Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 91 Foreseeing the Future
"Ye Chen! What did you remember? Why did you scream and lose your composure?" Zhao Kuangyin asked in a deep voice.

Ye Chen is very entangled now, in case there is an error in the historical records, the hat of bewitching the public will be deducted.

If you ignore it, this is of course the safest way. No one will know except Ye Chen himself, and there will be no trouble.But when I think of the flood in the historical records in my memory, [-] or [-] counties near Kaifeng were hit by disasters, tens of thousands of people were drowned, and millions of victims were displaced. Ye Chen shudders when he thinks about the tragedy in the world.

"This is a deadlock!" Ye Chen was extremely entangled in his heart.

"Your Majesty! If my master says that in October this year, the Yellow River will break its embankment in Baima County, Kaifeng, and cause the largest flood in hundreds of years, do you believe it or not?" Ye Chen looked at Zhao Kuangyin carefully, weakly Said.

"What did you say?" Zhao Kuangyin was startled, his pupils shrank, and he looked at Ye Chen firmly and asked.After the others were stunned for a moment, when they realized it, their faces all changed, and they all stared at Ye Chen firmly.

Being looked at by the founding emperor and several founding heroes in such a way, Ye Chen felt a little difficult to breathe just because of the aura, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Ye Chen took a long breath, suppressed the tension in his heart, and said, "Report to Your Majesty! Last summer, my master accidentally watched the sky at night. After watching it, his old man looked sad, so I asked him what is the old man's name?" What’s wrong, he explained that in October next year, the Yellow River burst its embankment in Kaifeng’s Baima County in the Central Plains, destroying the homes of nearly a million people, making them displaced, and causing a major plague.”

After Ye Chen finished speaking in one breath, he gradually calmed down, but the hall was already silent.Everyone looked at Ye Chen, but no one spoke for a long time.

Of course, what Ye Chen said was too unimaginable, who can predict the future?
Although the things that happened to Ye Chen and his own performance seem to be on par with the gods in many aspects, and even in the eyes of ordinary people, they are not much different from the gods, but the kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty who were present still doubted Ye Chen's words. the truth of the words.

"You mean that in three months, the Yellow River will break its embankment in Kaifeng, causing a catastrophic flood?" Zhao Pu reacted first, shouting doubtfully and angrily.In fact, other people also looked suspicious.

Now that Ye Chen has said it, he must stick to it.

"My teacher is a fairy-like figure. Since his old man said that there will be a catastrophic flood in October, it is very likely that there will be a catastrophic flood." Ye Chen said as calmly as possible.

Zhao Kuangyin was much calmer than Ye Chen imagined at this time, but his smile was suppressed, and his expression was extremely gloomy.At this time, he believed in Ye Chen more than others, and in his opinion, Ye Chen would not just talk about it.Because even if this happened, it wouldn't do Ye Chen any good, it would only bring disaster. He didn't believe in Ye Chen's wisdom, so he wouldn't understand this truth.

In addition, in the world, no matter where there is a flood or drought, there is no such thing as starving to death in the capital city, if there is such a scene, it is simply a sign of the country's collapse.Zhao Kuangyin considered himself the Son of Heaven and would never allow such a thing to happen.

"Chu Qing! How much food is there in Kaifeng now?" Zhao Kuangyin took a deep look at Ye Chen, without further confirmation, but turned to ask Chu Zhaofu, the envoy of the third division.

Chu Zhaofu was stunned for a moment, hesitating and unable to speak, Zhao Kuangyin's face darkened, he turned to ask Luo Gongming, and said, "Luo Qing! What do you think?"

Luo Gongming smiled wryly in his heart, but his face was already solemn, and he said: "Your Majesty! Originally, Kaifeng was the capital of my Great Song Dynasty, and the grain storage should be enough for at least three years. However, nearly two months ago, during the Northern Expedition, we The military grain and grass were robbed. At that time, in order to raise grain and grass and send it to Jinyang as soon as possible, most of the grain in Kaifeng City was used. Although grain ships from various places started to replenish these days, it was only about one-tenth of the replenishment. Currently, Kaifeng City has the most people It can only be eaten for a month. Usually, there are grain ships that continue to bring grain to Kaifeng, so there is nothing wrong with it. It is difficult to get replenishment. Most of the population of more than ten surrounding counties flocked into Kaifeng City, and the grain in the granary would be eaten up in less than ten days."

Zhao Kuangyin took a deep breath when he heard the words. If it is true that what Ye Chen said, the levee in Baima County burst in October, and there is no reminder from Ye Chen at this time, what kind of scene will it be? As the lord of a country, With Zhao Kuangyin's stability and city power, his scalp felt numb.Although deep down in his heart, he still doubted what Ye Chen said.

But this matter is a typical one that would rather be believed than believable.Not to mention that it was predicted by Ye Chen's legendary god-like master, even if it was made by some so-called eminent monks and masters in a secular Taoist temple, Zhao Kuangyin would also attach great importance to such predictions.

But apart from Ye Chen, who is a different kind who traveled from later generations, who dares to say such a prediction, and who has the ability to say it.

"Come here, it is said that the governor of Kaifeng and the chief and deputy envoys of the Privy Council have entered the palace to discuss matters! I don't believe that mere floods can trap my Kaifeng city, so that my Song Dynasty has no way to deal with it." Zhao Kuangyin took a deep breath and said.

The final result was that, except for the emperor of the Song Dynasty and several important ministers, the news about the Yellow River bursting in Baima County three months later must not be made public, and the court must block this news.

This is a common trick used by rulers.Ye Chen had already expected this.

The result of the discussion between His Majesty the Emperor and a group of big shots was not beyond Ye Chen's expectations.Naturally, it is necessary to raise the embankment and raise food.

On the one hand, Yu Yueze was asked to do his best to recruit labor and raise the embankment of the Yellow River, and because of the urgency of time, a total of [-] sergeants were drawn from all Xiang troops and some imperial troops to join them.

In addition, Luo Gongming is in charge of transporting food from all over the country to Kaifeng City.But specific plans are still being worked out.

Transport food?How can it be said that it can be done with just one sentence? In just three months, it is necessary to raise food for more than one million people for more than a month, and a few need 100 million shi.

With so much food, it is impossible for land transportation to do this.Kaifeng is at the key point of the bad canal, and the nearby counties usually rely on Kaifeng's grain, and now Kaifeng urgently needs to hoard a large amount of grain.During this period, the nearby counties and towns can't be ignored. The little grain transported by land may not be enough for the nearby counties and towns to consume.

Water transportation is naturally much faster than land transportation, and there is just a water transportation between Jianghuai Road, the first granary of the Song Dynasty, and Kaifeng.But raising so much food at one time is itself a problem.

Sudden panic buying... What should I do if the local food prices suddenly skyrocket?
Even if the local states and counties in the Jianghuai area have raised so much grain, except for at least one month of grain raising, can they transport six hundred shi of grain to Kaifeng in the remaining one month?
The loss of transportation and the loss of ship capsizing can be ignored, but the difference in the water level of each section of the canal is an important issue that cannot be ignored.For a long time, when encountering this kind of problem, the grain has to be transported through a section of the river to stop at the wharf, and all the grain is moved ashore, and then transported to the wharf of the next river by mule cart, loaded on the ship, and unloaded in this way. , Can we really use enough food to Kaifeng within more than a month?
With the continuous analysis and deduction of Luo Gongming, Zhao Pu, Zhao Guangyi and others, this matter is considered to be extremely difficult.Even Zhao Pu thinks that this matter is very difficult and impossible.

Inside the Chongzheng Hall, several ministers in charge of raising the embankment, including Yu Yueze and Cao Bin, had already left ahead of schedule and began to unfold like a raging fire.

The rest of the ministers all frowned, explaining the pros and cons, pros and cons, and effects of various grain transportation strategies to Zhao Kuangyin one by one.However, no matter which method is used, it is impossible to raise enough food for more than 100 million people in Kaifeng city within two months.

As for evacuating the population of the [-] or [-] counties near Kaifeng to other prefectures and counties in advance, except for Ye Chen who thought about it for a while, no one else thought about it at all.It is right to plan for the worst and make two-handed preparations, but it is absolutely impossible for the emperor of Song Dynasty and the important ministers to completely believe Ye Chen's prediction and evacuate the people according to this result. Few people would be willing to leave their homes.

Zhao Pu sighed in his heart, he didn't expect this matter to be so difficult, he no longer thought about how to complete this matter, but thought about how to push this hot taro out, so as not to end up in his own hands.

"Officials! It is extremely cumbersome to raise and transport so much food in more than two months. This requires a person with strong ability to control and work, and in the process of raising food in various states and counties, the prestige is enough to suppress the people of the states and counties, and I still need enough capable officials to handle this matter. Looking at the court, I think that only Lord Kaifeng Fu Yin has this ability and condition." Zhao Pu glanced at it, and the face on the other side was changing, and he didn't know how to think again What is Zhao Guangyi, solemnly said.

Hearing this, Zhao Guangyi grumbled in his heart, cursed the old man secretly, and quickly stepped forward and said: "Officials, Kaifeng Mansion already has a lot of official affairs to deal with, and now they have to cooperate with adults in recruiting labor, and my younger brother can't get rid of it by himself." Let’s face it, the officials under his command also have to perform their duties. The Prime Minister has not had any major affairs in the court recently, and he is the head of all the officials of the Great Song Dynasty, and there are many advisers under him. When this concerns the safety of the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, he should stand up Come out and take on this great responsibility."

Zhao Pu immediately said: "Officials, I think what Fu Yin said is inappropriate. The more critical this moment is, the more I want to sit in the center and control the overall situation. What's more, as the prime minister, I can easily leave the important place of the capital. I still think that Fu Yin is the best person to complete this important task."

(End of this chapter)