Doctor of the Great Song Dynasty: In the beginning, Li Qingzhao and Li Qingzhao made a private decis

"The imperial court released floods and millions of people were affected!"

As soon as this news came out, everyone's heart trembled. The collapse of the Yellow River's embankments in the past dynasties would have caused huge losses, and this time it also caused losses to millions of people.

Fortunately, the court gave three days' notice of the flood discharge, which allowed many people to move or prepare in advance. Not many people died due to the flood discharge. At the same time, a lot of property and food were also transferred, so that a big disaster would not be caused in a hurry.

However, what is heartbreaking is that the area from the Yellow River Embankment to Liangshan Bo, which is dozens of miles wide and hundreds of miles long, has become a disaster area, and there are as many as millions of people. All of these require disaster relief, which is a huge burden for the imperial court. .

Moreover, the victims of disasters have nothing and are most likely to cause chaos. Since ancient times, peasant uprisings in the last years of dynasties have mostly resulted in displacement during disaster years, which eventually led to the collapse of an empire.

"Dear dear friends, now that the Yellow River has released floods, I don't know how you will deal with the victims in the flood relief areas." Zhao Xu said loudly in the Chui Gong Hall.

It can be said that the Song Dynasty learned from the experience of previous dynasties and had sufficient experience in dealing with floods, so it immediately discussed disaster relief matters.

Su Song solemnly said: "I would like to inform the officials that the government and the public have prepared three days in advance for this flood discharge, so that a lot of food can be preserved. Coupled with the court's arrangements, there will definitely be no famine."

This flood release was notified three days in advance, which gave the public three days to prepare, and also gave the government three more days, which was enough for the victims to stabilize and avoid hasty chaos.

Fan Zheng also continued: "The doctors have mobilized doctors to go to the disaster area, and doctors from various prefectures along the way have also been mobilized. It is forbidden to drink contaminated water in all disaster areas, and you must drink boiled water to prevent the plague."

Now that the medical family has been unified, with an order from the Imperial Medical Office, the medical family has begun to gather its strength, even three minutes faster than the government. The earliest batch of supporting doctors may have arrived in the disaster area.

"To inform the officials, although the imperial court has already prepared for disaster relief, millions of refugees have emerged. If they are not handled well, trouble may occur. The minister believes that it is necessary to recruit soldiers." Yang Wei, the censor, said solemnly.

"Recruit the troops! I agree with Master Yang's words!"

The officials nodded slightly. The soldiers were a method used by the Song Dynasty to prevent rebellion.

Soldiers in the Song Dynasty needed to be tattooed, which made many people feel humiliated. Many people were unwilling to become soldiers. Whenever there was a famine, the court would recruit young people from the victims in advance to join the army, and those who were physically strong would join the Forbidden Army. Others The slightly worse ones were Xiang soldiers, which not only strengthened the military power of the Song Dynasty, but also directly mobilized the backbone of the victims. The remaining old, weak, sick and disabled were unable to rebel, thus avoiding the occurrence of rebellion.

Nowadays, the flood discharge of the Yellow River has created a huge flood discharge area in the Central Plains, and millions of victims have been born. How can the government and the public not be afraid of it?

Of course, the side troops are not without their drawbacks. Although this method greatly alleviated the peasant uprising, it also caused the Song Dynasty's military expenditure to increase rapidly. Redundant troops and waste were the most troublesome and stubborn problem of the Song Dynasty.

"We can no longer recruit Xiang soldiers. Now the imperial court has finally laid down [-] Xiang soldiers. If we recruit Xiang soldiers again, wouldn't it mean that the previous years of efforts of the imperial court have been in vain." Fan Zheng objected.

Many ministers nodded in succession. Xiang soldiers have always been a burden to the imperial court. Now they have finally established a construction corps and abolished one hundred thousand Xiang soldiers, allowing the imperial government to breathe a sigh of relief. If Xiang soldiers are recruited again, wouldn't it mean that the imperial court's efforts will be in vain? flow eastwards.

"The collection of Xiang soldiers is an ancestral system. It can allow the victims to survive, so how can it be abolished just because of some salaries? What's more, the Song Dynasty's improved finances are enough to bear the cost of Xiang soldiers." Yang Wei was conservative in his thinking and moved out of the ancestral system again. .

"Of course, compared to the survival of the victims and the safety of the court, a little money is nothing?"

All the old parties echoed.

Even Fan Chunli nodded slightly. Now that the Song Dynasty had undergone reforms, its finances had greatly improved, and it was enough to bear part of the cost of the troops.

Zhao Xu couldn't help but be moved. After all, Xiang soldiers were an effective method of providing disaster relief and preventing rebellions. Compared with the cost of supplying a group of Xiang soldiers and the damage caused by millions of victims, it was only a drop in the bucket.

"Wei Chen objects." However, Fan Zheng still insisted.

Zhao Xu couldn't help but look at Fan Zheng in confusion.

Fan Zheng explained: "First of all, these victims are not desperate victims who will rise up if they are confused at the slightest. They were originally people in the flood discharge area, with their own family properties and fertile land. Nowadays, the court discharges floods in summer when there is sufficient rain. , As long as the Yellow River burst is surrounded, one season of wheat can also be continued in autumn, winter and spring, not to mention that flood discharges only occur once every few years, and other times it will not affect production at all."

All the officials nodded. Most of the summer crops in the flood discharge area were washed away. Others were not seriously affected. Naturally, the people were not willing to give up easily.

"But it is an established fact that millions of people were affected by the disaster, so how should we solve it?" Yang Wei asked rhetorically.

Fan Zheng said loudly: "The imperial court recruits soldiers to reduce the backbone of the victims to prevent rebellion. There is a method that can achieve the same goal but the same effect, and that is to use work instead of relief!"

"Relief for work!"

The officials frowned, not knowing what it meant to work for relief.

Only then did Fan Zheng remember that in this era there was no word for work-for-relief, and he immediately explained: "Fan's idea of ​​work-for-relief was due to the words of his ancestors, who once said: "The years of poverty are poor. , the day was five liters, and the people were summoned to serve, so the relief was completed in one month, and the rice and five thousand stone ears were used. "

All the officials nodded. Fan Xianggong did indeed say this back then.

"The victims need relief, and the court also needs to build water conservancy projects. In this case, why not recruit victims to build water conservancy projects in disaster years. In this way, although the court spends more than [-] dans of food for disaster relief, it is much more beneficial than distributing [-] dans of food alone in disaster years. , and can build water conservancy projects for the imperial court."

"Work-for-relief! Wen Zhenggong is a good man!" Zhao Xu exclaimed after taking the case.

Everyone in the New Party couldn't help but twitch in their faces. Wang Anshi's reform and Fan Zhongyan's Qingli New Deal were two schools of reform. After Fan Zheng's continuous interpretation, Fan Zhongyan's ideas were now so popular in the court that they vaguely surpassed the momentum of Wang Anshi's reform.

Even Fan Chunli couldn't help but sigh. When it comes to studying the policies of his father Fan Zhongyan, he is very familiar with it. He has even read this sentence many times. However, using work for relief was easily proposed by his son. How could this not be the case? Making him both proud and ashamed.

"Furthermore, providing work-for-relief also mobilizes a large number of young and strong laborers, which can also prevent the occurrence of rebellion." Fan Zheng said proudly.

Su Song was moved in his heart and said: "I would like to inform the officials that the earthen dam in the flood discharge area has been built in a hurry and needs more repairs. The water in Liangshanbo is too strong and needs to be diverted. All of these require a lot of corvee work. If we implement work-for-relief , isn’t it the best of both worlds?”

The idea of ​​working-for-relief surprised the entire court. Originally, the court could only continuously distribute food to help the victims, but now it has transformed into actively working-for-relief, thus achieving the dual purposes of relieving the hungry and building water conservancy projects.

"According to what Fan Taicheng said, the flood discharge area implements work-for-relief!" Zhao Xu said with a hammer.

Although the recruitment of Xiang soldiers can provide disaster relief, it requires the court to pay for the food and grass for a long time. However, the work-for-relief method only needs to pay a small amount of food to provide disaster relief and build water conservancy projects. If calculated according to the recruitment method, the court can also Save a fortune.

"The officials are wise!" All the officials complimented one after another.

"Fan Aiqing, since providing work-for-relief projects is a good idea of ​​Duke Wen Zheng, and Fan Aiqing's son inherited his father's legacy, I order you to take charge of the work-for-relief project in the disaster area." Zhao Xu ordered.

Fan Chunli came out and said solemnly: "I obey the order."

At this moment, following the official order from the imperial court, the Yellow River released floods, and millions of people were affected.

Fan Chunli immediately rushed to the disaster area and announced that the court would provide work relief at the rate of five liters of rice per day.

"Work-for-relief! Five liters of rice a day!"

As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused an uproar among the government and the public.Five liters of rice is not much, one liter is about one and a half kilograms, and five liters of rice is seven and a half liters. According to the price of rice in later generations, it was between two and three yuan, which was about 20 yuan a day.Although it is not much, it ensures that the whole family will not go hungry.When the news came out, the entire disaster area cheered. Although they rescued a lot of property, they could not bring out all the most precious food, and the most important thing in the disaster area was food.

Nowadays, the imperial court provides food as salary and work as relief, which is enough to provide countless victims with a livelihood. When the people have a livelihood, their minds will naturally settle down.

However, these five liters of rice are not easy to earn. The court only needs young men to recruit river workers. Many old, weak, women and children cannot be cared about, and they still need disaster relief from the court.

Suddenly, food prices near Yuncheng were in short supply and began to rise.

"I'm informing Xianggong Fan that the price of food nearby has begun to rise significantly. Moreover, we need to use food to pay for the wages of river workers, and we also need to provide relief to the elderly, weak, sick and disabled. If this continues, our food supply may not be able to support us."

In Yuncheng, the Yuncheng County Magistrate reported to Fan Chunli with a bitter look on his face.

"These profiteers!" Many officials gritted their teeth.

Fan Chunli shook his head and said: "Things are rare but valuable. What is most lacking in Yuncheng now is food. It is understandable that the price has increased. Besides, the increase in food now has not exceeded [-]%. It is not hoarding by profiteers."

Fan Chunli was responsible for transforming the French business workshop, so he naturally knew a lot about business and didn't have much objection to it.

The county magistrate of Yuncheng said quickly: "The county magistrate must not be careless. The profiteers are greedy and ignorant. They dare to raise the price by [-]% today and [-]% tomorrow. In less than a month, the price of food in Yuncheng will double, which will delay the government's disaster relief work." , I am ashamed to face the officials."

"We heard that Wen Zhenggong deliberately raised the price of grain, brought grain dealers to transport grain, and then opened warehouses to release grain. The price of grain in the disaster-stricken area suddenly dropped sharply, making it easy to provide disaster relief. Mr. Fan Xianggong inherited his father's business. If this method is used, Recruiting will definitely break the crisis of food shortage in the disaster-stricken areas." An official gave an idea.

Fan Chunli couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "What my father said back then was a strange trick. Once used, I'm afraid it won't work. If the price of food in Yuncheng is raised, but it fails to attract merchants to bring food, I'm afraid we will be The sinners of Yuncheng.”

All the officials were dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Song Jiang came over in a hurry and said, "I'd like to report to Fan Xianggong that many grain merchants suddenly appeared in Yuncheng, asking to see Fan Xianggong."

"Grain merchant?"

Fan Chunli couldn't help but be dumbfounded. They hadn't even used their clever trick yet, and the price of grain in Yuncheng had only risen by only [-]%. These grain merchants came smelling the fishy smell.

"Not bad! Many of them are big grain merchants!" Song Jiang said excitedly.

At this moment, the young Song Jiang is still a passionate young man. These big grain merchants have strong funds. Even if the price of grain is a bit more expensive, they can ensure a sufficient supply of food, enough to prevent the victims from going hungry.

"Recommend these grain merchants immediately!" Fan Chunli said immediately.

Nowadays, the disaster area is short of food, but these grain merchants have food in their hands. If a large amount of food can be transported, it will be enough to solve the crisis in the disaster area. Otherwise, not only will there be a food shortage in the disaster area, but even Yuncheng and other surrounding counties may also have a food crisis.

"I'll wait to see Fan Xianggong!"

Soon a group of grain merchants came to Fan Chunli and greeted him one after another.

Fan Chunli smiled broadly, raised his right hand and said: "You guys are just in time! The disaster-stricken areas are short of food. You have traveled thousands of miles to transport the food. You are really a credit to the imperial court. The prime minister has decided to purchase the food in your hands at a price that is [-]% higher than the normal market price. "

"Rain in time?"

When Song Jiang heard this word, he couldn't help but admire Fan Chunli. This way, he gave face to a group of grain merchants and left them [-]% of their profits. This would definitely make these grain merchants return to the disaster area and tide over the difficulties smoothly.

However, the leading grain merchant shook his head and said: "If Mr. Fan wants to buy our grain at a price that is [-]% higher than the market price, please forgive me for being bold, but I cannot sell it to adults."

In an instant, the scene suddenly turned cold.

"You profiteers, you are not satisfied with [-]% profit?" Yuncheng County Magistrate angrily scolded a group of grain merchants.

If Fan Chunli hadn't been there, he might have ordered a group of grain merchants to forcibly keep their grain.

Fan Chunli also felt a sinking feeling in his heart. He could of course order the grain merchants to keep their food, but this would completely destroy the prestige of the government. I am afraid that no grain merchant would be willing to go to the disaster area to deliver grain in the future.

Fan Chunli said calmly: "How much higher than the market price would you like to sell it?"

The leading grain merchant said proudly: "We are willing to sell grain at a fair price according to the market price!"

"what!"

As soon as this statement came out, all the officials were in disbelief. No one thought that these profiteers would give up their profits and be willing to sell grain at a fair price!

"really?"

Fan Chunli asked in disbelief.

"Xiangong Fan heard it right, we are willing to sell grain at a fair price!" the grain merchant said directly.

"Could it be this batch of grain?" Yuncheng County Magistrate asked puzzledly.

He didn't believe that these profiteers would be so kind. They brought grain from other places and traveled a long way to deliver it to Yuncheng. If they sold the grain at a fair price, they would make no profit at all except for the freight.

unless…………

Unless there is something wrong with this batch of food.

At this moment, even Fan Chunli looked at the grain merchants suspiciously.

How could a group of grain merchants not know the suspicion of a group of officials, and immediately assured: "These grains are all high-quality good grains. If bad grains appear, we will not only tolerate it from the business community, but also let Fan Xianggong punish it."

"I don't understand?" Fan Chunli asked, expressing his doubts.

A group of grain merchants solemnly said: "Because we are Song merchants!"

"Song Shang!"

All the officials couldn't help but be stunned. They didn't expect that the final reason was so simple. (End of chapter)