The cold winter is like a sharp knife, and in this era, it can really kill people.
Throughout December, it was extremely cold, and there were reports of people freezing to death everywhere.
Even after surviving December and entering the first month of the first year of Guangwu, the temperature showed no sign of rising.
At this moment, in the Nuan Pavilion of Qian'an Palace, Zhao Yanxun was reviewing the summarized reports, while cabinet ministers Lu Chaowen and Cheng Wenguang stood respectfully.
Now there are four ministers in the cabinet. The first assistant, Wang Tinghe, is responsible for the land survey, and the second assistant, Xie Xiaofang, is in the south, taking advantage of King Ning's rebellion to suppress the local wealthy families.
Now the real people in charge of the cabinet are Lu Chaowen and Cheng Wenguang.
"So far, 563 people have froze to death in Nanyang, 125 people have froze to death in Hexi, 278 people have froze to death in Hedong, and Huaiyang..."
Looking at the list on the desk, Zhao Yanxun read out the number of deaths in each county. Every sentence was shocking.
“Gyeonggi…1,200 people froze to death!”
When he read the last sentence, Zhao Yanxun's tone was already cold, making the two cabinet ministers in the palace tremble with fear.
"More than 1,200 people froze to death under the emperor's feet. The cabinet is in charge of hundreds of officials, adjusting the yin and yang... You two have nothing to say?"
Looking at the two people in the hall, Zhao Yanxun's tone was cold.
"I am guilty of dereliction of duty!"
Lu Chaowen knelt down to apologize, and Cheng Wenguang knelt down beside him.
Although he apologized, Lu Chaowen couldn't understand Zhao Yanxun's rage.
People freezing to death have been unavoidable for years. In the past, as long as it was not too extreme, the matter would never appear on the table.
In fact, there are far fewer people freezing to death this year than in the past.
I heard Zhao Yanxun continue to say: "On behalf of the herdsmen of Tiantian, this winter is not over yet, so many people have frozen to death. Is this just because you have neglected your duty?"
Yes, the first month of the first year of Guangwu is almost over, but the weather is still very cold, and there was a heavy snowfall yesterday.
"When winter comes, I will issue an edict and order the local governments to protect the people during the winter!"
"You tell me... is it because the cabinet failed to convey my wishes, or is it because most local officials are derelict in their duties?"
These words made the two cabinet ministers feel like they were on fire. They didn't know how to answer at this moment.
It’s not that they didn’t convey it, nor that the local officials were derelict in their duties.
Although the edict is clear, there were such edicts in the past years, and some people still froze to death.
To put it simply, although the dynasties have changed now, the officials in charge are still the same people, and their thinking in doing things is still the same as before, so it is difficult to truly understand Zhao Yanxun's "holy intention".
After all, things like treating people well were used as slogans in the past.
"You two will be fined two months!"
"If the county has more than 100 people freezing to death, the county magistrate will be removed from office; if the prefecture with more than 500 people freezes to death, the prefect will be removed from office!"
After listening to Zhao Yanxun's words, the two cabinet ministers kowtowed and shouted: "I will receive the order!"
"Now that the monsters have been basically eliminated in the counties south of the river, the cabinet must come up with a plan as soon as possible to resettle the exiled people in these vacated lands!"
Today, the counties in the Central Plains and the five counties in the south have a very high population density. Relatively speaking, there are more people than land, and the population is in a state of super saturation.
Only the combination of population and land can be transformed into productive forces, so relocating people is imperative.
However, for now, we can only resettle the refugees first, because these people are alone and do not have much attachment to the place where they currently live.
In order to allow the aboriginal people from various places to relocate, we must consider that it is difficult to leave their homeland and that local powerful families will obstruct it.
Of course, relocating the indigenous people from various places will definitely be done in the future, especially the people in several southern counties will be relocated.
In a word, the south has a high population density and serious land annexation, which is a huge thunder for the imperial court.
Now that the imperial court has military force and a large area of land has been vacated in the north, it is time to solve the land and population problem.
Otherwise, according to the normal laws of dynasty development, it would not take two or three generations of Jin to perish.
"I am waiting for your order!"
"Go for it!"
"yes!"
After the two ministers left, a eunuch reported from outside that the Qin Tian Jian was arriving.
As a marginal department, the supervisors of the Qintian Prison rarely have the opportunity to go to Qian'an Palace to meet the saints.
Under the guidance of the eunuch, Du Jiulong, the eunuch, entered Nuan Pavilion of Qian'an Palace. This was his first time here.
Du Jiulong was already in his fifties and took over the post of Supervisor in the 25th year of Tai'an. Because he was devoted to the career of stargazing and calendar recording, the change of dynasty did not affect him.
"I, the Heavenly Supervisor, Zhengdu Chulong, come to see the Emperor!"
"Pingsheng!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting up, Du Chulong lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the emperor.
Zhao Yanxun then asked: "This winter seems to be different from previous years. Has the situation been like this in the past?"
The weather was so abnormal that anyone could notice it, so Zhao Yanxun had to ask Qin Tianjian.
The Qin Tian Jian keeps special records of the weather every day throughout the year. This task has been carried out since the founding of the country until now.
Du Jiulong, as supervisor, was naturally aware of the abnormal weather, so he checked past information a few days ago.
But he never expected that the emperor would personally intervene today.
Fortunately, I was prepared... Du Chulong said secretly.
"Reporting to your Majesty, in the capital city, the last snow will fall in the first ten days of the first lunar month. Even if it is delayed, it will never pass the fifteenth day of the first lunar month!"
"It's the end of the month, but it snowed yesterday. It's really abnormal!"
Seeing that Du Jiulong's answer was so reasonable, Zhao Yanxun said smoothly: "Go on!"
"I looked through past records and found that winter has been gradually getting longer since the 24th year of Tai'an!"
"In the twenty-fourth year of Tai'an, there were fifty-three days from the first snow to the last snow. In the twenty-fifth year, it was fifty-nine days. In the twenty-sixth year, it was at least sixty-seven days..."
The reason why the twenty-sixth year of Tai'an is at least sixty-seven days is because no one can guarantee that the snow that fell yesterday will be the last.
While Zhao Yanxun was thinking, Du Jiulong continued: "The dynasty has been passed down for one hundred and eighty-five years, and the longest interval between the first snow and the last snow is only sixty days!"
"It must be an extremely cold year!" Zhao Yanxun said in a deep voice.
As for the lengthening of winter, it is generally difficult to have a clear answer without someone specializing in recording it.
This year it was because it was so outrageous that Zhao Yanxun wanted to ask, but he didn't know that the situation was already so obvious.
The onset of winter means that the climate is changing, and the climate affects farming matters, which ultimately affects food security.
Nowadays, the imperial court has no emergency food reserves. If the food harvest fails this year, there is no telling how many people will starve to death.
Unfortunately, the northwest is now restless. According to Luolun's report from the northwest, many barbarian tribes have now moved eastward. By then, the northwest will not be peaceful again.
Once the war breaks out, a large amount of materials will be consumed, including a large amount of food.
In fact, even before the war started, resources were already being consumed by moving troops to the northwest, and the Ministry of Household and Military Affairs was extremely busy with this.
Just when Zhao Yanxun was thinking about something bad, he heard Du Jiulong reply: "That year, many people froze to death in the capital!"
Zhao Yanxun could only sigh: "The end of the world is coming, and it will be difficult for the court and the people!"
After asking Du Jiulong some questions, Zhao Yanxun ordered him to retreat.
This start in the first year of Guangwu simply made him anxious.
Although there is a system in place, for a large empire with more than 30 million people, the system has too few redeemable items.
Wu Xuan, the new chief steward of Qian'an Palace, carefully brought hot tea over and said: "Your Majesty, please drink tea!"
