Chapter 97 The disaster is not over, the famine has just begun
The farm's nights are always quiet and noisy. I don't know which family's native dog barked twice, and then was beaten by its owner until it started whimpering. What should I do if the barking at night disturbed the nobles' sleep?!
However, the nobles in Zhuangzi did not fall asleep. Ye Anzheng was looking at the starry sky in a daze. Tie Er beside him was looking at the starry sky as boredly as him. Since the Wang Gang was left in Yangcheng County, Tie Er temporarily
I lost the fun of arguing with him.
When Ye An turned around, he was startled. There were two more people beside him. They were both raising their heads and counting the stars in the sky. One was Xuanchengzi and the other was Wang Yuan.
Nosebleeds are a troublesome thing. He just woke up and bumped into the door frame, leaving a nosebleed. Ye An could only look up at the sky. He never thought that there were several people around him who were like him, looking like the stars of the King of Dogs.
Looking at the person next to him, Xuan Chengzi said, "What are you looking at, Master?"
Lowering their heads and seeing Ye An wiping the nosebleeds from his nose, Xuan Chengzi and Wang Yuan blushed. Fortunately, they couldn't see clearly at night...
In the dark night, everything has returned to its original tranquility. At night when there is not much entertainment life, only the bedtime affairs between husband and wife are the most energy-consuming.
People who can't sleep in summer are often "leisurely" people. Farmers who have been busy for a day have already fallen asleep. Only people with many things on their mind would wastefully light oil lamps at this time.
The oil lamp connected to the upper plate and lower seat by a column in the middle was so smoked that Ye An couldn't open his eyes. He didn't know what animal made the fat and burned it to produce such a huge smoke.
The old Taoist and Wang Yuan next to them both had expressions of disdain on their faces. What kind of child could dislike lamp oil at night? Are they still considered scholars?!
Which scholar doesn't read at night? Looking at Ye An's appearance, you can tell that he doesn't study at night.
I don't know since when, Ye An has become accustomed to the contempt Xuan Chengzi and Wang Yuan have for him, especially in the details of life. As a "civilized person of later generations", he has too many things that he is not used to.
In the eyes of Wang Yuan and Xuan Chengzi, these unaccustomed behaviors are manifestations of "not doing their job properly".
Ye An suddenly discovered that he had not really integrated into the Song Dynasty. Even after being here for such a long time, it was still difficult to pretend that he was flawless. The main reason was that the time was short.
He believed that when the sweet potatoes and potatoes were harvested, he would become a true Song Dynasty man.
"I have already sent a letter to Wang Hao, asking him to come as soon as possible. Do you plan to tell me now, or do you want to wait for the three of us to question you together?"
Faced with Wang Yuan's questioning, Ye An touched his nose inexplicably: "What did you say?"
"Nature is the way to save Henan Mansion!!"
"Didn't Sun Quanbin go to Luoyang City with food? The boy has already given the "Disaster Relief Book" and brought out good seeds. Isn't this enough?"
"Not enough, far from enough! Do you know how many victims there are in Henan Prefecture? No less than 300,000! This excludes some people who are unwilling to go out to escape the famine at home! Do you know how many young children and old people are not strong enough to die at home?! You
Do you know how many people are so hungry that they swallow Guanyin soil to survive and end up with abdominal distension like a ball and suffocate to death?!"
Under the oil lamp, looking at the ferocious-looking Wang Yuan and the trembling Xuanchengzi with clenched fists, Ye An suddenly felt that this dynasty had another side that he had not seen.
"The boy has done what he can, and there is really nothing else he can do. We can't let him create food out of nothing, right?!"
It would be a lie to say that I don't care about the disaster in Henan Prefecture, but I have done everything I can. The potatoes and sweet potatoes have been planted in the ground, and the "Disaster Relief Book" has been sent to Tokyo City. The remaining things are related to
It has nothing to do with me. Even if the imperial court sends people to Henan Prefecture to deal with the disaster, there are still many people there. What does it have to do with me?!
In the dim light, Wang Yuan's voice was like a deflated rubber ball: "Yangcheng County is just a county, how much food can there be? Even if they are all added up, it is not enough for Sun Quanbin to provide disaster relief. Except for Yangcheng
County, he also went to Gong County.
More victims went east from there, and they gathered in groups and became chaotic. Zhang Jidao, the magistrate of Gongxian County, tried his best to suppress them, but the rioters rushed into the county office. Zhang Jidao strangled the mother-in-law and the child with his own hands, and stabbed five people in the rioters to death.
Abandoned in court!
Sun Quanbin went crazy in Gong County. After collecting Zhang Jidao's body, he killed more than a thousand rioters, and everyone's head was rolling! He scared the people of Gong County, and then the place settled down..."
"So Sun Quanbin is not a bad person!~"
Wang Yuan glared at Ye An with dissatisfaction: "He is responsible for the disaster relief work in Henan Province. If a civil servant like the magistrate in front of him died tragically at the hands of the mob and did nothing, the censors in Wutai could do nothing after returning to the court.
His flesh and blood will be devoured!"
Ye An shrugged his shoulders: "The king dies for the country, the officials dies for the people, and the scholars die for the system! This is the ancient law! Zhang Jidao's death was due to his lack of talent, but it was also tragic and worth it! If he hadn't died, Gong County would have died.
The common people, and the merchants who stock up on grain, aren’t they?”
Wang Yuan nodded: "None of the merchants in Gong County were damaged. Zhang Jidao died and Sun Quanbin left, so they started selling food. Gong County has settled down. After all, things got big and the leader of the county died in the chaos.
Who is innocent in Gong County?!"
Ye An sighed: "There are no innocent people in disasters. Zhang Jidao's talents are not suitable for being the leader of a county. When the number of refugees increases, he should attack those wealthy households and merchants who hoard food. When the situation is in chaos, he will
I'm afraid those who want to rectify it are careless and powerless, and those chaos is probably instigated by someone with good intentions. Who among the ordinary victims would dare to kill officials and rebel?!"
Wang Yuan's eyes flashed and he stared at Ye An, while Xuan Chengzi shuddered and tried not to show how surprised he was.
Ye An's analysis is very close to the truth. It would be a waste of materials for this guy not to become an official!
Picking up the sour soup drink on the table, Ye An stood up slowly and said: "I don't know who the people behind you and Wang Hao are. Of course I can guess but I don't want to guess. Since you said this to me,
Then wait for two months. After two months, all the potatoes and sweet potatoes produced, except for the seed grains, can be taken away. You just need to take the capital."
"How much is the capital?!"
"A hundred pennies and a stone cannot be less..."
Seeing Wang Yuan breathing a long sigh of relief and Xuan Chengzi rolling his eyes, Ye An smiled, and now he has entered the theme!
In fact, Wang Yuan said so much, just hoping that the grain yield in the Guantian field, which is nearly a thousand per mu, can be sold to Henan Prefecture. There will be famine, and there will be famine.
The horror of the locust plague lies in the destruction of crops. Farmers who have paid the summer tax do not have much food in their hands, and after the autumn seedlings are destroyed, their wealth is also lost. Even if the court exempts the affected areas from the autumn tax, it will not help.
When will the replanted food be harvested? Can people wait until then? The real famine has just begun...