"What are you doing?"
Fang Xiaoru had finished his inspection and was looking for Han Du, ready to leave. But he saw Han Du standing in the field, holding a handful of soil in his hand, dazed and silent.
Han Du glanced at Fang Xiaoru and sighed: "The land in Henan is too barren."
Fang Xiaoru glanced at the soil in Han Du's hand and asked in confusion: "Isn't all land like this?"
Han Du shook his head and explained: "The land of the Central Plains has been called rich since ancient times. The original land was definitely not like this. It should be darker. However, after thousands of years of cultivation, the nutrients in the land were lost and it turned into It looks like this now.”
"What will happen if it becomes like this?" Fang Xiaoru couldn't help but wonder.
Han Du looked a little ugly, glanced at Fang Xiaoru, and then continued: "The loss of nutrients and the barrenness of the land will have the most direct impact on the grain harvest. In serious cases, it is not impossible that it will even turn into a sky full of yellow sand."
"So serious?" Fang Xiaoru was shocked and asked quickly: "Then is there anything you can do?"
Han Du stared at him speechlessly and said angrily: "Do you think I am a god and can solve anything?" Han Du was so angry that he threw the soil on the ground. He turned around and left, never wanting to pay attention to Fang Xiaoru again.
Fang Xiaoru suddenly laughed. He was also used to Han Du's ability to solve problems, so that no matter what happened, he thought Han Du had a way to solve it. But as Han Du said, no one is a god, and not everything can be solved.
The cool breeze blows, and golden autumn arrives.
The people who have worked hard for a year can finally reap something from the fields. Although the grain harvest was poor due to the drought this year, there was still some harvest. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was so big that the disasters in various places varied from mild to severe. The heavy ones are like Henan, which has almost reached the point where there is no harvest, and the light effects are also minimal.
In any case, the severely affected areas were exempted from taxes this year by the court, and the people were able to survive even if the harvest failed.
The most difficult thing is for the imperial court. The massive reduction in taxes will inevitably lead to expenditure difficulties next year.
Han Du also returned to Beijing in the cool autumn breeze.
Cheng, after giving orders to Lao Zhu, he patted his butt and returned home. Together with going to sea and traveling to Henan, I spent most of the past six months running around. I came home halfway and only stayed for a few days before leaving.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back." Han Du just walked in and saw his parents sitting together and talking.
Hande just nodded as a response.
Mrs. Liu stood together in surprise, walked to Han Du quickly, took his hand and looked around. "My son, you are finally back. Are you injured?"
Han Du stopped his mother's hand speechlessly and sighed: "Mom, I am going to provide disaster relief, not to fight. How could I get hurt?"
"Who said that disaster relief won't hurt? Mom, I heard that these people who are extremely hungry are not humans anymore, they are beasts. They are so hungry that they even eat humans. Bah, bah, bah... ." Ms. Liu suddenly realized what she had said. She quickly clasped her hands together, looked up at the sky, and muttered: "Lord Bodhisattva does not remember the faults, sins, sins of small people..."
"I brought food to them, not to compete with them. How could they target me?" Han Du smiled and comforted his mother.
Of course things will not be as easy as Han Du said, and disaster relief may naturally encounter dangers. After all, people at that time would do anything for a mouthful of food, otherwise Han Du would not have gone with five hundred navy troops. There are five hundred soldiers equipped with revolvers, plus warships. If someone rebels, not to mention killing seven in and seven out, at least they will escape without a problem.
But when Mrs. Liu saw Han Du talking so easily, she took it for granted and felt relieved.
"How is the situation in Henan?" Han De couldn't help asking.
Han Du's words just now could deceive Mrs. Liu, but they could not hide it from Han De's eyes. It's just that he didn't want to expose Han Du. Since Han Du has embarked on an official career and is an earl personally named by the emperor, he can avoid some things if he wants to. Being able to experience it in advance is a good thing for Han Du.
"Not very good," Han Du felt a little heavy when he thought of Henan.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind and said to his father: "The situation is very bad. With the Chief Minister
Officials headed by Fengqing concealed the drought situation in Henan and ignored reports from various prefectures and counties. Instead, he lied to the various prefectures and counties that he had reported it to the court. He waited until the food ran out and the paper could not contain the fire, and then he was exposed. Henan has almost no harvest, and now the people don't have enough to eat at all, so they can only say they can still survive. I am afraid that until next year's autumn harvest, Henan will need constant relief from the court to truly overcome this difficulty. "
Han De frowned when he heard that the people could barely survive. As long as people are alive, there is hope. Even if it is difficult for a while, it will eventually pass.
However, thinking of the unusual behavior of Feng Qing and others, he couldn't help but frown and asked: "As the chief envoy, why did Feng Qing conceal the disaster?"
small book booth
Han Du spread his hands and sighed: "Who knows? Anyway, I asked him. In his words, it was to avoid questioning by the court and to preserve his official position. After asking several times, he insisted that this was the reason. He is a third-grade official. Without the emperor's will, I can't do anything to him. I have no choice but to take him back to the capital and leave it to the emperor."
"You are right to do this. Fengqing is a high official in the imperial court after all. If you decide what to do to him without authorization, once others find out, this will be a reason for others to attack you. You are self-taught and have no ambition. He also knew that he would be handed over to the emperor." Han De glanced at Han Du with relief. My eldest son is really a fox. He does things very appropriately. He doesn't have to worry about it at all. I don't know how he developed this skill at such a young age.
Well! Of course, except for the matter of snatching a bride on the street. When Han De thinks about that incident now, he can't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Han Du couldn't help but roll his eyes at his father. He was most afraid of trouble. Feng Qing looked like a big trouble. If he didn't leave him to Lao Zhu, he would have a headache. Unless you are sick, you would handle such a hot potato.
"By the way, mother, why didn't you see Jingyun?"
When Mrs. Liu heard this, she immediately said to Han Du solemnly and proudly: "Well! Your sister is highly valued by the Queen. She has been often called into the palace recently, saying that she is asked to teach mathematics. She should still be in the palace at this time. Come here, if you come to see her for anything, she will be back in the evening, and you can see her during dinner."
