Dressed as a farmer's little blessing, the road to escape the deserted

More than twenty skinny children squatted not far from the stove, drooling, looking eagerly at the steam inside the door, eager to plunge in and eat their fill.

Lame or blind disabled men and women groped and climbed out of various dilapidated houses with difficulty.

There are even old people who are unkempt, hiding in the grass, not daring to show their faces, and eager for a mouthful of hot food...

Li Laoer and all the people who delivered the supplies felt sore in their hearts, as if something was stuffed in their throats.

After the court meeting on the second day, Li Laoer entered the imperial study.

The emperor thought he was here to present flowers, after all, the name of the Hundred Gardens has been known to everyone in Xindu these days.

The emperor joked with a smile: "Uncle Zhongshan came here this time, what good flowers did you bring? I heard that you sold a Diyong golden lotus for a sky-high price, and you also hid two peonies, so that all flower lovers in Xindu will miss it." Can't sleep or eat."

But Li Laoer replied: "Your Majesty, I am not offering flowers to you when I ask for an audience today. Even in the future, I will not give you fresh flowers, not even a single plant."

"Bold!" The chief eunuch was pouring tea for the emperor, and immediately yelled, looking at Li Laoer as if looking at a fool.

Did the Li family take some wrong medicine and don't want to live?

How dare you be so disrespectful to the emperor? !

The emperor was also surprised, but seeing Li's second son's expression was calm, and thinking about the loyalty of the Li family in the past, he waved his hand to signal the chief eunuch to step down, and then asked, "Why did Uncle Zhongshan say that?"

The second Li lifted up his skirt, knelt down on the ground, kowtowed respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, I really don't plan to present famous flowers for you to enjoy, because I want to keep the famous flowers and sell them, and the money I get And food and medicinal materials, etc., I have to send them to the relief department!

"The emperor may have heard about it. I exchanged a lot of food and medicinal materials for a lotus plant, and sent it to the relief office yesterday. But the emperor didn't know that the relief office was a hell on earth, with dilapidated houses, old people The children are helpless and skinny, and people die of illness and hunger every day.

"The Chen family came all the way from the north, and they know the pain of not having enough food and clothing. I really can't see it. I have already helped the Relief Department to repair the house, and I plan to continue selling famous flowers in exchange for supplies. , Continue to invest in the relief agency!

"That's why I said that I won't present flowers to the emperor in the future. It's not that I'm being stingy. It's because I think that rather than enjoying flowers, the emperor wants the people to be free from suffering and live and work in peace and contentment!"

There was silence in the room for a long time, the emperor suddenly laughed, got up and helped Li Lao Er himself, nodded repeatedly and praised: "It's a good life and work in peace and contentment! Uncle Zhongshan sit down and talk."

Li Laoer heaved a long sigh of relief in his heart, and then carefully sat down on the drum stool brought by the eunuch, with a bit of panic in his expression, he said in a low voice: "Thank you, the emperor, for not blaming the offending minister for his nonsense."

"No, this is not nonsense..." The emperor waved his hand, "If your words are considered nonsense, then I hope that all civil and military officials in the court will speak nonsense!"

The emperor sighed, and then said: "Actually, every day I listen to their praises and see them present all kinds of treasures, I feel restless.

"Instead of having the time to search for treasures and the time to stay up late writing notebooks, they should think about what to do!

"Tianwu has moved the capital to this point, and a lot of waste is waiting to be done, but the aristocratic and wealthy families are still extravagant, and the civil and military officials are still living in hustle and bustle.

"If everyone is like your family, willing to do their best even for small things, then Tianwu would have settled down long ago and regained his vitality after countless small things added up. It's a pity..."

Li Laoer came today to show his loyalty, but he didn't want to step on all the wealthy families and civil and military officials to take the position!

If the words of the emperor spread, the Li family will become the public enemy of the powerful family of Tianwu family and all civil and military officials!

Therefore, Li Lao Er hurriedly got up, bent down and saluted: "Your Majesty, in fact, I also have selfish intentions. The minister's family is meager, so they can do whatever they can. They also hope that Tianwu will settle down, so that they will never have to run away from famine again. Even, the minister came to discuss an official with the emperor today!

"Your Majesty, the Relief Department is currently only in charge of a seventh-rank official. This person is called Cheng Ming. He is very serious in his work, but his talents are limited. In addition, the money and food allocated to the Relief Department are not much, so the Relief Department has become more and more popular in the past two years. Difference……

"I want to ask the emperor for his will, to allow me to take charge of the Relief Department in the future, let me take care of the people in the Relief Department to survive slowly, and then find a way out to support myself. I want the Relief Department to no longer be a burden to Tianwu, but can Contribute to Tianwu.

"Of course, this process will take at least two or three years. I can't achieve it on my own. I also ask the emperor to allocate more money and food to the relief agency. In this way, with the materials raised by the minister selling flowers, we can guarantee the relief of hundreds of people in the relief agency. basic needs."

The emperor heard it from the beginning to the end, and had to say that the more he listened, the more he was moved by Li Laoer's thoughts.

But as an emperor, he will not make any decisions lightly.

So, he nodded and said, "Uncle Zhongshan is willing to share my worries, I am very relieved, you go back today, I will think about it first."

Li Laoer knelt down and kowtowed again, then retreated respectfully.

How shrewd is the head eunuch, he sent the little eunuch to investigate without waiting for the emperor's order.

In two hours, the emperor woke up in the morning, and the truth had already been sent back.

While changing clothes for the emperor, the chief eunuch said in a low voice, "Your majesty, this old servant sent people out of the palace to go to the relief office to have a look. Uncle Li is right, the house is indeed dilapidated, and the old, weak, sick, and disabled live in misery. .

"Yesterday, Uncle Li sent a lot of food and medicinal materials, and he also brought a doctor, but the relief department didn't even have a room that was not leaking, so we had to find someone to repair it immediately. Today, the yard is full of medicinal smell. I heard that There are doctors who will cook medicine for the old, weak, sick and disabled!

"Fortunately, the courtyard is big enough, and the previous petty officials were also serious. If there are dead people, they should be sent out in time, otherwise this summer will easily cause epidemics."

The emperor nodded, his expression unchanged, and asked again: "Over there, how are the money allocated to the Relief Department calculated?"

"Back to the emperor, well, the household department allocates three loads of grain to the relief department every month, and two taels of silver..." The chief eunuch said truthfully, without adding any details, but the emperor is not a fool, and he understood it almost immediately.

For a family of several members, three loads of grain and two taels of silver per month are definitely enough.

But for hundreds of people, this is simply a drop in the bucket...

The emperor sighed for a long time, he thought he was not a stupid emperor, but before he succeeded to the throne, Tianwu was already riddled with holes.

Even though he has been trying his best to "treat" the past few years, he always presses the gourd and starts again, which makes him at a loss and helpless.

Let's just talk about the Relief Agency. Its original intention is to relieve the refugees who fled from the Northland.

Of course, there are people like the Li family, who come here in droves, and try their best to survive after gaining a foothold.