King of Song

Chapter 532
April 21st of the fifth year of Xining, Grain Grain Festival!

Emperor Zhao Xu personally offered sacrifices to the sky and prayed for rain in order to alleviate the severe drought in the Song Dynasty.For this reason, Zhao Xu was very devout, fasting for three days, and braving the scorching sun for more than an hour, he completed all the rituals.

It's a pity, it's a pity, Zhao Xu's sincerity didn't seem to move the sky, and it still didn't rain until the Dragon Boat Festival.Under such circumstances, the summer sowing has been missed, and the autumn harvest is already doomed.

Since the beginning of the year, grain prices in major northern cities such as Bianjing have begun to rise.After entering May, the price of food began to double. In addition to concerns about supply reduction and food shortages, more businesses were hoarding.

It is the nature of businessmen to seek profit, but they find that they don't have much grain in their hands. Some time ago, it seems that someone bought a lot of grain from them inadvertently.

When the businessmen sighed, they were helpless. Who could have predicted such a thing as a drought?Soon, a worse situation appeared. A batch of grain banks headed by Mengshi Commercial Bank sold grain at a fair price, and the quantity was sufficient, and the grain price in Bianjing immediately began to fall.

The merchants finally compromised with the sufficient supply of Meng's Grain Bank. If they were ordinary merchants, they might be provoked by others, or even retaliated against.But the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion is behind Meng's Grain Company, who dares to break ground at the age of [-]?

The price of grain in Bianjing began to fall back to the normal level. It is inevitable that it will be slightly higher than before, but at least it is within the range that the common people can bear.

The common people are grateful to Meng's Grain Company and Lin Zhao, Marquis of Weiyuan, and the city of Bianjing is full of beautiful words.Emperor Zhao Xu also praised this very much. When the price of grain in Bianjing remained high, Lin Zhao offered to propose that he had stocks at home and was willing to sell them at a low price to regulate the market.

Zhao Xu is naturally very satisfied with such a caring courtier.When he wanted to reward him, Lin Zhao had already gone to Yingtian Mansion. Recently he was very busy dredging the canal.

It is a good thing for a courtier to use his life, but Zhao Xu still feels very uncomfortable.It still hasn't rained, is it true that God really doesn't give himself face?Do you really want to embarrass yourself?

After the drought intensified, there were more and more rumors. In the age of believing in the relationship between heaven and man, the drought is no longer just a matter of natural disasters.

Some people say that this is a vision from heaven, and a greater disaster must happen.Sure enough, with the intensification of the drought, locust plagues also occurred, and the situation of thousands of miles of red land appeared in many places in the north.

Finally, some people began to criticize that this was a mistake in the government's governance, and some even directly said that this was a manifestation of the emperor's innocence, and that's why God sent disasters to express punishment.

This set was very popular in ancient society. After Zhao Xu heard it, he was immediately stressed and sweated profusely.Want to be held accountable?There is no possibility at all, there are more and more rumors, which one will he pursue?A little careless handling at this time will cause more serious consequences.

Zhao Xu really panicked this time, the first crisis since he came to power.Emperors throughout the ages have been worried about drought, and civil uprisings are prone to occur in years of severe drought. According to this rhythm, the Great Song Dynasty has already had such signs.If it wasn't raining, some emperors had no choice but to issue an imperial edict or something. Zhao Xu was at a loss for a while, and didn't know what to do!
Soon, officials began to write letters saying that everything was Wang Anshi's fault, that it was because of Wang Anshi's reforms and perverse actions, which provoked the wrath of heaven and people, and God sent disasters.

After the first person said that, there was an uproar in the hall.Officials of the old party took action immediately. Isn't this a good reason to crack down on reforms and the new party?
The New Party's insistence on Changping warehouses and its reluctance to open warehouses for disaster relief began to be criticized by people. Although Zhao Xu meant this, no one blamed the emperor, and Wang Anshi was all accused.

Some folk gentry also wrote a letter saying that after the implementation of the reform, they became more and more impoverished and their lives were unsustainable.For a time, the Song Dynasty under the drought set off a wave of counter-reforms against Wang Anshi.

The scale was so large that Zhao Xu couldn't sit still.

Of course, there are old parties contributing to the flames, or there are factors led by others, but now, after all, this time it is public outrage.There is another serious situation like drought, and the situation is worse than expected.

Afterwards, people began to write letters, asking the emperor to dismiss Wang Anshi as prime minister, to thank the world!
Over the years, in order to reform, Zhao Xu has been under pressure and supported Wang Anshi. Even in this critical moment, he still did not act rashly.

Retire?What a joke!
At least for this moment, Zhao Xu still persisted!

Wang Anshi himself was calm and did not think that he was the chief culprit of the drought. He still believed that he was righteous and that the reform was a move that benefited the country and the people.It is completely in a state of being upright and not afraid of the shadow's obliqueness, which can be said to be calm and composed.

But his son Wang Yu couldn't sit still, and his father's fortune was not guaranteed, which was a big deal.He must be as calm and innocent as Wang Anshi!

This matter is not at all a question of whether the father is wrong or not, but is determined by the emperor's ability to withstand pressure, as well as the celestial phenomena and the hearts of the people.If the voices of the court and the people against the reform continue to rise, and the emperor cannot withstand the pressure, the final result can only be to sacrifice the father.

For the emperor, comparing the innocence of the emperor with the dereliction of duty of the prime minister, he would definitely choose the latter without hesitation.In fact, this is also true in history. Once a solar eclipse or disaster occurs, the emperor usually responds by changing the year name and changing the prime minister.

The prime minister is often the emperor's scapegoat, which is why there are many treacherous prime ministers and few foolish emperors in history!How can the emperor make mistakes so easily?The mistakes are all the prime minister's.

Wang Yu knew very well that everything was on Zhao Xu.The emperor is his father's greatest support, as long as he persists, his status can be stabilized.

But can Zhao Xu hold on?

Wang Yu's heart was full of worries, even if he was usually resourceful, he was helpless at this moment.After all, with public opinion on one side and the emperor on the other, he has no possibility of intervening.

Seeing this, Lu Huiqing comforted: "Yuanze don't have to worry, the officials will not give up the reform, and will naturally defend your father." That's what he said, but he had other ideas in his heart.

It is certain that Zhao Xu will not give up the reform, but will he definitely defend Wang Anshi?Lu Huiqing smiled coldly in her heart. For herself, this matter might be an opportunity.

Wang Yu mistakenly believed that this senior brother and his family belonged to a community of interests, so he didn't have the slightest precautions or suspicions.All his thoughts were concentrated in the palace.

When he heard that two noble women had entered the Palace of Funing, Wang Yu suddenly felt bad...

(End of this chapter)