Flowers on the other side [Comprehensive Red House]

Is there a drought in Shaanxi?The three cabinet ministers also have the same doubts.

Zhu Youxiao pinched the memorial sent by Li Nan, the supervisory censor of Shaanxi Province, and felt a little nervous. Could it be that in the weird record years of the 48th year of Wanli and the first year of Taichang, Shaanxi began to drought?

He pinched his fingers, and the focus of his eyes did not know where they fell. He seemed to be looking at nothingness, and he seemed to be looking at the three cabinet ministers who had been passed into the Hall of Mental Cultivation by him.

Liu Shimin reminded gently in the emperor's ear

"My lord, the chief assistant and ministers of the cabinet are here."

Zhu Youxiao withdrew his mind, and hurriedly said to the three cabinet ministers who started to salute: "Excuse me, sit down."

When the three of them were finished, Zhu Youxiao took the papers of Li Nan in Shaanxi and asked: "I see that the supervisory censor of Shaanxi Province has a paper about drought. What do you think?"

Fang Congzhe replied wearily: "The old minister feels that it is getting colder and colder these years. The rainfall has generally decreased this year. There may be a drought in Shaanxi. I just don't know how dry it will be in Shaanxi. The old minister heard that the harvests in Shanxi and Henan are not good this year. .”

Han Yu added: "Your Majesty, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has sent all the censors to investigate and check Yintian in various provinces. If there are abnormalities such as drought, they should send news back to the court soon."

Liu Yixuan went on to say: "If there is a drought, it will involve the opening of Changping warehouses in some border towns in Yansui to sell rice or provide relief."

Zhu Youxiao then asked: "Did the Changping warehouses in various places be inspected last year?"

Fang Congzhe shook his head, "Your Majesty, more than half of the censors are missing. These things..."

Zhu Youxiao told Liu Shimin, "It is said that Zhang Wenda, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Li Ruhua, Minister of the Household Department, came to discuss the affairs of Shaanxi together."

Liu Shimin immediately took orders and went out.

The two heard that it was related to the drought in Shaanxi and the Changping warehouse, so they put aside their affairs and hurried over.Zhu Youxiao showed Li Nan's book to Li Ruhua and Zhang Wenda.

After the two finished watching, Zhu Youxiao asked, "How reliable is Li Nan?"

Zhang Wenda got up and replied: "Your Majesty, Li Nan is a reliable person. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli. He was first appointed as the head of the Ministry of Punishment and then became the prefect of Fengyang. Later, he was promoted to deputy envoy of the Shaanxi Chief Secretary. "Records of promotion. In the 37th year of Wanli, he was promoted by the court to be the right deputy capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the governor of Shaanxi. He wrote several times on Shaanxi Road to stop floating taxes and promote water conservancy. If he said that there was a drought, he must have personally investigated and checked it. Understand."

Zhu Youxiao's heart couldn't help but began to sink.

"I just asked about Changping Warehouses. Some border towns in Daoyansui, Shaanxi have Changping Warehouses. Have you inspected and checked the warehouses over the years?"

Li Ruhua said ashamedly: "Your Majesty, if half of the Changping warehouses in Yansui Border Town are half warehouses, it would be a fluke. Because Jiubian owes money, but the soldiers guarding the border always have to feed them The grain in Shaanxi Dao itself was only enough for local consumption, and merchants in Shanxi transported rice from the south of the Yangtze River to border towns in exchange for salt.”

Li Ruhua couldn't continue.

Zhu Youxiao asked, "Does it mean that the merchants in Shanxi did not transport grain from the south of the Yangtze River, but bought rice directly in Shaanxi and Changping warehouses in Shaanxi?"

Li Ruhua nodded.

"The old officials have heard about this matter, and they also wrote to Shenzong to change the way of exchanging salt. It happened that King Fu became a vassal, so the matter was left alone. During the Hongwu period, rice was still purchased in Jiangnan, and later it gradually developed into Shandong and Henan. Mi, it has evolved into Shaanxi in recent years. In order to make money, Prince Fu's Mansion has also joined in this matter."

"It's Shenzong and King Fu again. The father and son are determined to push Daming into a place of eternal doom."

As soon as Zhu Youxiao said a word, all the courtiers in the Hall of Mental Cultivation fell silent.

Shaanxi is a semi-arid land, and the food produced locally seems to be enough for the local people to eat.All this has happened more than 200 years since grain was transported from south to north in exchange for salt.Now it’s useless to talk about Shenzong and King Fu. The important thing is how to ensure that the soldiers and civilians in Shaanxi have food and a safe transition to next year.

"Transfer food from the south of the Yangtze River to Shaanxi Road. Let Li Nan take charge of disaster relief in Shaanxi. Build water conservancy this winter, plant trees next spring, and use work as relief. The money will come from the Fuwang Mansion."

Han Yu hesitated and asked, "Where is King Fu in Dingling?"

"I have already sent people to copy Fu Wang's Mansion. It should be Luoyang now. Liu Shimin asked the attendant lecturer to draw up an order: the supervisory censor of Henan Province and the British prince, etc., will send the food from Fu Wang's Mansion to Shaanxi for emergency."

Fang Congzhe got up a little too late, followed behind Li Ruhua, Zhang Wenda and others, and saluted the emperor.

"Li Qing, the Zheng family's merchant ships are going to Nanyang and Siam to buy rice to supplement the normal warehouse. Your household department should quickly make a plan. Otherwise, there will be another drought in Shaanxi next year, and there will be no emergency silver and rice from the Fuwang Mansion."

"Your Majesty, if the Zheng family's ships transport rice to Nanyang, half of it will be lost when it is transported to Shaanxi."

"Then what can we do! We can't starve the people in Shaanxi, otherwise the people will rise up, and it will cost more money to appease or suppress than to transport grain."

Calculated in this way, it really saves money, worry, and trouble by transporting grain in the past.

Seeing that Zhu Youxiao's application was not in danger, Li Ruhua comforted the young emperor.

"It might be good to plant sweet potatoes all over Shaanxi next year. The sweet potatoes will mature in three to four months. Even if Shaanxi becomes cold and dry, by June, the people will have food to eat."

Liu Yixiu reminded: "Plagues often occur after floods, and locust plagues often occur after droughts. Shaanxi and Henan provinces should prevent locust disasters next year."

Liu Shimin handed over the prepared imperial decree to Zhu Youxiao for review and knocked on the jade seal. Li Ruhua blinked at Liu Shimin. Wang An was already well. Why is it still Liu Shimin's palm print? Could it be that the eunuch has changed the palm print?

Zhang Wenda took the imperial decree with a clear and bright seal, read the content of the imperial decree, and asked Zhu Youxiao.

"Your Majesty, is this imperial decree sent from the capital to Henan Road, or sent to Luoyang first to the British prince?"

"Send to Luoyang. Let the censors of Henan Province go to Luoyang immediately, count the food in Prince Fu's mansion, and transport it to Shaanxi. Has the Changping warehouse in Henan been inspected in recent years?"

Zhang Wenwen first responded to the imperial decree, and then answered.

"The Changping warehouse in Henan has inspections. This year, new rice should be imported and old rice sold."

"What about Shandong?"

"The Changping warehouse in Shandong has not been completed since the last time it was opened for relief."

"Zhang Qing, check all the Changping warehouses in the [-]th Road this year. Li Qing, you must buy rice from Nanyang and other places to supplement the Changping warehouses. Either use Zheng's ships or build seagoing ships. No delay."

"Yes."

"Usually the west is dry and the east is flooded. The north is cold and the south is hot. The capital can't all rely on the south. Let's see if Baoding, Tianjinwei, and Hejian can reclaim wasteland."

Fang Congzhe got up and replied: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that some people with experience in water conservancy construction should be sent to reclaim wasteland and farmland."

"Okay, you recommend some people, and you must attach your personal experience."

"Yes."

"That's all."

Fang Congzhe and others withdrew, and Li Ruhua stayed at the end.

"Your Majesty, the salary booklet given by the old minister?"

"I have read it. At the Xiaochao meeting, I communicated with the servants of the various ministries. There is no major objection. I will do so in January next year."

After Li Ruhua left, Zhu Youxiao told Liu Shimin, "Go and inform Wang An, and ask him to send someone from Dongchang to the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce to find out which Shanxi merchants are 'transporting grain' to the border town for salt."

"Yes, my lord. I will go to Wang An to pass on my lord's orders."

Liu Shimin restrained his inner excitement, he thought the emperor would let those Shanxi salt merchants go.Those who don't want to die for money, dare to buy rice locally in Shaanxi to transport it to the south of the Yangtze River, and they don't know how to be afraid if they don't kill a batch of them.

Before it was dark, Wang An sent the list of Shanxi salt merchants and the insider details of those who had connections with them to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the list carefully, and found that not only Shanxi merchants violated the border ban in Zhangjiakou, but also salt merchants as far away as Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province had links with them. There should be more than [-] merchants in total.

If these moths are not cleaned up, Daming will be wiped out by them.

"It is said that Luo Sigong has come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

Luo Sigong was a little worried holding the arrest list given to him by the emperor. Most of the staff of Jinyiwei had been dispatched to arrest the Eight Great Masters of Shanxi Merchants, and there were more than a dozen more.

"Your Majesty, most of the Jinyiwei under my command have been sent to Shanxi and Zhangjiakou. Are you waiting for them to return to Beijing?"

"Go and tell the British Lord that I will allow you to borrow a hundred soldiers from the imperial guards to go to Hangzhou. After you arrive in Hangzhou, you will borrow some manpower from the local garrison. None of these salt merchants will let go. government to deal with."

"Your Majesty, Dongchang will also send some people there. I am worried that Jinyiwei has too few people left to control the healthy soldiers who came to the imperial army and the local soldiers in Hangzhou."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wang An, and Wang An stepped forward and said, "Lord Luo, the East Factory can only send 50 people, and there are many things in the inner court recently."

Luo Sigong bowed his hands to Wang An, "Fifty people are enough. They are going to watch those soldiers stealing them and don't stretch out their hands."

Luo Sigong took the imperial decree to find the Duke of England.The British Duke was very surprised that Jin Yiwei wanted to borrow soldiers from the Imperial Army with him.

"The lower official's Jin Yiwei have all been sent out, and the emperor has sent other errands. There is not enough manpower. The lower official has obtained the emperor's promise to borrow a hundred healthy soldiers from the forbidden army to go south tomorrow."

The British Duke said worriedly: "Your Majesty agrees, but do you have a souvenir, otherwise I will not be able to bear the impeachment of Yushitai for such an empty-handed deployment of troops."

"If you don't believe me, go to the palace and ask His Majesty."

The two of them were arguing with each other, when a young eunuch from Dongchang ran over panting.

"Guo Gong also, Commander Luo, our family has sent you a letter of talisman."

After the British official verified the letter, he gave the little eunuch a purse.Send the little eunuch away, and personally accompany Luo Sigong to pick someone out.Apologizing to Luo Sigong while walking

"Commander Luo, if it's because I don't want to, I really can't transfer troops without permission."

Luo Sigong nodded, "The next official knows that the Duke of the State is cautious in his actions, and he will not feel resentment or blame."

The British public won Luo Sigong's words, regardless of the truth or falsehood.When Luo Sigong picked out his soldiers and left, he stomped his foot resentfully.

"Hmph, knowing that you can't transfer troops without a letter of talisman, you still hang around with me, pretending to be ignorant."

When the British prince returned home, he called his daughter to the study, told Zhang Yan about Jin Yiwei's borrowing from the army, and then questioned her.

"Yan'er, you said that Jinyiwei's quota is 3000 people, and now you have to borrow a hundred people from the imperial army when you go to the south of the Yangtze River. What do you mean?"

Zhang Yan frowned, "Father, are the three thousand Jinyiwei in Beijing?"

"I don't know if I'm here."

Zhang Yan grabbed the British Duke's arm and shook it, "Father, you are telling a lie. Didn't you know what you did when you borrowed a soldier from the Imperial Army to do something? He borrowed someone to cross the road in front of the emperor. , That is to say, what he does is not afraid of you knowing, not afraid of people other than Jin Yiwei knowing, or even the world knowing. It is likely that Jin Yiwei has been sent out a lot. The other is that the emperor and Luo Sigong want to borrow The mouth of the imperial army, and publicize what they have done to the people of the world."

The British Duke nodded, his daughter is smart.

"Guess what happened?"

Zhang Yan smiled, "The house was ransacked. The person who was ransacked must have committed a heinous crime, so he needs to publicize it to the world. My daughter can't believe that there are not even a hundred Jinyiwei in the capital."