Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chen Qiuyu had previously served as Deputy Censor in Shaanxi, so he had some understanding of the situation in Shaanxi.

Hearing Zhu Tongmeng's complaint, he nodded slightly and said:

"Your Majesty exempted Shaanxi from taxes last year. Governor Zhu must monitor this matter and not allow local officials to collect summer grain."

"The autumn crops have all been harvested, and the people of Shaanxi can only survive on summer crops."

"This is what His Majesty repeatedly told me before I left Beijing."

Zhu Tongmeng had received this decree a long time ago, but at that time he did not realize the seriousness of the matter.

Now that Chen Qiyu mentioned it again, he realized that the emperor was truly far-sighted and admired him:
"Your Majesty is wise and considerate of the victims of the disaster in Shaanxi."

"But the situation in Shaanxi this year requires disaster relief!"

"Summer and autumn grains are exempted from taxation. How can the government provide disaster relief?"

Chen Qiyu received the order clearly before leaving, and responded:

"Your Majesty has already purchased food worth one million taels of silver in Southeast Asia."

"But Zhu Futai should know the situation in Shaanxi. It is difficult to transport grain to Shaanxi even if it is transported to the coast of Northern Zhili."

"So your majesty's order is to relocate the people from Shaanxi to the seaside."

"Set up relief points along the post road."

When Zhu Tongmeng heard this, he exclaimed "Ah!" He never expected that the emperor would do this.

He was so panicked that he said hurriedly:

"That's not it!"

"It shouldn't be that serious!"

"Although the situation in Shaanxi is difficult, it is not to the point where people are destitute and there is no need to relocate the victims."

"If there are fewer registered households, the local officials will not agree!"

The number of registered households is one of the main assessment indicators for officials and is also the basis for collecting taxes.

No local official wants the population under his jurisdiction to decrease.

As for the refugees running around everywhere, most of them are not registered at all.

After all, the estimated population of the Ming Dynasty was nearly 200 million, but the actual statistics showed only more than 9.8 million households and more than 51 million people.

So when Chen Qiyu heard what Zhu Tongmeng said, he chuckled:

"Tai Zhu is bullying me!"

"How many problems are there in the household registration? Doesn't the governor know?"

“Whether they are registered or not, disaster victims need to eat.”

"If the imperial court does not provide relief, these people may be instigated to cause unrest."

"When the court asks you about your crime, the punishment will fall on you."

"Does Zhu Futai still want to help them conceal their household registration at this time?"

Zhu Tongmeng had nothing to say, because the imperial court had clearly stated that suppressing the rebellion and providing disaster relief was the top priority. If unrest occurred under his rule, he would be held accountable by the imperial court even if he managed to suppress it.

So he supported the relocation of the victims in his heart, but as a local official, in order to make the officials under his jurisdiction do their work well, he had to say a few words:
"With fewer registered households, there will be less tax revenue next year."

"I'm afraid that after this decree is passed, some officials will not cooperate!"

"Without the population, where will they collect taxes next year?"

Chen Qiyu snorted coldly and said:

“I’m still thinking about collecting taxes next year!”

"I'm telling you, it's impossible!"

"Your Majesty told me before he left that Shaanxi may face drought in the next ten years or so."

"Your Majesty intends to exempt taxes as long as the drought is severe enough."

"The most important thing for Shaanxi is to prevent unrest, not to collect taxes!"

Chen Qiyu did not dare to believe the emperor's prediction before, but after the emperor's prediction of drought this year was successful, he dared not disbelieve it.

And if there hadn't been such a severe drought, why would the emperor have continued to exempt taxes?
After all, after exempting taxes, the imperial court still needed to allocate funds to support Shaanxi officials.

The same was true for Zhu Tongmeng. After hearing Chen Qiuyu's statement, he completely understood why the emperor had to immigrate.

If the drought lasted only one or two years, the imperial court could still barely send in food for relief. But if the drought lasted for more than ten years, immigration would be necessary.

No matter how rich the imperial court was, it was impossible to keep transporting grain to Shaanxi to provide relief to the victims there.

What's more, the imperial court is currently short of money and grain, and the salary arrears in the nine border areas have not been completely resolved.

Zhu Tongmeng had doubts about the emperor's prediction, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. After all, the emperor had successfully predicted the drought in Shaanxi this year.

So he could only complain again and again about the difficulties faced by local officials.

Chen Qiyu frowned and looked at Zhu Tongmeng and said:

"Taiwan Governor Zhu, do you think that I can resist the imperial court's orders just because I speak kindly?"

"To tell you the truth, the reason I am so polite to you is not because you are my superior. It is because His Majesty said something before I left."

"You went to Liaodong and spoke for Xiong Tingbi under the circumstances. You were courageous and responsible."

"Especially the sentence 'Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved by Tingbi alone', which was most appreciated by His Majesty, who thought that you cared about the people."

"So no matter how you were attacked by the Donglin Party, His Majesty kept you."

"Why do you keep speaking for the officials at a time like this?"

"Don't you know how the people are doing during the drought?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Tongmeng broke out in a sweat, and then tears filled his eyes. He understood why he had been retained despite the fall of the eunuch party.

Thinking of what he had done in the past few years, and then thinking of the petty intrigues of the past few years and the ancestral temple built for Wei Zhongxian, Zhu Tongmeng burst into tears and fell to the ground facing the capital, saying:
"His Majesty……"

"I... am ashamed!"

Chen Qiuyu remained silent and asked his attendant to bring him a box of documents.

These were all the memorials that the emperor asked him to pass on to Zhu Tongmeng before he left. They were all memorials from the Donglin Party impeaching Zhu Tongmeng.

It can be said that Zhu Tongmeng was the one who was impeached the most among the remnants of the eunuch party who were retained.

After all, his crime of building the temple was real, and he had no particularly significant achievements. Whenever the Donglin Party wanted to stir up trouble, they would impeach him.

When Zhu Tongmeng saw these documents, he understood even more clearly how much pressure the emperor was under to keep him. He was so favored by the emperor, but he did not think about repaying the emperor, but instead considered the local officials. He was really blinded by greed.

So he knelt on the ground and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, if you have any further wishes, I will do my best."

Seeing his attitude, Chen Qiyu nodded secretly and said:

"Imperial edict: Zhu Tongmeng has made great contributions in defending the border, and one of his sons will be appointed as a hundred households of Dongning Guard. If he can handle the immigration issue well, he can be transferred to an overseas nobleman."

"This is His Majesty's order and also his promise to you."

"As long as you can handle the immigration issue, it's hard to say whether you can become a prince in the future, but a baron with a fiefdom of 100 miles is certain."

"All overseas areas are under martial law. Your Majesty can make a decision on his own. Whether it can be fulfilled, Governor Zhu should know!"

Zhu Tongmeng had heard about the overseas enfeoffment. After all, the high-ranking officials in Shaanxi now knew about the transfer of the King of Han to overseas.

Hearing that the emperor would give him a son and a hundred households, and that he might even be granted a hereditary title in the future, even though he looked down upon overseas lands, he could not help but feel deeply moved.

After all, this was a title, and he had never thought about it before.

So he now wholeheartedly supports the emperor and is determined to complete the immigration process no matter how many difficulties he encounters.

Just thinking about the fact that his term of office was about to expire, Zhu Tongmeng said hesitantly:
"Chen Shaoqing, I'm sure you also know that the Governor of Yansui will be replaced this year."

"Candidates for this position have been notified to write their policy statements, including me."

"That's why I don't want to make any big moves. And even if I wanted to, the local officials wouldn't listen—"

"They all think that the Donglin Party is in power now, and it is impossible for me, the governor of Yansui, to stay in office this year."

"Your Majesty, what is your will on this matter?"

His term of office is about to end and the possibility of him staying in office is extremely small, which is why Zhu Tongmeng is unwilling to worry about immigration.

After all, he is about to leave office, so it is better to have less trouble than more, as long as the civil unrest does not break out before he leaves office.

Chen Qiyu heard his concerns and said with a smile:
"Don't worry about that. Your Majesty is pushing for martial law in Shaanxi."

"If martial law succeeds, you will continue to be appointed as the governor of Yansui."

"If martial law fails, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. Your Majesty intends to let me run for the governor of Yansui."

"This time I came to Shaanxi to seek help from Governor Zhu."

"I still need the help of Governor Zhu in writing the policy outline!"

"After this experience, I am considered the minister in the court who knows the situation in Shaanxi best."

Chen Qiyu smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. He really didn't expect that the drought in Shaanxi would be so serious. Otherwise, he would never accept the emperor's idea and would even strongly refuse it.

I only regret that I was blinded by the position of governor and only saw promotion.

After hearing this, Zhu Tongmeng forced a smile on his face and said:
"Congratulations, Chen Shaoqing!"

"Whatever you need, Zhu will arrange it!"

Chen Qiyu's smile was also somewhat forced, and he said:
"Futai Zhu knows best what Yansui is like."

"To be honest, I don't want to come at this time."

"Now I just hope that after the news of the severe drought in Shaanxi reaches the capital, Shaanxi can successfully become a martial law zone."

"This way, Zhu Futai can continue to make contributions, and I won't have to shoulder this heavy burden."

On the way to Shaanxi, Chen Qiuyu was mentally prepared for the harsh situation in Shaanxi.

But after seeing it in person, he realized that he had underestimated the drought.

After all, the seedlings had all withered, and it was certain that the harvest would be a total failure. This autumn, not a single grain of grain would be harvested.

As long as the summer grain is eaten up and the disaster victims do not receive relief, chaos will break out. We must prepare for disaster relief and immigration now.

Thinking about the difficulties here, Chen Qiyu said to Zhu Tongmeng:
"Immigration issues not only concern Shaanxi, but also overseas."

"Your Majesty's intention is to try to relocate the disaster victims in Shaanxi overseas."

"In order to settle the immigrants, His Majesty ordered the King of Han, the Duke of Jiangling, and the Earl of Ningyuan to go overseas to establish a country. He also decided to establish the Governor of Andong, who is now concurrently held by the Minister of the DPRK, Hong Chengchou."

"If the Shaanxi martial law is not passed in the court, the next appointment of Zhu Futai by His Majesty will be the governor of Andong—"

"After all, overseas is a martial law zone, and Your Majesty can directly appoint officials."

"The issue of Shaanxi immigration still cannot be separated from Zhu Futai!"

When Zhu Tongmeng heard this promise, he knew that he was inseparable from the Shaanxi immigrants, and that the emperor wanted to use him to accomplish this task.

Although he was reluctant to go overseas, the emperor's appreciation and the impeachment of the Donglin Party in the court made him realize that if he still wanted to be an official, this was the only path he could choose -

Otherwise, with the opposition of the Donglin Party, he would not be able to take up any position that the court needed to recommend him.

Thinking of the baronial reward for completing the immigration, Zhu Tongmeng felt that he had to try his best to leave wealth for his descendants and allow himself to be included in the ancestral temple. (End of this chapter)