Chapter 279 Ping Japanese (Seventeen) Gaoge Lao provides disaster relief
After the Huanghuai Flood broke out, due to the inability to provide disaster relief in the Henan area, hungry people were everywhere after the flood. The local government was inefficient and took chaotic measures, which led to famine in the spring of the 21st year of Wanli. There were no livestock left, bandits were everywhere, and trees stretched for thousands of miles.
The roots of fur and grass were all gone, and even people were eating each other. Human flesh was in the city, and the province of Henan was described in the official documents of the imperial court as a hell on earth. Therefore, Zhang Yiyuan, the governor of Henan, went to the court one after another, requesting the imperial court to send officials to coordinate disaster relief in several provinces.
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The imperial court attached great importance to this. Not only did the cabinet hold two emergency meetings in succession, but Zhu Yijun also directly issued a handout to inquire about the situation. The handbook said: "Last year, all provinces were hit by disasters. Shandong, Henan and the areas near the Xuhuai River were...
This is especially true. Among the people, there are people who peel off the bark of trees and eat grass seeds, and there are also people who cut up dead bodies and kill people to eat.
Although I live in a deep palace, I am worried about my illness and do not miss my sleeping place. I have repeatedly issued orders for relief, but I wonder if the officials have followed it. Are the people benefiting from it? At this time of poor public and private relations, I don’t know where to remove internal funds.
, in addition to keeping or sending grain, is there any prescription for first-aid and cheap measures? Miners in various places gather in groups to robber and robber, and they don't know how to arrange defense measures for farmers?
Nowadays, the officials in the four corners of the country are not concerned with waste management and tending the small people. They only take fighting the wind as a reputation and socializing as a profession. They spend money in the court and chase people in the houses. If there are thieves, they may fight each other.
Hiding, or deliberately abandoning, to avoid the blame for local troubles.
The officials who are supposed to be responsible for the promotion and promotion only know how to ask for relief, ask for help, and ignore the current affairs. They do not know how to eliminate a harsh official, reform a bad law, cut redundant expenses, and be economical and frivolous. This is the foundation of eternal convenience for the people. In this way, the top and bottom are confused.
, leading to great chaos, I am very worried about it."
The emperor's words were not unreasonable, so the cabinet reacted strongly. In response to Henan's local request for the court to send officials to coordinate disaster relief matters, all cabinet ministers agreed in principle, and finally recommended Gao Pragmatic to return to the province in person to take charge of disaster relief.
Zhu Yijun followed his advice and immediately summoned Gao Jingshi to see him and asked: "Pragmatically, Henan is your province. No important official in the court knows the situation in Henan better than you. You are also aware of the disaster in Henan now. What are your plans to return to Henan this time?"
Disaster relief?”
Gao pragmatically replied: "Back to the emperor, I believe that we should first examine the victims and check them one by one to avoid fake claims and resettle the people; then distribute relief money and grain, set up factories and provide porridge to curb the disaster; and then let the government and wealthy businessmen fund the project.
Urban and rural restoration, farmland cultivation, and work-for-relief are used to gradually restore livelihoods.
At the same time, we should treat the victims' diseases, redeem their children, bury their bones, and soothe the pain of the disaster. Finally, we should suppress the bandits, restore the refugees to work, encourage farmers to teach farming, prohibit theft and lawsuits, and maintain good customs. Such a disaster can be avoided.
flat."
Zhu Yijun said happily: "The pragmatic answer is so clear, so I feel relieved. Although there are many affairs in the DPRK, the well-being of the people always comes first. Your coming to provide disaster relief is a major event, and the affairs of the DPRK and up and down should come first."
Let it go, the cabinet can ask Wu Dui and Liang Menglong to express your position on your behalf, and the Ministry of Revenue can ask a few ministers to look after it for you.
This time I regard you as the manager of the Huanghuai River and give you the right to take charge of disaster relief affairs. Anyone who disobeys the order and obstructs it can be punished by Wang Mingqipai. I have made personnel adjustments in Henan. As for the Ministry of Revenue raising funds to assist in disaster relief.
He is your own supervisor, and you have to take care of it yourself. Time is urgent due to the disaster, so you will go to Henan to take up your post tomorrow, and there is no need to come again to say goodbye." Gao Pragmatic accepted the order to express his gratitude.
So Gao pragmatic rushed to Henan immediately. Considering that the news he had received so far was that Henan was the most severely affected, Gao pragmatically used Henan as his base to carry out disaster relief. Gao Gelao was appointed as manager again, but he returned to his hometown to provide disaster relief. Local officials in Henan began to
Everyone was extremely nervous from top to bottom, and they were afraid of offending Gao Shijian, who was very sentimental about his hometown. Even Jie Ying didn't dare to mess around, to show that everyone was busy with disaster relief and only waited outside Kaifeng city.
Gao Pangshi didn't care about this. As soon as he arrived in Kaifeng, he summoned the governor and the vassal departments and said: "Everyone, when it comes to disaster relief, when wealth gathers, the people will disperse, and when the wealth disperses, the people will gather. When they gather, the people will turn into bones, and when they scatter, they will fall into ravines."
Starting from Spring Terrace.
The top priority is to verify the victims, register them individually, cook porridge and loose silver, prepare silver and grain, and have dedicated personnel distribute it on time and in quantity, and embezzlement of loose money is strictly prohibited. Officials in various states and counties need to strictly check and prevent, and our cabinet department has also brought a large amount of financial resources from the Ministry of Household Affairs
The officers are responsible for checking and verifying. If someone commits a crime against the wind, it should be noted that no one under the king's command flag can be killed immediately.
The cabinet department and the Fu army will also conduct strict investigations and supervise the assessment by picking up relics. Previously, the imperial court has brought all the most evil and corrupt people in a province to justice. The lessons from the past are not far away. If there are still officials who take the opportunity to be corrupt during disaster relief in the future,
Corruption, or incompetence in handling affairs, once verified - the emperor has said, Xu Benge will be killed first and then reported, I hope you will not make mistakes!"
When other ministers talk about beheading, it may be just a threat, which rarely comes true, but what is Gao Pragmatic's identity, status, and experience? Could it be that the hundreds of thousands of heads under his command have become his meritorious deeds?
And now what he is facing is related to the disaster relief in his own province of Henan. If he is really caught, not to mention killing one or two, this is not only the elder of the pavilion, but also the Nanning Marquis who retired from the country.
It is not impossible to kill so many officials' heads hanging in front of the yamen. How dare the officials neglect it? They will do their best even if they are called.
Later, Gao Pragmatic ordered the Chief Secretary to divide the officials of various prefectures, prefectures, and counties, and personally visit the villages to examine the poor households, classify them into three grades, and distribute them by roll call. Gao Pragmatic himself also traveled throughout the prefectures and villages to express condolences to the victims and examine the people's conditions.
Among the third-class disaster-stricken poor, the slightly poorer will not receive relief; the second-lowest poor will first receive loans from rich people in the same village; the extremely poor will be resettled by the government and wait for relief, which can also reduce favoritism and malpractice.
After inspecting the victims again, Gao pragmatically held a meeting and said: "Relief is important and there should be no slack. Since the area benefited by porridge relief is limited, porridge factories should be set up all over. It is better to move officials to work for the people than to work hard for the people."
Officials. The rich are especially insufficient in having a husband before eating, while the poor can be resurrected with a spoonful of food. Officials in prefectures and counties need to do their best to provide relief, and provincial and ministerial officials also need to work tirelessly and make constant inspections."
Zhang Yiyuan, the governor of Henan Province, also told everyone: "I have previously agreed with the Cabinet that if the porridge factory is set up in the city, there will be too many people hanging around, which will not be convenient for rescue. If it is set up in the countryside, it will be difficult for the disaster victims in the city to reach. People who gather together will easily be infected.
If the epidemic spreads, the road will be moderate. Therefore, for this disaster relief, it is more appropriate to set up eleven factories in each city and nineteen factories in each township."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Seeing that everyone had no objections, Gao Pragmatic immediately ordered: "All states and counties immediately recorded that each of the old, young, women and children should be given one seat each, and they should be given two meals a day. The victims of the disaster should sit on the ground two feet apart.
Five cun, eat twice a day, eight cups of rice, eat at the end of Chen, eat two bowls each time.
The porridge must be cooked until it is cooked, and it must not be mixed with water, nor must it be dirty, and must not use bad grains. Those who eat porridge are not allowed to take the porridge to others, and those who serve the porridge are not allowed to reduce the porridge without authorization. Violators will be reported to me and severely punished one by one.
"The officials hurriedly recorded it.
After the meeting, Gao Pragmatic discussed with the chief envoy: "Whenever there is a major disaster, some victims will be given loose money because they are unwilling to accept porridge relief. The chief officials of various states and counties should make a guarantee with the village chiefs. Extremely poor people,
The minor poor will be given small-denomination banknotes from the Ming Dynasty. The extremely poor will be given one tael of silver, and the minor poor will be given five cents of silver. Officials will need to go to the countryside to receive the money. The date will be announced first to prevent disaster victims from rushing to wait.
After the victims receive the banknotes, they need to be supervised by the government and the people. If there is any illegal embezzlement or robbery, they will be severely punished. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent fraudulent receipts. Each banknote needs to be signed by the recipient. These banknotes are distributed monthly and printed and registered.
In case the recommendation officer checks it at any time, what do you think?"
The chief envoy did not dare to have objections, so he accepted the order and then briefly asked whether there would be any obstacles to the use of banknotes.
Gao Pragmatic said coldly: "Jinghua Bank and all other banks and banks under the Ming Dynasty Federal Reserve accept banknotes in full. All industries under the name of Jinghua and the Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance also accept banknotes. The imperial court also accepts banknotes when taxing.
, then why do banknotes encounter obstacles? If there are some human factors that interfere with it...just kill people, my subordinates are not afraid of more lives."
The chief envoy shivered and did not dare to ask any more questions, but continued to accept his orders.
Soon, due to the large number of royal families in Henan, issues related to clan relatives and poor students were put on the agenda. Gao pragmatically thought about it again and again, and discussed with Zhang Yiyuan: "There are always some down-and-out clan children and relatives of the emperor in each province. Although the feudal clan has
The ban has been lifted, but the identities of these people cannot be ignored, and we still need to consider them specially.
In the past, when they were hit by a major disaster, they were no different from poor peasants. There is also a group of students who have no fame and are from poor families. These two groups cannot be ignored. Especially the children of the clans who were affected by the disaster. According to a rough calculation by our Ministry, there are about 14,000 in this province.
There are more than 600 people. These people have no other talents. Although the descendants of the clan can now take the exams to obtain honors, because in the past they did not seek a deep understanding of their studies and there are very few who have passed the exams now, so we still need extra financial aid."
Zhang Yiyuan has no objections to this and strongly agrees: "The number of tribes is increasing day by day, and it is difficult to sustain money and food. Obtaining a good name can be regarded as a useful life. It is really a burden for the country to support the clan. However, this matter cannot be accomplished in a day. It may take ten years."
Twenty years later, it still needs extra care."
Gao Pragmatic said: "In fact, the most difficult thing is for the poor students. These students have read poetry and books. In order to maintain their integrity and lose face, they would rather die than receive relief. However, they are willing to receive the emperor's favor, so they must speak up about the emperor's favor.
The vastness makes them feel that they are blessed by nature and favored by the emperor, so they will accept the relief and survive."
Zhang Yiyuan said with a smile: "The cabinet really has an insight into human nature. Henan is so lucky."
So in accordance with Gao's pragmatic instructions, Governor Zhang Yiyuan ordered that mansions and temples be used as porridge factories in each city. In the countryside, each porridge factory must have five rooms, one to store rice and four to help the people. Each factory must take in at least two hungry people.
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Officials of various states and counties personally select people of good character to manage the porridge factory. Local department and household department financial officers check the rice quantity, inspect the dishes every day, supervise the officials' diligence, and reward and punish them accordingly.
Gao was pragmatic and the governor, and the vassal government visited various places to inquire about people's sufferings and supervise the officials. He traveled hundreds of miles a day. Everywhere he went, he had to go to the porridge factory to inspect it. The officials from various places hurriedly asked: "The cabinet department is working hard day and night.
How can you only eat porridge to satisfy your hunger when you are touring various places?"
Gao Pragmatic didn't take it seriously and replied: "The porridge factory has three benefits. Firstly, the bosses don't have to look for my traces to provide food and waste public funds. Secondly, it can encourage bosses and porridge donors not to neglect and violate the rules. Thirdly, the government department
Not shying away from hard work and sharing food with the people can unite the people's hearts and inspire colleagues to do their best to provide relief."
Such practical disaster relief has indeed achieved good results. For example, Liu Yikun, a poor man in Guojia Village, was affected by the disaster and fell ill. He told his wife: "I don't have many days left to live. You still have some strength. If you miss your husband and wife, don't do it."
If you stay here and starve to death, go out early to find a way to survive!" After that, Liu Yikun used his remaining strength to drive his wife away.
His wife, Ms. Liu, burst into tears and cried: "You are the breadwinner of the family. Now that you are sick, I should take care of you. If you die, you should die together. I can't leave!"
Liu Yikun cursed angrily: "You crazy bitch, hurry up and get out of here!" Mrs. Liu said: "Where can we go in the barren mountains and wild ridges? I just want to be here." No matter how much Liu Yikun scolded Mrs. Liu, she still
Reluctant to leave, the couple hugged each other in despair. At this time, the government and the township teamed up to search for the victims who were left alone. The two were finally rescued and the couple was saved.
The Guangwu Temple in Ye County provided relief to 5,000 victims day and night. The old man was deeply touched by the emperor's kindness. He knelt down and shouted: "The kindness you receive from a drop of water should be repaid by a spring. We have survived by the emperor's kindness. How can we repay it? From now on, everyone can live in peace and do nothing wrong."
"This generosity is deeply felt by the local victims.
Students and relatives from all over the country received the emperor's favor, and each turned their backs and burned incense to wish the saint a birthday. During the porridge relief, due to Gao's pragmatism and Zhang Yiyuan's day and night inspection and supervision, the victims all over the place benefited and gradually became more energetic. The feudal lord has a secretary
Officials in various prefectures and counties, regardless of corruption, sincerity or fear of crime, did their best during the disaster relief period. Under the overall arrangements, the disaster situation in Henan province began to be suppressed.
However, after all, this was a period of great disaster, and grain prices were inevitably high due to scarcity. The Changping warehouses originally established by various states and counties had gradually become useless due to the decline of officialdom many years ago. After Gao Pragmatic took office as Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he ordered the Changping warehouses in various places to be rebuilt.
He also provided free warehouses to balance grain prices. When there was another famine this time, he would send free warehouses first. If the free warehouses were insufficient, he would send them to Changping, so that he would not have to rely entirely on asking the court for relief.
When Gao Pragmatic came to Henan, he had allocated 300,000 taels of silver from the national treasury, brought another 500,000 taels of Federal Reserve banknotes, and left 100,000 dans of grain for relief. He then notified all localities to abolish the ban on selling rice at high prices in order to gather goods.
Rice is easy for the government to control, but it gradually becomes insufficient over time.
The next month, "On Stopping Weaving in Taihe Mountain" was published in Shizhongluzhong, criticizing Zhu Yijun for ignoring the famine and saying that Taihe Mountain weaving should be stopped to save money for disaster relief. Zhu Yijun did not respond and continued to collect Taihe Mountain incense tax and travel expenses.
Weaving was used for the emperor's private use and for palace sacrifices and awards.
Gao Pragmatic also disagreed with this argument. In his opinion, the weaving operation could at least provide employment for some people. If it were to be abolished, it would not be of much benefit to Henan. Therefore, as a disaster relief strategy, he did not agree with Shang Shu.
Surprisingly, after the disaster situation became relatively stable, the phenomenon of favoritism and malpractice occurred again. Some officials took advantage of the victims' ignorance of the money and food expenses to reduce or reduce expenses, cheated and accepted bribes, and deceived the superiors and deceived the inferiors. When Gao Pragmatic learned that, he was furious and handed over the tax details to the government.
All the details of the money and food exemptions have been made public, and specially hired people are sent to various places to preach so that the world knows it. At the same time, strict supervision is carried out to curb corruption and prevent it from happening again.
At the same time, he really used the royal flag and executed all the first batch of officials involved in the case regardless of their severity. Twenty-seven people were killed at one time, and all their heads were hung directly at the door of the imperial palace. Each one had a ferocious head.
The murderous spirit of Mr. Gao Ge was revealed at this level, and the officialdom in Henan was as quiet as death for a while.
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