Liu Xie will tell all the allusions about the Yellow River's water turbidity one by one.
The water in the future generations Yellow River is clear, that is because the future generations have managed it well. Where can we have the conditions of the future generations now?
But all the ministers were a little stunned when they heard this.
Although everyone here is a person who has read poetry and books, and they all know all these allusions, what does this have to do with the drought?
Liu Xie then said, "Yellow River is always turbid because of sediment; but the reason why the Yellow River has become clear this year is because the water in the upstream canals and rivers has dried up, and the sediment cannot flow down the river, so it becomes clear."
"Yellow River The rivers upstream are running out of water because there is not enough rain. If there is not enough rain, there will be a severe drought!"
Liu Xie's firm words surprised all the ministers.
Yellow River Clear water, does it really mean that a once-in-a-century drought is about to come?
Lu Su originally thought that Yellow River clear water was auspicious, but after hearing this, he couldn't help but Shock, so he hurriedly said, "If this is true, then we should quickly order Yellow River the granaries along the coast to prepare more grain to cope with the severe drought!"
"You should be careful about this!"
After Lu Su's words fell, Fa Zheng spoke immediately. He looked serious and said to Liu Xie, "Your Majesty, drought prevention is a very important matter. All counties and counties in the country need to be notified as soon as possible. The grain storage in the granary alone will increase by more than 50%! This alone will cost at least millions of dollars!"
"Yellow River Although clear water is rare, it has happened in previous years, but we have never heard of severe drought. Your Majesty Is it possible that we are overly worried?"
Great Han has just been unified now. If we want to prevent drought on a large scale, it will really affect the whole body.
Not to mention the need to consume a lot of money and materials, this is also a heavy burden for State Treasury, especially under the current situation.
Although Land Survey and Measurement can increase State Treasury's tax revenue a lot, the money has not yet been confiscated, and Imperial Court's expenses are also very high.
Agricultural subsidies, pensions for martyrs, construction of public libraries, construction of Public Schools... every item is a big spender, and the consumption is terrible.
The current Great Han is like a big tree that has just experienced wind and rain. It needs a lot of nutrients to repair the damage and maintain growth.
So now Great Han is rich and wealthy.
If you say poor... then you are poor.
Fa Zheng is in charge of the Tax Bureau and knows the current financial situation of Great Han best, so he will stand up and persuade Son of Heaven not to act rashly.
"Your Majesty, are you being too cautious? Yellow River I have never heard of a severe drought if the water is clear." Even Jia Xu also gave advice.
"I don't know why there was no severe drought when the water was clear in previous years, but this time Yellow River the water is clear, we must not ignore it!"
Liu Xie's expression was extremely serious, "I shoulder the weight of Altars of Soil and Grain, and I can never gamble with the lives of the people. I would rather spend this money to keep the people safe!"
According to historical records, the last year of Eastern Han was a period of frequent droughts, and there were droughts for many years before the first year of Zhongping.
From the first to the second year of Xingping after Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, there was a severe drought for two consecutive years, and the fertile fields in Guanzhong were covered with bones for thousands of miles.
Although there have generally been no major natural disasters in the world in recent years, they must not be ignored because of this.
That's why Liu Xie attaches so much importance to the Yellow River's clear water situation this time, because it is too much of a coincidence.
Liu Xie especially remembered that when he was traveling, he saw the miserable situation of the people exchanging their children for food and not being fully clothed. He did not want such things to happen on a large scale again after he ascended the throne.
Drought is the most serious natural disaster that has the greatest impact on society. If we are not prepared, thousands of miles of desolation, corpses strewn in the fields, and food being exchanged are not just talk, it will become a bloody reality!
All the ministers could not help but be moved after hearing this.
Liu Xie told Yuan Xi: "Xianyi, you immediately order someone to go to the Yellow River water source to check the water quantity, and report to me immediately after getting the results!"
"This matter must not be delayed!"
Yuan Xi's heart trembled, and he clasped his fists heavily and said, "I obey the decree!"
Chapter 504 Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River! Drought and rumors!
Weiyang Palace, Zhaoyang Hall.
The issue of the Yellow River's clear water troubled Liu Xie, so after asking Fa Zheng and others to go down to investigate the situation, they came to Zhen Mi's residence for dinner.
At the same time, it is also to relieve the depressed mood.
But looking at the table of sumptuous meals Zhen Mi prepared for him, Liu Xie had no appetite.
"Your Majesty What's wrong with you? Is the food not to your liking?"
"Do you want Imperial Kitchen to do it again?"
Zhen Mi saw that Liu Xie didn't move his chopsticks much, so he asked, with an inquiring look in his beautiful eyes.
Liu Xie gathered his thoughts, shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something and can't eat."
"What are Your Majesty thinking?"
Zhen Mi became more and more curious after hearing this. She rarely saw Liu Xie looking so worried, and she didn't know what big thing had happened.
Liu Xie didn't hide anything from her, and said calmly, "The water in the Yellow River has become clearer this year, most likely because the upper reaches of the river have dried up."
"If this is true, then this year thousands of miles along the Yellow River coast will suffer severe drought, and countless people on both sides of the strait will be affected."
"I'm worried."
Zhen Mi couldn't help but be moved when he heard this. Floods and droughts are a headache for any dynasty.
The people are digging for food in the land. Once irresistible natural disasters such as floods, droughts, etc. occur, the people will easily lose their harvest.
If Imperial Court fails to provide disaster relief, it is inevitable that a large number of people will die and corpses will be scattered everywhere, which will shake the country.
Among all disasters, drought is the worst. After a drought, the ground is covered with red fields, which means that the people will have no harvest throughout the year. This puts great pressure on Imperial Court and can easily lead to unrest.
In addition, there are many people living along the coast of the Yellow River. Once something goes wrong with the Yellow River, the impact will be huge. No wonder Liu Xie is so worried.
Zhen Mi continued to ask, "Does Your Majesty have any countermeasures?"
Liu Xie nodded slightly and said, "I have ordered people to go to the source of the Yellow River and make preparations for disaster preparedness."
"I hope it's just that I'm over-worrying."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi reached out and held Liu Xie's hand, comforting him. "Your Majesty don't worry too much, it will be fine."
Liu Xie smiled and said nothing, but the worries in his heart did not diminish even a little because of Zhen Mi's words.
He has indeed ordered food adjustments to prepare for disasters, but if a severe drought does occur this year, the number of people affected will be huge.
It was a big test for Imperial Court, who had just experienced the war.
"Well, there's no point worrying now. I hope the results of the investigation can be presented soon. It's best if I guess wrong."
Liu Xie thought to himself, then put all these worries aside, turned his gaze to Zhen Mi, and asked, "My beloved concubine, your birthday will be in a few days, right?"
Zhen Mi blinked and said, "I didn't expect Your Majesty to still remember it. I thought Your Majesty had forgotten it."
She originally wanted to mention her birthday to Liu Xie today. She wanted Liu Xie to take a day to accompany her to Suburbs for an outing and leave the child to Lü Lingqi.
She just heard about the drought, so she didn't mention it again, not wanting to distract Liu Xie about it.
"How could I forget?"
Liu Xie smiled, then took out a roll of paper from his sleeve, handed it to Zhen Mi and said, "I have prepared all the gifts for my beloved concubine."
Seeing that Liu Xie had prepared a gift, Zhen Mi was very surprised and reached out to take the gift.
When I opened it, I saw that it was actually a painting, which was painted using the Sketching method. The painting work was extremely fine.
As for the person in the painting, who could it be if it weren't her?
In addition to this painting, there is also a piece of paper.
Submit a letter of "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River" in three big characters.
"In the fifth year of Jian'an, I returned to the west to Chang'an, passing by the Luo River. The ancients said that the god of water was named Mi Fei. I felt that Song Yu had something to do with the goddess King of Chu, so I wrote this poem..."
"... its shape is as graceful as a startling giant, as graceful as a swimming dragon. It glows with autumn chrysanthemums and luxuriant spring pine trees. It seems like the moon covered by light clouds, and flutters like snow in the flowing wind. Looking from a distance, it is as bright as the sun rising in the morning glow; looking closely, it is as bright as a flower rising from Lubo..."
"... So Luo Spirit felt so nervous, leaning back and hesitating, the divine light separated and combined, flickering from yin to yang. The body is light and stands like a crane, as if it is about to fly but has not yet soared. The pepper is painted thick and strong, and the steps are thin and fragrant..."
The entire article "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River" is full of nearly a thousand words, and the rhetoric is extremely gorgeous. The whole article is full of words of praise for the beauty of the Goddess of the Luo River.
Zhen Mi was deeply attracted after just reading a few paragraphs, especially when she read the paragraph "It seems as if the moon is covered by light clouds, and the snow flutters like the flowing wind." She even blushed and her heartbeat accelerated involuntarily.
"Your Majesty, is this poem... about concubines?"
Zhen Mi looked at Liu Xie with expectant and shy eyes, and asked uncertainly.
Nothing else, just because this poem is so beautiful.
She is also a woman who has read a lot of poems and books, but among all the poems she has read so far, none can compare with this "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River"!
This poem was so mesmerizing to read that even though the word "Mi Fei" was written at the beginning, she was not sure that it was written to her by Liu Xie.
"If it's not written to my beloved concubine, then who is it written to?"
Liu Xie asked back, and at the same time looked at Zhen Mi affectionately, and said, "In the whole world, only the beauty of my beloved concubine deserves the title of 'Goddess of the Luo River'."
Hearing Liu Xie's straightforward and bold words, Zhen Mi's pretty face immediately turned red, her beautiful eyes were full of autumn waves, she raised her head and looked at Liu Xie, and softly spat. "Your Majesty is really embarrassing my concubine, my concubine... how can I deserve such a title."
"If word spreads, people in the world may laugh at my concubine, and even women in future generations will laugh at me."
The talent of this poem is so high that once it is passed down to the world, it will become famous all over the world and be passed down through the ages.
By then everyone in the world will know that this is a gift written by Son of Heaven to her.
So how could she not feel shy?
When Liu Xie heard this, he pretended to be. "If my beloved concubine doesn't like it, then give it back to me. I will give it to Empress later."
As he said this, he reached out and took back both the painting and the poem.
"I-I didn't say no!"
Zhen Mi suddenly became anxious and even changed his name to himself.
She quickly put away the paintings and gifts, then glared at Liu Xie and said angrily, "I gave them to my concubine, how can I give them to Empress again? Your Majesty wants one cake and two paintings."
"But you really can't treat one favorably. When Your Majesty goes back, it's better to write a song for Empress. Otherwise, if the news gets out, people in the world will think that Your Majesty is neglecting Empress."
Liu Xie couldn't help laughing after hearing this.
When Lü Lingqi celebrates his birthday, he will naturally prepare gifts. What he just said was just to tease Zhen Mi.
Zhen Mi put away the paintings and poems with great care, and her heart was filled with happiness, because in her opinion, Liu Xie, this gift was better than any treasure!
"Your Majesty It's better to eat quickly. The food is almost cold, so you should celebrate my birthday with me in advance."