Zhu Yunxi’s questioning echoed in the main hall of the General Affairs Office.

Heaven and earth are unkind, saints are ruthless.

When there is a problem among the people, and it is a problem that is difficult to solve manually, everyone will implicate the crime on the thief God or the foolish king.

It's pretty good now. These people just put the blame on God instead of saying that it was because of the king's personal ethics that the natural disasters were caused.

But if there is a man-made disaster on the ground, and these people are helpless, they will probably still blame the king.

If they meet a strong king, they will inevitably elect a female minister to take the blame.

In short, they are always infallible.

Ren Hengtai had no choice but to stand up at this time. He is the Minister of Rites, and it is his right and responsibility to uphold the etiquette system and protect the king and father of heaven and earth.

"Your Majesty, the Hu and Gong Departments have no intention of blaming God. They are simply explaining the current difficult situation due to the current situation."

Ren Hengtai explained the matter from his own point of view, then turned to look at Qi Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Jiang Yi, the Minister of Works, and his tone became more serious: "How difficult is it for your Majesty to create the Ming Dynasty? How can it be compared today? The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors created all the people and all things.

How can the hardship be compared today?

We all live on the emperor's salary and should share his worries. We have studied hard for ten years and made good fortune for the people. We will not let it go and do things perfunctorily because of the hardships of the times, the dangers of the land, and the disobedience of others."

Qi Zhu and Jiang Yi bowed their heads silently.

No matter in terms of theory or Ren Hengtai's official rank, neither of them could explain anything.

At this time, Wang Jun, Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, stood up and said, "Great Sun, Ren Shangshu, the Ministry of Works will never abandon the people. After today's meeting, I will go out of the city to supervise the snow-covered official roads. But the current situation is like this.

I don’t dare to act as a guarantee, so official channels can only be smoothed if anything happens.”

Yu Xin also stood up at this time: "Your Highness, the Ministry of Revenue has currently loaded no less than 50,000 dans of grain and grass in various warehouses of the Ministry of Revenue. No more carriages will be available to transport more. The Ministry of Revenue is just waiting for the Ministry of Industry to clear the official road.

You can immediately send food and grass to various places.

Prior to this, if we want to relieve the snow disaster in the areas south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River, I boldly advise and allocate the grain and grass stored in the warehouse in Hangzhou and the warehouse in Huai'an for two years to travel along the Yangtze River, the canal, and the Yellow River.

Distributed to all prefectures and counties along the coast."

After finishing speaking, Yu Xin nodded and stood there with his hands down, silently glancing at Zhu Yunxi who was sitting above him.

In the main hall, all the officials fell silent.

Yu Xin's strategy was to mobilize the grain stored in the warehouse in Hangzhou, and there was no problem.

It was originally that after the tax revenue from Jiaozhi Road came up every year in summer and autumn, it was transported from Jiaozhi Road and stored in the warehouse in Hangzhou for use by the military and civilians in Jiangnan.

The grain reserves of Huai'an Prefecture can be adjusted and transported, so no one dares to raise opinions.

Most of Huai'an Prefecture's grain reserves are collected from taxes collected from various prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, transported and stored there.

The grain and grass currently stored in Huai'an Prefecture was originally scheduled to be sent to Beiping Prefecture after spring, when the north is out of season, and then distributed to various places in the nine borders to ease the expenses of the border troops and the people in the border areas.

Part of it is transported via canals and Yellow River channels to Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, and part of it is transported by sea to Beiping Prefecture...

If Yu Xin's advice is implemented, the food and military supplies in Jiubian will be affected next spring.

Zhu Yunxi tapped his fingers lightly on the table in front of him, his eyes were like gossamers, and he pondered for a long time.

After a while, Zhu Yunxi slowly spoke: "Given the snow conditions in the south and north of the Yangtze River this winter, do you have any good suggestions?"

"Your Highness."

Among the crowd, an official stood up, looked at Zhu Yunxi, and bowed: "Charcoal, it's very cold at this time, what the people are most in need of is charcoal for heating. It's the end of the year, and most people have some surplus food in their homes, so there's no need.

I worry about whether my stomach will be full.

Even if it is less, we can still cope with it. The most important thing is charcoal for heating. Now that the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, it is impossible for people to always have firewood in every house.

But once the snow continues, the people besieged by the heavy snow will be without charcoal to keep warm, and in the end they are likely to die from the severe cold

And was frozen to death."

The south of the Yangtze River is different from the north. People will cut down entire mountains and forests in order to store enough firewood for winter use before the arrival of winter.

There will not be such a heavy snowfall in Jiangnan for basically a hundred years, so it goes without saying that people are required to store firewood in their homes.

Xie Jin, who had followed Zhu Yunxi, stood up and said, "Your Highness has already explained the matter to me. At present, the documents for urging the mining and distribution of coal are being issued every day, but the road is difficult and the time is passing."<

/p>

Rujun, Minister of the Ministry of War, who had been silent for a long time, finally stood up at this time: "Your Highness, colleagues, how many prefectures and counties in the south and north of the Yangtze River are experiencing heavy snow like Yingtian? Do you have any suggestions?

Reports were sent to local places, and officials and servants were sent to various places to check the snow conditions."

Zhai Shan turned around and looked at Ru Yu: "In addition to Yingtian Prefecture, there are now confirmed news about Zhenjiang Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, Guangzhou Prefecture, Huzhou Prefecture, Ningguo Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, Hezhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, and Chuzhou Prefecture.

, Yangzhou Prefecture and Shangzhongdu all have the same snow conditions as the sky at this time.

There is snow in all eleven places, and I am afraid that the winter snowfall this year will be quite severe. I am afraid that Zhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Henan will all be affected!"

After finishing speaking, Zhai Shan closed his eyes slightly with a worried expression.

Almost the entire financial and taxation center of the Ming Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River is suffering from snow.

And there is such heavy snow in Jiangnan and other places. Not even Zhai Shan dares to think about what the situation will be like in the counties along the Yellow River in the north.

Ru Yun took a deep breath. Who would have thought that after just two years of good life and two years of comfort for the courtiers, the Ming Dynasty would face such a severe dilemma.

He glanced at Wang Jun, who was silent next to him, and then cast a dull glance at the meritorious military generals sitting opposite, and said softly: "Right now, how to clear the road is the most important thing. The grain storage in Hangzhou's warehouse can It is transported via the Yangtze River to the riverside of Jiangnan state capitals, but what’s the next way?”

In the past, the first thing that the imperial court and local governments thought of was to collect labor from the people to transport, smoothen and repair roads.

But now that the roads are blocked by heavy snow, not to mention the court, even the local officials may not be able to tell what the situation is under their own jurisdiction.

"Use Jingwei."….

Zhu Yunxi frowned and spoke in a deep voice, then looked around and looked at the civil servants who had already revealed their faces.

Zhu Yunxi continued: "Heaven and earth are unkind, and saints are merciless. However, man will definitely defeat heaven! He ordered navy warships, troop ships, and grain ships to transport grain and grass to Hangzhou. The Jingwei camp divided its troops to escort grain and grass up the river, and every time the local prefectures and counties visited When they docked, grain and grass were distributed, and the officers and soldiers of the capital opened the way, transported grain and grass to the local areas, assisted local governments and counties in disaster relief, and distributed supplies to the people."

Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the capitals of the Central Plains dynasties have always been heavily armed.

Firstly, it is to ensure that the capital is protected by strong force. Secondly, it is to form a central army strong enough to crush the local area. Thirdly, it is to further weaken the local military power by drawing troops from the local area to form the central army.< /p>

The same was true for the Ming Dynasty, although there was no so-called 800,000 forbidden troops like the former Song Dynasty.

But now there are nearly 200,000 soldiers and horses in the Beijing army camps gathered inside and outside Yingtian City.

In addition to the Beijing army, there are also nine-sided heavy troops in the local area, probably with more than one million troops. However, this will vary according to different regions.

Generally speaking, the current military strength of the Ming Dynasty is dominated by the nine-border frontier army, followed by the nearly 100,000 troops currently stationed in Japan and Jiaozhi Road to fight.

After that, there is the guard station at the dangerous pass of the Thirteenth Road of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the garrison stations and guard stations stationed in the remaining places, it would be a blessing to be able to ensure that there are enough soldiers.

The nearly 200,000 Beijing troops are led by nearly 3,000 military generals and military attachés who have made meritorious service in Beijing.

After excluding the nearly 100,000 soldiers and guards who cannot be mobilized, these 200,000 Beijing troops are the most important garrison force of Yingtian City, and they are always related to the safety of the emperor and the capital.

Zhu Yunxi wants to use the soldiers from the Jingwei camp to relieve Xuequing.

For a time, all the civil servants were in an uproar.

Zhai Shan stood up directly and said: "Your Highness, this is inappropriate! The Beijing army and the direct military guards are to guard the capital and protect His Majesty's safety. How can we do it lightly? I think that I can order the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army. I issued a document urging the officers and soldiers of the Jiangnan Local Guard Station to go to the ferry along the Yangtze River and wait for the arrival of the grain and grass shipped by the imperial court to the Hangzhou Prefecture."

Ren Hengtai also said in a deep voice: "The Beijing army must not move! In the capital, where the emperor sleeps and where the court is, how can it be without heavy military protection? I second the words of Zhai Shangshu and issue a document to mobilize the officers and soldiers of the local guard station."

Wang Jun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, even used a shovel to kneel in front of Zhu Yunxi.

There was a clang and a clang.

Wang Jun is already in awe.

"I am guilty of capital punishment. I am in charge of the Ministry of Industry. I am incompetent in clearing roads, which makes it difficult for food and grass to move forward. I ask Your Highness to punish me to death. I beg Your Highness not to touch the Beijing army without permission."

As the elders remonstrated, there was an uproar, and the civil servants present stood up one after another and knelt on the ground.

"I second the proposal that the Beijing army should not move."

Zhai Shan even raised his head and said: "The safety of the capital lies in the Ming Dynasty. Even if His Majesty has such a decree, the ministers will advise him."

This is not like suppressing the Japanese country and conquering Jiaozhi, sending out 30,000 to 50,000 Beijing troops, organizing and training local guards to form a large army for overseas expeditions.

In just this moment, Zhai Shan had already figured out that if the Beijing army was to be used to relieve the snow this time, and if more than half of the Beijing troops who were still in Yingtian were not used, the matter would not be possible...

That means another 80,000 to 90,000 troops will be sent out.

In addition to the Beijing troops still in Jiaozhi Road and the Japanese state, Yingtian City will only have a maximum of 50,000 or 60,000 Beijing troops left to protect the capital.

Zhu Yunxi sighed softly, shook his head and said: "Man can conquer heaven, but manpower is limited. There are countless prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River, and not every place has a guard assistant. For example, Chizhou Prefecture, Jiujiang Prefecture, there is no guard station, Raozhou Prefecture There are only 1,000 households in Nankang Prefecture and Nankang Prefecture.

At this moment, the heavy snow is continuous, day and night, and has the potential to cover up the country. It is probably difficult for the local guards to maintain their jurisdiction and dredge the countryside of prefectures and counties. If the imperial court redeploys the local guards to provide food and grass, local affairs will have to Who should do it?

Qi Gu also wants to dispatch the Beijing army to Shouzhou, the central capital, Ningxiang, Huguang, and Pingxiang, Jiangxi, to collect and transport coal to various places in the south of the Yangtze River. Without the Beijing army, according to the local situation at this time, you think that only local people can Do these things well?"

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Mu Ying also stood up slowly at this time, and the armor on her body made a clanging sound as she walked.

"Your Highness, if the imperial court mobilizes the Beijing army, from the day the Beijing army leaves the city, I will lead the troops with Governor Tang, Marquis Jingchuan and others to sit at the head of Yingtian City. If the Beijing army does not return to the capital for one day, I will be dead. The sun never sets on the top of Yingtian City!"

After Mu Ying finished speaking, all the dignitaries and generals of the Beijing army who should not have appeared here stood up one after another: "If the Beijing army does not return for a day, the general will not leave the city for a day!"
To be continued...