Chapter 231: The Grand Assembly of the Seventh Month

On the first day of the seventh month of autumn, in the first year of Qianyou, Liu Chengyou held court at Chongyuan Hall — a grand assembly.

Since his succession, for various reasons, he had held few grand assemblies in total. Yet each time, when discussing state affairs and current matters, they were lengthy and complex.

"Your Majesty, the summer harvest in the prefectures near the capital has been completed, and the summer grain has been stored in the granaries of each prefecture and commandery. The various garrisons in the Central Plains and Hebei have also entered the final stages of collecting summer taxes." State Finance Commissioner Wang Zhang stepped forward, reporting this "good news" to Liu Chengyou, and at the same time informing the assembled ministers.

At these words, the muscles of Liu Chengyou's face indeed softened considerably, as did those of the assembled ministers. For nearly a year now, the Great Han court had suffered greatly from grain shortages. Though the court had exhausted every means to procure grain, even going so far as to sign a "humiliating and sovereignty-forfeiting" agreement with the Later Shu, it was always a drop in the bucket — income never matching expenditure. By now, the common people at the bottom of the Eastern Capital, including many minor officials and petty clerks, almost all wore hungry looks.

After enduring for so long, a true turning point had finally arrived. Of course, for autumn planting and summer harvest — because last year the state was unsettled and plagued by war, the scale of autumn plowing had not been large, so the summer harvest yield would likely still be less than satisfactory. The bulk would have to come from the autumn harvest. Moreover, the drought that had persisted for months in Hebei was no small blow to agriculture, and it had already spread to the Central Plains...

Still, no matter how many difficulties remained, how could they compare to last year, or to the time when Liu Chengyou first took the throne? Having new grain entering the granaries was a good thing.

"By edict, exhort all prefectural officials, army commanders, clerks, and people to complete all summer harvest matters before the seventh month and conclude the summer tax!" Liu Chengyou sat upright and solemn, his voice resounding, his enunciation clear — as he spoke, the tassels on his crown barely swayed.

After a pause, he continued: "By edict to all circuits, prefectures, and commanderies: henceforth, the summer tax shall commence collection from the first day of the sixth month, and the autumn tax from the first day of the tenth month, to be established as permanent regulation."

After considering for a moment, Liu Chengyou said: "Additionally, for all circuits, prefectures, and commanderies, of the summer and autumn taxes, retain four-tenths for themselves; the remainder shall be transported to the Eastern Capital! The State Finance Commission shall select capable officials to serve as grain commissioners, dispatched to each prefecture to supervise the matter exclusively!"

"Yes!" Wang Zhang responded without the slightest hesitation.

"Your Majesty, Military Governor of Qingzhou, Liu Zhu, reports that the locust plague has subsided. Within his jurisdiction, the prefectures and counties have captured over fifty thousand hu of locusts, and the crops have suffered no harm." After Wang Zhang finished his memorial, Vice Director of the Chancellery Dou Zhengu rose to report.

Drought was often accompanied by locust plagues. Last month, the drought in the various prefectures of Hebei had grown increasingly severe, with Pinglu the worst hit. Locusts suddenly arose, spreading into disaster, wantonly destroying the people's fields. Upon hearing this news, the court's ministers' first reaction was to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for rain, setting up altars to beseech the "Locust God." The only slightly useful suggestion was to ban the capture of quails and pigeons, because quails and pigeons eat locusts.

All of this was rejected by Liu Chengyou, who directly issued an edict, informing the officials, clerks, and people of Qingzhou and the circuits and prefectures of Hebei: "The locusts harm our crops; we shall eat them." He vigorously promoted the eradication of locusts — capture them and eat them. Locusts are extremely nutritious.

The ministers hesitated in attitude, but this edict had precedent to follow and could be verified, so they did not obstruct it.

After the edict was issued, Pinglu Military Governor Liu Zhu reacted extremely quickly, swiftly disseminating the court's decree and the Son of Heaven's intent, organizing the generals, officials, and prefects of his jurisdiction to lead the people in exterminating the locusts. In fact, even before the court's edict had arrived, Liu Zhu had already made preparations to capture locusts. Thus, after a month of effort, patrolling and inspecting Zi and Qing without omission, the crops did not suffer excessive insect damage — instead, they gained tens of thousands of hu of "grain" for free.

Of course, Liu Chengyou did not quite believe that "the crops suffered no harm." How could the disasters of drought and locusts have little impact? Even if the insect plague was suppressed, the drought with days upon days of no rain would still be enough to reduce the autumn harvest. In Qingzhou, Liu Zhu had reacted swiftly — but what about other places? That had to be questioned.

"Issue a decree commending the generals and officials of Qingzhou. Bestow upon Liu Zhu the honorary title of Grand Minister of Works and Chief Minister. From the Military Governor on down, all who suppressed locusts and protected the fields shall have their merits recorded, their positions promoted, and rewards conferred." Liu Chengyou still gave his reply steadily.

"Yes."

Counting carefully, after the summer harvest, the prefectures and garrisons with surplus capacity to supply the Eastern Capital were truly few. The areas near the two capitals were the main source — Kaifeng, Luoyang, Zheng, Ru, Xu, Song, Bo, Chen, Cai, and so on.

Among these prefectures and counties, the two capitals and Zhengzhou were the core, and Zhengzhou had even been affected by the breach at Yuanwu. As for the rest — Ru, Song, and Bo were only just recovering; Xuzhou had been disrupted by Liu Xin (after taking up his garrison post, this imperial uncle truly did not stay quiet); and the Chen and Cai regions were constrained by the separatist regimes to their south.

As for the others: Xuzhou's famine had slightly eased, Yanzhou was passable, and Yunzhou, under the governance of the imperial relative Murong Yanchao, could barely sustain itself.

As for the various garrisons in Hebei, the Wei-Bo region had not yet recovered from last year's war devastation, and the rest all suffered from drought — only the three garrisons of Chengde, Henghai, and Pinglu were somewhat better off.

Additionally, Heyang and Hedong had relatively stable military and civil administration, with production exceeding consumption. However, last year, over half of Hedong's population had migrated south to the Central Plains with Liu Zhiyuan, and its potential had been largely diminished — grain contributions could not be abundant.

Guanzhong was automatically ignored. As for the rest, they were either in remote border regions, or not firmly under the court's control, or in need of the court's support.

In short, for the Great Han, after the summer harvest, though the grain shortage could be alleviated, one still could not be optimistic. If the drought continued, the trouble would be even greater. And lately, because of the drought, Liu Chengyou's worries had been growing day by day.

"Your Majesty, the Censorate has learned that throughout the realm, there is much killing carried out on the basis of false rumors. Local prefectures, counties, and military provinces memorialize executions to the court; the court does not investigate the facts but complies with their requests. There are even those who execute without reporting at all. As a result, the number of officials and commoners unjustly killed throughout the realm is incalculable. Beneath the heavens, resentment fills the fields. We beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to rectify this, so as to dispel the people's grievances and manifest Your Majesty's sage benevolence and virtue." The one presenting this memorial was Vice Censor-in-Chief Bian Wei.

As Bian Wei finished speaking, Yang Bin, seated in the front row as "Chief Chancellor," wore a somewhat displeased expression — because whenever localities memorialized executions, he had uniformly approved them all, on the grounds that at the founding of the state, the law should be applied strictly.

Liu Chengyou also glanced at Yang Bin, drew a breath, and directly stated the corrective measures: "From now on, whenever any prefecture or garrison memorializes executions, Dali and the Ministry of Justice shall verify the facts before disposition. All circuits, prefectures, and commanderies — for any case involving human life, it must be reported to the superior level for review; arbitrary killing is forbidden. Additionally, the recodification of the Great Han penal code shall be accelerated!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Yes!"

"Your Majesty, Hengzhou and Cangzhou report that since summer this year, the northern lands have suffered famine, and households have been fleeing south. Hengzhou has taken in three thousand seven hundred and forty-one Yan refugees, and Cangzhou has taken in four thousand three hundred and sixty." Chief Minister Li Tao reported.

"Instruct Zhang Yanwei and Wang Jing to properly resettle them according to previous precedent!"

"Yes."

"Your Majesty, Guo Congyi of Huazhou reports that the breach at Yuchi has been resolved. There is some damage to the fields, but no civilian casualties."

"Your Majesty, summarizing the various reports — after nearly half a year of rectification and suppression by the court and local generals and officials, since the founding of the state, the bandits plaguing the localities have been essentially wiped out. By now, it can be said that the Great Han's bandit problem has been eliminated!" As a chief minister, Yang Bin could not possibly remain silent — and the moment he opened his mouth, it was good news.

"This is all due to Your Majesty's wisdom and martial prowess, the harmony between military and civil affairs, and the people's submission — thus the realm is governed!" Su Yugui followed up with flattery.

Dispatching the imperial army to various localities for suppression had yielded remarkable results. Had it not been so, leaving matters to local initiative alone would have dragged on endlessly. Moreover, though the pacification of banditry was gratifying, if good governance were not implemented and the people turned to banditry again, that might happen at any moment.

"We beg Your Majesty to recall the imperial army to the capital and issue an edict commending those soldiers who distinguished themselves in striking the bandits!" Yang Bin requested with a rigid face. That slightly reserved expression made Liu Chengyou feel rather odd inside.

"Approved!" Liu Chengyou's expression did not change as he responded flatly.

As in the past, a single court assembly lasted nearly three hours. Matters were numerous and miscellaneous — it seemed all the military and civil affairs of the realm were concentrated into this one day for resolution. Of course, there were urgent matters, but also routine reports that had long been settled.

And what was truly critical was not suitable for discussion with the court ministers at a grand assembly. When the grand assembly dispersed, the chief ministers and commissioners of military affairs were all tactful and, by unspoken agreement, made their way together to Guangzheng Hall — clearly, there were still matters to discuss.

For example, the situation in Youzhou, and the unusual movements of Li Shouzhen in Hezhong.