Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 515 Famous General Falls
In May, as the Ming Dynasty no longer stabilized the food prices in the provinces, and after the officials of the provinces turned to disaster relief on their own, the food prices in the provinces skyrocketed several times in a short time.

The price of rice and wheat in Shanxi soared to one or two stones, an increase of hundreds of dollars.

The price of rice in Shaanxi rose to [-] Wen, an increase of [-]%.

In Sichuan, there are too few people and too much arable land, so the price of rice can still be supported, and the price is still maintained at more than [-] yuan per stone, but Jiangxi is not so good.

By May, the hungry people in Jiangxi had no food, and the price of rice soared to two taels a stone. Jiangxi Huangdian and grain merchants frantically bought grain.

By June, Jiangxi Huangdian had purchased nearly ten million shi of rice and wheat from two provinces including Huguang and Fujian. Although the price of rice in Jiangxi fell back to one tael, the price of grain in Huguang rose to 580 yuan per shi, and Fujian also rose to [-] yuan per shi. Shi [-] Wen.

By July, the drought in various places remained unabated, and Henan was also suffering from drought. The people in Mi County were full of rumors, hundreds of miles of bare land, and more than one million mu of cultivated land were affected.

Henan was affected by the disaster, and the price of rice rose from more than [-] yuan per stone to more than [-] yuan.

The price of rice in the three provinces near Shanxi has risen, and the transportation of food and grain in Huangdian has been unable to transport, and the people have fled one after another...

"Woooooo-"

But after answering, he still bowed and said: "Your Highness, Lady Tian and Lady Shen are also upset."

Zhu Youxiao has heard a little about him, and Zhu Youxiao is also a little concerned about what he reported.

Seeing their appearance, Qi Jin first explained to Qi Yuangong: "Be loyal to the emperor and love the country..."

The people living in Datong and Taiyuan are okay, but for the people living in Pingyang and Zezhou in the south of Shanxi, they have to walk six to seven hundred miles to reach the train station in Taiyuan.

When they arrive at the station, before them are millions of people who want to relocate.

"The imperial court... didn't they say that the transfer train is free..."

Qi Jin's voice was so small that Li Yongzhen hardly heard what he said, only heard the words Admiral Li.

People like these are immigrants who can't get on the train.

This is the helplessness of the victims and the helplessness of the Ming court.

"Is this... Duke?" Cao Huachun hesitated for a while. After all, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, only the Yongle period had been canonized as a Duke. No one had the honor of being a Duke at other times.

"Combined with the decree that the victims of the disaster will be exempted for one year, and the task of the relocated provinces to be responsible for the rations of the immigrants, this year's land tax revenue of the state government may be as low as 5000 million shi..."

After a long time, he asked, "How is Old General Qi?"

Liu Yanen explained the whereabouts of the reduced land tax and grain, but Zhu Youxiao kept silent after hearing it, bowed his head and continued to process his own wood.

When Li Dingguo said these words, at the same time, Liu Yanen, a member of the household department, also brought the immigration documents to the Summer Palace of Dading Palace, which was less than [-] miles away from them.

The long-term walking caused abscesses to swell and fester on the soles of their feet. They had to use crutches and hold the naked baby wrapped in clothes with their left arms.

Zhu Youxiao did this, probably because he wanted to make Qi Jin happy.

"Not to mention Shanxi, it is hundreds of miles away from Duoyan to Donghai Songhua County and Jilin County."

Li Yongzhen, who got off the boat, didn't have time to rest, and rushed to Dingyuan Hou's Mansion near the Yamen of the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion without stopping.

Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong are the two sons of the Qi Palace born by Wei Pingyang and Li Shaoxi, but it seems that they have adapted to their father's status, or because the state affairs are too busy, since these two children were born in May and June respectively, Zhu Youjian only saw them two or three times.

It took him a long time before he said: "Let these matters be handled by King Qi in the future."

Except for them, there are those unkempt, skinny and emaciated women.

"Yes! Duke Feng!" Zhu Youjian nodded emphatically. Seeing this, Cao Huachun also knew that His Royal Highness was not joking, so he hurriedly sent people to Yanshan to ask Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao was wearing a tunic, with his back to Liu Yanen, concocting wood in the Summer Palace of Dading Palace, wondering what new things he was going to do.

Among the crowd of people traveling eastward, some held broken bowls in one hand and chopsticks in the other, begging along the railway tracks for leftovers from various families, and devoured them hungrily.

With a critical illness and no hope, a non-hereditary Duke is nothing to his contribution to Daming.

"Guochao's railway capacity is limited. The Shanxi railway has only been built to the vicinity of Xinzhou in Taiyuan Prefecture, and the Beijing-Liaoning Railway has only been built to the vicinity of Duoyan County."

This number is astonishing, but compared to the millions of hungry people in Shanxi, it is insignificant.

Therefore, Qi Jin, who was already 77 years old, also fell ill around the spring of this year.

"Understood..." Zhu Youjian responded, and then said: "Since we all have children, we are too happy, so let's stop the affairs of the harem and let them concentrate on conceiving and taking care of the children."

Facing Li Yongzhen, Qi Yuangong, and the three generations of the Qi family, he was lying on the sickbed, as if he had returned to the light, and he had some strength to speak:
"In my life, I followed my uncle to raid thousands of miles, fought bloody battles to wipe out Japanese, went north to fight captives, looked at Youyan, and drank horses to North Korea... I was loved by the late emperor, Long live, and His Highness, and after I recovered, I guarded Liaodong and defended my homeland. No regrets..."

Although the three of them can support the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion for at least ten years, they are not afraid of [-], just in case.

"The envoy of the king's court reported that the Marquis of Dingyuan has been unable to eat since he entered the summer, and his weight has dropped sharply, less than a hundred catties. His stomach is hard to breathe. I'm afraid..."

Daming's railway development is indeed rapid, but this rapidity is limited.

"Yes……"

"If the people were really like this, then the people in Shanxi would have migrated away spontaneously."

"Right now, the two uncles have received a gift from Long live, I am grateful, but I have no clue about the Jimen matter, I want to ask Long live to investigate thoroughly..."

"Immigrants, as long as they migrate, they must not stop. If you set up a stall to cook, for those food, they will probably gather in piles and never leave."

"Old Duke, please rest assured, our family will definitely pass on the old Duke's words to Long Live."

"What happened to Xuan'er and Jiong'er..."

Compared with Zhu Cihong who was with Zhu Youjian every day, it is normal for Wei Pingyang to be dissatisfied.

But compared with Qi Jin, he is just a firefly and dare not put on airs.

Qi Jin's voice became weaker and weaker, as if he had reached the limit, but he still stretched out his hand to hold Li Yongzhen's hand tightly.

As a result, the people of Shanxi scrambled to go north, but within a month, from Xinzhou Station in Shanxi to Duoyan Station in Modong Province, the railway along the border was already full of people.

"There are millions of starving people in Shanxi. How can we transport millions of people with only four railways and more than [-] trains?"

As the saying goes, health is precious only when you see someone who is sick. Therefore, when Li Yongzhen saw Qi Jin, who was tall and tall and thin, weighing less than a hundred catties, his first reaction was to be dazed.

Since then, the Qi family has the reputation of being a king, a duke, a marquis and three uncles.

If they stay where they are, they will have to wait at least three or four months before their turn to board the car. Since they have to wait three or four months, it is better to move on foot.

Hearing the words, he knelt down quickly and took out the imperial edict for some reason.

If there had been no Battle of Restoration of Liao, if Liaodong had fallen, I am afraid that at present, many technologies of Daming would not have the energy to develop them. Facing the drought and the pincer attack of Houjin, the situation of Daming would be very dangerous.

The Shanxi section of the railway and the railways in Beizhili and Modong provinces are more than [-] miles long, with more than [-] shifts. It is true that more than [-] people can be transported at one time, but it takes time to get on and off the train, and the transportation also takes time.

That is, it took five days for Daming to transport 10,000+ people.

Liu Yanen paused for a moment, and then continued: "For example, if a male over 15 years of age distributes one cattle, the officialdom needs to deliver 38 seven cattle and horses to the household department."

Among the three, Qi Yuanbi is the younger one.

"5000 million stone?" Zhu Youxiao stopped planing wood:
"If I remember correctly, the land tax estimated by the Ministry of Accounts at the beginning of the year was 800 million shi, right?"

"Please... Admiral Li... tell Long Live... Veteran Qi Jin... kowtow again... kowtow... kowtow again..."

The dark civilians were dressed in black cloth, with disheveled hair, disheveled clothes, and broken vegetable baskets on their backs. Their bodies were so hungry that their muscles and bones protruded.

From the perspective of family and country, if there was no Qi Jin in the battle of Liaoshen, I am afraid that even if Qin Bangping and others did not lose Shenyang, they would have to face a bloody battle, and how many people could survive would be a problem.

"When you can't afford it and the immigrants gather to make trouble, how will you deal with it?"

Greeted by Qi Yuangong, Li Yongzhen was brought to Qi Jin's sick bed. At that time, Wang Kentang was diagnosing Qi Jin's pulse, but when Li Yongzhen saw Qi Jin for the first time, he knew that Qi Jin might die.

"This..." Cao Huachun's expression was a little stiff, and Zhu Youjian felt confident when he saw this.

"Long live, please thoroughly investigate Jimen... and give justice to Zhejiang soldiers..."

"Then I can buy them..." Zhu Ciran wanted to say something else, but Li Dingguo interrupted:
"How long can you buy for them? You are a prince, not an emperor. Not to mention how many people you can save with your annual salary of several thousand taels, how many victims of disasters will be entrenched because you buy and cook for them? "

At this moment, he is extremely weak, without the high spirits of the past, only a hero in his twilight years.

Seemingly uneasy, Zhu Youjian got up and walked around, and then he added:
"For Long Live, please seal old General Qi as Feng Guogong."

"Your Highness, take them to the side hall of the Chengyun Hall to take care of them in the future."

Liu Yanen is a student who graduated from Yanshan in the seventh year. He is good at arithmetic, so he did well in the household department, and became a member of the household department Wai Lang at a young age.

It was the Qin and Qi families who guarded Liaodong for three years for Daming, which gave Zhu Youjian the capital to fight back the Liaodong campaign.

After Zhu Youjian heard the news, he sent Wang Kentang to Guangzhou to see a doctor for Qi Jin, but Qi Jin's condition was not optimistic.

"According to the arrangement of the imperial court, the people in Sichuan and Jiangxi will move to Jiugang and Luchuan. There are enough mature fields and cattle in the local area, so there should be no problem."

After stroking his forehead, Zhu Youjian gave Cao Huachun an order, and Cao Huachun obeyed honestly.

"I can live to this day... that means I have lived a long life... I can already..."

Now that Qi Jin, one of the mainstays of the two families, fell ill, and his life and death were only a matter of days, the emperor's prestige in the army might also be reduced a bit.

Zhu Ciran has never seen such a scene, even though he is only 11 years old, but facing such a scene, he still feels uncomfortable.

Zhu Youjian sighed in his heart, and at the same time told Cao Huachun: "Use the identity of Long Live, send some medicinal materials and ingredients to Old General Qi."

"You expect the common people to be sensible and understand everything?"

Li Yongzhen did not use official Chinese to introduce the imperial decree, but chose easy-to-understand vernacular.

Zhu Youjian, who got the news, just responded "I know", and stopped responding, and continued to deal with the memorial.

Zhu Youjian closed his eyes and asked Cao Huachun who was standing behind him, Cao Huachun replied, "Your Highnesses are fine, but Lady Wei and Lady Li want Your Highness to get closer to them."

"plane--"

"Good...good...good..."

Seeing this scene, Zhu Ciran, who rode horses with Li Dingguo to watch, felt uncomfortable, and turned his head to the side, somewhat unable to watch it.

Liu Ruoyu and Wei Zhongxian stood not far away, holding tea and towels, ready to come forward to serve them at any time.

Qi Jin's cheeks were sunken abnormally, and the flesh on his body was almost gone, only some flesh was still attached to the bones, his complexion was dark, and tiny black blood vessels could be seen.

This is just the time to go, if the time to come back is counted, it will be at least five days.

Qi Jiguang was posthumously named Dongping King, and Qi Jimei was posthumously named Marquis of Weihai.

As the honorable family of the Great Ming Qi Dynasty, the Qin and Qi families can be said to be hardcore loyal ministers. Even if Zhu Youjian has supported them, they are still loyal to the emperor.

"Congratulations to the old general. Last month, the king of Qi honored the old general's achievements. Long live canonized the old general as Feng Guogong, posthumously awarded Qi Wuyi as Dongping King, and Qi Zongbing as Marquis of Weihai."

"The minister leads the order..." Liu Yanen responded, and then saw that Zhu Youxiao had no other instructions, so he bowed back and left the hall.

If there is some food in a beggar's bowl, the rest of the people will look like wolves, only staring at the food in the beggar's bowl, and the beggar feels this kind of staring, and the beggar can't wait to fill his hunger.

Such behavior undoubtedly violated the etiquette system, but before Qi Jin's sick bed, more than a dozen second and third generation children of the Qi family did not say anything.

"Admiral Li..."

"As of the fifth day of July, there were more than 79 immigrants in Shanxi, 61 in Jiangxi, more than 180 in Beizhili, and [-] in Sichuan. There are more than [-] people in Shaanxi, and more than [-] people in Henan. According to statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs, there are about [-] million people."

Seeing this, Li Yongzhen also knew that Qi Jin was about to explain his funeral, so he stood up and saluted repeatedly, and then withdrew from the courtyard and Dingyuanhou's mansion.

Zhu Ciran felt pity in his heart, but Li Dingguo nodded: "All meals are provided, but compared to ordinary people, what they eat is slightly worse."

Li Dingguo educated Zhu Ciran in a preaching tone, then he turned his head to look at the immigrant team heading east, and said calmly:
"Instead of keeping them, it's better to think about how to arrange them."

Li Yongzhen, as Zhu Ciran's playmate eunuch sent by Zhu Youxiao, his status is not comparable to that of Wei Zhongxian, Cao Huachun and others, but he can be regarded as a very important person.

"As for the 120 million people in the four provinces of Northern Zhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan..."

According to the news from Beizhen Fusi, the couple Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi supported the emperor, but Qin Yiming, Qin Gongming, and Qin Zuoming always obeyed the government's orders.

Those hungry people who couldn't get on the train could only go north along the railway, heading towards Donghai Province on foot.

Li Yongzhen was appointed by Zhu Youxiao as the eunuch who delivered the edict and went south with the imperial edict, and finally arrived in Guangzhou City on August 24.

He still has the backbone and doesn't want to beg for food, so he took a few children and grandchildren on the flat drum, carrying a bamboo basket, hitting the drum with a drumstick in his right hand, and an allegro in his left hand. The people who came to watch their migration begged for food and money.

At an age where he should have lived his life, but at this moment he was full of flattering expressions and bitter eyes, just for those few meals.

"The cattle and horses in the officialdom should be enough, but the follow-up rations for the immigrants cannot be supplemented by the three provinces of Modong, Beishan, and Donghai alone. Therefore, it is necessary to transport 600 million shi of grain from Yingzhou to the three provinces."

From ancient to modern times, compared with civil servants, military generals always appear to have a shorter lifespan.

Qi Jin fixed his eyes on Li Yongzhen, as if he didn't agree, Qi Jin would not let go.

The hungry baby was unable to cry, and the old woman couldn't squeeze any milk from her body.

Hearing the words, the children of three generations could only bow their heads and knelt down one after another.

Cao Huachun spoke cautiously, which made Zhu Youjian feel even more depressed.

"Yes..." Cao Huachun respectfully agreed, and Zhu Youjian also picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

Prince Qi's Mansion is not Zhu Youjian's alone, it is full of various forces, so the three generations of Qin family and Qi family's children, I'm afraid...

Seeing this, Liu Yanen withdrew from the Chengyun Hall, and after he withdrew, Zhu Youjian put down the ink brush and let out a foul breath.

"Yes..." Cao Huachun knew that Zhu Youjian's feelings for Qi Jin were complicated.

Seeing this scene, Li Yongzhen looked at Qi Jin sincerely even though he knew that he would cause trouble if he agreed casually, and gave an answer:

"Father..." Qi Yuangong looked at his father's appearance, his nose sore, and while he knelt down and held Qi Jin's hand, he also turned his head and scolded: "Kneel down!"

"Can these people be properly settled..."

Counting the time for getting on and off the bus and changing trains, it will take Daming at least three days to transport the people to Duoyan County in Modong Province, and then they have to walk more than [-] miles on their legs to go to the Songnen Plain to cultivate the land , Receive food.

However, such dissatisfaction was only limited to female officials and eunuchs, and they never dared to express their dissatisfaction with Zhu Youjian.

I saw that the train was full of ragged people, not only that, but the roof was full of people.

Although the Qi family still has the second generation of Qi Yuangong, Qi Yuanfu, and Qi Yuanbi to support the scene and stand for the imperial power, these three are not too young.

The old General Qi he was talking about was undoubtedly Qi Jin.

If you don't want to wait, you can only walk north along the railway, and wait for the train to get on the train when you encounter an empty train station.

To be honest, Zhu Youjian can understand their feelings, but he has too many things to deal with right now, and the children in infancy are too noisy, so he doesn't want to take them with him.

On July 13, 28, when the whistle of the train sounded in Yanshan County, two teenagers on horseback also saw a creepy scene along the railroad tracks.

Among the children of the three generations, they basically follow the lead of the Qi Palace.

Facing such a scene, Liu Yanen stood straight, his spine as if iron-struck, but his eyes were lowered, and he didn't mean to look at Zhu Youxiao.

"Are there any meals arranged at the train station along the side?"

From personal experience, Qi Jin was the first person to crumble the art of war and feed it to Zhu Youjian. Although they are all basic, they can be regarded as half a master.

Li Dingguo, on the other hand, has experienced what these victims have experienced before, so he is very familiar with the tricks.

Among the generals of the Qin family, Qin Bangping, Qin Banghan, and Qin Liangyu are all in their sixties, and the youngest Qin Minping is also in his fifties.

"Okay... okay..." Qi Jin let go of his hand, and looked at Qi Yuangong and the others.

Li Yongzhen's words made Qi Jin's eyes light up, but it soon dimmed again.

Zhu Cihong, who was babbling, was walking around in the Chengyun Hall. Wang Chengen and a female officer followed him closely, fearing that he would fall.

"The train is free, but they have to be able to ride it..."

Among the victims, there was a one-eyed old entertainer wearing a rotten straw hat, patched clothes, and straw sandals.

Many civil servants and generals in the capital were not surprised by this. Although Qi Jin did not achieve any major battle victories, his contributions were too heavy for the Ming Dynasty in the early days of Tianqi.

Their generation is also the generation that supports the emperor the most, while the corresponding second generation has a complex composition.

Qi Yuangong is nearly 40 years old, Qi Yuanbi is over [-] years old, and Qi Yuanbi is over [-] years old.

Some people couldn't bear the hunger, so they could only settle down in a hurry in Modong Province. After all, this place also belonged to the three provinces outside the customs, and they could also exchange for food stamps, but because of the proximity to the northern captives, many people didn't want to stay for a long time.

Although it was said that he had to be crowded with the victims when he came, most of the vehicles on the return journey were empty, so Liu Yanen spent six hours returning to the capital.

"For you and me, it's okay to wait a few days, but for them, it's life and death..."

After Li Yongzhen left, Qi Jin glanced at Qi Yuangong and his three generations of children: "Kneel down..."

It's just that he is his own son after all, although he doesn't have the excitement of having Zhu Cihong, but he still has to take care of him.

In addition, Zhu Youjian is more worried about the Qin family.

"If you really say regret, then the only regret is that the two uncles were wronged, and the brothers in the army are bloody."

This matter spread quickly after a few days, and Zhu Youxiao also followed Zhu Youjian's suggestion as always. After learning that Qi Jin was seriously ill, he specially decreed that Qi Jin canonize Feng Guogong, and made Qi Jiguang, Qi Jimei respectively posthumously.

He weakly said yes again and again, not knowing if he could only say "yes" or if he couldn't say the rest.

"Long live, it is true. To appease the immigrants, at least 3000 million shimimai needs to be allocated. In addition, the provinces have lost their harvest and disaster relief, and the country's annual revenue will drop to 5000 million shi."

"Hmm..." Qi Yuangong was already sobbing, and then, Qi Jin looked at a group of three-generation children.

He could see that his group of grandsons and clan grandchildren wanted to stand out and be famous in history, but he still spoke with a pleading tone:
"Partisanship...you don't want to get involved..."

"Don't make trouble...let Your Highness rest at ease..."

"I beg you old man..."

(End of this chapter)