The twelfth day of the first lunar month.
The news of the Shaanxi earthquake exploded in the official circles of the capital like thunder on the ground.
The news reached the capital during the day, and Zhu Youtang was already preparing to take a nap. Xiao Jing and Li Rong appeared in Xinuan Pavilion with a report from the northwest.
"...Your Majesty, more than 5,000 houses collapsed, four people were injured, and one person died. All of them did not listen to the instructions of the local officials and entered the houses without authorization. In some places, the officials made improper arrangements, and the people had no place to stay warm. Some officials and citizens knew that an earthquake was coming, but they had to go inside their houses to take shelter from the wind, but they ran outside when the earthquake happened... At any rate, the casualties were minimized..."
Xiao Jing also felt sorry when he reported the incident.
The time and location have been calculated. Although the time is not specific, for the local people, as long as you prepare for two days, nothing major will happen.
But after all, this earthquake happened in the cold winter, and it was also on the first day of the new year. So many people knew that an earthquake might come, and had to run to places with roofs to cover their heads, just to avoid the cold.
Li Rong added: "On the day of the earthquake, the weather in Yan'an Prefecture and other places was suddenly cold, and it even snowed in some places. The people had no use in the wilds to keep out the cold."
The implication is not that the people are seeking death on their own, but that they all have a sense of luck and have no choice in the biting cold wind.
Zhu Youtang said with emotion: "Everything the imperial court can do has been done. If the news cannot be conveyed to the local area due to delays in the transmission of information, it is the fault of the imperial court. But in the end there has not been any delay... How is the progress of the disaster relief?"
Xiao Jing said: "Local reports indicate that the earthquake relief work is still going on. Many people are now displaced, and some soldiers and civilians failed to transfer their belongings in time. There are reports of livestock deaths and injuries. In addition, city walls have also collapsed, and spring has not yet begun. , it is not easy to rebuild a house..."
Zhu Youtang was silent for a moment.
Knowing that a disaster might occur, the first thing that came to his mind was to avoid casualties. As for how to provide disaster relief... even Zhu Youtang himself had not thought clearly about it.
After all, Shaanxi was still too far away from the capital, and it was impossible for the emperor to allocate money and food from the capital for disaster relief. Water from afar could not quench the thirst of those nearby.
"I order that places affected by the earthquake in Shaanxi will be exempted from taxes and taxes for one year, and 200,000 dan of military rations will be transferred from Yansui to coordinate with the affected areas to provide relief to the victims. The Chief Envoy of Shaanxi is ordered to send people to the local areas, and the Chief Envoy will The envoy assigned officials to different prefectures and counties... The local government treasury opened warehouses to release grain, and the government offices that had not collapsed were used to resettle the victims... to prevent the occurrence of plague and other things after the disaster..."
Zhu Youtang himself didn't have any good ideas, he just gave instructions and arrangements as much as possible.
Xiao Jing asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, should we send someone to Shaanxi to coordinate disaster relief and other matters?"
"Are you sending from the capital?" Zhu Youtang asked coldly, then shook his head, "It's too far away. This earthquake, as Bingkuan predicted, the house collapse was the most fatal, and only a few people were killed or injured. ...It can be regarded as an act of benevolence and justice. However, Bingkuan also said that in the next period of time, there will be a series of earthquakes in Shaanxi, so local officials must not take it lightly."
There is no word on the magnitude of earthquakes these days, but the magnitude of the earthquake in Shaanxi was at least magnitude six, with aftershocks.
Not to mention the wide scope of the impact, it was also the twelfth lunar month of winter, and the people seemed very passive in avoiding disasters and other matters.
"By the way, build more straw huts." Zhu Youtang suddenly thought of something and added, "The yamen's public house is not suitable anymore... Alas! In the past few years, Bingkuan has prophesied that amidst so many earthquakes, in this way, The earthquake was the most serious, and I suddenly forgot what I should do if I encountered such a thing before."
Li Rong reminded: "Your Majesty, whenever earthquakes occurred in the past, no preparations were made in advance. Disaster relief and other tasks in temporary disaster areas were also done in a panic, and it took longer for the news to come back. Now when we encounter The local government had already made preparations before the disaster, so even if it was a hasty response, it would definitely be easy."
"Yes." Zhu Youtang sighed, "But why do I still feel helpless even though I know this? Is it because I am not fully prepared?"
Li Rongdao: "Maybe it's because the local government is still not fully prepared when disaster strikes, or because local officials are slacking off in their official duties. It stands to reason that with such an accurate earthquake prophecy, there shouldn't be any more casualties, and The local area should have made preparations in advance, and the resettlement of the people would be in an orderly manner. It is definitely not like now, knowing that a disaster will happen, but waiting to make up for it after the disaster."
"right!"
Zhu Youtang seemed to have finally found the crux of the problem, and looked very angry and said, "I sent people to notify the place a month in advance. Even if there was a delay on the way, I gave them at least half a month to prepare. They actually To be able to respond in such a hasty manner, I really think highly of those local officials!"
Xiao Jing hurriedly reminded: "Your Majesty, even if local officials act improperly, they should wait until the disaster relief is completed before dealing with it."
"Well." After thinking about it, Zhu Youtang reluctantly nodded, "We should still send people to provide relief. When issuing the order, make it clear to the people in the Shaanxi Chief Envoy Department that if there is trouble in the area who is responsible for the disaster relief, all We must pursue it to the end! And make it a rule! I don’t believe it... You have to beat a group of people hard to make the officials of the country know what it means to put the people first. If you can’t even do this, you will act recklessly. My lord! What use do I need them for?"
…
…
Disaster relief matters were personally issued by the emperor, but the timeliness was obviously not as good as before.
It takes at least twenty days for the news to come and go.
After coming out of Xinuang Pavilion, Xiao Jing said to Li Rong: "Your Majesty has arranged for the officials of the Shaanxi Chief Envoy Department to go down below to provide disaster relief. Have you ever thought that if they wait for the news to arrive more than ten days later, how can they go again? Isn’t it going to be after February? What’s the point of providing disaster relief then?”
Li Rongdao: "Perhaps Your Majesty just wants to set an example with this. If there is an earthquake in the future, the provincial vassal offices must immediately send out relief work instead of waiting for the imperial court to order everything."
"Alas!" Xiao Jing sighed, "I'm afraid that the speed of disaster relief is not easy to control. In the past few years, the amount of grain stocks in various places in the northwest has been sharply reduced. If it is used too much, or too little is used, it will be easy for the boss to use it. The question is, how many people will really take responsibility for the stain that has become a stain on their officialdom?"
Li Rong nodded and said: "Perhaps this also shows that Cai Guogong is a responsible person. He can pretend to be ignorant of such things and avoid causing trouble for himself, and he still has no hesitation in telling His Majesty clearly... So Is your Majesty the one who relies so much on Duke Cai?"
Xiao Jing obviously didn't want to hear those words of praise for Zhang Zhou.
The more responsible Zhang Zhou was, the more he won the emperor's trust, and the more he showed the incompetence of his close ministers.
Xiao Jing was an internal official who had a direct competition with Zhang Zhou. He was also very aware that he was gradually falling out of favor... Xiao Jing was even thinking that it might not be long before his position as Chief of Ceremonies and Palm Print Eunuch would be given to him. Others, what does it mean for me to praise Zhang Bingkuan?
…
…
Official documents for disaster relief were immediately sent to the Hubu Yamen.
After the cabinet learned the news, Xie Qian went to the Hubu Yamen on behalf of the cabinet to talk to Ji Zhong about the earthquake relief in Shaanxi.
Seeing Xie Qian's cautious look, Zhong Zhong couldn't help but asked in a low voice: "But we want to raise some matters with His Majesty because of this disaster?"
The implication is that you attach so much importance to it, do you want to use this disaster to let the people below to impeach Zhang Zhou?
Xie Qian said: "Did the Ministry of Revenue not know in advance that Cai Guogong prophesied about the earthquake?"
Zhong Zhong nodded and said, "I heard a little bit about it. But His Majesty did not order the Ministry of Household Affairs to make preparations for disaster relief."
"Ahem." Xie Qian cleared his throat and said, "That's because in the past, no one would make preparations based on predictions of earthquakes in advance. You said that if this money and food were transported to Shaanxi, halfway through, As a result, the earthquake didn’t happen, so who would bear the loss?”
Zhong Zhong said: "With such a disaster, we can't expect to allocate money and food from Taicang for relief, right? Are the local governments unprepared?"
Xie Qian sneered and said: "This is interesting. As far as I know, the local government only informed the people about the earthquake, and did not even send anyone to mobilize in the houses. The report only reported a few casualties, but who knew Are there widows and widowers in that remote farm who are unaware of the disaster, and no one even reports their death?"
"this……"
Only then did Zhong realize that the local government had been so irresponsible in preparing for the earthquake disaster.
Xie Qian added with emotion: "Perhaps he really relied on the reputation of Cai Guogong Zhang. If the court did not say that this was from his mouth, the people in the disaster-stricken area might not even pay attention to it. More than 5,000 houses collapsed. Even the city towers, city walls and government offices are no exception. You can imagine how big an impact this disaster will have. Now I am afraid that there are still cases of concealment in the local area. "
Zhong Zhong said: "Your Majesty does not seem to have summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures."
Xie Qian said: "Maybe your Majesty knows that if something like this happens, the local government must save itself. What Taicang, the capital, can do is just fill the vacancies in the local treasury, and it must first wait for the local treasury to mobilize When they came out...the Ministry of Household Affairs reported on this, at the rate of two taels of silver per household, regarding disaster relief matters."
"Two taels per household affected by the disaster?" After a few minutes of calculation, this was an astronomical figure.
Xie Qian said angrily: "It's calculated by the collapse of the house. Generally speaking, if the house is damaged, it depends on the place. Alas! It happened so suddenly. We don't know everything yet. We have to wait for the follow-up. Reported."
…
…
Zhang Zhou did not go out that day, it was his holiday.
There wasn't much going on in Shangtingchun after the New Year. It was a rare day for him to take a day off. He was enjoying the beauty's tenderness at home while holding a pot of tea and a book in one hand.
This person knew that Li Rong had come to the door in a hurry.
Zhang Zhou could only tidy up a little, came out of the study, and went to the front hall to meet Li Rong.
"Mr. Zhang, this is about the disaster in Shaanxi. It may be more serious than you expected, but there are not many injuries to people and animals, but disaster relief and other things are very difficult..."
Li Rong submitted several local reports, together with reports from Shaanxi local supervisory censors, and reports from the Chief Envoy, to Zhang Zhou for review.
After Zhang Zhou read it, he said: "Talk about disaster relief from thousands of miles away, it is beyond the reach of a whip."
Wang Mingshan, who came out with Zhang Zhou, didn't think anything of it after hearing this, while Lin Yi turned red, put down the ginseng tea prepared for Zhang Zhou, bowed and left.
"Eunuch Li, would you like some tea?" Zhang Zhou pushed Ginsengcha over with a calm expression.
Li Rong said helplessly: "Sir, I can't take care of you at this time."
Li Rong didn't come here just for tea.
Zhang Zhou said: "I have also explained that I have done everything I can do on the first day back to Beijing. It is useless no matter how much you tell me. I don't think His Majesty is trying to ask me to issue a suitable disaster relief memorial." Bar?"
Li Rong thought for a while, and the emperor really didn't "embarrass" Zhang Zhou so much.
Obviously knowing that the mountains and rivers are far away, the timeliness is very poor, and Zhang Zhou has successfully completed even the prophecy of earthquakes, and he is still right, why do we have to wait until after the fact to make amends?
"Actually, our family is here... more to inform Mr. Zhang that this is indeed the case... You don't have to worry about any criticism from the outside world." Li Rong was cunning and quick to change his tune.
Zhang Zhou said: "That's good. If you don't blame me, then I'll dare to mention it if I can guess the relevant disaster in the future. But I'm afraid, it won't hit me every time."
Li Rong said with a look of admiration: "Mr. Zhang, although our family has heard a lot about you in the past, we have never seen it with our own eyes. This time we have seen it. You said that you are such a loyal minister who is dedicated to the country and the people." , why do you care about those rumors? Not to mention that you hit every time now, even if you can only hit once ten times a hundred times in the future, how dare the local government not comply with it? "
"Eunuch Li is exaggerating. If it takes only one hit every ten times, then I'm no different from Hu Meng. I won't be able to do something so uncertain." Zhang Zhou seemed very calm.
It was as if he had no idea how extraordinary it was that he could predict an earthquake in advance.
Li Rongdao: "Mr. Zhang, to be honest, His Majesty is very dissatisfied with the local disaster relief and believes that the local government has failed to fulfill its duties as officials. What punishment do you think should be given to these local officials?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty must want to wait until the disaster is over before punishing him?"
"Yes." Li Rong said, "It is difficult to replace them temporarily. After all, it is difficult to replace them effectively. It is better to let them serve their crimes."
He was embarrassed to say that this was actually Xiao Jing's suggestion.
Zhang Zhou said flatly: "I feel that if you want to punish, you can't tolerate it. Otherwise, as a person who made predictions in advance, I will think that these people are messing around. Don't wait until the disaster itself does not cause many casualties. On the contrary, they are providing disaster relief." It was considered inappropriate, and some people died of cold and hunger, and there were even major disasters such as plague..."
“How can we expect people who don’t pay attention to disaster prevention to work hard to relieve disasters?”
Li Rong was stunned for a moment after hearing Zhang Zhou's words.
After a long while, he sighed: "That means...you can't tolerate adultery."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "That's probably it. That's all I can do. After all, the decision is made by His Majesty. I'm afraid Eunuch Li and others will have to worry more about disaster relief."
(End of chapter)
