secretly investigating our drinks, and we have killed them all."
No need to guess, you all know who is investigating, continue to send more manpower, and anyone who wants to investigate, no matter who they are, no matter what their identity is, will be killed without mercy.
It's Your Majesty.
"Your Majesty, should we go to Mr. Lin's place?"
Li Er shook his head.
This drought was what Brother Xian was talking about. If Brother Xian had had a way to deal with this problem at that time, he would have already revealed the method at that time.
To this day, Brother Xian has not said anything about how to deal with the drought.
Now it seems that we, the people of the Tang Dynasty, can only rely on us to overcome this difficulty.
After Li Er finished speaking, several people quickly saluted.
"Wei Chen will do his best!"
"Okay, let's all go down first!"
"It's your Majesty!"
Several ministers returned to their respective posts and began to make arrangements.
Just as His Majesty said, at this moment, for ordinary people, it is better to give them some food than to say 1,000 to 10,000.
Those words of comfort spoken by the court were simply unnecessary.
Just like when the snowstorm hit last year, officials standing above and talking incessantly, only talking but not doing anything, will only arouse the resentment of the people.
It would be better to be down-to-earth and do something for the people. This chapter has been completed!