Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 71 Shaanxi is a Dead End
Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and the starving people in Yan'an Prefecture were puzzled for a long time as they held the grain in their hands.

I just realized that the government had indeed taken the initiative to open the granaries and distribute grain to relieve the disaster victims.

The reason why the government acted in this way.

This was because the current governor of Shaanxi, Qiao Yingjia, was heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief upon seeing the disaster-stricken people.

He specially rushed from Xi'an Prefecture to Yan'an Prefecture overnight to personally supervise the disaster relief efforts.

I heard that as soon as Lord Qiao arrived in Yan'an Prefecture, he punished several wealthy families who had been causing trouble for the local people.

But everyone understood that something unusual was definitely amiss.

Although the common people weren't very clever, they weren't completely stupid either.

You, Qiao Yingjia, have served as governor for almost three years.

When the yamen runners come to collect taxes from us, they all say that it's because Lord Qiao forced us to impose additional taxes.

Are you suddenly being kind and giving us food?

Although everyone had their doubts, they still kept quiet.

no way.

I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore.

You have to survive first before you can think about other things.

at the same time.

Inside the city of Yan'an Prefecture.

After Qiao Yingjia and his group arrived here, they hadn't had a chance to sleep since yesterday.

He immediately ordered all the officials in Yan'an Prefecture to rush to open the granaries and provide relief.

The officials heard that the emperor had personally come to Xi'an and beheaded thousands of people.

Without a moment's delay, the word spread quickly and the disaster relief efforts were immediately put into action.

High efficiency.

They put in several times more effort than when they were making money on ordinary days.

Therefore, in less than a day, soup kitchens were set up in all the county offices, large and small, in Yan'an Prefecture.

Setting up soup kitchens is only the first step; what should be done next?
The grain reserves in Yan'an Prefecture simply cannot sustain this relief effort for long.

Let alone winter, it's uncertain whether they can even get through this month. What if the emperor decides to behead them?

Faced with this deadlock, many high-ranking officials who had come to Yan'an from Xi'an fell silent.

After a pause.

It was Hong Chengchou, then the Shaanxi Grain Supervisor, who broke the deadlock.

He cupped his hands in greeting to Qiao Yingjia and said, "Your Excellency, urgent reports have just come from various counties in Yan'an Prefecture."

"In some counties, the number of displaced people gathered has approached 10,000."

"With so many mouths to feed, the grain stored in the granaries of each county can last for at most fifteen days, and at most ten days."

"Even if all the gentry and wealthy families in the county were killed and their stored grain were used for disaster relief, the grain in Yan'an Prefecture would not be enough to feed these disaster victims for a month."

"At that time, the entire Yan'an Prefecture will face an even larger famine. We need to prepare countermeasures as soon as possible to avoid incurring the Emperor's wrath."

Qiao Yingjia, with his gray hair, lay in a recliner, his gaze somewhat vacant.

For someone his age.

The long march that lasted a day and a night had indeed left him physically and mentally exhausted, and he looked like a senile old man.

But since he was able to sit in the position of Governor of Shaanxi, Qiao Yingjia was certainly not really senile.

Qiao Yingjia glanced at Hong Chengchou without showing any emotion, already having the idea of ​​pushing this man out to take the blame.

After the initial panic yesterday, Qiao Yingjia has gradually calmed down.

Furthermore, they keenly sensed that the Emperor, having gone to great lengths to come to Shaanxi, would certainly not give up after merely taking action against a small place like Tongguan.

Some of the high-ranking officials of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission would inevitably be sacrificed as a form of scapegoating.

Hong Chengchou, a third-rank official in charge of grain transport, held a high rank and a crucial position.

Kicking him out to take the blame would be the most appropriate course of action.

Of course. Qiao Yingjia knew that in this critical moment, all officials should unite as one to overcome the difficulties.

But his current plan is to retire and return to his hometown as soon as this matter is over.

By pushing Hong Chengchou out to take the blame, he could better achieve his goal.

From his perspective, after all.

If the emperor kills a third-rank official who is in charge of grain transport, it won't be appropriate to kill this governor of Shaanxi as well.

Most importantly, Hong Chengchou was a very dishonest person.

With this mindset.

In front of everyone, Qiao Yingjia tentatively uttered a hurtful remark:
“Hong Chengchou, you are the Grain Supervisor. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the grain stored in the granaries of each county should be enough to feed the entire population of the county for at least six months.”

"Now, the grain supply will be exhausted in just ten days. As the supervisor of grain, your incompetence is unforgivable!"

Hong Chengchou was stunned when he first heard this.

Once he realized what was happening, he immediately started cursing in his mind.

Qiao Yingjia, you old bastard, what are you thinking?
Don't you know perfectly well how all that grain disappeared?!
Now that things are really urgent, you're thinking of just packing your bags and leaving?

Consumed by anger, Hong Chengchou immediately disregarded official etiquette and retorted.

"Lord Qiao, do you only think about clearing yourself of any wrongdoing when the Emperor arrives? Things are probably not as simple as you think!"

As for his nominal boss.

Hong Chengchou was not particularly afraid.

He came to Shaanxi to serve as the third-rank Grain Supervisor because when he was the Vice Commissioner of Education in Zhejiang, "all the talents he selected were outstanding," which is why he was valued and promoted by the court.

In plain terms, Hong Chengchou also had connections with powerful and influential families.

Therefore, if Qiao Yingjia wanted to kick him out and make him take the blame, he would never obediently agree.

Who doesn't have powerful connections to get to this position?

Seeing this, his colleagues also stepped forward to dissuade him.

At this point, nobody really wanted anything to go wrong.

"Lord Qiao, Lord Hong, now is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves."

"We must work together to overcome this difficulty and submit a joint memorial to the Emperor explaining the actual situation in Yan'an Prefecture."

talking.

Someone handed Qiao Yingjia a bowl of ginseng soup.

After drinking a bowl of ginseng soup, Qiao Yingjia felt much better.

Seeing Hong Chengchou's strong reaction, and with everyone trying to dissuade him.

Qiao Yingjia immediately changed his expression.

“Very well, in that case, I will take the lead in submitting a memorial to the Emperor explaining the situation in Yan’an Prefecture. I will need you all to sign it together.”

The fact that most of the officials in Shaanxi jointly submitted this memorial to the throne shows that it carried considerable weight.

The Emperor will surely have some concerns after reading this.

Moreover, they did not do anything to disobey the imperial decree; they merely explained the actual situation in Yan'an Prefecture to the emperor.

He watched as everyone wrote their official titles and signatures on the memorials.

A hint of resentment flashed in Hong Chengchou's eyes, but he still silently signed his name.

After doing this.

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, considering that Shaanxi may soon undergo drastic changes.

An official stepped forward from the crowd and tentatively spoke to Qiao Yingjia:

"Your Excellency, once the grain runs out, not only in Yan'an Prefecture, but the entire Shaanxi province will likely undergo a major upheaval."

"Why don't you try to negotiate with the Kyoto government and ask them what we should do then?"

(End of this chapter)