Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 49 Disaster Relief Strategy
Later that afternoon, Xu Guangqi went to Qianqing Palace again to seek an audience. This time Xu Guangqi came up with a plan that satisfied Zhu Tianqi.

That is, taking Fuzhou as a unit, the officials in charge of the subordinate counties were summoned to the Fuzhou Yamen in advance to hold a collective meeting. In this way, the court only needed to send about 2000 imperial envoys. At the same time, Xu Guangqi had already ordered people to copy [-] imperial envoys. Multiple copies should be made. While announcing the message collectively, it is also necessary to ensure that every official participating in the meeting gets a copy and thoroughly conveys the spirit of the meeting on the spot.

Zhu Tianqi nodded with satisfaction and said: "This method is good. Xu Aiqing, please take the time to go to the Ministry of War and tell Sun Shangshu about this method. Their workload is larger. After all, there are all the health and Qianhu offices across the country." It's too scattered, if you really want to run down one by one, you don't know when you will run away!"

Xu Guangqi nodded in agreement, saluted and said: "The Ministry of War can also use each guard post as a unit and summon the chief officers of the subordinate Qianhu Posts to the guard post for a collective announcement. In addition, similar guard posts can also be concentrated in one of them. The guard is the place where the decree is announced, so it should be able to save a lot of manpower and time!"

"Okay, then let's do as you say, Xu Aiqing. I'll have to trouble Xu Aiqing to go to the Ministry of War to discuss the details with Sun Shangshu later!" Zhu Tianqi immediately decided and said with a smile to Xu Guangqi.

Xu Guangqi naturally nodded and agreed directly.

Zhu Tianqi originally planned to ask Xu Guangqi to teach Sun Chengzong his experience as soon as possible, so that they would send out the will as soon as possible, but when he looked down at the several historical books spread out on the table and the messy notebook written by himself, Zhu Tianqi had no choice but to write again. He stopped Xu Guangqi because he suddenly remembered that Xu Guangqi seemed to be very good at agricultural knowledge.

Zhu Tianqi pointed to the chair behind Xu Guangqi and said, "Xu Aiqing, please sit down first. I still have something to ask you."

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi hurriedly bowed his hands and said, "I don't dare. If the emperor has anything to ask, I should know everything and tell you everything!"

Zhu Tianqi smiled and said, "Xu Aiqing, you don't have to be so nervous. Just treat it as if I'm having a casual chat with you. You sit down first."

Although Xu Guangqi was a little surprised and unsure about what the emperor was going to talk to him about today, he still took a few steps back and sat down on the chair.

Zhu Tianqi then said: "Xu Aiqing, you have been an official for many years, so you should be very familiar with our affairs in the Ming Dynasty. Shaanxi has always been a place prone to disasters. In recent years, the cold wave has been getting worse every year. Droughts often follow this cold winter, and I'm worried about what we should do if there's another severe drought in Shaanxi next year."

After hearing these words, Xu Guangqi felt a little less nervous. After all, the emperor was asking about state affairs, not something beyond his scope of knowledge. Moreover, he was the current Minister of Household Affairs, so the emperor was asking about matters within his scope. .

He immediately replied: "Back to the emperor, I believe that if there is another severe drought, grain from surrounding prefectures and counties should be mobilized early to meet the urgent needs, and then the court will send officials to allocate money and grain to relieve the victims!"

To be honest, after listening to Xu Guangqi's words, Zhu Tianqi was a little disappointed, because Xu Guangqi's words were too conventional and had nothing new, let alone refreshing. He even felt that Xu Guangqi's answer was a bit perfunctory and lacked consideration of the actual situation.

Zhu Tianqi had no choice but to ask patiently: "Xu Aiqing, you said you want to mobilize food nearby? The land in Shaanxi is mostly loess mountainous land. The food harvest will be poor even if there is no drought. If there is a severe drought, where can there be surplus food in the surrounding counties? Allocate disaster relief?”

The Shaanxi Chief Executive's jurisdiction in the Ming Dynasty was very large, basically covering the entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region.After hearing this, Xu Guangqi immediately replied: "Back to the emperor, although the land of Shaanxi is remote and has many loess mountains, it is indeed not suitable for growing grain, but it is mostly the land in northern Shaanxi, like Xi'an in southern Shaanxi. Fu and Hanzhong are surrounded by mountains, criss-crossed by water, and the land is fertile. There is a surplus in production every year. The surplus grain in these two places is enough to solve Shaanxi's urgent needs!"

After hearing this, Zhu Tianqi couldn't help being a little surprised. He quickly took out the atlas on the table and took a look. It was true as Xu Guangqi said, Xi'an and Hanzhong are both flat areas with many rivers intersecting. , is indeed a good place.

Having said that, I am really ignorant and influenced by my inherent understanding of Shaanxi. When I think of Shaanxi, I think of the high loess slopes and the wind and sand in the sky. I always feel that this place is going to experience another severe drought. The consequences will be unimaginable. .

Listening to Xu Guangqi's analysis now, and then comparing the map, he suddenly realized.

Needless to say, Xi'an, as the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, is naturally a geomantic treasure, and Hanzhong has always been regarded as a battleground for military strategists. Hanzhong is located in a basin, which is very suitable for growing rice and has been a grain-producing area since ancient times. Treasure land!
After thinking about this, Zhu Tianqi naturally felt much better, but a new question arose: "Well, since Shaanxi's food is enough to be self-sufficient, why are the disasters in Shaanxi so difficult to quell? Every time there is a disaster, In the early years of the year, the people were devastated, and the common people were desperate, and even held high the flag of rebellion, and became bandits. I heard that there are more and more bandits in Shaanxi!"

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi knew the answer in his heart, but he hesitated for a while, and then he saluted and said: "Your Majesty, regarding this matter, please forgive me for your courage. I believe that the incident in Shaanxi is a natural disaster. Therefore, it is more due to the inability of the court to provide relief and the incompetence of the officials!"

Zhu Tianqi naturally would not be angry because of this. He likes to hear the truth, because only ministers who dare to tell the truth can achieve practical results. He immediately smiled and said: "Xu Aiqing, it's okay for you to tell me your opinion on this matter!"

Xu Guangqi was also unambiguous, and said straight away: "First of all, there is a shortage of food in northern Shaanxi. Although the governments in southern Shaanxi have a surplus of food, the officials of each government have no right to take out the surplus food and send it to northern Shaanxi for disaster relief. Because according to the regulations of the imperial court, the grain in good years should be stored in warehouses to prepare for disaster years. Without the decree of the imperial court, no one can touch this grain!"

Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but be a little surprised after hearing this, and couldn't help but ask: "You mean, the reason why we didn't mobilize food nearby was not because we didn't think of it, but because the court didn't allow it? Then why didn't the court allow it?"

After Zhu Tianqi asked this, he suddenly felt that the question he asked was very inappropriate. He was the emperor, and he had made the previous decisions. Why did he ask about Xu Guangqi now?

However, Xu Guangqi did not seem to be surprised at Zhu Tianqi's question. Instead, he replied with a serious face: "This is naturally because some officials in the court do not want the emperor to do this, so for the local people Naturally, they concealed the disaster.

Even the disaster relief plan you finally saw was discussed and presented to you by the cabinet. Naturally, you can only see what they want you to see, and finally approve it according to their suggestions! "

　I wish you all a Happy New Year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)