Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Since the Yellow River broke its banks in the second year of Hongzhi, millions of refugees in Henan Province have moved to the northeast, and the Great Yellow River Regulation in the Hongzhi Dynasty has also officially begun.

Although the theory that man can conquer nature is not wrong, later generations of modern society will suffer the price of destroying the environment. Now, artificially forcing the Yellow River to serve the canal is actually challenging nature.

The Yellow River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are actually two contradictory entities. The Yellow River needs to flow smoothly to the East China Sea, but it is artificially required to separate its water source to "transport water" to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Although the Ming court had already seen the contradiction between the two, in the face of huge economic interests, it could only choose to give priority to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Once the Yellow River stops transporting water to the canal, the canal will be shut down, and the waterways between the north and the south will naturally be unable to navigate, and the goods going back and forth will naturally be unable to circulate.

The most affected area is Caoliang, especially July, which is the golden period for the summer grain to go north. The lack of navigation will cause a large amount of Caoliang to be stagnant.

Secondly, goods shipped from the south are naturally unable to go north, which can easily cause a shortage of supplies in Beijing and even push up the price of goods in Beijing.

Because of this, although the imperial court had a strong determination to regulate the river, it did not intend to shut down the canal, so it chose the time to change the course of the Yellow River in the summer when there was the most rain.

It's just that God's calculations are not as good as those of humans. After all, the Yellow River is an untamable giant beast. It did not enter the new river channel designed by the River Control Governor's Yamen, but went its own way to the East China Sea through a new path.

Although the governor's office had backup plans for river control, it would still take some time for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to borrow water, causing the grain supply to be completely blocked in the Shandong section.

Now the locust plague in Shandong has just expanded to Beizhili, and the canal is impassable at this time, which undoubtedly gives people a sense of conspiracy.

In fact, there is another unfavorable factor here. Because the efficiency of cotton is now too high, more people in Beizhili are planting cotton this year than in previous years, and the output of grain will naturally decline further.

"Is it really just a coincidence?"

When he saw the soaring rice prices in the capital, Wang Yue first smelled a hint of conspiracy, but when he started to investigate the river channel design and found nothing fishy, ​​he couldn't help but become confused.

Although the Metropolitan Procuratorate under his control has been constantly cracking down on illegal officials over the years, there are basically no officials in the world who are not greedy, so he never dares to relax.

Not to mention river regulation that can be subject to human intervention, even natural disasters such as locust plagues may not be known and exploited in advance. Therefore, the current surge in rice prices in the capital is likely to be a long-planned conspiracy.

After all, the profit from the price of rice in the capital was too great, and during his four years in exile in Anlu, he was well aware of the difficulties faced by the people at the bottom, so he did not want to watch the people eat high-priced rice.

"Grandpa, are you looking for me?" Wang Yu strode into the signing room from outside, looking high-spirited and authentic.

Although he was attacked by a sneak attack in the streets of Wangfu last time and almost died on the spot, he did not have any psychological conspiracy because of this and still chose to be on the front line of the maintenance hall.

Although Wang Yue was very satisfied with his grandson, he still said with a straight face: "There are no grandsons here in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Pay attention to your identity!"

"I'm humble enough to pay homage to Mr. Wangge!" Wang Yu rolled his eyes silently, and then said politely.

Wang Yue was not satisfied after hearing this title, but he still showed the new map of the river course he had just received from the Ministry of Works: "This is the new map of the river course. I suspect that someone at the governor's office of the river course has tampered with it. Please take your hands to investigate immediately." Is there something fishy about the river embankment?”

"I humbly accept my order!" Wang Yu knew that the matter was not trivial, so he immediately stepped forward to take over the river map.

Wang Yue looked at his grandson who looked more and more like himself when he was young, and said seriously: "You are my grandson, and you are appreciated by the emperor. When you get to the place, you will be respected everywhere! But there may be something fishy in the river. You must be more careful during this trip!”

"Grandpa, please be at ease! Now the Imperial College often asks me to pass on my reconnaissance experience. Even if their backers are people from the court, it cannot be greater than the emperor and you. My grandson is also capable of handling it. Everything!" Wang Yu said very confidently, knowing that it would be difficult for local forces to succeed without the support of the court bosses.

Wang Yue looked at his grandson who was becoming more and more confident, and knew that the next era might really be the age of young people, so he gently waved his hand to let his grandson leave.

drive!

Wang Yu has a resolute and resolute nature. After receiving the highest instructions from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he immediately led the personnel of the Repair and Inspection Department of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to whom he was attached to ride south.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate's operation was secret, so it did not cause any waves in the capital.

I thought that the price of rice in Beijing would continue to rise, but in the next few days, there was no movement in the price of rice, and it seemed that it had reached a limit.

However, at this time, the imperial court did not pay too much attention to the rise in rice prices in the capital, but was concentrating on locust eradication.

"What, are there rewards for killing locusts?"

"Can locusts be killed? Will they not offend God?"

"You're being pedantic! You know how to kill sparrows when they eat food, so why can't you kill locusts?"

…

Since the Ming Dynasty court had finalized the locust eradication plan, in addition to issuing relevant reward policies, the court also mobilized personnel throughout Beizhili to hunt and kill locusts.

Although the Song Dynasty tried to hunt locusts, it was not actually a success that time.

Now Ming Dynasty will use more resources. Once significant results can be achieved, it will point out the direction for China's locust eradication cause.

Although there are some residual feudal superstitions, the people at the bottom know that their own rice vat is more important, so no one really opposes this decision.

Just like this, the imperial government's decrees have been delegated to the government. In addition to promulgating locust eradication reward regulations, they also promulgated corresponding assessment systems, prompting yamen at all levels to organize people to exterminate locusts.

In the fourth year of Hongzhi, history once again experienced some deviations, and a mighty war between humans and locusts officially kicked off.

Forbidden City, Fengtian Palace.

This hall that stands in the center of the Forbidden City has a tall platform, which gives this hall a sense of oppression from the supreme imperial power.

Zhu Youtang, who was sitting in the main hall, summoned the envoy from North Korea and naturally knew the purpose of the envoy's visit in advance: "I saw the King of North Korea in his prime the year before last, and now he is seriously ill. This is unbelievable to me, and it is also true. I feel uneasy. North Korea is the eastern border of the Ming Dynasty, and the King of North Korea is my wise king. Now I suspect that the country of North Korea may be deceitful. Either a quack doctor is harming people, or there is a bad person on the side of the King of North Korea. I will send an imperial doctor and a good minister to accompany him. You go to Seoul to find out the truth, and the prince’s return will be discussed later!”

"Your Majesty, there is no... in North Korea!" When the North Korean envoy heard this statement, he felt as if he had eaten a hundred flies, but he still bit the bullet and hoped that the Ming Emperor would change his mind.

But before the other party could finish speaking, Yin Zhi, who was standing next to him, immediately scolded him: "Bold! Your Majesty arranged this for the sake of the King of Korea and the safety of his country! If you dare to obstruct it, are you disloyal to the King of Korea? Or are you disloyal to the King of Korea?" Is he the villain on the side of the King of Joseon?

"The foreign minister is wronged, the foreign minister is devoted to the master, and the foreign minister accepts the order and expresses gratitude!" Faced with the goodwill shown by the Ming emperor and the accusations from the important ministers of the Ming Dynasty, the North Korean envoy had no choice but to express his gratitude.

Although the excuse they came up with was very suitable, the Ming Emperor in front of them was wiser.

After all, the Ming Dynasty sent imperial doctors and officials to Seoul for the purpose of treating the King of Korea. This move was regarded as the suzerain country's emphasis on foreign vassals.

Of course, if they prove that the King of Joseon is indeed ill, and there are no treacherous ministers around the King of Joseon, then the Ming Emperor should have no reason to stop them from taking back the crown prince.

Zhu Youtang had already made up his mind to deal with North Korea, but he pretended to turn to look at Yin Zhi and said: "Mr. Yin Ge, without further delay, you should immediately find suitable imperial doctors and officials to accompany the envoy to Seoul to find out the truth!"

"I accept the decree!" Yin Zhi, who was targeting insiders in North Korea, returned the greeting calmly.

Faced with the North Korean envoy's request to appoint North Korean officials as Jeju pastors, the Ming court naturally resisted.

When North Korea dared to launch troops against Daming City, North Korea was destined to lose Jeju Island. Now Xu Shiying has already returned the administrative power of Jeju Island to Daming City.

Because of this, the North Korean envoys failed to bring back their crown prince as they wished, but they could only return to Seoul with the Ming Dynasty's doctors and officials, and at the same time they had to ask the North Korean king to pretend to be ill.

In mid-July, locust extermination is in full swing, and a large number of locusts are being exterminated every day.

Although this kind of locust is inedible, it is the best food to feed ducks. The imperial court also specially purchased a large number of ducks from other places to sell in Beijing at low prices, and even recently banned the killing of ducks.

It's just greed that is human nature, and China has never lacked profiteers who take advantage of others.

Just when everyone thought that the price of rice in the capital had subsided, news of a fire in the Tongzhou granary suddenly came, causing the price of rice in the capital to skyrocket again.

Tongzhou Granary is the largest grain reserve in the Ming Dynasty. It is not only the greatest confidence in facing various disasters, but also the greatest reliance for the people of the capital and the border troops, and is even related to the fate of the country.

But people who really know the truth probably won't be affected by this kind of news.

The granaries in Tongzhou City have a complete fire prevention system. No matter how big the fire is, it is impossible to burn down all the granaries, but some things often have a gimmick.

In fact, no matter how much grain there is in the Tongzhou granary, it is mainly used to support the army. In addition, there have been frequent wars in the north in recent years, so everyone thinks that the grain storage may be insufficient.

Just like this, the price of rice in the capital rose from the initial 20 cents to 60 cents. Because it was known that many rice shops were sold out, the price increase continued.

The matter naturally reached the palace, and Qin Conggui, the new factory supervisor of Dongchang, was summoned.

Zhu Youtang was fishing next to the fishing pavilion, but he asked without looking back: "Have you checked clearly?"

"Reporting to your majesty, I have found out that the Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin, is behind the plan this time!" Tan Conggui now controls the strongest intelligence network and reports the report in a serious manner.

When Liu Jin heard this name, he swallowed secretly.

The name is also "Jin", why is there such a big difference?

As the buoy sank, the fishing rod was lifted forcefully, and a beautiful kingfish was brought out of the lake. Although Qingyu is very strong, a straight fishing line is stronger.

When Zhu Youtang saw the caught fish, he nodded in a good mood.

He actually knew that the relationships in the capital were complicated, and that just like in later generations, these idle dignitaries always formed various circles.

They work together to lend money at high interest rates, work together to speculate on houses in the capital, and work together to make the biggest profits in the world.

It's just that the financial industry has been rectified by itself, and real estate speculation is subject to luxury taxes, so the room for them to make huge profits is getting smaller and smaller.

Now they probably saw that rice prices were profitable, so they purchased large amounts of rice in advance, and then took advantage of the disaster and canal blockage to speculate on rice prices and make profits.

"Your Majesty, the price of rice is indeed ridiculously high now. Are you going to arrest the Marquis of Xiangcheng?" Liu Jin asked curiously as he watched Qin Conggui leave.

Zhu Youtang picked up the tea cup sent by the beauty, looked at the setting sun in the west and said with the Pearl of Wisdom in his hand: "Of course I want to add fuel to the flames! You immediately notify Wei Juan to take action and help drive up the price of rice!"

"Ah?" Liu Jin couldn't believe her ears when she heard this.

Zhu Youtang caught a glimpse of Liu Jin's shocked expression and said angrily: "Have you forgotten that I am actually the one with the most food?"

The grain he mentioned did not refer to the grain reserves in Tongzhou Granary, but the assets that had been in his name over the years.

He owned a total of 28,000 hectares of the Imperial Estate, built the Royal Weaving Factory and the Royal Cloth Shop, and also operated high-quality assets such as the Royal Lock Shop and the Royal Soap Shop.

It's just that unlike those powerful people who like to hoard gold and silver resources, he seems to be born with no interest in gold and silver, and instead chooses to hoard those white rice grains.

Due to Wei Li's proper management over the years, he now has more and more rice in his hands, but it is enough to support a war against North Korea.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the price of rice is too high... it won't be good!" Liu Jin was worried that Zhu Youtang would become a tyrant, so he advised cautiously.

Seeing that the bait had been put on, Zhu Youtang threw down the fishing rod and said: "Do what I want and stop selling all the rice stores under my name immediately! I want the price of rice in the capital to be ten times higher than before in ten days." Times!"

When Liu Jin heard this shocking decision, he secretly sweated. However, since Zhu Youtang made such a request, he could only go and handle it, hoping that Wei Juan could help the emperor find his way back.

"Your Majesty, I think I am smart, but I don't understand what you mean by this?" Han Youying put away the tea cup she had just finished, but she humbly asked for filial piety.

Zhu Youtang looked at the buoy that was moving again and said very calmly: "The time has come now, just wait and see a good show!"

While talking, the buoy suddenly sank, but Zhu Youtang had already lifted it up just right, and another very beautiful crucian carp was brought out of the water by the fishing line.

Since his rebirth, Zhu Youtang has been planning every step of the way. Now that the time has come, this will be the most important move since he ascended the throne, and will also be the key to China's revitalization. (End of chapter)