Chapter 1173 Discussion

Chapter 1173 Discussion

Chapter 1173 Discussion

In the afternoon, the heavy rain continued.

Shangshu Ling Chu Huo, Zuo Pushe Liang Fen, You Pushe Chen Xu and others arrived at the west wing of Taiji Hall first. As soon as they made eye contact with the King of Qin, they looked away and nodded in greeting.

In this occasion, everyone can just take a seat without any greetings.

A moment later, officials from the Menxia Province, led by Shizhong Yang Man and Liu Runzhong, arrived one after another.

The two men were full of worries. When they saw the three kings of Zhao, Han and Qin, the Duke of Wu (the seventh prince Shao Yong, nicknamed Douniu, his mother Pei Lingyan), the Duke of Shu (the eighth prince Shao Hou, nicknamed Aguan, his mother Yang Xianrong), the Duke of Ba (the ninth prince Shao Ke, nicknamed Sangyu, his mother Wang Huifeng), the tenth prince Shao Gong (nicknamed Huangtou, his mother Liu Ye Na), the eleventh prince Shao Wo (nicknamed Quji, his mother Yu Wenjun) and the twelfth prince Shao Zhen (nicknamed Dache, his mother Liu Ye Na), they were slightly startled, for all the princes over ten years old were there.

Yang Man glanced at Shu Gong secretly and sighed that it was too late for her younger sister to give birth to a child.

However, he also comforted himself that if the emperor lived to be seventy years old, the kings would be over forty years old and none of them would have a chance.

Now the emperor often goes to the Western Garden to hunt, and his muscles and bones are very strong. He doesn't know whether he has any hidden diseases or injuries, but he looks good.

Don't give up, what if?
Liu Runzhong didn't have so many thoughts. He was very happy to see his two nephews appear on such an occasion.

My younger sister gave birth to three sons and two daughters for the emperor, four of whom survived, and she became pregnant again a while ago.

He didn’t know why his sister was so favored before, and if he still didn’t know it now, he would be a fool.

If nothing unexpected happens, she should have been conceived when Li Cheng's demise was inevitable. Liu Runzhong probably had an idea of ​​what the emperor was thinking at the time. Maybe he was reminiscing about his past achievements?
Every time a country was destroyed, the wives of Shi Le, Liu Cong and Liu Can would probably experience a wave of pregnancies.

After a while, the Minister of the Secretariat Zhang Bin, the Minister of the Secretariat Le Kai, and two assistant ministers Fan Yi and Shen Ling arrived one after another.

Zhang Bin came with the emperor in the same chariot. Because he was in poor health, he had been recuperating at home for the past two months, so he was specially invited this time.

Following the officials of the Secretariat were the Privy Councilor Chen Yougen, the Training Councilor Pei Kuo, and the Junior Supervisor of the Supply Army Man Yu (formerly the Inspector of Yicong and the Prefect of Tianshui, a fourth-rank official).

Military Inspector Mi Huang did not come because he had a sudden illness and was bedridden. He really could not come.

All the soldiers and generals in the capital also came. There were more than thirty people gathered together, which was a spectacular sight.

People commonly refer to court officials as "the hundred officials", but in fact there are far more than a hundred of them, and only a dozen or so of them have real power.

After entering the west wing, Shao Xun personally helped Zhang Bin to his seat.

In the absence of Prime Minister Wang Yan, the highest-ranking official was the Shangshu Ling, the head of the Shangshu Province. However, Zhang Bin had a long career and was highly trusted. Even when he was sick, he was invited to assist in the planning and painting, so he sat with Chu Huo.

After everyone sat down, Shao Xun didn't waste any words and looked directly at the several attendants standing there.

Yin Yuan, the Imperial Court Minister, stepped out and introduced: "In the past ten days, there have been frequent strong winds in Dai State, destroying crops, and frost has suddenly fallen, so the grass has not grown. Therefore, rumors have spread everywhere, and undercurrents are surging."

"In Bingzhou and Jizhou, more than ten counties have experienced torrential rains that have continued for days, or strong winds that have blown off houses and destroyed crops, and hailstorms that have killed tens of thousands of people and animals. Yesterday, Guangping and Weijun reported that there were lightning and thunder in the sky, killing several people each."

"There are evil people among the people who took advantage of the situation to confuse the people and incited rebellion. They have been arrested by the government."

"At this time, it is imperative to provide relief to the victims and quell rumors, so Your Majesty has decided to tour the north, first to Yinshan to stop the frost, and then to inspect the relief work in various counties."

After speaking briefly, Yin Yuan stepped aside.

Shao Qiu secretly calmed himself down, faced everyone's gazes, and stepped out of the line.

He was the third brother of Shao Xun and the eldest son of Shao Fan, Prince of Lu. He entered officialdom the year before last and started out as the eighth-rank official of the Sinong Temple. In addition to warehouses, the Sinong Temple now also manages a small number of bamboo gardens, hot springs, woods, fish ponds, and agricultural and pastoral fields. From now on, the Shaofu would no longer provide food for banquets, and the Sinong Temple would provide it instead.

Last summer, he was appointed as the Duzhi Duwei of Luoyang (rank seven). After the campaign to pacify Shu was over, he was promoted to the rank six counselor due to his meritorious service.

In fact, this was just Shao Xun's intention to vigorously employ members of the royal family.

Shao Qiu's contribution is difficult to quantify, but Shao Xun believed that his contribution to the transfer was very great, so he jumped from the eighth rank to the sixth rank within four years, an average of one level per year.

The counselors had no duties. They were said to be advisors, but in reality the emperor never sought their advice. They were actually idle officials who were used to promote people.

Shao Qiu was probably the only councillor who really "advised on the response". He came to the front of everyone and said loudly: "The matter of repelling frost has existed since ancient times. The "Book of Fan Sheng" records that it occurs eighty or ninety days after the summer solstice, which is in August. The reason for this is that the first frost in Guanzhong is late."

"However, Dai is colder and quite different. Its people also grow fruits and vegetables, but when the five fruits and flowers are in full bloom, they will not bear fruit if they are hit by frost."

"They also planted millet extensively, from south to north, covering hundreds of miles. They planted the seeds from April to the end of May, and they would mature after ninety to one hundred and twenty days. So from May to June to early July, the millet would gradually grow into seedlings, bloom, and finally be harvested. If there was a lot of frost during this period, the harvest would be greatly reduced."

"When raising livestock, people have always focused on pasture grass. From south to north, the grass gradually turns green in March and April, and turns yellow and withered in August and September. Therefore, if there is a frost in May, June and July, the pasture grass will be sparse and short. If there is a frost many times, the pasture grass will wither and the livestock will not be able to eat it, and people will also have nothing to eat."

"In addition to the frost, there are also strong winds, which have destroyed many fruit trees, vegetables, and beans." "The situation is extremely serious. Rumors are spreading in Dai State, and undercurrents are surging. Things that were previously suppressed have surfaced one after another, and with the instigation and temptation of foreign enemies, the situation is already out of control. Therefore, Your Majesty has decided to tour Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Daibei in the north. You must reach Yinshan to stop the frost by mid-June at the latest. It would be even better if you can arrive in early June. This is what we are discussing today."

After saying that, Shao Qiu retreated quietly, a thin layer of sweat appearing on his back.

He felt that he had completed his task and at least made his point clear.

"Your Majesty, last year's campaign to pacify Shu cost a lot. I wonder how much food and fodder we need to prepare for disaster relief today?" On this occasion, the Shangshu Ling Chu Huo, who was known as the "little prime minister", was the first to speak.

Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "There will be no government soldiers this year. The exception is Longxiang Prefecture in Jingyang, where we have already started to set up troops. The court will allocate money, grain, seeds, farm tools, and oxen. Apart from this prefecture, no new ones will be established."

Jingyang Longxiang Prefecture was established after the Lushui Hu were pacified. Because the area was mountainous, the only flat land was in the river valley, so the area was relatively large. The 1,200 prefecture soldiers were divided into three groups: 400 were children of the imperial guards, 400 were the remaining men of the Zuo Jinwu Guard, and 400 were young men and Hu soldiers who had made contributions in pacifying Shu.

A lot of money was made from the pacification of Shu. Even after rewarding the entire army, there could be a lot more to be made from further squeezing. However, there was a difficulty: the grain in Shu was difficult to use in the north, so only the more valuable or light and easy to transport goods could be taken away.

Therefore, there are benefits to pacifying Shu, but they are not as huge as imagined. If one wants to paint on the northern canvas, at least one can only find a way to get food in the north.

After Shao Xun promised not to add any more soldiers to the government this year, Chu Huo stopped talking.

Liang Fen, the Minister of the Left, followed closely and said, "If Your Majesty wants to take grain north, you can move the newly harvested summer grain from the palace. If there is a shortfall, you can use Sichuan brocade, yellow fine cloth, medicinal materials, and even cattle and horses brought back from Sichuan to buy in Henan. Or maybe you have given away all the money and goods, but you can collect a little more."

Shit! The older Lao Liang gets, the harsher his words become. Shao Xun was surprised.

He thought about it and realized that there were still tens of thousands of auxiliary troops stranded in Shuzhong and Hanzhong, so it was not a big problem. So he nodded and agreed, saying only: "Forget about the cattle and horses. Although the cattle are not oxen for farming, they can be used to raise calves and train them. Although the horses are not good horses, they can be rewarded to the Left and Right Cavalry Guards and the Left and Right Flying Dragon Guards."

A small portion of these cattle and horses were collected in Shu, but most of them were captured in war, namely the last battle to pacify Shu: the campaign against the Baimahu in Wenshan.

The battle was won. We did not take many prisoners or kill many people because the enemy ran very fast. However, many livestock were left behind. In total, we seized several thousand cattle, ten thousand horses, and seventy to eighty thousand sheep.

But even the Shu people were unwilling to ride these horses to charge into battle, because they were relatively short and their temperaments were not suitable. But they were still useful after all, that is, riding to travel, Shao Xun ordered them to be rewarded to the soldiers of the Four Guards to make up for their losses during the expedition - it didn't matter to the Left and Right Flying Dragon Guards, because they were infantry and riding horses was just for traveling, mules could be used, and short horses were also okay.

After Shao Xun set this tone, Liang Fen had nothing to say.

After discussing the issue of money, the Minister of the Court Liu Runzhong said, "Your Majesty, should we go north to Qushuang via Taiyuan or Xihe? How many men will be conscripted along the way? How many animals will be needed? How many vehicles will be needed?"

"Let's go to Taiyuan." Shao Xun said, "The imperial edict will be issued today. Shangdang has suffered a disaster, and many people have no food or clothing. Now we can gather more men and horses to provide work instead of relief."

"I understand." Liu Runzhong was overjoyed. He didn't have to pay for the relief provided by the court.

Shao Xun glanced at him, his face calm.

Three people spoke one after another, all of them talking about details, and no one opposed the matter itself.

The reason is simple, they dare not.

Even if one is unhappy and wants to oppose, one can only emphasize the difficulties in a roundabout way by using minor details, and dare not deny the thing itself right away.

Shao Xun laughed secretly and asked, "Who looks more like an emperor, me or Sima Yan?"

He immediately looked at the Privy Councilor Chen Yougen and said, "Mr. Chen, please summon the Privy Council chief and assistant officials today, sign and seal the troops. I will give you an order later on which troops to mobilize."

"Yes, sir." Chen Yougen said loudly.

"Draft another decree." Shao Xun said, "The Honglu Temple should select capable officials and send them to Pingcheng on horseback to summon officials from the Dai Kingdom and leaders of various tribes to come together to repel the frost. Anyone who dares not come will be punished by military law."

This is to call all the leading figures of the Dai State, and no one should be absent.

"The King of Qin is stationed in Jinyang and is the transport envoy of the central route." Shao Xun looked at his sixth son Liang Nu and said.

"Mr. Ba is stationed in Lishi as the deputy transport envoy of the western route."

"Mr. Shu is stationed in Yecheng and is the deputy transport envoy of the East Route."

"Mr. Wu is stationed in Fangtou as the deputy envoy of water transport."

"The Ministry of Personnel shall select the vacancies for the Transport Envoy and Deputy Envoy, and the appointment shall be made upon completion of the task."

"Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelve, follow your father north to broaden your horizons."

After that, Shao Xun stood up and said, "You should discuss the details as soon as possible. All the orders will be issued today. In addition, select dozens of houses in the capital, and provide servants and expenses. If they are not enough, go to Bianliang to select and see if there are any houses available."

(End of this chapter)