My brother Ying Zheng, who dares to kill me?.

Chapter 867: The pioneer of both medical treatment and relief! I want to offer sacrifice to the earth dragon!
Qin Wangzheng September 1st.

Xianyang Palace, Qilin Palace.

All the ministers gathered in the hall, and Lu Buwei stood under the high platform, spitting everywhere.

"Whenever a natural disaster occurs, tens or even hundreds of thousands of people die. This is not only a tragedy for the people, but also a tragedy for our Great Qin!"

"The prosperity of a country depends on its system, its food, its equipment, its generals, its ministers, and the king, but it is even more important on its population!"

"Using the imperial court's money and grain to help the disaster victims is by no means a reward to the victims, but a pity for the country's strength!"

"I have advised the king to provide relief to the victims, not only to seek benevolent policies for the people, but also to seek prosperity for our Great Qin!"

After roaring, Lu Buwei hurriedly moistened his lips with saliva.

Nearly half a month has passed since the Zheng County earthquake.

During this half month, Ying Chengjiao went deep into the front lines, Lu Buwei maintained logistics, and Ying Zheng faced pressure from all sides. The three of them worked together to continue to do their utmost to help the victims.

But Ying Chengjiao only needed to fight on the front line, while Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei had more things to consider.

The court has been arguing over the disaster relief issue for nearly half a month but there is still no winner!
Feng Quji said in a deep voice: "I know that the Prime Minister is thinking about our Great Qin."

"However, I hope that the Prime Minister will not only consider the Great Qin for a short time, but also consider the Great Qin for eternity."

"Does the suffering of the disaster victims benefit our Great Qin?"

"It's useless!"

"In the fourth year of the reign of Qin, the prime minister ordered all counties to set up granaries to deal with natural disasters."

"During the locust plague, the grain stored in our Great Qin's granaries was not enough to provide relief to the victims, so the prime minister ordered the people to donate grain in exchange for titles, and used the grain to provide relief to the victims!"

"This move certainly saved the lives of many disaster victims, but it also made the people lazy. When faced with a disaster, they did not know how to save themselves but instead waited for relief from the court!"

Feng Quji said with great sorrow: "There is a proverb in our Great Qin: to cure disaster is to eat enough food. To provide disaster relief is to be punished and to be punished!"

"In the past, all the people of our Great Qin would consciously prepare for natural disasters, which gave rise to the custom of storing grain in the mountains. Rich villages could even store three years' worth of grain to deal with natural disasters."

"But this time, the land in Zheng County has turned around, and the food stored by the people in Zheng County is only enough for a few months."

"It is thanks to the Zheng County granary and the assistance from the counties in Guanzhong that Zheng County can hold out until the autumn harvest next year!"

"It has only been eleven years since the Great Qin established the Changping Warehouse!"

Feng Quji was not opposing just for the sake of opposing, nor was he dissatisfied with Lu Buwei.

It is a collision between two ideologies of governing the country!
According to the current rule of law concept of the Qin Dynasty, any behavior of getting something for nothing should not be allowed, including orphanages, poorhouses, and disaster relief, which should all be abolished. Only by making contributions to the court can one get money or food from the court.

The risks of natural disasters and the losses caused by natural disasters have nothing to do with the imperial court, but should be borne by the victims themselves. In addition to bearing the losses, the victims must not forget to pay taxes to the imperial court, and they cannot flee from famine on their own.

The fundamental purpose of "disaster relief" as mentioned by Feng Quji is not to help the victims, but to prevent people from fleeing famine privately, which would lead to loss of productivity or even large-scale rebellion!
This governing philosophy directly prompted every Qin citizen, regardless of age, to work or fight hard, and they did not dare to relax for a moment, resulting in the Qin national strength soaring and the people of Qin becoming warlike.

At the same time, it also forced the Qin people to prepare more for their lives, and thus developed a series of habits to store food for disaster years, such as storing food in cellars in mountain valleys and protecting wild beasts in the mountains.

Although allowing the victims to save themselves would indeed cause more casualties, who knows how much money and grain this move would save for the Qin Dynasty and how much manpower it would gain!
If every time Daqin encountered a natural disaster, we would have to make every effort to rescue it like we did this time.

The Qin Dynasty’s granaries simply can’t hold on!

What’s even more frightening is that the Great Qin Changping Warehouse had only been established for eleven years, and the ability of the Qin people to save themselves had not yet significantly deteriorated.

As the ability and will of the people of the Qin Dynasty to save themselves continues to weaken, God knows how much manpower and money the Qin Dynasty will have to pay for disaster relief in the future!
Our Great Qin is so poor!

Feng Quji's words were heartbreaking, while Chunyu Yue's rebuke was righteous and awe-inspiring: "In the past, Zou State and Lu State were at war, and 33 officials of Zou State died in the battle, but the soldiers watched the officials being killed without any action, and no one died in the battle. Duke Mu of Zou asked Mencius for advice!"

"Mencius replied: In bad years and famine years, your people, the old and weak, wandered in ditches, and the strong scattered to all directions, numbering several thousand! But your granaries were full, your treasury was full, and the officials did not report it. This is because the superiors were arrogant and cruel to the subordinates. Zengzi said: 'Be careful! Be careful! What comes from you will return to you.' The people will only return to you now. Don't blame the king! If the king practices benevolent governance, the people will be loyal to their superiors and die for their elders!"

"When the state of Zou was hit by famine, the granaries of Zou were all overflowing, and the treasury was filled with treasures, but they sat back and watched the bodies of the old and weak being abandoned in the ravines, and the young and strong fleeing everywhere! This is truly the result of officials from all over the country treating the people with contempt and cruelty!"

“As Zengzi said, how you treat others is how others treat you.”

"Officials from all over the country treat the people with contempt and cruelty. Naturally, the people will take the opportunity to retaliate against the officials from all over the country, or even the imperial court!"

Chunyu Yue bowed solemnly to Ying Zheng and said, "If Your Majesty practices benevolent governance and provides relief to the victims, then the people will naturally become close to their superiors and be willing to die for them."

"Otherwise, the people of Qian will rebel against our Qin!"

Yuan Shou also stepped forward and bowed, saying, "In the past, Henei in Liang State suffered a natural disaster. King Hui of Liang moved the people of Henei to Hedong and the grain of Liang State to Henei. King Hui of Liang thought that his country's governance was far better than that of neighboring countries, but the population of his country did not increase more than that of neighboring countries. King Hui of Liang was puzzled and asked Mencius."

"Mencius believed that disaster relief is like two armies at war. The soldiers of the neighboring state would stop at one hundred steps, while the soldiers of Liang would stop at fifty steps. What King Hui of Liang said is like laughing at someone who has taken fifty steps!"

"To treat without providing relief is like deserting the battlefield. Only by combining treatment with relief can we win the battle!"

Mencius can be said to be the pioneer of disaster relief in China and a milestone in both disaster relief and disaster relief!
In an environment where the vast majority of kings and scholars believed that the country should treat disasters rather than provide disaster relief, Mencius successively advised many kings, including Duke Mu of Zou and King Hui of Liang, to implement disaster relief strategies, and successfully persuaded the King of Qi to open the Tangyi granary to provide relief to the victims, thus single-handedly influencing social trends.

As the inheritors of Meng's Confucianism, Doctor Chunyu Yue and other doctors have been helping Ying Chengjiao to carry the banner like crazy in recent days, as if they were injected with chicken blood!
Without waiting for more Confucian scholars to come out to help, Feng Quji asked in a deep voice: "Where does the money and food for disaster relief come from?"

"You all think that providing relief to disaster victims will make them grateful to the court and willing to serve the court. I think so too."

"But ruling the people by law can also make the victims willing to be controlled by the court."

"The world is now in a time of great strife. Every bit of our national strength should be used to preserve our country. How can we use money and food to help the victims?"

"If we use the money and manpower of the Qin Dynasty to provide relief to the victims, the remaining money and grain of the Qin Dynasty will not be enough to cope with the war in troubled times!" "Does the Qin Dynasty have to increase taxes to prepare for disaster relief?!"

With just one sentence, all the doctors were speechless.

Leniency, suspended sentences, and tax reductions are also the political ideas of Meng's Confucianists. They cannot abandon the ideas of tax reductions just to provide relief to disaster victims!

Lu Buwei asked without hesitation: "Why not?!"

Feng Quji was stunned: "Prime Minister, what did you say?"

Lü Buwei, who also supported tax reduction and leniency, actually thought that increasing taxes was no big deal?!

Lü Buwei said in a deep voice: "Because of the many craftsman-made products developed by Chang'an Jun of our Great Qin, the per-acre yield of our Great Qin has doubled again and again!"

"Even if it's just the extra taxes each year, it will be enough to support the counties of our Great Qin in providing relief to the victims."

"I think we can increase additional taxes to supplement the granaries in the counties, and then take it from the people and use it for the people!"

Lü Buwei said in a loud voice with unprecedented generosity and extravagance:
"In today's Qin Dynasty, disaster relief is inevitable!"

These confident words shocked all the court officials into silence.

Yes.

Our Great Qin has become rich!

Feng Quji, Sima Chang, Gan Yun and other ministers had to take a deep breath, prepare to regroup and find another angle to refute.

But before they could think it through, a loud shout suddenly rang out outside the Qilin Palace.

"Emergency report from Chang'an Jun!"

On the high platform, Ying Zheng, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly looked up and shouted, "Pass it on!"

The palace door was slowly pushed open, and the fierce man walked into the palace without waiting for the door to be completely opened.

Ying Zheng ignored the rudeness of the fierce man and asked directly: "Is Chang'an Jun all right?"

The fierce man bowed and said, "Reporting to the king, Chang'an Jun is safe and sound!"

"Chang'an Jun has an urgent report!"

Long before the brave man opened his mouth, Zhao Gao had already strode towards him, grabbed the bamboo tube presented by him, and ran back to Ying Zheng's side. On the way, he had already checked the seal and even had time to open the seal and present the bamboo tube to Ying Zheng with both hands.

Ying Zheng snatched the bamboo tube and poured out two bamboo slips from it.

After hiding the thinner bamboo slip into his sleeve, Ying Zheng unfolded the thicker bamboo slip and couldn't wait to look at the familiar words on it.

"color!"

"Big win!"

After scanning a few lines, Ying Zheng couldn't help but burst into laughter.

But as he watched, the smile on Ying Zheng's face slowly faded, and in the end he even frowned tightly!
The entire Qilin Hall was silent, and all the court officials were nervous because of the change in Ying Zheng's expression.

Finally, Lü Buwei could no longer bear it and asked, "May I ask your Majesty, does Chang'an Jun need help in providing relief to the victims?"

Lu Buwei couldn't help but feel impatient.

It is true that Ying Chengjiao is too important to Daqin now!

Ying Zheng finally handed the bamboo slips to Zhao Gao and said in a low voice, "Think of it for all of you dear ministers."

Zhao Gao quickly took the bamboo slips and read aloud: "Your Majesty!"

"On August 17, the 15th year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang, an earthquake occurred in Zheng County. The minister, Prince Chengjiao of Chang'an, disobeyed orders and led his family soldiers and military school students to the disaster area to provide relief to the victims."

"King Lai did not abandon me, and sent Langzhong Jiang Yi to lead a hundred assistant ministers and two thousand guards to protect my safety."

"On August 18, I arrived in Zheng County and saw the ground cracking like a painting, springs gushing out from the ground, the city walls collapsing, and people dying. I immediately ordered my men to rescue the victims."

"On August 23, all the disaster victims from the four townships and eleven villages under Zheng County arrived in Zheng County for centralized relief."

"On August 24, I sent my subordinates to Tong County, Xia Gua County and other counties to provide relief to the victims."

"On August 28, disaster victims from all counties were gathered at the county seat."

"This earthquake in Zheng County affected 13 counties in total, affecting a total of 636,851 people, including 39,105 people who died and 8,522 people who were missing. The rest have been properly resettled."

"Of course!"

“But I think it is still not enough.”

"I ask the king to send guards to lead the people to rebuild their homeland, distribute enough food for the victims to live on, give them grain seeds, and reduce taxes and labor service for one year or three years according to the severity of the disaster in each village, so that the people can rest and recuperate."

"I again ask the king to build an altar in Zheng County."

"Yun Chen is in Zheng County, offering sacrifices to the Earth Dragon!"

(End of this chapter)