Chapter 460: Who Can Stand By and Watch with Cold Eyes

Zhang Zhao was utterly swamped. In truth, even the State of Liang could not escape unscathed from this terrible flood-drought-locust disaster sweeping the Central Plains.

Among the hardest hit were Qinzhou and Qingzhou near Guanzhong. Qingzhou was especially severe: on the always-fertile Dongzhi Plateau, yields fell by a terrifying sixty percent.

At the same time, Wei, Lan, He, Xia, Wei, Hui, and other prefectures suffered varying degrees of damage. Even Liangzhou endured more than two months of drought, and the water level of the Macheng River dropped noticeably.

Yet although it was stricken, the State of Liang's disaster was not especially severe.

This was because, before this, in order to restore agricultural production in Hexi and Longyou, mobilize the people of the various prefectures, and allow government authority to reach down to the county level, Zhang Zhao had built and repaired a great many water-conservancy works.

At the same time, the overall integrity of the State of Liang's officials was relatively high. They had no choice but to be honest! In the Liang countryside, there were large numbers of military men who owned several hundred mu of land.

The petty officials simply did not dare prey on them. Those men had blades in their hands. Although this did indeed make governance difficult and caused trouble for rural order, it also truly prevented the sort of situation seen in the State of Jin.

Thus, with the disaster less severe than in the Central Plains, water-conservancy works guaranteeing irrigation and floodwater storage, and no man-made calamity caused by official exploitation,

the State of Liang's disaster was comparatively mild. Relief work in the worst-hit Qinzhou and Qingzhou had already begun by the time Zhang Zhao returned.

At that time, with Zhang Zhao away, no one dared open the public and private storehouses to allocate grain. It was Lady Cao Sanniang who encouraged Lady Nineteen to issue an order and begin disaster relief.

The result was that the government offices, powerful clans, and even local wealthy households and traveling merchants all contributed generously. Apart from several hundred deaths caused by flash floods, basically no one starved to death.

Do not underestimate the mere fact that no one starved. In a famine year, to have basically no one starve to death was, in this age, an extraordinarily dazzling achievement.

While Zhang Zhao continued handling the disaster reports dispatched from the various prefectures, Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi came together to request an audience.

Zhang Zhao knew what they had come for: most likely they wanted him to relieve the disaster victims of the Central Plains.

This was not a profitable bargain. Popular sentiment, that thing, is both valuable and worthless.

It is valuable in that, if it can be mobilized, it is a force that can overturn heaven and earth. But at the same time, it is extremely difficult to mobilize.

Still, Zhang Zhao inclined toward providing relief. He could not help it! This was a life-and-death trial facing several million people. No matter how he looked at it, Zhang Zhao found it very hard to turn a blind eye.

In the Juxian Hall of Yongxun Palace, Zhang Zhao not only received Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi, but also summoned Right Chancellor Song Shantong, the vice ministers of the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Justice, and Works, and other relevant personnel, and simply convened a small court session.

When Zhang Xichong and Fan Zhi saw that Zhang Zhao had summoned so many people, the two exchanged a smile, and a measure of admiration appeared in their eyes. They knew that Zhang Zhao must have made up his mind, which was why he had gathered so many people.

Once everyone had arrived, Zhang Zhao granted seats one by one, and even had fragrant tea, fruit, and pastries served.

He did this deliberately. In the way of civil and military governance, it was abnormal for either to be more exalted than the other. So with Zhang Zhao, he tried his best to raise the courtesies shown to civil officials in small ways, and to make their standing a little higher.

Song Shantong and the rest of the Liang contingent had long grown accustomed to this, but Zhang Xichong, Fan Zhi, and certain officials who had come from the Central Plains were very gratified by it.

Sometimes a little respect is more likely to win a man's heart than a reward.

They had only just sat down when Fan Zhi presented the letter in his hand to Zhang Zhao.

"Reporting to the Heavenly King: Zhao Ying, Military Governor of the Zhenguo Army in Huazhou, has some friendship with me. He secretly sent a man from Huazhou with a letter to me, saying that the locust and drought disasters in the Huazhou Zhenguo Army are extremely severe.

This summer, more than nine thousand households have already become refugees. The autumn grain harvest has fallen by more than half, and what was reaped is not even enough to pay the court and supply the soldiers of the Zhenguo Army."

Zhang Zhao was somewhat surprised, because Zhao Ying had once been a favored minister of Shi Jingtang, holding the post of Hanlin Academy Scholar.

Even after Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne, Zhao Ying had attended at his side. How had he now become Military Governor of the Zhenguo Army in Huazhou?

Zhang Liecheng, who had just returned from the Central Plains, stood up and said to Zhang Zhao: "My lord, in the fourth month of this year, Zhao Xuanhui was slandered by Feng Yu and fell out of favor with the Jin sovereign. He was promptly sent out as Military Governor of the Zhenguo Army in Huazhou."

Zhang Zhao nodded to show he understood. In the Five Dynasties, if a military man was sent out as a governor, it was a happy event, because being sent out as a governor was almost the same as being enfeoffed and going to one's own state.

But for a civil official it would not do, because they could not handle the yabing guards of the military province. Often, after being sent out, they were coerced from above and below and lived in unbearable misery.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao asked Fan Zhi, "Has this Zhao Xuanhui already lost control of the Zhenguo Army's officers and men below him?"

Fan Zhi nodded with a bitter smile. "Heavenly King, a scholar like Zhao Xuanhui has no experience leading troops at all. He has never controlled the Zhenguo Army, high or low.

As soon as the autumn grain in Huazhou was harvested, the Zhenguo Army soldiers seized more than half of it. Only after Zhao Xuanhui pleaded and argued did they agree to set aside fifty-five thousand shi to send to the court."

Zhang Zhao frowned deeply. "In that case, what are the people of Huazhou to eat? Not a single grain of the autumn harvest is left for them? How can they be so cruel?"

"What can they eat? Nothing but grass roots and tree bark. If it truly comes to it, they will exchange their children and eat them!" Zhang Zhao's maternal uncle, Right Chancellor Song Shantong, said with a long sigh.

Guo Tiance, standing nearby, raised his brows and suddenly asked, "Scholar Fan, in this letter from Zhao Ying, did he ask you for help? Did he say anything else?"

Fan Zhi gently shook his head. "Apart from explaining the situation, he did not mention a single other matter. He did not even write a word of reminiscence."

Guo Tiance immediately turned to Zhang Zhao and said, "Heavenly King, I have read the files of the Brocade Guard agents. This man Zhao Ying has always been known for his caution and prudence.

He would not write such a letter to Scholar Fan without reason, and the fact that he mentions no other request at all suggests he has some misgivings.

Huazhou rests against the Jing and Wei Rivers, with Mount Hua before it. It controls Tong Pass on the left and Lantian Pass on the right. It is the key point for sealing off Guanzhong, and has always been a place contested by every strategist. For us, holding Huazhou is even more critical than occupying Chang'an."

Zhang Zhao's eyes lit up. "You mean Zhao Ying has thoughts of coming over to us, but because of his cautious nature he dares not reveal too much. If we can help the people of Huazhou survive this calamity, he will surely come over?"

Fan Zhi had not thought of this before, but now that he considered it, it did indeed seem possible.

Zhao Ying's temperament, apart from being cautious and prudent, was actually somewhat timid. This manner of doing things fit Zhao Ying's style of conduct very well.

"Heavenly King, what Scholar Guo says is indeed possible. Back when the Jin Exalted Progenitor Shi rose in arms at Jinyang, all above and below approved, and only Zhao Ying showed fear on his face. Add to that this man's meticulous attention to detail, and it truly does resemble his way of doing things."

Zhang Zhao abruptly rose to his feet. "The Central Plains is stricken by great disaster; the land is scorched for a thousand li. All in the State of Jin, high and low, bear guilt, but the common people are guiltless.

Although our Great Liang has also suffered disaster this year, we still have surplus grain. I have decided to bring the refugees of the Central Plains to Hexi for resettlement. Let the relevant offices calculate how much stored grain can still be allocated."

Fan Zhi, while serving as Scholar of the Qionglin Academy, also concurrently held the post of Vice Minister of Revenue. The figures were practically in his head, but after thinking it over carefully, his expression immediately turned worried.

"Heavenly King, apart from the year before last, our Great Liang has been at war all these years.

The public treasury is only just sufficient, and the grain stored in the Imperial Granary is not very much. Moreover, it must be reserved for the great battles to come. The grain that can be allocated to relieve the refugees is truly not much, to say nothing of moving people a thousand li from the Central Plains."

"Ahem!" At this, our Great King Zhang also grew somewhat embarrassed.

Although the scale of his military campaigns was not large, their frequency was certainly not low. Indeed, every year the government's spring and autumn taxes were basically spent almost as soon as they were collected.

As for his personal privy purse, that was indeed considerable, but Zhang Zhao would not readily draw on it. It was better to keep public and private clearly separated.

If he let these ministers get used to it, the image of the Ming emperors being extorted by their courtiers for the privy purse was still vivid before his eyes.

"Why should the Heavenly King worry about money and grain? Although the public treasury and the Imperial Granary have little, there is no shortage among the people of our Great Liang.

In recent years, thanks to the completion of water-conservancy works and the coordination and promotion of the rural agronomy erudites, the people's stored grain is quite abundant.

I have heard that around Liangzhou, there are already cases of beans and wheat being used to feed livestock. Why not raise grain from the people?"

Zhang Zhao looked at Zhang Xichong, somewhat puzzled. "The Left Chancellor means that we should learn from the State of Jin and borrow grain from the people?"

"Exactly!" Zhang Xichong nodded, but seeing that Zhang Zhao's expression was not very good, he hurriedly said, "However, our borrowing of grain is completely different from the State of Jin's borrowing of grain."

Right now grain prices among the common people of Great Liang are rock-bottom, and in many places it cannot even be sold. The people sit on a houseful of grain, yet can exchange it for very little salt, tea, or sugar.

Better to have the Ministry of Revenue borrow grain from the people in a unified way, then purchase a batch of salt, sugar, and tea at low prices from the Hexi Chamber of Commerce, and use the salt, sugar, and tea to offset the grain price.

In this way the people gain a benefit, and we need only a little more than half the price to obtain several hundred thousand shi of grain."

Zhang Zhao nodded lightly. This was somewhat like the protective purchasing of later ages.

Done this way, it would indeed solve the problem. The people sell off the grain they cannot finish eating, and the government gets the matter done at half the cost.

But there would still be one victim in all this, and that is the merchants.

Doing it this way is equivalent to cutting out their middleman role. When the time comes, market demand for salt, sugar, and tea will be saturated all at once, and the merchants who trade in these three goods will likely suffer a heavy loss.

As a traditional scholar-official, Zhang Xichong had always had limited goodwill toward merchants, so he had simply never considered their interests. But Zhang Zhao still had to think about the impact, and he turned back to look at Cao Wantong.

"Notify the Chamber of Commerce to limit the quantity of salt, sugar, and tea sold to local merchants in Hexi and Longyou. At the proper time, put out word as a warning. Let them lose a little, that is all. Do not let anyone lose so much that they go throw themselves into the river."

"Your servant understands. The great merchants selling salt, tea, and sugar in Hexi and Longyou are all members of the Chamber of Commerce. With the Heavenly King's order, losing a little money is no great matter."

This was the advantage of the government controlling the source of goods: it held merchants everywhere firmly in its grip.

Only the corruption within the Hexi Chamber of Commerce was another difficult problem. It was said that some people had already behaved quite disgracefully, but Zhang Zhao had simply never found the time to clean it up.

But at this moment, the Right Chancellor Song Shantong raised a different objection.

"The daily consumption of salt, sugar, and tea is limited. I estimate this can raise only five or six hundred thousand shi of grain, enough merely to relieve the present emergency.

The refugees who come to our Great Liang are basically destitute. They need at least half a year's food before they can survive. And exactly where to settle them is also a difficult problem."

What Song Shantong was actually most worried about was the latter, because the two circuits of Hexi and Longyou in the Liang state were Zhang Zhao's core territory and source of military strength, full of fubing households with several hundred mu of land each.

If these refugees were settled in large numbers in Hexi and Longyou, they would likely end up as servants and tenant farmers to these fubing households, and that would be bad.

Having many fubing households with several hundred mu of land is a good thing, but letting them grow too wildly unchecked is no good either.

Zhang Zhao had only to look at Song Shantong's hesitant expression to understand what his uncle meant. The Imperial Guard election law — I, Zhang the Heavenly King and Khagan, fear it too!

And he was also not very willing to make the population of Hexi and Longyou, especially the prefectures of Liang, Lan, He, and Wei, too dense.

Forming small landlords with several hundred mu of fields as the mainstay in these places was what served his interests, because only then could they provide him with stable military support at any time.

Although there was still surplus land at present, Zhang Zhao was actually saving it for the descendants of these fubing families. He had to guarantee at least three generations' worth of land for dividing up family property.

If it were now distributed to refugees, it would immediately lower the quality of the soldiery. Not worth it.

Moreover, in these places there are quite a few barbarians. Putting too many wretched Han refugees in among them would diminish the halo around the Han people.

So rather than refugees, Zhang Zhao preferred to grant land in these places to the brave and martial among the Han.

"This matter is actually not difficult." Fan Zhi drew a thick stack of memorials from his wide sleeve.

"Heavenly King, your minister has a plan that can settle these refugees and also enable them to obtain enough grain to eat for half a year."

"Oh? Speak quickly!" Zhang Zhao beckoned to Fan Zhi with great delight. Fan Zhi was historically counted among the famous chancellors; he ought to have some real ability.

"Of the Long family of Suzhou, there remain several tens of thousands who have not yet moved back to Yanqi. Better to take this opportunity to move them all away.

Most of the Yellow-Head Uyghurs south of Ganzhou are also to move back to Kucha, and they can be moved at the same time.

Ningyuan is vast in land and sparse in people, and several tens of thousands of commoners can also be moved there along with the caravans.

The Tangut Tuoba Yanchao tribe in Lingzhou has never been quiet in the vicinity of Lingzhou. Better to take this opportunity to move several clans to the Juyan Sea.

In this way, we can free up one Suzhou, the greater half of Ganzhou, and half of Lingzhou, enough to settle the refugees.

And these people who move away have large amounts of property they cannot take with them, which we can distribute to the newly arrived people.

As for them, they can be compensated once they reach Yanqi, Kucha, and Ningyuan.

These three places also have enough grain this year. Ningyuan especially is rich and prosperous, fully able to pay. Would this not accomplish several goals at once?"

Zhang Zhao's eyes lit up. It was indeed a method. In fact, Fan Zhi had seen it very accurately: the Liang court was not without grain. It had it! It had it in abundance!

The Golden Kingdom of Khotan, and Ningyuan especially, was vast in land, sparse in people, and rich in soil. It had grain that simply could not be eaten up. But it was too far away, and there was no way to transport it to Hexi and Longyou.

Fan Zhi's method was to move the Long family, the Uyghurs, and part of the Tangut out of Hexi and Longyou, letting them take only rations for the road, then compensate them once they reached Anxi, and then use the refugees from the Central Plains to fill the gap left by their departure.

An excellent idea! It not only solved the problem of money and grain, but could also increase the Han population of Hexi, Longyou, and Lingwu.

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