Domineering Daming

"Who are you all?" When it was Zhu Xu's turn, the guards guarding the gate looked at Zhu Xu's group vigilantly.

Cao Huachun got out of the carriage, passed some silver in his hand, and said politely: "We are businessmen from the north, and we hope the officials will be accommodating."

"Take it back!"

Unexpectedly, the guard immediately yelled loudly, and at the same time the guards all around surrounded him.

A group of people under Cao Bianjiao immediately became tense, some put their hands into their waists, and some wanted to touch their bosoms, their expressions were indifferent and vigilant.

The guards were even more nervous. Those who drew their knives drew their knives, and those who cocked their spears all felt like they were facing an enemy.

The leading lieutenant looked coldly at Cao Huachun, then looked at the carriage, and said in a deep voice: "Now the whole of Fujian is strictly investigating the spies, no matter where you are from, get off the car immediately and let us check, otherwise you will be escorted to the governor immediately Yamen interrogation!"

Both Cao Huachun and Cao Bianjiao's expressions darkened, how can others mess with the people and things in the carriage!

Just as he was about to speak, suddenly, a man rode up behind Zhu Xu's carriage, and said coldly, "Okay, let them in, it's not a trick."

When the captain guarding the gate saw him, he quickly withdrew his troops and said, "Since Mr. Tao knows him, it's fine."

Zhu Xu opened the curtain, and saw that middle-aged man with a stinky face that he met in the tea house was coming slowly with an impatient expression on his face.

Zhu Xu immediately laughed and said, "Thank you, Master Tao."

The middle-aged man immediately snorted coldly, turned his head and ignored him, apparently very displeased with Zhu Xu's status as a disciple of "Zong Chuan Academy".

Zhu Xu found it interesting, and said, "I'm going to see Yu Anxing next time, do you want to go together?"

The middle-aged man paused, frowned, struggled for a while, then snorted coldly, reined in his horse and walked forward, but walked slowly.

"Tsk tsk, you have backbone..." Zhu Xu smiled even more.

Zhu Xu's carriage moved forward, and the soldiers guarding the gate didn't make any trouble this time. They couldn't help but bowed slightly, and some of them even trembled.

Yu Anxing, the governor of Fujian, anyone who can call him by his name at will - they can't afford to offend him!

The few guards who shouted just now looked at each other quietly, fearing in their hearts, such a person can decide their life and death with a single word!

Zhu Xu didn't care about these little soldiers, and the carriage slowly entered the city.

In this city, there are cement roads and bluestone roads, or a mixture of them, with occasional bumps.

Zhu Xu lifted the curtain and looked outside.

People on both sides of the road come and go in a hurry. Compared with Yingtian Mansion, the people here seem a little "serene". From time to time, you can see some refugees on the side of the road, gathered in groups of three or four at the corner, and they are all hopeless Powerless appearance.

Zhu Xu frowned, and said to Cao Huachun in front of him, "You can go and inquire later about the situation in Fuzhou and the whole of Fujian."

"Yes." Cao Huachun said.

Zhu Xu was still looking outside, with a bad premonition in his heart.

Although there is a description of the disaster in Fujian's memorial book, the overall situation is still good, and there is a surplus every year. Although the taxes and food paid are insufficient, they are more than [-]%, which is somewhat different from what he saw.

He is not afraid of civil unrest, but he is afraid that the local government will not report it, cover up the facts, whitewash the peace, and let him see the real situation clearly.

The carriage traveled more than half a block, and came to a restaurant, which was completely emptied, waiting for Zhu Xu to settle in.

Zhu Xu just took a bath and changed his clothes when Cao Huachun came to report.

"Your Majesty, we have found out who we met in front of the city gate."

In Cao Huachun's hand was a pamphlet, which was specially used for the investigation by the accompanying Jinyiwei. He glanced at it and said, "That Yuanwai Zhao was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. He served as a county magistrate. He was always at home. At the beginning of Chongzhen, a businessman who went to sea brought sweet potato seeds. He tried to plant a few acres, but just in time for a catastrophe, one acre of sweet potatoes could equal three or four acres of middle fields. Planting, and then selling to make money, in just a few years he earned 8 to [-] taels of silver, and then he built mountains and bought land, which expanded to tens of thousands of mu. Not to mention traders, even the governor of Fujian Province bought tens of thousands of taels of silver from him every year. The sweet potatoes were used for disaster relief. He also established a "Food for the Sky Chamber of Commerce". In addition to jointly planting sweet potatoes and selling them, it also involved maritime trade, buying food from overseas and reselling it for profit... I heard that he is also the seat of Governor Zou. Honorable guest, he is quite prestigious in the Fuzhou government, and now he is also in the governor's office of the government."

Zhu Xu was drinking tea, listening in a daze.

There is no shortage of smart people at any time, and Zhao Yuanwai can be regarded as a capable and discerning person.

"What's the specific situation in Fujian?" Zhu Xu asked instead.

Cao Huachun knew that Zhu Xu just wanted to observe the customs and customs of Fujian through Zhao Yuanwai, so he said, "There are eight prefectures in Fujian, two high-class prefectures, four middle-class prefectures, and two low-class prefectures. The annual taxable grain is 120 million shi About 80 yuan has been handed over in recent years. Since last year, the governor’s office in Fujian has started to plant sweet potatoes on a large scale. The harvest has already started in the first season, but the effect is not great because of the resistance of the people. In addition, the drought has increased. Food prices soared, and the disaster became more serious..."

Zhu Xu nodded slightly, and said: "So Fujian didn't fool me. How is Zou Weilian's official reputation in Fujian?"

Cao Huachun said: "Fujian's 'New Deal' has been promoted relatively smoothly. At present, the big framework has been set up, and it only needs to be deepened slowly and refined. Zou Weilian's official voice is generally good. He bends down and often visits various places. Incorruptible and honest, he is very serious about "suppressing corruption". In more than a month, more than 100 officials, large and small, have been dismissed. Governor Yu An is also quite capable. Leading the army to suppress bandits near Quanzhou, and vowed to wipe out all bandits, big and small, in Fujian within half a year."

Zhu Xu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that what he was worried about didn't happen.

He tapped his fingers on the table, thinking silently.

This Ming Dynasty has no shortage of talents, nor does it lack of loyal people who are dedicated to the country.Why did the official administration of the Ming Dynasty in history be corrupted to such an extent?One is that Shen Ke is too heavy and complicated for ordinary people to deal with; the other is that the power is improperly used, and those who really do things are tied up, and they are impeached and dismissed at every turn, making it impossible to continue.Therefore, the bureaucracy will only get worse and worse, and it will get out of hand.

Now that Zhu Xu has concentrated his power, he has promoted capable officials, and he will forcefully attack Shen Ke, the situation will naturally improve quickly.

"However, it's only temporary..."

Zhu Xu said softly that the New Deal came from top to bottom, and the bottom was not destroyed. Before it was rebuilt, the "Jingzheng New Deal" was still in the stage of "improvement", not "reform".

Cao Huachun listened to Zhu Xu's soliloquy, but did not speak, and listened quietly to his orders.

Zhu Xu thought for a while, and said, "Since the red-haired man hasn't come yet, I'm not in a hurry to show up. Let's take a look around."

Fujian is representative in the southeast coast, and it can be regarded as a medium-sized province. If it can barely cope with the disaster, its other identities will not be far behind.

Cao Huachun responded, "Yes."

Fujian governor Zou Weilian is leading people to observe the fields in the field at the moment, and everyone has a sad look on their faces.

In the huge field, there are cracks everywhere, blowing a breath can raise a cloud of dust, and the crops in the field are tilted in pieces, not because of the wind, but because of drought, disease, locusts and other reasons.

Zou Weilian is less than 60 years old, with white hair on the sideburns, thin face, slightly arched waist, looking at the situation in the field, frowned and said: "Is there a big reduction this year?"

Beside him was the master who was following him. He nodded and said: "It's your lord. The officials and others have also visited the surrounding counties. The situation is good and bad, but the reduction of [-]% is for sure."

Zou Weilian looked up into the distance and whispered to himself: "The imperial court is right, the 'New Deal' must be promoted as soon as possible, otherwise the common people will have no food to eat."

The master nodded. In the past few years, they also knew that there were frequent disasters, but they didn't look down. Looking at the overall situation, looking at it now, the whole of Fujian is very bad. They can't even get the basic taxes and food. If they say "the disaster does not show signs of abating, they need to have a long-term response", then they really need to plan ahead, but... don't know if it's too late.

Zou Weilian walked along the path and said with his hands behind his back: "As far as I know, the emperor exempted the taxes and grains of two prefectures and thirteen counties in Fujian, nine counties in two prefectures in Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, Huguang, Shaanxi and so on. Dozens of counties in the prefecture, if this continues, the imperial court will not have much tax and food, not only Fujian needs to make early preparations, but the imperial court also needs to make early arrangements, this 'new deal' is still a bit late..."

The chief secretary listened silently, Zou Weilian's situation was undoubtedly relatively large, but the reality was cruel because of the large situation.

"The 'New Deal' needs to be accelerated, and more sweet potatoes need to be planted..." Zou Weilian stopped, looking at an old tree that was dying not far away.He was relatively opposed to the so-called "New Deal" at the beginning of Chongzhen, but now he is the most staunch supporter.

The chief secretary didn't move, and stepped forward and said in a low voice: "My lord, but Mr. Liu said that 'food is the foundation of the country and should not be touched lightly', and he has been opposing it. With his reputation, I am afraid that many people will follow..."

Planting sweet potatoes is not just an order. It is necessary to persuade the people to switch to planting. People who do not have enough prestige to lobby will have little effect. Similarly, people with high prestige to stop it will have a great effect.

Chapter 714 Arriving in Ryukyu