The weather is dry and people are restless, so a little action is normal.
But after the action, the situation became a little difficult to control.
Since the bosses have all been beaten, it seems understandable to beat up a few guys by the way. So, what, just move some coal and take it away, that’s no problem, right?
Li Laosan and Li Jiu looked at this crazy scene and couldn't help but retreat and hide. Anyway, they had bills to purchase coal and were not worried about being investigated.
The officials from Yingtian Mansion arrived soon and arrested more than thirty people. The matter suddenly became a big deal.
Robbery of coal in broad daylight is an ancient custom and unruly people are still alive!
Before Yingtian Prefecture Yin Xiangyao could finish writing the memorial, the report of blood and tears from the coal yard had been sent to the palace faster than the official dispatch of Yingtian Prefecture. The reason was very simple. The coal yard that was robbed was opened by the acting king Zhu Gui...
Zhu Yunwen listened to the report from the Security Bureau and looked at Zhu Gui's accusation. Before it was settled here, Yingtian Mansion came again and demanded severe punishment for the people.
Zhu Gui, the acting king, Bao Zhao and Hou Tai, ministers of the Ministry of Punishment, were called into the palace.
After Bao Zhao looked at the whole story, he asked Zhu Gui a very crucial question: "Why doesn't the coal field sell coal to the common people?"
Zhu Gui raised his head and refused to pay attention to Bao Zhao and Hou Tai. He just said calmly: "Why? Of course it was pre-purchased."
Bao Zhao looked unhappy: "People are queuing up to buy coal, and the coal yard should put coal in it. How can the coal yard stop selling coal directly because of the coal yard's selfish interests, regardless of whether the people live or die?"
Zhu Gui suddenly became angry and shouted to Bao Zhao: "Shang Shu Bao, the coal field is supposed to be in charge of the life and death of the people, but the problem is, you are asking someone to intercede and come to me to ask for coal. Will I give it to you?" If I give it to you, there will be nothing for the people. If I give it to the people, there will be nothing for you. The weather here is so cold. Who knows when it will warm up? But tell me, who should I give coal to?"
Bao Zhao was stunned, looked at Zhu Yunwen, and asked Zhu Gui anxiously: "What do you mean by acting as king? Who are you referring to? Don't slander anyone!"
Zhu Gui took out an account book calmly and said: "Shang Shu Bao, the day before yesterday your housekeeper found the director of the coal yard and asked for 600 kilograms of coal. The same thing happened to Hou Shangshu's family, who asked for 700 kilograms of coal. They have all been shipped home. You don’t know? This is still a small amount. For example, Cao Guogong’s mansion asked for 20,000 jins of coal in one mouth. Wei Guogong’s mansion also asked for 8,000 jins. Even the cabinet minister Yu Ge asked someone to come and ask for 3,000 jins of coal... "
For the government's work, all government offices have a supply of coal at public expense, but the problem is that these coals can only be burned in the government offices and cannot be taken home. When the officials return home after completing their errands, the whole family will also need to keep warm and buy coal. It's a normal thing.
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At present, coal on the market is becoming increasingly scarce. In particular, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has purchased a large amount of coal to be shipped to the southern provinces, which has sharply reduced the amount of coal stored in the capital. In addition, heavy snow has blocked the roads for a period of time, making it difficult to transport coal from outside. The quantity of coal The supply exceeded demand and the price kept rising. Zhu Yunwen arranged for officials to discuss with Dai Wang, Shanxi merchants and other coal merchants several times to restrict the price of coal. However, even so, the price of coal doubled.
In order to control the price of coal from going up a few times, coal yards in the capital began to sell in limited quantities. One household was only allowed to purchase a maximum of two hundred kilograms of coal. They issued an invoice to get the coal and printed it as a proof. If there was more, they would not be given. But even so, there was no way. Ensure coal supply.
Officials' families, rich gentry also need coal, and all the families in the capital need coal, but there is only so much coal, and the river in the north is frozen, and even the offshore sea is frozen, so coal cannot be transported from the north!
As coal became increasingly scarce and its purchase became more and more difficult, officials and their families directly contacted Dai Wang or the director of the coal mine, relying on connections to go through the back door, hoping to ensure their own coal consumption. The starting point is understandable, but the problem is that these people took away so much coal, then the people of the capital would face the dilemma of having no coal available.
Bao Zhao didn't expect that his family was also involved, and his face was very ugly. He immediately said to Zhu Yunwen: "Your Majesty, I will go back now and hand over all the coal in my house!"
Zhu Yunwen did not respond to Bao Zhao, but asked Zhu Gui: "How much coal is left, and how many days can it last?"
Zhu Gui glanced at Bao Zhao and Hou Tai, but did not say anything directly. Instead, he handed the account book to Zhu Yunwen: "The amount of coal stored is not much. If it is all cashed out to the officials and their families, at least 20,000 kilograms of coal will be owed. Other coal The situation at the market is basically the same. Even if the supply is limited, it can only last for half a month at most. If no more coal enters the capital, there will be no coal supply in the future."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at the account book a few times, picked up his pen, crossed out some numbers on the account book, added some more, and said: "There are not many people in Cao Guogong's mansion, so they can't use so much coal. Just give them one thousand kilograms." The same goes for the Wei Guogong Mansion. Other officials and their families all refused and asked them to apply for coal certificates and queue up to pay for coal."
Zhu Gui agreed.
Zhu Yunwen sighed and said: "Let's reduce the coal cost in the harem by half. The extra coal will be sent to the coal yard for sale. In addition, the coal cost of each government office will also be reduced by half to ensure that the coal supply in the capital can be guaranteed." Hold on until the 20th."
Zhu Gui looked at Zhu Yunwen worriedly: "Your Majesty, after twenty days..."
Winter lasts for three months, and it will be mid-December after the 20th, and there is still a late spring cold. How can we spend the end of the year and the beginning of the year?
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand and said: "I will think of a way to tell the governor to let those people go. Whoever robbed the coal will pay for it. The person who hit him will be held accountable. Those who beat people will be compensated with some medicine. The rest will act as king." Come and make up for it.”
Bao Zhao and Hou Tai took the order and left.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Gui and asked, "A lot of coal is piled in Shandong and Henan and has not been transported, right?"
Zhu Gui nodded: "It could have been shipped over originally, but since October, the weather has been freezing. Many sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal from the north of Huai'an have been frozen or semi-frozen, making it impossible for ships to pass."
"As long as there is coal, if there is no way to transport it south by water, then let's recruit sea ships to transport coal in the north. There are many ships in Qindao, Andong, Tianjin and other places, and it should not be difficult for them to take on the task of transporting coal. "
Zhu Yunwen made up his mind.
Zhu Gui hesitated and reminded: "Your Majesty, these ports are also covered with ice, especially Tianjin Port. I heard that there is ice for three miles overseas, so I'm afraid it will be impossible to go south. The only feasible option at the moment is to push or push it from the north. Bring coal. Fortunately, there are concrete roads, and the snow melts without delaying people or donkeys, so we can still get coal."
Zhu Yunwen also knew, but the caravan taking the land route to the capital would take too long and cost too much. In addition, the weather was too cold. Even if it thawed, the concrete roads would inevitably freeze, making it difficult for people to walk, as well as for donkeys and horses.
"Send a message to other coal merchants and ask them to speed up the transportation of coal and form a stable supply within half a month. If they think they can't do it, tell the court and the court will send people to help them transport it."
Zhu Yunwen couldn't wait any longer.
The capital is the foundation of the world, and there is no room for chaos here.
Shortly after Zhu Gui took the order and left, deputy navy commander Chen Hui and staff general Geng Xuan were summoned to the palace.
Zhu Yunwen's order was simple: "Open the sea route and transport coal."
There are difficulties, but they are not insurmountable.
If the East China Sea is frozen, it will explode. Ming Dynasty will have plenty of gunpowder. If ice floes endanger ships, then use big bamboo poles to smash them or blow them up with grenades to smash the big ice floes. If you don’t believe it, you won’t be able to open a waterway.
As long as there is enough gunpowder, mountains can be chipped away, not to mention the thin ice on the sea. Qindao and Tianjin are not in the Northeast, so it is unlikely that there will be ice half a man high.
Chen Hui and Geng Xuan did not dare to delay after accepting the order. Considering that it was too difficult to go north by sea in winter, they had no choice but to take the craftsmen out of Beijing by carriage and rush to Shandong and other places to recruit ships and prepare to transport coal by sea.
People in the Ming Dynasty did not know why the weather was so cold, and they did not have accurate weather forecasts. They did not have a rational understanding of the changes in natural phenomena, but they knew about the imperial power and the divine influence.
The Son of Heaven, to explain it, means that the Emperor has two fathers, one is his biological father and the other is God. It's strange that when there is a problem with the father, there are not many people who look for trouble with their son, but when there is a problem with God, there are a lot of people who look for the emperor.
The impeachment of the censor is getting more and more intense. Everyone wants Zhu Yunwen to kneel down in front of the altar, admit his mistake to God, scold himself a few times, slap himself a few times and cry a few times if he is emotionally invested. In short, you are at fault. No, you are guilty.
In addition, is the matter of relocating the capital going to be shelved? God has given you a clear and clear warning. If you continue to build it, if anything goes wrong in the future, you will be punished with an additional penalty.
Weird memorials came one after another. In the end, even the great scholar Fang Xiaoru stood up and persuaded Zhu Yunzhen not to go to worship the world, but to discuss with God and ask him to give you some face. Stop being so cold?
Zhu Yunwen was so angry that he was trembling. What's all this? How did the cold wave in Siberia come about? Don't you know? You guys are all just expecting me to make a fool of myself. Okay, I won’t write it and we’ll see if God gives me face.
On the second day after Zhu Yunwen angrily rebuked Fang Xiaoru, heavy snow fell in Nanjing again. Looking at this situation, Zhu Yunwen's crimes increased a lot, so officials from the Ministry of Rites, Officials from the Ministry of Personnel, and officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate wrote letters one after another. In order to persuade Zhu Yunwen:
Write an edict to sin against yourself for the sake of the world.
Zhu Yunwen did not think he was guilty, so he naturally would not write an article. However, after a long time of living, Chen Xingshan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, actually wrote a draft for Zhu Yunwen. His writing style was high-spirited, full of emotion, and full of deep self-blame and regret.
This must be a big mistake, otherwise he would not be able to write such a profound article. Zhu Yunwen firmly believed this, so he arranged for Liu Changge to sit at Chen Xingshan's home.
It snowed non-stop and the weather was cold, and there was no smile on the faces of the people in the capital. Although the imperial court stabilized the coal supply immediately, everyone knew that if the weather continued to be so cold, with some rain and snow from time to time, it would be difficult to survive. It’s not easy to survive this winter.
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