Jiang Chen opened the memorial and said as he read, "Tell me the conclusion first."

"Yes."

Xu Changqing said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, according to the reports from various places, since the beginning of spring this year, there seems to be very little rainfall in the entire Great Wei…"

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chen was shocked and quickly looked at the data on the memorial.

Indeed, except for a few coastal cities, most of the inland areas had not seen a drop of rain for a month.

This was very abnormal!

Normally, rain should be frequent during this time of spring, but droughts had appeared in various places.

Xu Changqing said at this time, "Your Majesty, I am worried that there may be a drought."

Jiang Chen nodded heavily.

The people of this world did not yet understand the principles of the natural water cycle, but Jiang Chen did.

Not only droughts, but also the possibility of developing into floods!

For this era, where nature could not be interfered with, it would be a devastating blow!

How did the Ming Dynasty of his previous life perish?

One of the most important reasons was the years of famine, which left the people displaced and corpses strewn across the land.

Great Wei must not let this happen!

"Summon Minister of Works Wei Zhengli," Jiang Chen said.

"Summon Minister of Works Wei Zhengli—"

Soon, Wei Zhengli trotted in, "Greetings, Your Majesty, I wonder what your orders are."

"Xu Qing, you speak," Jiang Chen said.

Xu Changqing then explained the possibility of a drought in Great Wei.

Wei Zhengli was equally shocked after listening.

If a drought occurred, the trouble would be great!

"I ask you, what water conservancy projects have you built?" Jiang Chen asked.

Wei Zhengli quickly replied, "I ordered various places to dredge waterways and store water in suitable places…"

Speaking of this, Wei Zhengli's eyes lit up, "Your Majesty, the reservoirs in various places should be almost built! The accumulated water in the reservoirs can be used temporarily."

"Perhaps it won't be long before rain falls."

Wei Zhengli's expression relaxed, but Jiang Chen did not slacken in the slightest.

This was just wishful thinking on Wei Zhengli's part.

It would naturally be good if it rained before the water in the reservoirs ran out.

But what if it didn't rain?

After thinking about it, Jiang Chen decided, "Wei Zhengli, I order you to immediately order the people building water conservancy projects to build around the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, making sure that the water from these two rivers covers most areas!"

Before Wei Zhengli could speak, Xu Changqing was taken aback.

"Your Majesty, in this case, the money allocated to the Ministry of Works will be greatly increased. The previous estimate was that it could last for six months, but now it may only last for four months!"

"Four months?"

Jiang Chen's expression became serious.

The court had already begun to cut expenditures, and the matter of increasing revenue was still nowhere in sight.

If the national treasury became empty, then the things being done might have to be stopped immediately.

This was a result that Jiang Chen could not accept!

But if water conservancy projects were not built, the consequences for Great Wei would be equally unacceptable.

Jiang Chen stood up and paced back and forth in the Qinzheng Hall.

Finally, he frowned and looked at Xu Changqing, "This money must be spent!"

"If I can't even prevent the people of Great Wei from going hungry, then what's the point of being this emperor?"

Xu Changqing was shocked and said, "Your subject obeys!"

Wei Zhengli was also surprised by Jiang Chen's determination, and he immediately assured, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will personally supervise the work and make sure everyone does their best!"

Jiang Chen nodded, "Minister Wei has worked hard, you can go and do it quickly."

After Xu Changqing and Wei Zhengli left, Jiang Chen sat on the dragon throne, unable to calm down for a long time.

The heavens were really against him!

At this time, Feng Jin said with heartache, "Your Majesty, don't worry too much, we can't control the heavens. It's time for lunch."

Jiang Chen nodded and said, "Bring it up."

Soon, a dozen palace maids brought up large and small bowls.

Jiang Chen frowned and looked at Feng Jin, "How many dishes are there today?"

Feng Jin was a little surprised, counted them, and said, "Your Majesty, the same as usual, eighteen dishes."

"Too much!"

Jiang Chen shook his head and said, "In the future, three dishes and one soup will be enough."

Feng Jin was so frightened that she knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, if you are not satisfied with anything, I will ask the imperial kitchen to change it immediately."

Jiang Chen waved his hand and said, "Now that my Great Wei may face a famine, I should lead by example and save food."

Feng Jin was very surprised, and then said, "Your Majesty is truly the first wise ruler of all time!"

The large-scale construction of water conservancy projects caused an uproar in the entire court.

Many officials did not understand why water conservancy projects should suddenly be built for the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

When Xu Changqing finished speaking about the possible events at the early court meeting, the officials were equally shocked.

Afterwards, a shadow was cast over the hearts of the officials.

The impending drought and the cold winter of last year made them feel that the situation was very bad!

If it hadn't been for His Majesty's ingenious establishment of a charity foundation last year, many poor people would probably not have survived that winter.

Thinking of this, the officials all looked at Jiang Chen.

They hoped that Jiang Chen could come up with a perfect solution.

"Wen Fengli."

Jiang Chen called the name of the Minister of Rites.

"Your subject is here."

"You draft an edict to inform the people of the world that my Great Wei may face a drought this year."

When Wen Fengli heard this, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, this matter must not be known to the people!"

Other officials nodded in agreement with Wen Fengli's statement.

If this possibility was announced to the world, then the people would inevitably be worried and fearful.

At that time, what would happen, they did not know.

Jiang Chen did not change his mind.

"The people must know, as long as my Great Wei is of one mind from top to bottom, I believe that this difficulty can definitely be overcome!"

Seeing Jiang Chen insist, Wen Fengli did not dare to persuade him further, and after agreeing, he drafted the message and announced it to the world.

The officials were all worried.

If the people knew about these things, wouldn't they turn the world upside down?

Unexpectedly, when the people in various places heard the announcement, not only did they not cause trouble, but they also felt a sense of relief.

They had long felt that something was wrong this year, and now with the court's announcement, it made them even more certain of their guesses.

The people began to tighten their belts and save as much food as possible.

After all, His Majesty was already eating only three dishes and one soup for a meal.

In this waiting, the weather changed from warm to slightly hot, and seedlings began to be planted in various parts of Great Wei.

Not a single drop of rain had fallen.

But fortunately, there was accumulated water in the reservoirs in various places, coupled with the newly built water conservancy projects from the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, which allowed the irrigation of farmland to keep up.

It was also at this time that the envoys sent to the Western Regions finally returned to the capital.

Jiang Chen summoned these people at the first time.

These people excitedly displayed the things they brought back in front of Jiang Chen, "Your Majesty, these are all agricultural product seeds from the Western Regions."