However, Huang Qiong frowned at Lu Mengzheng's suggestion of taking his time. This matter is a major issue related to the stability of the northwest. It has been delayed for more than half a year, and it has reached a point where it can no longer be delayed. If we follow the current efficiency that is unrealistic or even not moving at all, we can continue to do it slowly. I don’t know what year and month it will take until enough refugees can migrate to Ningxia to reclaim wasteland.
If this situation continues, I am afraid that when chaos breaks out again in the northwest, not enough refugees may be able to be relocated. As for the next matter of organizing a team training in Ningxia Prefecture, I am afraid it will be far away. These officials can wait and take their time, but can the overall situation in the northwest continue to wait so long? With such procrastination, where is the efficiency? What is the overall situation of the imperial court?
Huang Qiong looked a little hesitant after hearing his explanation. Lu Mengzheng, however, remained calm. After pondering for a long time, he said: "I believe that relying solely on government notices and hearsay from the refugees themselves can easily spoil the migration and cause great chaos among the refugees. Today Your Highness, your Highness, will summon your ministers to discuss this matter. As Deputy Prime Minister, I will tell you the truth."
"I believe that although this matter is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, it will also allow those lost refugees to have a stable life again. However, there must be no worries when implementing it. People must consider the will of the people, and everything must be done naturally. Ningxia Mansion It is located outside the Great Wall. For those refugees, at least in the hearts of the people, it is still a place outside the Great Wall. Therefore, it is best for me to let the people move to Ningxia voluntarily."
"What's more, judging from the reports from Ningxia Prefecture and Longyou Road, Ningxia Prefecture and even Longyou Road have no way to provide enough cattle and farm tools for the refugees who have moved to Ningxia Prefecture. The refugees have arrived in Ningxia. I'm afraid the situation will only be more difficult over the Ningxia Mansion. Not only is the Ningxia Mansion adjacent to the Northern Liao Dynasty, but it is also a place where both Hu and Han people live together, and to the north is the high mountains of the Helan Mountains."
"Now that the chaos has just been calmed down, the Dangxiang people may not truly surrender from their hearts. If the refugees are moved to Ningxia Prefecture without food and clothing, it will cause public resentment, or it will cause a group of thieves to occupy the Xiaohelan Mountain Forest, or it will cause the refugees to rebel. Therefore, Your Highness, , Since the ministers are chosen by the emperor to serve as ministers for the herdsmen of heaven, it is better to put themselves in the shoes of the imperial court, and to think more about the refugees."
"My suggestion is to focus on stability. First, based on Longyou and Ningxia Prefecture, which can currently afford cattle, seeds, farm tools, and at least one year's rations, move a small number of refugees to open up wasteland and farm. Wait until the court raises funds After sufficient cattle, seeds, and agricultural tools are obtained, large-scale migration begins. And the first batch of refugees should be mainly from other state capitals on Henan Road."
After listening to the words of the counselor, Huang Qiong stood up and walked to several ministers with his hands behind his back. Looking at the several ministers who looked a little nervous when they saw him walking in front of him, Huang Qiong smiled faintly: "Afraid of taking responsibility, that's why I kept delaying my important decree. Let those who don't have enough to eat Are the refugees going to continue to be in such poverty? Let Ningxia Prefecture leave large areas of land deserted?"
"There are not enough cattle, seeds, and rations. What do you want from your household department? Longyou and Shaanxi 2nd Road suffered a severe drought last year. I don't know what the situation will be like this year. Not to mention Ningxia Prefecture, even Longyou Road is very poor. It is difficult to shoulder this burden, I do not deny this. But now in Ningxia Prefecture, out of ten rooms are occupied by Han people, with Party members occupying the majority, which is a serious destabilizing factor for the court."
"There is an urgent need to replenish a large number of Han people in a short period of time to stabilize the situation in Ningxia Prefecture. This is a major matter related to the stability of the court and the overall situation in the northwest. Moreover, the Yellow River has only one benefit, from the entire Lingzhou to Dingyuan Prefecture, and then to the Yellow River and Helan Mountains. During the period, large areas of farmland cultivated by the former Tang Dynasty have become deserted due to the wars in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The originally dense canals have now all dried up."
"Except for Longnan and Longdong, most of the food on Longyou Road cannot be self-sufficient. Under such circumstances, it is unjustifiable to leave large areas of cultivated land in Ningxia Prefecture to be deserted. My attitude is very clear. This situation Changes must be made. Displaced people move to the border areas. This is a matter that is beneficial to both the country and the people and must be resolved. If Longyou cannot afford it, then the Ministry of Revenue will be responsible for gathering what is needed."
Glancing at the ministers present, Huang Qiong said in a deep voice: "This matter must be regarded as the first priority by Zhu Yousi. Even if it is not possible to relocate enough refugees for the time being, the Zhongshu Ministry and the Ministry of Household Affairs must come up with a plan. According to every year The amount of materials that can be raised, and how many people need to be relocated every year. If some people are still afraid of taking responsibility, then just change people without changing their ideas, and hand over their official hats to others."
"But there is one thing. If anyone, for the sake of superiority, blindly suppresses and uses the guards to forcefully drive away, causing a large number of innocent deaths of the people, then come and test the speed of the sword for yourself. During the process of people's migration, I will explain four things. The camp will mobilize all their carriages. The Ministry of Household Affairs will also raise a group of carriages so that the elderly and infirm can have free carriages to travel."
"The Ministry of War, together with the Ministry of Husbandry and the Shaanxi Road, ordered various places to set up porridge sheds along the way on the basis of post stations. The Ministry of Household Affairs raised enough food and distributed it to each post station. When the refugees moved, the porridge should be wrapped in towels without leaking. I will instruct the Yushitai to dispatch smart and capable personnel to inspect along the way. If there is someone who cannot get every grain of rice into the mouths of the refugees and take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, I will chop him alive."
"Longyou Road itself is located in a place where Tibetan and Han people live together. Even if there was a severe drought last year, the impact on the nomadic tribes was far less than that of the Han people. The Ministry of Household Affairs allocated a batch of money and silk to raise enough cattle. I want to pay back It's not that strenuous, right? The court needs someone to coordinate this matter. Since you brought it up, Mr. Lu, and you are the deputy prime minister, you will take the lead in taking charge of this matter."
"If there are any problems with the refugees being used as border fortresses this time, report them directly to me. If anyone gives you trouble, you can go directly to me. I will personally come to be your backstage boss. Everyone from Zhongshu Province, since you don't If you are willing to take responsibility, then there is no need for Zhongshu Province to take responsibility. Aren’t they all unwilling to take responsibility? Then start from Jingzhao Prefecture, and each prefecture will give a certain number of people. "
After Huang Qiong finished speaking, the faces of several ministers present turned pale. On the contrary, Lu Mengzheng's expression remained unchanged and he was thinking calmly. Looking at the expressions of several ministers, Huang Qiong sighed mentally: "This is the prime minister of the Qi Dynasty. Apart from being obedient, he dare not even say a word of objection. Even if he can't make any suggestions, he doesn't want to make any suggestions. It's just like Extremely dizzy."
"I really don't know what's the use of raising such mediocre officials. No wonder this dynasty has no name. It's no wonder that such a prime minister can get better in the world when he encounters the old man's excessive emphasis on moderation in governance. Prime Minister What is it? They are the rulers of a country, and they have the important responsibility of assisting the emperor in governing the country. But can these mediocre officials be able to shoulder the important responsibilities of the court and the expectations of the people?"
Wanting to get angry, Huang Qiong finally suppressed his anger. He stood there and glanced at the ministers again: "Do you have anything else to say about this matter? Since you have been summoned to discuss this matter today, you can speak freely and say whatever comes to mind. If there is any difference I’ll make my opinion clear, if you miss today, then don’t say anything next because I won’t give you the opportunity to say it.”
Huang Qiong asked these words three times in a row, but the people in Zhongshu Province still didn't even fart. They sat there with the demeanor of a prime minister, which was not ordinary calm. Only Lu Mengzheng, who was the first to speak, pondered for a long time and then said: "Your Highness, if you entrust me with this important matter, I will definitely die. But the question is, if you give a specific amount to each state government, is it inappropriate?"
"For example, in Zhengzhou Prefecture and Chenzhou on Henan Road, because of the defeat of King Jing and Duan, the court returned the land to the people, and there are almost no refugees in the area. If a specific amount is forced, it will easily make the local officials, for the so-called Forcing the people to move due to their political achievements. This undermines the original intention of the court and His Highness to love the people. I think it is better to focus on Jingzhao Mansion first, and the number of people should not be too large."
"Ministry of Household Affairs, it takes time to raise cattle and seeds. It is difficult to raise enough cattle in a short time. And even if cattle are raised, they still need to be transported thousands of miles to Ningxia Prefecture. The nomadic people do have many cattle and sheep. But your highness’ cattle are different from cattle. Those cattle are not trained, and even if you raise enough cattle from them, they will have to undergo certain training before they can be used for farming.”
"And at least some houses should be built in Ningxia Prefecture. The northwest is not as good as Jingzhao, and the winter is much colder than here. The refugees used to have a kennel, but they still had to have a place to live, right? On the way to the relocation of the Ministry of Household Affairs The mobilization of food and grass also takes a lot of time to complete. Even if we start mobilizing the refugees now, it will be at least autumn before the refugees set off, and winter is not allowed in Ningxia."
"If there is no place to live, Your Highness, how can these refugees survive in Ningxia and face the bitter cold in the northwest? I once served as the magistrate of Longyou, and I have a deep understanding of the bitter cold in the northwest. The refugees do not have In a house, it will be freezing cold, and I don’t know how many people will freeze to death in one winter. This will take a lot of time to complete."
"According to my wishes, we first mobilized a group of refugees to Ningxia Prefecture to reclaim wasteland in Jingzhao Prefecture, where the refugee population is most concentrated. Moreover, the relocation was finally arranged in the autumn, so as to avoid the spread of the epidemic. As long as the first batch of people go, the court has fulfilled its promise I think the next thing will be easier to do. From what I see, it is better to proceed year by year. For example, 3,000 households will be relocated this year, and 5,000 households will be relocated next year?"
Lu Mengzheng's words fell before Huang Qiong had time to speak. Those who had remained silent before were not sure whether they were afraid that Huang Qiong would ask about the problem on their heads, or they were afraid that if something went wrong, they would be held responsible. He hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Highness, what Prime Minister Lu said is just what he said to seek the country. We have no objection to Prime Minister Lu's words. We all believe that it is better to move gradually in this matter."
Hearing that these elders, whose silence was golden, finally spoke, Huang Qiong was laughed out of anger: "Master Lu's opinion is indeed good, but you don't have your own opinions and ideas? The imperial court wants you ordinary people to Zhang Zhengshi, Shenzhi Zhengshi, as well as Shangshu and Shilang want you to work together with the imperial court to govern the world together, rather than letting you be here to follow others' opinions."
As soon as Huang Qiong said this, several people immediately fell silent again. After seeing a few people, Huang Qiong stopped talking. He simply called them by name and said: "Mr. Zhang, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. This time the refugees will be relocated to enrich Ningxia Prefecture. Your Ministry of Household Affairs has a great responsibility, and the relocated refugees will need food along the way. After arriving in Ningxia Prefecture, all the food needed for the year will be raised by your household department, don't you have any idea?"
Zhang Qixian, who had just transferred the envoy from Liangzhe Road and was transferred to the position of Minister of Hubu, said: "How to decide this matter is a matter between His Highness and the envoys. As the Minister of Hubu, it is up to His Highness and all the envoys to decide the matter. It will be implemented in detail after it is finalized. Therefore, when His Highness asked me if I had any objections, I could only say that I had objections, but it was not my place to speak. What I should do most now is to think about how much food should be raised."
