Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 59 The Emperor can't possibly kill us all.

In Tongguan City.

One of the city's guards noticed the refugees they had driven out, who were now kneeling in unison on the riverbank.

He didn't have time to think much about it.

Then we saw countless boats with dragon banners raised high sailing towards us on the river.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers guarding the city were stunned for a moment, and then, after realizing what was happening, they immediately ran in a panic towards a restaurant in the city.

Inside the tavern, the soldier finally found the county magistrate, who was drinking and listening to music with his colleagues, and hurriedly said, panting:

"Your Excellency...no...it's terrible! The Emperor has come to our county!"

The county magistrate, who had been drunkenly harassing a singing girl, paused upon hearing the word "Emperor," then stopped what he was doing and demanded, "Which Emperor?! Explain yourself!!"

"It's...it's our Great Ming Dynasty Emperor! Countless boats with dragon banners are approaching the shore on the river! The refugees are all kneeling on the riverbank!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Seeing his subordinate's anxious appearance, the county magistrate didn't even question the truth of the matter before immediately running out of the room.

"Quickly, come with me to inform the master!!!"

The county magistrate, waddling his fat body, hurriedly led the soldier toward the county magistrate's residence.

The two men's actions drew the attention of shopkeepers and locals on both sides of the street.

What's wrong with the usually aloof and high-ranking county magistrate today?
soon.

The county magistrate's assistant then rushed to the county magistrate's residence and briefly recounted the news that the emperor had arrived outside Tongguan City.

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Tongguan County abruptly sat up from his recliner.

The movement was so large that he stumbled forward several steps before regaining his balance.

Why would the emperor come to Tongguan?!
How can this be? !
Although he couldn't believe it, seeing his subordinates' hurried and flustered state, the magistrate didn't have time to think it through and quickly gave the order:
"Quickly! Take people to the county government gate to distribute porridge and provide disaster relief. Also, notify those wealthy households to lower grain prices! Make them distribute porridge as well! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Little one, I'll get on it right away!"

The obese county magistrate, ignoring his chest which felt like it was about to burst from running so hard, scrambled out again.

It wasn't until quite a while after the two left that this happened.

The magistrate of Tongguan County was still shaken and kept clutching his chest.

The emperor's sudden visit to Tongguan was a huge shock.

In the past, it wasn't uncommon for high-ranking officials from the central government to inspect Shaanxi, but they would usually receive advance notice.

of course.

This is not the point.

The key point is that many refugees gathered in the suburbs of Tongguan, and those refugees who fled the famine were all driven out of the city on his orders.

If the Emperor saw this scene, even if he was just passing through Tongguan, wouldn't he still behead him with a single sentence?

If someone were to impeach him, we could still try to find a way to deal with it, but now the Emperor himself has come to Tongguan!

The magistrate of Tongguan County became increasingly frightened, and even began to tremble uncontrollably all over his body.

But amidst this extreme fear, he suddenly remembered something.

He then breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down a bit.

Those refugees were not solely his fault.

The entire Shaanxi province was gripped by a severe drought; what could he do?
Although the laws of the Ming Dynasty required officials to gather and comfort the displaced people affected by the disaster, how could a small county like Tongguan have the capacity to do such a thing?
If we rescue this group of people, what will we do if more people come later?
There was nothing we could do; the imperial court wasn't allocating any funds, and the county government had no surplus grain either.

Moreover, when those refugees first fled here, he did indeed give them a bowl of porridge.

This can be considered as taking some action.

Does staring porridge mean it's not porridge anymore?!

Most importantly, this was the practice throughout Shaanxi. The Emperor couldn't possibly allow himself to be killed by all the officials of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission in a fit of rage after seeing the displaced people.

Think of this.

Although the magistrate of Tongguan County breathed a slight sigh of relief, he did not completely relax.

Currently.

He also faces a great danger: he might become the chicken shown to the monkey.

After all, this was the first place the emperor inspected.

However, after calming down, the magistrate's thinking became much clearer, and he immediately came up with a way to salvage the situation.

First of all.

Tongguan, being a county seat on the banks of the Yellow River, suffered less damage and did not experience the large-scale famine that occurred in Yan'an Prefecture.

In this way, he could use this as an excuse to divert the emperor's attention to areas where the famine was more severe.

As for what punishment the local officials would receive after the emperor went there and saw the devastation, that was none of his business.

It's better to die for a colleague than a poor official.

Second.

The only threat to him now is the refugees. He worries that if the emperor were to deign to question them, they might turn the tables on him and claim that he was the one who drove them to the outskirts of the city.

But upon closer examination, this point doesn't seem so difficult to resolve.

That will allow the wealthy families in the city to gather a group of people.

Then let the people prove to themselves: the magistrate is a good official who has long been carrying out disaster relief in the city; those unruly people are truly despicable.

They're already thinking about the next meal before they've even finished the previous one—they're insatiable!
Moreover, the influx of refugees into the city disrupted the peace of the entire Tongguan area, leading to frequent incidents of petty theft and thievery.

The magistrate had no choice but to drive them out of Tongguan.

They're just troublemakers, how can they be considered human?
No matter what.

Then find a few subordinates with family members or vulnerabilities who can be exploited to take the blame:
His original intention was good; the government order was to "relocate" displaced people to the suburbs. However, it was poorly executed by his subordinates!
In this way, he would surely be able to keep his official hat and his head.

Thinking of this, the magistrate of Tongguan County finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Immediately, he turned back into the room and, with the help of the maids, dressed himself in his official robes.

Now that he knew the Emperor was personally visiting Tongguan, he naturally had to quickly lead the city's officials to kneel and bow at the city gate to welcome him.

Otherwise, how could they appear loyal to the emperor and patriotic?
Not only that, if the emperor stayed in Shaanxi for a day, he would spend that day in Tongguan City diligently governing the country and caring for the people like his own children.

You can rest assured about the officials' acting skills.

Absolutely no mistakes will be made!
suburbs.

Zhu Youjian's imperial carriage has landed on the shore.

The thousands of emaciated refugees on the riverbank knelt quietly to the side, trying their best not to make a sound and disturb the holy procession.

Looking at these refugees, Xiao Hongzi bowed and approached Zhu Youjian, asking, "Your Majesty, what should be done with these refugees?"

"Let them follow behind into the city, and once inside, distribute grain and provide disaster relief."

"This servant obeys the decree." Xiao Hongzi bowed and withdrew, then went to handle the matter.

His Majesty ordered him to bring these people into the city, so he immediately did so.

His Majesty ordered him to kill these people, and he did so without hesitation.

soon.

A member of the Imperial Guard rode up to the pile of refugees, dismounted, and shouted loudly:
"His Majesty's decree: All refugees shall follow behind and enter the city together. Once inside, you will be provided with food!"

(End of this chapter)