Food is the most important thing for the people, and the lack of food is a huge problem.
It was also a huge mountain that weighed on Chen Wenqi's head, which made him breathless and even criticized the emperor.
It's easy for you to say "disaster relief", but where is the food?
We have money, but where can we purchase so much food in a short period of time to help hundreds of thousands of victims?
There are still a large number of disaster victims in Haining Bay waiting for food, and the porridge cooked by several porridge restaurants has long been unable to insert chopsticks!
Moreover, there is a steady stream of hungry people heading north, and urgent documents from various places are flying in like snow flakes, asking for only one thing: food!
There is food in Fengyang Mansion's granary, but can it be easily touched? Who dares to touch it?
There is food in the granaries of Jiangdong County and Jiangnan County, but there is not much. A lot of it was consumed in the Minzhou War, and the rest do not dare to be moved anyway, because these are military rations. Once there is no more military rations,
Reserve, if another war breaks out, this war will be impossible to fight.
Now the emperor wants to use troops in Yanyun County again, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has to raise a large amount of food...
The Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue really couldn't do it anymore, and it was really not a job for humans. If the emperor's favor was not too deep, Chen Wenqi would have given up his job.
So when he saw Xiao Chen leaving and coming back, he didn't have a good face at all. He was so lucky to have a dark face and said nothing after being served tea, no matter what this kid wanted to do here.
It’s hard to forgive anyone who’s crazy and can’t obey your orders! What the hell is it that you, Yanyun County, are in trouble, but my household department can live a relaxed and happy life every day?
"Master Chen, let's make it clear that people don't tell secret stories. I won't talk in circles with you. I want some copper and iron. Do you have any?" Xiao Chen's attitude was completely different from the morning. He looked at Chen Wenqi's face and spoke.
He also said it carefully and in a consultative tone.
You know that this boy is a night owl who comes into the house and comes to the house for anything!
But his attitude was so good that he couldn't ignore it and wanted to send him away as soon as possible. "How much do you want?"
"Ten million catties..." Xiao Chen opened his mouth wide. Seeing Chen Wenqi's sudden change of expression, he immediately changed his words, "If so, I guess you can't give it to Mr. Chen, but you have to give me this face for millions of catties, right?"
Chen Wenqi stared at Xiao Chen without saying a word, staring at Xiao Chen until his hair went crazy, "Mr. Chen, what do you mean by looking at me like this?"
"Let me see how much face you have, Mr. Xiao?" Chen Wenqi said coldly.
"It is indeed an urgent need. I originally thought that the steel business was in charge of Ma Shangshu. I just went to find him and found out that it was in charge of your household department. Then I came back to bother you, Mr. Chen." Xiao Chen said that I actually didn't want to come either.
of.
You don’t want to see my great face, and I don’t want to see your stinky face either, okay!
"Why do you need so much iron? Do you want to make weapons and rebel?" Chen Wenqi's words sounded like a joke, but how could he know that he didn't mean it from his heart?
Because he has never joked with Xiao Chen, let alone this kind of joke.
"Don't make trouble!" Xiao Chen said happily, "They are used to make farm tools. You, Mr. Chen, must also know that a large area of land in Yanyun County is now barren. It is impossible not to grow food. The people cannot live without food.
But there are no iron plows, no hoes, and no shovels, so you can’t let the people dig the ground with their hands, can you?”
"In addition, there are now a large number of hungry people in Yanyun County. They don't even have any land. I can't just watch them starve to death. They are all our people in Zhou Dynasty, right? Just providing relief is not the solution, so
I just want to give them wasteland so that they can cultivate it and be self-sufficient..."
The last time the Xianbo cavalry crossed the border, they snatched almost all the iron tools, not even a needle was left. Later, some supplies were returned, but the iron tools were not returned because their current smelting technology was still very backward.
Many ironware cannot be manufactured at all. Even the iron pots have to be imported from Dazhou.
In fact, Xiao Chen knows that there are very rich reserves of iron ore in Yanyun County, but it takes time to mine it, and water from afar cannot quench your thirst. Besides, after you mine the iron ore, you have to cast it, which also requires a lot of water.
Steel tools.
This can all wait, but what is urgent is that if Xiao Chen wants to cast a large number of artillery, he will need a large amount of fine steel, the more the better.
Before he set off, Madman Liu Fuhai and his two men had repeatedly warned him to do whatever it took to get back a batch of steel, which was a task assigned to him.
As for fine steel, Chen Wenqi is unlikely to give it, and even if he gives it, it won't be much, but iron ingots will do, and we can refine the fine steel ourselves.
"If you want farm tools, I can allocate a batch of them to you..." As soon as Chen Wenqi said this, he knew he was talking about the wrong person, and it was too late to shut up.
"That's the best! If each household has one iron plow, five hoes, and three shovels, then there are two hundred thousand iron plows and five hundred thousand hoes, which is just so-so..." As expected, Xiao Chen was overjoyed,
Immediately the lion opened its mouth.
The conversation also reached a deadlock.
"Master Chen, there is something that neither I nor the Emperor have said." After a moment of silence, Xiao Chen suddenly spoke again.
Chen Wenqi wanted to ignore him, but he was also curious, why is it so mysterious that he didn't tell the emperor but told me?
"What's the matter?" If he hadn't asked, the boy might not have said anything.
"Mr. Chen, have you ever heard of the Thirteen Granaries of the former Han Dynasty?" Xiao Chen said.
"I've heard about it, how come you found it? Hahaha..." Chen Wenqixin said, who doesn't know this? Why the hell did you say it, and you said it in such a mysterious way!
"Yes!" Xiao Chen nodded firmly, "But I happened to find one."
"Ah? Really!" Chen Wenqi took a sip of tea and then all the tea spurted out, all over Xiao Chen's face.
"Look, Mr. Chen, please don't get excited. I found it, but..." Xiao Chen wiped the tea from his face and explained the reason in detail.
There is a lot of food, and there are also a lot of dried meat, dried fish, and vegetables. However, because of the age, it has become moldy and the grain has become seriously powdered. When cooked, the rice tastes like porridge. I don’t want those dried meat or fish.
It is no exaggeration to tell you that it can be used as a stick, and it is even stronger than iron!
It's not food for people to eat... But then again, if you are hungry, it is still okay to eat. Why do so many people in Yanyun County not starve to death during the winter? They all rely on these grains.
supported.
"Then you still have a lot more...how much?" Chen Wenqi's eyes turned red.
"Not much, but there is still a little..." Xiao Chen said.
Why do you want it, Mr. Chen? If you want it, just say it. If you don’t say you want it, how will I know if you really want it?
Although you sincerely forget about me, you still have to tell me what you want. It’s impossible for you to say you want it and not give it to me. If you say you don’t want it, I will give it to you anyway. Everyone needs to be reasonable.
!
Do you really want it?
Then I'll give you a little. You don't really want it, do you?