Zhu Youzhen was silent for a while before he said to Huang Liji: "Originally, I thought that we could rely on the issuance of grain bonds, the establishment of a grain reserve bureau, and the purchase of grain from the market, so as to regulate the grain market in various places.

But I didn't expect that the drought in Shaanxi would continue this year. After two consecutive years of drought, the people at the bottom of Shaanxi no longer have the ability to resist disasters.

However, the issuance of public bonds has not yet been completed, and the establishment of the Grain Reserve Bureau is still in the process of being established, so we cannot rely on the Grain Reserve Bureau to intervene in the grain markets in various places and provide relief to the affected people.

If the bank alone relies on the inner treasury to allocate silver taels without the government's administrative intervention, then these silver taels will only cause the price of grain production areas to rise, and may not be able to raise enough materials to help the famine in Shaanxi.

Therefore, I believe that the focus of this disaster relief for Shaanxi is still on the government's policy intervention and guidance, followed by the financing of grain purchases. ”

Huang Liji hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but agree with Chongzhen's judgment in his heart, but his worry became even stronger. Since Chongzhen ascended the throne, whether it is to rectify the law and order in the capital or to take over the military power of the Beijing camp, he has always been on a rampage regardless of it.

Although the luck of this young emperor is very good, the relatives of the capital are not what they were at the beginning of the country, and they also pinched their noses and approved of the emperor's brutal deprivation of their last trace of military power.

And the British Duke is old and frail, and he wants to keep the glory and wealth of the British Mansion, and he has no intention of offending the young emperor, so as to bring disaster to his own family.

For the civil officials of the imperial court, because they had to deal with the personnel changes brought about by Wei Zhongxian's resignation, no one dared to come forward and obstruct the emperor's control of the military power in Beijing, for fear of attracting the emperor's suspicion and thus becoming the object of the emperor's struggle.

Under this kind of coincidence, Chongzhen was able to successfully control Jingying and implement the reform of the health center in the Gyeonggi area. But even so, there were still the Jingying Mutiny and the Shunyi Mutiny.

For bureaucrats like Huang Liji, who are up and down in the Huan Sea, the most annoying thing is that the development of things is out of his control, and Chongzhen's actions can cause the situation to get out of control every time.

Although the outcome of these things promoted by the emperor has been satisfactory so far, no one can guarantee that things will go so smoothly in the future.

Seeing that Huang Liji was silent, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but continue, "I hope that the three provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan will temporarily resume in-kind labor this year, and no longer use silver as a tax requirement. ”

This request is not out of line, compared to the silver two, what Shaanxi needs more now is food, Huang Liji nodded and agreed with Chongzhen's opinion.

Zhu Youzhen continued without hesitation: "I also ask Your Excellency to order that the policy of unified purchase and sale of grain be implemented in these three provinces, except for the grain bureau set up by the imperial court and the grain merchants who have the grain sales license issued by the imperial court, no one is allowed to operate grain trade in the three provinces, including the prince.

In addition, this year's grain in Shaanxi has not been approved by the cabinet and me, and not a single grain is allowed to be shipped out of the province. The surplus grain from Shanxi and Henan provinces is only allowed to be shipped to Shaanxi for sale.

In addition, all grain shipped to Shaanxi for sale was tax-exempt by the imperial court. In addition, any merchant who sells more than 1,000 stones to Shaanxi can be exempted from taxes on goods of equal value.

However, those who dare to hoard grain business in the above three provinces are not allowed to enjoy the above preferential policies. In addition to confiscating his illegal gains, the government imposed a fine of 1-3 times his illegal gains and revoked his license to operate grain trade in the above three provinces. ”

Xu Guangqi greatly agreed, Chongzhen formulated a policy similar to the grain monopoly, and he believed that such a compulsory policy could obviously help more victims in Shaanxi.

However, Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou both subconsciously spoke out against it, and both Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou believed that if the cabinet issued such a policy, I am afraid that it would be strongly opposed by the gentry of the three provinces.

Huang Li was extremely eager to persuade Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, most of those who run the grain business are gentry with many fields at home, or officials and businessmen with the support of local dignitaries.

These characters are the key to stabilizing the place, but as soon as Your Majesty's policy comes out, isn't it equivalent to taking food from their pockets? At that time, these gentry who defend the place will probably become a source of chaos. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at his Shoufu with a strange expression and asked, "Then Lord Shoufu, if there is bound to be a rebellion in one of the two provinces of Shaanxi and Henan, do you think that one is the least harmful to my Daming?" ”

Huang Liji looked at Guo Yunhou before replying to Chongzhen: "The situation should not be like this, if Shaanxi can have two rains in the second half of the year, this year will still be able to barely get through this year." ”

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand and said: "I don't want to rely on the will of heaven to determine the fortunes of my Ming Dynasty, I just want to ask all gentlemen, if there is bound to be chaos between Henan and Shaanxi, where should we choose the most advantageous?" ”

Guo Yunhou relieved Huang Liji from the side and said: "Your Majesty, Henan is located in the Central Plains and adjacent to the canal, so this place is really chaotic." ”

Huang Liji acquiesced to Guo Yunhou's words, obviously both of them felt that if they had to choose, they still had to protect Henan and abandon Shaanxi.

However, Zhu Youzhen shook his head, and he said to the two of them: "I think that it is better to mess up Henan than to mess with Henan first.

Shaanxi is a trilateral land, and has fought for hundreds of years with the people outside the country, and the people are far more fierce than the people in the mainland. What's more, Shaanxi has been suffering from famine for many years, and these people who can survive are all people with firm wills and the most outstanding physical fitness.

On the other hand, although Henan has a large population, it is located in the interior after all, and the people tend to be weak for a long time.

If there is a change in Shaanxi, only the border army can enter Shaanxi to quell the chaos, and Shanxi has insufficient troops and has to defend the Mongol Kouguan, so we can only transfer the Liaodong Army into Shaanxi. Now the Liaodong Army is barely protecting itself against Shangjiannu, if the Liaodong Army is transferred to Shaanxi again, will Jiannu give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Henan is not, Henan is a plain of Pingchuan, although relying on the canal, there is a risk of cutting off the Cao Yun, but the south has the capital Fengyang to defend the army can resist, and the north can recruit the Shaanxi border army into Henan, even if there is a temporary rebellion, after all, it can still be calmed down.

Again, Shaanxi has been affected by disasters for a long time, and even the people can't survive, how can they still afford the cost of quelling the rebellion? At least Henan has not been affected by disasters in the past two years, and it can afford the army's materials for quelling the rebellion, plus the adjacent canal, it can also transfer materials from the south of the Yangtze River, which is also the most economical cost for the imperial court.

In the end, the rebellion in Shaanxi was a rebellion by the hungry people, and as long as the imperial court could not solve the problem of eating the people in Shaanxi, the civil rebellion in Shaanxi would never be quelled. No matter how many rebels we exterminate, there will always be hungry people who will join the rebellion, unless the imperial court kills the entire population of Shaanxi to the extent that the imperial court can provide relief.

Henan is different, it is just the selfish behavior of a small group of careerists and local tyrants and gentry, even if some people are deceived by them for a while, but they will eventually abandon these people, because the people of Henan have not yet reached the time when they can't live. ”

Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou were silent for a long time, and even Xu Guangqi was a little difficult to agree with Chongzhen's utilitarian calculations.

Huang Li thought about it left and right, and still said with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, after all, the gentry of these three provinces are still the pillars of my Ming Dynasty, will acting like this make these gentry deviate from the court?" ”

Zhu Youzhen said gently but firmly: "The community is difficult, and it is the pillar of my Ming Dynasty. If there is a benefit, you want to make trouble, if there is no benefit, you want to make trouble, such a pillar of the Ming Dynasty, don't do it. ”

The emperor's insistence finally made Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou weak, no matter how utilitarian Chongzhen's words were, both of them had to admit that this was the most feasible policy to avoid the worst.

Xu Guangqi thought for a while, and couldn't help but interject: "Then what about Shanxi?" Surrounded by mountains and rivers in Shanxi, if something happens, I'm afraid it will not be much better than the Shaanxi people's uprising. ”

Huang Liji replied very quickly: "Shanxi is different from Henan and Shaanxi, and the border towns of Datong do not owe much wages, as long as the border army is not chaotic, then Shanxi will definitely be fine."

However, the newly appointed governor of Henan, Qiu Zhaolin, is still effective, but the current governor of Shanxi, Mu Zhikui, is very harsh, and has been impeached by the officials the most. The minister thought that the governor of Shanxi should choose another capable person who could control the overall situation of Shanxi to assist Shaanxi in pacifying the people and exterminating the rebels. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded and asked, "Then who does Mr. think can take over as the governor of Shanxi?" ”

Huang Liji immediately recommended: "Li Lusheng, the young secretary of Taifu Temple, is cautious, and it is right to do it. ”

Zhu Youzhen immediately frowned and objected: "Li Lusheng has never been in contact with border affairs, Shanxi is a border place, how can he master the border army if he is not a person who is familiar with military affairs?"

Zhang Xiao, the governor of Xuanda, and Zhang Zongheng, the governor of Datong, guarded the border, and the governor of Shanxi not only had to support the border towns of Datong, but also to assist in the defense of Shaanxi, and also to rectify the localities. ”

Huang Liji was still thinking, besides Li Lusheng, who else is more suitable, here Guo Yunhou has already said: "I don't know if Your Majesty has a candidate in his heart?" ”

Zhu Youzhen thought for a long time, and then said with a complicated expression: "Hong Chengchou, the political envoy of Shaanxi, has acted capably, and has always won the praise of his colleagues and superiors. Let him be promoted to the governor of Shanxi and implement Shanxi's policy of requisitioning grain. ”

Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou only thought about it, and found that the candidates they proposed might not be able to complete the tasks assigned by the emperor. This kind of work that offends the local gentry is not something that everyone wants to do.

Although Hong Chengchou is young, he has been an official for a long time, and he is barely enough to serve as the governor of Shanxi. And this political rookie, who is favored by everyone, is also very peaceful politically, and is not a supporter of the Donglin Party.

Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou finally approved the emperor's nomination for governor of Shanxi, but they expressed great worries about the emperor's next appointment of Yang He and the abandonment of Feng Sanyuan to take over as governor of Shaanxi.