Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 57 He Came to Save the Empire (Please Read On)
Should Shaanxi be given relief?

useless!

The grain produced in the prosperous southern regions was indeed enough to save Shaanxi, but the problem was that it couldn't be transported there.

Or rather, the amount transported was less than the amount lost or wasted through greed.

Dredging the river to restore production?

useless!

Although Shaanxi has the Zheng Guo Canal and the Longshou Canal
However, all the canals had fallen into disrepair and were no longer capable of providing irrigation, so it was impossible to expect the starving disaster victims to dredge them.

As for hoping that court officials would lend a hand to smooth things over? That's pure fantasy.

Moreover, the drought in Shaanxi has lasted for several years, and the people have suffered for a long time.

But in Sun Chuanting's view...

These are not the real reasons why such a large-scale famine occurred in Shaanxi.

If it's just a natural disaster...

If the people, both high and low, unite, even if life is tough, they can still survive.

It wouldn't have escalated to the point where people sell their children or resort to cannibalism.

However, man-made disasters truly drove everyone to the brink of despair.

The term "man-made disaster" refers to land annexation and the various taxes levied by local government offices in different prefectures and counties.

When disaster strikes, the harvest will be reduced.

Reduced harvests mean the inability to pay various taxes, and the inability to pay taxes means having to sell land.

This eventually led to a situation where people had no land to cultivate and starved to death.

Not only that.

Instead of stopping this unrestrained land annexation by the people, local governments took the opportunity to collude with wealthy families in the city to hoard grain and reap huge profits.

Sun Chuanting witnessed all of this firsthand.

As for these long-standing problems...

Even if the emperor were to personally visit, it would likely only provide slight relief.

no way.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Judging from the grassroots experience accumulated by Sun Chuanting over many years of travel, neither of these can be accomplished by human effort.

The emperor is the Son of Heaven, but ultimately he is not the Father of Heaven.

It is impossible for a single edict of self-reproach to turn the entire Shaanxi province from a severe drought into a landslide with favorable weather.

Man-made disasters are even more difficult to resolve.

The reason why Shaanxi has developed to its current state is because of the close interdependence between officials at all levels.

That's where things went wrong.

All sorts of crucial links were tangled up in a mess, making it impossible to even begin to sort things out or find a starting point.

What could the emperor do?
We can't just kill them all, can we?!
Although Sun Chuanting has become pessimistic about the situation in Shaanxi since returning home recently, he has not succumbed to despair.

Sun Chuanting knew.

If the emperor really did visit Shaanxi in person.

Corruption in government offices will inevitably be curbed, wealthy families in the city will symbolically open their granaries to distribute grain, and public morale will rise slightly due to the emperor's arrival.

In this way, at least fewer people will starve to death.

If fewer people starve to death, large-scale unrest may be avoided in Shaanxi.

As long as the Ming Dynasty doesn't find itself in a predicament where one problem is solved only to have another arise, it can still proceed gradually.

Everything is still salvageable.

The only thing Sun Chuanting is still unsure about is whether His Majesty's final destination will actually be Shaanxi.

If His Majesty has indeed gone to Shaanxi, then he must immediately seek out His Majesty's side and see if he can use his status as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) to find a job and help His Majesty with some of the tasks within his ability.

If Your Majesty does not go to Shaanxi.

Then he would try to stop the emperor's journey and personally explain to His Majesty the current situation in Shaanxi, to see if he could persuade His Majesty to change his route.

Whether it succeeds or fails, it can be considered as serving one's country loyally.

Amidst lively discussions among the people of Hebei and Shanxi.

A few more days flew by.

On this day, the imperial entourage led by Zhu Youjian finally arrived at the Yellow River ferry.

The numerous boats used for crossing the river had already been inspected countless times by the entourage.

The imperial procession is about to officially enter Shaanxi from here. This is the moment of departure.

The magistrate and a group of officials of Puzhou County (located in Shanxi Province, separated from Tongguan County in Shaanxi Province only by the Yellow River) knelt before Xiao Hongzi and cautiously began to probe:

"Imperial Envoy Hong, the ships are ready, but Shaanxi has been suffering from drought for years."

"There are probably many refugees gathered on the other side of the Yellow River. Should I send people over first to disperse them, so as not to disturb Your Majesty's presence?"

The arrival of the emperor truly terrified the officials of Puzhou County.

Because no one had received any prior notice.

When they first heard their subordinates' panicked report, they thought it was some crazy swindler who dared to impersonate the emperor.

It wasn't until they saw those messengers carrying the dragon banner, their expressions unusual.

They then learned that the emperor was actually going to cross the river in Puzhou to travel to Tongguan in Shaanxi.

Everyone, from top to bottom, had no time or dared not think too much and immediately began to arrange the crossing of the river.

Even said.

They didn't dare send anyone to inform Tongguan County in advance, to give them a heads-up.

He was simply afraid of delaying the emperor's affairs and losing his head.

This is an emperor who, having ascended the throne only two months ago, can lead thousands of people out of the Forbidden City!
Even if you entrusted all the courage of the Puzhou magistrate's ancestors to him, he wouldn't dare to do anything under the emperor's nose.

Fortunately, Puzhou County, as a key transportation hub, has a well-developed shipping industry and has accumulated experience in receiving large numbers of imperial officials for river inspections over the years.

So thankfully, nothing went wrong in this regard.

At this moment, listening to the words of this county magistrate.

Xiao Hongzi glanced at these people indifferently: "If you dare to speculate on the Emperor's intentions again, you'll all lose your heads."

His Majesty did not intend to stay here for long, so he had no plans to execute anyone for the time being; he simply memorized the faces of these people.

"Your subject knows his crime! Your subject knows his crime!" The officials hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly until blood seeped from their foreheads.

"Cross the river." Xiao Hongzi ignored the officials and got up to walk towards the warships at the front of the procession.

at the same time.

Across the Yellow River ferry, on the eastern outskirts of Tongguan City.

A group of refugees who hadn't had a proper meal in days were staring blankly at the boats that kept appearing on the Yellow River.

Although ten out of ten refugees in Shaanxi had never seen the emperor in person.

But they had heard of the dragon banner that symbolized imperial power.

The dragon banners erected high on the river instantly drew everyone's attention.

The Emperor—that's the Emperor they've heard about their whole lives, but have never actually seen!

How could the Emperor suddenly appear in the river?!

At the beginning.

Only a small number of refugees stood on the riverbank, watching in a daze.

Then more and more people began to gather, all crowding along the riverbank, eagerly watching the endless stream of boats on the water.

It didn't take long.

The local refugees all gathered there, and their numbers grew from a few dozen to hundreds, then thousands.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "The Emperor has come to save us!"

Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, everyone knelt down in unison upon hearing those words.

Yes, the Emperor must have come to save them. Otherwise, why would the Emperor come to this place where there are dead people everywhere?
Must be!
Although everyone was deeply moved, no one dared to make a sound; they simply knelt quietly on the ground.

That's how the word "emperor" is perceived by ordinary people.

Even though they were so hungry they were about to faint, the only thing they could do, or rather, the only thing they dared to do, was to kneel there.

This scene.

Naturally, Zhu Youjian, who was about to reach the shore, saw it.

Looking at the starving people with their emaciated faces and sunken cheeks, Zhu Youjian felt no emotion whatsoever.

There was no pity, no emotion, no feeling.

Because he didn't come to save people.

He came to save the empire.

　Tongguan City is very close to the Yellow River; the outskirts of the city are practically right next to the river.

　　PS1: The title of this book will be changed tomorrow. I will send out a separate chapter to notify everyone before the name change, so please take note.

　　PS2: Today is Sunday, and the new book rankings will be updated tonight. Please help me cast your monthly tickets if you have any.

　　Judging by the timeline, it should be off the new book list in a few days.

　　Currently, we're ranked in the top three in the history category and top twenty overall. We hope to climb even higher!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)