Song Mingyue

Chapter 207 Disaster Relief
Cheng Jie, who used to be all-powerful on Northwest Beijing Road, is a big man who would shake the whole city of Luoyang three times if he stomped his foot.

However, the situation changed surprisingly quickly. The white-haired head of the most powerful person in Luoyang City was hanging on the east gate of Luoyang City. People coming and going could not help but take a closer look.And the story of the Cheng family's downfall overnight has also become a topic of discussion among the people of Luoyang City after dinner.

It took three full days to search the Cheng family's property, and thousands of Jinyiwei were dispatched to work overtime, and it was only a rough idea.Except for items with high collection value such as authentic works by famous masters and antiques, all the rest were auctioned on the spot, including the Cheng family's house.Zhao Hao needed cash urgently, and those land deeds and shops were almost sold at a low price. Even so, a full 700 million yuan was confiscated.This money is almost enough to support the entire cost of the battle against Liao.

700 million guan, not including the 150 million guan rice grains distributed on the spot for disaster relief.

On the day after Cheng Jie was killed, all grain merchants on Northwest Beijing Road announced that the price of rice grain would be reduced to the usual [-] yuan a stone, and they would never dare to sell more.

The wind blows the eggshells, and the wealth goes away to make people happy... Although the price cut means a heavy loss, and businessmen love money like their lives, but money and life are still very clearly separated, and they will cherish their lives after all.No one wants to be like Cheng Jie. His life is gone, his money is gone, his children and grandchildren are in prison, his wife and concubine will be in the tent, and he will be charged with the crime of treason. No one will do this kind of business again. secondary.

After the early stage of exploitation, even the usual price of [-] yuan for rice, few people could afford it. The only big customer who could buy rice was Jin Yiwei.However, on the seventh day, the rice grains in the hands of the grain merchants on Northwest Beijing Road were sold out.

It cost 700 million guan, of which 300 million guan was spent to buy grain, 75 thousand guan was paid to Huang Wenhu for food, 25 thousand guan for transportation and various miscellaneous expenses, and 300 million guan was left.

Buying 200 million shi from other shops, the Chengjia grain shop seized 150 million shi, plus the 50 shi brought by Zhao Hao from the capital, and the 50 shi brought by Huang Wenhu, it was 450 million shi. There are about 300 million victims of the disaster, which is equivalent to one and a half stones per person, enough to support the autumn sowing of soybeans and wheat when they mature.

As for the 150 million guan prepared by Zhao Hao himself, there is no need to use it for the time being.

Just like the effect of "When Heshen fell, Jiaqing was full", killing a Cheng Jie, the drought in western Beijing that starved thousands of miles was resolved, and millions of lives were saved.

According to Zhao Hao's decision, tenant farmers who have lost their crops due to drought will be given eight dou of rice for free for each adult, five dou for free for children aged six to 12, and three dou for children under the age of five.Those who are not tenant farmers, those who are confirmed to have no food for their families and who are extremely poor, will also be given relief according to this standard.Those who exceed this amount need to borrow from the government; those who still have assets but are short of food need to borrow food from the government, and they have to issue an IOU, which will be repaid without interest after the next autumn harvest.

Disaster relief is of course important, but it is limited to aiding victims. Those who were not affected by the disaster and those who are not starved of food are naturally no longer within the scope of relief.Even for the truly impoverished disaster victims, there must be a limit to the relief, otherwise each person will be given a stone and a half, and it is hard to say whether it will raise a group of idlers and lazy people.

Of course, this is just a general rule, and it is inevitable that there will be mistakes in actual operation, but Zhao Hao's principle would rather be taken advantage of by the people than starve to death.

The specific disaster relief work was led by Xu Churen in Northwest Beijing, assisted by local officials, and Jin Yiwei was responsible for maintaining order and checking for ink corruption.

As for Jingxian Road, Chen Jue, the transshipment envoy of Jingxixi Road, took the lead in disaster relief.Chen Jue was quite famous. Although Zhao Hao hadn't seen him, according to the information obtained from Jin Yiwei's investigation, he was very reassured about him.Although Jingbei Road received only 50 shi of relief food, and was repeatedly robbed by rebels such as Song Jiang and Gao Shantuo, the disaster situation was much more serious than Jingbei Road, but the number of people who starved to death was much less than that of Jingbei Road. , which also shows Chen Jue's character.

Groups of refugees with their families flocked to towns and counties from all directions to receive relief rice and food.

Xiangcheng County.

More than 20 disaster relief sites were lined up outside the city, and a row of porridge sheds lined up. The porridge pot was steaming, and the smell of rice wafted from afar. The victims of the brigade were queuing up to receive porridge.Although the stomach is empty, but after all, there is hope, so although most of the victims are not looking very well, they still look energetic.

Although the porridge in the pot is not as exaggerated as Du Gongcai who put shredded pork in it, does the porridge put a lot of rice in it?It's just that one person is limited to one bowl. If you drink too much, you may damage your stomach, which is not beautiful.

Behind the porridge shed, sacks of rice grains piled up like a mountain, and there were still horse-drawn carts constantly shuttled back and forth, bringing in rice grains, and the men who unloaded the grains were very busy.

After filling their stomachs with porridge, the victims began to line up to receive food, steamed buns and water to satisfy their hunger on the road.More than a dozen officials are busy arranging food distribution, registration and other matters, and there are three or four Jinyi guards and general government servants around to maintain order and prevent looting.

The faces of the victims were full of excitement and joy, but also a little uneasy. They didn't dare to speak loudly, but only whispered from time to time.

The people who received the food wept with joy. I don’t know who took the lead. After carrying out the food one by one, they stopped in the open space, and the whole family went to the direction of Kaifeng City and Luoyang line. Kowtowed their heads neatly, crying Shouting "Thank you for the kindness of the official family, thank you for the kindness of the lord Qinchai", and so on, and then the whole family left with rice grains.

A gorgeous carriage stopped forty or fifty paces away, surrounded by dozens of Jin Yiwei guards in fresh clothes and angry horses, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, Zhao Hao and Xu Churen sat side by side, silently watching the thriving scene in front of them ,Emotion.

Zhao Hao looked at the people who were kneeling and worshiping, weeping with joy, and said slowly: "In the Song Dynasty, we were the most wealthy in the world, and a mere natural disaster is nothing. What is really a thousand times worse than natural disasters is man-made disasters... Kill Chengjie, seal it up For the money and food, Ben Hou will not regret it until he dies, even if it happens again, Ben Hou will still choose to do this!"

Xu Churen's eyes were full of admiration, it was a kind of admiration from the bottom of his heart, but he said with worry in his tone: "It's just this time, the young master has offended too many people, Cai Jing's party, and the clan members Some people will fight back with all their strength, and even implicate some princes and county kings... You must be prepared. After all, there are too many mistakes in Cheng Jie's rebellion. Right and wrong are all in the mind of the officials. In fact, the heart is as clear as a mirror, and there are twists and turns in it, I'm afraid you can tell at a glance..."

Zhao Hao smiled slightly: "Mr. Xu, you don't need to worry too much. Although the officials understand it in their hearts, I have a good plan so that the officials will not pursue it, and even reward them heavily."

Hearing what Zhao Hao said, Xu Churen had always been worried in his heart, but now he felt relieved a little, and said with a smile: "The young master is not as weak as the crown, and the lower officials didn't believe it at first, but since the young master sent the gold back this time, he made an appointment. The miraculous achievements of the world, the lower officials have to believe it if they don't believe it."

……

Bianliang, Caifu.

In the flower hall, Cai Jing was wearing a short coat, lying on a cool chair, sleeping soundly.

Seventy years old, Cai Jing, at the age of 73, can still maintain a vigorous spirit and a strong desire for power, which is inseparable from his life's recuperation.Siesta is a daily necessity for him. When he is taking a siesta, he is determined not to be disturbed by anyone, even if officials arrive.

Cai Mao, governor of Kaifeng, was like an ant on a hot pot, walking anxiously in the corridor outside the flower hall, looking in from time to time, but he didn't dare to go in and disturb Cai Jing's sleep.

After waiting for a long time, it was finally time, Cai Jing woke up leisurely, the maid beside him hurriedly wet the towel, Cai Jing wiped it a few times, and finally took a sip of water from the tea that was handed over, and whirled a few times in his mouth He swished around, rinsed his mouth, and then spit it into the porcelain basin handed over by the maid, and then asked slowly: "Is there someone waiting outside the hall."

"Cai Fuyin has been waiting for her husband for a long time."

"Oh? Come in."

Cai Mao, who was outside the door, rushed in when he heard it, and cried bitterly: "My husband, I am wronged..."

Cai Jing frowned, showing displeasure on his face, and said angrily: "You are considered a second-rank official, you are so irritable, you have something to say, why are you complaining?"

Who knows, let’s just say it, but when Cai Mao cried more and more, he took out a letter from his sleeve tremblingly, handed it to Cai Jing, and cried: "Mr. Woo..."

In fact, the matter of Cheng Jie has nothing to do with him, it's just that this person has always flattered Cai Jing, and he has become a habit of doing everything he can to flatter Cai Jing, so he cries so decently.

Cai Jing took the letter with doubts on his face, opened it, and read it carefully. Before he finished reading, he suddenly jumped up, his eyes were red, his face was flushed, and his expression was extremely frightening. What is it.

Cai Jing just wanted to say something, but felt dizzy for a while, and fell back again. Cai Mao saw it clearly, and hurriedly strode forward to support Cai Jing, and then the maidservants beside him also turned pale, and hurriedly returned Hug Cai Jing forward.

Several people hurriedly placed Cai Jing on the cool chair, patted back and pressed people, it took Cai Jing to wake up gradually, and his emotions calmed down a little.

After a long time, Cai Jing let out an angry roar: "Son Zhao Hao, you disregard the laws of the country and do such a thing that is outrageous and outraged by humans and gods. I am at odds with you!"

After yelling and cursing a few times, Cai Jing shouted again: "Prepare the sedan chair, the old man is going to the palace to face the saint, and I will ask the official for an explanation!"

After a while, Cai Jing and Cai Mao each took an official sedan chair, led dozens of house slaves, and hurried towards the imperial palace. They arrived in front of Xuande Gate, but saw a familiar official sedan chair being carried.

"It's Dazai Yu's official sedan chair." Cai Mao recognized it clearly, and hurriedly opened the curtain, and said to Cai Jing.

At this time, the official sedan chair in front also stopped, and the white-haired Yu Shen, who was the grand minister, was staggering down Jiaozi, and Cai Jing also hurriedly got off the sedan chair.

As soon as the two met, they both burst into tears, clasped their hands tightly, and scolded Zhao Hao endlessly, but it was limited to the three generations of their ancestors, and they didn't dare to scold Zhao Hao even if they went up.

Just as the two old ghosts were crying and cursing, an official sedan chair took the opportunity to pass by them, and arrived in front of Xuande Gate as if flying, and then an official rushed down and had a fight with the guard guarding the gate. Greeted, went straight into the palace, and went straight to Yanfu Palace.

That person is Jin Chongyue!
(End of this chapter)