Chapter 708 I Am Not a Faint King

Natural disasters, man-made disasters, food, rebels...

A series of incidents made the courtiers anxious and confused.

Wende committed Tai Sui for seven years!

At the beginning of the year, nothing good happens.

All the fucking big deal.

Any one of them may overturn the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty and cause the world to change its name and surname.

Emperor Wende vomited a mouthful of blood, and no one wanted to see him. Sitting quietly in the hall alone for three or four hours.

Someone rebelled!

Someone actually rebelled!

He asked himself that he was a very diligent and frugal emperor.

When the first emperor died, he left him a mess with countless big holes.

Over the years, he has worked hard, moved here and there to make up for it, and finally rectified this mess, and gradually made up for the money owed over the years.

He has achieved the most perfect level that an emperor can do, why are there still people rebelling?

Why does God refuse to open his eyes, and brings natural disasters and man-made disasters every year?

Is it true that as the rebels said, their father and son are not in the right position, God can't see it, and punish them?

"Your Majesty, it's getting dark, rest!"

Is it already dark?

When Emperor Wende came back to his senses, he realized that the sky was dark and the candles were flickering.

He turned his head slowly and looked at Chang En, "Am I a fool?"

"Your Majesty, have mercy!" Chang En knelt on the ground and kowtowed to plead guilty.

"I forgive you for your innocence. I will ask you, are you a fool? Answer truthfully, or I will kill you."

Chang En swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said nervously: "Your Majesty is certainly not a fool. Your Majesty worked hard for you. Last year, the household department finally had a small balance. This is a good omen!"

"Since it is a good omen, why are there still people rebelling?"

Emperor Wende looked lonely and asked a series of questions, "In the past ten years, there have been natural disasters every year. I am afraid that the burden on the people will be too heavy, and the people will lose their land and go bankrupt. Since he ascended the throne, he has never increased taxes once, and even reduced them several times.

And with repeated orders, the local government should not be strict in expropriating corvee. They even gave the local government an extra sum of money for corvee for three years in a row, just because they were afraid that the common people would suffer for it.

I have done everything I can, why are people still rebelling? Just because of natural disasters? I have been trying to find a way to relieve the disaster, why didn't they give me a little time? Why do you have to rebel?

I am by no means a faint king, let alone a tyrant, and I have nothing to lose. However, there are natural disasters every year, and there is no good weather every year, and there are still people rebelling. Is it really God's punishment? "

Chang En hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please don't go into a dead end! Those traitors and thieves are ambitious. They rebelled not because they had nothing to eat, but because they wanted to rebel.

What is God's punishment, what is wrong, how do those mud legs know these things. It is clear that some people are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, fish in troubled waters, and take the opportunity to make trouble. It's just that the true identity of the mastermind behind the scenes is still unclear. "

Emperor Wende frowned, "What you said makes sense. Those words are definitely beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and there must be expert advice behind them. Tell me, could the person behind the scenes be in the capital? Could it be that someone disobeyed me? Obtain the throne and conspire to rebel?"

Chang En's heart was beating wildly, and it was about to jump out of his throat.

This is too scary!

There is a premonition that a storm is coming.

He lowered his head and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to send troops to suppress the rebels. As for the people behind the rebels, sooner or later we will find out. Secondly, we must find a way to raise food and grass for disaster relief, so as not to let the disaster expand. We also need to prepare enough grain seeds.”

Emperor Wende nodded again and again, "It is true that we will send troops to suppress the rebels, and at the same time order the Jinwu Guards to strictly investigate all parts of the capital. Food is scarce everywhere, so sweet potatoes are planted. The yield of sweet potatoes is high, and they can still be sown even in drought. It doesn't matter. Get through this year and wait until next year, the situation will definitely get better. Definitely!"

Chang En wept with joy, "Your Majesty finally cheered up! The courtiers will be happy for His Majesty when they know about it. This is a blessing for the Great Zhou!"

Emperor Wende stared at Chang En, with a dazzling light in his eyes, "Announce the three provinces and six ministries to meet you, and announce the audience to several princes!"

"Your Majesty, it's getting dark..."

"Xuan!" Emperor Wende cut Chang En's words decisively with a loud voice.

"promise!"

Chang En bowed to accept the order, and announced to the adults all night to enter the palace to discuss countermeasures.

...

Early the next morning, Emperor Wende issued several orders.

From now on, the capital will be under martial law since Xu time.

Food price is limited, who dares to drive up the price of food, or closes the door and sells it reluctantly, the Jinwu Guard will strictly investigate!

Anyone who dares to spread rumors, create troubles, and cause panic among the people, regardless of their status, will be imprisoned. The Jinwu Guard has the right to deal with organic changes, which can be executed first and then played.

Order Sanhe Express to deliver the relief food sweet potatoes to the disaster area within half a month.

Ordered the Ministry of Households to send officials to the disaster area to organize replanting for the victims.

At the same time, several orders were sent to the Ministry of War, Beijing Daying Camp.

In front of the rebellion, the entire state apparatus is fully operational.

At the same time, the Jinwu Guard mobilized some elites to take the lead in investigating the truth of the rebellion where the rebels gathered.

...

The capital headquarters of Sanhe Express is about three or four miles away from Weishui Wharf, and only a few miles away from the official road.

The surrounding terrain is open and there are no combustible materials in the mountains and forests.

It is extremely convenient to choose this location, whether it is shipping or land transportation.

The courier station leads to the Weishui Wharf, as well as the official road, all of which are spacious and flat concrete roads.

Behind the office building are rows of tall warehouses.

On the side of the warehouse, there are hundreds of neatly arranged carriages, donkey carts, and mule carts, which are maintained and guarded by special personnel.

Early in the morning, Sanhe Express headquarters was crowded with people coming and going.

The carriages set off in an orderly manner, took the documents to Huangzhuang, Jingcang, and major grain stores, and brought back carts of sweet potatoes or miscellaneous grains.

The registrar weighed and registered the trucks, and after affixing the documents, they were all transported to the Weishui Wharf for shipment to the south.

The imperial decree ordered that within half a month, these grains should be transported to the disaster area.

The fastest way is by water.

Ground transportation is the second choice.

In less than a day at Weishui Wharf, Sanhe Express transferred hundreds of cargo ships.

Fill a boat and set off immediately.

Other cargo ships, whether private or government, all stood aside. Do not occupy the pier.

It is the emperor's order to transport disaster food, and all ships must give in to the emperor's order.

No concessions?

Then let's see if it's the hard stubble in the head, or the hard stubble of the knives of the top soldiers of the Beijing camp.

Each cargo ship, while transporting disaster food, is also responsible for transporting dozens of soldiers from the Beijing camp to the south.

Everyone in Sanhe Express is busy in an orderly manner according to their assigned tasks.

Everyone is familiar with their own work, they have done it thousands of times, and they can't make mistakes with their eyes closed.

The biggest advantage of proficiency is that it can minimize mistakes.

It can ensure that the process is complete and correct, and there will be no mistakes, omissions or confusion.

Mr. Zhao, Minister of the Household Department, personally brought people to the headquarters of Sanhe Express to check.

Everyone only cares about their own process, which seems to be very busy and chaotic, but the efficiency is very high.

Watching the truckloads of grain depart from the courier station, transported to the Weishui Wharf, and set off for loading, Mr. Zhao secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

"According to this speed, the whole journey is transported by water. It is estimated that the food will be delivered to the disaster area in less than half a month."

"Master Zhao is too optimistic!" Bai Zhong accompanied Master Zhao, "According to the news from the south, due to the drought, some sections of the river have stopped flowing. When you reach the cut-off place, you have to go by land."

Mr. Zhao, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, frowned tightly, "What should I do? We should go by land. Can you guarantee that the disaster food will be delivered to the disaster area in half a month?"

Bai Zhong said: "Our family is urgently dispatching vehicles and horses and gathering at the cut-off place. We have also notified the courier stations in various places and are ready to receive the goods. At the same time, the toll stations in various places will fully cooperate. Can we deliver to the disaster area within half a month? All I can say is do your best.”

Master Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, "It was right to establish Sanhe Express in the first place. If it were the imperial court to transport this batch of grain, it would never reach the disaster area within a month. Moreover, the consumption on the way is also an astronomical figure."

Bai Zhong smiled, and asked curiously: "Why did the court think of using sweet potatoes for disaster relief? They even planned to replant sweet potatoes in the south."

"This is also a helpless solution. The grain in the Jingcang cannot be moved, and there is no grain anywhere else. Only sweet potatoes, and there are a lot of them. It is a life that can save a life."

"Are these sweet potatoes enough?"

"It's definitely not enough to eat! But at least it can solve the urgent need."

That's true.

There are many sweet potatoes, but there are more victims.

Last year, sweet potato winemaking broke out, and a large number of sweet potatoes were used for winemaking. The remaining sweet potatoes may sound like a lot, but they are actually very few on average for each victim.

In the south, because of the fertile land and eating habits, very few people grow sweet potatoes. Most of them grow rice and winter wheat.

Like in the south of the Yangtze River, even paddy fields are used to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms.

Directly turn the farmland into a cash crop field.

It's no wonder that the imperial court wanted to transport sweet potatoes from the north to the disaster-stricken areas in the south.

There were no sweet potatoes in the disaster area before!

If you want to eat sweet potatoes, you don't have to eat them.

Watching one cargo ship after another leave the dock, Mr. Zhao's heart was half relieved.

He said to Bai Zhong: "I haven't seen Mrs. Chao for a long time, how is she?"

"Madam is raising a baby in another hospital, and she is about to give birth. Except for her temper becoming grumpy, everything else is fine."

Mr. Zhao said earnestly: "Sweet potatoes alone can only solve the urgent need. Moreover, the reserves of sweet potatoes are limited. Last year, sweet potatoes were too ruthless to make wine. Seventy percent of the sweet potatoes in the Northland were used to make wine. The remaining sweet potatoes, so many victims , It won’t be long before it will be eaten up. It still needs to transport a large amount of food to the disaster area to completely solve the problem of food shortage in the disaster area.”

Bai Zhong said earnestly: "Master Zhao is concerned about the country and the people, which is admirable. It's just useless for Mr. Zhao to tell me these things! I'm just a small person in charge of miscellaneous affairs, and I don't have any food on hand."

Master Zhao looked at Bai Zhong, "You have no food on hand, but your wife must have food on hand."

Bai Zhong was straightforward, "My wife is about to give birth, so we don't see any outsiders."

"Food is related to the fate of Dazhou and the lives of millions of victims. If your wife is just an ordinary housewife, I will not bother her. However, she is not only the wife of the prince, but also the owner of the Four Seas Trading Company. She It is time to take responsibility."

Bai Zhong bared his teeth, and smiled at Mr. Zhao, "It's useless to talk to me about these things. My wife said that I don't see any outsiders, and I can't help it. Why don't we talk about it after my wife gives birth to a child."

"By then, it will be too late!"

"Then our family can only say sorry!"

Mr. Zhao was so angry that his forehead was congested.