Died In Infancy! My Wife Is Actually A Villain

Chapter 159 Northern Expedition, Huzhou Famine

Seven days later.

Half a million troops and horses gathered at the north gate of Kyoto. Zhao Tai personally led the troops northward, and Emperor Wu and other court officials personally saw him off.

In addition to many generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the twelfth prince Gu Yongyi was also among the troops heading north this time.

"Brother Ninth, don't worry, I will kill all the Mobei barbarians this time and restore peace to our northern territory."

Gu Yongyi was riding a war horse and wearing golden armor. He looked at Gu Chen confidently and said.

Gu Chen said calmly: "Is your mother-in-law okay to let you go?"

Gu Yongyi smiled and said: "Haha, Brother Ninth, you know, I have always wanted to lead the army in war and strengthen the power of the Zhou Dynasty. In the past, I was still young, and my mother and concubine were worried. Now that I am an adult, it is time for her to let me go. .How can I, a high-ranking prince, live in Kyoto forever?"

Gu Chen nodded, "You can go north, but you must listen to General Zhao's arrangements. Don't be blindly arrogant and underestimate the enemy."

In the original plot, Gu Yongyi once led his troops to fight a battle with Mobei, but was beaten to pieces by the Mobei people and completely lost his confidence.

The reason why Gu Chen didn't stop him was because he hoped to temper his temper, but the prerequisite was that he knew he couldn't mess around.

"Brother Ninth, don't worry. General Zhao is a veteran and has more combat experience than me. I won't do anything wrong."

Gu Chen said: "Well, I'm waiting for your good news in Kyoto!"

"Arrived in time, let's set off!"

At this moment, a loud shout rang out, and Zhao Tai immediately bid farewell to Emperor Wu and led the soldiers away.

"Brother Ninth, let's go."

Gu Yongyi laughed and rode his horse to catch up with the team.

Under the city wall, Emperor Wu and all the officials stood at the door, watching the mighty team slowly leave Kyoto City until they disappeared.

This battle will definitely be a fierce battle, and I don’t know how many soldiers will be able to return to the capital by then.

"Let's go back!"

Emperor Wu sighed sadly, turned around and got on the carriage, and the accompanying officials also got on the carriage one after another and returned to the city.

....

Three days later, urgent news came from Huzhou. The local area was in a long-term drought period, and the grain output in the fields had declined severely. The entire Huzhou area suddenly fell into chaos, and countless people were displaced and became refugees.

In the Fengtian Hall, Emperor Wu sat on the dragon chair without saying a word, with his eyes slightly closed and a slightly sad look on his brows.

Only a few days after Zhao Tai led his troops north, Huzhou, the largest food producer, now suffered from another famine. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It can be said that the current Great Zhou Dynasty is completely in a state of internal and external troubles.

In the main hall, all the officials stood quietly, no one dared to disturb them.

Gu Chen is also included.

It's just that he knows better than this group of officials who can only worry.

In fact, the drought in Huzhou is not something that just happened in the past two days. There were signs as early as the beginning of spring. However, the local officials in Huzhou ignored it and kept it secret without reporting it to Beijing. Until now, the drought has completely broken out and grain production has been extremely reduced. The local officials in Huzhou Just started to worry.

The reason why Gu Chen did nothing was that even if he went to Huzhou, he could not stop the famine.

It was impossible for the people to believe his words and stop farming.

Instead of doing this, he might as well wait until the famine breaks out before considering subsequent countermeasures.

——Hoarding food is one of them.

I don't know how long it took before Emperor Wu recovered his thoughts and slowly looked at the officials below, "The general has just led his troops on the Northern Expedition, and the treasury is not rich. Now there is a famine in the Huzhou area, and countless people are displaced and have no food to eat. I hope that all my dear friends can shoulder the heavy responsibility and work together to solve the famine problem in Huzhou."

Although it was not fully explained, Emperor Wu's intention was very clear. The treasury had no money, and he hoped that officials from various families could use the surplus food at home to help the victims of the disaster in Huzhou.

Gu Chen stood up and expressed his position, "Father, I am willing to give four hundred shi of food to help the people of Huzhou."

As soon as these words were said, many officials' expressions changed and they looked at each other.

You know, in the Zhou Dynasty, the annual salary of a first-grade official was only 28 taels of gold, 120 shi of rice, and some other rewards.

The Ninth Prince's four hundred shi of food and the salary of a first-class official for two to three years are worth it.

Although it was not impossible for them to take it out, they were still reluctant to take out so much food for no reason.

Seeing that Gu Chen was the first to express his stance, Emperor Wu smiled happily and immediately asked the eunuch next to him to write it down. Then he looked at the other officials and said, "The Ninth Prince is willing to give 400 shi of food to relieve the people of Huzhou. Where are the other beloved ministers?"

The Duke of Zhen took a step forward, raised his hands and said, "The Duke's office is willing to provide five hundred shi of grain to help the people of Huzhou."

As a veteran of the Great Zhou Dynasty and a powerful official in the imperial court, he naturally could not get less than Prince Zhuang, who had only been crowned king for a few years. Of course, the reason why he took the five hundred shi of food was that he had discussed it with Gu Chen before.

At this time, Xiao Fang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, also came out and said, "The Xiao family is willing to give five hundred shi of food to help the people of Huzhou."

With the three people setting an example, Emperor Wu suddenly lost a lot of the original sadness on his face. He looked at the other officials again, "Except for Lao Jiu, the Duke's Mansion, the Minister of Punishment and his family, why have the other beloved ministers not said a word! I have been silent all these years. I should treat you all a lot as you cultivate yourself!"

He knew very well that most of the officials in the court had committed corruption, but they were just colluding with each other and it was difficult to find any evidence.

But now that Lao Jiu is taking the lead in donating a large amount of food, they must not dare to be shameless.

"Father, I would like to donate three hundred shi of food to help the people of Huzhou." Yun King Gu Che stood up and said.

Seeing Gu Che come out, the fourth Prince of Qi, Gu Jiang, did not want to lose face and said: "Father, I will donate three hundred and five stones of food."

The remaining officials began to come forward one by one to donate food. Some donated two hundred dan, some donated 100 dan, and some donated fifty or sixty dan.

Even though some officials may not have high official positions, and their annual salary is only sixty shi of food, but those who can serve as officials in the central government have connections. If local officials want to come to Beijing to do something, they will naturally be given benefits.

Therefore, looking at the entire official system of Da Zhou, officials with higher official positions received more bribes.

Because the officials below will come to pay homage and even send big heads...

Even Nangong Jue donated five hundred shi of food this time. Although he was a little reluctant, his official position was here and he couldn't be worse than the people below him.

According to statistics from the entire process, a total of more than 4,000 shi of grain were donated, which is more than 400,000 kilograms of grain.

It may seem like a lot, but Huzhou has a large population, estimated to be over 500,000. Excluding some businessmen, local officials, and some families with small assets, more than half of them are ordinary farmers.

One-half, or about 100,000 people, became refugees. The more than 400,000 kilograms of grain cooked into rice porridge would be enough to feed them for at most half a month.

However, Gu Chen also knows that it is probably unrealistic to ask these officials who have enriched their own pockets to provide food again.

After the donation was completed, Emperor Wu looked at the officials with a smile and said, "Thanks to my dear friends, I firmly believe that Huzhou will be able to overcome the difficulties soon."

There is not much food raised, and if the state treasury provides more food, it should be able to alleviate the disaster in the Huzhou area.