Despite the great success of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, after all, among scholars, there were still more righteous people.
Not only Hou Yong was like this, Zhu Yunxi was in Kaifeng, and all the officials he saw, regardless of their official position, went to the front line to share the suffering of the people and were anxious.
Many people stay awake for several nights, their eyes are bloodshot, and they seem to fall asleep even while walking. But when there is a crisis, they will be the first to rush forward.
Although officials have always been noble and noble from ancient times to the present, in the face of major events such as natural disasters, the so-called ideas in the books of sages surpass their status as officials and the privileges they enjoy.
On the fourth day after Zhu Yunxi arrived in Kaifeng, the wind stopped and the rain stopped.
Inside and outside the city, on the river embankments amid the floods, people and officials cheered. As long as the rain stops, hope will come.
But after the rain stopped and the floods were no longer so violent, the situation got worse.
In the wilds, those victims who were hiding to avoid the flood rushed to the big city of Kaifeng with their families and families from all over the country. They had nothing to live on and were hungry for many days. Some people even relied on one breath to hold on.
Once under the city wall, I closed my eyes tightly and became silent again.
Outside Kaifeng City, a temporary camp that can accommodate tens of thousands of people was built to resettle the victims.
It's not that they are not allowed to enter the city, but that they are afraid that if the disease spreads to the city, the city and outside will fall into crisis and panic again.
"These tens of thousands of people cannot be gathered together!" Zhu Yunxi, who was looking outside the city on the city wall, said to Hou Yong, "They must be separated and placed together. If they get sick, no one can control it. The city
All the doctors have organized themselves, and the medical clinics have prepared medicinal materials.” Remember https://m in one second.
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"I have already ordered someone to do it!" Hou Yong gritted his teeth and whispered, "If there are people infected with typhoid fever or other epidemic diseases, I will ask the officials to pick them out and place them alone!"
That's how it should be.
Although, it is a bit arrogant.
Moreover, the government of this era was fundamentally overbearing, and those officials would not talk nicely to the people. Furthermore, at this point, no one had the patience to talk nicely to them.
In extraordinary times, might makes right.
Suddenly, among the tens of thousands of victims under the city wall, there was a burst of chaos and noise.
It turned out that smoke was coming from the porridge shed near the city wall.
The people swarmed towards the porridge shed, but were stopped by the officers' whips and sticks and the soldiers' swords and guns.
"Everyone is fucking lined up. Who dares to squeeze me without even giving him any saliva?"
"Don't worry, the old man is here, the woman is here, the man is here!"
"Don't make a damn mess, don't make such a fuss!"
Under the city wall, the shouts and curses of the officials could be clearly heard.
The people were afraid of the officials and soldiers, so the team felt a little calmer, but after waiting for half a quarter of an hour, there was only smoke but no boiling pot. In fact, the smoke was not necessarily cooking smoke. The fuel was extremely short of wet wood, and the smoke was all choking.
White smoke.
At this time, a scholar-like figure at the gate of the city came out crying with a group of scholars, pushing several carts.
Then, weeping, they gave the things in the car to the officers to use to increase the flames.
Shockingly, there were boxes of books!
The scholar's cries reached the top of the city, heartbreaking.
"The teachings of the saints are for the welfare of the people, and they are justifiable!" The scholar cried while throwing the books into the fire at the bottom of the pot.
Books are the life of readers.
But at this time, the scholars understood that the most important thing was the lives of the people!
"You don't have to be too sparing with food, you have to feed the victims!" Zhu Yunxi sighed on the city wall, "Food has been shipped from all over the country, so we must take good care of the people's stomachs!"
Fortunately, the old man has been in office for nearly thirty years. With hard work, the Ming Dynasty has finally managed to gain some financial resources. It is also the early years of the dynasty, a good era when everyone is united.
But Hou Yong thought for a long time, gritted his teeth and said, "I beg to differ!"
Zhu Yunxi immediately turned his head and stared seriously.
Hou Yong resisted the pressure of the emperor's grandson's gaze and said, "It's not that I plan on food, but that I feel that in such a disaster year, relief cannot be opened. Among the victims, there are young and old, women and children. I asked people to
Separate them and supply them according to quantity!”
"Your Highness is kind and cannot bear the suffering of the people. But what I am thinking about is Henan after the disaster. Now that the rain has stopped, the Yellow River is no longer swollen, and the breach will not be bigger. In this way, it is not only a matter of resettling the victims, but also
The question of reconstruction.”
"His Royal Highness's decree said that relief should be provided through work, and I have the same idea. Among these disaster victims, I will select strong laborers for construction. However, if relief is opened, among the people, if they can have enough to eat,
, it is inevitable that some people can’t afford to leave their family behind and are unwilling to earn food rations!”
"In addition, I can't ignore the plan. The Yellow River bursts and Henan has no harvest. Relying solely on the relief of the imperial court and the help of all provinces in the world is not a long-term solution. Dealing with the flood as soon as possible and allowing the people to return to their homes is the journey!
"
"At that time, it will cost a lot of money and food to resettle the people." Hou Yong said with a trembling tone, "This flood will not end just by blocking the breach. Even if it is blocked, maybe it will happen again in two or three years."
It’s decided!”
"Henan requires a lot of manpower to dredge rivers and raise dams. All these things are money and food. If it is opened up, no amount will be enough!"
Zhu Yunxi understood what the other party meant. The losses caused by such natural disasters and the future expenses are astronomical. Now winter is about to begin, and there is still half a year left, and the people of Henan will be in desperate need of food. Not counting their food, that is the thirty
A rough calculation showed that the amount of money he spent just to block Yu Zhang's Yellow River breach was six million.
"I know what you are thinking!" Zhu Yunxi reached out and pinched the other person's shoulder and said, "But if you do this, you will be infamous among the people!"
Hou Yong swallowed even more, "I have no choice. The people only have one small family, and what I have to consider are thousands and thousands of small families. What I have to consider is the entire disaster and the entire Henan!"
"Then just go ahead and do it!" Zhu Yunxi sighed, "The reason for sitting in Kaifeng alone is to appease the people of Henan. The specific matters need to be done by you local officials. You are the governor of a province, and you have to consider the overall situation.
Even if this is the case in Kaifeng, other places need to pay more attention to it. Especially some counties where floods are serious and the city has been breached, we need to pay more attention!"
"My lord, it's just death!" Hou Yong said seriously.
"Don't keep saying this, what will happen to the people of Henan if you die?" Zhu Yunxi comforted softly, "Before coming, the emperor said that in the year of great disaster, Henan can be exempted from taxes for three years. Now it seems that three years are less.
"
As he said that, he thought for a while and said, "Five years, exempt the disaster-stricken areas in Henan from taxes for five years."
Hou Yong was overjoyed and said, "On behalf of the people of Henan, I thank God for his kindness!"
"Thank you in advance! In the disaster-stricken areas, there are many people who have lost their lives and lost their lives. The census must be done well. In addition, when the flood recedes, all the acres must be counted!" Zhu Yunxi frowned and solemnly explained, "It's not just five years.
I am also interested in exempting the people in the disaster-stricken areas of Henan from the head tax."
"What?" Hou Yong was suddenly shocked and was too excited to speak.
"In order to speed up the post-disaster reconstruction in Henan, ownerless fields and dredged fields will be given to the people for farming. No taxes will be paid within five years. After five years, taxes will be paid on a land basis and no head tax will be paid."
A catastrophe is a great change.
At such a time of such great changes, we might as well just implement the idea of dividing small households into acres of land and implement it silently in Henan. Now the resistance from rural gentlemen and gentlemen is definitely the lowest. Moreover, after the big houses, the farmland pattern in Henan will also undergo great changes. Now
It's a good time to promote.
After three to five years, when the people have grain in their hands and pay taxes according to the land, it will be a foregone conclusion to abolish the head tax and divide the land into acres.
Hou Yong fell into shock and said dumbly for a long time, "Your Highness, if this is the case, the people of Henan will be blessed!"
He is a practical official, so he naturally knows the disadvantages of the poll tax, and he also knows that because of this evil government that has been passed down through the ages, a large number of people in the countryside have been hidden, hiding in the homes of wealthy squires and becoming tenants.
In this way, people do not have to pay taxes and will naturally become self-cultivated farmers. It should be noted that the population of the Central Plains has dropped sharply since the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The current population of Henan is only a few million. If calculated based on the average area of cultivated land, the per capita cultivated land exceeds 30 acres.
Moreover, there are still a lot of wastelands and riverside silts waiting to be reclaimed.
"This is easier said than done!" Zhu Yunxi looked at the other party and said, "You want to offend someone!"
"I'm not afraid of death, but why are you afraid of offending others?" Hou Yong smiled, "As long as I am for the people of Henan and the Ming Dynasty, I will be shattered to pieces!"
The stubbornness of the gentry class in the feudal era and the power of the gentry meant that even the imperial power could not be taken away from them. As the great grandson of Emperor Zhu Yunxi, he could only try it secretly in Fengyang, in exchange for fields from nobles.
Even in later generations, Emperor Yongzheng, the most determined person in the Manchu Qing Empire, only managed to popularize it by using a large number of cruel officials and suffering eternal infamy. This allowed the Manchu Qing Dynasty's national destiny to continue for hundreds of years.
It can be said that there are so many officials in the world, but few have the courage to accept it directly and say that they are not even afraid of death.
Zhu Yunxi nodded heavily and blurted out a poem, "Don't be afraid of being shattered into pieces, leaving only innocence in the world!"
Yu Shaobao's poems of the Ming Dynasty are the highest level and best interpretation of scholars.
When Hou Yong heard this, he stood stunned on the spot.
After a long time, tears filled her eyes, "Your Highness, if on the day I die, these two lines of your Highness's poems will hang in front of my soul. I will have no regrets in my life!"
"You don't need to die!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "After the disaster in Henan has been dealt with, the reconstruction has been completed, and the tasks assigned by Gu have been completed, Gu will give you this poem in the Jinluan Palace in front of the ministers.
!”
This chapter has been completed!