In September of the eleventh year of Dechang, a major earthquake occurred in Rongyang Mansion, Mozhang Province.
The earthquake was so strong that several prefectures and counties around Rongyang Prefecture were affected.
During the earthquake, the streets and alleys of Rongyang Mansion shook very strongly. As soon as they felt the earthquake and were about to escape, the house collapsed mercilessly.
Not only were people unable to escape, but even the more agile chickens, ducks and other livestock died under the collapsed houses.
The earthquake also caused the mountain behind Rongyang Mansion to collapse, submerging some of the houses in Rongyang Mansion.
Even the prefect and other officials of the government office were seriously injured. Fortunately, with the help of some government officials, the local prefect was only slightly injured.
Only a few government officials in the government office died under the ruins.
The terrain of Rongyang Mansion is surrounded by mountains. The mountains are not only high but also rocky. When the earthquake occurs, some of the rocks and soil slide down into the soil, suppressing the rice that is about to mature.
The terrain here can only grow one season of rice a year. In addition, the earthquake caused heavy casualties and many rice plants were also affected by the earthquake.
Of course, it is not only Rongyang Prefecture that is affected, but also several surrounding prefectures and counties.
The earthquake in Rongyang Mansion in Mozhang Province once again affected the treasury that was already running low on money.
After learning the news, Su Yunqi, the left prime minister, sat on a chair in front of the court and asked the civil and military officials for help with a sullen expression: "The earthquake in Mozhang has a huge impact. What can you do? "
When the Prime Minister Zuo asked, there was no chattering in the court hall, just because today, the national treasury is in short supply, and there is no money to help with this disaster.
Seeing that no one in the civil and military officials spoke, Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi became even more worried.
Seeing Su Yunqi, the left prime minister, looking so sad, Cen Wenxing, the minister of household affairs who had just returned, came up with an idea.
"Prime Minister Zuo, I think we should donate again. Those with more money should donate more, and those with less money should donate less." Cen Shangshu wrote.
After hearing this, Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi sighed. After all, this was the last resort.
During the last disaster in Jianglai, he didn't donate less, but with Cen Wenxing's words, the more money he had, the more he donated. Su Yunqi suddenly looked at the civil and military officials with a smile on his face, especially the six ministers standing in front. Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites.
When they heard such an idea, the officials with more money were naturally unwilling to do so, while the officials with less money said nothing.
At this time, Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, spoke out in a disapproving voice.
"Prime Minister Zuo, I think this method is inappropriate. If every time a disaster happens like this and everyone donates this, then it won't wipe out all the wealth of the subordinates?" Ding Liu said.
The bold officials echoed the words of Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites.
Seeing the voices of disagreement coming out one after another, Su Yunqi, the left prime minister, suddenly became a little unhappy and pointed his difficulties at Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites.
"Ding Shangshu, tell me, without your donations, where did this disaster relief money come from, and where did this disaster relief food come from?" Su Yunqi, the left prime minister, asked.
Upon hearing this, Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, was speechless and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing that Ding Shangshu was speechless, Su Yunqi, the left prime minister, began to read: "Now Da Mo is not the same Da Mo he used to be. The national treasury is running low. Disasters are happening all over the place. There is nothing we can do about it. Unless one of you can The solution is to collect the money and food for disaster relief, and the one mentioned just now will naturally be invalidated."
When the Minister of Rites, who had just made a lot of money, heard this, he was so anxious that he expressed his thoughts: "I think the sea should be banned."
"Forbidden sea?" Grand Governor Du Antong never expected this.
Gui Yuanwei, the Minister of War, also disagreed with what Ding Shangshu said: "If the sea is banned, the people along the coast will not be able to go to sea to fish. How will they live their lives?"
In order to keep the little money he had just earned, the Minister of Rites spoke again fearlessly: "Prime Minister Zuo, only the ban on the sea can reduce the number of Japanese pirates. The money and food to wipe out the Japanese pirates will naturally be collected."
While each official was still thinking about it, Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, continued to brainwash them.
"As of June last year, the Japanese pirates are still there. How much food has the imperial court distributed to them? It's been a year now, and the Japanese pirates have not been solved yet. What? Are these Japanese pirates more difficult to fight than when we fought against the Qi State?" Dao Wan , the Minister of Rites looked at Gui Yuanwei, the Minister of War, and Du Antong, the governor.
Seeing the look Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, directed at him, Du Antong, the governor, felt very unhappy, as if Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, was telling him that the soldiers he managed were not good enough and only ate money and food from the court.
Who can bear this kind of statement? Moreover, Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, made it very clear that he was referring to himself, not to mention it was in front of two prime ministers and hundreds of civil and military officials.
I can't bear it anymore, no need to bear it anymore.
The Grand Governor Du Antong looked at Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, and said, "Since the Minister of Rites says so, why don't you let the left prime minister appoint you as a general to eliminate Japanese pirates and give it a try?"
When Grand Governor Du Antong said this, he immediately made other officials in the court burst into laughter.
When Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, was told this by Du Antong, the governor, he didn't know how to refute it.
"Okay, okay." Prime Minister Zuo smiled slightly and looked at Governor Du Antong: "Captain Du, in your opinion, should this forbidden sea be banned or should it not be banned?"
If you say it's forbidden, doesn't this agree with the view of the Minister of Rites? If you say it's not forbidden, don't you have to donate this donation yourself?
After repeated hesitation, the Grand Governor Du An came to the passage: "It cannot be banned. Once the sea ban is implemented, there will be fewer Japanese pirates, but it will greatly affect the lives of the people along the coast."
"Forbidden!" Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, said again unconvinced.
Seeing the appearance of Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, Gui Yuanwei, the Minister of the Ministry of War, laughed: "Ding Shangshu, Gui thinks you are old and confused. Can I find a doctor for you?"
The words of Shangshu Gui made Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, very unhappy: "Ding is not old yet. However, due to the current situation in Da Mo, Ding believes that a sea ban should be implemented for a period of time until Da Mo's treasury has enough money." Just cancel it. Could it be that the mansions of Gui Shangshu and Du Dudu have more money than the national treasury?"
Good fellow, now, the words of Ding Liu, the Minister of Rites, offended two high-ranking officials. If they say they are high-ranking officials, they are just officials of the same level.
"What does Ding Shangshu mean by this? You can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense. Du and Shangshu Gui are all thinking about the people of Da Mo." Du Du retorted.
Seeing the three people arguing, Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi couldn't listen anymore.
"Okay, let's not argue anymore. I just want to know the truth. Should you all donate the money together or something?" The left minister looked at the civil and military officials with a sad look on his face.
However, as soon as these words came out, most of the officials with a lot of money in their families did not agree to donate, while those with a little money in their families were less likely to be willing to donate.
Looking at this situation, it is obvious that the officials who agreed to ban the sea are slightly better.
But this matter is not only related to people's livelihood, but also to the operation of the country. Regarding this, left prime minister Su Yunqi could not make a decision for a while.
As for the current emperor, he eats, drinks, and has fun in the harem every day, and has no idea about the current situation of the country. What he heard from his personal eunuch Li Zi is that during the reign of Da Mo Kanbi and Hongdao, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Although the eunuch Li Zi went to listen to government affairs on behalf of the emperor every day, every time he came back, he would say that one thing was better than the other, which made the emperor feel complacent and completely kept in the dark.
"Prime Minister Yang." Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi said.
After hearing this, Yang Youcheng, the right prime minister, raised his head and looked at his benefactor Su Yunqi.
"Look, should this forbidden sea be implemented or not?" Su Yunqi asked.
Seeing his benefactor Su Yunqi's sad look, Right Prime Minister Yang Youcheng expressed his thoughts: "Left Prime Minister, I think it is better not to implement it. As Du Dudu said in the court just now, once it is implemented, it will definitely affect the coastal areas. People live a normal life.”
As soon as Yang Youcheng said this, Su Yunqi sighed: "But now the Japanese pirates have not been eliminated, and if they are not eliminated, there will be no money to wipe out the Japanese pirates."
"Then... how about we follow Ding Shangshu's instructions and ban the sea for a period of time first to eliminate the Japanese pirates as soon as possible, and then remove the forbidden sea when Damo becomes rich."
Listening to Yang Youcheng's words, Su Yunqi sighed again: "Right now, this is the only way. Let's ban the sea for a few months first, and then cancel it when the national treasury has enough money." After saying this, the Zuo Xiang looked at one person, He gave the order: "Go and bring the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Chief Governor, and the Minister of the Ministry of War to the original minister."
"yes."
Not long after, the three of them walked side by side and entered the Prime Minister's house.
Seeing that they were about to salute, Su Yun, the left prime minister, stood up and said, "You don't need to be too polite."
After saying this, the three of them looked at Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi.
"Just now, the prime minister discussed with the right minister. Now most officials are unwilling to donate this money. The only way to start is to clear out the money and food from the Japanese pirates."
Before Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi could finish his speech, Governor Du Antong looked at Left Prime Minister Su Yunqi with a somewhat disbelieving face: "Does this mean you agree to impose a sea ban?"
Su Yun, the left prime minister, nodded: "Now that the national treasury is out of money, and those officials are unwilling to donate their money, we can only save money by reducing various expenditures. When the national treasury is sufficient, the sea ban will be lifted." "
"Prime Minister Zuo, doing this will be very detrimental to the people's livelihood." said Gui Yuanwei, Minister of War.
"You don't need to say anything, the matter has been decided. The truth came to you just to tell you. Also, there is no need to spend a lot of time and money on training for the main forces of the three provinces. Every day, the gun is used and the stick is used. It’s enough.”
As soon as these words came out, Gui Yuanwei, the Minister of War, was very surprised: "Prime Minister Zuo, if you do this, if enemy troops come in the future, how will those soldiers fight this battle?"
"Don't worry, the vitality of the Qi State has been severely damaged in the last battle. It will take several years before we can mobilize our troops to fight again. Furthermore, this time the Mozhang earthquake is in urgent need of money and food for disaster relief." After speaking, the Prime Minister of the Left He looked at Cen Wenxing, the Minister of Household Affairs who had just returned, and said, "Shangshu Cen, this time there was an earthquake in Mozhang, the truth is that you are the only one who is suitable to go."
"Okay, I will definitely live up to my great trust."
