Chapter 699: Ginger is old and spicy

The crisis of the seven-year drought in Xining affects everyone's hearts, and Su You is not the only one who is working hard.

Han E of the Tang Dynasty mentioned in the "Four Seasons Compilation": "Every time there is wind and rain, grain will be expensive, light rain will be small, and heavy rain will be expensive."

What people look forward to most is good weather. Therefore, "accounting for rain" is the most important task.

The thing that records rain is called Tianlu, which is similar to that of later generations. It is a cylindrical wooden barrel, and the depth of water accumulation is calculated every time it rains.

Another method is to dig the soil after it rains and see how deeply the rainwater penetrates into the soil. Specifically, "The rain is measured by the depth of penetration into the soil. If it is less than an inch, it is called a hoe rain; if it is more than an inch, it is called a plow rain.

This is called double plowing rain."

The central government also requires local governments to report rainfall conditions in a timely manner, but most local officials report false disasters and rainfall statistics in order to whitewash the situation.

Sima Guang once reminded Zhao Xu: "The rain in various states and counties often stops trying to relieve your majesty's troubles. One inch is clouded by three inches, and three inches is clouded by one foot. If there are too many, it is not true and must be observed."

For example, on the matter of locusts, except for Kaifeng, which is managed by Su You, reports from other places such as Jingdong and Jiaoxi all stated that "locusts are not a disaster" or even "weeding for the people."

God is so awesome at weeding the people!!

Su You suggested to Wang Anshi that the disaster information should be published in the "Times" one by one based on reports from various places, so that the people could know the faces of these officials.

If there are concealed reports or false reports, it will inevitably attract attacks from its opponents, so that the central government can still learn the truth.

This suggestion immediately attracted attacks from the New Party.

When the Liao people came looking for trouble a few months ago, Zhao Xu was originally prepared to order martial law in the two rivers and to build a city in Hebei for defense.

Deng Wan, the censor Zhongcheng, wrote: "It is useless and useless, and it will cause great trouble and waste."

He also said: "The Liao arrogantly filed a lawsuit just to spy on me. They gathered their troops for months in the winter and patrolled alone until they stopped. The falseness of their feelings can be seen."

"If you are strong enough to defend me now, you will maintain peace between the two countries. If you are peaceful, I won't doubt the other, and I will be able to take a long-term view. If you stay ahead of me, you will be afraid of surrender, and the other country may fight hard, which will be a great shame for China."

Zhao Xu was so worried that he couldn't help but feel that it was justified.

Later, the Liao people did not raise any troops, it was just blackmail.

Now that the two countries have begun border negotiations, Zhao Xu rewarded Deng Wan for this.

At this time, Deng Wan jumped out and criticized Su You fiercely, believing that the court made a mistake starting from Han Wei's persuasion to Zhao Xu to issue an edict to seek gains and losses.

Suyou's move is undoubtedly to deny the country's achievements in recent years, undermine national stability, and revive local opposition forces to oppose the new law even more frantically. It is a trap and must not be fooled.

Moreover, with this move, Su You cannot be sure that he did not want to clear himself of the suspicion of locust plague in Kaifeng Prefecture. Not only did he not take the blame and reflect on himself, he also wanted to drag more local officials into the water in order to escape punishment without being punished. He is a big bad guy.

.

Having said this, Su You could not go any further, otherwise he would become an enemy of all officials in the locust-stricken area.

His current position is not the censor, but the governor of Kaifeng, so some things cannot be said too much.

Zhao Xu still wanted to protect himself and said: "Mingrun had already submitted a thank you form half a month ago, saying that he was worthy of merit but not worthy of praise. However, he asked the court to postpone the handling until the disaster relief was completed before judging his crime."

Censor Li Ding reported that the drought and no rain were due to the erratic behavior of the imperial court, the weak will of your majesty, and the deception of treacherous ministers.

Since Su You admits that he is guilty, and drought locusts have indeed occurred in Kaifeng Mansion, why can't he deal with it? Your Majesty's nepotism may be the cause of the disaster!

This is an attempt to divert trouble to the east.

Fortunately, court disputes were never resolved quickly. Seven days later, Cai Jing reported to the court that all the young locusts in the sixteen counties of Kaifeng had been wiped out, and the migratory locusts had obtained a total of 1.2 million shi. The locust extermination operation had made significant progress.

Grain production in the six counties decreased by only 10%, but due to the increase in arable land area, the summer grain harvest in the sixteen counties increased instead of decreasing!

A new joke has been circulated among the people in Kaifeng Prefecture, "Locusts from the sky and the ground chase away my virtuous people. The squid makes ink, and the horsetail ileum."

This is an old tradition of the Song Dynasty people, who like to make up ballads, "If the joints are not connected, the king of hell will protect you." This is the most familiar one to everyone.

Equisetum is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat intestinal fistula, which is anal prolapse.

In name, they are unrelated, but in fact, they are satirizing Deng Wan and Li Ding as thieves. One uses his literary skills to frame people, and the other has a sinister heart.

The word "Locust Emperor" has the same pronunciation as "Locust Emperor", and there is even a hint of accusing Zhao Xu of being indiscriminate between good and bad people.

…

In Daming Mansion, Wen Yanbo clapped his hands angrily: "That's enough!"

Wen Yanbo was worried about the disaster in Hebei, but his group of officials and gentry were unable to take any measures other than denouncing the new law and chaotic government, which would cause natural changes.

The transfer judge Wang Fuzhi, a cadre of the New Party, once reported to Wen Yanbo that he did not act in accordance with the new law. Zhao Xu was so frightened that he personally commented on the memorial and forwarded it to Wen Yanbo, which read: "I will never forget my old kindness, precisely because

Because of my trust in you, I entrusted the north gate of the capital to Yuan Rong. You don't have to worry about these trivial matters. Wang Fu, an official of low rank, is rude to you and will be dealt with separately."

But now Wen Yanbo asked the Transportation Department to open Changping warehouse, but Wang Fuzhi actually shied away from it on the grounds that there was no official document from the Planning Department.

He is a good hand at scraping bones and sucking out marrow, but when it is his turn to save people, he is afraid of taking responsibility.

Looking at the officials and gentry below, the old and new parties criticizing each other, Wen Yanbo sneered in his heart.

After coughing, Wen Yanbo said: "The national situation is difficult and the people need to be fed. Now the price of food has risen. Judge Wang, it should be the responsibility of Changpingcang, the transport department, to stabilize the price of food, right?"

Wang Fuzhi handed over his hand: "Xiaguan has already reported the price of grain in Hebei to the imperial court. I believe there will be a reply from Zhongshu in the near future. When the order comes, Xiaguan will immediately open the warehouse to release grain."

Wen Yanbo sneered: "May I ask Judge Wang, when was the report submitted? According to the normal process, when can the written documents be transferred to Hebei? When the transfer department receives the written documents, when can it be fully prepared?"

Wang Fuzhi frowned: "The court system is like this. If Si Kongruo thinks it is inappropriate, he can write to the court and give me orders. However, before the court transfers the letter, it is impossible to ask Wang Fuzhi to submit to his flattery."

"Okay!" Wen Yanbo laughed loudly: "What a tough minister!"

After speaking, he softened his tone, and his voice became amiable, but the content was extremely cold: "You discussed with several grain merchants in Daming Prefecture about raising prices. The government already has ironclad evidence. As the judge of the Transshipment Division, Chang Pingcang has the control

Or, during a severe drought, a secret meeting with grain merchants in a restaurant was just a coincidence?"

Wang Fuzhi was shocked: "We are just having a meeting, you, you are slandering others and trying to falsely accuse me! I don't accept it! I want to complain to the court!"

Wen Yanbo smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. You can complain, but the fact of your secret meeting is undeniable. Didn't you notice that the grain merchants were not present at the gathering of officials and gentry today?"

"They, the store owner, and the waiter have all given their testimonies. During the period of suspicion, we had no choice but to aggrieve the judge and avoid suspicion."

"As you said, the court system is like this. If the judge feels that it is inappropriate, he can write to the court to express his ignorance. However, before the court transfers the document, it wants Wen Yanbo to indulge in favoritism, but it cannot be done."

After saying this, his voice turned cold: "If someone comes, please remove his seat and take him to the capital hall to wait for the court's decision!"

The subordinate officials, who were like wolves and tigers, came up and knocked off Wang Fuzhi's head, pushed it to the ground three or two times, and carried it out.

Wang Fuzhi struggled and cursed, but the smile on Wen Yanbo's old face did not change at all, but the invited gentlemen were all frightened and did not dare to say anything.

It wasn't until the curses next door were muffled by the doughnuts and turned into whining sounds that Wen Yanbo said: "The system is the system, and Changpingcang is a facility to stabilize food prices. There have been many projects in Hebei in recent years, and labor has been very heavy.

Heavy, warehouses in various places will naturally have insufficient reserves. Therefore, the court will definitely be unable to make ends meet due to this drought. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune."

"Everyone, that's what you think, right?"

The gentry turned pale with fright and waved their hands repeatedly: "No, no."

Wen Yanbo smiled and said: "It's a good idea, but there's only one thing: I didn't take the court seriously, and I didn't take the abilities and determination of the officials in the court seriously!"

"How big a wave can a Transport Division judge make? Are you really here to retire in Daming Mansion?"

"I'm sorry. For the sake of his own political achievements, Xiao Su Shaobao of Kaifeng Prefecture persuaded His Majesty to lay off more than 200,000 Xiang troops and their family members, and the Chang Ping Cang in Bianjing suddenly produced a lot of surplus grain."

"So the imperial court transferred more than three million dendrobium grains to Hebei and asked me to digest them."

"And the merchants of the Han River, I also want to thank you. Because of your hoarding, the Queen Mother ordered the merchants to transport a ship of grain to Hebei. In addition to being given salt, they also got the right to sell fifty pieces of palace-like utensils from Liulic Square in Beijing.

.”

"Here is another hundred thousand stones."

"Today I invite you all to come here for a drink and a banquet, just to tell you this good news. Now the Changping warehouses in Hebei Province have begun to put grain, and your grain stalls are still being brutally purchased. The price is...
Chapter completed!