The good old Emperor Hongzhi was getting angry. This time Emperor Hongzhi was really angry, so much so that Xiao Jing, who had followed Emperor Hongzhi for many years, became extremely cautious, fearing that he might accidentally anger Emperor Hongzhi at this time.
A good man usually doesn't get angry, but it's unusual for him to get angry, especially when the emperor is so angry that he bleeds and floats in the oars, and lays millions of corpses.
In the hall, all the three bachelors in the cabinet looked very ugly, especially Xie Qian, who had already knelt on the ground. It seemed that the matter was really serious.
Last year, Liu Jian predicted that there would be a famine after the spring of this year. It turned out just as Liu Jian predicted. Because the winter was too cold, the winter wheat harvest in the three northern provinces failed, and famine broke out.
Originally, famine would not make the good old Emperor Hongzhi angry. There would be some kind of famine every year, either floods, droughts, or locust plagues.
As long as food is dispatched in time for disaster relief and disaster relief, nothing will happen.
Although the Chinese state is rich, it has been plagued by disasters since ancient times. Each dynasty has made preparations in this regard, building granaries and hoarding grain for military supplies, disaster relief, etc.
The Ming Dynasty was no exception. Granaries of various sizes were built in the two capitals and thirteen provinces to store a large amount of grain, such as the Guangyun Granary in Xuzhou, the Dezhou Granary in Dezhou, the Linqing Granary in Linqing, and the Fengcheng Granary in Huai'an.
Jicang, these four granaries are very famous water transport granaries, storing a large amount of grain.
Despite the fact that the Ming Dynasty’s court collected less than three million taels of silver in taxes per year, this was actually only a small part of the tax collected. Most of the taxes collected were in kind, such as grain, cloth, silk, and tea.
Wait, food is the most important thing.
This time, there was a famine in the three northern provinces. As usual, Emperor Hongzhi naturally issued an edict to his subordinates, asking local governments to open warehouses to stock up on grain and cook porridge to provide relief. He only needed to survive these few months until the spring wheat harvest.
Even if this famine is over, nothing will happen.
But the problem lies in food.
Last year, because of Liu Jian's prophecy, Emperor Hongzhi also appointed Xie Qian to take stock of the grain reserves in various granaries in the north. Don't panic if you have grain in hand.
Xie Qian was naturally very efficient in his work. After taking stock, he reported to Emperor Hongzhi that His Majesty worked hard to govern, and the country was prosperous and the people were strong. The major granaries in the northern provinces had sufficient food, and a lot of old food had been eaten because it was not eaten.
It's starting to get moldy.
After receiving Xie Qian's report, Hongzhi was naturally in a good mood, because Emperor Hongzhi had really worked hard over the years and never dared to slack off.
In addition, the past few years have always been smooth and prosperous. Emperors He Qing, Haiyan and Hongzhi also accumulated a lot of property. In addition to the internal funds of one million taels of silver, warehouses across the country in the Ming Dynasty were also filled with grain.
The imperial court confiscated countless silk cloths, tea leaves, etc.
So not only him, but also everyone in the court was very confident and confident in dealing with this famine. Because there was enough food, and food could be transported from all over the south, it would be impossible to easily survive this famine.
No problem.
However, in recent days, as time goes by, the people have run out of food, famine continues to spread, and large numbers of hungry people have begun to gather in major cities in the three northern provinces.
When it was time to collect food for disaster relief, it was discovered that the granary was already empty and even the mice were starving to death.
The news reached Emperor Hongzhi, who was furious.
I was told before that grains were piled up like mountains, and the old grains were starting to go moldy. Now when we need grains, we are telling you that even the granaries are starving to death of rats. I really make a fool of the emperor.
It's nothing to treat Emperor Hongzhi like a monkey. Emperor Hongzhi is a good old man and his former enemies can be forgiven. It's nothing to hide this.
What really makes Emperor Hongzhi furious is that the disasters in the three northern provinces are getting more and more serious. The court is in urgent need of food to provide disaster relief. Once the disaster relief is not timely, war will definitely break out, and countless Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will definitely emerge among the people who cannot survive.
, Zhu Chongba and his ilk.
Once that time comes, the matter is no longer just a matter of famine. Once the peasant uprising spreads, it will be like a single spark that can start a prairie fire.
This is the reason why Emperor Hongzhi is angry, and it is also what he is most worried about now. Moreover, he has always loved the people like a son and sympathized with the people's sufferings. He knows very well that if there is no timely relief during the famine, the land will be starved. He doesn't know what will happen.
How many human tragedies have occurred in which children are exchanged for food.
"Xie Qian, you are responsible for checking the granaries in various places. Tell me, what is going on?"
"Dezhoucang and Linqingcang in Shandong are one of the four major granaries, and they are the focus of inventory. I remember you said at the time that the grain in these two warehouses was piled up like mountains, but now you told me that the two warehouses were empty, and the remaining
The food supply is less than one-fifth of what you reported."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Xie Qian who was kneeling on the ground, his whole body was like an extremely angry lion. He had always respected the three cabinet ministers, but now he was calling Xie Qian by his name, and he was obviously extremely angry.
.
"I...I don't know either."
"When I was ordered to inspect the granaries, I personally went to check the Dezhou and Linqing warehouses. They were indeed piled up like mountains. As for why these grains are missing now, I don't know."
Xie Qian also felt that he was wronged, because when he inspected the granaries, he found out very clearly that the two major granaries had sufficient food, which was indeed enough to cope with the current famine. He also inspected granaries in other places, although some
There are some shortages of granaries, but most of them are full of grain.
Now that something like this has happened, he has taken the blame.
"Really?"
"So all the food flew away? Or was it eaten by something?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Xie Qian and his voice was so loud that everyone in the entire hall fell silent.
"Now you want to deal with me without knowing anything, do you think it's possible?"
Emperor Hongzhi walked back and forth, thinking rapidly in his mind. He took a breath to calm down and said: "I will give you a chance to atone for your sins. It is up to you to investigate this matter. You must get to the bottom of it."
"Yes, the guilty minister obeys the order."
When Xie Qian heard this, he immediately felt relieved. As long as there is still a chance to atone for his sins, otherwise this time, this test will be really difficult, and the black gauze hat on his head may not be saved.
