The next day, many people in the capital ran out to see the situation.
Sure enough, as rumored, the people in the refugee camp outside the city all left in groups with money and food. In them, there was no reluctance to be driven out of the capital in the past. Instead, they all returned home happily.
This situation is so surprising that everyone who sees the situation in the refugee camp outside the city is a little unbelievable. As a result, many people secretly stopped the refugees who were returning home to ask about the situation. After all, it had only been one night, and many people didn't understand the details yet.
"The Bodhisattva has arranged everything for us. Who wants to leave their hometown if they can go back to their hometown?"
"Look, this is the money and food distributed by the Bodhisattva to us. Even if we return home, we can support it for a few more days. And if there are any problems after we go back, we can still go to our parents to solve them. Why not go back?"
"What are you afraid that our parents and officials won't care about us? Don't you know that the emperor has already issued two imperial edicts? Look, this is what the Bodhisattva asked us to bring back with relevant notices."
"Naive? Haha, I'm afraid you don't know. In each of our places, there is a fellow who was recruited by the Bodhisattva to work in Jinyiwei. If the local official doesn't do anything, you can go to Jinyiwei to sue him."
"The Bodhisattva also said that he will send Jin Yiwei to inspect the place later. If he finds corrupt officials, he will never tolerate them!"
"..."
Amidst the chatter, everyone in the capital learned the details. They had to sigh that the resettlement envoy Zhang really considered every aspect for the refugees. No wonder they returned home happily!
So, as they watched, it took only two days for the refugees to leave the capital and return to the surrounding state capitals.
As they left, news about the situation in the capital also spread, and Zhang Mingwei's reputation as a Bodhisattva began to spread in the capital for the first time.
Occasionally I bumped into refugees going to the capital on the road, and they would explain the situation, saying that the imperial court had no surplus food, and that the capital had already donated whatever they could, and there was no point in going there. Instead, you can go to the local magistrate, because with the emperor's will and the inspection of the Jin Yiwei, the magistrate will definitely solve the problem.
Those who can come to the capital are all from the surrounding prefectures. Nine times out of ten, there are fellow villagers among the refugees in the capital, and they will generally listen to the advice of the fellow villagers. There are only a few who are stubborn, even those who want to rush to the capital to receive a share of money and food. But because the capital was distributing it quickly, it only took two days to complete. Even these individual people couldn't get anything out of it. And the number of people was too small, so they couldn’t even report to Zhang Mingwei.
This is also the reason why Zhang Mingwei was very quick once he started to solve the refugee problem. Otherwise, there will always be some people around the capital who will be greedy. Even if there is no problem, they will come to the capital to receive a share of travel expenses and food. Then there is really no end.
On the seventh day of March in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, that is, the morning after Zhang Mingwei resettled the refugees outside the city, Emperor Chongzhen summoned civil and military officials and asked Zhang Mingwei to report the situation in front of many people.
Then, he felt a sense of elation and loudly asked the civil and military officials present: "In the past two days, a large number of you have been shouting about how difficult it is to resettle refugees outside the city. If I haven't remembered, If you are wrong, you will say that it is a bottomless pit and a problem with no solution! Haha, now, what should I say?"
All civil and military officials in the court lowered their heads, and no one dared to respond to this statement.
In their opinion, they really think so. Those refugees are really unsolvable. If they are forced to evict them, they will definitely be impeached by their political opponents.
However, they either had close associates or personally saw Zhang Mingwei's methods and results in dealing with the refugees. Those refugees returned happily instead of using force. This result is definitely the most appropriate and satisfactory result for all parties!
Thinking of this, some of them couldn't help but blame Zhou Yanru and others. If the cabinet does not agree with the emperor's decrees, they are just a neutral decree. Maybe the local officials will resist and disobey the decrees, and they can still stand up to a certain extent.
However, under Wang Chengen's pressure, the two holy beams passed quickly. What they didn't expect was that these two imperial edicts could also be used to solve the refugee problem.
At this time, they were absolutely certain that all this was a conspiracy, a conspiracy between Zhang and the emperor. They had been planning from the beginning, and that was why they came up with such a series of plans.
Emperor Chongzhen saw that none of them said a word, so he shouted excitedly: "I said, sir, you are a great talent. In your opinion, the unsolvable refugee problem is not a problem for you. How about now, you guys? But are you convinced? If it were you, could you solve the refugee problem so appropriately within two days?"
Every time he asked a question, it felt like an invisible slap on the face of these courtiers, the kind that convinced them to accept it. This made him feel very comfortable and happy!
After even asking, no one in the civil and military circles of the court dared to talk to him, at least at this time.
Emperor Chongzhen was proud for a while, and then announced loudly: "Sir, you can easily solve the refugee problem that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty cannot solve. I am very pleased! I admire your talent and talent! I look forward to your efforts to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty." I will work harder and in recognition of your contribution, I will grant you the title of Duke of Xingguo. I hope that you will continue your efforts and share my worries!"
As soon as he made this decree, all the civil and military officials in the court who had lowered their heads just now raised their heads in shock, with incredulous expressions on their faces: What did the emperor just say, to make Zhang Mingwei the Duke of Xingguo? Was it given to a duke all at once, or was it a title like Duke Xingguo? When did the Duke become so worthless?
Filled with envy, jealousy and hatred, the imperial censor Yang Zhiqi immediately went out and said: "Your Majesty, you must not do it. In the Ming Dynasty, we cannot be awarded titles without military merit. Does this reward really violate the ancestral system?"
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, followed and said, "If you are awarded a title like this, how will it look to the soldiers who are fighting on the battlefield? Such a reward is too unfair. Please take back your decree!"
"..."
Many other civil and military officials came out to object. Suddenly, in the hall, the voices of "Your Majesty, Your Majesty" could be heard one after another, making it very lively.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he was immediately furious. He slapped the emperor's case and shouted sternly: "That's enough! I just want to reward those who can help me solve the problem! The talent of this gentleman is better than those who have nothing to do with their corpses, so that the situation has deteriorated to this point." Do you know how much higher it is? If you want to object, you might as well think about how to share my worries! Anyone who has the ability and can solve the recognized unsolvable problem will be treated as a knight by me, how about that?"
How could he take back the surprise he decided to give to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and the surprise he gave to Zhang Mingwei! He just wanted to let the world know the importance of Mr. Chongzhen, and let the world know that Emperor Chongzhen would never hesitate to reward meritorious ministers!
