The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 455: Picture of Starving People

On that day, Emperor Wu Ding entered Zhaoyuan County surrounded by a large crowd, and immediately began to inspect Zhaoyuan's military training, civil affairs, mining and other matters.

Thanks to the effective allocation of food, there has been no famine in Zhaoyuan under the rule of County Magistrate Wen, or at least no people have starved to death.

Liu Zhaosun was quite satisfied with this portly county magistrate. He asked Zhang Dong to investigate Wen Shibao's background. This fat man had some skills and was not as naive as he seemed.

~~~~
At noon, Emperor Wuding had his meal in the back hall of the Zhaoyuan County Government Office.

One dish after another of delicacies from land and sea were served, until the eight-immortal table was piled high. Dongfang Zhu counted carefully and found a full 108 dishes. The feast was perfectly executed according to the rules of a grand palace banquet. Roasted mushrooms, panlong vegetables, roasted clams, frog legs, cooked pufferfish, and roasted venison were all imperial dishes. Fish brains were used as tofu, and peacock feet substituted for chicken feet. Adding two bottles of Jinpanlu (Golden Plate Dew) from the seventh year of the Chenghua era, it was no exaggeration to say that the feast was extravagant.

Liu Zhaosun held the golden chopsticks and golden spoon, hesitant.

The magistrate of Wen County was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that the emperor disliked the food for not being delicious enough. He kept winking at Eunuch Dongfang, asking Dongfang Zhu to say a few good words for him.

The emperor sighed and said:

"In this year of great disaster, it's a waste of money. It's a waste of money."

County Magistrate Wen quickly knelt down and wept bitterly before the Emperor:
"My emperor is the ruler of the world, with his empire spanning the four seas. He has worked tirelessly for the Great Qi over the years. As a minister, I have no way to repay you, and I only wish to share your worries. Only these delicacies, the essence of the five grains, are worthy of my emperor's immortal body. If Your Majesty refuses to eat, it is my fault, and I shall die."

Emperor Wu Ding looked at the fat man carefully, his fierce expression as if he was about to cut the other person open with a sharp knife. Zhang Dong, who was guarding the door, walked slowly towards him with his hand on the scabbard.

"County Magistrate Wen!"

Emperor Wuding stood up suddenly. His burly figure was a whole head taller than the county magistrate, and he looked down at his ministers.

Everyone was shocked by the emperor's aura. As usual, it was time for the emperor to kill someone.

Emperor Wuding laughed out loud:

"Hahaha, great! What a great official from Zhaoyuan! I'll grant your wish."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand, picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of venison, and swallowed it without chewing. Then he stuffed half a frog into his mouth, tilted his neck back and drank a bottle of Jinpanlu wine in one breath.

County Magistrate Wen secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead, his heart almost jumping into his throat.

~~~~~
The lunch took half an hour, and I drank eight bottles of Bamboo Leaf Green, ate half a pig's head, two ducks, and half a chicken, and finally I was full.

After experiencing the radiation from the big bang, Liu Zhaosun's physical strength and endurance increased dramatically, and correspondingly, his appetite also far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Since the emperor's meals were a palace secret and anyone who leaked them would face the risk of death, it was difficult for outsiders to know. Therefore, not only did Mr. Meng Wuyue not know how many kilograms of meat and rice Liu Zhaosun ate every day, let alone others.

It is certain that the huge amount of food provides this strong body with a constant supply of energy. The moment the traverser bursts out, he can be close to a demigod.

Some people say that the emperor has other sources of power, such as nuclear batteries, hydrogen energy, etc., which sounds too sci-fi, so we can only wait for the imperial historians to analyze it later.

After the feast, the emperor ordered County Magistrate Wen to lead the way to inspect the iron mine in the western suburbs of Zhaoyuan.

The high priest Francis was imprisoned and forced to work in the iron mines.

Arriving at the iron mine, the emperor, despite everyone's dissuasion, insisted on entering the tunnel. Zhang Dong and others had no choice but to follow the emperor into the mine.

This was the first time Liu Zhaosun entered the mine. It was pitch black all around, and his feet kept stepping into puddles. Torches were hanging on the cave wall in the distance, and he could vaguely see several half-human, half-ghost miners digging the soil in the distance.

Emperor Wuding showed a satisfied smile on his face.

The tunnel was cramped, hot, and filled with a disgusting stench.

County Magistrate Wen was sweating profusely. If the emperor had not been present, he would have vomited long ago.

County Magistrate Wen said that many criminals sent here to mine would die of exhaustion or illness within half a month, and a new wave of people needed to be replaced every two months.

“What happens to the dead?”

Perhaps because he had killed too many people, the emperor was now only interested in death and killing.

"Return to Your Majesty,"

Wen Shibao didn't dare to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The narrow tunnel made him feel uneasy. Zhang Dong and the guards stood around to prevent the miners from taking risks and doing anything that would be detrimental to the emperor.

"Burying it on the spot will ward off evil spirits and prevent the mine from collapsing easily."

Emperor Wuding nodded to Fatty Wen and patted his thick shoulders.

"Good! This is how we deal with the enemy, County Magistrate Wen."

Wen Shibao hurriedly stepped forward, lowered his head, and tried his best to appear respectful.

Liu Zhaosun instructed, "Zhaoyuan is rich in mineral deposits. Minister Li will stay and help you find a few more large mines. When I return triumphantly from my personal expedition, I'll bring back tens of thousands of captives—Jiannu, Korean, Cossacks, and everything in between. These people will all be excellent miners. You must discipline them well for me and try to bury them all underground, ensuring that every miner has his or her own place. Once this is accomplished, I'll transfer you to the Eastern Capital to serve me."

County Magistrate Wen pretended to be shocked, then immediately accepted the order and expressed his gratitude.

The emperor sent for Francisco, who was sifting the dirt. The Portuguese before him was emaciated. Having not seen him for over a month, his agate-like eyes had become cloudy, his fair skin was pitch black and stained with dust, and even his once-glowing golden hair had lost its silky luster and turned gray.

In short, the high priest had completely lost his former glory.

Emperor Wu Ding looked Francisco up and down, nodded with satisfaction, and said to himself in his heart: It seems that I should let more officials of the Great Qi come to Zhaoyuan to mine in the future.

The Portuguese were wrapped in mud, dust and grime, looking like vampires crawling out of an ancient castle cemetery in the middle of the night.

"Long live the emperor!"

Francisco fell to his knees, the shackles on his feet clanking with metal, sounding more like a death curse. Magistrate Wen took the key from the clerk and bent down to unlock the prisoner.

"I came to Zhaoyuan this time,"

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand, and County Magistrate Wen and Dongfang Zhu immediately stepped back a few steps, looking over here from a distance. The emperor stared into the high priest's eyes and said word by word:

"I came to Zhaoyuan this time to see you."

Francisco's cloudy eyes suddenly became bright, and he knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor to express his gratitude.

"Get up."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand:
"The steamed dumplings-in-one game is outdated. As for being a wise monarch or a reformer, it's too easy. I disdain to do it. I don't want to be a saint, nor do I want to be a god. Do you know what I want to do?"

Francisco ruffled his dirty hair, stared at the flying dandruff, and fell into deep thought. After a while, he replied:
"It is to make everyone in the world praise Your Majesty, sing praises of Your Majesty, and regard you as a figure like Caesar."

"Who is Caesar?" Emperor Wu Ding said with disdain.

"It seems you've wasted these past two months here. If I weren't in need of someone, I would keep you locked up until you're overgrown with maggots."

Francisco was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and kowtowed and confessed his guilt.

The emperor stopped talking nonsense and said directly:
"What I want now is neither praise nor slander, but the absence of all voices, of all discussion. I am the truth. When everyone realizes this law, the empire will be able to maintain long-term peace and stability. This is the secret to stability."

After hearing this magical theory from hundreds of years later, Francisco not only did not find it incredible, but immediately showed admiration.

"Your Majesty is wise and intelligent. I understand. I will cooperate with the officers of the Zhangying camp to closely monitor those unruly people and prevent them from speaking nonsense. The people of Daqi are not to speak recklessly about our emperor or discuss state affairs. If anyone violates this, I will exile them to Australia and let them experience survival in the wilderness."

Emperor Wuding finally showed a teachable smile on his face.

"It's not that everyone should be silenced. We can still tell stories to the people at the bottom of society and let them speak. It's just that those who are good at demagogues need to shut up. If they don't want to, we will cut their throats..."

Francisco's eyes sparkled:
"I know what to do! Officer Zhang and I are your majesty's two sharpest knives. One is for cutting the throat, the other for hitting the knees. Both are indispensable."

Liu Zhaosun clapped his hands and laughed, expressing his satisfaction with Francisco's metaphor.

"Well, it seems you have truly understood. Continue to be the high priest from now on."

~~~~
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Wu Ding left Zhaoyuan and headed straight to Yuncheng to provide disaster relief.

Yuncheng is located in the southwest of Shandong and the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It is also the hometown of Song Jiang in "Water Margin". This place can be said to be full of disasters.

Last summer, Yuncheng didn't see much rain, and the fields were damaged by drought. When autumn finally arrived, heavy rains continued, and the Yellow River burst its banks, drowning most of the crops. Then came the plague and locust plague...
In any case, the arrival of the Emperor of Da Qi gave hope to the hungry victims of Yuncheng.

The emperor issued an edict to exempt Yuncheng from taxes for three years and allocated grain reserves from nearby prefectures and counties to help the people who had not yet starved to death.

At the same time, he ordered temples and Taoist temples around Yuncheng to donate food, and asked monks and Taoist priests in temples to take out large pots and distribute porridge on the streets as relief.

In order to quell public anger, Emperor Wuding copied Cao Mengde's approach and also captured and beheaded several scapegoats.

Zhang Dong led his men to arrest 28 people including the former household clerk, the head clerk, the military clerk, the archer, the attendant, the guard, the quick hand and so on in Yuncheng overnight. He announced that this group of clerks had been corrupt and derelict in their duties and embezzled tens of thousands of stones of grain from the county warehouses, so the grain warehouses in Yuncheng were empty, without even a mouse.

These evil officials usually bullied the people and did many bad things. The emperor let them die with a different charge. For these scum, it was a well-deserved death.

On the 3th day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Wuding reign, a great crowd of people gathered under the majestic and ancient Guanyin Pagoda (Note ) in the west of Yuncheng.

Amid the people's screaming curses, twenty-eight people were taken to the execution ground. At Zhang Dong's command, the executioner raised his knife and started executing them.

Under Dongfang Zhu's arrangement, earth-shaking cheers were heard in front of the Guanyin Pagoda.

"Long live the Emperor of Da Qi!"

"Long live the Great Qi!"

Note: 1. Qingzhou Prefecture Records, Volume , Disasters and Auspicious Events

2. The Annals of Yuncheng County record: In the 1446th year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty (), a river broke through Xingyang, causing disaster in Yuncheng. The tower was submerged two levels, and now only four levels remain above the ground. Although it has experienced wind and rain and has been severely eroded, its majestic and ancient appearance still makes it a scenic spot.

(End of this chapter)