Fu Shanhe

Chapter 471 Unexpected Disaster
"Matters of national importance are not child's play!"

"Let's not beat around the bush, the imperial court needs two million shi of grain for emergency relief."

Half will be used to stabilize grain prices in Beijing, and the other half will be used for disaster relief. Mr. Li, name your price!

Lu Lingfeng said, barely suppressing his anger.

If moral pressure is ineffective, then money becomes the only option.

Using refugees as leverage? Forget about it!
If we don't get rid of these ancestors soon, who will take care of them?

In several northern provinces, famine is rampant.

Without the Annam Protectorate accepting refugees, even ten million shi of relief grain wouldn't be enough to feed them, let alone one million shi.

Even if they manage to weather the current crisis, the refugee crisis will erupt again if they encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities later.

Essentially, the dilemma facing Dayu is a shortage of land and a large overpopulation.

When feudal dynasties throughout history reached this point, they had all reached the end of their lifespan.

The greatest significance of the Annam Protectorate to the Great Yu Dynasty was not its military prowess in expanding territory, but rather its ability to fundamentally prolong the life of this ancient empire.

Without this reservoir, given the government's recent erratic practices, the country would have been engulfed in war long ago.

The high-ranking officials in the court were not fools; it was precisely because they saw this that they tacitly approved Li Mu's expansion in the south.

Even knowing that a large influx of immigrants would allow the Annam Protectorate to grow too powerful and easily lead to regional separatism, they could only resort to short-sighted measures.

The subsequent problems are the next official's problem.

"Your Excellency, you are a step too late. If it had been earlier..."

If you had come a few days earlier, I could have managed to raise one million shi (a unit of dry measure) for you.

At a time like this, we can only spare five or six hundred thousand shi at most.

Li Hesong spread his hands and said.

Annam Protectorate itself was not short of food, but it could not withstand the large number of immigrants.

In previous years, the country received millions of immigrants annually.

In years of great disaster, even more people will be forced to migrate to the Protectorate General's Office, so it is essential to reserve sufficient food supplies.

In order to raise grain for the northern provinces, Li Mu set his sights on the countries of Southeast Asia.

On the one hand, they purchased grain from Southeast Asia through commercial means, and on the other hand, they plundered the newly occupied territories.

However, these actions all take time.

In the short term, the amount of grain transported to the north will remain limited.

The specially approved one million shi (a unit of dry measure) was sold out in less than two days.

This was before the news spread; only a few well-informed people knew that a batch of grain had been transported to Tianjin.

"If there isn't enough grain, we'll make up for it with chaff."

As far as I know, this fleet also brought a large amount of chaff with them.

I won't take advantage of you; I'll buy it all at nine qian of silver per shi!

Lü Lingfeng responded immediately.

Grain prices in Beijing have already skyrocketed.

A single bushel of top-quality rice costs more than ten taels of silver.

Even coarse grains were selling for six or seven ounces per shi (a unit of dry measure).

Many honest middle and lower-level officials are now facing a survival crisis.

In the past, when the Ministry of Revenue distributed salaries, the rice rations were paid in cash.

The price of grain is too high now, and officials are protesting, demanding that their salaries be paid in rice in kind.

As the Minister of Revenue, he has been besieged by officials in the capital several times, and now he has to be very careful when he goes out.

What was once ignored has now appeared openly in grain stores and become a staple food for the people of the capital.

Families with the means can supplement their diet with some whole grains, while those without can eat bran directly.

"Eating chaff and wild vegetables" is a true reflection of everyone's life.

The disaster victims outside were in an even worse situation. The porridge provided by the imperial court was just a mess of mush, and the supply had to be limited.

The grass roots and tree bark in the suburbs have all been eaten by everyone.

While natural disasters certainly played a part, the greater cause was human error.

It is true that there is a shortage of grain in the capital, but that does not mean that wealthy and powerful families do not have any reserves.

The main items damaged by the flood were the grain stored in cellars.

Grain warehouses built on the ground are exposed to the spring sun, so waterproofing is essential.

If everyone is willing to contribute their stored goods, it won't be difficult to get through this food shortage.

Unfortunately, this is something I can only dream about.

Apart from a few wealthy and influential families who symbolically donated some food for disaster relief, most others are feigning inaction.

The fact that bran could become a staple food was thanks to the immigration policy of the Annam Protectorate.

When the fleet headed north, it couldn't travel empty-handed; it always had to carry some cargo.

Ordinary goods don't sell well in the north, and the selection of bulk commodities is very limited.

In the beginning, everyone brought charcoal to sell.

Later, as food shortages occurred in the north, some people discovered a business opportunity in chaff.

The Protectorate only prohibited the export of grain, but did not prohibit the sale of "chaff".

After this precedent was set, not only did the private merchant ships that were requisitioned begin to carry it, but even the official ships followed suit.

Not only chaff, but also other seafood not subject to the ban, were still being transported over and sold.

Unfortunately, people in the north lack oil in their diet, and their stomachs cannot tolerate the fishy smell of seafood, so seafood simply cannot be sold.

"Your Excellency, since you're so agreeable, there's naturally no problem."

"The price for bran and chaff will be as you said, and we won't differentiate between coarse grains; we'll offer a flat wholesale price of five taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure)."

Li Hesong said, feigning nonchalance.

It's clearly more comfortable to negotiate prices with officials than with businessmen.

Perhaps because money comes too easily, these people are usually not very sensitive to monetary figures.

In commodity trading, the quoted prices are surprisingly close to the retail prices on the market.

Even a moment's hesitation is a sign of disrespect for money.

Both sides tacitly avoided discussing refined grains, as those things are unwelcome and a source of disaster.

Wealthy families and gentry have stockpiles of goods and don't need to spend high prices to purchase them, while ordinary people can't afford them.

The purchase of a batch of coarse grains was all for distributing stipends to lower- and middle-ranking officials.

Under no circumstances should an official be allowed to starve to death, otherwise his reputation as Minister of Revenue would be completely ruined.

As for not purchasing fine grains, it was simply because the prices were too high; the Ministry of Revenue's money didn't fall from the sky.

"Ok!"

When can the goods be delivered?

Lu Lingfeng asked with concern.

With the deal done, his mood instantly improved.

He simply ignored the price issue.

It seemed that all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were spending heavily, but in reality, it was all just for show.

Ultimately, the imperial court had to foot the bill.

They could simply embellish the accounts later, shifting the disaster relief expenses to the officials' salary expenditures to cover the costs.

If the deficit isn't fully offset, it can be amortized into other expenses.

"Your Excellency, the grain is being transported to the capital, escorted by troops along the way."

When it will arrive depends on your sincerity!

Li Hesong immediately hinted at it.

Transporting large quantities of food during disasters is inherently a high-risk activity.

Without sufficient resources, it's impossible to engage in grain trading.

Military escort serves both as a guarantee of credibility and as a display of strength.

"Mr. Li, rest assured, those people who impersonated envoys of vassal states and tarnished the Marquis's reputation will not appear again."

Lü Lingfeng immediately agreed. The fact that the case filed by the envoy from the vassal state was brought to the imperial court was largely due to the efforts of the Qingliu Party.

As political enemies, it is perfectly justifiable to use various means to suppress political opponents within the rules.

However, the timing of the attack was wrong; just as the matter was exposed, a major flood occurred.

Given this turn of events, supporting the restoration of these vassal states would have become inappropriate.

If the Annam Protectorate does not conquer cities and territories, where will it find land to settle refugees?
As the situation changed, those vassal state delegations that had once served as pawns naturally lost their value.

In an instant, Lü Lingfeng made a decision: he would go back and hand over these useless pawns to the Shuntian Prefecture for punishment.

The joint investigation by the three departments can now be concluded ahead of schedule.

Once people are in jail, the authorities have plenty of ways to get them to confess.

Once the case is substantiated, it can be handled directly according to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Everything was compliant and legal, and when doing favors for the Marquis's family, no political risks were left behind.

The political system of the Great Yu Dynasty was relatively mature.

The higher the rank of an official, the more attention they pay to rules and regulations when handling these matters.

Those who are truly audacious and reckless, and who enjoy ruthlessly manipulating power, are actually the lower and middle-level officials with limited understanding.

……

The Tatar royal court.

"Great Chanyu, those Shanxi merchants have really gone too far."

Not only did they fail to deliver the goods on time, they also temporarily raised the price of subsequent transactions.

Based on the newly given prices, the budget for the supplies needed by the royal court has tripled.

Such an exorbitant price is simply unaffordable for our tribesmen!

Sarina said indignantly.

The wealth of the Tatars didn't fall from the sky; they had to seize it with swords and spears.

The last invasion of the south seemed like a great victory, but in reality, there were also hardships involved.

The precious wealth they gained at a heavy price was ultimately taken back by a group of merchants.

"Are those Shanxi merchants so reckless?"

Hugjil asked coldly.

Before the last major campaign, the Dayu government was preparing to purge the Shanxi merchant group.

If they hadn't intervened in time to thwart the plans of the noble faction, the Shanxi merchants would have been wiped out long ago.

After the war, Shanxi merchants became increasingly dependent on the Tatars, and their interests became completely intertwined.

The Shanxi merchant group became too powerful to be controlled because it had the Tatars providing support from afar.

Without their support, the strength of the Shanxi merchants alone could at most cause some temporary pain for the Great Yu.

"Great Chanyu, what Sarina said is biased."

The area of ​​Dayu suffered a once-in-a-century flood, which severely damaged roads and transportation, and caused prices to soar in the northern region.

It is said that in the capital of Da Yu, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice could sell for more than ten taels of silver, several times more than before.

Delayed delivery of supplies is normal.

The price increase is also due to the increase in procurement costs.

Erd began to explain.

Having been in charge of intelligence work for many years, he was more familiar with the changes in the Great Yu Dynasty than anyone else.

At this point in time, it is already extremely difficult to transport the supplies out of Dayu.

To discuss the price further would be utterly dishonest.

After all the tidying up, the money spent wouldn't be much cheaper than the supplies themselves.

The border troops were wiped out, and the Shanxi merchants' connections within the army also vanished.

The newly appointed general had no connection with the Shanxi merchants, and even harbored hostility towards them to some extent.

If you want others to cooperate, you have to spend money.

Even the sons of noble families are human; if the benefits are enough, they can be dragged down just as easily.

The difference is that these people have seen the world, and the cost of bribing them is far higher than that of bribing ordinary border generals.

"No matter how much the cost increases, it can't rise this drastically."

If they continue to squander money like this, the clan's wealth will be completely depleted in no time!

Sarina said with a displeased expression.

Only after taking charge of the household did I realize how expensive daily necessities are.

Although the Tatars were also engaged in production, the limited resources they produced were simply insufficient to sustain this high-intensity war machine.

Not only strategic materials, but also heavy reliance on Dayu.

Even daily necessities need to be supplied by Dayu.

The corruption of Yu Dynasty officials not only drained their own resources but also increased the cost of smuggling goods by Shanxi merchants.

Every transaction required first feeding the officials along the way.

If any step in the process goes wrong, the transaction will fail.

"If you run out of money, just rob someone else!"
We're all brothers; there's no need to argue over such a small amount of money.

Nichileg Wanhu, who was standing to the side, chuckled and tried to mediate.

For a people accustomed to plunder, wealth comes too easily, which to some extent influences their concept of money.

These high-ranking generals, in particular, made a fortune every time they went out to plunder.

On a regular basis, income is high and expenses are low.

Each of them has a very large family fortune, which leads to a continuous decrease in their sensitivity to money.

“Nichileg Wanhu, things are not that simple.”

After our several raids, many wealthy families in Yu chose to migrate south.

Those who remained were also on high alert.

At the slightest sign of trouble, these people are quicker to flee than anyone else.

Even after looting so many places last time, the profits still couldn't match what we gained before.

If nothing unexpected happens, we can raid a few more times and the neighboring state capitals will be completely drained.

If you want to achieve even greater success, you'll have to go further south.

Yu's army still has capable troops, but going too deep behind enemy lines is simply too risky.

Sarina shook her head and said.

If there are an unlimited supply of leeks (victims of infertility), then they can just wait to be harvested, and he won't care so much about rising prices.

The problem is that as the number of raids to the south increases, the subsequent profits will continue to shrink.

If the problems of shrinking income and rising prices are not addressed, the Tatar Kingdom will soon face a financial crisis.

In addition to internal difficulties, there are also external troubles.

The grassland alliance was united by military intimidation and shared interests.

If they fail to obtain the desired wealth by heading south, those Guifang people will not risk their lives for them for nothing.

What appears to be an ordinary price increase has actually become a matter of the rise and fall of a kingdom.

"If we can't bring prices down, then we need to find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure."

The south needs time to recover, so let's find another place to raid.

"Have the tribes prepare; we will launch another campaign against Goguryeo in the autumn, and first subdue this vassal state of Dayu!"

Hugjil made a decision on the spot.

If a problem cannot be solved internally, then seek a solution externally.

Compared to the wealthy Dayu, Goguryeo was naturally no match.

Compared to its neighbors, Goguryeo was relatively wealthy.

Goguryeo was able to provide them with most of the strategic and daily necessities they needed.

For the sake of the Tatar Kingdom, the people of Goguryeo must suffer first.

……

(End of this chapter)