Since he could rent acres of land in the Yuzhou area, he could borrow food, so after discussing with Yang Su, Yang Ming decided to increase the daily supply of three Hu cakes for the people to five, and change the meat supply to seven. One offering per day.
If you don’t eat meat, you will have no strength.
It has been half a month since they arrived in Luoyang. Yang Ming has been asking Du Ruhui to follow the people from the Ministry of Civil Affairs to count the casualties.
In just half a month, more than 1,600 people died and more than 4,000 people were injured.
However, Yang Ming was still very pleased with this result. After all, the population base was there, which was 600,000 people.
A city wall in Luoyang is more than ten miles long. On this wall alone, tens of thousands of migrant workers work hard, working in two shifts, day and night.
The progress of the project is still within Yu Wenkai's calculations. In his plan, the foundation of the city wall must be dug in a month at most.
Another half month later, Pei Xizai sent a message that food was in short supply.
So Yang Ming urgently summoned everyone to discuss the matter.
"As expected, the exemption of slaves from slaves and the transfer of farmland has not been implemented in Changping County, and over there, more than 500,000 civilians have been recruited, and there is definitely not enough food," Yang Da said: "And the issue of borrowing food in the Bingzhou area , To date, we have only borrowed 100,000 shi, which is not enough for us, let alone assisting Changping."
Yang Su also sighed and said: "It seems that the daily rations of migrant workers need to be temporarily reduced. We have already eaten half of the food in Heyang warehouse. If we eat it for another month, it will be empty."
For a whole month, Yuan Wendu and Li Baiyao were down there and had reached agreements with many grain dealers. Unfortunately, Yuzhou Yamen only signed lease agreements with a few of them because the lease prices had not been reached.
Of course it's inappropriate.
It's already mid-April, and it's past the best time for sowing wheat. I'm not stupid. If I plant it now, the harvest will be bad, so of course I'll bargain with you.
Grain merchants in various places are originally owned by aristocratic families. If they don't want to waste money, you can't force them.
Yang Ming had already received news from Dugu Zuan that several grain stores in Dugu's family had already prepared grain and were preparing to rent acres of land. However, the Yuzhou Yamen did not contact them at all.
What does Yang Jian want to do?
"How long will it take for the borrowed grain to be delivered to Luoyang?" Yang Ming asked.
Yu Wenkai said: "It will take more than ten days to continue. If King Qi doesn't speed up the process, we will have to eat Liyangcang in a month, and the food in Liyangcang can only be guaranteed for a month at most."
Liyangcang is a large warehouse, but Luoyang can only eat one-third of it, and the rest must be supplied to the capital, and Yang Ming cannot touch it.
"Shida (Yang Da) went to the Yuzhou government office to urge them and ask them what's going on?" Yang Ming had already guessed that the second brother was causing trouble for him, but he couldn't come forward now. Play dumb.
Yang Da nodded, stood up and left.
Yu Wenkai was responsible for supervising the work, so he also complained and went to the Luoyang construction site.
Yang Su coughed and ordered other officials from various ministries to go down and do their own things. After everyone left, he said:
"Your Highness and Prince Qi, what's the problem?"
Sure enough, it was Lao Jianghu who grasped the key point immediately.
Yang Ming smiled bitterly and said: "He is not satisfied that he is the King of Qi and I am the King of Qin."
"Why didn't he say that he was pampering himself in Yangzhou, while His Highness was charging on the battlefield?" Yang Su shook his head helplessly: "No one in the court objected to your appointment as King of Qin. It can be seen that it is where the hearts of the people are and what everyone expects. The King of Qi has just come to Luoyang, and he has banned you. Elbow, our original plan is probably going to go wrong."
Yang Ming nodded and said: "Changping is almost out of food. When the King of Han rebelled, the granaries in various places were plundered by Yang Liang. Now the food reserves are simply not enough. Changping Granary in Shaanxi County has to supply Guanzhong and cannot be moved. For now According to the plan, we may need to transport grain from Hebei to supply Changping."
"Hebei is also difficult," Yang Su sighed: "The rebellion in Hebei and Shandong has just been put down, and the loss of granaries in various places is undoubtedly huge. Besides, if we borrow grain from Hebei, it is the King of Qi who borrows it. It is inappropriate for His Highness to come forward. "
Nominally, Yang Ming was only responsible for building Luoyang, and it was Yang Jian who had the final say in Yuzhou. He borrowed grain from Hebei, and it was Yang Jian, the Yuzhou pastor, who had the final say.
Of course, Yang Ming knew that Yang Jian would not borrow it.
Yang Ming said: "It is not convenient for me to have a quarrel with King Qi at the moment. If I go to negotiate with him about this matter, he must have prepared a reason to deal with me. Let's do this. The daily supply of food will be appropriately reduced, but the working hours of migrant workers will also be reduced." The corresponding shortening means that if you don’t have enough to eat, you won’t have the strength to work.”
Yang Su said blankly: "As a result, the construction period will inevitably be delayed, and Yu Wenkai is afraid that it will be difficult for him to get through."
"It's not that I'm delaying, it's someone who is delaying," Yang Ming said with a smile, "If we continue like this, it will be hard for you and me to answer once we run out of food."
Yang Su smiled and nodded. This time, he fully agreed with Yang Ming's decision.
If the King of Qi, Yang Jian, had not been transferred to Yuzhou Mu, Yang Ming could have full authority to preside over the government affairs of Yuzhou and take charge of the overall situation. In this case, Yang Su would definitely not support Yang Ming's delay.
】
But right now, someone is helping Yang Ming delay, so it won't be Yang Ming's fault if he can't deliver the work in the future.
He and Gao Jun had been in charge of the Central Committee of the Sui Dynasty for more than 20 years, so they naturally had many informants in the palace. Even Li Zixiong's son knew about Prince Yang Zhao's affairs. How could he not know?
His biological son Yang Xuanting was adopted by his younger brother Yang Yue. Yang Yue was also the Duke of Ancheng County. As his heir, Yang Xuanting entered an official position under Yang Yue's family and became the deputy commander of the left guard of the East Palace of Prince Yang Zhao.
Diabetes syndrome is not an incurable disease, but given that the prince is drinking too much now, it is probably incurable.
But Yang Su didn't plan to tell Yang Ming about this matter. He was afraid that if he told Yang Ming, Yang Ming would fight now, which was not good.
He wants to stabilize Yang Ming and help Yang Ming lay a solid foundation so that he can deal with Yang Jian in the future.
And now, there is a great opportunity.
As a shepherd in Yuzhou, you were unable to guarantee Luoyang's food supply, thus delaying the construction period. This crime had nothing to do with Yang Ming.
"I still have to borrow food. Yang Jian won't borrow it. I can only borrow it in my own name." Yang Ming asked: "Who does Yue Gong think I should ask to borrow?"
The official warehouses in Hebei did not have grain, but the aristocratic families had it, and the reserves were huge. The clans entrenched in various places in the Sui Dynasty were equivalent to small local governments. They could do things that the chief officials of the state and county could not do.
Yang Suxiao replied: "In the Yuzhou area, the King of Qi dares to delay but not break up, so your Highness can rest assured. As for Changping, you need to borrow food from Hebei. In Hebei, the Cui family of Qinghe is the first choice, so Your Highness can only go there in person." Borrow, the letter does not show sincerity."
The Cui family of Qinghe was not very popular in the Sui Dynasty. Most of them relied on family girls to marry into Guanzhong to maintain their relationship with the court. There were not many men who became officials. After all, their family mainly served the Northern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. At that time, the fourth noble family was King Lu Cui Zheng, but the Sui royal family did not trust them very much.
Moreover, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Cui family of Qinghe suffered a big setback. Due to the "Prison of National History" incident, several major branches of the family were wiped out and nine tribes were wiped out. The losses were heavy. More than a hundred years later, they are still in the recovery stage.
On the contrary, the Bolingcui family is quite happy at the moment.
However, the Cui family of Qinghe has always been known as the orthodox Confucian family in the north. The family is extremely powerful. It has many marriages with the Hebei clan and almost actually controls the local political power. Some members of the family participated in the Han Dynasty's rebellion and have been executed. However, the entire family is not affected at all.
Today, the leader of the Cui family is named Cui Fuli. During the reign of Emperor Kaihuang, he served as the general secretary of the province. Now he is retiring at home. He is the grandson of Qinghe County Duke Cui Yanzhen, and Cui Yanzhen is the grandfather of the Holy Queen Dugu Jialuo.
Cui Yanzhen's Qinghe County Duke was granted a posthumous title after the founding of the Sui Dynasty. The posthumous title was also called posthumous title, which was different from the actual title because at the same time, there was another Qinghe County Duke, none other than Yang Su.
After Yang Su was granted the title of Duke of Yue because of his great contribution, Yang Jian gave the title of Duke of Qinghe to his fourth son Yang Xuanjian.
"I do have a suitable candidate here who can go to Qinghe County with His Highness as a recommendation," Yang Su said with a smile.
Yang Ming knew who he was talking about and said with a smile: "I heard that Xuanzang's wife is from the Cui family of Qinghe?"
Yang Sudao: "When Cui Wei (biao) was the servant of the house, she married her daughter to the old man's second son Xuan Zong. However, Cui Wei is dead, and his eldest son Cui Shiji is in Luoyang now. He is currently a member of the Ministry of War, so he can accompany him. Your Highness, let’s go to Qinghe County together.”
Qinghe County is in Xingtai, Hebei Province, thousands of miles away from Luoyang. How much time will it take to go back and forth?
Yang Ming didn't want to go so far, but he still had to borrow food.
"Is there any way I can borrow food without going to Qinghe?" Yang Ming asked.
Yang Su smiled and shook his head: "There is nothing we can do. Your Highness already has a principal concubine, a side concubine, and a concubine. The marriage has been severed. But without a marriage, how is it possible for someone to borrow food easily?"
Yang Ming thought so, but he couldn't leave Luoyang easily, and Changping County was already running out of food. Once the food ran out, it would be no joke.
"There is another way," Yang Su said with a meaningful smile.
Yang Ming asked: "Don't be a good boy, Yue Gong. Speak quickly."
"Doesn't His Highness still have an heir?" After Yang Su finished speaking, he couldn't help but laugh. He also felt that this method was unreliable.
Yang Ming also smiled: "The prince is still in his infancy, so it's inappropriate to talk about marriage now? Besides, I may not be able to decide on my son's marriage."
Suddenly, Yang Ming came to his senses and said with a sly smile: "Aren't Xuanzang and the Cui family related by marriage? Let Xuanzang borrow it? I'll take care of it. What do Yue Gong think?"
Yang Su was stunned and said, "Your Highness just wants to borrow it, have you ever thought about how to pay it back?"
Yang Ming suddenly looked frustrated. He really didn't have the ability to repay it. He couldn't repay it with Yuzhou's food, right? Besides, it doesn’t matter what he said.
"Alas..." Yang Ming sighed: "Let's see, Mr. Yue is quite familiar with the Cui family. You recommend a few people, and I will consider them here and recommend them to become officials. This will be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for food. "
Since you can't borrow it, then sell your official position and pay for it in exchange for as much grain as you can.
Yang Su was shocked and nodded quickly: "This is feasible."
