Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 97 The good emperor wants to lift the table
"Huh...huh...huh..."

With hurried footsteps and heavy breathing, after galloping for an hour, Shen Lian finally arrived in the capital an hour after Zhu Youjian and the others arrived in the capital.

Holding Cao Huachun's token, he trotted all the way towards Xuqin Palace, his physical strength was almost exhausted.

Changing horses without changing people for an hour in a row, and running from Donghuamen to Xuqin Palace, these are all challenges to his physical strength.

Finally, when he was extremely exhausted, he saw Wang Chengen standing at the gate of Xuqin Palace, together with a group of young eunuchs and court ladies.

Wang Chengen saw Shen Lian, and seeing his anxious appearance, he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter, and stepped forward to support him:

"what happened?"

"If there is a big matter, it must be said in front of His Highness." Shen Lian took a breath and paused before speaking.

"You wait first." Hearing the words, Wang Chengen comforted him, then turned and walked into Xuqin Palace, interrupting Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian who were chatting:
"His Royal Highness, Shen Lian, Chief Banner Officer of Nanzhen Fusi, asked to see him, saying that he had something important to do."

"Shen Lian?" Zhu Youjian who was interrupted was not angry, but frowned when he heard Shen Lian's name.

If he remembered correctly, Shen Lian should be Lu Jianxing's chief banner officer of Jinyiwei.

"He's not staying by Lu Jianxing's side, what is he doing in the capital?"

Zhu Youjian suddenly realized something was wrong, so he said to Wang Chengen, "Tell him to come in."

"Your servant takes orders..." Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Wang Chengen turned around and motioned to Shen Lian who was resting not far away.

Seeing this, Shen Lian quickly walked into Xuqin Palace, bowed and said, "Chief Banner Officer of the Fusi of Nanzhen, Shen Lian, see Your Highness...Long live?!"

Shen Lian didn't expect Zhu Youxiao to be here, but fortunately, he responded quickly and added the title of long live.

"Tell me, why did you come to the capital?" Zhu Youjian looked at Shen Lian and asked, while Zhu Youxiao beside him was absent-minded.

Facing the questioning, cold sweat broke out on Shen Lian's forehead, just because he didn't expect the emperor to be in Xuqin Palace.

Therefore, once he tells the situation in Huaibei, there is no turning back, and even Zhu Youjian has no time to react.

Shen Lian's hesitation was noticed by Zhu Youxiao.

It has to be said that he is much more sensitive than Zhu Youjian on this kind of matter. Seeing Shen Lian's hesitation, he knew it must be a very important matter, so he frowned and said:

"Just say what you want, is there something I can't listen to?"

It is rare for Zhu Youxiao to use my self-proclaimed name, which shows that Shen Lian has no room to retreat.

Different from the previous dynasties, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty was mostly close to ordinary people in terms of address. Whether it was ordinary or regular dynasty, most of them called themselves "Wu" and "I".

Therefore, once the emperor uses Zhen as his pronoun, and it is not in the court meeting or other occasions, he will probably be a little angry.

With no other choice, Shen Lian could only open his mouth and say:

"The minister and Lu Jianxing, the hundred household officer of Nanzhen Fusi, went to Jiangnan to do business under the order of His Highness. When they heard of the famine in Huaibei, they wanted to sell the grain and go to Huaibei."

"Who would have thought that after going to Huaibei..."

As he said that, Shen Lian told the whole story of how he and Lu Jianxing went to Huaibei, and told all the scenes he saw without concealing the slightest bit.

Hearing his words, Wang Chengen at the door broke out in cold sweat, and Zhu Youjian clenched his fists even more. He couldn't imagine that at such a critical moment of internal and external troubles, there are still people who dare to use the lives of millions of people to make money.

Thinking of this, a flash of memory suddenly flashed in Zhu Youjian's mind.

In the second year of the Apocalypse, Xu Hongru of the White Lotus Sect in Shandong revolted!
It is the first year of Taichang, that is, less than two years after Xu Hongru's uprising.

In history, Xu Hongru, Wang Haoxian, Yu Hongzhi and other Bailian believers hid secretly for more than [-] years. In the second year of Tianqi, the three made an appointment to revolt in Jingzhou, Jizhou, and Yuncheng, Shandong Province on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Due to poor cooperation, Xu Hongru led the Bailian believers in the Caozhou area ahead of time, together with the peasants who could not bear the oppression, to revolt.

In just half a month, the uprising grew to as many as [-] people.

Seeing Xu Hongru's horn blowing, Bailian believers from all over the Ming Dynasty responded to Xu Hongru's uprising.

In July, Yu Hongzhi revolted in Baijiatun at the junction of Wuyi and Jingzhou.

In September, Kang Fufu of Ze County led an uprising in Gushi County, Runing Prefecture, Henan Province, in solidarity with Xu Hongru.

In October, Sichuan Bailian believers also revolted in response to Xu Hongru.

All of a sudden, the flames of the uprising ignited all over the sky, threatening to sweep across the whole country, shaking the rule of the Ming Dynasty...

Although the uprising by Xu Hongru and others was quelled within six months, it caused the displacement of millions of people, and turned the originally affluent Jinan and Qingzhou prefectures into barren land due to cholera.

If the suppression was not fast enough, and Xu Hongru was not well prepared, then the water transportation would be cut off, and millions of people in the capital would face food shortages.

More importantly, Xu Hongru's uprising in Shandong failed in history because Yang Zhaoji, Zhao Yan and others commanded properly to block the front of the rebel army and successfully encircled and suppressed Xu Hongru.

But if Zhu Youjian remembers correctly, Wu Aheng and Sun Chuanting made great efforts to stop the rebels of the White Lotus Sect, so they were promoted one after another after the war.

But right now, Wu Aheng and Sun Chuanting have all been transferred to Sichuan and Guizhou. It is still a question of whether Shechongming can be calmed down after two years.

The Huaibei famine this time must have something to do with Xu Hongru's ability to raise the banner and get the response of hundreds of thousands of people.

Therefore, this famine must be contained in a short period of time, and the people in Huaibei must be properly allowed to live better, so as not to respond to Xu Hongru's rebellion two years later.

But according to the situation in Huaibei that Shen Lian said, it was obvious that this was not a famine caused by a normal natural disaster, but a man-made disaster.

Zhu Youjian understood the situation of the imperial court. The granary in Tongzhou was less than three million stones of grain, and the sum of the Taipu Temple and Taicang in the capital was less than two million stones.

Food in the capital is already in short supply. If you want to transfer food for relief, you can only come from the south of the Yangtze River.

But as far as the current situation is concerned, even if it is the will of the good emperor brother, it may not be able to make the officials in Jiangnan release food.

Most of them are still counting on the Huaibei famine to make money...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian looked at the good emperor brother, but at this moment Zhu Youxiao had a gloomy face, and the appearance of faint seizures was palpitating.

After a while, in the silence of Xuqin Palace, Zhu Youxiao said impressively:

"Qi Yuanfu... how many soldiers and horses have you recruited..."

"About [-] people..." Hearing this, Zhu Youjian could only tell the exact number, but he was afraid that Brother Huang would use force, so he explained:
"It's only been [-] days since Qi Yuanfu went south to the south of the Yangtze River, and it's been less than half a month since he recruited troops in Zhejiang. Presumably, the soldiers and horses have not yet formed combat power."

"I know..." Zhu Youxiao's eyes were indifferent, and he showed the majesty of the emperor, and said softly:
"Pass the decree and promote general Qi Yuanfu to be the general of Wu Song."

"Remove Yang Lian from the military department to Shizhong, and serve as the official department to Shizhong, the Metropolitan Procuratorate's Southern Zhili Supervising Censor, and restrain Wu Song's chief soldier Qi Yuanfu."

"Then order Nanzhen Fusi to command fellow Zhi Lu Wenzhao to go south, and the two will jointly inspect Huaibei, go to Nanjing to escort grain to the north for disaster relief, and at the same time escort Caoyin and send additional silver to the north to Shuntian!"

"In addition, the Beijing inspection has been changed from six years to three years. From the first month of the next year, the Beijing inspection will start. Zuo Guangdou will be promoted to the Zuoqian capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and assist the Zuodu censor Zhang Wen to reach the Jingcha world!"

Zhu Youxiao didn't want to bear it anymore, or in other words, he couldn't bear it anymore.

Officials of the Zhejiang Party and Qi Party of the Jiangnan faction must be the main driving force behind the Huaibei famine.

Since the merchants under the command of Zhejiang Party and Qi Party don't care about Daming's country, then send Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou from Donglin Party to investigate them!
"Brother..." Zhu Youjian became anxious when he heard that Brother Haohuang had disrupted all his plans, but Zhu Youxiao raised his hand to stop him:

"Okay brother, I've made up my mind, let's draft an order and send it to the cabinet!"

"The maidservant leads the decree..." Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, the supervisor of ceremonies and the eunuch accompanied him hurriedly saluted in response.

Everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty is about to change.

Changing the six years of Jingcha to three years, this kind of intensity only appeared in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, which means that Zhu Youxiao is going to turn the table.

After all, Jingcha has long been an important means of party struggle. This time, Zhu Youxiao completely bypassed the cabinet and directly announced his will, calling Donglin Party to organize Jingcha.

Although the next Jingcha was originally organized by officials of the Donglin faction, it was held two years in advance, so it can be said that other parties will not be given a chance at all.

The conclusions of the Jingcha in the Ming Dynasty were vague and rough, but the procedures were serious and rigorous, which seemed to have nothing to do with vagueness and roughness.

The investigation was co-chaired by the officials of the Ministry of Officials, the chief of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the thirteen officials in charge of the censors in each province, assisted by the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the Department of Wenxuan, and the doctor of the Kaogong Department, and the Minister of the Ministry of Officials had the greatest power.

Before the Beijing inspection, the Ministry of Officials will issue an interview form to the officials of the Jiuqing Kedao about the situation of each official, similar to today's questionnaire survey.

The interview forms for electing officials need to be signed, but the interview forms used for inspections do not need to be named. This inevitably makes some withdrawn interview forms look like letters of complaint or even false accusations.

However, this kind of "filthy" interview form is generally in the hands of the minister of the Ministry of officials, and will not be submitted to the emperor, nor will it be disseminated, it is only used as a reference for the Beijing inspection.

But there are exceptions. For example, in Jingcha in the thirty-ninth year of Wanli, Shangshu Sun Piyang submitted the interview form about Ding Qilu, and the emperor was furious, so Ding Qilu was dismissed and sent to the garrison.

Moreover, even if an official is judged as inferior, the conclusion of punishment will not be drawn immediately, but will be decided by the cabinet, or it will be reviewed and discussed by the lower house.

The Jingcha, which seems to be so perfect in terms of procedures, has simply become a sharp weapon for various parties to solve political enemies because of the party disputes in the late Ming Dynasty.

This time Zhu Youxiao asked the Donglin Party to inspect, and sent Zuo Guangdou and Yang Lian to Nanzhili, basically wanting to cut off the Zhejiang Party!
It is impossible for Zhu Youxiao to let the Donglin Party directly go to Zhejiang to copy the hometown of the Zhejiang Party, but after the investigation of the officials in Nanzhili, the Zhejiang Party has changed from occupying one-third of the tax-heavy power in Ming Dynasty to one-fifth .

It seems to have hit the Zhejiang Party, but the problem is that the strength of the Donglin Party will definitely expand, and there are many moths in the Donglin Party.

Maybe after Jingcha, Nanzhili will be peaceful for two years, but who can guarantee after two years?

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian wanted to persuade the good emperor brother, but the good emperor brother seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and turned to him directly and said:

"My brother has been working hard for a while, so there is no need to participate in the Jingcha affairs. It is enough to start the abolition of Jiliao and Beizhili guards."

"In addition, Liaodong also needs my younger brother to pay more attention. In the future, the Tang newspaper of the Ministry of War will be sent to the cabinet first, then to the East Palace, and finally to the Qianqing Palace."

"As for the Zhejiang soldiers and the Baigan soldiers, I will ask Zhongxian to transfer [-] taels of internal money as starting silver, and the [-] taels of military salaries for the two armies will be released in advance."

"In addition, [-] shi of grain, [-] shi of beans, [-] catties of soy sauce, and [-] shi of salt will be transferred from Taicang. Military supervisors will dispatch [-] Franji cannons and [-] general cannons."

"Taipu Temple mobilized two thousand war horses, ten thousand draft horses, and one hundred thousand straw bundles."

"In addition, one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, sixty thousand shi of grain, one thousand horses, and five thousand shi of beans will be allocated to Qin Liangyu to return to the stone pillar to train troops."

"I don't need to take care of the other younger brothers, just manage the Yumajian well."

Zhu Youxiao promised a lot of things, including [-] taels of silver and [-] shi of grain.

Adding various other things, it is equivalent to a direct allocation of nearly [-] taels.

With so much money, just to transfer Baigan soldiers and Zhejiang soldiers to Liaodong, I have to say that it is a bit of a big deal.

If you add the [-] taels given to Zhu Youjian, it will be nearly [-] taels, and the reason for spending so much money is very simple, that is to block Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian understands very well that what the good emperor did was not to think that he was in the way, but just to let him not get involved in this matter, and let the parties eat their own dogs.

But such an approach will undoubtedly cause an irreversible change in the order of his plan, and such a change will eventually lead to a collapse.

So if he can't stop the good emperor brother from using Jingcha's means, then he can only minimize the influence of Jingcha.

The simplest thing is to replace a group of clean officials with corrupt officials who were found by the Beijing police.

As long as there are not so many moths in Nanzhili, the court's finances will not change much.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian could only salute Zhu Youxiao:
"I understand what my brother said, but after the Jingcha, I hope my brother can let me recommend some officials to serve in Nanzhili."

"It's okay, I just hope that my brother doesn't blame me." Zhu Youxiao helped Zhu Youjian up, comforted him, and felt apologetic.

On the contrary, Zhu Youjian, after clarifying the pros and cons, raised his head and said with a smile:
"But my brother has spent a lot of money now, it seems that I can only continue to help my brother earn some money."

"Hehe, I'm afraid the money you earn is not enough for the Imperial Horse Supervisor." Zhu Youxiao was amused by him, and at this time a familiar figure appeared outside the palace.

Wei Zhongxian walked to the palace gate and said, "Long live, Your Highness..."

"Huh? Zhongxian? You came just in time." Zhu Youxiao nodded, and said to the accompanying eunuch: "Tell Zhongxian what happened just now, and the will is the same. Send it quickly."

"Your servant takes orders." The accompanying eunuch saluted, and then told Wei Zhongxian everything.

However, Wei Zhongxian is actually not very powerful in political means, and he was also pushed to the front of the stage by the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan, and Kun in history.

After his death, Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuankun and the officials of the five parties immediately changed their flags and continued to switch back to their original camp.

Those closest to Wei Zhongxian were all killed and exiled by Chongzhen. The original Qi Chuzhe Xuankun five-party civil servants used Wei Zhongxian to suppress Donglin, and decisively abandoned him when Wei Zhongxian was targeted by Chongzhen.

As a result, Donglin was suppressed, Wei Zhongxian and other important figures in the eunuch party died, and the final power returned to their five parties.

It can be said that whether it is Tianqi, Chongzhen, Wei Zhongxian, or the Donglin Party, they have all been tricked by the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan, and Kun.

Therefore, when Wei Zhongxian heard everything, he did not realize the seriousness of the matter, but flattered:
"Long live is what should be done. It is not an exaggeration for those corrupt officials to be investigated."

"Okay!" Hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, Zhu Youxiao was very happy, and Wei Zhongxian also knew how to stop. After slightly saluting Zhu Youjian, he said to Zhu Youxiao:

"Long live, the dinner for the Qianqing Palace is ready, and the memorial has also been sent to the Qianqing Palace."

"Why don't you start dispatching the memorials of the Ministry of War tomorrow for His Royal Highness to check?"

"Well...it's too late today, and my brother is a little tired, so let's start tomorrow." After finishing speaking, Zhu Youxiao turned to Zhu Youjian and said:
"Your brother and I will go to Qianqing Palace for dinner?"

"No brother." Zhu Youjian explained:
"The chef in the East Palace has already cooked the food. After eating, I will rest. I am really tired after riding a horse for a day today."

"Then you have a good rest." Zhu Youxiao's face was a little heartbroken, and then he patted Zhu Youjian and said:
"My younger brother must learn how to use people. Although it is good to do it yourself, it is easy to wear out the body."

"Well, I see, and brother is the same." Zhu Youjian returned the gift, and Zhu Youxiao saw this, and after a few words of condolences, he drove back to Qianqing Palace.

A quarter of an hour after Zhu Youxiao and the others left, just as the food was on the table, there were footsteps outside Xuqin Palace.

Lu Wenzhao, who went to Nanzhen Fusi to read the latest information, rushed back and saluted after entering the hall:

"Your Highness, I am late."

"Get up, sit down and eat together." Zhu Youjian's expression was flat, without the anxiety just now.

Seeing this, Lu Wenzhao had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit on the chair, and then said:

"The humble officer went to Nanzhen Fusi to take a look at the recent files. The Qi Yuanfu General Army in the south has already recruited [-] soldiers."

"Sun Chuanting went to Tang Wang's mansion, but was prevaricated by Tang Wang, and he didn't see his son and grandson."

"He had no choice but to continue going south, and arrived in Xiangyang early yesterday morning."

"Wu Aheng was not delayed, so he met Sun Chuanting at the posthouse when Sun Chuanting arrived in Xiangyang. The two traveled together and will arrive at their respective residences around the end of the month."

"As for Hong Chengchou and Yang Wenyue, they have already arrived at Yingtian Mansion and boarded a ship for Sichuan."

Lu Wenzhao told Zhu Youjian all the things that had happened recently, and after Zhu Youjian listened, the only thing that surprised him was that Qi Yuanfu was full of recruits.

He thought it would be difficult to recruit, but since it was so fast, it could only show that the ordinary people in Zhejiang really had a very uncomfortable life.

However, it is not surprising that a large number of Zhejiang party officials, gentry, and squires invaded and bought and sold fields, forcing a large number of landless people to become tenants or to work in cities.

Even if there is a salary of twenty taels of silver a day, it is only seven or eight taels of silver in a year. It is really tempting to join the army and get twenty taels of silver as a military salary.

The most important thing is the two temptations of beheading fifty taels of silver and getting promoted and getting rich.

For all the people except Liaodong, it seems that Jianlu is a distant term, and it is a little worse than Yexian, Dayan Khan, and I Dahan.

The whole world attaches great importance to the establishment of the empress gold, and it has been two years since Chongzhen, but this plane has not had Chongzhen for two years.

"By the way, Your Highness, Yang is in the middle of the matter..."

Suddenly, Lu Wenzhao's expression turned a little ugly: "He intercepted the witnesses brought by Shen Lian to Changping, and he has already arrived in Gonghua City, and he has no intention of resting."

"It seems that he is going back to the capital day and night, and it is estimated that he will be able to participate in the Chang Dynasty tomorrow morning."

"This old man, it seems that he is determined to get involved in this matter..." Zhu Youjian felt a headache, he didn't expect Yang Lian to do such a thing.

But that's all, I just hope that Sun Ruyou and the others don't think that this matter has something to do with them.

As for Yang Lian's matter, let him stand up and help him block the knife...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian also confessed:

"Don't worry about Yang Lian, let him make trouble if he wants to. Compared to this, you should also know that you are going to fight with Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian and the others to go south to Beijing to inspect Huaibei."

"Yes, I have a general idea about it." Lu Wenzhao nodded with a heavy heart, and Zhu Youjian said again:

"The Jingcha can't stop it. What I want you to do is to investigate all the officials in Shandong, Nanzhili, and Zhejiang in the case of the Huaibei famine."

"As long as anyone is involved, I'd rather kill than let go. You can't be careless about ransacking the house."

"All Jin Yiwei under his command would like to remind you. If you can solve the problem of the imperial horse supervisor's military salary and Liaoxiang by this time, then I will credit you with a great contribution!"

"You must do your best in a humble position, please rest assured, Your Highness!" Lu Wenzhao cheered up.

As far as he is concerned, he is not afraid of offending the civil servants, because as long as his highness does not fall, the civil servants will not be able to do anything to him.

At Zhu Youjian's age, most of the civil servants, even Lu Wenzhao himself, could be sent away.

So he wouldn't have any sense of crisis. What's the use of being a slave if you can't solve the problem for your master?

So he can't retreat, and he can't retreat.

Zhu Youjian looked at Lu Wenzhao, and then said:

"Lu Jianxing has done a good job, and so has Shen Lian."

"Find an opportunity to promote Lu Jianxing to Deputy Thousand Households and Shen Lian to Hundred Households Officer."

"In addition, you can also place some people in the south of the Yangtze River this time."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know what to do, and I will definitely not disappoint you." Lu Wenzhao responded first, and then said:

"However, I'm not with His Highness, I'm afraid His Highness will be inconvenient."

"You don't have to worry about it, it won't be too long if you think about it, just leave a thousand households here to deal with the affairs of the capital." Zhu Youjian knew that Lu Wenzhao was afraid that someone would take over his position.

But for Zhu Youjian, unless Lu Wenzhao betrayed him, or flirted with civil servants, like Luo Sigong, he would not abandon Lu Wenzhao.

Even in the future, he will vigorously praise Lu Wenzhao.

When Luo Sigong retreats after knowing the difficulty, Lu Wenzhao can completely take over Jinyiwei and completely reorganize the interior of Jinyiwei.

The number of Jinyiwei and the Fusi of the North and South Towns now add up to less than [-].

There are [-] civil and military officials in the world, and more than [-] million subordinate officials. If Jinyiwei can be properly rectified, even if there are only [-] people, it will not take much effort to supervise these two million people.

In the future, Zhu Youjian plans to divide the North and South Zhen Fusi into two institutions, one for the military generals and the other for civil servants and subordinate officials.

While catching corruption, while catching emptiness.

If tax collection is temporarily unavailable, let’s start by cleaning up the administration of officials.

As long as it is cleaned up properly, the financial situation of Zhang Juzheng's last year in power can be restored, or even surpassed.

As long as the bureaucracy is cleaned up and the army is arrested, the good emperor brother will turn the table if he doesn't have to speak.

To deal with this group of civil servants, the last way to deal with them is to overturn the table and use a knife.

No matter how much you can suppress the other party politically, you can at most reach the level of Jiajing.

Right now, only the methods of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, and Zhu Jianshen are acceptable.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian raised his head and said to Lu Wenzhao:
"Send someone back to the Yanshan camp, and say that even if the seven guards and one battalion are fully recruited, they will continue to recruit soldiers and horses. The military salary will still be calculated at fifteen taels per year."

"Also..." Zhu Youjian looked at Wang Chengen and said:
"After the internal money was shipped out, it was immediately shipped to Yanshan Daying, together with the one hundred thousand taels given to Xuqin Palace by the emperor's brother."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian felt a headache and said:
"I forgot to tell Brother Huang about the briquettes, let alone..."

"Cheng'en, you asked someone to transport briquettes and briquette stoves to the Wenhua Hall, Wuying Hall, the Five Armies Commander's Mansion and the Sixth Department, and the Qianqing Palace."

"In short, all the briquettes and stoves brought this time will be sent to me for free to all the dignitaries in Beijing."

"Your servant obeys..." Hearing what Zhu Youjian said, Wang Chengen walked out of Xuqin Palace.

As for Lu Wenzhao, after eating, he confessed to Zhu Youjian:

"Your Highness, since Long Live agrees, tomorrow I will bring two thousand Jinyiwei and Yang Jizhong to the south."

"No hurry, before you leave, please send someone to help me check the identities of all the students in the Guozijian. I need people with clean backgrounds and poor people, you understand." Zhu Youjian hinted at this matter.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, one night is enough!" Lu Wenzhao had Chen Zhu in his heart, and then withdrew from Xuqin Palace.

Watching them withdraw from Xuqin Palace one after another, Zhu Youjian recalled what Shen Lian said about the Huaibei famine, and couldn't help but sigh:

"The country's affairs are difficult, and the people are hungry..."

(End of this chapter)