The Qingzhou snow disaster has actually been going on for some time.
There is heavy snow in the north, and every year there are houses and huts collapsed by the snow.
Every autumn, the local prefect and county magistrate would organize the people to reinforce their houses, which was enough to deal with ordinary snow disasters.
However, the snow this year is particularly heavy.
The prefect saw that the refugees were homeless, so he provided disaster relief while asking the court for relief grain and funds.
In fact, just like what happened to Lu Yunzheng’s father, the relief grain and money were divided up before they even arrived at the destination.
The refugees in the north are quite tough and will revolt at the slightest disagreement.
First, they smashed the county government office. After the local county magistrate fled with his family, they began to ask for food from the state government.
The local guards also began to suppress the rebellion, but as more and more refugees revolted, and those guards, who usually only cared about eating and drinking and not much about training soldiers, were soon beaten to pieces by the refugees.
By the time the prefect traveled 800 miles to urgently request support from the court, it was already impossible to conceal it.
The disaster relief grain funds are under the management of the Ministry of War, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Revenue.
In the past, these two were the prince's men, and they cooperated well. However, when they arrived at the local place, the prince really couldn't control how they embezzled money.
But now the Ministry of War is under the control of the Third Prince, and the Ministry of Revenue is under the control of the Crown Prince, and the two sides began to argue.
In the end, the transportation of relief grain was delayed, and when it reached the disaster-stricken areas, it was embezzled.
It can be said that from top to bottom, no one is willing to consider the people.
Lu Yunzheng had also heard about the situation in the court a long time ago, and he complained to Liu Qiaoer while drinking tea.
Liu Qiaoer listened quietly. She had heard of many such things from ancient times to the present.
"Which of those who enter the government and become officials cares about the common people? They all want to bring honor to their family and make a fortune."
"As a parent official, he doesn't serve the people, but only wants to get promoted and make money. The foundation of his court is not right, so how can others be any better?"
The imperial court of the Great Zhou was completely rotten, and the emperor spent all his time pursuing immortality and refining elixirs to seek immortality.
The Crown Prince feared every day that he would lose his position as Crown Prince, and the Third Prince was also eyeing him covetously.
It seems that the emperor used the technique of checks and balances to balance power, but the officials who were truly willing to work for the people were marginalized because they were unwilling to form cliques for personal gain.
Liu Qiaoer couldn't help but sigh: "There are not many officials who really care about the people. The smart ones are busy protecting themselves, and those like your father who are wholeheartedly serving the people have been demoted."
Lu Yunzheng clenched his fists tightly: "At this point, we must do something, otherwise, when the weather is freezing and the capital is in chaos, the common people will suffer."
When a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer.
Liu Qiaoer also nodded in agreement: "You can ask your peers to raise funds, and I can donate grain. I will ask Prince Yi when I go back. Princess Mingxin will probably agree to the donation."
In Prince Yi's Mansion, Liu Qiaoer discussed with Zhao Ziyu.
Zhao Ziyu was a little surprised: "Fundraising? What does that mean? Asking court officials and wealthy merchants in the capital to donate? These people value silver more than money. Will they be willing?"
Liu Qiaoer nodded: "Others may not know, but I agree anyway. However, those merchants and officials need the court to give them some benefits before they are willing to donate."
Zhao Ziyu asked again: "What's the benefit?"
Liu Qiaoer thought about ways to raise funds in modern times, and said, "For example, give merchants tax exemptions, or give them characters such as "The No. 1 Village in the World", "The No. 1 Good Man in the World", etc. Merchants seek fame, and as their business gets better and better, they will naturally be willing to raise funds."
"As for those court officials..."
Zhao Ziyu was such a smart person that he immediately understood and said, "Giving a name... In addition to promotion, officials can also be given a name. This is a good idea."
Zhao Ziyu immediately went to the palace and talked to the emperor about the fundraising method.
At the same time, Liu Qiaoer wrote a letter to Princess Mingxin, asking her to go to the Queen Mother and use this method.
There was no need for Liu Qiaoer to go into too much detail about Princess Mingxin. After all, living in modern times, it seemed to be common practice for all sides to come to the aid of one side in trouble.
Although Princess Mingxin did not experience a major earthquake when she traveled through time, she had experienced a flood, and even students who were in school at the time donated three or five dollars.
As soon as Princess Mingxin saw the news about Liu Qiaoer, she knew what to do.
Yes, as a time-traveling woman, I always have to leave something for this era.
She had no skills in smelting iron or refining salt, nor could she make glass or cannons, but she was able to raise funds for disaster relief.
Moreover, as a princess raised by the Empress Dowager, proposing such a solution could also save some silver and grain for the Emperor's treasury.
Moreover, as the daughter of General Zhenbei, she really didn't want her elderly father to go back to the battlefield and kill the people of the Great Zhou.
Sure enough, the Queen Mother was very happy when she heard Princess Mingxin's proposal.
"Okay, I'll leave this to you. No matter how much money you raise, I will reward you."
So Princess Mingxin raised funds from the noble ladies in the capital, and Zhao Ziyu raised funds from the court and businessmen.
Liu Qiaoer was right, the merchants were all after profit, and although the donated money was not small, once there was the emperor's inscription, it was equivalent to being recognized by the royal family, and not only would the price go up, but the prices of branches in various places would also rise accordingly.
On behalf of Zhao Ziyu, Liu Qiaoer donated 5,000 shi of grain and 1,000 taels of gold.
She also asked Gu Mubai to donate 100 dan of grain and 1,000 taels of silver on behalf of their Rouge Shop.
Zui Le Fang also donated one thousand taels, and Qi Xi Opera Troupe also donated three hundred taels.
Lu Yunzheng's father didn't have much money, but fortunately Fengxin County had a hundred acres of fertile land, and he also donated one hundred stone of grain.
Seeing this momentum, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince decided not to let the other side take the lead, so they also donated a lot.
By the day before New Year's Eve, the court had collected more than 100,000 dan of grain and more than 100,000 taels of silver in donations, which was several times more than what was allocated from the court treasury.
The number was so large that even the emperor himself was a little surprised.
"It seems that I am the poorest person in the entire capital..."
Zhao Ziyu handed the donation amount and list to the emperor, who sighed after reading them.
The next step was to find someone to deliver the relief money to the refugees, and also to capture those unruly people who had rebelled.
The emperor looked at the crown prince, then at the third prince.
He knew that the two were fighting to the death, but when it came to really doing things for the common people, he raised his eyes and glanced at his youngest brother.
He sighed and said, "Ninth brother, since this matter is your idea, you should go to provide disaster relief. I heard that you have been recovering for a long time. You are still young and you can help your brother with some trivial matters."
The emperor's decision was exactly what Zhao Ziyu meant. Disaster relief was a time to make achievements and leave a good reputation for the people.
As a member of the royal family, what he cared about was not money and food, but reputation.
Looking at the entire court, Zhao Ziyu was the one who was least interested in money. Moreover, he was young and not in good health. It was most appropriate for the emperor to entrust this difficult task to him.
Zhao Ziyu immediately accepted the order and led 10,000 troops from the imperial court to provide disaster relief before the New Year even started.
As soon as Zhao Ziyu left, Princess Mingxin spent the New Year with her father again, and it was impossible for Lu Yunzheng to abandon Mrs. Lu during the New Year.
This New Year was probably the loneliest year for Liu Qiaoer.