high official

Chapter 294 Cooking Without Rice
Everyone only took His Highness Grandson's words as young people trying to protect their own face, and no one took it to heart...

After watching the chariot, everyone looked at the Iron Wolf Whisk. After the military exercise test, the officers and soldiers found that the military division had a "spiritual idea", and the weapon made of moso bamboo had a miraculous effect on dealing with enemy soldiers. Although it could not kill the enemy, it could be used The powerful protection provided by one's own side greatly increases the accuracy and lethality of firecrackers, bows and arrows.So after returning to Beijing, the officers and soldiers specially got a batch of moso bamboo and came back to practice, but found that the bamboo joints cracked after a few times, and the wolf whisk was scrapped.In addition, some officers and soldiers originally from the north said that the climate in the north is dry, and the bamboo joints are more likely to crack. Wang Xian simply went to a blacksmith and changed it into an iron-clad wood wolf whisk as it was, which is stronger and sharper, and the weight is much lighter.

After looking at the weapons, everyone entered the room again, Zhu Zhanji said: "Through that military exercise, we also learned a lesson."

"People say that you gain a lot of wisdom by eating a pit, but Your Highness has gained a lot of wisdom. This pit is worth it." Jin Wen joked.

"Hehe." Zhu Zhanji looked at Wang Xian with a smile. At this time, the deputy said that he looked even better.Wang Xian laughed and said: "During the last military exercise, due to our lack of experience, sometimes we had to march in a hurry as soon as we put the rice in the pot. Sometimes it was even cloudy and the fire could not be lit, and the soldiers could not eat. This is still an exercise. Among them, if on the battlefield, the officers and soldiers have no food to eat, and they are hungry outside the Great Wall, and there is no need for the enemy to launch an attack, we will die without fighting. So after we came back, we thought about a dry food that is easy to carry and easy to eat .”

"It makes sense." Jin asked, "I heard that other armies have baked big cakes in advance..."

"We also bake big pancakes, but they are too hard to eat and not nutritious. We also made a kind of fried noodles in a cloth bag, which is very convenient to carry..." Wang Xian said, holding a long, bulging cloth bag and tilting it He straddled his shoulders and said: "This bag is a five-day ration for a soldier. When you want to eat, open the cloth bag..." He untied the rope at the mouth of the bag, grabbed a handful of noodles and said, "Two masters, if Don’t dislike it, you can try it.”

The two lecturers in the East Palace were not coquettish people either. Hearing this, one of them happily grabbed a handful, and when he was about to put it in his mouth, Jin Wen asked with a smile, "Is this for raw noodles?"

"Let's talk after you have tasted it." Wang Xian said with a smile.

The two of them didn't say anything else, they each put it in their mouths, closed their mouths and tasted it for a while, then suddenly said: "The noodles are cooked." "It's still salty." "What kind of noodles is this?"

"Fried noodles. Fry soybeans, sorghum, and rice, grind them, add salt, and eat them with cold water." Wang Xian asked the two adults to bring tea bowls to rinse their mouths, and said with a smile: "This is better than eating. The flatbread is much more nutritious, and it can be stored for a long time, and it is convenient to eat, and there is no need to light a fire, so as not to expose the target on the grassland."

"It's really thoughtful." Jin Wen and Yang Pu were completely convinced, and smiled at Zhu Zhanji: "We can ask His Royal Highness to rest assured, His Royal Highness is much more careful than we think."

"Hey, my father is always worried that I'll be reckless, so there's nothing to say now." Zhu Zhanji said happily from ear to ear: "Let's go, let's see some new gadgets, and there are more interesting ones..."

Wang Xian followed Zhu Zhanji and the others out of the house, and was just about to go to the next room when he saw Zhou Yong walking quickly.

Wang Xian stood still, distanced himself from the crowd, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Steward Chen is outside the camp, and he said Madam invited you to visit." Zhou Yong said softly, "My lord hasn't been home for half a month."

"I can't go away." Wang Xian frowned and said, "The whole army is preparing for battle..."

"Then... how should I answer?" Zhou Yong was a little embarrassed.

"I just said it for a few days..." Wang Xian sighed and said, "I will go back when I have time."

"Yes." Zhou Yong went out to answer.

"Alas..." Wang Xian sighed again, and went into the room.

.

The imperial city was even more busy.Since the subjugation orders were issued to the various yamen, the huge war machine has been in operation, and the entire empire has been transformed into a wartime system, and preparations for the expedition of 50 troops have begun.

For the Ming army in this era, there was no need to mobilize to go to war. The soldiers would regard the emperor's war as a great opportunity to make meritorious deeds, get promoted and make a fortune, and they all wanted to go to the battlefield.But it has never been possible to go to war with an army, especially this kind of conquest of hundreds of thousands of troops, which is actually logistics and food supplies.However, after years of great prosperity, great construction, and great publicity, the finances of the Ming Dynasty have been extremely exhausted.Officials who knew the inside story said that if Xia Yuanji, Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was not a genius in making money, the Ming Dynasty's prosperous cloak would have been stripped naked long ago.Some people even said harshly, compared to Sui Yang today, there is one more Xia Yuanji!
However, even Xia Yuanji, the master who made such a great effort, was physically and mentally exhausted, and it was difficult to continue, and the army rations for the expedition were delayed, which made Zhu Di furious.After getting angry for a long time, Zhu Di realized that he had to rely on him to support the situation, so he had to calm down, drank a cup of overheated milk, and asked in a deep voice: "I'll ask you again, before February, can you still do it?" How much military rations have been transported to Juyongguan?"

"Report to the emperor," Xia Yuanji is not yet 50 years old, but his years of hard work have already made his beard and hair gray. Like an old man in his 70s, he slowly replied: "The military rations that can be transported to Juyongguan can be delivered to Juyongguan. Before, there was no more adjustable food in the treasury."

"Do you want my army to drink the northwest wind outside the Great Wall?" Zhu Di became angry again.

"I absolutely dare not, it's just that it's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice." Xia Yuanji kowtowed and said, "This minister, the account of the Minister of the Household Department, has been wiped out."

"..." Zhu Di's face was extremely ugly.

"In fact, there is still food to adjust," Zhao Wang, who had never expressed much opinion on state affairs, said when the emperor was about to explode again.

"Oh?" Zhu Di looked at Zhao Wang and said, "Youngest, tell me!"

Everyone in the hall looked at His Highness King Zhao, most of them did not believe that he could be stronger than Xia Yuanji.

"I secretly thought," His Royal Highness King Zhao was dressed in the luxurious clothes of Prince Panlong, wearing a winged crown on his head, and a white jade belt around his waist. Compared with when he was fighting crickets in the arena, he was extremely noble and outstanding. He said loudly: "Xia Shangshu is a wise man who is bound to make a mistake when he thinks about it. How could he forget that there are two thousand open positions in the world?"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone showed disappointment, Zhu Di also frowned and said: "Nonsense! The Changping warehouse is the people's life-saving food. In the event of a famine, the people still rely on it to survive, so it must not be embezzled?"

"Father, Emperor Rong. If Xia Shangshu hadn't been helpless, I wouldn't have come up with this idea. If this idea was really stinky, I wouldn't have brought it up." Zhu Gaosui replied calmly.

"..." Zhu Di loved this youngest son who resembled his dead wife very much, and said patiently, "Then tell me, what's wrong with this idea?"

"I came up with this idea because I read a few corruption cases about Changping warehouse in the mansion newspaper. I wondered why those corrupt officials dared to take Changping warehouse's grain? So I went to check the records of the past many years, and finally I found a phenomenon," Zhu Gaosui said in a calm voice, "The number of Changping warehouses opened in the country every year is at most [-]%, and in most years, it is less than [-]%. That is to say, the vast majority All the grain was wasted by Chen Chenxiang, so those corrupt officials have the idea of ​​​​changing the warehouse!" After a pause, he bowed deeply to the emperor and said: "So my minister dared to think that we might as well move away from the dogma, Transferring part of the food from the Changping warehouse for the army will not affect the livelihood of the people."

Zhu Di was quite moved when he heard the words, pondered for a moment, and asked Xia Yuanji, "Is what King Zhao said makes sense?"

"Excuse me, old minister, it's too risky." Xia Yuanji shook his head decisively and said, "Changping granary is the people's life-saving food. This year, no one knows where there will be a famine next year. Only when there is food in the granary can people not panic. Keep calm, even if there is a temporary famine, the price of grain will not soar. On the contrary, if the grain in the warehouse is transferred, the people will panic if there is a famine, and if someone stirs up the flames, it may lead to civil unrest.” In fact, there is another reason he didn't say, and that is that after these years of overdraft, a lot of grain in the Changping warehouse has been used by the government to plug leaks elsewhere.Therefore, most of the warehouses have discrepancies between the accounts and the facts, and even half of the warehouses are not enough... He, the Minister of the Ministry of Households, knows all this, but he can't say it, because those local officials are forced by him to do nothing. , That's how we tear down the east wall and mend the west wall.

I can't say a strong reason, but the reason I said is not too strong. The emperor's reaction can be imagined. Zhu Di's expression became obviously relaxed, and he even smiled: "This is easy to handle. I allow the counties to borrow food from each other. Let you, Xia Shangshu, be the middleman. If one side is in disaster, the other side will support it. Besides, I didn’t forcefully confiscate their food, I bought it with money, so it’s all right now, right?”

"..." Xia Yuanji said in his heart, don't mention whether the purchase is good or not, the Ming Dynasty will be completely bought by His Majesty's indiscriminately issued precious banknotes. He wanted to argue again, but saw the emperor raised his hand, as usual many times, he had already tried his best. Overcoming all opinions, Gan Gang said arbitrarily: "That's it! Make a secret decree to transfer [-]% to [-]% of the grain and grass from Changping warehouses in the counties north of the Yellow River, and transport them to Juyongguan. [-]% will be promoted to a higher level! One time, those who are less than [-]% will be dismissed in situ, hereby!"

"The ministers will accept the decree!" Emperor Yongle said this, it is an unchangeable imperial decree, and the ministers can only obey the order.

Amid the sound of respect, the emperor left the hall, and all the ministers got up and wanted to retreat, but Xia Yuanji was kneeling on the ground, unable to get up. It was Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong who stepped forward to help him up.Yang Rong said softly: "Da Sinong, there is no Huoyan Mountain that cannot be crossed, let's find a way together."

Xia Yuanji said bitterly: "The only way is to worship the gods, and pray that the weather will be smooth for me next year, otherwise, there will be a big mess!"

"..." The two academicians were speechless.

(End of this chapter)