Chapter 598 What Crime Should You Commit?

The refugees soon poured into the vicinity of the capital, because Su Mianyue did not deliberately give orders, the first batch of refugees successfully entered Yan Capital, but the people who wanted to enter the capital later were stopped by the city guards.

Since ancient times, it has been the rule that the flood of refugees into Capital City has no guarantee of what will happen, so the only way is to stop them.

In recent days, the court has been discussing how to deal with this matter.

The appearance of so many victims has already caused panic, if not settled in a timely and safe manner, it will certainly bring more harmful rumors, and even the victims may do something drastic.

The most important thing is that after the disaster, the plague is easy to appear. Many of the victims have died along the way, and even those who are still alive are ill. No one can guarantee that their existence will spread the virus.

However, for three days in a row, the courtiers had yet to come up with an effective solution. For one thing, there were several battles in the Yan Country that were in urgent need of food and grass assistance. For another, the number of victims was too large to be settled in a short period of time even if they wanted to. In addition, there were also victims who were constantly moving towards Yan Capital.

"Silence!" Seeing Su Mianyue frown slightly, Jixiang hurriedly shook the dust and shouted, his sharp voice calming the hall completely.

Only then did the red-faced officials, who had been arguing over the relocation of the victims, remember that they were in Golden Chime Hall. These days, their voices had been louder than a day, and they were as chaotic as the food market, so they almost pointed their noses at each other and scolded each other.

"Your family is really the pillar of the country. Nearly ten thousand people are eating grass and bark outside the city, but you have the strength to argue loudly here. This palace would like to ask, your family has too much food to eat and is full of it?" Su Mianyue's question was a little vulgar, but his anger was obvious.

When all the officials heard this, they quickly knelt down to plead guilty, but Su Mianyue snorted coldly, "The emperor handed over the government to this palace, entrusted the rivers and mountains and the people to all the ministers and families. This is how you repay the trust and heavy trust of the emperor, so that how can the emperor feel at ease when he is fighting outside?"

"I am guilty, I am terrified." The ministers quickly pleaded guilty again.

"Oh, if you want to plead guilty, go to the border personally. If you are afraid of losing your head, go outside the city and ask the people who are waiting to live and fill their stomachs. What are your crimes?" Su Mianyue dropped the teacup beside him, and the officials trembled but did not dare to answer.

Whether they went to the border to plead guilty or ask the people what they should do, they were all sent to their deaths, and no one was going to shoot them.

"In three days' time, do you know how many of the people who were counting on the court to survive were starved to death? Even though Yan Capital is not cold enough for the poor people to endure, you can't come up with a constructive proposal when you argue here. You don't even know the real situation of the victims, or even how many of them are not clear. What is the use of the imperial government to provide for you?" Su Mianyue's voice was a little harsh.

As the head of the hundred officials, the prime minister had to stand up to the wind and say, "The empress will calm down. I think that the current disaster relief needs to be carefully discussed, but the people's food and clothing problem must be solved first. If we delay for a day, we don't know how many people will lose their lives. I also ask the empress to make a decision."

For the past three days, the prime minister had insisted on placing the victims first, so that at least everyone could have a bite to eat and endure, but the people below expressed their views and had not decided on a rescue plan.

Su Mianyue's anger was extinguished a little. She knew what to do. These days, she felt sorry to see many people starved to death, but if not, she couldn't find out who was behind it, so she also signaled the right and Ji Qin not to stand alone.

Ji Qin proposed as a prince, "Grain storage is the foundation of victory in the front line. Although I can't protect my family and country, I am willing to contribute a small part to the national Changping. Chuang-tzu has some grain reserves under my name and is willing to donate thousands of tons of grain to help the people get through the crisis temporarily."

Ji Qin's words caused an uproar, not to mention the value of these ten thousand tons of food, Ji Qin's actions were to force them to take out the food, or else they would be unfaithful to the emperor and love the people.

The minister agreed to donate 8,000 tons of grain."

The two leading figures had already set an example, and the other ministers could not be silenced. Many immediately followed suit.

However, the lower the official rank, the fewer donations. Some of the children of the poor family donated hundreds of kilograms of grain with a blush, but everyone did not laugh at it. They all knew that it was only because their whole family was on a diet to donate.

Su Mianyue was satisfied with the result. Seeing that eunuch qing had already recorded the words of the court officials, he said, "All of you have the intention. This list will be kept in this palace and will be rewarded after the imperial class returns to the court."

"Your ministers share your worries and do not dare to ask for a reward." The right side took the lead, and a group of officials hurriedly bowed.

Su Mianyue smiled but said nothing.

Who would do their best to scrape off these people's skin and not give them any benefits? I'm afraid these people will find a way to make up for it from somewhere else, and the people will suffer.

"The number of the victims is uncertain for the time being. I don't know how long the food donated by your families will last. After the early court, your families ordered people to transport the donated food to the Ministry of Revenue and store the food for relief separately." Su Mianyue's tone lightened a little. He paused for a moment and continued, "In order to ensure that more victims will survive, we will temporarily limit them to three bowls of porridge per person per day. This palace will also donate 100,000 tons of sweet potatoes as food for the disaster."

Sweet potatoes are high-yielding, and 100,000 yuan is not much of a burden, but with sweet potatoes, we can save some rice, so it is not difficult to endure until next autumn harvest.

As for the grain tax paid by the people in other places that were not affected by the disaster, it was of great importance to the border.

"Minister si nong, I have ordered you to assist the Ministry of Revenue and other government offices in this disaster relief matter. I believe that you can do this better if you come from a peasant family. Don't let me down." Su Mianyue called the roll alone to prevent people from getting greedy for food in troubled waters and starving the people. "There are so many victims that there will be an epidemic. The Imperial Hospital will arrange for people to see them. In addition, the court will issue notices in the name of the court to mobilize the doctors and pharmacies in Capital City to assist. The court will reward those who have made it."

After giving these instructions, Su Mianyue gave everyone a two-day deadline to come up with a feasible relief plan, or they would resign and return to the fields.

After the early court, Su Mianyue ordered people to invite Ji Qin and the other party to the study. After giving them seats, he went straight to the topic and asked, "Have you found anything unusual in these three days?"

"Almost all of the victims were women and children. Only a few of them were healthy, but no abnormalities were found for the time being." Ji Qin replied, clearly paying attention to this matter.

The minister on the right frowned and said, "What I have found is the same as the prince, but I always feel that there is something strange. Why are the victims all old and weak, women and children? Even if there is a disaster, most of the people who can survive should be young and strong, and those few of the victims are healthy and don't seem to come out of the disaster area."

"My palace has sent people to investigate. This gathering of the victims in Capital City was not their intention, but was secretly arranged. As for the whereabouts of those young and middle-aged people, there is no way to know for the time being. Those victims have kept their mouths shut about it." Su Mianyue's voice was slightly cold. He looked at the two of them and said, "Recently, Capital City is not peaceful. You are the most trusted subjects of the emperor. This palace is also relying on you. Now it is a very difficult time for the court to be vigilant. If there is a riot or other unexpected situation, it will only affect the stability of the country."