Emperor Tongzhi's anger was more because he had lost face! Years ago, Weng Tonghe and other Qingliu kept reminding him that we should pay attention to agriculture and pay attention to agriculture!
Don’t you pay attention to yourself? Of course I value it, but I’m just not that concerned about industry!
Aren’t farmers our own people? Are you willing to watch them die of cold and hunger? But Emperor Tongzhi really didn't expect that the snow would be so heavy this year.
Not only for people of his age, but even in the memories of his imperial uncles, such ice and snow disasters were rare in the Qing Dynasty!
Starting from the twelfth lunar month, the temperature in the north and south of the Qing Dynasty has been lower than in previous years. A telegram was sent from Hangzhou saying that West Lake has not been frozen for many years, and this year you can walk carriages on it!
The wind and snow are also very heavy in the Jianghuai area, and even in the mountainous areas of Guangzhou and Fujian, there is snowfall in those high-altitude mountainous areas!
The situation in the south is better, but the key point is in the north. In the twelfth lunar month, the snow falls for three days, and the snow does not melt and new snow falls.
But the situation is not bad, local order is still there!
But after passing the twelfth lunar month and entering the first lunar month, suddenly the snowfall belt in the north began to expand rapidly. It didn't stop for three days the next day, but stopped for half a day the next day, or stopped for one day the next day!
There is a layer of snow on the ground, and the temperature is still low, so the people can't clean it up at all!
In fact, around the tenth day of the first lunar month, many mountainous areas have been closed by heavy snow. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, many plain villages have also been closed by snow!
Although some sledges and snowmobiles could be used, by this time the snow had become a disaster. Many rural thatched houses were crushed and the doors of many rural tile houses were blocked by snow.
Under this situation, even the villages in the plains were unable to travel. Only the village chief, security chief, Li Zheng and others braved the wind and snow to go out to report the disaster and request the county government for relief!
But they also encountered the most common people of that era who were too lazy to take action. At first, no one cared about their demands and didn't even report them!
In the eyes of those county magistrates, it is not a big deal for a dozen people to freeze to death in one day, and for twenty or thirty people to be poor!
In which winter in the Qing Dynasty did people not freeze to death? These are very common things!
Until finally, when the number of deaths reported in these rural areas exceeded 100 in a single day, the counties could no longer sit still and began to raise funds and donate money to prepare for disaster relief.
But at this time, the news leaked out, and grain merchants began to gather together to raise prices. In many counties in Zhili and Shanxi, the price of rice was close to 200 yuan. This was a high price that had never been seen since the pacification of Changmao!
At this time, local officials had to report the disaster to the peak, not directly to the court, but to Taiyuan and Baoding Prefecture!
The Governor-General's Office of Zhili is still vacant. Since the death of Zeng Guofan, the position of Governor-General of Zhili has been vacant, and it is temporarily filled by military officials in the capital.
Emperor Tongzhi had his own plans. Zhili was the vanguard of industrialization in the Qing Dynasty. The governor of Zhili must choose his own people, and it would be best to abolish this position.
Putting the entire province of Zhili completely under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, that is, direct control of the imperial power!
That's why he was not in a hurry to elect the Governor of Zhili, but asked Zuo Zongtang to act as the Governor of Zhili when he inspected and managed the railway in Baoding!
Zuo Jigao's temperament doesn't rub sand. How can he go to the table when Taiyuan is still talking? Here, Zuo Zongtang's urgent telegram was sent to the Forbidden City!
Not mixed with water at all, he reported all the emergency disasters in Zhili to the little emperor without any discount!
As soon as he heard that the disaster was so serious, Emperor Tongzhi couldn't stand it. The Qingliu people didn't say anything, but he knew that these people must be complaining in their stomachs.
'Look, what are we talking about? Years ago, the court asked the court to pay attention to agriculture, but they didn't listen. Is this retribution in the end? '
Zai Chun was so angry that the corners of his mouth were blistered. He was very angry just thinking about it. It was already February, so the disaster must have occurred before the tenth day of the first lunar month!
These bastards here delayed it for twenty days! It was delayed for twenty days. How many people would have died? There will definitely be a period of data explosion later!
The entire Yangxin Hall was in a state of panic, and no one dared to speak. Just listening to the little emperor's rage, the six officials all shrank their necks.
"Are you mute? Are you all mute? You all jumped out when you got the credit, and now there are problems and you are all mute? Is this how you are loyal to the emperor and serve the country?"
"You keep saying that the people are the most important thing, but now the people are freezing to death, yet no food for disaster relief has been distributed yet?"
"Baojun! Let me ask you... how much relief food has the Ministry of Household Affairs distributed so far? How many government treasuries have been opened in each place?"
Baojun was sweating on his forehead but he had to reply, "I am incompetent... After I saw the telegram this morning, I quickly allocated 100,000 shi of grain and distributed it section by section along the repaired Beijing-Hankow Railway. I am currently loading the trains... "
"Haha? Loading the train today? Are you using the unbuilt railway? Damn it...how long will it take for this food to reach the people's mouths?"
"What should we do in Shanxi? What should we do with the disaster-stricken areas in northern Henan? Some areas in Shandong have also been affected... The Beijing-Hankow Railway runs through Baoding and Zhengding... So what are you going to do with the counties in Zhili that do not have railways?"
"I don't know what to ask? Is this how you do your errands?"
"Okay... you said to transport it by rail, so let me ask you, have all the workers who went home for the holidays come back? How many percent have come back? If the railway runs into trouble during the trial run, how much manpower do you have to repair it?"
"Fuck! How are you going to transport the people during the last few miles? Do you have any rules?"
Bao Jun knelt on the ground with a loud bang, tears and sweat dripping down his face, "I am incompetent...I am ashamed of my trust in your majesty, and I beg your majesty to punish you severely!"
After saying that, I took off my hat!
"What I want is a solution, not a head-kowtow! If I kill your head, can the people live again? You are all mute, and no one speaks out?"
Zai Chun stretched out his finger to point at Manchao Wenwu, and his fingers trembled with anger!
At this moment, a person who no one expected came forward and said, "Your Majesty! I... I have always been in charge of the Ministry of Rites. Logically speaking, this civil affairs matter is not my responsibility!"
"But at this moment, I can't help but say a few fair words! I beg Your Majesty to atone for my sins!"
When people saw it, it was Weng Tonghe who stood up. Li Hongzao next to him kept winking at him, but Weng Tonghe was so determined today that he didn't look at him at all.
Zai Chun's face turned slightly red and he lacked the confidence to speak. "Master Weng, if you have anything to say, feel free to say it! I still trust the teacher..."
"Okay... As long as your Majesty trusts you, I have to say that the responsibility for this matter cannot be shouldered by Master Baojun, nor can it be shouldered by the Minister of Military and Aircraft!"
"This is unfair!"
