Although the winter of the first year of Chongzhen was extremely cold, no one froze to death throughout the entire winter. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, this was extremely rare.
Moreover, with the vigorous promotion of floor heating, the national treasury has also been enriched to a certain extent.
This gave Emperor Chongzhen the confidence to recruit Shanxi merchants.
After Yuan Chonghuan was enabled, he immediately returned to Beijing to report on his duties, and even proposed a five-year strategy for pacifying Liao. This made the emperor very happy, and he was promoted to Minister of War and sent troops to Ji Liao.
On the twenty-ninth year of the year, Chongzhen brought Wang Chengen to visit Hu Yunqing.
"Brother, please come in quickly."
When Hu Yunqing saw the master and servant coming, he hurriedly let them in, "It's just the right time. I just got some food and wine, let's have a drink together."
"cousin."
Chongzhen now truly admired the person in front of him. After sitting down, he took out the banknote from his sleeve and said, "This is the money I earned from floor heating, specially brought to you."
"nice."
Hu Yunqing handed over the wine glass, looked at the banknote and said with emotion, "It's easy for me to do things. It's difficult if there's no one around."
He counted a total of fifty thousand taels. If he had thought about it before, he would not have dared to think that with this money, he could do great things!
"It's better to have my brother's drawings, otherwise I wouldn't be able to earn so much."
Chongzhen had not drank for a year. After taking this sip, his face turned red and his eyes were full of excitement. "If there is any place to make money in the future, I will help you."
"That's natural. What's the relationship between us? We are brothers! Come here, dear brother, have another drink!"
Hu Yunqing put away the banknote, and the two drank another drink.
"Master, you can't drink anymore."
When Wang Chengen on the side saw this, he quickly reminded him for fear that the emperor would reveal his secret.
"It doesn't matter, I'm happy today, so I have to get drunk before I can rest."
Chongzhen didn't care, waved his hand and said, only here can he release the pressure.
It was not until midnight that the master and servant returned to the palace.
In the next month, just as Hu Yunqing had expected, although a lot of rats were killed, a small plague still broke out in Kyoto, but fortunately it did not spread on a large scale.
"What did I tell you in the first place?"
On the Dragon Throne, Emperor Chongzhen's face was ashen. He squinted his eyes and stared at the officials below. He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "The campaign to eradicate rats has not stopped. I have allocated money to you from the Ministry of Revenue. Why are there still patients? If that's the case, If I hadn't asked you to prepare in advance, the situation would have been even more serious than it is now!"
Even so, he could feel happy in his heart.
If he hadn't met Hu Yunqing, Kyoto would now be littered with corpses and become a living hell.
"Your Majesty, I have arranged for people to deal with it. Fortunately, there are not many patients, only about a hundred people."
Bi Ziyan quickly stood up and said, "The main reason is insufficient storage of medicines. If there are enough medicines, there should be no problem."
"The mugwort was obtained by your Ministry of Household Affairs, and the quicklime was handed over to the Ministry of Works. We have already told you in advance, so why is there still not enough?"
Chongzhen stood up and slowly walked down the golden steps, looking at the ministers below with his dark eyes.
"His Majesty."
At this moment, Han Xu, who had been silent, spoke up, "Officials from various ministries have prepared in advance according to His Majesty's wishes, but there are really not enough manpower. Another point is that some merchants in Kyoto have specially stocked up a large amount of mugwort and mugwort. Quicklime, to drive up the price of medicine..."
"Hmph, okay, some people are taking this opportunity to make money from the country's difficult situation!"
When Chongzhen heard this, he immediately looked at the chief minister of the cabinet, "Who are they? They are so courageous!"
"..."
Unexpectedly, Han Xu remained silent, as if he had something to hide.
"Are you a fellow countryman of Hong Chengchou?"
Speaking of this, Chongzhen immediately thought that Wang Chengen also mentioned the Ministry of Works. He looked at Cao Yi again, "Cao Yi, do you know this clearly?"
"Your Majesty, I am currently focused on dealing with the floor heating issue."
Cao Juan and Hong Chengchou had a close personal relationship, so how could he not be clear about it, "I don't know much about this private matter."
"Okay! Since you don't know, then I'll leave this matter to others!"
Chongzhen squinted his eyes, a cold light flashing in his eyes. These ministers were each more skilled than the last, "Wei Zhongxian!"
"The old slave is here."
Wei Zhongxian was so frightened by this sound that he shuddered.
"Go and investigate now to see who is hoarding medicinal materials and raising prices on purpose! If you find one, deal with it! Don't care who he is!"
Chongzhen turned his back and said solemnly, "Whoever wants to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, I will bankrupt him!"
"Old slave, take your orders!"
When Wei Zhongxian heard this, he immediately agreed. For him, it didn't matter what Hong Chengchou or Shanxi merchants were, as long as he could satisfy the emperor, he would do anything.
"I'll give you another half month to resolve the matter."
Chongzhen slowly climbed up the golden steps and said expressionlessly, "If another person dies, don't blame me for being rude!"
After the dispersion of the dynasty, all the ministers gathered in the cabinet.
"Master Cao, you must give Hong Chengchou a warning."
Han Xu sat in the first place, leaning back on the chair, feeling warm all over, "Let his fellow countrymen be more honest."
"How can I have this..."
Cao Juan didn't take it seriously, but a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he seemed to think of something again, and then looked at the people around him, "Everyone, have you noticed that His Majesty seems to be a lot wiser."
"Your Majesty is wise, that is the blessing of the country."
Bi Ziyan held the teacup and skimmed the foam and said.
"Besides His Majesty's wisdom, I think there must be someone with guidance behind this!"
Han Xu is a veteran in the officialdom. How could he not see that there is an expert behind Chongzhen? "Who is this person?"
"That's true."
Xu Guangqi, who had been silent all the time, frowned, "Just talking about the floor heating is not something ordinary people can design. As for the plague, it is even more clever. If there is no preparation in advance, how many people will die this winter? That person is too powerful! "
"It's better to find that person and bring him to the court's disposal. Then we can feel more relaxed."
Han Xu stood up slowly and looked at the cold wind outside, "What do you think?"
"Of course there's nothing wrong with that."
Cao Yan didn't care, but then he looked confused, "But the world is so big, where are we going to find it? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Isn't it easy to find him? Your Majesty won't tell you, but the few servants he has with him must all know it."
As soon as Xu Guangqi said this, he looked at several people.
But they didn't speak, and their faces were a little ugly. After all, Wei Zhongxian had made them miserable last time.
"If you don't go, then I can only take one trip."
Xu Guangqi didn't care, he stretched and said, "When the time comes, this skill will be mine."
