Zhu Biao took a deep look at them, then turned around and went back to the house. He would set off tomorrow morning and there was no time to delay any more. This matter was considered Zhu Yuanzhang's last test for him. If his answers were perfect, he would be able to manage the government once he returned.
, officially began to change the Ming Dynasty.
After another night, the army set off in formation in the early morning. Even under the heavy rain in the past two days, nearly a hundred people still showed symptoms of illness, mostly women and children, and there were more than 20 soldiers sleeping on the outermost edge. Fortunately, they did not have to follow.
The troops set out, and the imperial physician stayed here to take care of them.
The road after the heavy rain was muddy and difficult to travel, but there was no way. The marching speed was a little slower, but without the drag of women and children, it could be overcome. Now that we have passed Runing Prefecture, we must first get supplies from Kaifeng Prefecture, otherwise the food supply
Not available.
Zhu Xi and Zhu Di, who were walking in front to inspect the granary, and Zhu Xi and Xu Yungong, who were out hunting down bandits, also sent people to contact them, and the communication between them was restored.
Zhu Fan and Xu Yungong received good news. During this period, they had wiped out more than ten bandit nests, killed the chief culprit and captured more than 300 bandits. The night before, Xu Yungong took advantage of the rain to destroy a bandit nest with more than 500 people.
Captured, now we ask what to do with the prisoners.
Zhu Biao looked at the messenger and ordered: "Let them escort all the prisoners to Kaifeng Mansion first, and I will deal with them then."
It seems that there will be more than a thousand prisoners in the end. Although they may have been forced to become bandits by the world, this does not become a reason to forgive them. They are still killing ordinary people when they become bandits.
The strong will swing their swords at the weak, and the weak will swing their swords at the weaker. This is how the world is. How many people dare to swing their swords at the stronger?
Bad news came from Zhu Xi and Zhu Di. They inspected the nine granaries in Runing and Kaifeng. They were supposed to be full of grain, but two were accidentally burned before the inspection, and two were missing.
Tens of thousands of stones of grain,
Although the remaining five stores had enough grain, most of them were shoddy and had replaced the newly harvested grain with old grain. Zhu Ping and Zhu Di had already captured all the responsible officials and began to
Purchased grain in Kaifeng Prefecture.
After hearing this, Zhu Biao was already prepared, but he was still a little angry. These grains and grasses were crucial. What if a natural disaster suddenly broke out somewhere and the court urgently allocated grains and grasses? How many people would have died in vain because of their delay.
But no matter how urgent it is, we must find a way to solve the problem. Purchasing grain from Kaifeng alone is definitely not enough. People now have no extra grain to sell, so they have to send people to other places to purchase and distribute it.
Fortunately, he had guessed that such a situation would happen before he came out. He asked for a few more documents from the Ministry of Household Affairs on the allocation and procurement of grain and grass, and sent Chang Mao and several people with thousands of horses to collect them and transport them to Kaifeng Prefecture.
Zhu Biao led the army and marched for three more days, during which it took a whole day to cross the river before they arrived near Kaifeng Mansion. The sky was getting dark again. Zhu Biao ordered the troops to stay and bury pots for cooking, and they would enter Kaifeng Mansion tomorrow.
At this time, Zhu Di led Baiqi over, dismounted and walked to Zhu Biao to pay his respects. Zhu Biao waved his hand to excuse him: "Fourth, why are you here?"
Zhu Di's whole body darkened a lot. He stood up and said, "I happened to be passing by here. When I saw the movement of the army, I guessed that Big Brother was coming."
Zhu Di continued: "It's not yet the autumn harvest, and the grain stores in Kaifeng Mansion don't have much grain left, so I went to the surrounding towns to see if I could buy some."
When people around saw Zhu Di, they also came to pay their respects. After some polite exchanges, Zhu Biao's tent was set up. After leading Zhu Di into the tent and sitting down respectively, Zhu Biao asked, "Have all those officials been taken down?"
Zhu Di nodded and said: "We have captured them all. Everyone involved is now in the prison of Kaifeng Mansion. There are five people above fifth grade, and there are two marquis."
Zhu Biao nodded and asked, "Is there anyone who can intercede?"
Zhu Di hesitated for a moment, but still said: "There are quite a few, and there are also several letters of intercession sent from the capital. They hope to be lenient and promise to make up for the shortfall when the prince returns with the resettled people. They will definitely not
Make it difficult for the prince."
Zhu Biao chuckled: "What are they using to make up for it? The grain has been misappropriated and sold. Is it possible that they will buy it back at a high price? It's just using their connections to move it from granaries in other places and tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall.
"
Zhu Di nodded and said: "My second brother and I also thought about recovering the grain, but we couldn't find out where it was sold. We only know that it was transported to the north."
Zhu Biao was not surprised. The weather in the south has been smooth in the past two years, and the price of grain has dropped a lot. It must be shipped to the north to sell it at a high price. If it is sold to Mongolia, it will be a very profitable business.
While the two brothers were discussing, Liu Jin came in with food, and the two talked while eating. There were not so many rules in the march. Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Zhu Biao had ordered food to be transferred from other places.
He traveled to several villages and towns, but he really couldn't collect much food.
The people are now willing to store grain, but they are unwilling to sell any grain unless they can survive. Even if they pay a high price to buy it, they are not at ease. After all, they have just experienced war and the people are still in a state of panic.
The two brothers discussed for an hour and then rested. Everything will be handled in Kaifeng Mansion tomorrow. They set off early the next morning and arrived at the city gate before noon. Zhu Fang and Kaifeng Magistrate led the officials to wait here.
, Zhu Biao rode his horse to the front, and everyone knelt down: "I'm waiting to see His Royal Highness, Your Highness Qianqiu."
Zhu Biao's face was cold, and with the elite soldiers behind him, it was as if dark clouds were pressing down on the city, weighing heavily on the hearts of the Kaifeng officials. After Zhu Biao dismounted, he walked to the Kaifeng magistrate and waved to Zhu Ping to get up: "
Prince Jin has done a good job and has lived up to the trust of this palace."
Zhu Xi stood up and lowered his head and said: "Serving the emperor brother, you should do your best."
Zhu Biao looked at the Kaifeng prefect who was kneeling on the ground and said, "There is such a big mistake in Kaifeng Prefecture. I wonder how you can explain it?"
The magistrate of Kaifeng kowtowed and said: "I have committed a crime of negligence, please punish me."
Zhu Biao squinted his eyes and said: "I hope you are just guilty of negligence. Please get up."
The rest stood up tremblingly, and Zhu Biao ordered Fei Ju behind him: "Take over the Kaifeng Mansion with my order."
Fei Ju bowed and agreed, but the others had their own fears and naturally did not dare to resist. Several granaries disappeared under their noses. It would be a joke to say that they did not get any benefits at all."
Kaifeng Mansion was the capital of the Song Dynasty, and it was also an important place for the Ming Dynasty to station troops. The army in Kaifeng Mansion probably numbered nearly 100,000 people. Although their combat power was not very high, Zhu Biao would not be careless.
Zhu Biao is like a dragon crossing the river now. It would not look good if he was bitten by a poisonous snake.
This time we must kill some people who have corrupted the law and violated the law. If there is a bold person among them, it is not impossible to summon his cronies to assassinate Zhu Biao. Anyway, everyone on the left and right is dead. Who cares about the flood after his death?