Stranger and Chen in the Palace

As soon as the three-day period came, officials of the affected counties and counties submitted statistics on the disaster situation one after another.

Ling Yichen and Xue Zimo looked through these materials, and their faces were very ugly. The disaster situation was far more serious than they thought, and even if the national treasury was spent, it might not be able to solve the problem.

In just three days, Xiao Ye had already lost a lot of weight. It seemed that he had spent a lot of energy on these things.Indeed, it is by no means an easy task to collect such a huge amount of data in such a short period of time.Moreover, these statistical data have been compared in various ways, and how long the grain depot and silver can last is also clearly listed, all of which save a lot of time for accurately grasping the disaster situation in a short period of time.

Ling Yichen glanced at Xiao Ye with a hint of approval in his eyes, and Xiao Ye was greatly relieved that his busy days had not been in vain.

The situation of the disaster has come out, and how to solve it next, the number of victims is huge, and the grain storage in Dianxi County and other places is only enough to last for less than half a month. The country must be eyeing it like a tiger, and it is definitely a major security risk.

Ling Yichen immediately summoned all the officials and issued several orders:

[-]. If the unaffected people are willing to take in a disaster victim for three months, then the taxes for the next three years will be exempted.The wealthy family, according to their degree of wealth, the more disaster victims they take in, the more tax they will be exempt from.

[-]. In the name of the national treasury, borrow money from all wealthy families in the country. The basic interest rate is one cent higher than that of the bank. The longer the loan period, the higher the interest rate.

[-]. Officials of all disaster-stricken counties and counties must donate part of their family property for disaster relief and free up mansions to resettle the victims. Officials of other counties and counties do not have mandatory regulations, and follow the principle of voluntary donations.

When all the officials heard the third article, they felt heartbroken. It was clear that they were going to empty out their wealth.

You know, their heads are still stored with Ling Yichen, who would dare to hide them at this time.If the family wealth is gone, it can be reunited, but if the life is gone, it will be completely over. Although the officials are heartbroken, they dare not not do it.

After all, fundraising takes time, Ling Yichen had someone quickly transport a batch of relief supplies from the imperial capital.

Sure enough, once these three orders were issued across the country, they received positive responses from the people. Taking in a disaster victim for three months will give them a three-year tax exemption. Who wouldn't?Almost all the unaffected people in the county and the neighboring counties took in the victims, and the number of victims decreased significantly, which relieved Ling Yichen's pressure to a great extent.

Wealthy people also responded one after another. After all, the money is still on the shelf. It is better to lend it to earn some interest. Anyway, it is borrowed in the name of the national treasury, so there is no need to worry about the problem of defaulting on the debt.

As for the officials of Dianxi County, they were obedient. Under Xiao Ye's supervision, their property was wiped out completely. Although the donations from other officials were not much, there was still a lot of money.

Ling Yichen looked at the accounts handed over by Xiao Ye, and said with a sneer, "The family property of those officials is quite fat, and emptying them out is enough to cover one-tenth of the national treasury's annual income." Then he stared at Xiao Ye again, "You donated a lot this time, so there must be nothing left at home."

Xiao Ye knelt down and said in fear: "This is what I should do. Your Highness is already a great favor from the emperor if I don't punish this minister. How dare I not do my best."

Ling Yichen nodded: "As I said, you have made up the function. I can see that you have done a good job. Right now, the victims of the disaster are settled, but we only have three months, and now the funds are almost raised. Rebuild houses and build dams as soon as possible. Another order will be issued. All registered disaster victims who are willing to rebuild houses and restore farmland will be funded by the imperial court for a time limit of three months. At the same time, excellent talents will be recruited from all over the country to rebuild dams. Contributions to building dams will be rewarded with corresponding acres of land and houses.”

Xiao Ye glanced at Ling Yichen in admiration. Since the disaster situation was calculated, Ling Yichen's disaster relief measures can be described as fast, accurate and ruthless. They not only quickly stabilized the disaster situation, but also solved the major problem of post-disaster reconstruction. Counties and counties such as Houdianxi County will be able to recover from the serious injury.

At the same time, Xiao Ye was also thankful for himself, although he had no choice but to take refuge in Ling Yichen, but with the emperor's love for Ling Yichen and his own ability to govern the country, his chances of winning in the future must be greater than that of King Yu.Only under the protection of Ling Yichen could he survive under the threat of King Yu. Thinking of this, Xiao Ye believed in Ling Yichen even more.

Under the guidance of Ling Yichen and the supervision of Xiao Ye, the disaster relief work was carried out in an orderly manner.

The enthusiasm of the disaster victims to rebuild their homes is higher than Xiao Ye expected. After all, others can only take them in for a while. Who doesn't want to have their own home?Now that the imperial court has promised to contribute funds, of course they will not miss this opportunity, but the reconstruction of the houses is based on basic standards. After all, funds are limited and it is impossible to allocate them at will.

The victims didn't care about this at all. They thought they couldn't live happily ever after. They didn't expect that now they have food and shelter, and they can repair their houses and farmland. They already feel very satisfied.

Because Ling Yichen's recruitment conditions were very attractive, many skilled craftsmen rushed to Dianxi County to participate in the reconstruction of the embankment, and everything was developing in a good direction.

Soon, three months passed.

The weather in Dianxi County is getting colder and colder, and the whole land is covered with ice and snow.Fortunately, the work of housing reconstruction has almost been completed, and most of the victims have moved into new houses.

During this period, Luo Daman and his brothers also made great efforts, and they have been busy running. Whether it is the distribution of disaster relief materials, the distribution of treasury silver, and the procurement of materials, they are indispensable.

Xiao Ye was also happy to have someone help. Although Ling Yichen's disaster relief measures were good, it was not an easy task to implement them thoroughly. The disaster situation this time was too serious.

Seeing that the cold winter was approaching, Ling Yichen asked Xiao Ye to distribute a batch of winter supplies to the victims. The victims were resettled properly, but due to the freezing of the Fen River, the construction of the embankment had to be stopped.Now only the foundation of the river embankment has been repaired. The original foundation was built very shallow and the materials used were of very low quality. This is also an important reason why the embankment is so easy to collapse.

This time, Ling Yichen specially asked people to clear the previous foundation, and then redesigned the embankment according to the maximum water flow and impact force of the Fen River. It can protect the people along the Fen River for hundreds of years.

Ling Yichen was always worried. Although there was nothing wrong with the Fen River now, once the ice on the river surface melted in the next spring, it was hard to say whether it would flood again. The levee had not been repaired yet, so it was necessary to investigate the situation clearly and make preparations in advance.

Looking at Xue Zimo who was wearing a cloak next to him, Ling Yichen said: "I can go alone, it's too cold outside, why don't you stay in the post?"

Xue Zimo smiled: "I also want to go out for a walk. I have been bored here these days, and I feel a little breathless."

Ling Yichen had no choice but to take off the cloak on his body, picked up a thick velvet and put it on for him again: "Put on this one, it's far from the embankment, we're going to stay outside for an hour or two, don't worry about it." It's freezing."

Xue Zimo's heart is very warm. These days, Ling Yichen has personally taken care of his basic necessities, food, housing and transportation, and it can be said that he has been taken care of in every possible way. Ever since he was a child, even his father had never spoiled him like this.

Considering Ling Yichen's status as the prince after all, Xue Zimo persuaded him several times, but Ling Yichen still went his own way, and in the end Xue Zimo had to let him.

The carriage they were riding in drove for more than half an hour, and finally reached the embankment of the Fen River.

Compared with the first visit, great changes have taken place here. The victims along the coast are no longer seen, the damaged embankment and rocks have been cleared away, and the new foundation in the Fen River is clearly visible.

"Can the levee be repaired before next summer?" Xue Zimo turned to Ling Yichen.

Ling Yichen nodded: "I have had people calculate that as soon as the ice on the Fen River melts, the construction can start. If there is no accident, it can be repaired in mid-May. Even if there is any emergency, there is still more than a month's reserved time. , It will be completed before the flood season comes again.”

Xue Zimo comforted: "That's good, the common people can't bear the second torment." After finishing speaking, he looked at the Fen River dam sadly, "This river once raised so many people, but at the same time it also took so many human life."

Ling Yichen knew that he was thinking of those victims again. This time the levee collapsed, the Fen River flooded, countless victims were drowned and starved to death, and thinking about it now feels a chill in his heart.

Ling Yichen gently put his hand on Xue Zimo's shoulder, and said solemnly: "I will do my best to help the victims."

Xue Zimo looked at him steadily: "You have done a good job."

Ling Yichen was about to speak, but found that someone was digging ice on the frozen river in the distance, Xue Zimo also noticed, the two looked at each other, and walked towards that person.

The person who was cutting the ice saw someone approaching, looked at the two in horror, and then fixed his eyes on Xue Zimo.

The other party was a seven or eight-year-old boy, holding a stone in his hand, which was the tool used to dig ice just now, his body was dirty, he was only wearing a tattered single clothes, his hands, feet and face were frozen Blue and purple, and there are some blood spots on the skin that are the size of pinpricks.Xue Zimo knew that this was caused by being overly frozen, so he couldn't help but asked with concern: "Who are you, why are you digging ice here?"

Perhaps it was Xue Zimo's gentle eyes and words that moved the young man. The terrified look in the young man's eyes gradually faded, replaced by tears that slowly welled up, and he choked up after a long while and said: "The river flooded my house, and my parents are dead. , I wandered around by myself, and before winter I could find some wild vegetables and weeds to satisfy my hunger, but now I can’t even see a single green leaf, and I was so hungry that I wanted to dig the river to see if I could catch some fish.”

The young man in front of him was indeed so hungry that only skin and bones remained. Xue Zimo said distressedly: "Why are you wandering alone, and no one takes you in?"

The young man said: "A family took me in before, but the male owner of that family saw that I was an orphan, so he forced me to work every day, and only gave me a steamed bun every day. I was so hungry that I was dizzy and had no strength to work. I was beaten to death, and I escaped after being beaten. If it weren’t for the relief food distributed some time ago, I would have starved to death. But this winter, I can’t find anything to eat, and the food is left There are not many downloads, and I dare not use it unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise I will definitely starve to death."

Xue Zimo turned his head to look at Ling Yichen, and said, "I want to take him back."

"Okay." Ling Yichen nodded.

Xue Zimo turned his head and said softly to the boy, "What's your name?"

The young man said truthfully, "Xia Yan."

Xue Zimo patted his head, and said softly: "Xia Yan, come back with me, okay?"

Xia Yan looked at him stupidly, and nodded as if possessed.

Xue Zimo smiled and took off his sable fur and put it on Xia Yan. Xia Yan said in a panic, "I, I will stain your clothes."

Xue Zimo smiled gently: "I gave it to you."

Xia Yan was stunned, tears slowly overflowing.

Xue Zimo sighed slightly, his body suddenly felt warm, but it was Ling Yichen who took off his fur and put it on for him.His heart moved, and just as he was about to take off the big fur Ling Yichen gave him, he heard Ling Yichen whisper in his ear: "If you give him this one again, I'll take off the clothes on my body and give it to you."

Xue Zimo blushed, and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about?" But his hands stopped moving, and Ling Yichen helped him fasten his fur.

Ling Yichen wanted to investigate the situation of Fenhe again, but Xue Zimo said that he was tired and wanted to go back, and he would come back another day.Ling Yichen knew that Xue Zimo felt sorry for his thin clothes, so he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth proudly, and readily agreed to Xue Zimo's proposal.