In the study room of Yangxin Hall, Zhu Youjian read Cao Bianjiao's memorial again and frowned.
Shaanxi was completely recovered.
Recovering Shaanxi is naturally a good thing.
Yesterday, Zhu Youjian led hundreds of officials to report the pacification of Shaanxi and the annexation of Japan to his ancestors, which was a great sight. The people in the capital rushed to tell each other the news, and they were all excited, as if the Ming Dynasty was about to be revived.
With Cao Bianjiao's military exploits in Shaanxi, the civil servants looked at Zhu Youjian with more respect, instead of the repressed feeling of the past where they dared to be angry but dared not speak out.
Prestige is the most important thing in troubled times. Even an emperor cannot convince others without prestige. It is very likely that his decrees will not leave the Forbidden City. And prestige cannot be achieved by just killing people. It also requires actual merit.
Although Zhu Youjian's ability to fight in the Beijing camp can only be fought with the help of Li Zhi, in any case, this is something that can greatly improve Zhu Youjian's personal prestige.
After retaking Xi'an, Zhu Youjian felt that his words in front of civil servants had more weight. When he was happy, he gave Cao Bianjiao the title of Ding Xibo.
However, as the prestige increased, troublesome things also came.
Li Zicheng robbed all the province of Shaanxi and fled to Huguang with the stolen gold, silver, treasures and grain supplies. The grain in Shaanxi was originally widely stored in the homes of the gentry, but now it was all stolen by the thieves.
Farmers in Shaanxi have suffered from natural disasters for several years, and have been hit by war this year. The food at home cannot last until the harvest next summer. Originally, these farmers relied on bandits, but now that the bandits are gone, the farmers need relief from the court.
The situation in the cities was even worse. After the death of the gentry, the small citizens who relied on the gentry lost their income and fell into famine. Almost all the cities in Shaanxi became empty cities. The gentry was killed and the grain stores were evacuated.
The small citizens in the city had absolutely no food to eat.
Cao Bianjiao reported the miserable situation of the people in Shaanxi who were starving to the emperor, hoping that the emperor could save the refugees in Shaanxi.
Zhu Youjian is not a ruthless person, he just wants to save all the people in Shaanxi, but he is really short of money.
"Wang Dehua, how many people in Shaanxi need relief?"
Wang Dehua, the eunuch of Dongchang, held up his hands and said: "When we return to the Holy Land, the first thing we need to save is the common people in the city. According to Dongchang's figures, there are about 280,000 common people in the cities of various prefectures and counties in Shaanxi. According to Xibo's
It is reported that there are 270,000 hungry people in each city, and there are not many comings and goings."
"Now that all the gentry in Shaanxi have been killed and all businesses are in ruins, I am afraid that the ordinary people in Shaanxi will not be able to find a living within half a year. If we want to save these hungry people, we will need at least 400,000 shi of food."
Zhu Youjian knocked on the table and asked: "Where are the farmers in the countryside?"
Wang Dehua replied: "The need for relief in the countryside is even greater. According to the memorial of Ding Xibo, the grain stored by farmers in Shaanxi can last three months at most. And the harvest of winter wheat will be at least half a year away. Calculated in this way
If so, we will provide relief for the farmers in Shaanxi for three months. There are 3.2 million farmers in Shaanxi, and three months of food rations costs at least one million dan."
Zhu Youjian's face sank when he heard Wang Dehua's calculation.
Wang Chengen was speechless and said: "Your Majesty, according to the current rice price of 2 taels and 7 taels in the capital, this 1.4 million shi of grain will cost at least 3.7 million taels of silver. Just move the silver from the Tai warehouse and the inner treasury.
Even if it’s empty, it’s not enough.”
Zhu Youjian stood up anxiously, walked a few steps back and forth in the study, and asked, "How much money is there in the warehouse and the inner treasury now?"
Wang Chengen replied: "The expenses of the new army in the Beijing camp have been huge in recent years, and the taxes from Jianghuai Province have not been paid yet, so the money in the warehouse is not sufficient. There are 2.1 million taels in the Taicang warehouse, and only nine taels are left in the inner treasury.
One hundred and seventy thousand taels."
Zhu Youjian took a helpless breath and said: "Not enough, not enough..."
Wang Chengen said: "Your Majesty, this does not include the increase in food prices! Those grain merchants are the most inhumane things. If the Emperor purchases more than one million shi of grain at once, then the grain will have to be imported from outside the capital. The capital city
I’m afraid the grain merchants will complain endlessly about raising prices, and I don’t know how far they will raise grain prices!”
Zhu Youjian snorted coldly, seemingly not worried about the grain merchants' price hikes.
However, even if Zhu Youjian fought hard to suppress the grain merchants who raised prices and purchased all grains at a fair price, the money would still not be enough.
Walking to the window of the study, Zhu Youjian opened the glass window that Li Zhi had installed for him free of charge, and said in a deep voice: "If there is a great famine just after Shaanxi was taken over, I am afraid that public opinion in all provinces will be in an uproar. I have accumulated a lot of money by wiping out the intruders."
All prestige will be lost in one day!"
"Those civil servants don't dare to be arrogant in the court now, but they still have the courage to ridicule me in the bustling wine shop... When the people of Shaanxi change their sons and eat each other, won't I lose face in front of the prince of Tianjin?"
When Wang Chengen and Wang Dehua heard the emperor's words, they looked at each other for a while, not knowing what to say.
After all the talk, the emperor was still worried that Li Zhi would lose his tail. The emperor wanted to save face in front of Li Zhi so that Li Zhi would not feel contemptuous.
But the current situation in Shaanxi, the court is really powerless.
Wang Dehua gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, at this time, the only one who can save Shaanxi Province is the King of Tianjin. We can only ask the King of Tianjin to provide cheap food."
Hearing Wang Dehua's words, Zhu Youjian trembled, as if his dignity as a human king had been greatly impacted.
Wang Dehua looked at the emperor's face and said: "Your Majesty, the prince of Tianjin sits on the big granary of the three provinces outside the Guanhai Pass. In addition to the continuous water conservancy development in Tianjin and Shandong, the number of acres of land is hundreds of millions. It is said that this year the winter wheat in Tianjin and Shandong is again
It’s a bumper harvest, and Liaodong Province’s spring wheat production was also quite abundant three months ago.”
"Now the Prince of Tianjin holds millions of shi of food. The 1.4 million shi that the Emperor needs is just a stroke of a pen for the Prince of Tianjin. We asked the Prince of Tianjin to sell it to him at the cost price.
Our food will definitely solve Shaanxi's worries."
Zhu Youjian's face turned pale when he heard Wang Dehua's words.
Unexpectedly, Li Zhi's strength has expanded to such an extent. If Wang Dehua is right, the relief food and grass that the entire court cannot come up with is just a small thing for Li Zhi.
Zhu Youjian thought about it carefully and felt that there had been famine everywhere in the Ming Dynasty in recent years, and the court was unable to provide disaster relief. However, there had never been large-scale starvation to death in Li Zhi's territory.
The pattern of internal and external emphasis in the Ming Dynasty has reached a shocking level.
"Tianjin is so powerful that it is almost unbelievable." Zhu Youjian took a breath and said: "We must reform! We must follow the example of Tianjin and implement the New Deal in Beizhili, Shaanxi and Shanxi. We must make these three provinces and the imperial court rich and catch up with Tianjin.
"
Wang Dehua raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, reform is certainly desirable, but at this critical juncture, the most important thing is to buy cheap food from Tianjin to supply the hungry people! If the hungry people in Shaanxi have no food to eat and the ground is full of hunger, the prestige that the emperor has finally accumulated will be terrible.
It’s about sweeping the floor.”
Zhu Youjian frowned and looked at Wang Dehua without saying anything.
Wang Chengen saw that Zhu Youjian's face was not good, so he hurriedly approached and said: "I also think that the only way to ask for help from the Prince of Tianjin is now!"
Zhu Youjian took a deep breath and walked back and forth in the study.
After walking for a full quarter of an hour, Zhu Youjian sat back helplessly on the chair.
"Wang Chengen, then go to Tianjin and ask for cheap food worth 1.4 million shi."
