In the fourth year of Hongwu, Yangzhou.
"Young people have eaten meat, but it's not pork, it's beef, it's human meat!! Your Majesty."
His old face was covered with tears, and his ragged clothes could not hide his skinny body.
An old man burst into tears and recounted the last time he ate meat in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang also looked sad and closed his eyes in pain.
"He eats my... my grandson, I eat... I eat his children, I eat them by exchanging them!!"
Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Liu Bowen and others all around him were silent and lowered their heads, unable to bear to see the old man in agony.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but take a deep breath, and tears streaked his cheeks unconsciously.
How could something like this happen again in our Ming Dynasty?
There must be corrupt officials at work here. It is because of these corrupt officials that the country is so poor and the people are so miserable.
We will never let any corrupt officials go.
When Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes again, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
"Where is your prefect? Where is he now?"
At this moment, a middle-aged man in tattered official robes ran towards him in a panic.
"The Chief Registrar of Yangzhou, Lu Mingyi, meets the Emperor!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the so-called Yangzhou Chief Secretary seriously.
The bright red official robe has been stained by mud and is in tatters. The lining is covered with gray clothes. If you look closely, you can see that the gray and black colors are already patinated.
His clothes were patched everywhere, even his shoes were patched.
From this point of view, this Lu Mingyi does not look like a corrupt official.
"Lu Mingyi, Yangzhou used to be a land of plenty, but why is it like this now?"
Lu Mingyi cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and said:
"Your Majesty, Yangzhou has been experiencing constant wars and starvation over the past few years."
"Since the first year of Zhizheng, the people of Yangzhou have begun to flee everywhere. Even if they have land, no one is willing to cultivate it."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Yuanzhang became furious and shouted:
"Nonsense!"
"Even if the imperial court was corrupt during the Zhizheng period, after the establishment of the new dynasty, don't you know how to recruit refugees and reclaim wasteland?"
"In our opinion, you are the incompetent official!!"
Hearing this, Lu Mingyi was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground and hurriedly explained:
"There is another secret behind this matter. Your Majesty, please listen to my humble minister's explanation."
"It's not that Wei Chen is unwilling to recruit refugees, but that all the refugees nearby have gone to Shanghu County."
"The magistrate of Shanghu County even shouted the slogan: humane management, family-friendly services, and care for every refugee."
"It's not that I don't try my best, it's just that I really can't compete with Shanghu County."
Hearing Lu Mingyi's cry, Zhu Yuanzhang's interest was aroused.
"Shanghu County?"
"Bo Wen, I remember that Shanghu County seems to be under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture, right?"
"Exactly! Wei Chen went there a few years ago. It was very desolate and surrounded by swamps."
Liu Bowen recalled passing by Songjiang Prefecture a few years ago and felt that it should be similar to Yangzhou now.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Liu Bowen's words, he immediately felt that Lu Mingyi was lying to him, and said angrily:
"Lu Mingyi, how dare you deceive us!!"
"Do you think we will believe that a place as remote as Shanghu County can gather so many victims?"
"It's true, Your Majesty. No matter how courageous Wei Chen is, Wei Chen would not dare to deceive the Emperor!"
Lu Mingyi was so frightened that he trembled and knelt on the ground and kept crying out.
"Okay, let's go and see the Shanghu County you mentioned in person. If you dare to lie to us, just wait to be quartered by our five horses!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang planned to personally verify whether Shanghu County was really as magical as Lu Mingyi said.
"Bo Wen, let Yang Xian take over Yangzhou and tell him that we will see a different Yangzhou in five years!"
"Restore people's power, starting from Yangzhou!"
"According to the order."
After making arrangements for Yangzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang took Queen Ma, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di with him, traveling lightly and incognito on a tour of Shanghai County.
.....
Songjiang Mansion.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who set off from Yangzhou, felt very heavy.
This southern tour was originally to see the splendid country of the Ming Dynasty, but in Yangzhou I saw human tragedy.
This dealt a huge blow to Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence.
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about it, he heard Zhu Di next to him exclaimed:
"Dad, look quickly."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Zhu Di's yelling, his face suddenly darkened. As a future vassal king, he should be able to calm down.
Mount Tai collapses in front of him, but his face remains unchanged.
What kind of behavior is this?
"Fourth brother, what are you howling? Pay attention to royal dignity!"
Unexpectedly, Zhu Di didn't pay attention to Zhu Yuanzhang at all, but instead raised his voice and said:
"No, father, come and see this magnificent scene!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't bear it anymore and glared at Zhu Di angrily.
Then, Zhu Yuanzhang opened the curtain, and he wanted to see what Zhu Di saw.
"Fourth, if you dare to deceive us, we will kill you..."
Before Zhu Yuanzhang could say anything, his whole body turned to stone.
What did he see?
paddy! ! !
Rice fields with no end in sight! ! !
The green rice waves undulate with the wind, and the neat rice fields are blown up by the wind and stretch into the distance.
"parking!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly stopped the carriage, hurriedly ran out of the carriage and came to the rice fields.
He slowly stretched out his hand, picked off an ear of rice, peeled it open, and when he saw the huge grains of rice, he suddenly felt the urge to cry.
If Zhu Yuanzhang felt like hell when he was in Yangzhou, then here, it is heaven.
Before arriving in Shanghu County, you can see such a spectacular harvest scene. This is the prosperous age that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see.
After standing in the rice field for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang turned back to the carriage and shouted:
"Let's go, let's see how magical this Shanghu County is!!"
