Wei and Jin Cooks

The price of food across the country dropped at a speed that everyone could clearly feel, first in Luoyang, and then in the counties around Luoyang. Soon, due to the rapid delivery of disaster relief food, and Zhao Hanzhang's newly opened food store taking the lead, the price of food dropped. Soon it dropped to eighteen to twenty-five cents.

 This price is acceptable to most people.

 With the aid of work-for-relief, there was no chaos in the North due to food.

Ming Yu, Zu Ti and others calculated the damage and found that some people died from the flood, but no one died from hunger.

Not to mention Zhao Hanzhang in Luoyang didn't believe it, even Ming Yu and Zu Ti, who were fighting the disaster on the front line, didn't believe it. They took the death list and went to the countryside to investigate in person, fearing that some officials would deliberately falsify it for merit.

Who knows, some people died in the flood, some died of illness, but some did not die of starvation.

 This phenomenon is rare in ordinary times, let alone during floods.

 In this era, a large number of people die of hunger and cold every year.

Ming Yu asked Li Zheng, who had a large number of poor farmers under his command, "How did they survive?"

Li Zhengdao: "During the first month, someone from the county suddenly came and said that the general asked a half-immortal to calculate that there would be a solar eclipse in February, so we don't need to panic."

"There was a solar eclipse. The sun was eaten. Isn't this a big deal? Everyone said that this year's harvest was bad. The crops couldn't grow without the sun. So during the New Year, everyone started to cut back on food and clothing, hoping to save more food. .”

"Sure enough, half of the sun that rose on the first day of February was eaten by the tengu. After we drove it away, people from the county came again, saying that this solar eclipse heralded a natural disaster. The general calculated that it was a flood. Let everyone We need to save more grain, so we won’t plant wheat for the time being.” It’s cold in this area, so the spring wheat we’re used to growing is thankfully not planted, otherwise it would be completely ruined by such a heavy rain.

"Everyone listened, and they all spent their family money to buy all the grain before the price of grain rose too much. When there were wild vegetables in the fields, they picked them back to dry or pickle them. After it rained heavily, everyone We only need to eat one meal a day to stay alive, so we all survive. Now that we have relief food and work-for-relief, we don’t have to die.”

Ming Yu choked up and asked, "Is it uncomfortable to eat so little after only one meal?"

Li Zheng's face was also sallow. He smiled when he heard the words and said very contentedly: "It's not uncomfortable. We all live like this all the time. No one has starved to death this year. It's much better than the wars in previous years."

Ming Yu: "You have made so many preparations. Do you believe whatever the county says?"

Li Zheng said curiously: "Of course I believe it. My parents were sent by the general himself. How could he lie to us?"

Ming Yu felt very complicated. In Luoyang, only 70% of the people who believed in the imperial court were at most. Could it be that the people in Luoyang were not as knowledgeable as the people in these remote areas?

 No, they are more knowledgeable, and precisely because they are knowledgeable, they are more stubborn.

 Therefore, it is not entirely unreasonable for Xia Houren and Tao Wu to promote strategies to fool the people.

Ming Yu rubbed his forehead and felt that he was also possessed by a demon. Is this the time to think about this?

“Now that the rain has stopped, after receiving the relief food, let’s level the land and replant some sorghum and soybeans.”

Li Zheng said with a look of embarrassment: "Ming Zhongshu, it is already June now, and taxes will be paid in three months. As you can see, except for some sorghum and millet, there is really no food to pay. Can you tell the general to harvest sorghum and millet this year?"

 The tax and rent collected by the imperial court were basically based on wheat, rice and millet, and no one ever collected sorghum.

But this year, most of the land is indeed planted with sorghum, and it is divided into two crops. Ming Yu pondered for a moment and said: "I will speak to the general, and you can plant the land with peace of mind first."

Given Zhao Hanzhang’s character, most disaster-stricken areas will be exempted from taxes, and other disaster-stricken areas will also be exempted from part of the tax.

 We will mention this matter again when the time comes.

Most of the grain bought by Zhao Hanzhang was stored in the north, as was the national treasury. However, this flood also caused heavy losses in the Jiangnan and Jiangdong areas.

They are all the treasury of the Jin Dynasty, and the people of the Jin Dynasty cannot be too favorable to one or the other, so Zhao Hanzhang allocated a sum of relief grains from the treasury to be sent to the south of the Yangtze River.

Sent a group of soldiers southward, collected the money from various grain stores she opened along the way, and transported them directly to the south of the Yangtze River to buy grain locally and stabilize prices locally.

 Equivalently, she buys grain at a high price and sells it at a low price, losing half of her money every time she goes in and out.

For this reason, she specially met with Gu Rong, He Xun and others and asked them to help with disaster relief.

"The wealthy grain merchants in the north of the Yangtze River, headed by Zhao Hu, have promised to stabilize grain prices. However, the disaster affected a wide range of areas. Except for Shu and Guangzhou, grain prices have risen in other places. For the poor people, grain prices at this time are Every penny the price goes up takes away a bit of life from them. I know that the three gentlemen have great prestige in Jiangnan, so I can only ask for help from three of them."

Gu Rong and the other three looked at each other and asked, "Mao Hong and Xuan Pei..."

Maohong is Wang Dao's name, and Xuanpei is Zhou Qi's name. The two of them are now in charge of Yangzhou with one man and one man.

"They are already providing disaster relief, but the northern gentry have not yet stabilized their foundation in Jiangnan, and what they can do to help is limited. Jiangnan is not only the court's Jiangnan, but also the Jiangnan people." Zhao Hanzhang stood up, bowed, and said, "Please help me, gentlemen."

Gu Rong opened his mouth and turned to look at He Xun.

Zhao Hanzhang said "help me" rather than "help the court". Once they agreed, it would be the same as choosing to side with her.

He Xun took a serious look at Zhao Hanzhang, then nodded slightly and said, "Okay."

Gu Rong looked at him in surprise.

 After leaving the General's Mansion, Gu Rong and Ji Zhan kept looking at He Xun secretly.

He Xun had no choice but to say, "If you want to see it, just do it openly. Why bother to sneak around? I'm not Wei Jie, so I don't have to be so careful."

Ji Zhan asked him, "Why did you choose her so quickly?"

He Xun asked: "Is there any better candidate than her?"

Ji Zhan and Gu Rong shook their heads together. It seems that there is no one at the moment, but... "Didn't you say you want to take a look again?"

"That's enough," He Xundao said, "This year, one hundred and twenty people have been selected for the talent recruitment exam in Jiangnan. They will come to Luoyang to take the exam in the fall. If they pass the exam, the scholars from Jiangnan can join the officials from Jiangbei." , we Wu people are finally not excluded from politics."

"For many years, the imperial court has not only excluded us Jiangnan nobles, but also treated us Jiangnan as a grain storehouse and money storehouse. In addition to paying heavy taxes every year, it also pays tribute to many things, such as pearls, corals, and silk... But every time there is a disaster, The imperial court found reasons not to provide relief, or to provide less relief."

"Jiangnan was also affected a lot by this flood. Before Wang Maohong wrote a letter asking for relief, the treasury was already making preparations. I heard that Zhao Hanzhang brought it up personally. Officials in the DPRK and the Chinese government also treated everyone equally and did not shirk it just because it was Jiangnan," He said Xun said softly: "Even if she is willing to provide private property to raise prices to stabilize food prices, the most we can do is this, right?"

Gu Rong and Ji Zhan nodded.

"So she has no discrimination. What she did for Jiangnan is no worse than any other Jiangnan person. Looking at the world, who can do it?" The Sima family was the first to be excluded.

Not to mention the young emperor who is now unable to rule, let’s talk about King Langya, who is known for his generosity. When he first arrived in Jiangnan, he still relied on the Jiangnan nobles. Not only did he only have a honeymoon for a while, but then he relied more on the Jiangbei people. They suppressed the Jiangnan gentry everywhere. Now, Zhao Hanzhang has paid almost nothing from Jiangnan. Compared with the behavior of the court in the previous decades, it can be said to be very strange.

 So He Xun made up his mind.

He and Gu Rongjizhan said: "The three of us are from ordinary families. We have to ask Xuan Pei and others for help. Disaster waits for no one. Let's go back and write a letter now."

Gu Rong responded.

Zhou Qi is second. After all, he is a court official, and he has always had a chivalrous spirit. Even if they don't mention it, he will follow them to stabilize food prices, mainly other families, such as the Lu family, Jiang family, etc. They are also wealthy, but they may not be willing to harm their own interests, so they can only persuade and hope that they can be persuaded.

He Xun underestimated himself too much. As the leader of the four heroes in the south of the Yangtze River, he had the reputation of Confucianism, and his reputation was not inferior to that of Zhou Qi, who held military power.

If the gentry in Jiangnan were led by Zhou Qi because of his power, then they were led by He Xun because of their hope.

Therefore, as soon as He Xun's letter arrived in Jiangnan, the person who received it immediately went to persuade his family and said to them: "If the people of Jiangnan don't save Jiangnan, who else will be willing to save Jiangnan in the future? Mr. He has already taken the lead, and we can't wait too long." behind."

The He family listened to He Xun's words very much. After receiving the letter, they took out a lot of grain to sell at low prices and were willing to lend grain to the neighbors for free to tide over the difficulties.

 Then there are Gu Rong’s Gu family and the Zhou family. Ji Zhan’s Ji family is not included here because he is really poor.

Ji Zhan is good at charity and has very elegant hobbies, such as music, books, calligraphy and painting.

Each project is extremely expensive. In addition, he can hardly produce anything for the family. Instead, he sells businesses for his hobbies and interests, so he sells and sells them. Now only some of his ancestral fields are still left, which is enough for the family. Just life.

 He ​​was introverted and did not want to come to Luoyang, but Zhao Hanzhang sent people to invite him several times. He Xun also wrote to him personally, asking him to come to Luoyang to meet Zhao Hanzhang, the prime minister. Zhou Qi also took the time to visit him in person.

But what really moved Ji Zhan's heart and set him off to Luoyang was the newspaper in the first month of the year that predicted the solar eclipse on the first day of February.

Ji Zhan saw the Di newspaper that day, packed his luggage that day, and set off the next day. He didn't even catch the total solar eclipse in Luoyang, but saw an annular solar eclipse in Yuzhou.

 After arriving in Luoyang, he mixed with He Xun and others and was unwilling to serve as an official.

However, he changed his mind at this time. He said to He Xun and Gu Rong: "I want to become an official."

He Xun stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I'm going to become an official too."

Gu Rong hesitated for a moment, "Then, I also want to work as an official?"

He Xun laughed heartily, put his arm on their shoulders and said cheerfully: "Together, together, we are friends below and colleagues above. Finally, we have realized the wish we had when we were young."

Gu Rong and Ji Zhan couldn't help laughing.

It has been half a year since Zhao Hanzhang invited people to Luoyang, and the three of them are finally willing to serve as officials, which is what she wants.

The positions had been arranged long before they got wind of it, and Zhao Hanzhang immediately asked Ji Yuan to issue a letter of appointment.

Ji Yuan handed the written appointment letter to her for sealing, and asked: "Do you want He Xun to be one of the examiners for the autumn examination this year?"

  Zhao Hanzhang: “Do you also think he is suitable, sir?”

Ji Yuan nodded slightly, "In terms of knowledge, Zhao Cheng is on par with him, but in terms of Confucianism and etiquette, no one in the world can match him. The girl must congratulate Xun to come to Luoyang, isn't it because she wants to use him as the Minister of Rites?"

Zhao Hanzhang couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. You know me well. But this matter is not urgent. He has just entered the court after all. We all need to get along. After we get along well, I will give him this position."

Ji Yuan said: "The local affairs are almost done. Ming Yu and Zu Ti will return to Beijing at the beginning of the month. Have you ever thought about how Zu Ti will be settled?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "I originally wanted to keep him in Luoyang as Minister of War. Among the military generals, he is the only one capable of taking this position, except General Beigong."

“But I am also worried about handing over Jizhou to others.”

Ji Yuan said: "Zhao Shen has made great achievements in this southern expedition. Why don't you put him somewhere to practice?"

Zhao Hanzhang shook his head, "He is not suitable, at least, he is not suitable at this time."

"Shi Le is like a wolf. He has a group of wolf cubs under his command. Zhao Shen cannot defeat him when he goes to Jizhou."

Ji Yuan frowned, "Does Shi Le have any rebellious intentions?"

"He didn't." Zhao Hanzhang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sir, the counties within this state are bound to fight with each other for population, land, and various resources, not to mention the competition between states. Where is the room?"

"Beigong Chun has a pure heart and won't know how to fight, but he can fight and complain. Shi Le also knows that I like General Beigong more, so I don't dare to provoke him, but for Jizhou, he keeps an eye on others. The same goes for Zu Ti, the two of them are neighbors. If it were Zhao Shen, I would be worried three hundred and sixty days a year." Zhao Hanzhang shook his head and said, "No, I'm afraid my life will be short."

Ji Yuan shouted disapprovingly, "Girl!"

 “Okay, okay, bah, bah, bah, I made a slip of the tongue.”

Ji Yuan's face looked better now, "Zhao Shen can't stay in the capital forever, can he? If you want to use him, you must put him in the local area to get some experience, otherwise how can he be worthy of the post of Minister of the Ministry of War in the future?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "It's going to be released, but there's no rush at this moment. He's still young, so what's the rush?"

Hearing this, Ji Yuan looked at her face carefully and asked quietly: "You have already achieved success. I wonder where you want her to go?"

Zhao Hanzhang raised his head and smiled at him. He stood up and walked to the hanging map. He clicked his finger on the bottom and asked, "Mr. Ji, what do you think of this place?"

Ji Yuan looked at the position pointed by her finger and was speechless for a while, "The girl is amazing, I wonder what Governor Zhao will think."

Does Zhao Ming know that Zhao Hanzhang wants to put his son in a wild place like Guangzhou?

Zhao Hanzhang pinched his waist and looked at the map, extremely satisfied, "I think he is the most suitable for this place."

 It can not only temper his will, exercise his military and governance abilities, but also give him a way to develop his hobbies.

See you tomorrow