Zhu Linmiao knew that these were the people who were driven north of the Huai River by Dolgon from Yangzhou Mansion, but he didn't expect that it would become such a miserable situation in less than a month.

He was extremely unbearable in his heart, and turned to Zhang Jiayu and said: "Spread the decree to set up a porridge shed every ten miles along the coast to allocate military food for disaster relief." ”

"The last will obey."

Zhang Jiayu saluted first, took another step forward, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the grain and rice transported to Muyang are less than 50,000 stones, and the victims here are afraid of millions, if they are given military food, it will disturb the Northern Expedition......"

"Solve the urgent need first." Zhu Linmiao frowned, "Leading the army to the Northern Expedition is to save the people of the Ming Dynasty from the hands of Jianyu, and the people in front of him are the people of the Ming Dynasty, how can they not be saved when they die?" ”

"Your Majesty's lesson is," Zhang Jiayu bowed and said, "the last general is ashamed." ”

When Zhang Jiayu went to allocate grain and grass, Zhu Linmiao said to Shi Lin again: "Find me the people from the household department." ”

"Yes."

When the victims heard that the Holy Majesty had ordered a porridge shack to be set up, they immediately knelt on the ground, shouted "Long live", and took the initiative to dodge the road to let the royal chariot move forward.

Zhu Linmiao walked from the edge of the Huai River to Muyang City, and the people knelt down and thanked them along the way, until the porridge shed began to distribute food, and the crowd slowly left.

At dinner time, Lin Zunbin, the accompanying household attendant, had already arrived from the south bank, entered the Muyang camp, took off his clothes and knelt down, "Long live the emperor." ”

"Get up and speak." Zhu Linmiao raised his hand and asked, "Does Lord Lin know how many victims there are north of the Huai River?" ”

"This, the specific number has not been counted. However, in terms of the original population of Yangzhou Prefecture, there should be 18.9 million, minus the number of people killed on the way, at least 1.3 million or more. ”

Zhu Linmiao shook his head secretly, these people left their hometowns, and their homes were burned, so they had no power to protect themselves at all, and they all had to rely on the relief of the imperial court.

He then asked, "How many taels of silver do we need if these victims are to be safe?" ”

Lin Zunbin thought for a while and said, "Back to the emperor, if you rely purely on the relief of the imperial court, even if there is enough grain and rice in various places, it will be barely enough for three million taels, to say the least." ”

"So much money?!"

Lin Zunbin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that these victims can be dispersed to Nanzhi, Zhejiang, Huguang and other places, so that the state capitals can share it." In this way, only the supply needs to be consumed along the road, and then the taxes of the above places are subtracted, and the burden on each county is not too large, and the dilemma can be solved.

"If it corresponds like this, a million taels of silver will be almost able to deal with it."

Zhu Linmiao nodded thoughtfully, "This is also a solution." Then the household department immediately collected the victims, registered them, and properly distributed them to various places. On the cabinet side, I will issue an order for them to coordinate the state capitals that accept refugees.

"Ah, also, the victims of the disaster should also be strictly screened, and beware of the thieves who are among them."

"Minister, Commander."

Lin Zunbin said again: "Your Majesty, it's just that there are too many people in this disaster, and the grain and rice needed during the migration are also extremely considerable, so you have to prepare enough in advance." ”

Zhu Linmiao frowned and said, "How much grain and rice do you need?" ”

"When you go back to the emperor, you must prepare at least 350,000 stones."

Zhu Linmiao planned in his heart to dismiss some of the people in Yangzhou who transported grain for the Ming army, and replace them with refugees who returned to their hometowns, so as to save 30,000 or 40,000 stone of food rations. Then squeeze out 20,000 or 30,000 stones from the grain and grass of the Ming army, and there are still 20,000 or 30,000 stones in the Nanjing warehouse, adding them together, at most 80,000 or 90,000 stones, and the gap is still huge.

He then said to Lin Zunbin: "Can you buy 250,000 stone grain and rice from Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and other places?" ”

Lin Zunbin said: "Your Majesty, some grain and rice in Jiangxi, Fujian and other places have also been levied before, and it is difficult to buy 250,000 stone at once." Moreover, even if such a large amount can be bought, it will inevitably cause the price of local grain to skyrocket......

"The minister estimates that he can receive up to 150,000 stones."

After a long time, Zhu Linmiao ordered: "Okay, I know." You should first gather the victims, buy as much grain as possible, and don't miss the spring ploughing. I will find a way to find a way to meet the lack of food and rice. ”

"Yes. Minister, retire. ”

Speaking of which, Dolgon's strong hand is really vicious! It can not only delay the speed of the Ming army's northward movement, but also create a large number of refugees, putting a heavy burden on the Ming court.

Zhu Linmiao looked at Lin Zunbin's back and couldn't help but sigh, "One million taels of disaster relief silver!" It seems that the military funds of the Northern Expedition can only be used at the moment, as for the Northern Expedition...... I'm afraid that the ocean-going caravan will have to go to Japan again before it can continue.

"As for the shortage of grain and grass, we can only try to buy it from Manila, Annan and other places."

He immediately remembered that there were also refugees in southern Shaanxi who had been driven away from their hometowns by Jianju, and although the population in the northwest was not as large as Yangzhou, it was probably not less than five or six hundred thousand, and it seemed that it was far from enough to buy 100,000 stone of grain and grass from overseas.

He also summoned the accompanying merchant Lang Chinese Lang and instructed him to complete the preparations for the voyage of the ocean-going caravan as soon as possible, and in addition, he sent ships to Manila and Annam respectively to buy a large amount of grain, regardless of the price.

Now the Ministry of Commerce is in charge of foreign trade, and it has many ships in its hands, and its own ships to transport grain are not only more efficient, but also save some money.

Wen Lang was about to retreat, when he suddenly saw Shi Lin walking into the house quickly, glanced at him, and said to Zhu Linmiao: "Your Majesty, Wu Xianrong, a thousand households in Jinyi Weibei Town, has something important to see. ”

"Let him in."

"Yes."

Zhu Linmiao knew that Jin Yiwei could come to find him directly, and there must be something important, so he didn't wait for Wu Xianrong to give a salute, so he held him up first, "Don't be polite, what's the urgency?" ”

Wu Xianrong hurriedly said: "Back to Your Majesty, my subordinates are from Quanzhou." We sent a secret report from the inside line of Toban. He said as he handed a secret letter to Shi Lin, "It seems that Hongyi has made a move." ”

Zhu Linmiao used espionage to "extort" a ransom from the Helan people, asking them to use Taiwanese timber to compensate, and "intimately" sent Ming craftsmen to cut and transport.

These "artisans" quickly mingled with the locals, and not only did they know everything about the city and the port, but they also developed several internal lines within the authorities.

This time, the information was sent by the island's logging "craftsmen" on a ship carrying timber.

Zhu Linmiao took the secret report and opened it, only to see that there were only two lines of words on it: Hongyi's reinforcement giant ship arrived on the shore, a total of 19 large and small, and it would attack Chongming in a few days. There were 1,900 soldiers, more than 3,000 indigenous followers, and many of them had firearms and cannons.

He looked at the back of the note, and there was a map of the city of Geranza and the port of Dayuan.

Wu Xianrong saw that the Son of Heaven was holding the secret letter tightly for a long time and was silent, so he had to remind softly: "Your Majesty, look at this ......"

The next moment, I saw Zhu Linmiao's face full of joy, and said loudly: "I am worried about the military salary, and Hongyi wants to send it to me." I want to thank them for their kindness!

"Order Zhu Chenggong, the sailor will immediately go south and act according to the plan!

"Also, let the Fujing garrison be put on alert, and Zhu Chenggong will temporarily control it."

He instructed Wen Lang again: "By the way, there is no need to be so anxious about the grain, the price should be pressed." ”