Qianqing Palace

Li Huan was now telling the emperor about his trip to Yuyao, Zhejiang.

Although I had previously learned about Li Huan's experience in Yuyao County through Jin Yiwei's channels, reading those messages was obviously a different experience than listening to Li Huan's story in person.

Zhu Houzhao's expression changed erratically, but it could be seen that there was a hint of anger in Zhu Houzhao's eyes.

Suddenly, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but said angrily: "They deserve to be killed. The wealthy gentry in these places are really lawless. They even dare to cause civil unrest. Li Qing massacred them, so they deserved to die."

Li Huan looked at the angry-looking Zhu Houzhao and coughed lightly and said: "Your Majesty, the local powerful have no country and no loyalty in their eyes. Even if the powerful powerful in the world slaughter seven or eight out of ten of them, they will never be wronged."

Qiu Ju, Gao Feng and others on the side couldn't help but tremble when they heard this. If it were someone else who said this, they would definitely sneer at it.

Although the local tycoons are several orders of magnitude inferior to the aristocratic families of the past, they are still like local bullies.

It can be said that the rule of the Ming Dynasty relied mostly on the powerful squires in these places.

Most people would never dare to poke such a hornet's nest, but Li Huan dared.

Just seeing how Li Huan directly wiped out several powerful local families in Yuyao, we know that Li Huan is definitely capable of killing powerful people.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes flashed with a strange look, but he quickly looked at Li Huan and shook his head slightly: "Having said that, it's nothing like you, Li Qing, to seize the handle and wipe out all the powerful people. But if we want to target all powerful people, I'm afraid..."

Li Huan couldn't help laughing when he heard this and said: "Where are you thinking, Your Majesty? I am not arrogant enough to fight against the world's powerful people. I just said that half of the world's powerful people should be killed, but I didn't really kill them."

Hearing what Li Huan said, Zhu Houzhao breathed a sigh of relief, with a smile on his face and said: "I'm really afraid that you, Li Qing, will keep an eye on the powerful."

But as soon as the words changed, a stern look flashed in Zhu Houzhao's eyes and he said: "But if some powerful people forget that there is a court and king's law in this world, then they will be destroyed."

A smile appeared on Li Huan's lips, and he suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I am back this time and ready to reorganize the capital camp."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up, he looked at Li Huan, and said excitedly: "Okay, whatever Li Qing needs, I will fully support Li Qing."

The capital camp was in decay, and the military honors could no longer be reused. As a result, there was an imbalance in civil and military affairs, and even the power of military and horse power fell into the hands of the Ministry of War.

Zhu Houzhao originally planned to take advantage of this opportunity to reorganize the capital camp and take the power of the army and horses into his hands, not to mention the local area. The whip is too long, but in this important place in the capital, if the soldiers and horses in the heart of a country cannot If he had it in hand, how could he, the emperor, be at ease?

What's more important is that if it were in the past, the emperor's idea of ​​going to Beijing would definitely be resisted or even opposed by the civil service group, both covertly and overtly.

All the officials would definitely advise him to govern the world with benevolence and follow the example of the late emperor. He should not be a militaristic emperor. One memorial after another would definitely overwhelm him as the emperor.

However, the emperor was assassinated last time, especially when Feng Hai led the soldiers of the Beijing camp and Ma Wuzhao to invade the capital to rebel. On the one hand, the emperor clearly felt the terrible consequences of losing control of the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp. On the other hand, It also created an unprecedented opportunity for Zhu Houzhao to take control of the Beijing camp.

It was because the emperor was assassinated and the Xiaoyong camp rebelled that Zhu Houzhao chose to seize power in the Beijing camp at this time, and no civil servant could object.

However, he is not a fool, just like when Zhu Houzhao appointed Li Huan to oversee the capital camp, his intention to get Li Huan to reorganize the capital camp was understood by all the officials.

In that case, even if there was a treasonous leader, there were still civil servants who jumped out without hesitation to impeach Li Huan and opposed the emperor's rectification of the capital camp.

These people are indeed not involved in the rebellion. The reason why they jumped out is because they are a civil servant group and they are absolutely unwilling to see military generals rise, nor to see the emperor practice martial arts and seize military power.

Li Huan directly imprisoned these people one by one for treason against his party members.

Although he is not a rebel, his mentality is no different from that of a rebel.

Fortunately, Li Huan directly carried the banner of rebellion and suppressed it. Otherwise, Li Huan, the commander-in-chief of the Central Military Command and the admiral of the Beijing camp, would not have been able to pass smoothly.

It can be said that now is definitely the best time for the emperor to take control of the capital. Once the rebellion comes to an end, Li Huan dares to say that a large number of officials will jump out to oppose the reorganization of the capital for various reasons and prevent the emperor from taking control of the capital.

Camp soldiers and horses.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Huan, his eyes full of determination.

Li Huan took a deep breath and smiled: "Your Majesty, don't worry. The batch of gold and silver confiscated from Fujian will arrive in the capital in a few days. By then, your Majesty will have nearly ten million taels of silver in his inner treasury, which will be used to reorganize the capital."

But it’s enough.”

In the final analysis, the reason why the reorganization of the capital camp was a big problem that stumped several emperors was nothing more than money and connections.

Eliminating the old and weak and re-establishing the Beijing camp requires more than a million dollars. The relationship network of the nobles in the Beijing camp is intricate. If they do not get the support of the nobles, it will be difficult.

But now that the money was all available, and Li Huan was married to the core of the Xungui group, the British Duke and the Chengguo Duke, the Xungui group almost regarded Li Huan as one of their own.

In this case, it can only be said that everything is ready, just waiting for Li Huan to take action boldly.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes were full of longing, and he walked back and forth in the Qianqing Palace with his hands behind his back and said: "As long as I have an elite army in hand, I can continue to support Liu Jin in implementing the New Deal and truly implement the New Deal, instead of like now.

Pantu has the name of New Deal, but when it comes to the local area, the decree is unclear and difficult to implement."

With the two major intelligence agencies, Jinyiwei and Dongchang, Zhu Houzhao was naturally able to grasp the implementation of the New Deal in local governments all over the world.

If Zhu Houzhao had not been mentally prepared, he, the emperor, would have been angry to death.

The New Deal is obviously good governance and benevolent governance, but when it comes to the local level, local officials or local powerful people distort the facts and turn it into a tool for their own personal gain, which makes the local people boil with resentment.

Sometimes Zhu Houzhao really wanted to behead all the local officials in one go, but to be honest, Zhu Houzhao had the heart but not the confidence.

He did not have enough soldiers and horses to suppress all changes. With the imperial education he had received, Zhu Houzhao knew very well that if he really wanted to do that, I am afraid that the country would really be shaken and change hands.

There are some things that Liu Jin can do and Li Huan can do, but he, the emperor, cannot do them.

Now, reorganizing the capital was the first step for his emperor. Taking a deep breath, Zhu Houzhao suppressed the excitement in his heart, looked at Li Huan with various expressions and said: "Li Qing, thank you for your hard work."

These words are truly sincere and definitely come from the heart.

Li Huan stood up quickly and said: "Your Majesty has betrayed me. This is just my duty. Why bother?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Huan and sighed softly: "Li Qing, you have always been at the front and shouldered all this for me. Liu Jin did the same, shouldering the infamy of the New Deal for me, and Li Qing, you

He is also notorious for targeting hundreds of officials..."

Before Li Huan could say anything, Zhu Houzhao said with a smile on his face: "I just want to tell Li Qing that I will keep everything you have done, Li Qing, in my heart."

Li Huan bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said with an moved face: "I am willing to serve your majesty till my death."

Shaanxi, Xi'an Prefecture, Huayin County

This year, Xi'an Prefecture in Shaanxi Province not only suffered from a severe drought, but also suffered from a locust plague that had not been seen in decades. As a result, there was almost no food harvest, and the people were so poor that they sold their sons and daughters to survive.

As the area most severely affected by the locust plague in Xi'an Prefecture, Huayin County has almost no grain harvest. Most of the food stored in many people's homes has been exhausted, and many people can only survive by digging some wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

But even so, as the autumn wind gets colder, even the wild vegetables in the wild have been dug up, and many people have already lost access to wild vegetables and tree bark.

After all, Huayin County is a county. Many powerful squires from Huayin County live in the county. These people have adequate food and clothing, but there are many ordinary people in the city who sell their sons and daughters.

As the county magistrate of Huayin County, Wang Zhi was looking at the Registrar with a frown and said: "Master Tang, is there no news from Xi'an Prefecture? Nowadays, there are more and more disaster victims in the county.

There is simply no money or food needed for relief. If this continues, people may starve to death."

The Tang master's name is Tang Zhen, and he comes from a famous gentry family in Huayin County. The Tang family is the largest landowner in Huayin County. The land under the name of the Tang family alone is tens of thousands of acres. Since the previous generation Tang

After Tang Yu, the head of the family, resigned as the chief registrar of Huayin County, Tang Zhenlin, who was a civil servant, succeeded him as the registrar of Huayin County. He is still the best family in Huayin County.

After listening to Wang Zhi's words, Tang Zhen stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Sir, we have sent the news to Xi'an Prefecture a month ago, but you also know, sir, that the whole of Shaanxi has suffered a major disaster this year.

Disaster, not only our Huayin County has almost no grain harvest, but also other places. Even if you adults in Xi'an Prefecture want relief, they also need the imperial court to allocate money and grain."

Wang Zhi's face was full of worry and he said: "But if this continues, I'm afraid that before the imperial court's relief comes, there will be a case of people exchanging children for food."

Tang Zhen shook his head and said: "There is nothing we can do about it. The court's relief will not come for a day, and we can only watch."

Wang Zhi looked at the inspector Cui Ji and the official Ding Chaozhong beside him. They noticed Wang Zhi's gaze and shook their heads at Wang Zhi with helpless expressions on their faces.

Wang Zhi took a deep breath and suddenly said: "If I remember correctly, there are still thousands of kilograms of grain in the county granary, which can be used to make gruel for the time being to help the victims. No matter what, we must persist until the imperial court provides relief.

, Otherwise we, the people of Huayin County, don’t know how many people will die in this disaster..."

Looking at this alone, Wang Zhi is obviously a good official who cares about the people. It can be said that officials like Wang Zhi did not exist in the Ming Dynasty, but they were definitely very rare.

Huayin County is lucky to meet such a county magistrate.

Wang Zhi said with emotion: "Those grains were saved last year. They were life-saving grains to prevent natural and man-made disasters."

Wang Zhi looked at the county magistrate Jinping. As the second-in-command in the county, although the county magistrate, inspectors, collectors, and bookkeepers were all subordinate assistants of Wang Zhi, the seventh-grade county magistrate, but

Wang Zhi knew very well that in Huayin County, it was true that he was the county magistrate, but the people present were the ones who could really make the decision.

These people are all wealthy families in Huayin County, and the families behind each one are powerful families in Huayin County. Without the help of these people, it would be difficult for him, the county magistrate, to issue orders to the county government.

Therefore, if Wang Zhi wants to help the victims, he must discuss with these people.

Suddenly, Tang Zhen, Cui Ji, and Ding Chaozhong all looked at Jin Ping.

Jin Ping is about forty years old, with a rosy complexion, a rich look on his face, and an extremely kind face. At first glance, he is a kind-faced person.

All Jin Ping could hear was shaking his head at Wang Zhi and saying, "Sir, no!"

Wang Zhi couldn't help but was stunned. He obviously didn't expect that Jin Ping would object. It was a matter of course that he was preparing to secretly reserve food to relieve the victims. But anyone with any brain would know that he must find a way to relieve the victims at this time, otherwise,

Not only will the victims starve to death, but if things go wrong, there may also be civil riots caused by the victims.

After listening to Jin Ping's words, Tang Zhen, Cui Ji, and Ding Chaozhong all had relaxed looks on their originally slightly nervous faces.

Wang Zhi stared at Jin Ping and said anxiously: "Why not? We must know that human life is at stake. If we help the people as soon as possible, we can prevent them from starving to death."

Jin Ping sighed: "Sir, do you know that thousands of stones of food are just a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster in Huayin County, and cannot save a few people."

When Wang Zhi heard this, he took a deep breath and said: "I only know that one person can save one person, and one person can survive for one day."

As he spoke, Wang Zhi cupped his hands in the direction of the capital and said with a serious face: "I have been favored by the emperor and govern the people on behalf of your majesty. As a parent official, how can I sit back and watch the people starve to death."

Immediately, Wang Zhi ignored the reactions of Jin Ping, Cui Ji and others, and stood up directly and ordered: "My decision has been made. Tomorrow morning, we will set up a pot to cook porridge outside the city gate to help the victims."

Ding Chaozhong and others could not help but look anxious and said: "Sir..."
To be continued...