There were many people present.

The three pavilion elders and the Minister of Hubu were all in Nuan Pavilion at this time.

After they heard about this, they were all thinking about the feasibility of this approach.

Although there are lessons learned from the past, this method does sound quite doubtful.

Now when they heard Zhao Ce say that although it was feasible, it was not very good, everyone looked at Zhao Ce.

"Not the best way?"

"The implication is that Uncle Yongxi, do you have a better way?"

Zhong Zhong quickly asked.

Food for disaster relief must come from the warehouse of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

As the Minister of Household Affairs, of course he cares more than others.

This year, although with various tricks, the household department has made a lot more income.

But it is not to the point where the country can spend it as it pleases.

Zhao Ce nodded.

"It's really not the best way."

"It will take time to implement this method."

Zhao Ce turned to ask: "How long can Qingyang Mansion last after borrowing food?"

Emperor Hongzhi turned over the memorial in his hand and answered directly: "There is not much food in Pingliang Mansion. As the news of the urgent matter spreads for 800 miles, plus the transportation time on the road, it is estimated that it will take seven or eight days to arrive."

"How long can the Qingyang Mansion continue to use gruel to provide disaster relief without borrowing food, and one meal a day?" Zhao Ce asked again.

Emperor Hongzhi probably did some calculations.

"I guess it can last about four or five days?"

"How long will it take for the grain from the capital to be transported to Qingyang Mansion?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhong Zhong, who directly gave an answer.

"From preparation to transportation, it is estimated to take about half a month."

Now that it has snowed in most places, it will definitely take longer than before to transport food.

This time, even if we borrow food from the neighboring county, there is still a time difference of almost seven days.

When Zhao Ce asked this question, everyone present immediately understood.

Let alone seven days without food, even three or four days would be enough to starve the dying people to death!

What happened this time was different from the previous time Zhao Ce was in the county.

Using economic leverage to artificially create economic bubbles, if this method is implemented, even if there are lessons learned from the past, there will still be people who want to get rich.

in economic activities.

Generally speaking, long-term oversupply rarely occurs, while short supply is the main form of long-term supply and demand.

Therefore, even if short-term commodity prices are pushed up, they will eventually fall back to normal.

So that's why, even if those businessmen know that the prices are artificially high, they will naturally take risks.

After all, if you miss this store, you will have no chance.

Raising prices also takes time.

The further up you go, the more elements you need.

When Zhao Ce was in the county town before, he was able to raise the price to a high enough level. The common point with this time is that the grain transported by the imperial court was already on the way.

The difference, of course, is the distance.

That time he was able to draw circles so calmly and tell everyone about this method.

The biggest reason is that the area of ​​Gaozhou Prefecture is not large.

The distance between county towns is not too far.

Compared with the vast and sparsely populated state capitals near Beizhili, the distance between it and the neighboring county can be said to be very close.

The affected counties borrowed grain.

Purchasing a batch of grain at a high price will be enough to support local grain prices being driven up.

If Qingyang Mansion wants to use the same method now.

If the distance is too far and the supply of food is slow, you may have to spend more money than before to purchase a large amount of food first.

Otherwise, a lot of people must be sacrificed due to lack of food to achieve the goal.

Therefore, Zhao Ce said that this method is possible, but the price will definitely be correspondingly high.

Li Dongyang nodded and said approvingly: "Linzhi's analysis is good."

"It's difficult to travel in snowy weather now, so the time I estimated is already conservative."

"If there is heavy snow on the road, I'm afraid it will be delayed for another day or two."

"The people really can't afford to wait."

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he was a little discouraged.

He thought Yong Xibo's method would work.

After hearing this, even if it is possible, it will cost a lot of money.

Li Dongyang looked at Zhu Houzhao's disappointed look and continued with some pride: "Although this method doesn't work, it doesn't matter."

"Tell me about another, better way."

There was a hint of showing off in these words, which made Liu Jian and others on the side feel a toothache when they heard it.

Zhao Ce looked at Li Dongyang and bowed his hands respectfully.

"Then the student will try to talk about it."

Zhao Ce stood in the Nuan Pavilion and thought about it: "The main difficulty in this disaster relief is that the transportation time is too long."

"Land transportation takes too much time, so we still have to use water transportation."

Zhu Houzhao's tone was full of questions.

"If water transportation is blocked, how can we get there?"

Zhao Ce smiled and said, "Water transportation is blocked, what about sea transportation?"

Time is a problem, so as long as the time is shortened, the problem will naturally be solved.

"Sea freight?"

Everyone present repeated these two words in surprise.

The transportation of grain from the capital mainly relied on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Since the sea was banned for so many years, inland waterways have been used for water transportation.

Zhao Ce suddenly mentioned shipping, which made everyone present somewhat unresponsive.

Later, Zhu Houzhao was the first to react.

"Sea transport..."

"Start from the Bohai Bay, pass through the Shandong Chief Envoy Department, then change the core, and go from the Han River to Shaanxi."

He patted his thigh and said happily: "It can be done!"

"As long as we cross the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the water transport congestion situation will be solved."

"And the Bohai Bay has begun to take sea routes, which can even be faster than inland rivers!"

Zhao Ce said approvingly: "Your Highness's analysis is good."

As the main canal channel of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, as long as this section can be bypassed, the problem of waterway blockage can be solved.

Moreover, taking the sea route can save you a lot of detours.

Nowadays, although the Ming Dynasty has not yet fully implemented the sea ban, it has opened two ports.

No matter how open the Bohai Bay is, no one will say anything.

Zhu Houzhao was praised by Zhao Ce, and he happily said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Father, I think it is feasible!"

"When Taizong moved the capital, Bohai Bay became the capital's outlet, with frequent ships coming and going."

"Although it was abandoned for a period of time, it can also be directly used for transportation."

"Marine shipping is not affected by heavy snow."

"In this way, we will start from the capital and arrive at Qingyang Mansion."

“If you travel day and night, five days is enough!”

Zhu Houzhao studied a lot of military maps and was quite familiar with these supply routes that might be used in the military.

When Zhao Ce mentioned this, he immediately thought of the specific route.

Several other old guys were still thinking about it, but he had already said it directly.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to have thought about this, and his mood was a little complicated.

This son was keen on military affairs, and it wasn't the first day he knew about it.

But I didn't expect that he actually studied it so deeply.

Compared with Zhu Houzhao's excitement, the other ministers listening on the side showed some unclear expressions.

Li Dongyang also put away his previous pride and showed a hint of worry.

Emperor Hongzhi said directly: "It seems that sea transportation is indeed feasible..."
Chapter completed!