EFB Chapter 1616 Work Stopped
Chapter 1616 Work Stopped
Chapter 1616 Work Stopped
The official firefighting efforts were ineffective and the warehouse was almost burned to the ground.
When we looked again at daybreak, only broken tiles and ruins were left.
Needless to say, the food inside was burned.
All, gone!
There are seven granaries supplying Tianshui City, three large and four small. This Yaocang is the largest one! It is said that at the peak of the reserve, it can be used by civilians in the southern part of Tianshui City for more than two months.
In addition to price stabilization, it also undertook the tasks of transportation and transit. In autumn and winter every year, even part of the military rations had to be transferred from there.
Such an important warehouse was burned down, and it was completely burned down, which immediately caused King Yao to be furious!
The kiln warehouse has a complete defense formation, one to prevent invasion, two to prevent rats and ants, three to prevent fire!
How could it suddenly catch fire?
Yaocang is actually a group of warehouses, consisting of 24 warehouses, scattered all over the place, not all next to each other. Who has the ability to burn down all 24 warehouses in one night?
It is said that if you have food in your hands, you won't be worried. But King Yao was in a serious panic and ordered the officials in charge to be brought in for interrogation overnight.
But all the chief officers of the kiln warehouse were dead, one chief and two deputies, along with more than twenty staff members under them, and the warehouse was gone along with it.
If he is burned or dead, there will be no evidence.
Who has this ability?
The fire in the kiln warehouse illuminated the entire sky south of the city red and burned until the next morning. Countless people witnessed it with their own eyes.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the city in just two days.
There is no need for anyone to add fuel to the fire; the rumor spreads faster than a fire in a kiln.
The price of food shot up like a skyrocket, it suddenly soared to a high point and could no longer be suppressed.
Grain was expensive to begin with, and everyone had to watch the kiln burn down, so—
Where's the food?
Is there any food left in Tianshui City? Can I still buy some?
The panic that spread throughout the city pushed up food prices, and countless people rushed into shops and businesses to grab food, taking as much as they could!
No more queuing.
Rich or poor, they all followed the crowd and rushed in, fearing that they would be left empty-handed if they were a second late. At this point, money was no longer a question.
The shop assistants and the expensively hired guards tried to stop them, but they were stepped on and trampled after just two encounters!
In just one morning of food scramble, more than 300 people were killed or injured. In addition to fighting for food, more than half of the people were trampled to death.
Subsequently, several thefts and robberies broke out in the south of Tianshui City.
If you don’t have money, you can only rob others;
Some of them saw their neighbors getting grain from the grain store, and no matter whether they bought it or robbed it, they would just take advantage of the situation.
Suddenly, robberies were rampant. The district offices in Tianshui City received more than 300 reports of crimes in the morning and were busy as a top.
Since the establishment of Tianshui City, apart from occasional riots by refugees, such crazy and blatant crimes have rarely occurred.
It was as if the night of Emperor Liujiang had arrived early.
Yao Ting urgently transferred a batch of public grain to the market, and ordered all blocks to post notices and have someone give speeches, saying that the warehouses were sufficient and asking everyone not to rush to grab grain.
Useless.
Tianshui City has been short of food for quite some time, and now panic is spreading rapidly. It cannot be solved by just issuing a few notices to reassure the people or asking the grain shops to supply an extra bushel of grain.
Everyone is asking:
Where is the grain? For such a big country, where is the abundant grain produced every year thrown into a bottomless pit?
Coincidentally, at this time, the Tianshui East Expansion Project issued another announcement. In order to welcome the arrival of Di Liujiang, do a good job in construction management and avoid accidents, the project will be semi-suspended, wages will be settled, and personnel will leave from that day on.
Translation in plain language:
The work has stopped and we don't need any workers anymore. Just get out of here and don't rely on me for free meals!
With a "buzz", the mentality of the workers inside and outside the city exploded.
In the past few months, the Tianshui Eastward Expansion Project has employed tens of thousands of strong laborers and provided food for tens of thousands of people. After the autumn harvest in the counties and towns surrounding Tianshui City, the land is idle, so not only refugees, but also civilians and farm workers from the surrounding areas have flocked here to earn extra food in the winter.
Now that this project has been cancelled, where are these tens of thousands of people going to work and earn a living?
There are simply not enough jobs available in and around Tianshui City today!
Once this notice is posted, its power will be no less than a kiln fire!
Although there was no long-term contractual relationship between the Tianshui East Expansion Project and the vast majority of laborers, hunger was a big deal and arguing about reason was a small matter. The angry laborers rushed into the construction site where they usually worked and wanted to cause trouble, but the army was already there on high alert and fought off several waves of riots in a row and arrested the leaders of the riots.
Just when they were angry and desperate, a dozen foremen and accountants moved out tables and sat down, waiting for them to come and collect their daily wages.
What surprised everyone even more was that the construction site actually distributed five meals of food to each person.
If you dare to cause trouble, you will not get a penny or a grain of food, and you will be severely beaten.
Do you want money, food, or another beating?
"All the grain from the construction site has been moved out. Not a single grain is left in the warehouse! If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself later. Lord You and Island Master He have done their best to raise this batch of grain. You can take it and leave."
At this point, the laborers calmed down. Seeing that the opposing army was still holding their spears and halberds, they realized that there would be no benefit if they continued to make trouble, so they took the money and food, signed their names, and turned away.
A great chaos disappeared without a trace.
When the matter was reported to King Yao, he was indeed relieved, but at the same time he called You Rongzhi over and gave him a good scolding.
Why stop work and kick people out at this critical moment?
You Rongzhi felt a little aggrieved, but he could only nod in agreement.
Wasn't it his own decision to stop the project? You Rongzhi went to the palace in the morning to ask the king for a decision. After much deliberation, the king decided to keep five teams to continue working and dismiss the rest of the laborers on the spot.
There is no way. The royal court cannot afford to support so many big-bellied men.
The impact of the Emperor's slurry on people and creatures will last for a long time. The earliest time for the Tianshui East Expansion Project to resume work is half a month after the Emperor's slurry erupts. Anyway, the work has to be stopped, so we might as well take this opportunity to disperse the people in advance to save some money and food.
After receiving this instruction, You Rongzhi naturally had to carry it out.
Unexpectedly, the kiln caught fire soon after!
How could King Yao remember this little detail about the project at that time? If he couldn't remember it, could he expect his officials to be flexible?
When everyone in the city was worried about going hungry and their jobs, the Tianshui East expansion project was suddenly stopped and workers were driven out. Isn't that just making trouble for no reason?
In He Lingchuan's view, this is a manifestation of the poor coordination of a country's policies. Officials do their own work and lack communication with each other.
Just focus on your own work without considering the overall situation and consequences.
King Yao was somewhat relieved. Fortunately, the trend of the laborers' riot was stopped before it took shape.
When Qingyang heard the news in the court, he couldn't help laughing, and King Yao thought he was gloating.