Chapter 608

"Young master, do you need to temporarily change the Money Shop's expansion strategy?"

Xiao Shunzi turned to ask, "We can first expand the Money Shop to Luoyang and other regions, first help the people get through the difficulties."

Chen Yan nodded slightly, "Notify Xu Lianyue, immediately mobilize Money Shop supplies, and go by waterway at the fastest speed to Luoyang and other regions to expand the Money Shop."

"Also, notify Wang Lao Wu and three other wealthy merchants, have them quickly mobilize ships to transport supplies. And now immediately send someone to find Grand Historian Li Chunfeng and National Teacher Yuan Tiangang, and tell them that I and His Majesty are waiting for them in Ganlu Hall."

Xiao Shunzi hurriedly nodded, about to leave, then remembered something, "By the way, young master, should we notify Cai Duke about this?"

"No need."

Chen Yan, holding his daughter, stood up, "They will naturally know tomorrow; today the most important thing is to make arrangements as soon as possible."

"Yes, young master."

Xiao Shunzi left, Chen Yan walked out of the house and unexpectedly met Li Lizhi at the doorway; she, seeing him come out, hurriedly explained, "I didn't intend to eavesdrop; I just happened to be passing by."

Chen Yan said wordlessly, "I never blamed you for eavesdropping… never mind, that's unimportant; take care of the daughter, I need to go to the Imperial Palace."

"Alright." Li Lizhi lightly nodded, took Xiao Sui An in her arms, and Chen Yan, not delaying further, left the house and rode a carriage at top speed toward the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, Li Shimin was still delighted about the great success of the Imperial Examination and the finalization of the troop deployment.

He hadn't even attended to state affairs, planning to hand these matters over to the Crown Prince first.

"Anyway, the Crown Prince isn't a person anymore?"

"Then, taking on more state affairs for the old father should be no problem, right?"

Li Shimin lazily reclined against the head of the seat, his moustache curling at the corners of his mouth, clearly in a good mood.

"Only, he hadn't been happy for long."

Chen Yan arrived.

"Zi An… why are you back again? At this hour, you're not at the Ministry of Revenue, nor home, what are you doing here?" Li Shimin, completely unaware of any problem, lifted his eyelids and said slowly, unhurriedly.

Chen Yan said plainly, "Luoyang had heavy snow last year; now, as the climate warms, rain has been pouring down nonstop, causing floods, and many villagers have been affected."

"Moreover, Luoyang is in the Yellow River region; if the rain continues, it could even trigger a flood like the one in the fourth year of the Zhenguan era. How could I, like you, still be able to sit there?"

Li Shimin was startled, blank for a moment, then sprang up, raising his voice, "What did you say?"

"Luoyang has floods?"

Chen Yan nodded, "Yes, and a small number of people have already fled here from Luoyang."

Li Shimin:!!!

"Damn it, why does it suddenly flood… huh?" Li Shimin hurried a bit, then suddenly realized, staring at Chen Yan below, "Luoyang has a flood, and I haven't even received any report; how did you learn of it?"

Chen Yan, having anticipated the question, replied helplessly, "Don't forget, Weinan County has Public Transport Boats and a huge ferry crossing, with countless people traveling north and south."

"The refugees took the boats, talked about this, and I naturally received the news."

Li Shimin paused, hands behind his back, paced for a while, then suddenly laughed.

"So the refugees are already almost at Chang'an… yet I haven't received any news about the flood at all?"

This question was hard to answer, Chen Yan naturally sidestepped it and brought up another matter, "I have already notified Xu Lianyue; they are taking the waterway at top speed to Luoyang and other regions to expand the Money Shop."

"I heard from the refugees that grain prices in Luoyang have skyrocketed; when they left Luoyang, it had risen to twenty wen per dou of rice."

"Now the most important thing is to make arrangements quickly, control Luoyang's grain prices, soothe the people, observe the situation, and build drainage canals where needed, so the flood doesn't become a disaster causing greater impact."

"Grain price rise?" Li Shimin squinted, "If I recall correctly, within Luoyang there is Han Jia Warehouse, east of Luoyang is Gong Yi, and there's also a Luokou Warehouse!"

"Nearly half of Tang Dynasty's grain is stored there; you tell me Luoyang's grain price is soaring?"

"What about Luoyang's officials? Are they all dead?"

Chen Yan fell silent, "Regarding this, there is indeed something fishy; for such a big incident, Luoyang's officials couldn't have failed to report."

"Perhaps something went wrong in between…"

Li Shimin's forehead veins bulged, and his good mood from the morning vanished at this moment.

Of course, he also knew it wasn't the time to probe these matters, and asked in a deep voice, "Do you want to use the Money Shop for disaster relief?"

Chen Yan shook his head, "The Money Shop is the Money Shop; the Court can borrow its money and grain for relief, but cannot directly use the Money Shop's name for relief."

"The primary and secondary matters must be distinguished; this rule cannot be broken."

"Hmm…" Li Shimin closed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Disaster relief, thorough investigation!" Chen Yan said concisely.

"How to relieve, how to investigate?"

Li Shimin opened his eyes, "Or are you thinking of borrowing money from the Money Shop through the Ministry of Revenue again?"

"Don't forget, you just borrowed, and I just announced today that troops will be mobilized; with this happening, will it affect the troop deployment in the second half of the year?"

"The Ministry of Revenue naturally can't!" Chen Yan shook his head, "You just said the Ministry of Revenue had borrowed money from the Money Shop; borrowing again now is obviously inappropriate."

"However, we can change our approach; disaster relief must be under the Court's name, but doesn't necessarily have to involve Court officials."

"I have three methods here."

Saying that, Chen Yan cleared his throat, "First, do you remember what I told you last time?"

"Many wealthy merchants are very willing to spend large sums to gain a reputation, especially in this era of flourishing Imperial Examination."

"We can use these merchants, just as we did in the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, using benefits to tempt officials."

"Second, let Luoyang's local government borrow from the Money Shop for relief; thereafter Luoyang's government repays slowly, and the Money Shop gives preferential treatment in this regard… hmm, if there's someone you favor, you could even send them directly to earn a merit."

"Third… have the Ministry of Revenue provide the money directly."

Li Shimin's eyes widened, "Damn, aside from the supplies needed for war, can your Ministry of Revenue still spare money for disaster relief?"

"Since there's money, why the hell did you cry about being poor last time, and still keep eyeing my treasury?"

Chen Yan awkwardly said, "Last time I dealt with the Money Shop, I actually borrowed quite a bit; besides what's needed for war, there was some surplus, so taking it out for relief should be enough."

"As for your talk about crying poor… I don't understand, I don't get your meaning."

Li Shimin: "......"

"......"