Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

That’s right, Zhao Heng really planned to do business. He wanted to strengthen his own power, but after thinking about it, he felt that he couldn’t make too big a move, lest his second brother have a problem with him.

But he couldn't help but extort money from these guys from the Cao Gang.

So he sent people to gather the 200 idle people under Fu Gang to Chuzhou, and built a pier on the river in Chuzhou that could accommodate hundreds of ships.

Chuzhou is an important waterway transportation route. Not only does the Grand Canal pass through it, but tributaries of the East and West Rivers also pass through it. Zhao Heng built such a wharf here.

It is not only for the docking of ships, but also represents the official operation here. Safety is guaranteed and the cargo distribution procedures will be much more convenient.

"Humph! This is clearly an attempt to steal our Cao Gang's jobs."

In the meeting hall of the Chuzhou branch, Liu Yihui's confidant slammed the table and said.

The others who knew the inside story knew that this was caused by Liu Yihui's improper handling, but they couldn't say much and could only let the situation develop.

"Stop yelling. The headquarters is still unaware of this matter. Do you think the King of Chu would be short of this little money and go against our Cao Gang?"

The Cao Gang is different from the Yan Gang. Their power is more dispersed. They are distributed throughout the main waterways and docks of the Great Zhou, and the imperial court is somewhat courteous to them.

However, the people of Chuzhou Cao Gang cannot report what Zhao Heng did, after all, it was Liu Yihui who handled it improperly first!

……

This year was also particularly strange, with much less rainfall. The people of the Great Zhou were quite worried. They had just experienced drought the year before last and a locust plague last year. They finally had some hope, but God rained less again.

Once this kind of thing happens, the first to be anxious is the imperial court, followed by the people.

Because the people know that it is useless for them to be anxious, God just likes to play tricks on people like this.

"No way! Is there going to be another drought? Any feedback from other places?" Zhao Sheng was quite sensitive to such things. He didn't want to see people displaced, but he was helpless.

Just when everyone was in despair, God seemed to be joking and it rained heavily for five consecutive days.

Moreover, the rainfall was extremely heavy. If Zhao Sheng had not done a good job in building the Luancheng water conservancy diversion channel, Luancheng might have been flooded.

But this rain was not very friendly after all. The rice and wheat, which had just seen hope, were soaked in the accumulated water for a long time. Even if they were not completely submerged, it would affect the yield of the crops.

Especially in Shigang Village, the land was cultivated according to Zhao Sheng's plan. After the heavy rain, a large amount of soil was lost, especially the land that was washed by rain for several days, and the soil fertility was exhausted after topdressing.

It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel sad. After all, these lands were the result of Zhao Sheng's hard work. He did this not only for himself, but more because he didn't want to see the people despair because of natural disasters.

The old residents of Shigang Village were heartbroken that Zhao Sheng’s efforts were ruthlessly destroyed by natural disasters, while the later residents just felt that their employer’s investment had failed and were worried that they would be fired.

According to feedback from the intelligence network outside the Prince's Mansion, compared with the drought, this heavy rain was more localized, with only 60% of the area affected by rainfall and about 30% of the area affected.

The already impoverished and weak Great Zhou Dynasty was so anxious that even if it was only 30%, the emperor was already very anxious.

And these 30% areas are near Shangjing.

"Father, 30% is still considered good at the moment, but the national treasury is currently short of grain. In my opinion, we have no choice but to borrow some grain from the wealthy and return it next year."

Zhao Wei was discussing this matter with other ministers in the Chuigong Hall at this time. They had borrowed grain from wealthy farmers and merchants the year before last and last year respectively. As a result, this year is the third year, and not only has the return date not been met, but they have to borrow grain shamelessly.

No one can bring themselves to do this!

"Your Majesty, if we don't make plans now, the situation will be difficult to handle when the victims cause unrest!"

Wei Rong also stood up at this time, indirectly expressing his support for Zhao Wei's words, and at the same time explained the negative impact that would be brought about if this matter was not handled.

"But after two years of borrowing grain, with no return date in sight, who would still lend it to the court?"

Emperor Zhao Hengzhen was extremely anxious, but the court ministers were not helpful and his own treasury had no extra food, which made him very anxious.

In fact, at this time, there was plenty of food in Yuezhou in the south and Xishan next to Yuezhou, but Xishan was busy fighting and Yuezhou was busy dealing with the court.

Zhao Hong was not ignoring his father, but was worried about his brothers.

Dingzhou is a well-known low-grain-yield area. It is considered good enough to be able to protect itself. The only one we can count on is the Cui family of Boling. Perhaps they can still provide some grain at this time.

The biggest flaw of Zhao Hengzhen as an emperor was that he was surrounded by civil and military officials and paid no attention to local construction and people's livelihood issues.

Therefore, the secret guards he sent out were only to supervise others. As long as the local officials behaved themselves, he knew very little about other aspects unless the local officials mentioned them in memorials.

In ancient times, local officials were extremely skilled in submitting memorials to the emperor. Memorials submitted through normal channels often reported good news but not bad news. When encountering difficulties, they would first seek help from their superiors and would never dare to report to a higher level.

Or they would ask an acquaintance to pass the memorial on. However, such memorials could not reach the emperor directly and had to be approved by the Secretariat, unless it was a private message enclosed in a gift from someone.

Because of this, there were very few ministers in the court who spoke out directly, and even if they did, they would only do so indirectly, and finally, if they gave a correct remark, they would say, "Your Majesty is wise."

What should we do now that the emperor is no longer wise? Everyone was silent at this moment, and Wei Rong felt that his opportunity had come.

"Your Majesty, if you don't have food, I think we can ask for help from our ministers and buy it from those who have it, or we can also donate it."

When everyone heard what Wei Rong said, they felt that there was something else behind his words, otherwise how could they not understand?

"What is the meaning of this foreign minister's purchase and donation?" The emperor was also confused. What did Wei Rong mean?

"Your Majesty, the foreign ministers are going to buy grain from some wealthy ministers and then lend it to the court. Of course, they can also donate it to the court."

After hearing this, Zhao Hengzhen understood that some officials with low official positions wanted to get promoted by donating grain.

Similarly, some people have money but are reluctant to spend it, so we will find ways to suppress them when the time comes.

At first glance, these words seem to have a deeper meaning. As to what they mean, it depends on how the emperor wants to deal with them, and his intention will become apparent.

After this reminder, the officials of the Cui family knew best that the area with the most abundant food at the moment was in their Cui family's territory, and it directly pointed to the Cui family in Boling.

Because the Qinghe Cui family had to ensure food supply to Yanzhou, they generally would not requisition food from these places.

A trace of resentment flashed through Cui Bingzhong's heart from the Ministry of Revenue. He thought of the incident in the salt market. Because he supported Zhao Heng's approach, the Wei family was shaken. It seemed that they were trying to get something for nothing!

Cui Bingzhong was not stupid either. He could see some things clearly, but he could not say them. There were some things that could be said in the court, but he had to be reserved. He wanted to see who would be the first to speak out.