In the first year of Yongxing, the fourth day of the lunar month.

Under the arrangement of Qin Xiangru, the head of the household department, Chen Chao, who had been recuperating in the palace for several months, left Kuishou Street and went to the outside of the city to preside over disaster relief.

Sitting in the carriage, lifting the curtain, looking all the way, shocking.

The outside world is white, and the snow in the fields is more than a meter deep and half a person high.

The damage was worse than what was written on the fold, and the numbers were multiplied by multipliers. More than 300,000 people were affected by the disaster, and not a single innocent person in the counties and towns around the capital.

The convoy arrived in Qingshan County, one of the hardest-hit counties, at noon.

The county has a permanent population of 80,000, and preliminary statistics show that nearly eighty percent of the houses in the county have been crushed by heavy snowfall, and all kinds of tents have been temporarily transferred and set up in open fields.

But recently, the snow has not stopped, and some tents are overwhelmed and show signs of destruction.

Chen Chao changed into regular clothes, stepped out of the carriage, and took Han Zhong and Qin Xiangru to visit in plain clothes to understand the truth.

The streets were filled with homeless people, who had been placed in makeshift shelters by the officers and soldiers who had been relieved of the disaster, and thousands of people huddled together to keep warm.

Young and ignorant children, unaware of what was happening, gathered in twos and threes, pouting their butts and building snowmen, while the men curled up their hands in their sleeves and lined up to receive the relief food.

From time to time, there would be fights and brawls, and the temporary resettlement centers would be in disarray, and the officers and men would struggle to support themselves.

Chen Chao stopped, looked at the mess, his heart was heavy, and he sighed softly.

"It's not okay to go on like this, sooner or later something will happen. If you want to find a way to let these victims find something to do and separate their spirits, they are all men with strong blood, and they will have accidents when they are idle. ”

"Xiangye...... That being said, disaster relief has always been like this, and it affects the whole body. Qin Xiangru hid in a thick cotton suit, only his head was exposed.

He is the head of the household department, the chief disaster relief officer, and has provided relief to large and small disasters over the years.

In his opinion, the current situation is good, and there is still a surplus of relief food mobilized to save people, and he does not worry about starving to death.

As long as the heavy snow passes and the disaster area is rebuilt, everything will be fine.

In other words, the current situation cannot be easily changed, and no one can guarantee that the new decree will not cause civil unrest.

No one can afford to take this responsibility.

Chen Chao thought about it, since he came, all this should have changed.

From the perspective of future generations, it is very wrong and unwise to let all these victims gather together and do nothing every day, just waiting for the relief food to fill their stomachs and survive the disaster year.

Chen Chao grabbed the snow on the side of the road and raised it in the air, his eyes were complicated, "Qin Shangshu thinks that how long will this disaster last?" ”

"Generally three or four months...... However, looking at the ghost weather this year, it is possible to do so in five or six months, or half a year. Qin Xiangru said.

"For half a year, Qin Shangshu thinks that for half a year, will these victims always listen to the words of the imperial court? Stay here in peace. ”

Qin Xiangru shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Definitely not." ”

Again, after a long time, there will be new changes for the victims.

For example, dissatisfaction with the imperial court's disaster relief efforts led to large-scale unrest and even armed fights.

"So, it's time for a change." Chen Chaodao.

"Change is chaos." Qin Xiangru persuaded bitterly.

Chen Chao glared at him, slightly displeased, Qin Xiangru instantly shut up, and said, "It's all up to Xiangye's arrangement." ”

Walking into the makeshift tent shelter, Chen summoned officials from all walks of life for disaster relief.

When everyone heard that they were going to change the customary disaster relief regulations, they were all a little incredulous, and they all looked at Chen Chao on the throne.

Chen Chao knew what they were worried about, and said, "Anything happens, all the responsibility is borne by the prime minister, and you are only responsible for execution." ”

When it comes to this, it is difficult for everyone to stop it.

After drinking a cup of hot tea, Chen Chao looked at everyone and said, "Have you ever heard of cash-for-work?" ”

What?

Cash-for-work?

What kind of rarity is this?

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, I don't know what to do.

"Xiangye, what do you mean by cash-for-work?" Someone asked.

Chen Chao smiled and explained, "To put it simply, the imperial court will fund the construction of infrastructure projects...... Oh, infrastructure engineering is the construction of houses, roads, dams, and so on, to meet the daily needs of the people. The affected victims were then hired to participate in the post-disaster reconstruction, and during this period, the imperial court paid the victims a certain amount of money, such as ten cents a day, to increase their enthusiasm for participation. ”

"Xiangye, do you know what you're talking about?" Some officials seemed to have forgotten their identities and stood up and were laughed at.

"How can there be such a thing as disaster relief? In this way, what is the difference between building a large number of buildings? At the moment of the catastrophe, this is to be seized by others, and we have to wait for a copy. And be poked in the back and scolded, and pay for wages? Those victims can absorb the imperial court, my Daji is not rich, how much surplus grain can the household department have? ”

Actually, I don't blame him.

In previous years, when disasters occurred, the imperial court provided disaster relief, and was only responsible for helping the victims through the most difficult days and ensuring that they did not starve to death.

As for post-disaster reconstruction, it all depends on the consciousness of the victims.

And Chen Chao's proposal sounds like a fantasy.

Funded by the imperial court? Hire disaster victims? Help them build houses and pay them for their wages?

It's unreasonable, unheard of.

Chen Chao shook his head, not angry. The height of the station is different, the insight is different, and he can't be blamed for this.

At that time, the Eagle Country was mired in a serious economic crisis, tens of millions of enterprises closed down, and the country's overall economic level regressed by 20 years.

At this time, President Roosevelt, who had just taken office, stepped onto the stage of history as a savior and promulgated a series of new policies, the most important of which was the cash-for-work measure. It has built infrastructure to provide jobs for more than 20 million people and pulled the Eagle Nation back from the brink of collapse.

And these infrastructures pave the way for the future prosperity of the Eagle Nation.

It's a long-term investment!

"Do you all think the same way he does?" Chen Chao asked.

The others looked at each other and said nothing.

At this time, Qin Xiangru's eyes rolled, and he suddenly stood up and arched his hand: "Xiangye, the lower official swears to follow you to the death." ”

……

……

The unpleasant meeting ended quickly, Qin Xiangru stayed in the tent and took a sip of tea, only to feel bitter and difficult to swallow.

The reason why he stood up and said those words just now was that he didn't want to embarrass Xiang Ye too much, but in fact, he didn't know whether Xiang Ye's plan of "work for relief" was reliable or not.

"Xiangye......" Qin Xiangru looked at Chen Chao with a sad face, and wanted to say something.

Chen Chao waved his hand, interrupting him, frowning and thinking about things.

What has already been decided, Chen Chao will not hesitate any longer.

What he is thinking about now is, what materials should be used for post-disaster reconstruction?

In order to ensure that it will not be crushed again in the event of heavy snow in the future.

"I looked down all the way and found that there are mines in Qingshan County, right?"

Qin Xiangru nodded, "It's iron ore, but the output is not high." ”

Chen Chao squinted and thought about it, recalling his secret visit along the way, there were iron mines in Qingshan County, but what Chen Chao really paid attention to was the useless stones that were mined in those mining areas and piled up into mountains.

In my memory, the gravel section is grayish-white, and the people in the mining area often use them to build fences or something.

Off-white, that is to say, these gravel are rich in calcium carbonate, and if it is ground, it is limestone.

Limestone, iron ore...... Chen Chao's expression became more and more solemn, and finally a faint smile appeared on his face.

These two, together with clay, are mixed in proportion, calcined at a high temperature of 1450 degrees, and then mixed with gypsum and various auxiliary materials and ground to obtain a gray powder.

This powder is the decisive material for infrastructure projects.

Cement!

With this kind of thing as a binder, the house built is harder than earth or wood, and it will not collapse even in the event of a major snowstorm.

Having made up his mind, Chen Chao tapped his fingertips on the tabletop, making a clicking sound, and his mood was extremely happy.

But the problem is, in this era, can the calcination temperature reach the established more than 1,000 degrees Celsius?