The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 389 The Angry Ming Emperor
The Hetao Army launched an emergency operation.

Zuo Yidao rushed back to the capital of the Ming Dynasty day and night.

He also used the Jinyiwei channels in advance to immediately convey what Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao said back to the capital.

Therefore, the news reached the capital one step ahead of time. After reading it, Zhu Houzhao still felt that it was unlikely and that the barbarians were worrying too much.

Because he realized that the weather was too cold last winter and there would be disasters, Zhu Houzhao sent the Minister of Revenue Jiao Fang to personally take inventory of the grain reserves in granaries across the north.

Although Jiao Fang was a man of no moral integrity, he was naturally very efficient. After an inventory, he reported to Emperor Hongzhi, saying that His Majesty had worked hard to govern the country and made the people strong. The major granaries in the northern provinces had sufficient grain, and a lot of old grain had begun to mold because it had not been eaten.

Zhu Houzhao was naturally in a good mood after receiving such flattering report from Jiao Fang.

Because under the assistance of the wild man Tang Hao over the years, he has indeed worked hard to govern the country and never dared to slack off.

In addition, in the past few years, the Ming Dynasty had always been prosperous with good weather and no major disasters, so the Zhengde court had saved up a lot of wealth. In addition to the treasury of one million taels of silver, warehouses across the country were also filled with grain, and the silk, tea, etc. collected by the court were countless. This was the real reason why Zhu Houzhao dared to support his general Tang Hao in fighting on two fronts.

Therefore, not only Emperor Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty, but also everyone in the court was relieved about the severe drought in the three northern border provinces, and they were also confident in dealing with the famine.

Because there was enough food, even if the four major granaries did not have enough grain, the court could still transport grain from all over the south and easily get through the famine without any problem.

At least our country has food, so there is no need to panic!
So when Zhu Houzhao saw Tang Hao's reminder, he subconsciously thought it was impossible.

How is that possible!
There were tens of thousands of grains piled up in the four major granaries. How could they be stolen and emptied?

Moreover, since Jiao Fang became the Minister of Revenue, he has always been loyal to Zhu Houzhao. Jiao Fang also knows that all his power comes from Emperor Zhu Houzhao, so Jiao Fang could not and dared not betray the emperor.

Then, there will be no problem with the four major granaries.

However, at this moment, an urgent report came to the capital, from Yang Tinghe who went to inspect the granary.

Zhu Houzhao suppressed his uneasiness and opened it. He was instantly furious and almost fainted.

He urgently summoned Xianning Marquis Qiu Yue, Minister of Rites Zhu Youlang, and that damn Minister of Revenue Jiao Fang!

"Jiao Fang!"

"Where is my food?"

"Where are the mountains of grain in the four granaries?"

Zhu Houzhao threw Yang Tinghe's secret letter on Jiao Fang's face!
Jiao Fang didn't know what was going on at first, but when he picked up the secret letter and took a look, he was instantly struck by lightning.

After Yang Tinghe personally counted and checked, the Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse were empty, with only a little grain left covering the ground, while the remaining grain in Guangyun Warehouse and Fengji Warehouse was less than one-fifth of what was stated in the official documents!

Upon seeing this shocking news, Jiao Fang was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead and he kowtowed repeatedly!

"Your Majesty, please understand! Your Majesty, please understand!"

"At the beginning, I was ordered to check the granaries. I personally went to check the Dezhou and Linqing granaries. They were indeed piled up like mountains. As for why the grain is missing now, I... I don't know!"

Jiao Fang replied with grief and indignation.

He had indeed been to the granary in person and had seen the mountains of grain with his own eyes, so he reported it to His Majesty the Emperor!

But now, how come the mountains of grain disappeared as soon as Yang Tinghe left?

Jiao Fang felt very wronged.

Because when he checked the granaries, he did check very clearly that the four major granaries had sufficient grain, which was indeed enough to deal with the current famine. He also checked the granaries in other places. Although some granaries were insufficient, most of them were full of grain. But now such a shocking case has appeared, so the pot must be taken by the Minister of Revenue Jiao Fang!
“A mountain of it, really?”

"Could it be that all the food has grown wings and is flying away?"

Zhu Houzhao roared angrily, so loudly that everyone in the hall was silent.

"You want to deal with me now without even saying you don't know. Do you think it's possible?"

Zhu Houzhao paced back and forth, thinking rapidly in his mind, and took a breath to calm himself down.

If Jiao Fang really doesn’t know!

In other words, the savage Tang Hao’s worries came true!
The four major granaries were actually emptied quietly!

That’s a really serious problem!
Now the disaster in the three northern provinces is becoming more and more serious, and the court is in urgent need of food for disaster relief.

And because the Ming Dynasty was fighting on two fronts, most of the food had been consumed, and they were relying on the last bit of grain in the four major granaries to provide disaster relief and save lives!

But now the four major granaries are empty, so what can we use to provide disaster relief?

If disaster relief is not provided in time, war will surely break out, and among the common people who cannot survive, countless traitors like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang will surely emerge!
Once that time comes, the matter will no longer be just a matter of famine. Once the people's rebellion spreads, it will be like a spark that starts a prairie fire. The Ming Dynasty may even be completely overthrown, and the country will fall into the hands of others!
This is the reason why Zhu Houzhao was furious, and it is also what he is most worried about now!
Moreover, under the guidance of the savage Tang Hao, he could not be said to love the people like his own sons, but he did sympathize with the sufferings of the people. He knew very well that if there was no timely disaster relief during a famine, there would be starving people everywhere, and who knew how many tragedies of cannibalism would occur!
Those were all Zhu Houzhao’s subjects!
As a king and father, what should he do now?
Prince Xing Zhu Youju hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, this matter may have nothing to do with Minister Jiao!"

"This is a conspiracy. The four major granaries have been emptied, and the price of grain has suddenly skyrocketed. It is clear that someone is plotting against the court and your Majesty, and wants your Majesty to use the treasury to buy the grain in their hands at a high price!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly turned gloomy and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

These bastards are eyeing my little treasury!
A poor emperor and a rich emperor are two completely different concepts!

It was obvious that they did this in order to force Zhu Houzhao to bow to the gentry, hand over the money obtained through the East China Sea trade, and then become a puppet emperor controlled by the gentry, like his father, Emperor Hongzhi!

These damn bastards!
These damn Jiangnan gentry!
Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he wanted to kill someone!
"Jiao Fang!"

"I'm here!" Jiao Fang trembled and responded quickly.

Zhu Houzhao looked at this idiot and angrily said, "I will give you a chance to make amends. They can do this, there must be someone inside the Ministry of Revenue. I don't care what method you use, find out the pests in the Ministry of Revenue, otherwise I will kill all your clans!"

"The factory guards will fully cooperate with you. If you find these parasites, I will forgive them. If you can't find them, I will kill your whole family!"

Jiao Fang didn't dare to refuse, this was his last chance to survive.

Zhu Houzhao then looked at Zhu Youluo and said in a deep voice: "Uncle Wang, I'll have to trouble you to take action this time!"

"Master Yang is checking Guangyun Warehouse and Fengji Warehouse. Uncle Wang will go to Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse in person!"

Zhu Youqiu also understood the seriousness of the problem, so he did not refuse.

Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse are both in Shandong, and Prince Zhu Yangzhu of Lu is undoubtedly the local tyrant. If we join forces with Zhu Yangzhu, we should be able to trace the lost grain in the shortest time!

Zhu Houzhao looked at everyone, making no effort to hide his murderous intent.

"Get the food back as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise, I will massacre Jiangnan with blood and will not show mercy!"

He is not the late emperor who can only endure and give in!
If the food cannot be recovered and there is no way to provide relief to the victims, Zhu Houzhao will lead his troops to the south of the Yangtze River!
(End of this chapter)