The courtiers had long been accustomed to the above people being left behind to discuss matters, and they quickly returned to their yamen to prepare for this disaster.
It is no exaggeration to say that the disaster that has enveloped the essence of Guannai Road and Shannan Road is much more serious than that of some desolate areas. The number of people providing disaster relief alone is unmatched by other regions.
The courtiers dispersed, and Li Xian followed Hao Chujun and others into the back hall.
In the back hall, Li Zhi's face looked very ugly.
No matter how optimistic you are, you will still feel fear when facing a drought of this scale, and the emperor is no exception.
The scale of the disaster is so great that even the national treasury has been used up. No one knows what will happen next. This is like a soldier who has used up all his equipment on the battlefield and has no idea what to use to deal with his next fate.
Hao Chujun and others had already known that the saint had a bad look on his face.
They are not Zhang Lanyue. They have not only problems on the surface, but also some secret problems. Although they have not spoken out in court, they are very clear in their hearts.
Li Zhi waved his hands irritably, indicating that everyone was exempt from courtesy, pointed to the stool, Li Zhi picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Li Xian also sat down. It was the first time he had experienced such a thing. Although he could tell that the emperor, Hao Chujun and others had something on their minds, he didn't know what they were worried about.
Zhang Wenguan and others also looked very tired. After taking a sip of tea, they waited for the saint to speak first.
Taking a long breath, Li Zhi sighed: "This disaster is destined to make the imperial court very nervous. This time is different from the past. The scale of the disaster is too great, and it is an elite area. This time, even if I If you become a dragon robe, you can’t let anything go wrong in the disaster relief work!”
Although the inner government is very rich, it is still a bit weak when it comes to disaster relief on this scale.
Hao Chujun sighed and said: "It's still unclear how the price of food will change. If it's the same as it was during the locust plague in the year of Zhenguan, I'm afraid that even if His Majesty invests all the government, he won't be able to feed the people."
Even with all the investment from the government, there is no way to feed the people? Li Xian was taken aback.
He could probably guess how rich the inner palace was. Judging from the fact that the Queen of Heaven gave 40,000 guan to Prince Yong's Mansion, and it was not very painful, the inner palace's money must be at least 400,000 guan.
A dignified emperor, if his pocket money is not as greedy as the governor of a state, it would be a joke.
Four hundred thousand pounds of money still can't feed the people of three or four states?
This is impossible!
Seeing the surprise in the prince's eyes, Zhang Wenguan asked: "Your Highness, do you find it unbelievable?"
Now that he was asked, Li Xian stood up and said: "To be honest, I really find it unbelievable. There are only three or four states, which are nothing compared to the state capitals that can provide disaster relief. What's more, since my father wants to open up the inner palace, , we will do our best to provide disaster relief, and we can survive it no matter what."
Hearing this, Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said to Dai Zhide: "Dai Qing's family, please tell the prince what's going on."
Dai Zhide stood up to accept the order, cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, the matter is not that simple. The money and food in the national treasury are divided into money and food. As for food, because the Zhenguan Dynasty continues the policy of recuperating and recuperating for the people, so it has been hoarding not much."
"As for money, the Anxi Protectorate and the Anton Protectorate have to rotate their soldiers. The rewards for the soldiers require money from the treasury. This is a big expense, so there is not much money left in the treasury. Besides, , even if the national treasury has enough money, I am afraid that it will not be able to purchase enough food."
You have money but can’t buy food?
Li Xian was confused for a moment before he figured out what was going on.
"Could it be that the output of food in our Datang Dynasty is too low?"
Zhang Wenguan smiled bitterly and said: "Low grain production only accounts for half of the reason. As for the other half..."
Li Zhi continued: "Let me tell you, as for the other half of the reason, it is because most of the land is concentrated in the hands of wealthy households, nobles, and aristocratic families. Therefore, they should have a large amount of food. Food. It is in the hands of nobles and wealthy families, and as long as they don't release it, even the imperial court can't forcefully confiscate it."
"It's a disaster year now, and there is almost no harvest in Guannai Road. People who have no surplus food at home can only choose to buy food. The price of food will definitely rise sharply. Therefore, the money from the treasury is used to buy food from them. If It would be nice if their price increase was lower, but if it increases too much, even the national treasury won’t be able to support it.”
The national treasury cannot support it, so how expensive is it?
It's obviously a disaster year, but if prices are raised like this...
As soon as this idea came up, Li Xian threw it away. Now it is not my own future. The imperial court seems to be the control center of the country, the honorable nobles seem to be derivatives of the imperial power and the imperial court, and the aristocratic families seem to be the people within the government. However, the fact is that neither the imperial power nor the imperial court are It is impossible to exercise absolute control over them.
The price of food increased, and the court could do nothing. Although the Office of Standardization has the power to regulate prices, this power can only control businessmen and farmers. Although it is a deterrent to nobles, it is not enough. As for aristocratic families...
I'm afraid those big guys from aristocratic families won't even pay attention.
If you say that...
Li Xian couldn't help but smile bitterly. The reputation of the emperor and the court were damaged by this disaster, but it gave aristocratic families and some nobles an opportunity to make a fortune in the country.
The imperial court, especially the emperor Li Zhi, for the sake of his own reputation and his authority and credibility in the eyes of the people, he had to swallow it even if his teeth were knocked out.
Li Xian smiled bitterly because he learned about the shamelessness of some people in this era, Li Zhi smiled bitterly because he, the emperor, was forced into a dead end, and Zhang Wenguan and others smiled bitterly because they were helpless in the face of such a situation. .
Although they were in high positions and powerful positions, they still did not dare to challenge the aristocratic family.
Since Emperor Gaozong re-edited the "Chronicles of the Clan", the royal family has never relaxed its vigilance and attack on aristocratic families.
After so many years, the aristocratic family is still the same aristocratic family. Their own strong background is enough for them to compete with the imperial power.
Li Zhi also knew that his ministers, except for a few people such as Dai Zhide, were all monkeys and monkeys. It was impossible for them to deal with the aristocratic family. so....
With a slight cough, Li Zhi asked: "Hao Chujun, let me ask you, how much land does your family have? How much food have you hoarded?"
Seeing that the saint asked this question directly, Hao Chujun couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, Wei Chen's family only has a thousand acres of ancestral land. Your Majesty expects Wei Chen to share your worries. It can be said that you have found the wrong person."
Li Zhi was still aware of Hao Chujun's integrity. Thousands of acres of land, and considering the distance from Chang'an, it can indeed be said that we have found the wrong person.
His eyes left Hao Chujun, passed directly over Dai Zhide and Zhang Wenguan, and focused on Liu Rengui.
Without the saint having to speak, Liu Rengui said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I have 40,000 to 50,000 acres of land in my house. As for food, I have also hoarded some. I am willing to donate this food to your majesty." Share the worries!"
Forty to fifty thousand acres?
Hearing this number, everyone was shocked except Li Zhi who was confident.
I knew that Liu Rengui was a tactful person and would occasionally accept "favors", but who would have thought that he would have so much wealth. This is just the land. How much will it add up to other shops and other stores?
There are five "prime ministers", and he alone is more than the four people combined.
Feeling embarrassed to be looked at by the five pairs of eyes of his four colleagues and the prince, Liu Rengui had no choice but to lower his head.
He is not a fool. Now, it can be said that this is the time when the saint needs support the most. At this time, if he does not reveal his family fortune and avoid disaster, wouldn't he be courting death?
He has always believed that saints know how much money they have.
Seeing the embarrassed Liu Rengui, Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "I won't pursue this. Since you have some food at home, just include it in the total amount of disaster relief. My dear friends, I'm calling you here today. I just want you to discuss with some big families among the courtiers and sell the grain to the court at a fair price. Although it is not as deep as the wealth of the aristocratic family, how can all the nobles unite to supply the grain of a state."
The five people looked at each other and agreed quickly. Saints need face, so even if they speak to noble groups, they have to leave it to them.
but....
Compared with aristocratic families, noble groups are obviously much easier to talk to. After all, they still have to look at the saint's face. If there is food, they must hand it over. The imperial court was willing to buy it at the market price before the disaster, instead of directly demanding it, which already gave them enough face.
However, although the noble groups have a lot of land, the total amount of land can only meet the needs of one state.
After all, those affected were all state capitals with large populations.
Although the saint thought of reaching out to the noble group, it was ultimately a drop in the bucket.
After all, it is the aristocratic family that has the largest food reserves in the Tang Dynasty.
And the food of the aristocratic family...
Thinking of this, six pairs of eyes focused on the prince.
After the prince reached cooperation with the Wang family, he successively reached cooperation with the other five families. Among the five surnames and Qi Wang, Zheng Wen's family was the only one left behind. The Jiangnan noble clan and the Shandong clan were not far behind, and they all won orders from the prince.
The prince's new brewery outside Chang'an City is not much smaller than a city. Such a large brewery consumes an unknown amount of food.
In this case, there must be a lot of food at the prince's place!
Seeing that several people, including the emperor, were looking at him, Li Xian didn't know that his food could not be saved.
Li Xian cupped his hands and said with a wry smile: "Father, since I learned about the drought around the capital, I have ordered the brewery to stop working. As for the grain that I have hoarded, if I want it, I will send someone directly. Just take it. The warehouse that my son and my mother came to were full of grain, and there are now four and a half such warehouses in the East Palace!"
Four and a half warehouses of grain?
However, no one knows the size of the warehouse, and no one knows how much food there is!
Li Zhi could probably guess the size of the warehouse. The food in four and a half warehouses could at most help a county with a larger population. Although it was already a lot, it was still nothing in the face of disaster.
Li Zhi sighed: "It's a pity that the food you hoarded is still a little short."
Liu Rengui, who had just straightened up, suddenly lit up.
He raised his hands in salute and said excitedly, "Your Highness, I wonder if you ever restricted the selling price of food when you signed the contract with the aristocratic family?"
Li Xian nodded and said: "Of course there are restrictions. Such a large volume of goods transactions must be restricted. The contract stipulates that even if the price of their food is to be increased, it cannot exceed 20% at a time. Moreover, within a year, It cannot be modified a second time!"
Hearing this, Zhang Wenguan also knew what Liu Rengui was thinking, and said anxiously: "In that case, if His Highness uses money from the treasury..."
Before Zhang Wenguan could finish speaking, Dai Zhide interrupted: "It's impossible. This is a transaction between the prince and the aristocratic family. It is private. If the money from the treasury is mixed with it, it is a violation of the contract, and it is a violation of the contract, and Not to mention that they can directly destroy the contract, it will also be a huge blow to the reputation of His Highness the Crown Prince. Therefore, this method is not advisable!"
Listening to the discussion of several people, Hao Chujun's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "Since we can't come openly, then we can come secretly. If we give all the money to the prince..."
After saying this, Hao Chujun immediately closed his mouth. When he swallowed his saliva, he even swallowed the saliva and almost choked and coughed.
If the contract must be maintained and the prince's reputation must be protected, then even if the money can be secretly handed over to the prince, the use of food must still be controlled by the prince himself. In this way, even if you get food from aristocratic families, you can only cover it up by "the prince looses food".
And the prince distributed food for disaster relief...
This is close to the scale of a Guannai Road! The population in these areas is estimated to be as much as 20% of the population of Datang.
It is foreseeable that if the "Prince looses food" is really the case, then the Prince will directly gain the hearts of 20% of the people in the world.
this....
Even the prince would not dare to do such an invitation to buy people's hearts!
Even a saint would probably not be able to tolerate the prince gaining so much support from the people, even if the prince was his biological son.
They were all smart people. Hao Chujun shut his mouth, and the other people quickly forgot about this method.
but....
Li Zhi, who was sitting there, refilled a cup of tea and said without hesitation: "In that case, let's give the money from the treasury to the prince, and the prince will participate in disaster relief in the name of loose grain. As for the reasons, I can arrange it casually." One is.”
No one expected that the saint would agree so simply, including Li Xian.
Although the situation met his expectations, Li Zhi agreed too quickly!
