Zhu Biao then comforted Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "After Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty conquered the world, it was difficult for the country, and there was even the siege of Baideng. Before the rule of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, there was the shame of the Wei River! And under your leadership, I, the Ming Dynasty, suppressed foreign nations. Eliminate foreign troubles!"
"Compared to previous dynasties, my family's fortune in Ming Dynasty is just a little more difficult. My father has also ordered us to lighten the corvee and provide the people with little wealth and education. Under your governance, I can't imagine that the world will be prosperous again in less than twenty years!"
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a lot relieved after listening to his son's consolation. These days, he not only saw with his own eyes the hardships of people's livelihood, but also reported constant reports from local officials.
“The bones of Xuzhou cover the ground, and the grass is vast. There are often foxes and rats in the ruins and grass!”
In the prefectures and counties north of the Yellow River, "the roads are all blocked and the population is cut off." There is almost no sign of life.
The Dongting Lake Basin in Huguang was originally a rich and fertile land, but now "the land is vast and sparsely populated, with few cultivators and many deserted areas."
Sichuan and Sichuan were originally known as Tianfu, but after decades of war, they are still full of wormwood, tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland are barren, and the historical prosperity is hard to find.
Zhu Yuanzhang recited a sentence: "It's hard for the people to prosper, and it's hard for the people to die!"
Then he cheered up and started reviewing the memorial. Zhu Biao also picked up the memorial and thought about it carefully.
In early December, he finally arrived in Yangzhou City, and Zhu Biao finally saw with his own eyes what this once prosperous city looked like now. Most of the city wall collapsed, and it was almost impossible to see where the streets were and where the houses were. All the houses seemed to have been hit by an earthquake. Except for a few black pillars, there were stones everywhere.
Standing on the carriage, I could see most of Yangzhou at a glance. There was not a single high-rise house. Dozens of people were kneeling by the roadside. They were in ragged and thin clothes. The leader was wearing a shabby official robe and knelt down when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang. Climbing over, "I am ashamed of Your Majesty! I am guilty! I am guilty! I have been here for more than a year and have not been able to govern Yangzhou well!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pulled him up and almost couldn't recognize him at first glance, "Lu Mingyi? How did you become like this! How can you, a prefect...
The Yangzhou magistrate looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with tears in his eyes and said, "I...I am really a clever woman who cannot make a meal without rice!"
This man has also been chasing Zhu Yuanzhang for many years. Zhu Yuanzhang knows who he is, so he came to Yangzhou in person, but he really did not expect that all the magistrates would end up like this.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the dozens of people and asked the Yangzhou magistrate, "Is this the only number of people in the entire Yangzhou city?"
Then Zhu Yuanzhang personally walked to the front of the crowd. When the crowd saw the emperor coming, they pressed their heads to the ground and chanted "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"
Zhu Yuanzhang personally helped an old man up and asked them to stand up. He pulled the old man to sit on a stone next to him and asked, "Brother, why are there only these people in Yangzhou City!"
The old man stared with cloudy eyes and said sadly, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, everyone has run away, and we are the only ones left who can't run away."
The old man's granddaughter looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked her grandfather in a low voice, "Is this Emperor Zhu?"
The old man almost fainted from fright, but Zhu Yuanzhang patted his hand and said to the thin girl, "Yes! We are your Emperor Zhu! From now on, Emperor Zhu will let you have enough to eat!"
Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and told Yang Xian, "Go and ask the guards to settle down and prepare some meals!"
Yang Xian took the order and left. Zhu Yuanzhang asked the old man some more questions, but unfortunately he couldn't answer some of them. He only knew that the war and taxes had forced them to have no choice.
The Yangzhou magistrate on the side calmed down and said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "The war continues, and people are fleeing in large numbers. Even if they have land, they can't cultivate it."
Zhu Yuanzhang was very surprised. What's the point of having land but not cultivating it?
Next to him, Lu Chang, who served as an official in the Yuan Dynasty, replied: "The military disasters have caused the fields to become barren; the Yuan army passed through Yangzhou many times, and the chickens and dogs were restless; the people of Yangzhou fled everywhere; and the harsh government made the people unwilling to farm."
"To what extent has the harsh government reached? One acre of land can produce two dans of grain, but all taxes and taxes are added together and they actually receive three dans. The harder the people work, the poorer they become. As time goes by, they become unwilling to farm."
"Later, the taxes were actually received. Fifty years later, the taxes were actually received by an adult grandchild. Land tax, Ding tax, head-cutting tax, autumn tax, winter tax, labor tax, utensil tax, five-poultry tax, etc. Wait, there are more than thirty types of taxes on the surface."
“The imperial court issued a decree asking the people to pay fifty yuan per household, and the state, government, county and township governments levied additional taxes. In the end, they collected thousands of yuan. The imperial court collected less than one-tenth of the money, and the rest went into the hands of corrupt officials. There are no honest officials under the harsh government."
Because the imperial court has cut off the salaries of officials, if you are not a corrupt official, you will starve to death.
In Yangzhou City, the people had no way to satisfy their hunger, so they dug wild vegetables, ate tree bark, and even exchanged seeds for food. The vast majority of the people "had not eaten meat for more than ten years, and had not eaten grain for three or four years."
Hearing this situation, even a hero like Zhu Yuanzhang who emerged from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood couldn't help but burst into tears.
Yang Xian came back and did not dare to speak when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's condition. Upon seeing this, Zhu Biao called him back and asked what was going on.
Yang Xian was Zhan Shicheng of the Prince's East Palace and could be considered one of Zhu Biao's people. Yang Xian cupped his hands to Zhu Biao and said, "Your Highness, it just snowed in Yangzhou City yesterday. The weather was cold and the firewood was wet. Now I can't light the fire. I'm afraid." It’s going to take a while to cook.”
Zhu Biao said, "These people seem to have been hungry for a long time. Let's dismantle my carriage! Let's cook for the people first, and I will just squeeze in with the other princes later."
Yang Xiangang wanted to know where he could dismantle the prince's bicycle frame. If he wanted to dismantle it, he might as well dismantle his! But when he saw Zhu Biao's calm eyes, he closed his mouth.
When Zhu Di heard this, he walked up to Zhu Biao and said, "Brother, please dismantle my bike frame! I will ride in one with the third brother later!"
Zhu Biao patted his head. Yang Xian saw that Zhu Biao had made up his mind and went to remove it.
Zhu Biao glanced at the thin crowd again and said to Zhu Di, "Go and take out all the meat. Except leaving some for the father, make it into broth and distribute it to these people."
Zhu Di also left in response. Zhu Biao sighed, feeling a little depressed. Seeing the words in the memorial and seeing it with his own eyes were indeed two different feelings.
He ordered the removal of his bicycle frame to show his benevolence, but he did feel sorry for these people. He was the crown prince of the country, and these people were also his subjects!
Zhu Biao really hopes that his people can have food to eat and clothes to wear!
The wood on the Prince's frame is all excellent, and it's not so damp that it will ignite the fire in a short while.
Liu Bowen walked to Zhu Biao and asked, "How does Your Highness feel now?"
Zhu Biao was talking to Liu Bowen for the first time. He glanced at his prince guests and said, "I feel bad! I wish I could give them endless food, warm clothes and shelter from the wind and rain right now."
Liu Bowen glanced at the frowning young man and said, "Your Highness can think so, that is the luck of the people in the world!"
Zhu Biao asked, "It is said that Sir is a man of great talent, but is there any way to quickly restore the people's livelihood in Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Bowen shook his head and said, "I will not be stingy if I have the means, but as the governor of Yangzhou said, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Yangzhou is easy to solve!"
"The Holy One has seen the situation here. After returning, he will definitely arrange manpower and material resources to help Yangzhou, but what about other states and counties? There are only so many supplies in the world now, and it is impossible to support the whole world."
Zhu Biao also sighed. This is the reality. It is impossible for him to conjure food. He knows high-yielding crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, but these are all overseas. The current situation in Ming Dynasty is simply incapable of exploring.
The materials needed to build a large sailing ship are terrible. Ming Dynasty cannot afford it now, and Zhu Yuanzhang cannot let him waste resources like this based on his words.
What's more, the sea is extremely dangerous. Even in modern times, there is no guarantee that navigation will be foolproof, and no one can guarantee that corn and sweet potato seeds will be found.
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