The third month of the lunar calendar is the season when grass grows and orioles fly. The entire Tang Dynasty is busy with spring plowing matters. Even His Majesty Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty has to go to the fields to cultivate in person.
As a predominantly agricultural nation, plowing in spring, working in summer, harvesting in autumn, and storing in winter are memories engraved in our bones.
Since His Majesty the Emperor has personally cultivated the land, the officials, nobles, and aristocratic families of Chang'an City cannot stay out of the matter. They all sent people to follow Li Shimin and wave their hoes. Although his clumsy movements made the old farmers on the side shake their heads, after all,
It's an attitude.
What Li Shimin wanted was this kind of attitude, so he took advantage of the break to gather everyone together.
"I think that since the Emperor Taishang raised his army, the Tang Dynasty has calmed down the troubled times and unified the country. Until now, it can be regarded as peace in all parts of the world. However, the disaster caused by the Sui Dynasty caused the people to be displaced. Until now, many people are left without enough food and clothing."
"However, after years of war, there were Turkic invasions before, and the treasury was empty. As the king of a country, I can't protect the people. I feel sad every time I think about it."
As he spoke, Li Shimin burst into tears. Qin Hao and Yun Ye glanced at each other subconsciously, and both read two words from each other's eyes: Best Actor!
Just this crying scene would put him on the level of a movie star in future generations. As expected, those who play politics are all born actors.
Li Shimin's cry stunned the heads of the aristocratic families, as well as many civil servants and generals. Just when they were stunned, a strong man fell down in front of Li Shimin and howled bitterly.
"The king humiliates and his ministers die. They are all useless. I hate that old Cheng, a warrior, cannot help your majesty~~~"
The curse in everyone's mind is that Cheng Yaojin, who usually has thick eyebrows and big eyes, is actually a sycophant! Are there any people who please the emperor like you?
After scolding each other, they knelt down in front of Li Shimin one by one, fearing that if they knelt down too late, His Majesty the Emperor would see them and think they were disloyal.
Helpless, Qin Hao and Yun Ye had no choice but to crawl on the ground, pretend to be quail, and shoot the first bird. His Majesty the Emperor lowered his body to perform this scene. If anyone does not support them, the consequences will be tragic.
Li Shimin was very satisfied with his acting skills and the reaction of the civil servants and generals. After the preparation was done, it was time to get down to business, so Li Shimin motioned for everyone to stand back and gave Du Ruhui a look.
Du Ruhui had no choice but to walk out in full view of everyone.
"Your Majesty, now that the Tang Dynasty is in ruins and waiting to be revitalized, I would like to donate 100 dan of grain and 100,000 guan of copper coins stored in my family for the purpose of bringing peace to the people."
The scene immediately exploded. Many civil servants and generals stared at Du Ruhui with a look that wanted to kill someone, especially the heads of the aristocratic families. They all looked old and decrepit, and their eyes were sharper than those of an eagle.
Yun Ye looked at Qin Hao in surprise, and his meaning was obvious: Why is your strategy different from yours, senior brother?
Qin Hao signaled him to be calm and calm.
Sure enough, Li Shimin waved his hand and said seriously: "Nonsense, how can I use Du Aiqing's hard-earned family status as a treasury? Wouldn't that be plundering? If the imperial court does this in the future when it has no money, wouldn't it be human?"
People are in danger? This example cannot be broken, otherwise, how will the national law be regarded?"
Du Ruhui estimated that he had already made a plan, and knelt down and kowtowed again: "What your Majesty said is not unreasonable. However, the people are hungry every day, and I feel uneasy every day. I sincerely ask for your majesty's permission."
"Oh, it's not appropriate, it's still inappropriate." Li Shimin still refused firmly.
The surrounding civil servants, military officers, and aristocratic families are not fools. Since this pair of monarchs and ministers want to act, then they should cooperate and be the audience. Anyway, as long as it harms the interests of the family, they will never agree.
At this time, Fang Xuanling stood up.
"Your Majesty, Du Shangshu is loyal to the people. If he fails to do so, it will be a shock to him."
"Can......."
Fang Xuanling didn't even wait for Li Shimin to finish his words, and directly threw out the national debt plan.
"It is better to do this. The money donated by Du Shangshu will be regarded as a temporary loan from the national treasury. When the treasury is full in the future, 20% of the profit can be returned to Du Shangshu. This move will not only save Du Shangshu's hard work, but will also not have any impact on national laws."
Damage caused."
Li Shimin pretended to be deep in thought, his eyes scanning among the many civil servants and generals.
As soon as everyone present heard what Fang Xuanling said, they knew that these two old guys must have discussed it in advance, otherwise how could they have come up with such a wonderful idea within this period of time?
If looks could kill, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling would have been torn apart by now.
I hate it, but compared to Du Ruhui's previous plan of donating all his wealth, this plan of borrowing money and food is barely passable.
After all, it was the national treasury that borrowed the money, and it was endorsed by His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and there was still 20% interest. Anyway, now that the world is at peace and spring plowing is in full swing, there should not be a serious shortage of food. It is better to put the inventory on display
If you take out the rice, the treasury will return it with new rice, and you can still sell it to Li Shimin to save face.
"Old Cheng's family still has 150,000 guan of copper coins and 100,000 dan of grain. I am willing to lend it to the national treasury."
"Chenniu Jinda..."
A group of military generals stepped forward to help Li Shimin. These were old brothers who had followed Li Shimin in the north and south. Naturally, they had to stand firmly on Li Shimin's side.
When the civil servants and aristocratic families saw that the situation was over, they had no choice but to hold their noses and admit it, and followed suit one after another.
Li Shimin looked very touched and helped everyone up one by one. After recalling the hardships and sweet memories, naturally he received praises.
As a result, a spring plowing ceremony became Li Shimin's show. It is estimated that history books will probably record this scene of harmony between the monarch and his ministers.
The treasury, which was so empty that it made mice run around in tears, finally had grain in stock, but the money was still pitiful. After all, for those wealthy families, 20% profit was too low, so they just borrowed grain.
It would be more cost-effective to spend the money on loan sharks.
Li Shimin didn't take this too seriously. His main purpose was to borrow food. Once the locust plague came, food was the foundation. This time, borrowing food could also effectively inhibit the aristocratic families from annexing land, which was killing two birds with one stone.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Qin Aiqing is really a genius, and he solved the urgent needs of the Tang Dynasty in just a few words." Li Shimin said with emotion.
Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling could only acquiesce this time. Who asked them to think hard and not think of this method?
"How are the poultry purchased from outside China being prepared?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has allocated 500,000 yuan to purchase 50,000 chickens and 30,000 ducks. The number of private poultry has increased by as much as 30%. I am afraid it will be difficult to raise funds in a short time."
Xuan Ling said.
Li Shimin frowned slightly: "Qin Aiqing said that when the locust plague comes, there will be billions of locusts. One poultry can eat 300 locusts every day. Isn't 80,000 poultry enough?"
"Your Majesty, the locust plague is a disaster from heaven. We can only do our best to obey the destiny." Du Ruhui sighed.
"Oh, that's all. According to what Qin Aiqing said, Zuo Wuwei was sent to the west of Tongguan. He ordered Cheng Zhijie to take good care of these poultry. No one is allowed to kill them. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"
"promise."
If human beings know what will happen in the future, their mentality will change accordingly. This is the case with Li Shimin. Originally during the third year of Zhenguan, he should have been full of ambition, high-spirited, and scolding Fang Qiu. However, since the spring plowing, Li Shimin has seldom smiled on his face.
There are more and more signs that the locust plague is indeed coming. According to secret reports from Baiqisi, many mountain villages in Guanzhong have shown signs of locusts gathering together. These locusts are eating crops and have caused a reduction in farmland production. Once more and more swarms of locusts arrive,
When locusts gather together, terrible disasters will inevitably occur.
And as the weather gets hotter and hotter, Chang'an has already experienced a water shortage. Many farmlands have been abandoned because they cannot be irrigated. Due to the lack of water, there is not enough vegetation for locusts to survive, causing locusts to start migrating.
Finally, in June of the third year of Zhenguan, the locust plague broke out.
The overwhelming locusts began to wreak havoc, eating away crops, weeds, and trees wherever they passed. There were even tragic situations where people and animals were covered in locusts, unable to breathe, and suffocated to death.
For a time, the price of food in Guanzhong rose sharply, and many victims had no choice but to move their families to Chang'an to escape the famine.
In Wannian County, outside Qin Hao's fiefdom, a group of victims with sallow faces and skinny faces looked longingly at Zhuangzi, who was burning smoke from the kitchen in front of them. A scent they had never smelled before in the air made these victims swallow their saliva subconsciously.
"Uncle, please help me stutter. We haven't eaten a grain of rice in five days."
"Yes, uncle, I beg you, give me the stuttering one, or else I'll sell you this baby, three steamed buns, this baby can do a lot."
Old man Liu and other villagers couldn't help but be moved when they faced this scene, but they also knew very well that with so many victims coming, no matter how much food they had, there would not be enough food to eat. The ones they were guarding behind them were their family members and relatives, even if they tried their best.
It is our destiny to keep this isolation line.
"It's useless for you to beg. Well, our Zhuangzi's situation in the past two years was not much better than yours. That is to say, we met a good master like the Lord last year and could barely survive. This place is only a few dozen miles away from Chang'an. You guys
If you want to survive, why don't you go to Chang'an? There is a porridge shed set up by the imperial court there." Old Man Liu said with a hard heart.
A white-haired old man said bitterly: "Chang'an City can no longer squeeze in, and only young men can squeeze in the porridge shed. How can we, the old, weak, sick and disabled, get porridge."
"Uncle, my lordship has called you to come to my house to discuss matters." A young man came running over in a hurry.
Old man Liu was about to turn around and leave, but his pants were grabbed by someone, and the white-haired old man begged.
"Old brother, please say a kind word to the nobles in the village. We have gone through a lot of hardships to get here. We don't want to die!"
Old Man Liu sighed: "I will tell you, let go."
Later, Old Man Liu warned again: "You guys should keep a close eye here. If someone rushes past the card, he will be punished according to the clan rules!"
"promise."
The dealers present were all former soldiers, and they all had weapons in their hands. Compared with the regular army, they only lacked a pair of armor. They were so majestic that they also shocked some victims with evil intentions.
Old man Liu trotted all the way to the Baron's Mansion. In the hall, the village elders had also arrived.
"Sir."
"Sir!"
The clan elders present all stood up and saluted, and Qin Hao raised his hand to help the clan elders up.
"I invite you clan elders to come here today for the sake of the victims around Zhuangzi. Yesterday, Wannian County Magistrate Mr. Cui came here and wanted Zhuangzi to take in five hundred victims..."
Before Qin Hao finished speaking, one of the clan elders said angrily.
"Magistrate Shi Niao, he only talks words and doesn't give a grain of relief food. He uses our food in exchange for his glory and wealth!"
"Isn't that right? I made them anxious and occupied his county office. Let's see if he still has the nerve to be the county magistrate!"
This is the treatment of grassroots officials in ancient times. People do not recognize officials appointed by the imperial court. The clan forces are the local emperors. If you really offend them, your official position will be over.
Qin Hao raised his hand and pressed it, and then the clan elders became quiet.
"Relieving the victims is indeed the intention of the imperial court. Magistrate Cui only acted in accordance with the imperial decree. After the severe drought in Guanzhong, there was a locust plague. The imperial treasury was stretched thin and it was really impossible to provide food."
"Besides, you have all seen that there are so many victims gathered outside. Once they are hungry and red-eyed, they can do anything. The young men in our village can only survive a hundred or so people. How can we resist them?"
Why should people be afraid of death if they are not afraid of death? When people are not afraid of death, it is very scary.
The clan elders were silent when they heard this. They also knew very well that once the victims' ferocity was aroused, Zhuangzi would probably become a ruin.
"But we don't have that much food. Besides, once the victims know that there is food in our village, more and more victims will flock to the village, and the situation will probably be even more difficult to control."
Clan elder.
Qin Hao nodded secretly. This is what people say when they grow old. Even though this person may have never been to Chang'an City, he can get to the core of the problem with just one sentence.
"In terms of food, I have saved some in advance. In this way, I will contribute 70%, and the remaining 30% will be collected by the villagers. When the locust plague is over in the future, I will return it to everyone. How about it?"
Old Man Liu was the first to shake his head: "What did the Sir Alex say? Normally, the Sir Alex is so generous to us, so how can we take advantage of the Sir Alex? With these 30% of the quota, we have just harvested potatoes in the first season."
, every household has food in reserve.”
Qin Hao thought for a while but didn't insist anymore. He cupped his fists and raised his hands to everyone: "Everyone, please."
"Don't worry, Sir, I will go to the farm to collect food soon."
"slow."
Qin Hao stopped everyone: "Don't worry about raising food in advance. I still have food in my house, which is enough to last for a while. Let's decide on the disaster relief strategy first to avoid being in a hurry later."
"Sir, please tell me, we all listen to you."
Qin Hao was not polite and said sternly: "If these victims are given food for free, not only will they not be grateful over time, but they will easily become resentful. What I want is to select some strong people from these victims."
, let them help our village reclaim wasteland and build water conservancy projects, so that after the locust plague is over in the future, our village can also receive some benefits, what do you think?"