Of course, everyone in the team also knows that this is a treatment that can only be enjoyed when walking in Guanzhong.
After passing Luoyang and arriving at the disaster-stricken areas in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, not to mention chickens and meat, even vegetables are a luxury!
In the past two days, news about the Yellow River bursting and the disaster in Shandong has gradually spread in Datang.
Although Xiao Lizi immediately ordered people to open the granary to provide relief to the victims, panic still spread uncontrollably throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Needless to say, just look at Guanzhong. In just a few days, the food prices that had just been suppressed suddenly rose again! And they rose faster and more sharply than before!
Now, even if the government uses strong orders and arrests several grain shopkeepers, it can't stop the rising food prices at all!
Because at this time, no matter who has food, they will not easily sell it! This is not only because the merchants are hoarding it, but also because they are afraid that if the food is sold, they will go hungry again!
There is no food circulation in the market, which means that some people who live in the city and do not have much food stored at home have to pay ten or a hundred times higher than the original price in order to get a bite of food.
With the serious imbalance between supply and demand, it would be strange for food prices not to skyrocket!
"Actually, if people don't panic so much and spread the grains in their hands to hold on until the weather gets warmer and the canal thaws, the grain from the south will be transported to Guanzhong.
Although the south has also been affected by this cold wave, it has been a wealthy country since ancient times. Coupled with the three-crop rice seeds that have been promoted in recent years, it should not be a problem to last for two or three years..."
After eating, Xiao Han, Liu Hongji, and Old Man Hua sat cross-legged around the bonfire, and the conversation naturally turned to the house relief.
Speaking of which, during the Chinese New Year, Xiao Han used the funds raised to buy a lot of grain in Jiangnan! Unfortunately, the canal has not been opened, so the grain has to be piled quietly in the warehouse without any use, otherwise there will be
Without the arrival of that food, food prices would not have risen to this incredible level.
"Share everyone's food evenly?"
Hearing Xiao Han's whimsical idea, Liu Hongji's eyes almost popped out of his head. He stared straight at Xiao Han and asked word by word: "Do you think those wealthy families are willing to use their hands?"
Hand over the grain in the house? If they don't hand over the grain, can they expect the people who have a little surplus to hand over the grain?"
"Ahem, asking them to voluntarily hand over their food is naturally unrealistic." Seeing Liu Hongji's appearance, Xiao Han couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head. He himself knew that this idea was absolutely impossible to realize.
Under such circumstances, let alone this vital food, even if it is a piece of vegetable or a piece of firewood, it is extremely difficult for those from aristocratic families whose primary purpose is the prosperity and decline of the family to give it to others.
of!
"Hmph, according to me, Your Majesty shouldn't be so indecisive! Just name them one by one and force them to borrow money! No matter who they are, they can all give me ten thousand shi of food within three days. If it's not enough, hehe..."
Liu Hongji grinned, but there was a bit of coldness in that smile!
After all, he is a bandit, and his work is simple and rough! When he said something like robbing a wealthy family, it was like discussing with Xiao Han whether to drink porridge or eat steamed buns tomorrow morning.
"It's not that far yet..." After listening to Liu Hongji's words, Xiao Han rolled his eyes and sighed: "Besides, if His Majesty really does this, whether he can collect food or not, those officials will not
Blow up the nest immediately? By then, I am afraid that the notorious reputation of plundering people's wealth and money will be lost no matter what."
Xiao Han was right. It seems that an emperor in later generations also did this to forcefully conscript large households, but the result was not very good. Not only was the food and grass not collected, but the country was also lost.
"Eh? Since you said forceful conquest won't work, can you use other methods?" Just as Xiao Han and Liu Hongji sighed, the old man Hua who had been silent next to him suddenly said: "I heard, Your Majesty
Didn’t you get a national bond a while ago and borrow money from the big families? Since you can borrow money, why not borrow some food? When the food from Jiangnan arrives, just return it to them?"
"Borrow food? Borrow food at this time?" Xiao Han and Liu Hongji suddenly looked at each other after hearing the old man's words.
Hey, this old man thinks things are too simple! Are you raising food in the same way as raising money? Do you really think the two are the same thing?
Money? What is that? To put it bluntly, it’s just some hard metal! You can’t eat when you’re hungry, and you can’t drink when you’re thirsty! Even if it’s gone, people won’t necessarily die!
But food, not so!
Especially now, if they donate their own food, and if they don't get the food back when they run out of food, then the only thing waiting for them is starvation to death!
So, don’t look at those big businessmen who have been spending huge sums of money without blinking an eye! If you really let them take out the food from their homes, these people will definitely fight you with red eyes and a kitchen knife!
"Hey! After all, there is still not enough grain stored. I heard that the Hanjiacang, which held a huge amount of grain in the former Sui Dynasty, has never been full in these years!"
With a heavy sigh, Liu Hongji lay down on his back and stared at the night sky above his head in silence.
For Lao Liu, it is no problem for him to carry a knife and kill people, but to ask him to think of ways to provide relief is like tying a rope to a hen's butt, which is nonsense!
"In the past few years, we paid tribute to the Turks every year, and then we started fighting every year! In the past two years, we had just gotten better, but then we encountered such a situation. Hanjiacang can still squeeze out some food to transport to disaster relief, and that's it.
Very good!"
Xiao Han followed Liu Hongji's example and put his arms under his head. He also lay on the ground and looked at the crescent moon in the sky.
"Hmph, just think about it slowly here! I'm going to take a look at the herbs I brought!" Seeing Xiao Han and Liu Hongji's slumped expressions, Old Man Hua snorted, got up and headed towards the cart at the end of the team, where
, there are several carts of medicinal materials he brought from Sanyuan County.
After a major disaster, there will definitely be a major epidemic! Especially in this season when the weather is about to get warmer.
In order to prevent the epidemic from spreading, Xiao Han thought of asking Old Man Hua to find two people to help him with the disaster relief, but he did not expect that Old Man Hua would come in person.
After the old man left, the campfire immediately fell into silence. Except for the faint sound of snoring from not far away, there was only the crackling sound of the red firewood occasionally blown by the cold wind.
