Chapter 158: Predictive Proposals for Disaster Relief
"Young Master, is this possible?"
"If we do this, will we be impeached?"
"The general is not afraid of losing his position, but he is worried about you, young master. He is afraid that you will be targeted by the Yushitai..."
When Long Hua was rescuing people, Fang Jue and others were watching the scene not far away.
Deliberately transferring elites to give Long Xuewei a chance to come in was also a tacit understanding between Fang Jue and the Northern Liang royal family.
Long before the emperor gave the order, Fang Jue had already sent people to contact the Northern Liang royal family and planned to sell Chen Zhi.
Although this person does not have much military talent, as a member of the royal family and armed with military advice, he can still restrain Luoyang. The Northern Liang royal family will never allow anything to happen to him.
So even if Fang Jue offers a sky-high price, the other party will still be able to accept it.
"Two hundred thousand taels of silver is only twenty thousand taels of gold. No matter how poor the country is, the royal family can spend this money without blinking an eye."
Since ancient times, no dynasty has ever lived in poverty.
Only when the royal family has absolute financial resources can it have absolute say.
"Then Long Xuewei came here from the capital of Beiliang. How did he have time to bring so much silver and how could he arrive in a few days?"
Chen Zhi was captured only five days ago.
Even if he communicated with Beiliang on the same day, the money would not be delivered so quickly.
"Of course it wasn't taken from the capital of Beiliang. The royal family of Beiliang has banks all over the place and firmly controls the economic lifeline of the entire vassal state. This money should be sent from a big bank in their south."
Bai Qing has some understanding of Beiliang.
After all, Western Chu and Beiliang are partially bordered, so they will naturally know each other well.
"Selling 200,000 taels, this money is enough to buy a lot of food. Suzhou's preliminary disaster relief is in place." Wei Ran also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Two hundred thousand taels is not enough, far from enough." Ye Hongyi shook his head and looked at Fang Jue.
Fang Jue said: "When the money arrives, take it with you and let's go to Ganzhou."
…
Xia Kingdom, Jinling.
In the Fengtian Palace, there is another court meeting, but everyone is in high spirits today.
Because yesterday's battle report arrived in Beijing, although it was confidential, there was no need to suppress such a happy event, as everyone had already known about it.
Xiao Pingsi looked at the officials below, feeling a little relaxed and said with a smile:
"Yesterday's Young Master's battle report has returned to Beijing. The Yulin Army and the Liangzhou Battalion defeated the Beiliang Army, captured Beiliang's deputy general Chen Zhi, and chased the remaining Beiliang Army to the outside of Xuegu Pass..."
Many things are true, but when combined they look a bit fake.
This battle report was naturally not written by Fang Jue. There were plenty of documents in the army that could write the report.
With the compromises and demands of all parties, such a perfect battle report was written.
Every sentence in the battle report is true, not a word of lies, but the facts are naturally somewhat different from this.
Among them, the matter about Beiliang having obtained grains was naturally not mentioned in this public report. It had already been submitted to the emperor by the Xuanjian Division.
"This battle is a great victory!" Xiao Pingsi opened his arms and laughed.
The ministers bowed their heads: "Long live your Majesty..."
Next, there is a process of chanting merits.
All parties began to show their merits to those they supported and suggested promotions.
After a long while, everyone was exhausted with their praises. It was almost time for Zhuge Qingshan to see him, so he left work and talked about another serious matter.
"Your Majesty, I have a report."
Zhuge Qingshan bowed slightly, and after receiving the emperor's signal, he said:
"This victory in this battle should be a tribute to the northern generals, but the damage caused by the Northern Liang army cannot be ignored."
"The city of Suzhou was captured, and the Northern Liang army massacred all the soldiers who were defending the city. I thought it was a traitor who was responsible, and it was not the soldiers' fault... I ask your majesty to provide compensation for the casualties, so as to calm the morale of the army."
"That's right..." Everyone then remembered that the souls of Suzhou's dead seemed to be waking up from a dream one by one.
Xiao Pingsi nodded: "What the chief assistant said is absolutely true. The young master reported that He An has confessed his guilt. It was he who colluded with the Beiliang Army before and caused such a disaster... An explanation should be sought for the dead and injured soldiers!"
"Oh..."
There were also some uninformed people who were immediately filled with indignation when they found out that He Anzhen had done so many things.
Only the members of the He family were immediately embarrassed and frightened, fearing that they would be implicated.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhuge Qingshan first praised and then brought up the business:
"The city of Suzhou is destroyed, and the people will naturally suffer. Wherever the Northern Liang army goes, they will burn, kill, and loot. I think that although the north has not yet sent details of the disaster in Suzhou, it should be prepared in advance..."
"I actually forgot about this..." Yan Lanfeng was startled and immediately left the office, "I agree, this is the duty of the Ministry of Household Affairs. I have been too busy today. Please forgive me."
During this period, he was setting up a glass factory, supervising the fireworks factory, and ensuring the daily operation of the household department... Yan Lanfeng was no easier than the chief minister of the cabinet.
So much so that these things that could be expected in previous years were actually ignored.
Zhuge Qingshan also immediately spoke for Yan Lanfeng: "Why should Yan Shangshu blame himself? Everyone makes omissions."
"What Lao Aiqing said is absolutely true. The Ministry of Revenue should arrange disaster relief procedures in Suzhou as soon as possible." Xiao Pingsi also nodded and did not blame the Ministry of Revenue for dereliction of duty.
After all, he also knew how busy Yan Lanfeng was recently, and he was doing things for the country, so why should he be harsh?
"Your Majesty, disaster relief is a major matter and should be arranged in detail. I have some ideas." One of the cabinet ministers came out.
Yan Neng, the cabinet bachelor.
He said: "I think the road to Suzhou is far away. If we mobilize grain and grass from the capital or other places, the loss will be too huge on the way. It is better to raise grain nearby in the north."
"Well, what Yan Aiqing said makes sense, and I have exactly what I mean. How did the court do this kind of thing in the past?"
Of course Xiao Pingsi would not forget it, he just wanted to see how many people present would agree with Yan Neng's words.
Raising money on the spot...these four words represent ten thousand taels of gold.
Zhuge Qingshan pretended not to understand what Yan Neng meant and said calmly: "I can't remember clearly."
Xiao Pingsi smiled, thinking that the chief assistant was still a little self-possessed.
So he looked at the household department.
Yan Lanfeng rolled his eyes and looked at many people present before he realized what this meant.
But he also answered cleverly: "Your Majesty, in the past years, the Ministry of Revenue would only provide money for situations like this. As for how to raise money on the spot... I think we have to ask Mr. Yan."
Yan Neng frowned, but he didn't expect that after turning around, the pot would come back to him.
Xiao Pingsi looked at Yan Neng: "Yan Qing, since it's your idea, let me tell you how to raise funds on the spot, right?"
Zhuge Qingshan lowered his head and counted the embroidery on his feet. He sighed in his heart that his eyesight was not as good as before and he couldn't see clearly.
No one in the civil and military circles of the dynasty could help.
Yan Neng had no choice but to swallow it himself.
"Your Majesty... I believe that the official grain storage of various states should be mobilized in the north. If there is any shortage, local grain merchants can be found."
When the word "grain merchant" comes out, no matter how stupid you are, you will understand something.
But there are more than one or two people on this line.
Immediately, someone had to stand up and said: "Your Majesty, I think there is some truth in what Master Yan said. The loss of food and grass near the capital is too great and it is not cost-effective."
"I second the proposal..."
Xiao Pingsi nodded with a smile and glanced at Wang Feng beside him.
Wang Feng was prompted by a glance and immediately understood something, secretly remembering the names of these people.
"Grain reserves in various places must be prepared to prevent local famines and ensure military reserves in the event of a war. They cannot be tampered with at will!" Xia Song, the Minister of War, immediately stood up and said.
He did not object to Yan Neng's wishes, but he objected to obtaining grain from nearby state capitals.
Then there is only one way left.
Grain merchant.
Xia Song's move made it difficult for the emperor and the chief minister to see clearly.
I don't know if he is really doing his job or if he has some selfish motives.
Xiao Pingsi saw Yan Neng and stopped talking. He also knew that Yan Neng was cautious and did not dare to say too much.
Just need a little guidance:
"Yan Qing, between you and me, which grain dealer in the north can help with the disaster in Suzhou?"
"..." Yan Neng said without blushing, "The only one who has the background of Emperor Zun Pavilion is An Daolun, the largest grain merchant in the north."
"An...Dao...Lun?" Xiao Pingsi nodded slightly.
I have heard this name no less than twenty times in the more than ten years since I ascended the throne.
I even met this person.
An Daolun has a background in Emperor Zun Pavilion, so no one dares to do anything against him. He can only compete with normal business methods... But this person is very resourceful and understands business very well, so he quickly became big.
At the height of his power, even Xiao Pingsi visited him, just so that the Ministry of Revenue could get some discounts when purchasing grain from him.
This person's reputation is such that even Xiao Pingsi has to admit that there is no one who can surpass him in the grain business world.
