As the decrees were issued one after another, the entire court became busy.
"Your Majesty, the Japanese army has just sent a military report. After several months of siege, the Japanese pirates at sea have gradually begun to sneak ashore. Commander Zhang Fu divided his troops into multiple groups and lurked secretly. It was discovered that a local squire was secretly transporting supplies to assist the Japanese pirates.
There are thirteen families in total. Now, the mansions of these thirteen gentry have been sealed, and their families have been taken into custody by the government. The Japanese pirates who came ashore beheaded eighty-two levels, and captured 213 people..."
In the morning, Wang Ao, Minister of War, stood in the hall and read out word for word the military report he had just received.
As his voice sounded, the ministers below also began to whisper.
Counting the days, it has been three or four months since the Japanese army was sent out. If we count it from the time Yu Qian left the capital, it has been almost half a year. This time is neither long nor short.
After such a long time, we only got this result...
"Your Majesty, it has been several months since the army went on the expedition. The imperial court has tried its best to provide food and military supplies. However, as the months have passed, the commander-in-chief Zhang Xi and the admiral Yu Qian have been unable to move forward. Although they have sent out troops now, they have only captured more than eighty heads.
"This is really a sign of neglect and delay. I request your Majesty to issue an edict to reprimand these two men and order them to exterminate the bandits as soon as possible."
Soon, Ye Sheng was the first to stand up when everything happened in the military department.
Immediately afterwards, several censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate also came out one after another, saying.
"Your Majesty, such a delay in the army is actually wasting money. Nowadays, the imperial court's finances are tight. There are still droughts in Henan, Shandong and other places. People have died of starvation, and civil unrest has also occurred. I sincerely ask your Majesty to take care of the people's livelihood and order the army to
Return."
The imperial court was not optimistic about this expedition. However, due to the emperor's authority, they reluctantly agreed.
Now that I have such an opportunity to use the topic to my advantage, I naturally seize it and use it vigorously.
However, fortunately, there were not all voices of opposition in the court. Seeing so many people targeting Yu Qian, several officials from the Ministry of War immediately became unable to sit still.
You must know that although Yu Qian has left Beijing, the Ministry of War is still his headquarters. Many officials in it were promoted by him. Naturally, these people cannot be allowed to impeach Yu Qian.
Hong Chang, the doctor of the Martial Arts Department, was the first to come out and spoke.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that the Japanese pirates are cunning and accustomed to water. If the army takes the lead to attack, it will be in vain and only increase casualties. Yu Shaobao formulated a strategy of holding on, forcing the Japanese pirates to come ashore to fight with our troops.
In fact, it is the best way to lose the least amount of money.”
"What's more, the military report has already said that the Japanese pirates can no longer hold back and have begun to sneak ashore. If you order the army to change tactics at this moment, all your previous efforts will be wasted. Please think again, Your Majesty."
However, these science and technology officials are not easy to mess with. Although Hong Chang's words were from a strategic perspective.
However, for these censors, they don't care about strategy or not. At that moment, someone spoke up and said it directly.
"It is better to waste all your efforts than to sit back and watch the victims starve to death. Isn't the safety of the people in the world more important than the suppression of Japanese invaders?"
"What's more, when a large army goes out to fight, it always wants a quick battle. Is Yu Shaobao really delaying in advancing because he is worried that the Japanese pirates will be scattered and difficult to eradicate? Or is he afraid of the fierceness of the Japanese pirates and hesitates to send troops?"
If we really talk about talking nonsense, of course the best is to talk about science and morality.
Hong Chang talked to them about the situation, and they in turn commented on the situation, just like the army and the people, who could only choose one or the other.
Especially the last two sentences, I began to question the correctness of Yu Qian's stubborn strategy.
These words made all the officials of the Ministry of War very angry. The director of the arsenal, Zhong Fang Gao, also stood up and said.
"This statement is simply ridiculous!"
"Although the disasters in Henan and other places are serious, the Ministry of Household Affairs has already fully allocated disaster relief materials. The reasons why the victims are still starving to death are for various reasons. But what does it have to do with the army?"
"Even if there is no army to conquer Japan, the imperial court still has other purposes, not just disaster relief. What is your intention of starving the victims to death and forcing local civil unrest to blame the army for conquering Japan?"
It should be said that there is nothing wrong with this statement. However, as soon as this statement came out, many people in the court were dissatisfied, especially the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
You must know that local disaster relief is generally under the jurisdiction of the governor, with the government responsible for it, and under the supervision of the censor. Although there is nothing wrong with what Fang Gao said, he undoubtedly offended the officials responsible for disaster relief.
Therefore, a censor immediately stood up and retorted.
"This is what Fang Langzhong said. The reason why the victims are rioting is simply because they did not receive relief in time. If the court had sufficient food, why would the victims cause trouble?"
"As a court official, you don't distinguish between public and private affairs, and you only want to protect Yu Qian. You are really evil!"
These words were extremely explicit. They had already reached the level of personal attacks that censors are most familiar with. They immediately made Fang Gao and others very angry. Seeing this situation, the two of them were about to refute, but unexpectedly there was a soft voice from their superiors.
drink……
"enough!"
Everyone looked up and saw the emperor frowning slightly, with a thin layer of anger covering his face, and said in a cold voice.
"It's a good thing that the army has gained something, so why bother!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, all the ministers fell to the ground and said:
"Your Majesty, forgive me."
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said.
"Now that the army has set off, there is no need to talk about the withdrawal. The commander-in-chief and the admiral will decide how the battle is going on the front line. As for the disaster relief, what the two ministers from the Ministry of War said is reasonable. The food funds for disaster relief from the Ministry of Revenue have already been sufficient.
Even if the amount is allocated, trouble still occurs. Naturally, it is because the disaster relief officials did not do their job well."
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate..."
"I'm here!"
Although Chen Yi's official memorial was rejected, the old man was still ill at home and did not go to court.
Therefore, Wang Hong was still the temporary deputy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. At this moment, when he heard the emperor speak, Wang Hong also stood up, but his face was not very good-looking.
Zhu Qiyu didn't care about this. It was impossible to say that today's matter had nothing to do with Wang Hong. After all, he did not support sending troops from the beginning. These officials who are speaking out now would not have the courage without his support.
It won't be that big.
However, to be fair, although these remarks were somewhat biased, they were not without some truth. After the last conversation with Chen Yi, he was able to treat Ke Dao's remarks more calmly.
It is not a good thing to have only one voice in the court, so he does not intend to punish these officials, but...
"From now on, five more censors will be dispatched as imperial envoys to inspect the disaster-stricken areas. They are responsible for investigating illegal things during the disaster relief process. Anyone who has embezzled disaster relief food funds, deceived the superiors and concealed the disaster situation, or caused civilian disasters due to ineffective disaster relief.
Once found, officials below the prefecture level and sitting officials will be removed from their posts on the spot if they are involved in the incident. If an official is involved in the incident, the imperial envoy and the sitting officials will review it and then report it to the Ming court. If the sitting official is dismissed because of the incident, the imperial envoy and censor will be temporarily responsible for the disaster relief.
If any matter involves officials above the prefecture level, they will be reported to the court immediately and severe punishment will not be spared."
"In addition, the imperial censor can receive complaints from the people and investigate the lawlessness. Any country squire who abuses the people wantonly, takes advantage of the disaster to annex land, maliciously raises prices, especially grain prices, will be detained immediately and sent to the governor's office.
After personal inspection, if a civil uprising has been triggered, we will definitely act expediently, and everything will be done to ensure local stability!"
"I accept the decree..."
Wang Hong was a little surprised when this statement came out, but he still accepted the instruction.
In comparison, the reactions of the ministers below were different.
None of them expected that originally they were talking about the Ministry of War, but in the end, they ended up talking about disaster relief.
The emperor's will is not simple.
You must know that, generally speaking, the prefect is a fourth-rank official. In this decree, officials below the prefect and sitting officials can be removed from their posts on the spot if they are involved in matters. The censor will be in charge of the affairs. The second official will be involved in the matter, and the censor will supervise the review. In fact,
The emperor gave these imperial censors the power to deal with officials below the fourth rank.
Moreover, in the last sentence, the emperor also specifically emphasized that if there is a civil unrest, he must act expediently. This expedient act has a wide meaning.
With this decree in hand, it is conceivable that the power of the five censors who are about to be sent is not only far beyond that of ordinary censors, but can almost be said to be close to that of a feudal official.
If we put aside the decree itself and take a closer look, this should be the first time that the emperor has expressed such reliance on the officials of Kedao after the previous reform of Kedao.
Is it possible that the trend in the court is about to change?
The morning court came to an end, and the courtiers left Wuying Palace in twos and threes. However, Zhu Qiyu had just returned to Qianqing Palace, and before he had rested for long, a chamberlain came forward to report.
"Your Majesty, Minister Shen of the Ministry of Revenue would like to see you..."
Sighing, Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.
"Summon."
In recent times, if anyone wants to come to the palace the most frequently, it is none other than the old man Shen Yi.
There was a snowstorm in Fengyang at the beginning of the year, and a drought in Henan just ended. Now that the disaster has not subsided, new disasters have occurred. It is really not easy for him, the Minister of Household Affairs, to be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Yes, a new disaster has occurred!
If nothing else, Shen Yi came here this time probably for...
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has just received a report that there are a total of eight states in Southern Zhili, Shandong, Henan and other places. It has been raining for months. I am afraid..."
As expected, after entering the palace and saluting, Chen Yi sighed heavily, took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over.
The situation this year is really strange. After the snowstorm, there is a drought, and after the drought, there is a continuous rainy season.
It has been more than half a year, and there is no time to calm down.
Zhu Qiyu took the memorial and glanced at it. His face was a little gloomy. Although he had expected it, when he actually saw it, he was still quite depressed.
Although the snowstorm in Fengyang looks serious, in fact, the impact is not big. Firstly, the affected area is not too big. Secondly, after all, there is still a chance to save it before the summer grain collection. To this day , the disaster situation in Fengyang has basically subsided. The summer grain cannot catch up, but the autumn grain should not be a serious problem.
But now is the time of the summer harvest in June, and with this heavy rain, the summer grain in several states may be ruined.
After reading the memorial with a frown, Zhu Qiyu's face looked a little ugly. He put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Shen Yi and said.
"What's going on in Dengzhou and Qingzhou? Didn't I give an order two months ago to let them harvest grain in advance?"
Since Zhu Qiyu had known about this disaster for a long time, he naturally would not sit still and wait for death, because this heavy rain covered mostly Henan, Shandong and other places.
Let's not talk about Henan. It has just experienced a few months of drought. There was no harvest in the first place and there is a famine. Therefore, Zhu Qiyu just issued an edict and asked the disaster relief officials to appease the people. There was no need to rush to resume farming. After all, it was coming soon. If it rains heavily, even if the seeds are sown, there will be no harvest.
But Shandong is different. This drought mainly affected Henan and Huguang, while Shandong was only slightly affected.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyu had already issued an order to all government offices in Shandong, asking them to always pay attention to the weather. Once it started to rain, they would immediately start harvesting and not take any chances.
Logically speaking, crops in Shandong and other places should mature from late May to early June, and the rainy season begins around this time.
If we rush to harvest when the rainy season has just arrived, even if there are some losses, we will not be able to harvest anything.
However, according to the situation reported in this memorial, the disaster situation in various places is not light, and the production is basically reduced by more than half. In Dengzhou and Qingzhou, nearly 90% was lost!
"Your Majesty, in Dengzhou and Qingzhou, it started to rain on May 29th. Until now, it has been twenty-five days and the heavy rain has not stopped. Almost all the crops have been soaked by water, so... …”
Seeing the emperor's expression change, Shen Yi's heart sank, but he still managed to explain.
There was a "bang" sound, which made Shen Shangshu stop talking. He looked up and saw that the emperor's hand had been slapped heavily on the table, obviously he was really angry.
Immediately afterwards, the emperor's cold voice sounded, saying.
"Seriously affected?"
"The situation in Laizhou is equally serious. The rainy season is even one day earlier than that in Dengzhou. Why can Laizhou receive nearly 50% of the summer grain? On the contrary, Dengzhou and Qingzhou have harvested nothing?"
"Have the magistrates of these two states taken my imperial decree to heart?"
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
Seeing this situation, Shen Yi did not dare to argue any more and immediately fell to his knees.
Zhu Qiyu's eyes were sharp and his heart was indeed full of anger.
The claims that the disaster was serious were actually all excuses. The real situation was definitely that the chief officials of these two states did not take the court's warning to heart at all and thought nothing serious would happen, which led to the current situation.
Just because they were careless for a moment, the people in the two states were deprived of food and clothing. How could he not be angry?
After taking a long breath, Zhu Qiyu suppressed the anger in his heart and said.
"Since the rainy season has lasted for nearly a month, it is expected that it will not end in a short time. The imperial court must not take any chances anymore. The Ministry of Household Affairs immediately arranged disaster relief matters. Summer grain supplies were provided to all affected areas. This disaster relief , the Ministry of Household Affairs must be fully prepared and plan for the possibility that autumn crops will not be sown."
"As for the magistrates of these two states, they were immediately dismissed from their posts and investigated. The governor of Shandong was ordered to rush to these two states immediately and personally preside over disaster relief matters. The Ministry of Civil Affairs immediately selected capable ministers to take over. We must ensure the food and clothing of the people in these two states, and we must not cause trouble again. Any trouble!"