Zhou Shuren pinched his fingertips. It was a snow disaster. There was heavy snow in the south. He had a premonition that there would be a lot of snow this winter, and now the premonition had come true.
The emperor felt heavy in his heart. He thought this year would be a good year, but it snowed heavily in the south. Urgent memorials were sent to the capital, and places that had not snowed in previous years now snowed.
Your Majesty, "My dear ministers, do you have any good ideas?"
Lord Qi stepped forward, "The court has a perfect strategy for dealing with snow disasters, disaster relief first."
Old Master Liu stepped forward and said, "This is a snowstorm in the south, or a heavy snowfall in states that have never snowed before. How can these states have a strategy to deal with it?"
Another adult stepped forward and said, "Send someone over to give instructions."
Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes in his heart, "Distant water cannot quench nearby thirst."
Don't you see which states are mentioned in the memorial? The temperature has dropped so much that it will be very serious. If the river is blocked, it will take who knows when the capital will be able to send people there.
Rong Chuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there are garrisons stationed in each state. You can mobilize the garrisons to cooperate with the government officers and soldiers to clear the snow and carry out rescue operations."
Zhou Shuren nodded secretly. It was his son-in-law who reacted quickly. He glanced at the person who had just spoken and sneered in his heart. It’s not that they have no other choice, they just don’t want to say it. They all said it in a very conventional way!
Now that the King of Qin had spoken, the old fellows all shut up, as if they were not the ones who had spoken just now.
Zhou Shuren continued, "We also need to organize the people to save themselves. The village will be cleaned up as a whole. They will clear the snow and organize firewood cutting. Finally, we will evaluate the results. The top three will receive rewards such as medicine, cotton, and food."
The prince had already sat down to take notes, expanding his ideas as he wrote them down.
Elder Wen also spoke up at this time, "There are also various merchants who should take advantage of it. According to their contributions, the most they can get is a partial tax reduction next year."
Zhou Shuren did not continue to speak. It can be said that everyone has brains, but they just don't want to be the first to take the credit. If they come up with a good idea, they don't want him to take all the credit.
In Qizhou, Dong stood in the yard, dressed warmly, looking up at the sky. "It has been snowing for seven days now."
The old woman was so cold that she couldn't stand it. "Yeah, what's going on? I heard from the local people in Qizhou that it was very strange to have snow in Qizhou last year, and it's even scarier this year."
The servants in the yard cleared the snow that was almost half a person's height. This, this is not allowing people to survive.
Mrs. Dong and her husband looked through the history of Qizhou. It had snowed in Qizhou in history, but never this heavy, so no one took it seriously last year. This year it became a snow disaster.
Seeing that the old woman's face was blue from the cold, Mrs. Dong turned back to the house and said, "There is cotton sent from the capital in the warehouse. Please ask the housekeeper to come and give you some of the cotton to make a thick cotton-padded jacket."
She was not a mistreat to her servants, and she was touched by the attentiveness of her eldest daughter, so she sent a lot of cotton and leather.
The old woman thanked her and went out happily. The servants also had cotton-padded clothes, but they were not too thick. Now that the temperature had dropped sharply, the cotton-padded clothes were no longer warm.
At the government office, the prefect felt that he was unlucky and had been having bad luck in the past few years. "There is not enough cotton. There is no one on the street. Everyone is staying at home. The officers and soldiers also need thicker cotton clothes. Hey, do you have any ideas?"
Chang Lian had no idea what to do. The heavy snow in Qizhou was too sudden, and he didn't expect it to reach the level of a snowstorm. Not to mention the prefect, he was also exhausted physically and mentally. "The memorial has been sent to the capital urgently. Clear the snow first and prepare herbs for colds. The temperature has dropped sharply, and it's easy to get sick."
The prefect rubbed his frozen face and said, "This is the only way for now."
Chang Lian looked at the yamen runners outside who were stamping their feet in the cold. If even the yamen runners were like this, let alone the poor people, he was more worried about the illness, as the elderly and children were the hardest hit.
Chang Lian also rubbed his face. Ever since he was transferred to Qizhou, he has been donating things. This time he couldn't keep the herbs his daughter sent him, and there was also cotton and so on.
At the Zhou family, Liu Jia's mother, Ma, came to see her daughter. Since her husband left Beijing, Ma seldom went out. If her daughter had not been pregnant, she would not have come.
Zhulan saw the worry on Ma's face and said, "I won't keep you any longer. Go see Liu Jia."
Ma was also not confident, because her daughter only liked spicy food, "I won't bother the old lady."
Zhulan nodded, and after Ma left, she said to Zhao, "There is no backbone in this family. Ma is very careful with her words."
Zhao: "Mother, I am not confident because Liu Jia may be pregnant with a girl."
Zhulan, "Girls and boys are the same here, but your uncle doesn't think so."
"So aristocratic families are not good either. Yu Lu inherited her mother's ability to bear children."
"Yu Shuang has also given birth to two sons. Fortunately, Yu Shuang is in Zhangzhou, and no one knows that Yu Shuang has given birth to a second son. Otherwise, our girl will become famous again."
Zhao said, "Yu Shuang hid away, and was staring at Yu Lu's belly."
The apple in Zhulan's hand no longer tasted sweet. "I am really torn. I hope Yulu can have both a son and a daughter, but I also hope Yulu can have two sons first."
If this baby is also a son, Yu Lu's position in the Wang family will be unshakable. Not to mention the five-year agreement, Yu Lu will have to be provided for in the future, and there will be no mention of taking a concubine.
Zhao sincerely felt that her daughter's marriage was a good one. Her mother-in-law was easy to get along with, and her son-in-law was ambitious and loved her daughter. Her daughter lived a very comfortable life without any pressure at all.
While her niece Yu Lu was staring at her belly, her sister-in-law secretly chanted Buddhist scriptures in the hope that this baby would be a son. Even though Yu Lu didn't say it, she could feel that Yu Lu wanted a son.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back very late. Zhulan asked, "Why did you come back so late?"
As soon as Zhou Shuren came back, the maids in the house would go downstairs. Zhou Shuren lowered his voice and told about the snowstorm, "I was arranging supplies, so I came back a little late."
Zhulan, "There was no snowstorm in the capital. I thought there would be no major disaster this year. It turns out it's in the south."
"I have been paying attention to it and have already guessed it."
"If we don't have enough manpower, we can ask Linzhou, which was not affected by the disaster, to help."
Zhou Shuren, "I have already mentioned it. Alas, each state has its own selfish interests. I don't know how much help I can give."
"Oh, in ancient times, people were too selfish. The noble families in control of each state only cared about their own interests. There was a strict hierarchy, and the lives of the people were worthless in their eyes."
Zhou Shuren patted his wife's hand and said, "Don't be angry, it will get better slowly."
“Only change can make things better.”
Zhou Shuren changed his clothes and said, "The emperor had a nightmare and told me his fortune. The four words stabilizing the country and ensuring its security have made me busier, but my ideas have a deeper and deeper impact on the emperor. Some good policies will be implemented slowly. When I die, I will leave a handwritten letter to the prince."
He believed that things would change slowly, that seeds had to be planted one by one, and sooner or later they would grow into towering trees.
In the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door of Zhou Hou Mansion. Qingxue heard the news. Zhulan got up and saw that the candles in the room were already lit. "What happened?"
Seeing that the Marquis had also gotten up, Qingxue lowered her head and said, "Someone from the Jiang family came to ask for the doctor, saying that Master Jiang Ping has returned."
Zhulan hurried to get out of bed, "Jiang Ping is back? Why do you need a doctor?"