(Apologies: I suddenly discovered that in the previous chapter, the Cui family of Qinghe was written as the Zheng family of Xingyang. Hey, I used to give people the wrong name, but now I have even changed the last name. It really shouldn’t be! That night Lao Cui Go to Coke’s dream theory, I don’t dare to work Master Cui again tonight, please change it back first.)
The fact that Xiao Lizi swallowed locusts alive has already spread throughout the Tang Dynasty, and Yangzhou, as the capital of Tongzhou, naturally got the news.
However, like those ordinary people, what they saw was the wise side of Xiao Lizi who would rather punish himself than pray to God to protect his people from loss!
But they have no idea that there is a tangled and intricate relationship hidden behind this matter.
First of all, Chang'an is not very short of food!
At least it's not the tragic situation spread by the outside world when the locust plague first broke out, with the ground covered in red land thousands of miles away, people dying of hunger everywhere, and people changing their bodies to eat.
Due to the continuous wars in the Guanzhong land, the originally abundant population has already been reduced to a shocking level!
A substantial decrease in population means a decrease in the amount of food needed! Under this situation, even if there is no grain harvest in Guanzhong, relying on the Chang'an official warehouse, as well as the grain allocated from Luoyang back to Luocang and Tonghanzhong, it will be enough for the people of Guanzhong to survive for a year!
Among them, what really gives Li Shimin a headache is:
This natural disaster was actually used to make a fuss by some people with ulterior motives!
When the locust plague first broke out, these people went everywhere to spread the news that he was in the wrong position and killed his brother and imprisoned his father, which caused the wrath of God and brought down strange disasters! When the locust plague was at its peak, a group of people were even organized to go to the palace to petition, asking Xiao Lizi to return power to the Supreme Emperor, so that the disaster could be eliminated!
Return the government to Li Yuan? Not to mention that Xiao Lizi can't agree, even his group of courtiers can't agree!
Where do these people’s current status and rights come from? Wasn't it obtained by overthrowing Li Yuan? If Li Yuan comes back to power, they will say less about being dismissed from office and more about losing their lives!
As a result, the two sides secretly fought countless times. In the end, thanks to Xiao Lizi, he came up with a way to put on a show in front of the officials, and with the timely delivery of relief food, the disaster was barely calmed down. source.
Xiao Han already knows that it is those Shandong aristocratic families who are stirring up trouble behind this time!
Although he was also born in Shandong in his previous life, Xiao Han was extremely disappointed with those aristocratic families this time!
Regardless of whether they are doing this for so-called justice or for their own ulterior interests!
Looking at the disaster alone, they did not work together with the country and the people to survive, but continued to hold back in an attempt to cause trouble. This was their biggest mistake!
In this case, it is really no wonder that Li Shimin has been working hard to suppress those aristocratic families in the future, suppressing them bit by bit until they declined, and then until a queen named Wu Zetian appeared, these aristocratic families were completely destroyed.
But these are all things for later, and are not what Xiao Han should think about now. He still thinks about how to complete the task assigned by Xiao Lizi.
Xiao Han can probably think now that after this incident, Xiao Lizi really needs a hearty victory so that his majesty can be established in this land where ghosts, ghosts and snakes are mixed!
"Yes, thanks to your Majesty's virtue, the locust plague was restrained in time."
A few days ago, Xiao Han held his hands far away in the direction of Chang'an, trying hard to pretend to be respectful and grateful. When Cui Jingzhi joined him in handing over, he sighed and said, "However, although the disaster has passed, it will soon be over." The lean period is about to come, and this period is undoubtedly the most difficult for the people affected by the disaster.
A few days ago, I discussed with several Chang'an friends through letters, and I thought that we could purchase grain from other places and transport it to Chang'an to sell it at a low price. This was not to make money, but to enable the people of Guanzhong to survive this difficult period and serve the country. A little effort! "
"Ah? The Marquis is so righteous!"
When Cui Jingzhi heard what Xiao Han said, he immediately stood in awe and could not help but admire him again.
However, seeing his action, Xiao Han was furious: "Gao Yi, you uncle, who wants to hear your talk? I've said this, so you shouldn't rush to pay for it." Give me the key and give me ten thousand loads of grain?"
"Ahem, it's just..." After waiting for a long time, he didn't see the master climbing up the pole. Xiao Han had no choice but to persuade him again: "The land in the disaster-stricken pass is so vast, and the amount of food required is really large. There are too many, I don’t know where I can buy so many!”
When Cui Jingzhi heard this, he also shook his head: "Yes, spring is about to begin, and food is really hard to buy..."
"Uh..." The corners of Xiao Han's mouth twitched.
He wondered, did this person really not understand, or was he pretending not to understand? I didn’t even let you give it away. I said I wanted to buy it, but you didn’t even answer? Did I just feed the dog with a poem?
Thinking of this, the aggrieved Xiao Han stopped talking in circles, stared at Cui Jingzhi, and said straight to the point: "Cui Governor, I don't know how much surplus food you have in Yangzhou?"
"Ah? Lord Marquis, do you mean Yangzhou?"
At this time, Cui Jingzhi was also stunned, as if he had just woken up. He looked at Xiao Han in surprise and said, "Xiao Hou, do you want to buy grain from Yangzhou?"
"Isn't this nonsense! Do you think I am so idle that I would come here to play with you when I have nothing to do?"
Xiao Han now felt his anger rising to the top of his head. He cursed a few words in his heart, suppressed the urge to lift the table, and forced a smile to Cui Jingzhi: "I think Yangzhou has always been rich, and I think there will be a certain amount of food in stock." Quite a few, right?”
"Hey..." Cui Jingzhi looked at the change in Xiao Han's expression and suddenly laughed bitterly, patted his thigh, shook his head and said: "Master Marquis, if you want to buy grain from Yangzhou, you are really thinking wrong! Although Yangzhou The prosperity is not due to food, but due to the prosperity of mulberry weaving, ceramics, smelting and other industries.
The grain produced here every year is not enough to supply itself. It has to be mobilized from the south or Shandong. Where can there be surplus grain to sell? "
"Huh? You mean, there is no food here?"
Xiao Han looked at Cui Jingzhi suspiciously, not quite believing what he said. Could it be that such a wealthy landlord's family didn't have enough food to eat?
"This, it really doesn't exist!" Cui Jingzhi knew that Xiao Han could be suspicious, but he couldn't help but explain: "Perhaps Mr. Hou, if you want a few thousand stones, or ten or twenty thousand stones, I can mobilize the big people to come up with it! But! The Marquis wants to provide relief to Guanzhong, so this little food should not be enough, right?"
"What's the use of tens of thousands of stones? What I want is at least half a million stones!"
Xiao Han suddenly felt a little discouraged. Judging from Cui Jingzhi's expression, it seemed that he had not lied to himself. Was his wishful thinking really simple?
"You want five hundred thousand stones?"
Cui Jingzhi took a deep breath when he heard this number, and then said subconsciously: "This much food is equivalent to the marching food and fodder of an army of 200,000 people!"
