My father is Jiajing

Chapter 384 The Emperor Who Drained His Family Assets

The actions of Shuntian Prefecture and the Special District Yamen also received special commendations from Emperor Jiajing and the Cabinet the next day.

After all, the officials in charge of these two yamen were indeed loyal and dedicated. They got up in the middle of the night to actively patrol and help the people in the capital who were affected by the earthquake.

Moreover, it happened in the cold winter weather. It is hard not to praise such a positive and serious attitude.

After all, even if this kind of thing happens in modern society, there is no room for criticism.

What's more, this was a feudal era when the monarchy was supreme. This must have been praised as a model and learned by officials all over the world.

So for a while, Hu Zongxian, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others became celebrities in the capital.

However, in the following days, the joyful atmosphere of celebrating the fact that the capital was unscathed by the earthquake quickly became depressing.

Since the evening of the second day, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places have successively sent various urgent reports according to the different degrees of disaster in their local areas.

When these reports were delivered to the imperial court and the Western Garden one by one, Emperor Jiajing finally felt relieved.

"It seems that the earthquake in the capital at dawn the day before yesterday was affected by other places. Judging from the information reported, the center of the earthquake should be between Shanxi and Shaanxi. What do you think about this?"

Emperor Jiajing did not perform any rituals or practice cultivation today. Instead, he summoned all the important officials from the cabinet and the six ministries to the Xiyuan Palace in Xiyuan to discuss countermeasures and deal with the problem.

However, with the transportation and information of that era, even with many disaster reports from local prefectures, cities and counties, it was difficult for Emperor Jiajing and the important officials of the six ministries of the cabinet to analyze the extent of the disaster.

So at this time, the people from the Ministry of Households stood up and spoke first.

Minister of Revenue Fang Dun said: "Your Majesty, from the emergency reports from various places, it can be seen that the provinces affected by the earthquake include at least four provinces. I think the most urgent task is to quickly send imperial envoys to the local areas to investigate the disaster situation, and then the Ministry of Revenue will formulate corresponding disaster relief regulations based on the different disaster situations in various places."

Emperor Jiajing looked at the old man Fang Dun and felt a little dissatisfied. All the time this old man talked about was spending money, but how much silver did the Ministry of Revenue have?

Therefore, Emperor Jiajing did not respond to Fang Dun's words immediately, but continued: "According to past practice, the urgent reports sent by prefectures, cities and counties are often exaggerated. But the disaster is like a fire and we have to save it. What do you think we should do to deal with this situation now?"

Yan Song and others were experienced and shrewd, and they could hear the hidden meaning behind the Emperor Jiajing's words. They all heard that the Emperor Jiajing did not seem willing to let the Ministry of Revenue spend money before the matter was clarified.

Therefore, Yan Song replied: "Your Majesty, I think you can first issue an order to the affected prefectures and cities to let them organize self-help first. According to past practice, the court will also arrange some imperial doctors to go there to help the local government and treat the affected people in time."

"At the same time, the court can also send imperial censors to inspect the disaster area and supervise the disaster relief work of local prefectures, counties and other places. If there are areas where the disaster is really severe, the court can also make a decision based on the actual situation."

Emperor Jiajing listened to Yan Song's method of saving money and getting things done, and he hummed, "Your words are mature and prudent, and they are very much in line with my wishes. Then let's do it according to this method first."

Emperor Jiajing made the final decision and directly asked Yan Song to handle the matter according to what he had just said.

As for subsequent issues, we will deal with them after the subsequent reports arrive.

After all, the imperial court only has so much, and it is impossible for it to rush and invest all its resources and money into it when encountering a little problem.

So, as I said before: the food must be eaten from separate pots. What should be contributed by the local governments should be contributed by the local governments, and what should be contributed by the court should be contributed after the court has considered and analyzed it.

But sometimes, God just doesn't give face. Emperor Jiajing always wanted to save some money and share the responsibility for the earthquake disaster. However, in the following few days, the disaster memorials submitted by various places and the urgent dispatches sent back by the imperial censors sent out by the court directly shattered Emperor Jiajing's last fantasy.

These memorials reporting the disaster, as well as the urgent reports of investigation sent back by the imperial censors, all illustrate the seriousness of the situation.

At the same time, these news also indirectly confirmed the lag in information transmission in ancient times. It was almost a week after the earthquake that the court gradually reacted and realized that this terrible earthquake had shattered the entire Shaanxi and Shanxi.

Especially in Huazhou, the epicenter of the earthquake, the earthquake shook and swayed in an instant, with thunderous sounds and cracks in the ground, which formed hills and ditches. Countless buildings collapsed in an instant.

The number of casualties is incalculable!

When Emperor Jiajing saw the report with these words sent to the Western Regions, he felt dizzy. He never dreamed that the entire Huazhou would become like this.

Moreover, the areas damaged by the earthquake were not limited to Huazhou, but also the provincial capitals near Huazhou were all affected by the disaster to a similar extent.

For a moment, Emperor Jiajing's breathing became rapid.

"Is it because I have no virtue?"

Emperor Jiajing also began to doubt his life at this moment.

Emperor Jiajing racked his brains but could not remember how many times such a major earthquake had occurred in history.

But such a terrible earthquake actually happened under his rule.

In the feudal era when people believed in "the interaction between heaven and man" and "the king's power is granted by heaven", this was undoubtedly the biggest blow to the emperor's authority!

What would happen if some White Lotus rebels who were already dissatisfied with the imperial court took advantage of this opportunity and started spreading the imperial court's faults everywhere?
Therefore, the most urgent task is to rescue the people at all costs, to comfort the people in the affected provinces, to manage them separately, to let them settle down temporarily, and not to let them be influenced by the evil organizations like the White Lotus traitor. This is the top priority!
Therefore, Emperor Jiajing was no longer concerned about the money at this time. He immediately issued an edict asking the Ministry of Revenue to raise all the relief silver and supplies, and ordered the Ministry of Works, the Censorate, the Imperial Medical Service and others to rush to the disaster-stricken areas to restore and rebuild, monitor the people's sentiments, and treat the people.

We will try our best to let all the people in the disaster-stricken areas feel the court's determination and attitude in disaster relief.

It can be said that for this disaster relief, Emperor Jiajing even spent all his family savings and no longer dared to be stingy with money.

From this we can see that although Emperor Jiajing was conceited, he was still an emperor with a fearful heart and knew the importance of earthquake relief.

Otherwise, such a major earthquake would be the beginning of a chaotic and ruined dynasty in any dynasty.

However, Emperor Jiajing withstood the political and dynastic crises brought about by the earthquake and successfully extended the life of the Ming Dynasty.

However, even so, this great earthquake severely damaged the vitality of the Ming Dynasty in the original historical process, causing the Ming Dynasty's finances in the north to completely collapse.

Even after the Longwan Reforms, the impact of the earthquake could not be eliminated.

In the end, it laid the seeds for the Ming Dynasty’s demise decades later!

But this time with the variable of Zhu Zaigui, perhaps it will also be an opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to be reborn!
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Asking for a monthly ticket! ! !
(End of this chapter)