"Foods broke out in the Dagu River in Gyeonggi Province and food prices are rising."
The memorial that has just been collected contains a major event.
Just now in the court, the officials only focused on criticizing each other, but no one reported anything about such a big matter!
Half an hour later, Zhao An accompanied the empress out of the palace, and Que'er also dressed up as a man to accompany her.
The Dagu River is located in the west of Gyeonggi Province. Every autumn is the flood season. In order to prevent floods, the imperial court will distribute a lot of money for disaster relief every year. However, no matter how much money is sent, it will not be effective.
The empress wanted to kill the thief, but she was unable to control the court, so she could only see the people suffer.
When the carriages and horses left the outer city, they saw only many fleeing people lying on the roadside with yellow faces and thin muscles. From time to time, officers and soldiers drove them away to prevent them from approaching the capital.
It was obvious that the disaster had happened not long ago. There were young mothers holding their dead children, like walking zombies, and children who were emaciated into human bodies, lying on the ground gnawing on the few turf left.
The empress couldn't bear to look at her, "What can I do?"
Zhao An said nothing.
Such a serious disaster has been concealed until now, and only Chen Guogong has this ability.
Reporting this matter suddenly now should be for the sake of the Holy Sect's entry into the capital. If the empress does not handle it well, Qiu Wei will be a joke. Once the Holy Sect is disappointed and withdraws, the empress's attempt to seize power will be nothing more than a dream.
What a great move to pull the trigger.
Zhao An did admire Chen Guogong's ruthlessness, but this matter was not impossible to solve.
"Do you have any idea?"
The empress knew very well that the price of food in the city must have skyrocketed. The refugees could not afford to eat, so they had to sell their sons and daughters.
Zhao An said nothing, stopped the carriage, came to a big tree, and gently asked a haggard mother, "When will the disaster happen?"
"It's been half a month, and there's been no relief from the court."
Her eyes were dim and dull, stemming from the despair and numbness of her soul.
Zhao An said softly: "Tell me where the disaster-stricken places are and how many people there are."
"All the 13 villages along the river were affected, and the bridge was washed away. I don't know how many people there are. I know that the farmland is full of corpses."
The woman was talking.
Zhao An roughly calculated that there were about ten villages in one township, and each village had at least two to three hundred people, which meant that the number of victims was tens of thousands.
This is not a small amount. The crops cannot be harvested this year, and some grains are soaked in water. The grains will last them until at least the second year, which is about nine months. During this period, they must have enough grain seeds and repairs. Scalpers and so on.
Calculated, it would cost at least five hundred thousand taels. Currently, the internal affairs treasury has money, but what it lacks is food, which is very troublesome.
Chen Guogong holds all kinds of power in Daxia. At this time, he will definitely raise the price of food, so the cost will be raised to a million taels.
Damn bastard!
For a long time, he was greedy for money to repair the river, and he caused endless crimes, which cannot be tolerated by God.
As a time traveler, Zhao An could not help but be shocked by the scene in front of him even though he had seen the tragic situation of people dying of hunger on TV.
It is indeed a feudal era where people cannibalize people!
Zhao An did not give the woman any money, for fear that she would die if it caused robberies.
Back at the carriage, Que'er gritted her silver teeth and was filled with indignation, "These moths really deserve to die!"
The empress said softly: "How about it? Can it be solved?"
"You guys go back first, and I'll think of a solution." Zhao An knew that relying on the empress would be useless now, so he could only handle it by himself.
"You can use the money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at any time. As long as it can provide disaster relief, I will fully cooperate."
The empress was indescribably sad and couldn't bear to watch anymore.
The group returned to the city and Zhao An got off the car at Cuilan Garden.
Sure enough, Cui Shixiang and Qian Yu were both in the private room, drinking together.
Zhao An didn't have a good temper, so when he asked if he knew about the flooding in Dagu River, the two of them turned black.
Zhao An really wanted to scold them, but thinking about it, they usually didn't go out of the city, and he didn't know about it until he got the memorial.
"Damn it, Mr. Chen Guogong is not afraid of divine punishment!"
Qian Yu smashed the wine glass and planned to go out of the city to have a look. Zhao An said angrily: "What's the use of going out of the city now? Can you solve it?"
Qian Yu was dumbfounded and sat down.
Cui Shixiang said, "I'm just talking about how my family's expenses have increased a lot recently. The Dagu River has flooded. Food prices have soared. What should we do now? You two are officials, right? How can I help?" "
Zhao An did not delay, and asked him to take a sum of money left for business and buy food as soon as possible. Regardless of the price, he would first provide relief for two days to appease the victims, and then Qian Yu would go to the palace to ask for a decree and send people to build a building. Temporary camp.
Now that the disaster is over, Chen Guogong cannot stop the empress from providing disaster relief, otherwise he will be angry and resentful, and he cannot afford to suffer.
On the contrary, he will do something, even if it is just a show, he will take the opportunity to win the hearts of the people.
The two looked at each other and went to do it immediately.
As for the safety of Cuilan Garden, there is no need to worry for the time being. Qian Yu has arranged a lot of manpower, and Chen Guogong probably will not cause trouble at this juncture.
Qian Yuwei quickly walked into the private room, with a bitter look on her pretty face, "I just found out that I still have some money in my hand. If sir needs it, I am willing to do my part."
She took out a stack of treasure notes, and Zhao Anli felt very uncomfortable.
They say bitches are ruthless and actors are ruthless.
As a humble servant, everyone knows the justice of the family and the country, but the bunch of morons in the court are probably counting their money at home and laughing.
Zhao An did not accept Qian Yuwei's money, but asked her to stay in Cuilan Garden and not go out, otherwise her safety could not be guaranteed. If she really wanted to, she could ask her servants to collect some grain and bring it back to Cui Shixiang as a gift. For disaster relief purposes.
After explaining, Zhao An hurried back to the palace.
The empress walked back and forth in the royal study, her brows furrowed into small knots.
She just gave Qian Yu an imperial edict to send people to Hu Bu, and she didn't know if Hu Bu would violate it.
As for Chen Guogong, he didn't show up at all.
Zhao An said: "What is lacking now is food. We cannot be taken advantage of. We must find granaries to replenish our supplies."
"Where can I find the granary?"
In the impression of the empress, the big family is very close to Chen Guogong. As long as he says a word, the price of food in Gyeonggi cannot be reduced. In addition, the imperial edict has been sent out, and the Cui family will come soon. If they see the capital like this …
She didn't dare think about it anymore.
Zhao An looked deep into the palace, "You just hold a granary in your hand."
"You mean, Concubine Qin..."
The empress finally reacted.
In the gorgeous palace, Concubine Qin was dressing up in front of a bronze mirror. The maid beside her was talking about the situation in the city. Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Is the Dagu River flooded?"
"It's absolutely true. It's the news that just leaked out from the previous government. It's said that the flood lasted for half a month, and His Majesty Long Yan was very angry about it."
"Okay, this flood has come at the right time."
Concubine Qin kept stroking her beautiful face in the mirror, showing her charming look.
