Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 98 Who Provoked the Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces of the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Qizhen walked through the streets and alleys of Xiangfu County in the past two days. Of course, it cannot be compared with the capital, but it is still prosperous. After all, it is a transit port with many commercial and tourist ships coming and going.

"There are quite a lot of people in this market." Zhang Lun said.

"Thanks to these markets across the Ming Dynasty, the mulberry and hemp grown by the villagers can be sold." Zhu Qizhen observed as he walked.

This time out of the palace, he gained a lot of knowledge and experience. When reviewing memorials in the future, he will be able to see through the officials' tricks. As the two were walking, they suddenly heard someone shouting, "Get out of the way! The governor is here!"

A group of people came from the city gate, and someone in front held up two signs, which read "Avoid" and "Silence". Zhang Lun looked up and snorted, "Who is the new governor? Why is he so grand?"

"Your cousin is Zhang Ding." Zhu Qizhen's eyes were stern. "The Royal Guards have sent us intelligence. This is the latest appointment from the cabinet."

Zhang Lun frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I remember now. Wasn't he the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue before? How could the Queen Mother's people let him become the Governor?
Zhu Qizhen spread his hands and said, "I have not been on the dragon boat for some time, and I have not reviewed the memorials. I don't know why the cabinet chose him. As the governor, he is responsible for inspecting the three provinces in the disaster area, and he has great power."

"That's not right. Officials at the governor level should be appointed by you personally, Your Majesty." Zhang Lun expressed his doubts.

"Before I left the capital, I have given the Prime Minister the power to make decisions on the spot." Zhu Qizhen smiled, "Otherwise, I have to ask for your permission for everything, and I am on the road, which will delay many things."

Zhang Lun looked strange: "Your Majesty, why do I feel that you want to be a hands-off manager?"

Zhu Qizhen glanced at him and said, "Am I that kind of person?"

After a few jokes, he straightened his face and said seriously: "Zhang Ding has seen me, and I can't let him find me. Otherwise, my whereabouts will be exposed."

……

When Zhu Qizhen returned to the county government, he found that the governor did not come here, but went to the Kaifeng Neisi Yamen in Xiangfu. He was relieved, thinking that it was better for him not to come, so as not to accidentally run into him.

At this time, the Jinyiwei secret guard came forward to report: "Your Majesty, as soon as the governor entered the Neishi Yamen, he drove all the disaster victims out. Moreover, he also issued a notice in the name of the governor, enacting more than a dozen strict regulations for the disaster victims in the city."

"Haha, is this the first thing a new official does upon taking office?" Zhu Qizhen sneered.

"Doesn't he know that the imperial envoy is in Xiangfu?" Zhang Lun was speechless.

Yang Guifang just happened to come in from outside, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Wan'an and the others have gone to pay their respects to the governor. Hey, I, the imperial envoy, have been left out in the cold."

"It's not hard to understand, because you, the imperial envoy, were appointed by me temporarily, and I didn't issue an imperial decree." Zhu Qizhen smiled, "I think the governor might think you are a fake."

Yang Guifang snorted, "I've dealt with Zhang Ding before. Humph, I'll go meet him tomorrow!"

Zhu Qizhen thought about it and nodded: "Okay! We can't stay in Xiangfu for too long."

"No, I have to go to the dock tomorrow morning." Yang Guifang frowned. "The relief grain purchased from the neighboring county has arrived. After I receive the grain, I will go find that damn governor."

"The food has arrived? That's great, I will go with you." Zhu Qizhen was overjoyed.

He was very worried because he saw that the food was running out in the past few days, otherwise the victims would starve again.

……

The next morning, the three of them arrived at the pier.

The grain ship arrived, and Yang Guifang immediately ordered everyone to move the grain from the ship. Zhu Qizhen personally boarded the ship to help.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the early morning. Nearly a thousand soldiers quickly rushed to the dock. When they arrived at the front of the dock, the leading captain shouted loudly: "Everyone, don't move, otherwise, I will kill you without mercy!"

Yang Guifang, who was directing the troops at the dock, was furious when he heard this. He stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! I am the imperial envoy here. Who are you? What do you want to do?"

"Imperial envoy?" The leading officer looked suspicious. "I am here on the orders of the governor's office to arrest these people. They bought grain privately."

"Private purchase?" Yang Guifang was even more angry. "Don't you know that these are disaster relief grains? They are used to save the lives of disaster victims!"

The captain was intimidated by Yang Guifang's momentum. He had just arrived with the governor yesterday and did not know the imperial envoy. He stepped back and explained, "The governor's office issued a notice yesterday, prohibiting the sale of grain during this period."

"Which governor's office? Ask him to come and report to this imperial envoy!" Yang Guifang took a few steps closer, scaring the captain so much that he retreated repeatedly.

At this moment, a voice came from behind the soldiers: "Yang Guifang, you are so arrogant!"

All the soldiers stood on both sides, and a middle-aged man came out, followed by Wan An and other officials. Yang Guifang sneered: "Zhang Ding, you are even more arrogant as a governor. Why don't you kneel down when you see this imperial envoy?"

He reached out to take out the emperor's order, but found that he had gotten up too early today and forgot to bring it with him.

Zhang Ding walked up to Yang Guifang, his eyes dark, "Yang Guifang, when did you become an imperial envoy? His Majesty has never issued an imperial decree, and no one in the cabinet or the government knows about this."

"Your Majesty, this is a temporary appointment!" Yang Guifang responded fiercely.

"Then wait until I verify it first." Zhang Ding snorted coldly, "Now, I have the final say here!"

Yang Guifang laughed in anger: "What are you going to do? This is the life-saving food for the disaster victims."

"What are you doing? You are inciting the disaster victims to enter the city and forcing the gentry to donate money. I want to report you!" Zhang Ding sneered, "You'd better be the real imperial envoy. Otherwise, if you pretend to be an imperial envoy, you can wait to be beheaded."

Yang Guifang spread her hands with ease: "So? Where are you going to move all this grain? Give it back to those wealthy businessmen?" "You have no control over this matter!" Zhang Ding said coldly.

Suddenly, a majestic voice fell: "Then I should take care of this matter!"

……

Zhu Qizhen got off the boat, a murderous aura shrouding him.

The moment Zhang Ding saw Zhu Qizhen, he was startled and said in disbelief: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

"How dare you! Do you want to die? Why don't you kneel down when you see His Majesty?" Yang Guifang yelled.

Bang!

Zhang Ding knelt down hurriedly and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."

The people behind him were all numb.

His Majesty?

The Emperor of Ming Dynasty?
They also knelt down and kowtowed in unison: "Your Majesty."

Everyone on the dock knelt down. Zhu Qizhen walked straight to Zhang Ding and slapped him in the face.

Snapped!
Zhang Ding was knocked to the ground, and half of his face quickly swelled up. Zhu Qizhen's eyes were full of ferocity: "Do you have the final say, or do I have the final say?"

"I didn't know Your Majesty was here. I will die sooner than later." Zhang Ding knelt down with a pale face.

"All of you, kneel down!" Zhu Qizhen turned his head and looked at the people behind him, his voice much softer, "Fellow villagers, all of you, stand up. I am late, and I have made you suffer."

The people looked at him, did not stand up, and kept kowtowing.

Zhu Qizhen felt a pain in his heart and said in a deep voice:
"The heavens have given me the nine provinces and the ten thousand directions. I am the Son of Heaven, and I am the ruler and father of all the people. But now my people are suffering from disasters, displaced, and have no food to eat. And what about these ministers of mine? They are still trying to cut off your livelihood. If I were such a Son of Heaven, the heavens would hate me! If I were such a ruler and father, all the people would abandon me!"

"I promise you, I will help you get back everything you lost!"

The people, with tears in their eyes, kept bowing and knelt: "Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen looked at the people kneeling on the ground, feeling a myriad of emotions in his heart. He silently decided that even if he could not become a great emperor and perhaps could not change the times, he could at least allow the people of this era to have enough food to eat.

He remembered a line from a play he had watched in his previous life: The two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty are the responsibility of my shoulders.

That was what the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan said. He couldn't afford it, nor did he really want to. But Zhu Qizhen, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, naturally had to take charge of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a heavy burden pressing down on him.

……

County government lobby.

Zhu Qizhen sat in the main seat, while kneeling in the hall were Zhang Ding, Wan An and others.

"As soon as we arrived at the Neishi Yamen, we drove the victims out and issued a notice." Zhu Qizhen sneered, "Isn't the content of your notice to drive the victims out? Zhang Ding, is this how you rescue people from disasters?"

Zhang Ding calmed down a lot and bowed: "Your Majesty, I have no other choice. The county town in Xiangfu is open, and we still have two meals of porridge a day. If the disaster victims in the surrounding areas know about this, they will all flock here. By then, there will definitely be a big chaos, and there will not be enough food."

Snapped!
Zhu Qizhen slammed the table angrily and said, "So, we're just going to kick them out and watch them starve to death?"

"Your Majesty, this is a natural disaster, there is nothing we can do about it." Zhang Ding bowed, "Throughout history, this has always been done to maintain the stability of the gentry. As long as the victims have porridge to drink, there won't be any major chaos. Time will pass, and it will be over."

Zhu Qizhen was furious: "The victims who died of starvation are also my people!"

He tried his best to control his killing intent, so he didn't kill Zhang Ding immediately. He said in a cold voice: "Starting from tomorrow, I want to set up a porridge stall every five miles in the disaster area. The porridge they distribute must not fall over when chopsticks are inserted into it, and must be wrapped in a towel to prevent leakage."

"Yes, I'll do it." Zhang Ding kowtowed immediately.

"I also know that with such a big disaster, it is impossible for people not to starve to death." Zhu Qizhen said coldly, "But if I find out that you are corrupt and withhold money again, I will chop off your heads."

"I dare not." Zhang Ding's forehead was sweating.

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and they all went down.

Zhang Lun stepped forward. He looked puzzled and said, "Your Majesty, why do you still need them? Just chop them down."

Zhu Qizhen smiled bitterly: "If we kill them, who will provide disaster relief? Just the three of us? There are millions of disaster victims, and we still have to rely on officials of all sizes to provide disaster relief."

"Most of these are corrupt officials." Zhang Lun gritted his teeth.

Yang Guifang, who was standing by, was much calmer and sighed, "How do you write the word 'official'? There's a mouth on the top and a mouth on the bottom. Only when the mouth on the top is full can the mouth on the bottom be fed. Although I don't want to admit it, this is the truth."

Zhu Qizhen picked up the teacup and took a big gulp.

(End of this chapter)