My life skills in Daming Liver

The price of food in the south of the Yangtze River has skyrocketed as expected.

The most good news for the people in Jiangnan during this period is the collapse of the Lu Dayou Group. After seeing the report in "Jing Shi Tong Yan", the people in the whole Nanzhili were greatly relieved.

However, the relief of the common people could not curb the rising food prices, even because of the downfall of Lu Dayou and these Yuezhou people, the price of food was even higher.

The reason is naturally very simple. Jin Yiwei and Dongchang seized the properties of Yuezhou merchants, took away many Yuezhou merchants, and suppressed and blackmailed many grain merchants.

The final result is that there is less food on the market.

The Japanese invasion has lasted until mid-July, and this year's summer grain cultivation has been completely abandoned.

Fang Wanghai, who had just been in charge of the Nanjing household department as the servant of the household department, encountered the biggest problem since he took office, how to suppress the increasingly high grain prices.

If things go on like this, there will be problems. Excessively high food prices will cause famine, and there may be civil uprisings.

Just when Fang Wanghai was in a state of desperation, Jiangbei's army finally moved.

Xu Hai besieged Yangzhou City to no avail, and began to lead his troops northward to plunder Huai'an, Taizhou and other places.

The imperial court ordered one after another, requiring the officers and soldiers in Jiangbei to attack as soon as possible to put down the Japanese rebellion in Jiangbei.

Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, finally couldn't bear the pressure, but the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers in Jiangbei was low, and they didn't dare to go out of the city to fight the Japanese pirates.

At this time, Yang Bo received a plan from the court.

Dig the Huaihe River, use the Huaihe River to break the embankment to destroy the Japanese pirates, and drive the Japanese pirates out of Jiangbei.

This plan was proposed by Yan Maoqing, the backbone of the strict party. After Yang Bo received this plan, his hands and feet were cold.

It's not because the plan is useless, on the contrary, the plan is really feasible.

The Lixiahe area where Huai'an and Taizhou are located, because of its relatively low terrain, will be flooded every time there is a flood.

And the area where Japanese pirates are now active is precisely this area.

The water level of the Huaihe River is not low this year. If the Huaihe River is really dug, the flood will rush into the Lixia River area and drown the Japanese pirates here. The morale of the Japanese pirates will definitely collapse immediately.

Based on Yang Bo's understanding of the Japanese pirates, once they encounter setbacks, the Japanese pirates will definitely flee back to sea immediately.

It was precisely because this plan was really feasible that Yang Bo felt his hands and feet were cold, and hundreds of thousands of people in Huai'an and Taizhou would also be displaced by the flood.

No matter who ordered this matter to be done, it will be nailed to the pillar of shame of the people in Jiangbei forever, and it will become the target of countless people cursing and cursing day and night.

But Yang Bo had no choice.

The imperial court's orders became more and more strict. On July 25, Yang Bo, in his capacity as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, ordered to dig the embankment of the Huaihe River.

The flood rushed out of the embankment, and indeed rushed to the lower-lying Lixiahe area. The Japanese pirates who were here were unprepared, and a large number of Japanese pirates were swallowed by the flood.

But it wasn't just Japanese pirates who were engulfed by the flood. Almost half of the Taizhou area in Huai'an became a flood country. The houses of the people were destroyed, and many people were drowned in the flood directly in their sleep.

Xu Hai, who was stationed in Yangzhou, received the news that the Japanese pirates under his command were flooded by the officers and soldiers. He spit out a mouthful, scolded the officers and soldiers for their inhumanity, and then decisively led the remaining pirates to retreat to Tongzhou.

As soon as Xu Hai withdrew, the officers and soldiers in Yangzhou City were concealed and killed, but when they retreated to Jiangdu, they were attacked again by Japanese pirates. Xu Hai once again killed the officers and soldiers in chaos. The remnants continued to retreat while robbing.

At the beginning of August, Xu Hai returned to Tongzhou, where he landed, and loaded the loot on board.

Looking around, Xu Hai brought three thousand Japanese pirates. After repeated battles, and the Japanese pirates who were flooded by the Huaihe River, only more than a thousand people were taken away.

Xu Haixin made another move. After plundering Tongzhou, he arrested more than 2,000 young men from Tongzhou and boarded the boat. Finally, Yang Fan left in a stately manner.

Upon receiving the news, Li Tingzhu, Marquis of Linhuai, immediately expressed his congratulations to the imperial court, proclaiming that the officers and soldiers of Southern Zhili defeated the Japanese pirates and put down the Japanese riots in Jiangbei.

In this regard, with the withdrawal of the Japanese pirates, the Jiangbei Japanese Rebellion was indeed over.

But what is the price?

The price is that nearly half of the Taizhou and Huai'an prefectures have become the country of Ze, and tens of thousands of people have fled south, but other prefectures and counties are simply unable to accept these refugees.

Refugees continued to move south and poured into the Jiangnan area, which caused the food price in the Jiangnan area, which was already seriously short of food, to rise again.

The soldiers fighting in Jiangbei could not get the promised rewards in advance, and the Nanjing Ministry of War did not have money or food. In the end, they could only indulge these officers and soldiers to rob in Jiangbei.

Areas such as Yancheng, Xuzhou, and Tongzhou that were not flooded by the flood also suffered military disasters. The worst was Tongzhou. It can be said that every family cried.

On August 14th, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yang Bo personally came forward to gather up the officers and soldiers and return to Nanjing. He immediately wrote a memorial to the court, resigned from the post of Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, and recommended Hu Zongxian to take full charge of the overall anti-Japanese war in Nanzhili and Zhejiang. .

After Yang Bo posted the memorial, he sealed the seal and left Nanjing with his family without waiting for a reply from the court.

In this Japanese invasion, the six ministries and two ministers in Nanjing fell, and the officialdom in Nanjing was severely shaken.

At this time, in the Nanjing household department, Fang Wanghai was in a state of desperation.

I thought that taking charge of the Nanjing household department could better implement the banknote tariff.

But Fang Wanghai didn't expect that he was completely trapped by other affairs of the Nanjing household department, and he had no time to deal with the tax on banknotes.

Jiangbei needs disaster relief, and Jiangnan needs to suppress grain prices. Although Fang Wanghai has ordered the mobilization of grain from Huizhou and other prefectures, the harvest in these places is not good this year.

In the final analysis, there is still not enough food on hand.

The neighbors in Nanzhili were devastated by Japanese pirates, and every family was in difficulty, and no one could help.

The Japanese pirates in Cixi, Pinghu, Zhejiang were repelled, but the pirates in Ningbo came again. Fortunately, they were defeated by Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang.

But in July, Hangzhou suddenly caught fire, burning half of Hangzhou City, and even Hu Zongxian's Zhejiang governor's office was burned down.

The situation in Shandong is similar. The Japanese pirates robbed Qingzhou and Laizhou. Wang Shizhen led the regiment to practice and fight hard. In the end, the Japanese pirates had enough robbery before they withdrew to the sea.

Fang Wanghai went around to borrow food, but there was no food around.

During this time, Su Ze returned to Shanghai to command the Anti-Japanese Anti-Smuggling Headquarters and the people along the Yangtze River to protect each other and fight against the fleeing Japanese pirates.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Su Ze finally returned to Nanjing City.

Fang Wanghai couldn't wait to pull Su Ze and said:

"Ru Lin, you are finally back!"

Nanjing Hubu Shangshu and Shi Lang both have mansions, and Fang Wanghai is still the Hubu Minister now, so he just moved into the house of the Minister in Hubu Lane.

As a senior official of the third grade, Tobe Shiro has a house with three fronts and three entrances, and an exquisite small garden with corridors and pavilions everywhere. This house is much more grand than the previous government office.

But Fang Wanghai obviously had no intention of appreciating his new house, he dragged Su Ze to the study, but didn't talk about business directly.

"Ru Lin, after finishing the work at hand, we will return to Fujian together in October."

Fang Wanghai's meaning was very clear. Su Ze was from Nanping, and he didn't marry into Fang's family, so he naturally wanted to return to his hometown to marry a wife.

Su Ze was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect Fang Wanghai to be so anxious.

Fang Wanghai said: "Because of the anti-corruption incident this year, you have been delayed from taking the test, but it's good if you don't take the test this year, you can wait for the next session, and use your talents to get a first- and second-class Jinshi. The career path will be much smoother.”

Counting the days, Qiu Wei has already passed the exam this year.

Su Ze has been busy fighting the Japanese during this time, and Xu Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Xu Guo also stayed in Jiangnan instead of rushing for the exam.

However, Fujian Juren Huang Maochong and Zhao Bingzhong, who came to Nanjing Guozijian to report with Su Ze, still went to the capital to take the imperial examination.

This year is the 35th year of Jiajing, and the next exam will be the 38th year of Jiajing. Obviously, Fang Wanghai can't wait any longer.

He said to Su Ze: "A man can start a family first and then start a career. You are still young, and you can participate in the library selection after the next imperial examination."

Now that Fang Wanghai has talked about this, Su Ze can only cup his hands and say, "Don't dare to follow."

Hearing that Su Ze agreed, Fang Wanghai was also in a good mood, and he continued, "It's only now that the Japanese rebellion has calmed down, so I have time to go back. I called Ru Lin today, and I still want to discuss the food price in Nanzhili. Ru Lin Is there any way?"

In fact, Fang Wanghai is also a dead horse as a living horse doctor. These days, the Nanjing household department is researching, but it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and no one can make food.

Fang Wanghai only relied on Su Ze habitually, so he hurriedly called over to ask.

Su Ze nodded and said, "I have a way."

"It doesn't matter if you can't help it. The household department has been studying it for so long... what?! Do you have a solution?"

Fang Wanghai raised his head and looked at Su Ze. He knew that Su Ze never spoke big words, and he finally did what he said before.

Fang Wanghai asked in surprise: "Ru Lin, what can I do!?"

"Adjust grain from Guangzhou and Fujian."

Fang Wanghai sighed and said: "It is true that Guangzhou, Fujian has not been harassed by Japanese pirates this year, and the weather has been smooth, but it is too late to transport grain from Guangzhou and Fujian to Jiangnan."

Su Ze said: "It's too late, why not, ship it by sea."

"Sea freight?"

Su Ze took out the map, pointed to the map and said, "Uncle Shi, please see, if you board the ship from Fuzhou Port and go northward along the sea, it only takes half a month to reach Shanghai."

"So close?"

"Of course, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it only took 20 days for goods loaded from Yangzhou Port to reach Quanzhou. Shanghai is closer to the sea, and it is more convenient to sail and dock. It is a good natural port."

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Jiangnan was connected to Guangdong and Fujian by shipping.

However, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Nanzhili, as an important place in the capital, has carried out an extremely strict ban on the sea.

Yangzhou has changed from a triple port of Yangtze River shipping, water transportation, and sea transportation to a water transportation port, and even the Ming Dynasty did not support the Yangtze River shipping.

The remaining coastal cities in South Zhili have implemented a firm sea ban.

Su Ze took out the example of Tang and Song Dynasties, Fang Wanghai paced back and forth, which seemed to be feasible.

The maritime trade in the Southern Song Dynasty was very developed. From Yangzhou to Hangzhou, to Quanzhou and Guangzhou, there were ports along the way, which supported the Southern Song Dynasty for more than a hundred years by relying on sea transportation.

According to Su Ze's calculations, it only takes 15 days to transport the grain from Fujian to Shanghai, which can alleviate the grain shortage in the entire south of the Yangtze River.

But sea ban?

Fang Wanghai hesitated again.

Su Ze said: "Docking in Shanghai for disaster relief is not setting up a port in Shanghai for business, nor is it a violation of the imperial court's sea ban policy."

Fang Wanghai thought for a while, Su Ze was right, he said, "But is it too late?"

Su Ze said: "There are still some ships left by Japanese pirates in Tongzhou. They should be able to sail after repairing them. If they go from the sea, they should inform Fuzhou in time."

Counting the food in hand, it should last for a month, Fang Wanghai immediately decided that the Nanjing household department would squeeze out more money, build a pier next to the Shanghai Anti-Japanese Anti-Smuggling Headquarters, and go south to Fuzhou to adjust food.

After arranging these things, it was Su Ze's turn to talk about him.

"Uncle Shi, there must be a big epidemic after the war. Now it's hot, and Jiangbei has suffered floods. Does Nanjing Six have a disaster relief plan?"

At this moment, Fang Wanghai was stunned. After he took office as the servant of the Nanjing household department, he was devastated every day, and he never thought about it at all.

Fang Wanghai only remembered after Su Ze reminded him.

He asked: "What Ru Lin said is very true, but now?"

The six ministries in Nanjing are in turmoil, and the governor of Nanzhili is vacant. Now there is no leading department to rescue the disaster.

Su Ze said: "In fact, it doesn't take that much money to prevent the epidemic. As long as the medical officers in Nanjing are mobilized, I am willing to go to Jiangbei for disaster relief."

"Are you really going?"

Su Ze nodded and said, "I'm going!"

These days, Jingjiang, Yangzhong and other places have refugees going south from the north of the Yangtze River. Seeing the tragic situation of these people, Su Ze has strengthened his idea of ​​going north to fight the disaster.

Fang Wanghai looked at Su Ze and said, "This is not a simple matter, and the prefectures and counties in Jiangbei will not give you much support."

"I know, but seeing the people like this makes me uneasy. I want to do something for the people in Jiangbei."

"Since that's the case, you can go, Ru Lin. I will recruit medical officers from Nanjing. If you need medicinal materials, you can make an order."

"Thank you, Uncle Shi!"

At the same time, a doctor with a medicine box on his back went south to Huai'an by boat from the capital. This medical officer who used to work in the Imperial Hospital began to treat the common people in Huai'an for free.