From the first month of the first month to the beginning of March, there was no snowfall or rainfall in various parts of Shandong. Drought intensified in various places, the land in the fields was cracked, rivers and streams dried up in various places, and wells in villages and towns disappeared. The people were miserable.
After several months of no rain or snow, an unprecedented drought swept across Shandong!
Liu Yan was walking in the farmland near the Inspection Department of Lingshan Wei Ancient Town, and saw that the cultivated land that should have been growing seedlings was now yellow-brown, with dry powdery soil flying in the wind, and no green at all.
After walking for a while, Liu Yan looked at the scene in front of him and felt the despair of this era in his heart. The drought was far more severe than he expected. Even if Liu Yan has made arrangements in advance and has stockpiled the maximum amount of money and food for resettling the refugees, there is still a lot left for emergencies. Water conservancy facilities in various places have also been built on a large scale, but without water, everything is empty talk!
At this time, Liu Yan remembered the historical data he had read about this drought. There were records of "people eating each other" in dozens of states and counties in Shandong: "No rain in spring, frost in June, two thousand buckets of rice in October, well springs When they dry up, the buds and flowers will not bloom, the fruits will not bear fruit, cattle and sheep will be infertile, chickens and ducks will not lay eggs, women will be infertile, and in winter, people will eat each other.”
"Severe droughts in spring and summer, hundreds of days of wind and frost, no crops in autumn, only one or two cents for a bucket of rice. Folks make a living by eating grass, branches and branches. There are fathers, sons, brothers and couples who eat each other. It is hard to know how miserable the situation is. The hungry people are robbers, swarms are burning and looting, and the surroundings are desolate. .”
What makes Liu Yan even more worried is that the severe drought in history will continue until next year. The drought is coupled with an insect infestation. The entire farmland in Shandong has no wheat and no autumn. The situation is very brutal."
The same is true around Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Henan. Severe drought is also accompanied by locusts all over the sky, as well as severe epidemics, making the disaster more serious.
In Henan, "a severe drought has spread throughout the province. All the grass has dried up. The water in Luo River is not deep enough to fill a foot. All the grass, trees, animal skins, insects and flies have been eaten up. Many people have died of hunger. Deaths from starvation are carried on the roads. The land is desolate."
People in the large arid areas of Gansu cannibalize each other.
In Shaanxi, "the rice market is extremely prosperous. When all the veneer and stone noodles are eaten, fathers, sons, and couples eat each other, and eighty-nine out of ten people die."
Last year, the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the price of grain in Shandong and other places had reached one tael of silver per stone. Since the first month of this year, the price of one stone of rice has risen to three to five taels of silver. In addition to the heavy Due to the heavy taxes and servitude, the people were unable to make a living, forcing the peasants to rise up and revolts continued.
A large number of victims in Hebei and Shandong abandoned their farming and fled, and many villages became deserted. Natural disasters lead to total economic collapse and fuel social unrest. In the end, these fleeing people were either used as cannon fodder by Li Zicheng or died on the way to escape. The population north of the Yellow River showed a cliff-like decline!
"grown ups!"
A call pulled Liu Yan out of his thoughts, and he saw Chen Xun, the village officer Zhang Lei, the experiencer Zhao Min, the money and grain officer Yue Ming, and the commercial officer Song Gongming walking over.
"Everyone, let's take a look."
Liu Yan pointed to the surrounding cultivated land and said with a heavy heart: "It seems that the harvest will be impossible in various places this year. In this year of disaster, we must prepare early."
Everyone's faces were very ugly, and Zhang Lei, the officer in charge of the village, was even more heartbroken and said: "The new water conservancy facilities in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei have been basically completed, and with the newly reclaimed more than 200,000 acres of cultivated land, as long as there is a little rain this year, Better, it will be a great harvest year! But God is not open to the problem, and not even a drop of rain falls. This is going to kill the people!"
The rest of the people sighed, but Liu Yan looked firmly and said: "God is blind, but there are still us! As long as I, Liu Yan, am here, I will not sit back and watch the people change their sons and eat!"
After saying that, Liu Yan directly invited everyone to sit down in the field. Everyone sat on the ground. The slightest movement caused a puff of smoke. The surrounding New Army soldiers found umbrellas to protect Liu Yan and others from the cold.
Liu Yan directly asked Yue Ming and Song Gongming: "Now you can give me an accurate figure. How much food can Lingshan Guard, Aoshan Guard and various industries provide?"
Song Gongming nodded to Yue Ming, and then Yue Ming took out a brochure. It was obvious that the two of them had done their homework in advance.
"Fortunately, Your Excellency has the foresight to order his subordinates and Song Qianhu to purchase more grain last year. Now the treasuries of Lingshan Guard and Aoshan Guard are full. Together, there are almost 380,000 shi of grain." .”
"As for silver, now we can collect 250,000 taels of silver from various properties and treasury."
"Two hundred and fifty thousand taels?"
Liu Yan frowned slightly. Three hundred and eighty thousand shi of grain equals 45.6 million kilograms of grain. Based on the current population of 58,975 households in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei, the minimum average daily quota is one and a half kilograms of grain. , it can last for more than four months at most. Even if every household has some surplus food, if they persist for a few more months at most, by the end of the year, famine will definitely break out in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei!
So from now on, Liu Yan will start purchasing grain regardless of cost. Judging from the current grain price, two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver is only enough to buy 50,000 shi of grain and put it in Lingshan Guard and Aoshan Guard. It is a drop in the bucket!
"I remember that the situation in all industries is very good. Why do we only have so little money?"
Yue Ming said: "Your Majesty asked your subordinates to purchase grain before, and part of it has been used, which cost more than 400,000 taels of silver. In addition, my subordinates discussed with Song Qianhu and decided to keep some of the money as a new army." To pay the officers and soldiers, as well as for emergencies, there are only two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver left."
"How much military pay do you keep?"
"Currently, the monthly salary of each battalion of the New Army is about 40,000 taels, and my subordinates have left three months' worth of money as a reserve. In addition, my subordinates have also kept 200,000 taels of money for emergencies."
Liu Yan thought for a while and said: "Only leave one month's amount, and the remaining 80,000 taels will be used to buy food. As for the emergency money, I will also use 100,000 taels to buy food."
"yes."
Even so, a total of 430,000 taels of silver seemed to be a lot, even enough to offset the imperial court's training salary assessment for Shandong. However, in the face of food priced at one price a day, the silver was still not enough.
Liu Yan said: "Let's take action first. Starting from this month, the income of each industry will be divided into three parts, including raising troops, emergency response, and buying food. The specific shares of Yue Qianhu and Song Qianhu will be negotiated by themselves, and they will be reported to each other every month. I’ll report it once.”
"yes."
Then Liu Yan said to Zhang Lei: "The drought is getting worse now, but we can't wait to die. Zhang Qianhu led his people to dig wells in all the farmland of Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei, and at the same time surveyed the river conditions everywhere. If there is water, all will be diverted for irrigation.”
"This requires money, a huge amount of money!"
Liu Yan said: "That's what the emergency money is for! It's a year of great disaster. We can't spend enough money on materials, and we don't have much labor. Start working first, and you must not sit back and wait for death."
"yes!"
At this time, Zhao Min said: "Sir, now there are people in Lingshanwei who are without food. I believe that relief should start now, otherwise once panic spreads everywhere, the situation will be out of control."
Liu Yan deeply agrees. In fact, in any historical era, disasters are not the most terrifying, fear is the most terrifying!
As long as the government responds appropriately, or even takes action to prevent people's panic from spreading, there will be no major chaos.
Why did there not be any turmoil or civil commotion during the great floods and earthquakes in the mountains and rivers in later generations? It is because of the "official government" that the people affected by the disaster have confidence in their hearts, so no matter how difficult the conditions are, they will not panic.
So Liu Yan said: "Zhao Qianhu immediately ordered the Qianhu Office and the Hundred Household Office to order Lingshan Guard and Aoshan Guard to count the people under their control once a month and report to Zhao Qianhu at the beginning of the month to distribute relief uniformly. .”
"For the people who have already run out of food, we need to make arrangements first, and don't wait for everything from above."
"yes."
Zhao Min said: "My subordinates will issue a decree today. In addition, my subordinates suggest that some grains can be allocated and distributed to the Thousand Households and Hundreds of Households so that relief can be provided in a timely manner to avoid delays in transportation."
Liu Yan thought for a while and agreed, but still ordered: "The amount of grain placed in each Thousand Households and Hundred Households Office must be recorded, and the amount used to relieve the people must also be recorded one by one to prevent anyone from enriching his own pockets. "
Zhao Min was stunned for a moment and said: "Don't worry, sir. In such a calamity year, who would try to covet these grains? These are the lives of the people!"
Liu Yan said seriously: "Because food is the life of the people, it is more valuable in years of great disaster! Now one stone of food has been sold for five taels of silver. What about next month? What about a few months later? I think ten taels Even money can’t stop it!”
"So strict measures must be taken. Once corruption is discovered, it must be dealt with strictly!"
Liu Yan made a direct conclusion: "If you take ten kilograms of grain, you will be beheaded on the spot!"
Everyone was immediately startled, but after thinking about it, they should indeed use Chongdian at this time, otherwise something would really go wrong and it would be out of control.
Zhao Min hurriedly clasped his fists and accepted the order.
Upon seeing this, Chen Xun said: "Sir, I think you can find the leader of the Chamber of Commerce, Wang?"
Liu Yan thought for a moment, nodded and said, "I think it's okay!"
"Now that we have finished talking about today's affairs, everyone has dispersed and gone about their business. I will go to Wangjiazhuang right away."
Everyone said goodbye and left, and Liu Yan and Chen Xun went to Wangjiazhuang Baihu Office together.
In the Wanfu Oil Shop, Wang Jing smiled and looked at Liu Yan and Chen Xun, who were all sweating all the way, and said, "I know Xianxiu and Chen Caoshou will definitely come this time, and they will arrive today as expected."
Chen Xun asked in surprise: "When did Wang Huishou know how to tell fortunes?"
"Ha ha."
Wang Jing said with a smile: "I don't know how to tell fortunes, but I can do business. Now in Wangjiazhuang, the price of grain has gone through the sky. One stone of grain costs four taels of silver. I heard that over there at Lingshan Acropolis, it is already nearly Five taels of silver, in such a situation, my virtuous son-in-law will definitely not be able to sit still."
Liu Yan smiled and said: "Taishan is so wise!"
"Haha, don't put a high hat on me. Do you want the Chamber of Commerce to help raise food?"
Liu Yan said: "The purpose of the chamber of commerce is to get together for profit, so I won't let everyone help in vain, but it can't be done with the current market, it's too high!"
"What I mean is, please ask Taishan to help convene the merchants from the Chamber of Commerce, and ask them to sell me the grain they have hoarded, and sell it to me at a fair price."
Wang Jing thought for a while and said: "I can do this, but the success is unlikely. Clearing out each family's grain crops at a fair price would be a huge loss and no one would agree. Unless you, a guerrilla general, forcefully purchase it. !”
Liu Yan shook his head. Forced acquisition can indeed be done, even without giving a tael of silver. However, in the future, all the merchants in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei will be gone, and many of Liu Yan's industries will not be able to operate.
"Then what can Taishan do?"
Wang Jing sighed and said: "We can only force those merchants to lower the price, which is at most 20% off the current market price."
Liu Yan frowned slightly and said, "In that case, Taishan should tell those merchants something."
"What words?"
"If they want to do business in Lingshanwei and Aoshanwei in the future, and if they want to sell soap, Shaoguo wine, glass, cement, sea salt and other goods, then they can sell grain to me at a fair price! I, Liu Yan, persuaded them nicely, and they finally Listen well, otherwise if something happens, I, Liu Yan, will not be responsible!"
33
Some people died, but not completely...
