Chang'an City, inside the Manlu Hall.
Li Shimin, who was in his prime, sat in his study, concentrating on reviewing the memorial, his brows slowly knitting together.
"It is announced that Sun Wuji, Li Jing, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng will enter the palace."
After reading the memorial, Li Shimin gave the order anxiously.
"Yes!"
Wang De immediately bowed and accepted Li Shimin's order, turned around and gave the order.
Li Shimin slumped down in his chair, rubbing his brows, staring blankly at the memorial on the desk, with a hint of exhaustion on his resolute face.
It didn’t take long for Changsun Wuji and four others to arrive at the Manlu Hall.
"Your Majesty, is there any news from the Prime Minister?"
Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin have known each other since they were teenagers, and they know his character best. When he saw Li Shimin With this look on his face, he knew something big was going on.
After more than a month of severe drought in Guanzhong, Li Shimin appointed the left servant Shefang Xuanling as the chief supervisor, Duan Lun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, as the left deputy supervisor, and Dai Zhou, the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as the right deputy supervisor. Various places in Guanzhong directed drought relief.
At the beginning, good results were achieved, but for the next three months, there was still no rain. The drought became more and more serious. Now, memorials submitted by the local authorities have piled up.
Li Shimin frowned and said nothing. Wang De held the memorial in both hands and placed it in front of Changsun Wuji.
Changsun Wuji took the memorial and looked through it. Li Jing and others gathered around him. After reading the contents of the memorial, they all sighed.
"Your Majesty, the Yellow River, Jing River, Wei River, Luo River, Fen River and other dozens of rivers are the main water sources in Guanzhong. Now the water level has dropped by more than half, causing all its tributaries to dry up."
"Millions of acres of land in Guanzhong have been affected by the disaster. If it continues for more than a month, our people in Guanzhong will have nothing to gain!"
Du Ruhui, a peerless counselor with great talent, frowned. piece.
Wei Zheng took a step forward, raised his hands with a serious look and said, "Your Majesty, there are already a large number of refugees in some of the prefectures and counties mentioned in the Prime Minister's Memorial. If they are not controlled, there may be great unrest. Please open the warehouses and release them." Food! "
Li Shimin said nothing and turned to look at Li Jing.
Li Jing instantly understood what Li Shimin meant, bent down and said, "Your Majesty, the attack on the Turks in the north can be postponed. The top priority is still to focus on Anei. I sincerely ask your Majesty to open the warehouse to stock up on food!"
p>
The talented and strategic Li Shimin had already ordered that after the grain harvest was completed in the middle of the year, he would immediately attack the Turks northward, never wanting to be restrained by God.
/p>
"My lord, I obey the order!" Changsun Wuji took a step forward and bowed with both hands.
He is the head of all civil and military officials.He is also Li Shimin's eldest brother-in-law and the leader of the Guanlong Group. It is most appropriate for him to be in charge.
"Declaration!"
"The order is given to open the five major granaries in Luokou, Guangtong, Liyang, Taiyuan, and Hanjia. Sun Wuji, the chief of staff, will coordinate the operations. Those who are corrupt and pervert the law can be executed first and then reported. ! ”
“I ordered the Minister of War, Li Jing, to lead 10,000 Zuo Xiaowei to go north. The autumn harvest is coming, and we must be careful to prevent the Turks from going south to steal grain.”
Changsun Wuji and Li Jing both bowed to receive the order.
"My dear friends, although the granary is large, it cannot sustain hundreds of thousands of people for several months. Do you have any good ideas?"
Du Ruhui thought for a moment and bowed. He said, "Your Majesty, I have three strategies."
"Du Aiqing, tell me quickly." Li Shimin said eagerly, Fang Mou and Du Duan were his right-hand men, and many strategies came from these two people.
"First strategy: Tomorrow morning, His Majesty will take the lead in donating money and food from his private treasury. Ministers will surely follow suit."
"Second strategy: Send people to Huainan Road and Jiangnan East Road, Jiangnan West Road, and Lingnan Road buy grain and allocate some government grain at the same time."
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Li Shimin, Wei Zheng and Li Jing nodded, they obviously recognized these two strategies.
"Three strategies: Let aristocratic families open their granaries and sell grain at a price no higher than double the official price. Violators will be severely punished!"
After Du Ruhui finished talking about the third strategy , Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji were obviously in trouble.
The power of aristocratic families is very powerful. More than 90% of the officials in the imperial court and various states and counties are held by descendants of aristocratic families. Even if he is the king of a country, he does not dare to touch their interests easily.
Changsun Wuji quickly stood up, glanced at Du Ruhui with a meaningful look, then raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Du Pushe's third policy minister disapproved."
< p> Seeing Li Shimin frowning, he continued, "Your Majesty, all the fields have been affected by this drought. The world has just been settled, so it is better to be quiet than to move."Then he gave Li Shimin a reason. He said, "The noble family has many tenants, servants, and nursing homes to support. It's hard to say whether the food is enough to eat. How can there be surplus food to sell?"
"I don't agree with what Mr. Changsun said. !"
Wei Zheng walked out, looked at Changsun Wuji with an unhappy expression, and said with his hands.
"Most of the fields in the Tang Dynasty are in the hands of aristocratic families, and most of them are upper-class and middle-class fields. The prime minister made it very clear in the memorial that the upper-class fields are irrigated by rivers, and only the middle-class fields are irrigated by rivers. The impact on the lower fields is serious!"
Wei Zheng never acted based on people's faces and directly responded to Changsun Wuji.
The two of them considered the problem from different angles, and they kept arguing over this point.
Li Jing is in charge of the Ministry of War and the command of military operations, and rarely works in civil affairs.block speech.
However, the severe drought and food shortage seriously affected the strategic intentions of the army. He also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, if the people are starving due to lack of food, it will definitely shake the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. I sincerely ask your Majesty to Determination!"
When Wei Zuo saw Li Jing and himself standing aside, he also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, how can you be timid when the country is facing a crisis? Please think again!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Du Ruhui echoed.
"Let me think about it." Li Shimin waved his hand, his expression obviously moved.
Changsun Wuji turned his head and looked at Du Ruhui, his eyes turning rapidly.
Du Ruhui is from the Du family in Jingzhao. Many of his family members are officials in various states and counties, and the family does not mainly sell grain.
How could his eldest grandson’s family be the same?
Although his eldest son's family has countless fertile fields and is a major grain producer, his main income comes from the ironware business.
After weighing it in his heart, Changsun Wuji could only give up some benefits. With a serious look on his face, he cupped his hands towards Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, our Changsun family is willing to take the lead in opening a granary to help the people through the crisis." Difficulties."
Li Shimin was very pleased after hearing Changsun Wuji's words, "Changsun Aiqing is really my humerus minister!"
The three of them looked at each other. At one glance, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the three of them have no connection with the aristocratic family, they are the staunchest supporters in the face of national justice.
"Du Aiqing, you are solely responsible for buying grain from the south, and the money will be disbursed from the national treasury."
"I obey the order!" Du Ruhui knew that many ministers in the DPRK went out to fight the disaster, and the court His staff were stretched thin, so he could only arrange for people to do this.
San Ce temporarily relieved his anger, and Li Shimin's mood also recovered.
After several ministers resigned, Li Shimin paced back and forth in the study, and for a long time Li Shimin's voice came from the room.
"Send an order to summon General Youwuwei, envoy Chijie Commander-in-Chief of the three prefectures of Lu, Rong, and Rong, and Luzhou Governor Cheng Yaojin to secretly return to Beijing!"
" Yes!" Wang De, who was guarding the door, responded respectfully and quickly walked out of the Manna Hall.
After everything was arranged, Li Shimin calmly picked up the steaming tea on the table and took a careful sip.