The Great Grandson of the Tang Dynasty: The beginning of the slaughter of General Tiance's mans

Chapter 226: Severe drought in Guanzhong, changing children to eat
"Yan Qing, you said the water in the Yellow River has become clear? When did this happen?"

Li Chengdao frowned, his expression extremely serious.

The name of the Minister of Industry is Yan Lide, and his younger brother is the famous painter Yan Liben.

He originally wanted to tell the auspiciousness of the clear water of the Yellow River to please the emperor, but he did not expect that Li Chengdao suddenly became serious after hearing this, which made him a little puzzled.

However, he still answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, this is indeed true. I did not say anything false. This year, the water of the Yellow River is clear. It is more than hundreds of miles east of Huayin. It is a rare spectacle that can be seen in a hundred years." ah."

"It is said that when the saint Confucius was born, the water of the Yellow River was clear to the bottom overnight, so it is said that when the saint came out, the Yellow River was clear. This is the life of a saint with the Tao in the world, and the mountains and rivers of the earth are all effective. The dust and turbidity should be eliminated, so the Yellow River is thousands of miles away. Sometimes it is clear, this is great auspiciousness and good omen, but who is the saint today? Only His Majesty."

Yan Lide thought that Li Chengdao thought what he was telling lies, so he argued.

Fang Xuanling also nodded and said: "What Da Sikong said is very true. Zisi once said that once the river is clear, how long will a person's life span be? In fact, it is said that the Yellow River will be clear once in 500 years. Some people say that it is difficult to see the Yellow River clear in a thousand years. This is really true. Good omen for all eternity, Your Majesty."

Not only Fang Xuanling, but also Jia Xu, Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng and others also agreed.

"Your Majesty, this is very gratifying. I ordered the Shadow Guards to investigate. From the east of Puzhou, the water surface of the Yellow River is clear and crystal clear to the bottom. There are many fish in the river and they can be counted. We know that this statement is true."

"I haven't had time to report this matter to His Majesty, and I didn't think that Da Sikong would take the lead. It's a pity, a pity."

Jia Xu said with regret on his face, which attracted a burst of good-natured laughter from many officials.

Although it is an exaggeration to say that the water of the Yellow River clears once every thousand years, in ancient times when people believed in the divine right of kings, all officials generally believed that this was an auspicious sign.

But Li Chengdao's face turned ugly after hearing this.

The idea that the Yellow River is clear and a saint comes out is sheer nonsense!

He accidentally read relevant information in his previous life. History has proven that clear water in the Yellow River means severe drought for thousands of miles around. A severe drought is a catastrophic disaster and countless people will suffer!

Later, during the Ming Dynasty, in order to control the Yellow River, a system of weighing water to determine celestial phenomena was created.

The so-called saying that water determines celestial phenomena means asking flood soldiers to fetch water from the Yellow River and compare it with previous years based on the weight of the water.

If the water in the Yellow River is heavy, then flood prevention must be paid attention to that year. If the water in the Yellow River is light, then drought prevention must be paid attention to. The prediction accuracy of this system is extremely high.

"Historical records show that there was a severe drought in Guanzhong in the early Tang Dynasty. Could it be this time?"

Li Chengdao thought with some trepidation.

If a severe drought that is rare in a century really occurs, it will be a disaster!
Thinking of this, Li Chengdao immediately said seriously: "The clear water in the Yellow River is not an auspicious sign, but a sign of a severe drought that is about to happen!"

"There is a cloud in Erya. The river flows out of Kunlun County. It is originally white in color, but because the canal merges with thousands of rivers, it becomes yellow in color.

There is a saying in the Han Dynasty that the river water is heavy and turbid, so it is called "one stone of water and six buckets of mud".The Yellow River is the turbidest, measured by buckets, and sand ranks sixth. If it comes to autumn, water ranks second.

Two liters of water carry eight buckets of sand. From this we can see that the reason why the Yellow River is turbid is due to the accumulation of sand carried in the water, and the sand in the water is carried by the rivers upstream. "

The civil and military officials below were a little stunned when they heard this.The officials in the DPRK are all well-read poetry and books, so they naturally know these allusions, but what does this have to do with a severe drought when the water in the Yellow River is clear?
Li Chengdao continued: "The reason why the Yellow River is clear this year is that the water in the canals and rivers upstream has dried up, and the sediment has not arrived, so it is clear. This is because the water is light.

The water of the Yellow River is light because the rivers in the upper reaches are exhausted. The water of the rivers in the upper reaches is exhausted because of insufficient rain. Nowadays, the water of the Yellow River is clear for hundreds of miles, which is unprecedented. Therefore, there must be a severe drought along the river! "

Li Chengdao's words surprised all the ministers.

Does the clear water of the Yellow River really mean that a once-in-a-century drought is coming?

Yan Lide originally thought that the clear water of the Yellow River was auspicious, and he wanted to please Li Chengdao. After hearing this, he couldn't help but panic, so he quickly said: "If this is really the case, then we should quickly order more food to be prepared in the granaries of each province to cope with the epidemic." drought!"

"You should be careful about this!"

After Yan Lide finished speaking, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately spoke.

With a serious look on his face, he cupped his hands towards Li Chengdao and said: "Your Majesty, drought prevention is not a trivial matter. All provinces and counties need to be notified as soon as possible. The grain reserves in the reserve warehouses alone will be increased by 80%, which will cost at least [-] taels of silver! "

"The water in the Yellow River has been clear in previous dynasties, but I have never heard of a severe drought. Could it be that your Majesty is overly worried?"

If we want to prevent drought, it will really affect the whole body. It will consume a lot of money and it will also be a heavy burden on the national treasury.

You must know that the total tax revenue of Datang in a year is only more than 700 million taels of silver. Once preparations are made for drought prevention, one-seventh of it will be consumed!

“I don’t know why there was no severe drought in the past when the water in the Yellow River was clear, but this time the water in the Yellow River is clear for hundreds of miles, I must not ignore it!”

Li Chengdao looked extremely serious, "As the king of a country, I cannot gamble with the lives of the people. I would rather spend this million taels of silver to ensure peace for the millions of people in Guanzhong!"

"If there is no severe drought this year, then all the expenses for food preparation will be allocated from my internal treasury, and I will not put your household department in trouble."

When the important officials heard this, they were all moved.

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately paid his respects and said: "Your Majesty cares about all the people. This is our great fortune! Your Majesty, please rest assured that in just two months, the grain distribution in all provinces will be completed!"

Yan Lide also said seriously: "I will immediately order people to go to the source of the Yellow River to check the water quantity, and the results will be informed to Your Majesty within ten days."

No one dares to neglect important matters related to the life and death of tens of millions of people.

Li Chengdao was right. If he made a mistake in judgment, he would only lose some money at most, which Datang could still afford given its current financial resources.

But if a severe drought comes true without preparation, then thousands of miles of desolation, corpses strewn across the fields, and food being exchanged are not just words.

After hearing the answers from the ministers below, Li Chengdao finally felt relieved.

Hope his guess comes true.

(End of this chapter)