"Yes, this move is clearly to let the victims fend for themselves! Raising food prices will inevitably lead to hoarding by businessmen."
"If there is no food to buy by then, will we have to watch the victims starve to death?"
"We also need to open local granaries! Haha, there are more than one million victims in the south, and the amount of food that needs to be eaten in one day is an astronomical figure."
"How long can the local granary last? If there is a war at this time, wouldn't even the military rations be brought in?"
"It is not an exaggeration to say that the person who proposed this method should be cut into pieces with a thousand cuts!"
"This person has hidden evil intentions. Could he be a spy sent by the enemy country?"
"Your Majesty, stabilizing food prices is the best way to provide disaster relief. If the people are suffering, please ask Your Majesty to release the funds for disaster relief!"
All the ministers came to the table one after another. Although Luo Ningxin thought about it for most of the night yesterday, she never expected such a situation.
He said with a cold eyebrow: "Do you all think this method is inappropriate?"
Zhang Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs, stood up and said with a gloomy face: "Of course your Majesty's approach is inappropriate. Now the people are waiting for the government to allocate funds for relief, but we have to stand by and watch them fend for themselves. Doesn't this mean that your Majesty has lost the support of the people!"
Luo Ning's heart was shocked, indeed!
The hearts and minds of the people of the country and the country are the most important thing!
It's just that she studied the method mentioned by Fang Chen most of the night last night, and she, who is extremely smart, felt that this method might be feasible.
Being refuted by the ministers at this time, it was inevitable that they felt a little pity, although the Xijin Empire had paid annual tribute.
That was a large amount of money, but Luo Ning had already considered using it to expand military equipment.
At this moment, if the wishes of some officials are fulfilled, funds will be allocated to fill the bottomless hole in the disaster-stricken areas in the south.
Luo Ningxin could foresee that within a month those guys would definitely need money again.
Thinking about it, Luo Ningxin said: "Gentlemen, please wait a moment. Feng Gaoxuan, Chief Internal Affairs Supervisor, Fang Chen."
Many ministers were stunned and looked at each other.
How did this matter get involved with that eunuch? Could it be that he gave His Majesty such a bad idea?
Some ministers couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, could it be that this law was proposed by Fang Chen, the director of the Internal Affairs Bureau?"
Luo Ning thought to herself: "Your Majesty the Minister is right."
"This man is really a treacherous minister. Your Majesty must not be deceived by him!" Liu Yuanqing, the Minister of Household Affairs, said.
Luo Ning felt a little unhappy and said calmly: "Let's wait for Manager Fang to come first."
Fang Chen was leaning on a wicker chair and basking in the sun when he suddenly received an instruction from His Majesty and hurriedly changed his clothes and went to the court hall.
After saluting, he asked: "Did your Majesty summon you for something?"
Luo Ningxin sat high on the dragon chair and said calmly: "Mr. Fang, yesterday you proposed to me the method of suppressing food prices. The ministers were very opposed to it, so I asked you to complain in detail."
So that's what happened.
Fang Chen turned around, thinking that these guys didn't understand something, so he said, "What don't you understand, sirs?"
As he said this, he glanced at Zhao Sen, a member of the household department, and it was different from that night.
At this moment, Zhao Sen's face was full of dullness and he seemed to be absent-minded. This guy's acting skills are quite good.
Fang Chen thought to himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs, rebuked him unceremoniously.
"Manager Fang, what's your intention to give His Majesty such an idea? You want to see millions of corpses from our Great Yan Dynasty!"
Fang Chen was stunned for a moment. It turned out that it wasn't that he didn't understand, but that he was here to cause trouble.
He suppressed his smile and said softly: "May I ask your name?"
"Zhang Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
Fang Chen said: "Sir Zhang, I don't understand what you mean when you talk about millions of corpses."
Zhang Yu said coldly: "If we allow food prices to increase so that people cannot afford to buy food, wouldn't it mean that the victims are left to fend for themselves!"
Fang Chen said rudely: "Wait a minute, Mr. Zhang. The method I propose is to put grain in local grain depots to feed the people, and insist on allowing grain dealers from other places to enter the disaster area to circulate grain. Why are the victims left to fend for themselves?"
"What is stored in the local grain depot is military rations for war preparations. You can't move them at your will!" Zhang Yu snorted.
Fang Chen asked back: "Is there a war now? No, right?"
Zhang Yu was stunned, and then heard Fang Chen say: "Since there is no war, then why can't we use this military ration to help the people get through it first, and then buy new grain when the price of food drops!"
“Wouldn’t this save more money than appropriation?”
Liu Yuanqing, the Minister of Household Affairs who had previously told Her Majesty the Empress that Fang Chen was a treacherous minister, laughed: "What a joke, when the price of food comes down and all the people are dying, who will the food be sold to? Besides, the local grain depot can support it."
How many days?”
"Who are you?" Fang Chen frowned.
"Liu Yuanqing, the left minister of household affairs."
Fang Chen smiled playfully: "A minister and a minister, tsk tsk, why is the Ministry of Revenue so urgently urging His Majesty to allocate funds? Is it possible that there is an ulterior motive?"
Liu Yuanqing was startled and screamed: "Damn eunuch! Don't spit blood!"
"Only those with evil intentions are afraid of other people's remarks. What do you feel guilty about?"
Fang Chen smiled and didn't take the other party's third level seriously at all.
The emperor and the queen are all supporting me, who do you think you are?
"Nonsense! When did I feel guilty! Damn you eunuch, I think you just don't have good intentions! You want our Yan Dynasty to be devastated and your majesty to lose the support of the people of the world!" Liu Yuanqing cursed angrily.
Not only does Fang Chen know how to criticize him, he can too!
"Stop arguing!" Luo Ningxin shouted coldly from the dragon chair, and Liu Yuanqing quickly shut up.
Zhang Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs, no longer struggled with Fang Chen, looked directly at Luo Ning and said, "Your Majesty, I still insist on stabilizing food prices as the best policy."
Fang Chen frowned: "If the imperial court intervenes to suppress food prices, then the food merchants will not sell the food at all, and in the end the food will only remain high!"
Zhang Yu smiled disdainfully: "I have been in charge of the household department for many years. Is it possible that I can't compare to you, an eggless eunuch? How dare private grain merchants be enemies of my court! With the decree, anyone who dares to sell grain at high prices will be killed directly! Who?
Dare to make a mistake!"
"Your method will cause the people to starve to death without food!"
Fang Chen's face darkened: "If the government does this, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the grain merchants. Then the grain merchants will stop selling grain and just sell bowls for more than ten taels of silver each. Buy a bowl and get a pound of grain for free!"
"Let's see what you do!"
"When the time comes, grain dealers will be unable to sell grain, and the people will still be able to buy grain at a high price. Not to mention consuming the national treasury, the food famine will not be fundamentally solved! Stabilizing grain prices will not be able to suppress it at all!"
"I think you fool has lived like a dog for a long time! In order to get money from disaster relief funds and you don't care about the lives of the people, you are not afraid of the people who are starving to death asking for your life!"
"Good boy!"
Zhang Yu was immediately angry. He was the Minister of Household Affairs, a second-rank official, and stood at the top of the power of the Great Yan Dynasty.
When have you ever been pointed at your head and scolded like this?