Chapter 295: Resolving the Disaster

The disaster in Hedong was far worse than imagined. In just two days, over 200,000 people fled from various parts of Hedong to Guanzhong. Instinctively, they gathered in Chang’an, the heart of the Tang Dynasty, as if only there was any hope for their survival.
The porridge shelters and tents prepared in Chang’an and Wannian counties were utterly insufficient to meet the needs of the disaster victims. Hungry refugees began to storm into Chang’an City. Although the imperial officials wanted to keep them outside the city, hundreds of thousands of refugees broke through the defenses of the city guards and poured into Chang’an.
Chaos ensued within the city. In several neighborhoods near Mingde Gate—Anyi Fang and Baoning Fang—there were outbreaks of looting and destruction. Hungry people smashed grain stores and vegetable shops, seizing food and any edible supplies they could find. Dozens of shop assistants were trampled to death during the chaos.
Soon after, the massive crowd of hungry people headed toward Xishi, where food was most concentrated. At that moment, tens of thousands of troops from the Jinyiwei, Qianniuwei, Wanjiying, and Longwu Army, stationed in the imperial palace, were sent to suppress the riots. The gates of various neighborhoods in Chang’an were quickly closed, leading to clashes between hundreds of thousands of refugees and the troops on Zhuque Street. The cavalry used sticks, whips, and even swords and spears to mercilessly suppress the unarmed refugees.
Zhuque Street was filled with fleeing refugees, screaming in terror. Mothers held their children and wept bitterly by the walls, while gray-haired elders knelt before the soldiers, pleading for mercy. Blood flowed like rivers on Zhuque Street, and the situation was utterly chaotic.
In Xingqing Palace, hundreds of ministers knelt at the palace gates, begging the emperor to open the granaries to relieve the disaster. In the Dadao Hall, Li Longji was discussing relief measures with key officials such as Li Yu, Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, Zhang Yun, Wang Gong, and Yang Shenjin.
“Your Majesty, there are still 30,000 dan of grain in the Pingzhun Bureau. Before the hunger drives up food prices, we must act swiftly to relieve the disaster and quell panic. Otherwise, if panic spreads among the residents of Chang’an, it will cause prices to soar, and the situation will become even worse,” Li Linfu urged anxiously. His health had only slightly improved a few days ago but had deteriorated sharply again, leaving him bedridden. Yet, given the urgency of the situation, Li Linfu forced himself to advise Li Longji. He knew too well this Tang emperor—only he could persuade Li Longji to make the right decision.

Li Longji said nothing. With his hands behind his back, he stood in front of the map of Longyou, his gaze fixed on the majestic plateau covered in snow—his dream. For a hundred years, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo had been entangled in wars and compromises, with the Tang always in a passive position. When Tubo grew exhausted, they would negotiate truces to rest; once recovered, they would tear up the agreements and resume warfare, capturing Tang people and supplies, seizing land, over and over again. Emperors Gaozong, Wu Zetian, Zhongzong, his own father, and he—all were trapped in this vicious cycle, never knowing when it would end.

Fortunately, the Tubo king died in the Battle of Shibao City. The young king was unable to control the situation, leading to internal strife within Tubo. As Geshu Han said, if they didn’t seize this opportunity, the Tubo would one day make a comeback.

Li Longji’s determination to attack Tubo was unshakable, and even the disaster among the people of Hedong could not change his resolve.

“I want to know exactly how much grain is needed to relieve these disaster victims and to what extent it will affect my campaign in Longyou.”

Li Longji’s voice was cold. As the supreme emperor, he didn’t need to consider the implications of providing relief—he only needed results, needing his ministers to tell him how to solve the problem.

“Your Majesty, there are millions of disaster victims in Hedong and southern Hebei, and over two hundred thousand have fled into Guanzhong, with more continuing to arrive. This disaster will last at least until the summer grain harvest in June. My calculations show that at least five hundred thousand dan of grain are needed to address the entire disaster, and another two hundred thousand dan are required for those who have fled into Guanzhong.”

“No! That’s too much.”

Li Longji angrily interrupted Li Linfu. Last time they met, military rations were already insufficient. He had found one hundred thousand dan too much for relief—how could he now be asked to provide two hundred thousand or even five hundred thousand dan?

“Your Majesty, please calm down. I have two solutions that can ensure the campaign in Longyou proceeds as planned while still providing relief to the disaster victims.”

Li Linfu’s words eased Li Longji’s expression slightly. “Prime Minister, please proceed.”

Li Linfu stabilized his health and slowly said, “The first plan is to mobilize the various farms in Guanzhong to donate grain. From my calculations, the accumulated grain from over 500 farms in Guanzhong over the years amounts to at least three million shi. It’s not necessary for them to donate everything—just the old stock will suffice, which is at least one million shi. Of course, I know that the previous decision was to purchase grain, but that also takes time. To buy time, we could use a system of delivering goods first and paying later, or borrow money from the banking institutions along the way to make purchases, repaying them once the funds arrive. This way, we can at least obtain some grain to alleviate the suffering of the hungry.”

Li Longji nodded. Truly worthy of Li Linfu—his plan was practical. After some thought, he said, “I can order the princes to take the lead in selling grain. Delivering goods first and paying later probably won’t work. Borrowing money from the banking institutions is a good idea. Prime Minister, please present the second plan.”

Seeing that Li Longji agreed to his plan, Li Linfu became energized and quickly said, “My second plan is to prevent riots among the hungry in Guanzhong. We can send them to Anxi. The local governments along the way can arrange their transportation. Instead of letting them wait in Chang’an for relief, we can provide aid while they’re on the way. This will reduce the number of victims in Chang’an and eliminate the risk of riots. More importantly, it will quickly stabilize the situation in Guanzhong, so as not to affect Your Majesty’s campaigns in Longyou.”

As soon as Li Linfu proposed this plan, not only did Li Longji approve it, but several high-ranking officials also agreed. Chen Xilie said, “Your Majesty, this is a plan that solves three problems at once. I fully endorse it.”

The crown prince, Li Yu, also agreed enthusiastically, “I also support it. However, more personnel need to be sent along the way to assist and provide herbal medicine to prevent the victims from dying en route.”

For Li Longji, the most crucial thing was not to disrupt his campaigns in Longyou. As long as that condition was met, he was willing to consider anything else. It was good that the victims could be sent away, sparing him further worry.

“I approve Prime Minister Li’s plan. Additionally, Li Qingan’s request to dispatch students from the Imperial Academy and officials from various regions to Anxi will also be handled. The students from the Imperial Academy can take care of the victims along the way, which will also give them a chance to gain experience. I also approve the request from the Anxi army to go to Hexi to welcome the immigrants.”

Seizing the opportunity, Li Linfu hurriedly said, “The premise of both plans is to first stabilize the victims. I earnestly request Your Majesty to approve the urgent dispatch of grain from the Pingzhun Bureau to relieve the victims and prevent the situation from worsening.”

“Approved!”

The officials gradually left, but Li Longji called back Yang Guozhong.

Only after all the ministers had left did Li Longji ask him, “I heard that your nephew, Yang Wang, was killed last night. What happened?”

Last night, Yang Wang, the head of the Diplomatic Affairs Office at the Honglu Temple, went to a famous weapons workshop in Xianyang on personal business. On his way back, he encountered a group of strong and hungry people. He spoke rudely to them, and the enraged crowd pulled him off his horse and killed him. To this day, the murderers remain at large.

When Yang Xian heard that his son had been killed, he fell ill and could no longer get out of bed. The entire Yang family was furious and pressured Yang Guozhong to find the murderers and punish them.

Yang Guozhong repeatedly questioned Yang Wang’s retinue, who only said it was a group of ragged, burly young disaster victims who were robbing passersby on the road. Yang Wang happened to encounter them, but the retinue couldn’t see clearly what those victims looked like. As for why Yang Wang went to the sword shop in Xianyang, they also had no idea.

This matter gave Yang Guozhong a huge headache. In fact, he didn’t want to get involved either. With so many matters pressing at him lately, he had no time to deal with this unsolved case. But under family pressure, he had no choice but to investigate.

“Your Majesty, Officer Yang encountered disaster victims outside the city, and a physical confrontation ensued. Unfortunately, he was killed by them. There are two hundred thousand disaster victims outside the city, and I have no idea where to start my investigation.”

Yang Guozhong didn’t dare say more. The reason for Yang Wang’s trip on personal business remained unclear. It was only known that Yang Wang had been in close contact with people from the Abbasid Empire these past few days and seemed to have received gold from them. Although it was part of Yang Wang’s duties as head of the Diplomatic Affairs Office to interact with them, Yang Guozhong suspected there might be more to the gold matter. He was worried that if the situation escalated and something unfavorable to the Yang family came to light, it would be counterproductive. So he tried to handle the matter discreetly, not even daring to tell the imperial concubine. However, he was puzzled as to how Li Longji had gotten this information.

Li Longji merely asked casually. He didn’t really want to keep Yang Guozhong there. With a sigh, he changed the subject. “The disaster victims in Hedong have troubled my mind and drawn attention from the people of Chang’an. Resolving this issue properly would win the people’s support. Although Xian Yu Zhongtong is the governor of Jingzhao, I’m worried he isn’t familiar with the situation in Chang’an and won’t be able to control the situation. Prime Minister Li seems to be in poor health. I can’t bear to see him overwork himself. That’s why I want you to take full responsibility for this matter. Follow Prime Minister Li’s plan and send the disaster victims away cleanly. Besides, as the Minister of Personnel, it’s your job to assign officials. This is a critical matter, and I don’t want you to bring in personal grudges. Do you understand?”

Yang Guozhong understood Li Longji’s intention: to take credit away from Li Linfu, win the people’s support, and establish his own authority. At the same time, he wasn’t allowed to deliberately make things difficult for officials being dispatched to Anxi. Yang Guozhong knew full well that this was a sign he would soon replace Li Linfu.

Yang Guozhong was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, “I shall obey the order!”
…
The decisions made in Xingqing Palace ultimately gave the refugees a glimmer of hope. By noon, numerous officials and laborers set up dozens of porridge stalls on Zhuque Street. At the same time, various counties in Chang’an and Jingzhao Prefecture also erected tents and started boiling porridge. The refugees’ angry mood finally subsided, and the troops withdrew to their barracks, leaving only a few thousand soldiers from the Jinyiwei to maintain order.
Soon, some wealthy families in Chang’an also began to contribute to the relief efforts. News that troops from Jianghuai were transporting a million bushels of grain to the capital spread throughout the streets. The nearly chaotic situation in Chang’an finally stabilized. The price of rice, which had risen by thirty wen just in the morning, quickly dropped. The gates of the various districts were gradually reopened, and life in Chang’an slowly returned to normal.
Just after noon, Li Qing’an’s convoy entered Chang’an City through the chaotic Mingde Gate. The carts moved extremely slowly, surrounded by refugees who had come out of the city to search for their families. Inside the cart, Li Qing’an was considering various arrangements for Anxi. First, he would have to deal with the large influx of immigrants. According to the original plan, these immigrants were to be relocated to Suiye this year, but they would first rest for two months near Jinman County before heading there. Five new counties were to be established in the Suiye area. He had already ordered Yang Zaicheng, the military commander of Yiwu, to lead troops along the Hexi Corridor to protect the immigrants from attacks by the Qiang and Hu tribes.
For Anxi, the critical issue was still food—both for the army and the civilians. There were also preparations for wars against Tubo and the Toharans. With Anxi’s current resources, even if they requisitioned the cattle and sheep of herders, it would not be enough to support such large-scale operations. He had to resolve the food problem first before launching campaigns against the Toharans.
Li Qing’an gently rubbed his temples. In fact, he already had a plan, but the conditions for it were not yet ripe and needed to be refined gradually.
His gaze fell on the Xindu River basin on the map. This area had a large population, fertile land, and abundant grain production. The forces of the Abbasids had already invaded this region and established two governorates, Xinde and Punjab, but they had not yet secured a firm foothold. After the Battle of Talas, Khorasan would lack troops and would inevitably withdraw forces from these areas. Moreover, since they had signed a peace agreement with the Tang Dynasty, the Abbasids were unlikely to station many troops here.
But this did not mean that Li Qing’an would attack this place immediately. That was why the conditions were not yet ripe—he could not fight on multiple fronts at once and had to proceed step by step. However, the grain from this area could indeed solve Anxi’s urgent needs. He wanted to get the Abbasids to willingly hand over the grain stored in the Xindu River granaries to Anxi.

At that moment, the carriage jolted and came to a stop, interrupting his thoughts. Li Qing’an pulled back the curtain slightly. The carriage had entered the city and was now on Zhuque Street. Outside, there was noise everywhere. He heard a bodyguard report from outside, “General, it’s An Lushan. He wants to see you.”
“Hmm! Let me get out of the carriage.”
Li Qing’an got out of the carriage and saw a group of carriages approaching from the opposite direction. Hundreds of cavalry were guarding a carriage. The convoy had stopped. The obese An Lushan got out of the carriage and smiled from afar, “General, I want to thank you for the formula for fire and thunder.”
At Li Longji’s request, Li Qing’an had given An Lushan a formula for fire and thunder the day before yesterday. However, some of the ingredients were extremely difficult to obtain, such as the high-proof liquor from Gaochang, the lightweight fire oil from Beiting, and the black stone wood from Jiuyuan in Shuofang. It would take An Lushan at least a year or two to gather all these ingredients. As for whether he could succeed once they were gathered, that was none of his concern.
He had also given this formula to the people of Da Shi through Zhao Xin, hoping they would succeed. It was evident that An Lushan was extremely happy.
Li Qing’an bowed in return and smiled, “We’re both part of the Tang army; it’s only natural. General An, please don’t be polite. Where are you heading?”
“Hehe! I’m going back to Fanyang. I also need to fight, so I have to go back and prepare. The general should return early as well!”
An Lushan wasn’t wrong. Li Qing’an had originally planned to stay in Chang’an for two months, but due to the battle against Tubo, he had to change his plans and return to Anxi earlier. He nodded and smiled, “I plan to set off at the end of the month. There’s no choice; we’re all destined for hard work!”
An Lushan laughed loudly. “It doesn’t matter if I work hard, but the general is newly married! Leaving your young wife behind like this, aren’t you afraid?”
Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “What do you think I’m afraid of, General An?”
“Haha! Nothing! I can’t attend your wedding, so I prepared a small gift and sent someone to Duke Dugu’s residence. I wish you a son soon.”
“Thank you, General An. I hope we can cooperate well in the future! I won’t accompany you further. Wish you a smooth journey.”