I am a corrupt official, but they say I am a loyal minister!

The old eunuch smiled and said:"According to Little Princess Yunying, this is a new way of eating invented by Master Fu Cheng. It's called hot pot! Both vegetables and meat are raw, but they are all cut into thin slices.! Just put them in boiling water, scald them, add some seasonings, and you’re ready to eat!"

"Yeah? Sounds very interesting! I'm going to try it today to see what's so wonderful about this hot pot!"The empress' interest was aroused.

Then, the old eunuch put soup base and charcoal fire on the table, as well as lettuce and raw meat, and various condiments, all neatly placed on them.

These were all sent by the small group leader , the charcoal fire is raging, the soup is boiling, and you can eat it directly.

The empress looked at the boiling soup in front of her, and then at the lettuce and raw meat in front of her, so she picked up a piece of raw meat with her chopsticks and put it in according to Lin Beifan's instructions. The soup was boiled and scalded.

Because the raw meat was very thin, it was cooked by the soup in just a few snaps of the fingers. Then, the empress put it into an empty bowl and took a bite carefully.

Although the ingredients were delicious and It was warm, but the taste was a little different.

At this time, she saw the full of condiments placed next to it, including onions, ginger, garlic, sesame, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili, etc. She thought of the old eunuch's words, and according to her appetite , pour them into the bowl.

Stir the meat in your hands thoroughly, and put it into your mouth again

"Um! It tastes delicious this way!"

At this moment, the empress completely knew how to eat hot pot.

She picked up another piece of meat with great interest and put it into the soup. After it was cooked, she put it into a bowl with seasonings.

At this time, the meat infected by the seasonings It is no longer so hot, but it still has the fresh aroma of seasonings. It is really just right after one bite, and the empress is full of satisfaction.

"It tastes so good!"

Next, the empress couldn't stop using her chopsticks, and ate one piece after another, faster and faster. The old eunuch next to him looked at it, and his eyes popped out.

Is it really that delicious?

Otherwise , go back and prepare the table by yourself?

After about half an hour, the empress has eaten and drank enough.

Although she is a noble, she rarely has the opportunity to eat so happily.

Because she is usually busy with state affairs, and rarely can I got my meal on time.

Moreover, the imperial dining room was a bit far away.

When the food was served, it was basically warm, and some were even cold.

Therefore, it was really difficult for her, the emperor, to have a hot meal..

Especially in the winter, it is even more difficult to get a bite of hot food.

But now, with hot pot, it is different. You can directly eat the hottest and freshest dishes, and you can eat whatever you want. You can eat whatever you want, it’s completely satisfying and satisfying!

"The hot pot eating method invented by Aiqing is so suitable for me! Tell Yu Shanfang to follow the hot pot style these days!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After eating and drinking, the empress began to worry about state affairs again.

However, when she saw a memorial, she frowned:"In the south of the Yangtze River, the weather is cold and rainy.……"

It rains for days in winter, which is not a good thing.

Winter is cold and cold, and it is easy for people to freeze to death.

Coupled with continuous rainfall, water levels can easily rise, causing rivers to backflow, inundating farmland and villages, and displacing people.

It's cold and there's nothing to eat, so people are more likely to die.

This kind of thing is not uncommon.

The empress shook her head:"I hope this is just unfounded worry!"

However, Murphy's Law will apply everywhere.

If there is a chance that things will change, no matter how small the possibility is, it will happen.

In other words, the more you don't want something to happen, the more it will happen.

For several days in a row, the empress received bad news from the land south of the Yangtze River. The rainfall has not subsided, but has become stronger.

Low-lying areas in the countryside are now basically flooded, making travel difficult.

Some fertile fields and villages are now flooded.

Fortunately, the farmers living there had already moved away.

However, the most dangerous thing is the Qinhuai River, which has gradually overflowed its banks.

Once the embankments cannot be maintained and the rivers overflow, both river basins will be affected and millions of people will be displaced.

The empress issued several imperial edicts in succession, instructing the officials in the south of the Yangtze River to guard the embankment no matter what, and at the same time quickly relocate the people in the two river basins to reduce the disaster.

However, the most terrifying thing still happened!

In the face of horrific natural disasters, manpower is sometimes scarce and cannot hold on to the embankments. The river overflows and surges, submerging all the villages and fertile fields along the way, destroying everything, and millions of people lose their homes!

The only good news is that due to the timely transfer, civilian casualties were not large.

However, before the food could be moved, it was all washed away.

What should these millions of people do if they have no food to eat?

The empress immediately issued an order to the officials in the south of the Yangtze River: open warehouses to release grain and do their best to relieve the victims!

However, the answer given by Jiangnan officials was: There is no food in Jiangnan, and we sincerely ask the court for support!

In the morning, the empress slapped the dragon chair hard, and Lei Lei said angrily:"How dare you say that there is no food in Jiangnan? I have already investigated and found out that they have enough food, but it has been used by the King of Jiangnan as military rations!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"All the officials said in unison

"How do you ask me to calm down? The empress continued to be furious:"That Jiangnan King is so ambitious that he has been coveting my throne!" Even before he takes that position, he has already ignored the people in the country! If such a selfish and profit-seeking person were allowed to ascend the throne, would the people of the world still have a way to survive?"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"All officials once again shouted in unison

"We will talk about King Jiangnan later. The most important thing now is to relieve the victims! The empress said with a headache:"My dear friends, the King of Jiangnan doesn't release grain. What good ideas do you have?""

As he spoke, he looked at Qian Yuanshen, the Minister of Hubu.

The Minister of Hubu stood up, clasped his hands and said:"Your Majesty, the weather in our country is unpredictable this year, and the grain harvest has been affected, reducing production by about 20%! Among the households, food is limited, and it may be difficult to provide relief to millions of victims!"

The empress's eyes darkened.

Shangshu of Hube added:"And your Majesty, our capital is far away from Jiangnan. Even if we work hard, it will take two days! Even if we transport the food there now, I'm afraid it's already too late!"

"well!"The empress sighed heavily.

Her eyes couldn't help but leave Lin Beifan, with a trace of expectation.

However, it soon dimmed again.

Even if he is extremely smart, what's the use of being resourceful?

What is lacking now is food. Without food, everything will be lost. It's all empty talk. Could he still be able to conjure food?

He is a human being, not a god!

At this moment, a soldier rushed in in a hurry

"Report! The King of Jiangnan and the various officials in Jiangnan drove all the affected people out of Jiangnan! At the same time, loudly publicize that there is food in the capital! If you want to live, go to the capital to beg for food!"

""Bang" the empress was furious again:"What a King of Jiangnan!" What a poisonous plan!"

"This plan is indeed vicious! Gao Tianyao, the official secretary, smiled bitterly:"This plan of King Jiangnan is clearly to throw the burden of millions of people to our court!" If we don't care, we will definitely lose the support of the people and the court will be in danger!"

"If we take control and open up the granaries to help the victims, the victims will be saved, but if we don’t have food in hand, the impact will be even greater! If a war breaks out or other things happen, it will be absolutely detrimental to us!"

The other officials nodded.

"Yes, this plan is quite vicious! Regardless of whether we take care of the victims, they will still suffer!"

"Either lose popular support or lose food!"

"Everything is not good for my court, what should I do?"

……

All the officials had a headache, and the Empress was even more troubled:"My dear friends, do you have any good ideas?"

"this……"All the officials shook their heads

"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"The Minister of the Ministry of War can stand up

"Li Aiqing, what do you have to say? asked the empress

"Your Majesty, nowadays, with all the major vassals and princes going to war, and with foreign countries spying on us, our country is in a precarious situation and is very dangerous! Therefore, you must ensure that you have enough food on hand to cope with any disadvantages!"

"If we use this food to relieve the victims now, at most we will only gain some good reputation! What's the use for us? Can this reputation be used as food?"

"cannot! All major vassal kings will fight when they should! Other countries will still continue to peek at our country, waiting for opportunities to send troops! Therefore, the lesser of two evils, food must be preserved! As for the victims, they can only rely on God’s will! The Minister of Rites was furious:"

Master Li, do you want us to ignore the victims?" You have read the books of sages all your life, but where have they gone? Are you still a human being?"

"Mr. Zhao, I understand your anger very well! But now, being angry won't help! A country, a country, must first have a country before it can have a home. If we can’t even keep the country, how can we keep our people? Li Kaiguang , the Minister of War, asked loudly:"If the country is destroyed because of this, the sacrifice will not be the millions of victims, but tens of millions of ordinary people!" Mr. Zhao, I want to ask you, can you bear this loss?"

"this……"The Minister of Rites was speechless and shrank back angrily.

"Moreover, even if you try to save her now, will you be able to save her?"The Minister of War said loudly:"We are more than 800 miles away from Jiangnan. It will take 10 days at the fastest to transport food to Jiangnan. People are starving to death. How can we save them? Tell me, how can we save him? Can it be saved?"

Everyone was speechless when asked.

Li Kaiguang, Minister of the Ministry of War, bowed and said:"Your Majesty, if you say such an unpleasant word, the victims of the disaster at this time can no longer be counted as human beings! They even eat people when they are hungry, regardless of all etiquette and shame, and are no different from animals! Therefore, we should put national affairs first. We should not save these people and let them fend for themselves!"

The officials sighed one after another, and the empress closed her eyes in pain.

The court fell into silence.

At this moment, a loud voice sounded throughout the court.

"I believe that the victims should be saved!"