Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 247 Natural and man-made disasters
"Pattering..."

In the continuous drizzle, the people of Qiliting Township were called to the drying yard by the soldiers of the government office.

Men from hundreds of families, wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, gathered in the drying yard, but no one dared to complain.

Everyone was looking at the dozen or so armored soldiers holding parachutes on the platform in front of them, led by a sturdy official wearing a light green official robe.

In the distance, a rain-soaked flag read "Qiliting Township, Pengcheng County, Xuzhou".

"The Supreme has issued an order to increase the tax on this year's autumn harvest by 9 cents. I have announced this to all quarters. Is there anyone who does not understand?!"

The officials stood under umbrellas and showed off their power. The people in the rain did not dare to complain.

Seeing this, the official nodded with satisfaction: "When the rain stops, every household will harvest the grain immediately. I will then send troops to collect the tax grain!"

After he finished speaking, he led the soldiers to a nearby carriage and left Qiliting Township.

The people watched the carriage go away until it completely disappeared in the rain, and then they began to complain.

"If we increase the tax by 9 cents, how much more tax grain will we have to pay?"

"do not know……"

"What can we do if we know? They will find a way to make us pay miscellaneous taxes anyway."

"Alas... they have the final say on how much tax to pay and how to pay it..."

For the common people of that era, they rarely mastered arithmetic, so when the court said to increase taxes, they only knew to pay money to avoid disasters, and had no idea how much the increase would be.

Compared with them, several elderly people in Qiliting Township looked at each other, and then gathered in a relatively wealthy courtyard in the township.

"The government said that the tax will be increased by 9 cents. Is this tax considered as rent, or is it considered as both the two taxes and miscellaneous taxes?"

"If all of them are counted, we have to pay at least 200 yuan more per mu of land."

"To sum it up, you and I will have to pay an extra dozen strings of cash..."

"Huainan is in great famine, and we in Henan are not doing well either. Now the imperial court is increasing taxes again. I'm afraid it's not..."

"Paying taxes is easy, but the drizzle has been falling for three days, and the Bian River and Si River have overflowed their channels. If it continues, I'm afraid we won't get a grain of rice."

"We will have assets by then, but how many families in the village and the countryside will have assets?"

"That's right. If they encounter a disaster and can't pay taxes, they will probably become bandits, and we will be the ones in trouble."

Several elders were talking to each other, their brows filled with sorrow.

The taxation system of the Tang Dynasty was relatively complicated, but generally speaking, the burden on the people was relatively light in the early days due to the implementation of the equal-field system, the military service system, and the rent-and-labor system.

However, as land annexation became more and more serious, the military fubing system and the equal-field system began to collapse, and the burden on the people gradually increased.

Not long after, the Anshi Rebellion broke out.

Faced with financial difficulties, the Tang court began to implement the two-tax system, which placed a heavy burden on the people.

As time went by, corrupt officials created various taxes outside the two tax quotas, extorted money, and set up miscellaneous taxes such as "inter-tax" and "removing money".

In order to get promoted, many officials levied heavy taxes on top of the regular taxes. The heavy and exorbitant taxes plunged the hard-working people into a miserable situation where life was worse than death.

Because of this, in places like Qiliting Township, the people had to pay at least 50% of their income to the court, and could only barely survive.

Now the imperial court is increasing taxes again, and God doesn't seem to be giving them food to eat, so several wealthy elders can't help but worry about the current situation.

"If we really can't survive, in order to prevent people from taking risks, we still have to set up some porridge stalls and distribute some food."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

The elders knew clearly that it was okay if the people were poor, but if the people had no food to eat, then they, the rich families, would be in trouble.

After everyone finished discussing, they bowed and went back to their homes.

As they were returning home, the officers and soldiers from Pengcheng who had just left also started chatting in the carriage.

"Wang Yaya, didn't the court say to increase the tax by three cents? How come it has become nine cents?"

In the first carriage, a young and strong soldier questioned the official, and the official called Wang Yaya sneered when he heard it.

"Pang Dalang, you are still too young."

"The imperial court's three-cent tax must definitely be levied."

"It's just that the court is full, so shouldn't we eat too?"

"Even if we don't eat it, won't the generals and state officials eat it?"

"Of this nine cents tax, three cents will be divided among the brothers, and six cents will be given to the Yajiang and the state officials."

"Only when the governors and generals are well fed can they safely hand over the three cents to the court."

Wang Yaya said this, and at the same time said to everyone:
"I managed to snatch this job in Qiliting Township with great difficulty, so please don't let it slip."

"There are more than 400 households in Qiliting Township. We can at least raise more than 800 strings of cash through taxation."

"Seventy percent of the eight hundred strings of cash will be given to the generals and the governors, and the remaining two hundred strings of cash will be divided among the dozen brothers."

"After the specific distribution, each of the brothers can get half a year's salary. This way of earning money is much faster than collecting salary!"

Wang Yaya glanced at the crowd, and everyone nodded. Two older guards spoke up:

"How can we divide it equally?"

"Yes, if Wang Yaya hadn't brought us here, we wouldn't have had this opportunity."

"In my opinion, each of you brothers should just take 10 strings of cash, and Wang Ya Ya will take care of the rest for everyone."

"That's right, that's right..."

There was a constant stream of harmonious music in the carriage, and Wang Yaya was very pleased with it.

In the entire carriage, only Pang Dalang was uneasy, while everyone else was very happy.

Seeing this, Wang Yaya also comforted him: "Pang Dalang, you have just joined the Silver Sword Army, so it is normal that you don't know our rules."

"But after you return to the city, remember not to talk nonsense. If the generals and the governors find out, even if my brothers and I don't punish you, the other soldiers won't tolerate you."

"Okay, I'll remember it, don't worry, yamen runner." Pang Dalang nodded quickly.

Seeing this, Wang Yaya nodded with satisfaction, and then returned to Pengcheng County with a group of guards.

The announcement was completed, but the autumn harvest had to be postponed because the heavy rain had not stopped.

The guards returned to the city to wait, and the farmers in various villages in Xuzhou were also waiting.

"Pattering..."

As autumn deepened, the sky in Xuzhou seemed to have cracked open. The continuous drizzle gradually turned into heavy rain, pouring down like a waterfall, mercilessly hitting the crops in the fields.

Those old farmers who have been working in the fields for their entire lives have helplessness and anxiety on their faces and their hearts are filled with fear of the future.

They squatted at the doorstep, hugged their knees with their hands, stared at the rain with empty eyes, as if looking for a glimmer of hope that the weather would clear up.

The old willow trees in the countryside swayed in the wind and rain, as if mourning the plight of the farmers.

Occasionally, the sound of birds singing penetrates the rain, but it still seems so desolate.

But the heavy rain never stopped, and the water in the river even overflowed the river and rushed into the fields.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

The gong sounded, and all the men, women, and children in the village were called to the fields to try to divert the water to another place.

But the rain was so heavy that they could only watch their crops being swallowed up by the muddy water.

"My food!!"

"Uh-huh-"

The shrill wails echoed through the rain. They could only watch their own way to survival end, but they were unable to stop what was happening before their eyes.

"Buzz..."

Suddenly, an old farmer heard a buzzing sound. He thought it was tinnitus due to his old age, but the next second he heard countless wailing sounds.

"There's a flood! Run away!!"

"There's a flood!"

"Run! Run to Jiuli Mountain!"

"Run..."

The rain was like a curtain, water vapor was rising, and the flood swept along the river courses of Sishui and Bianhe River. Like a roaring beast, carrying the smell of mud and branches, it rushed towards Qiliting Township mercilessly.

That overwhelming force engulfed Qiliting Township in the blink of an eye.

Trees were uprooted like broken branches and fallen leaves, drifting with the current, becoming drifting objects in the raging river.

The houses collapsed one after another like heaps of earth.

Houses, trees and other immovable objects trembled, sank and were eventually swallowed up mercilessly in the flood.

Homes were destroyed in the blink of an eye, but no one cared about it at the moment, as everyone was busy escaping.

Jiuli Mountain, the closest to Qiliting Township, became everyone's target for survival, and everyone rushed to flee to Jiuli Mountain.

Among the fleeing group, the elderly and weak seemed particularly helpless in the face of this wanton disaster.

Many people watched them being swept away by the rolling torrent, and their struggling hands became a symbol of despair.

Cries of panic filled the air in the wind and rain, and the people of Qiliting Township, carrying their elderly and children, fled to Jiuli Mountain in panic.

They moved forward with difficulty in the mud, and everyone's eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.

The water level keeps rising, and every step you take could be your last foothold.

They dared not look back, but only move forward, even if there was an unknown fear ahead. The sounds of rain, wind, and water intertwined together, and everyone's mind went blank, and they only knew to flee to Jiuli Mountain.

As it turned out, it was not only them who were fleeing, but also the villagers around Qiliting Township and even the people of Pengcheng more than ten miles to the east were fleeing to Jiuli Mountain.

When the flood peak passes through, it is extremely difficult to find a place to stay even in a city like Pengcheng.

The flood submerged the entire Pengcheng. Some people fled to Jiuli Mountain, some hid on the roofs of the city, and some ran to the horse path along the city wall.

After the peak of the flood, the water was still five feet high. No one dared to go into the water and could only wait in despair for the flood to recede.

Some people fell into the water due to exhaustion and were swallowed by the flood. Some people watched their friends being carried away by the flood. Some people became idiots and only knew to run to higher places, holding on to the tall treetops and refusing to let go.

A few days later, the flood receded and the ground suddenly rose two feet higher. All the crops and most of the houses were buried in the silt brought by the flood.

Pengcheng and Qiliting Township are just microcosms of this disaster, the scope of which is far beyond the imagination of the victims...

"Dang...dang...dang..."

On August 20th of the twelfth year of Dazhong, when the regular court began, the faces of many officials turned ugly as they heard the urgent news from Shandong, which was eight hundred miles away.

"Joining the class..."

As the Minister of the Ministry of Rites spoke, all the officials came into the room one after another, and Li Chen also walked up to the golden platform of the Xuanzheng Hall with a grim face.

As soon as he took his seat, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites began to sing, and all the officials took their seats.

"Your Majesty, Shandong is in urgent need of help. Henan, Hebei, and Huainan are flooded. The water in Xuzhou and Sizhou is five feet deep, drowning tens of thousands of households and affecting hundreds of thousands of people..."

As the prime minister, Linghu Tao naturally could not remain silent in the face of such a major natural disaster.

He took the initiative to mention this matter, and the timing of this incident made Emperor Li Chen the target of public criticism.

"Your Majesty, this is a warning from heaven. Please abolish the policy of increasing taxes!"

"I second the proposal..."

"Your Majesty, please abolish the tax increase, exempt the three regions from taxes, and provide relief to the people in the three regions!"

"His Majesty……"

As Linghu Tao finished speaking, many officials in the court bowed and made requests, pointing directly at Li Chen's policy of increasing taxes.

Li Chen's face looked normal, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched tightly, and he wished he could kill all the ministers who blamed him for their mistakes.

"absurd!"

A scolding voice was heard in the temple. Li Chen looked over with gratitude, only to see that it was Zhang Yichao who stood up. His face immediately turned dark.

"Whether your majesty raises taxes or not, what does that have to do with the flood?"

"If God has the virtue of loving life, why did he use the survival of hundreds of thousands of people to warn Your Majesty instead of using other methods?"

Li Chen did not expect that it would be Zhang Yichao who supported him at the critical moment.

"Your Majesty, what Situ Zhang said is very true."

Linghu Tao also quickly expressed his opinion, and at the same time glanced at the ministers and said: "Now that the flood has just passed, we should discuss disaster relief rather than who is at fault."

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal to exempt the three affected counties from taxes, allocate another 500,000 dan of grain to provide relief to the victims, and order the governors of all regions to provide relief to the victims!"

Linghu Tao was naturally aware of the situation in the national treasury, but even so, he still indicated that 500,000 shi of grain should be allocated for disaster relief.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers looked at each other and cast contemptuous glances at Linghu Tao.

Five hundred thousand grains of food are just a drop in the bucket for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster.

After all, disaster relief was still pushed onto the shoulders of the military governors and inspectors in various places, with the imperial court merely making a small contribution to gain reputation.

Linghu Tao also knew that his approach was not right, but he didn't care what the ministers thought, as long as the emperor was happy.

"You are right. If that is the case, I will follow your advice and provide disaster relief. Do not let my people suffer any more harm!"

What Li Chen said was very reasonable, and it also meant that Linghu Tao was right again.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers praised the emperor for his wisdom. Li Chen also simply comforted the ministers and then announced the adjournment of the court.

After the court was dismissed, Zhang Yitan and Zhang Yichao walked out side by side. Seeing that the ministers did not join them, Zhang Yitan whispered:
"Erlang, why are you speaking in the palace?"

Zhang Yitan was very curious about why Zhang Yichao was the first to do so. Zhang Yichao shook his head when he heard this.

"If I don't speak, how can I shirk responsibility for the Supreme?"

"For such a disaster, if the ministers blame the Supreme, the Supreme will certainly shirk the responsibility."

"You and I both know exactly who this tax is for."

"Even if the Supreme will not shift the blame to Longyou, the tax increase was caused by him, so Longyou will definitely be blamed."

"Now that the blame has been pushed away, the Supreme will only be busy with disaster relief instead of keeping a close eye on Longyou. Mu Zhi can also take a break a bit."

After Zhang Yichao finished speaking, Zhang Yitan nodded quickly, then walked out of the palace with Zhang Yichao.

As they walked out of the palace, Li Chen, who had returned to the Purple Palace, also announced his intention to cancel the tax increase.

Although Zhang Yichao tried to excuse him, he was superstitious about immortality and still believed in the idea that natural disasters were a warning.

After all, within a few months, three provinces had suffered disasters and four towns were in chaos, so he had no choice but to believe it.

However, the attitudes of various provinces and cities towards his order to provide disaster relief were different.

Many states were already suffering from disasters and could not harvest autumn crops, so there was no money or food for disaster relief.

They were powerless to carry out the imperial court's orders.

There are many vassal towns in Henan Province, and Tianping, Ziqing, Taining, Zhongwu, Zhongyi, Xuanwu, Yicheng and other towns all have their own hungry people to deal with.

Even though the towns on higher ground were not affected by the disaster, they took the opportunity to raise the price of grain and had no intention of helping other towns.

The towns in Hebei other than the three towns of Heshuo had no intention of lending a helping hand. Not only did they not provide disaster relief, they also took the opportunity to capture hungry people and sell them as slaves.

For a time, bandits were rampant in the three directions, and the old and weak were starving everywhere.

A large number of hungry people poured into Hedong, Shannan East, Jiangnan East and other routes, causing food prices to soar in each route, and countless people suffered from hunger.

Xu Shang, the governor of Shannan East Road, ordered the "bandit-catching generals" to drive out the hungry people who fled into Shannan East Road. At the same time, he sent 200 bandit-catching generals to accompany Wei Zhou, the governor of Jiangxi, to Jiangxi to quell the rebellion.

The towns in Henan forced good people into slavery and sold horses to other places on a large scale.

Although Cui Xuan of Huainan Dao opened the government treasury for disaster relief, the money and grain in the treasury was a drop in the bucket compared to the people in need of relief.

Fortunately, he was also the governor of Xuanshe at that time, so he released a large number of hungry people into the south of the Yangtze River and used them as laborers. He led a large army southward to attack Kang Quantai, the rebellious general in Xuanzhou.

While the eastern border was hit hard by the disaster, the situation in the western border was gradually turning from danger to safety, especially Xichuan in Jiannan Road.

"Cough cough cough..."

In the Chengdu government office, Wei Mo continued to cough.

He sat in the main seat, smelling strongly of medicine.

"The east is not peaceful, and Xichuan cannot just ignore it."

Wei Mo looked at the document in his hand, raised his head to look at Yang Fugong and others, and coughed:

"Have the hungry people been settled? Are there enough money and food?"

"Report to the envoy, everything has been settled, there is enough money and food, and the money and food for building the pass has also been raised."

As Yang Fugong responded, Wei Mo nodded and said:

"Since we have raised enough, let's suspend the horse trade with Longyoukou."

After he finished speaking, many officials looked at each other, as if they were secretly sighing that their way of making money had been cut off.

Yang Fugong and Wei Mo also caught a glimpse of their behavior, but did not expose it.

"I plan to send merchants to sell autumn grain to Jianghuai. By then, even if there is no support from Longyou trade, there will be enough money and grain to accumulate."

"As for the matter of the horses stopping at Longyoukou, you, Zi Ke, should send someone to inform Liu Jilong."

Wei Mo arranged another escape route for Jiannan Dao. After hearing this, although everyone still wanted to make money through the oral-horse trade, they never dared to say it openly.

Anyway, Wei Mo is seriously ill and probably can’t take care of them.

As long as they acted carefully, they wouldn't have to worry about Wei Mo finding out.

Thinking of this, all the ministers were calm and composed, except Yang Fugong who was seriously carrying out Wei Mo's orders.

"Now that you know, just go away."

Wei Mo dispersed the crowd, and then kept Yang Fugong while they were leaving.

After everyone had gone far away, Wei Mo coughed and said:

"I am seriously ill and have already requested to take leave. Please ask the court to send another capable official to take over Xichuan's post."

"If you can still stay in Xichuan to supervise the army, you must remind the successor to guard the area strictly and prevent Longyou from gaining more population."

Although Wei Mo made a lot of money from the horse-trade, his original intention was to provide relief to the starving people in Xichuan.

Now the starving people in Xichuan have been resettled. As long as the successor follows the path he and Bai Minzhong take, Xichuan can definitely be considered impregnable.

"Please rest assured, I will not fail in your mission."

This was the second time that Yang Fugong had been entrusted with such a mission. He agreed with a firm look in his eyes. Seeing this, Wei Mo sighed with regret and then signaled him to leave.

After Yang Fugong left, Wei Mo, with the help of his servants, returned to the inner hall to rest.

At the same time, Yang Fugong also sent Wei Mo's decree to all states, stopping the horse trade with Longyoukou...

(End of this chapter)