HCB Chapter 227: Drought and flood disasters.
Chapter 227: Drought and flood disasters.
After half a month of treatment, Shusun Bao's pneumonia was cured.
That afternoon, Zixuan came to the People's Hospital to visit him. Shusun Bao held Zixuan's hand and burst into tears:
"City Lord Zixuan saved my life and is like a reborn parent to me. Please accept my respects!"
Zixuan hurriedly supported him with his hand: "Don't be so polite, my Lord. Saving you is just a piece of cake."
"Your illness is not completely cured yet. You will need an operation in a few days. After the operation, you will be fully recovered."
"Very good! I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. I will obey your orders!"
A month later, the tumor in Shusun Bao's stomach was removed and he fully recovered.
Zixuan rented him a three-bedroom apartment and sent two domestic workers to take care of his daily life.
From then on, Shusun Bao settled down in Fugui City and lived until he was ninety-eight years old.
Two years later, God started to cause trouble. There were severe floods in the south and drought in the northwest.
Immediately, refugees from various vassal states began to starve everywhere, and those who were still alive traveled thousands of miles to escape the famine to Fugui City.
The kings of various vassal states also sent envoys to rush to Fugui City day and night to ask Zixuan for help.
After Zixuan received reports from agents in various places, he immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss the matter.
She sat on the dragon throne and glanced at the ministers: "My dear ministers!"
"Natural disasters are hitting various vassal states. I wonder if my Fugui City has been affected?"
The Minister of Agriculture, Shi Qisi, came out and said, "Your Majesty, our Fugui City has naturally been affected as well."
"Reports are coming in from all over the country that there has been no rain for nearly a month, even though there are major rivers."
"But due to the drought and lack of rain, the water level has dropped, and many crops have not been irrigated in time and have dried up and died."
"I have already arranged for people to dig wells for irrigation, and try to minimize the losses."
Zixuan nodded. Natural disasters and man-made disasters are inevitable in any country.
Fortunately, I have space. Over the years, the food in the space warehouse has become so abundant that I can't see the end of it.
She waved her hand and said, "It's okay. The grain reserves in our granary haven't been touched."
"Tomorrow, check to see which areas are most severely affected and allocate funds accordingly!"
Before he finished speaking, a eunuch ran in from outside the palace and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy from the State of Jin wishes to see you!"
Announce! Upon hearing the summons, the envoy immediately entered the hall, bowed deeply, and said, "Foreign minister Liu Shui of Jin pays his respects to the king!"
"Please stand up, and what brings you here, Envoy Liu?"
"Your Majesty! I, the minister, am here on the orders of my own King Jin to ask Your Majesty Zixuan for help!"
He then raised a bamboo slip above his head and said, "This is a letter from my king asking for help. Please read it, King Zixuan."
The eunuch took the bamboo slips and presented them to Zixuan. Zixuan opened them and saw that they were written by Duke Ping of Jin.
The main content is to ask Zixuan to donate generously and lend a helping hand to save his people...
After reading the letter, Zixuan nodded and said, "Envoy Liu, how much food do the people of Jin need to survive the famine?"
"Your Majesty, our ministers have calculated that in order to survive the famine, we need at least 50 million kilograms of grain!"
What? The ministers were furious when they heard this: "Fifty million kilograms of grain? That's a ridiculous amount! Why don't you just go and rob it..."
Zixuan waved his hand to signal everyone to stop arguing, and the ministers immediately shut up.
The envoy smiled wryly, bowed to Zixuan and said, "King Zixuan!"
"My King Jin said that because the amount of grain is too large, our country cannot afford to buy it."
"Can we still pay in installments like before?"
Zixuan shook his head: "No!"
Huh? The envoy was stunned, and hurriedly threw up his clothes and knelt on the ground:
"Please, King Zixuan, have mercy on us and save those suffering people!"
Dong, dong, dong! After saying that, he kowtowed to Zixuan several times.
Zixuan touched his forehead and felt a little numb.
She smiled and raised her hand: "Please stand up, my lord. That is not what I meant."
"You go back first! I don't want a penny for the 50 million kilograms of food. It's a free donation!"
"Then I sent people to deliver food and other supplies to the State of Jin!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this cannot be done!
"My Fugui City is also suffering from drought right now. Are you giving away 50 million kilograms of grain for free?"
"What will the people of Fugui City eat in the future? Your Majesty, please think twice before acting..."
At this moment, the eunuch outside the door announced again: "Your Majesty, the envoy from Chu State requests an audience!"
Announce! Following the eunuch's shrill voice, the Chu envoy hurried into the hall: "Chu envoy Quan Bing pays homage to King Zixuan!"
"Please stand up without any formalities. What brings all the ambassadors to Fugui City?"
Your Majesty! The State of Chu is suffering from severe flooding. I, the ministers, are hereby ordered by the King of Chu to ask Your Majesty Zixuan to come to our aid!"
After that, he presented the letter from the King of Chu. Zixuan opened it and saw that the meaning was similar to that written by the King of Jin.
She closed the bamboo slips and asked the envoy, "Ambassador Quan Bing, how many items does Chu need to survive the floods so that the people can survive?"
"Your Majesty Zixuan, I have roughly calculated that you will need 30 million kilograms of food and 3 million items of daily necessities such as tents and clothing."
Before Quan Bing finished speaking, the eunuch came back with another report: "Your Majesty, envoys from Wu, Qin, and Yan request an audience!"
Announce! As the eunuch's duck-like voice sounded, the envoys from the three kingdoms walked in respectfully, bowing their heads.
"Foreign Minister Wu envoys Macky to see the king!"
"Foreign minister Zhang He, the Qin envoy, pays his respects to the king!"
"Foreign minister Yu Kuo, the envoy from Yan, pays his respects to the king!"
"Three ambassadors, please stand up. Are you also coming to Fugui City to request assistance?"
"That's right, King Zixuan, please save those poor people!"
Zixuan nodded and said, "Ambassadors, please return to the State Guesthouse and rest. I will give you a reply after discussing with my ministers."
"Okay, okay! I beg King Zixuan to make a decision soon. The people are suffering right now and they can't wait!"
Zixuan nodded: "Yes! I understand, go ahead!"
After the envoy left, the ministers knelt down again and shouted, "Your Majesty, you must not agree to this, Your Majesty..."
Zixuan looked at his ministers with a smile and said, "Don't worry, my dear ministers. I will not use a single grain from the granary to help the other nations."
"Then, Your Majesty, where are you going to get your food?"
"Don't worry about this, my dear ministers. Just know that I have a divine master!"
Oh! Everyone suddenly realized, yes, they had heard that the king had a divine master.
Could it be that the king's food was given by the immortal master? Good!
Great! This time we no longer have to worry about having no food to eat during a drought!
After leaving the court, Zixuan ordered his grown sons to come over:
"Children, you have all grown up, and it's time to make some contributions to society!"
"Mother has formed a new department called the Royal International Disaster Relief Department.
"Zichen is the Chief Secretary, Zishun is the Deputy Chief Secretary, and all members of the department are descendants of the Zi family."
"The mission of this department is to provide relief in disaster-stricken areas across the various vassal states. Wherever there are natural or man-made disasters, we will provide assistance free of charge."
"Mother will allocate 20,000 reserve city defense soldiers for you to use at your disposal."
"All food and oil supplies are to be provided by Mother. Not a single ounce of gold or silver or a single grain of grain from the national treasury is allowed to be used! Do you understand?"
Dozens of young men answered in unison: "Understood! Queen Mother!"