The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 704 The Prince is Stingy

On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month (癸卯), Emperor Wanli returned to the capital.

He originally wanted to keep a low profile.

Unfortunately, he brought back so many ships and men that he couldn't keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

When the fleet of ships, stretching for hundreds of miles, entered the North Canal, the entire capital region was in an uproar. When countless garrison soldiers and soldiers of the Beijing Garrison poured down from the docks of the Tonghui River, Chaobai River, Wenyu River and the moat, the whole capital was in an uproar.

The garrison soldiers set up densely packed tents on the open ground by the riverbank, while the Beijing garrison soldiers happily went home.

Around 3 PM, Wanli Emperor, accompanied by hundreds of flying shuttle boats, returned to the imperial city with his imperial guards and embroidered guards, and arrived at Taiye Pond.

At this moment, Empress Wang, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, Crown Prince Zhu Changxun, and a host of other concubines, princes, and princesses were all eagerly waiting at the Yuhe Bridge dock. Even Grand Secretary Shen Li and Grand Secretary Li Tingji had arrived.

As soon as Wanli stepped onto the dock, everyone became very enthusiastic.

He hugged and cuddled the young princes and princesses affectionately before asking, "Xun'er, besides the severe drought in the Northwest, are there any other major events?"

Crown Prince Zhu Changxun slowly shook his head and said, "Father, apart from the severe drought in the Northwest, other matters are not considered major issues."

Although the imperial court is doing its best to provide disaster relief, I am still worried that the common people in the Northwest are not having a good time.

Your subject has heard that in many places there has been no rain for months or even half a year, and ordinary people are having trouble getting drinking water.

"If I could, I would really like to go and see, but alas, I must oversee the country, so I cannot go."

He's already fifteen, and he seems even more mature and composed now.

Emperor Wanli nodded with satisfaction, and while gesturing for everyone to walk towards the palace, he pondered, "Since there has been a severe drought over there for years, we should consider relocating the disaster victims. I reckon this drought won't end so easily."

Xun'er, you've read quite a few history books, so you should know that from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Western Jin Dynasty, there were years of severe drought, coupled with years of war and rampant plague. The population of the Central Plains dynasty, which was fifty or sixty million, was reduced to six or seven million. That was a tremendous catastrophe.

We cannot stand idly by and watch the disaster victims suffer in the desolate, barren land, nor can we expect this natural disaster to end immediately. Therefore, relocating the victims from the disaster area is the most fundamental solution.

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Zhu Changxun nodded repeatedly and said, "Father is wise. We should consider relocating the disaster victims."

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then decisively said, "Xun'er, send someone to convey the Emperor's decree to summon the Six Ministries and Seven Ministers to the Qianqing Palace for discussion."

Before long, the six ministers and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate arrived at the magnificent golden hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Grand Secretary Shen Li, Grand Secretary Li Tingji, and Song Yingxing also followed.

After Wanli invited everyone to sit down, he solemnly asked, "Yu Ye, how wide is the affected area of ​​this severe drought in the Northwest, and how many people are involved?"

Minister of Revenue Li Hualong hurriedly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the drought in the Northwest has caused severe damage throughout Shaanxi, Shanxi, and the three prefectures and one state in northwestern Henan."

In addition, other prefectures in Henan, western Southern Zhili, and southern Northern Zhili are also experiencing drought to some extent.

As for the affected population, over two million households and over twelve million people suffered severe damage, with almost no harvest. Over one million households and over eight million people were not severely affected and are still able to barely make ends meet.

This means that nearly half of the population of the Ming Dynasty suffered from the disaster, and that was only among those who were registered. Who knows how many more were not registered in the "Yellow Register of Taxes and Labor"?

Emperor Wanli nodded solemnly, then asked, "How much money and grain has the imperial court allocated for disaster relief in total?"

Minister of Revenue Li Hualong explained in detail: "The imperial court began allocating disaster relief funds and grain after receiving reports of disasters from various regions in the second half of the year before last."

For ordinary people who had almost no harvest, we directly allocated grain. For areas that were not severely affected by the disaster, we allocated gold, silver, and copper coins, and ordered local officials to organize manpower to build water conservancy projects and provide disaster relief.

The allocation of money and grain has been increasing month by month. Now we are allocating more than 12 million shi of grain and more than 3 million taels of silver every month.

In addition, Her Majesty the Empress also ordered His Highness the Eastern King and His Highness the Northern King to donate tens of millions of kilograms of smoked meat, more than 20 million kilograms of smoked fish, and more than 20 million kilograms of vermicelli every month.

If all of these are included, the imperial court has allocated over 200 million shi of grain and over 50 million taels of silver. The smoked meat, smoked fish, and vermicelli donated by His Highness the Eastern Prince and His Highness the Northern Prince together exceed 300 million jin.

Yes, the disaster relief work was done very well, and the Queen, the Eastern King, and the Northern King also did a very good job.

Emperor Wanli nodded slowly, then asked, "What about the other vassal kings? Have they made any donations?"

Uh, it seems not.

Upon hearing this, Li Hualong couldn't help but look at Wu Daonan, the Minister of Rites. The princes were not under his jurisdiction.

Minister of Rites Wu Daonan could only sigh slightly and say, "Your Majesty, so far, apart from His Highness the Eastern Prince and His Highness the Northern Prince, the other princes have not donated a single penny or a single grain."

These princes and royal family members are indeed stingy!
You only care about your own extravagant lifestyles and don't care about the lives of ordinary people, right?
Historically, those rebelling refugees would kill you all, wiping out all the princes and royal families!
The disaster victims will not rebel from hunger now, but I will not let you off the hook.

The Northwest is precisely where the princes and their families are most concentrated. If all those princes and their families are not exiled this time, countless ordinary people enslaved by them will starve to death!
Alright, you wait. I'll deal with the common people registered in the "Yellow Register of Taxes and Labor" first, then I'll deal with you.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then asked, "Zhaolong, have you sent an imperial censor to inspect the disaster-stricken areas?"

Zhu Guozuo, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I have dispatched censors. I have sent almost all the censors from Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces, as well as most of the censors from Beizhili and Nanzhili provinces."

This is not enough.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then solemnly said, "Send all the censors that the Censorate can send to the disaster-stricken areas for inspection."

Tell them to investigate thoroughly for me. Anyone who dares to embezzle disaster relief funds or grain, no matter how much, should be beheaded, have their property confiscated, and be exiled.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guozuo nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After careful consideration, Wanli solemnly said, "Zhonghua, send a document to the prefectures and counties in the severely affected areas, ordering them to immediately post notices to inform all the disaster victims under their jurisdiction."

Anyone willing to move out of the disaster area will be converted into a military household, with each person given ten mu of land, and each household will be given a ready-made courtyard and farm tools, as well as oxen for plowing.

"You order all local officials to expedite the statistics and submit them to me within ten days."

This amount of time is enough to count the population. As for farmland, that's not a problem for the Ming Dynasty right now. The question is, where are all these courtyards coming from?

Upon hearing this, Shen Li hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, is it possible to build so many courtyards in such a short time?"

That's definitely possible.

Emperor Wanli explained in detail: "When I was suppressing the Jurchens, I ordered people to build many courtyards and reclaim a lot of wasteland in the Sanjiang Plain of Nurgan Commandery."

The fields there are more than 100 million mu, and at this moment it is just the border troops of Liaodong Town stationed there.

We originally built hundreds of thousands of courtyards, and Liaodong Town only has a little over 100,000 households. Don't worry, there are still hundreds of thousands of courtyards left over there.

If that's not enough, it's not a big problem. I'll immediately order the navy to send one million garrison soldiers to build it, and I guarantee it will be completed within one or two months.

Then there's no problem.

Upon hearing this, Shen Li nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then decisively said, "Yiming, I'll leave this to you."

Tomorrow you will mobilize the naval fleet and send the one million garrison soldiers you brought back to Nurgan Dusila.

Go over there and take a closer look to see exactly how many courtyards there are and whether there are any problems with the heating supply.

I estimate that there will be at least a million households of disaster victims being relocated this time. After you have inspected the area, order the garrison troops to quickly build courtyards and dig ditches.

The planting season has already begun there, and it's a bit late to bring people over now. Once the disaster victims are there, they need to start planting immediately, or it will be too late.

Uh, you want me to go tomorrow?
Rongchang is probably going to be angry.

Qin Yiming thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, may I bring Her Highness the Princess along this time?"

Oh, I forgot you and Rongchang just got married.

You accompanied me to the Americas for more than two years.

If he goes to Nurgan Commandery as soon as he returns, Rongchang will probably be so angry that he will come to the palace to find me.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Yes, this is not a war expedition, so it's fine for you to take Rongchang with you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yiming nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)