For several years in a row, there are still a lot of natural disasters in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, drought is a very common situation, it is nothing, but several disasters in Chongzhen in the fifteenth year, but because of the different situations, caused a huge shock.

At the beginning of the year, there was an earthquake in Anyi, Shanxi, the earthquake was originally a natural disaster, and the technology after a few hundred years clearly revealed the cause of the earthquake, but it was not the case in the Ming Dynasty, which was considered to be the dissatisfaction of God, and was considered to be a vision of change.

It is strange to say that in the second half of the year, because of the severe drought in the south, a large-scale locust plague occurred in Huzhou Prefecture, to which Zhejiang belongs, and the overwhelming locust plague was linked to the earthquake in Anyi in the first half of the year, which led to the panic of the people.

Beizhili and Zhejiang in the south are the granaries of the Ming Dynasty, and they are also the richest places, but in successive years, large-scale disasters have occurred, and even in the richest Suzhou, Chongzhen 14 years, there have also been droughts and locust plagues. Such a situation is a big blow to the imperial court.

When Yang Sichang served as the first assistant of the cabinet, he inherited the tradition of Sun Chengzong and paid great attention to disaster relief, although there was a famine every year, but because of the timely relief, there was no problem, and the south was generally stable, but unfortunately this situation changed in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

The contradiction between Zhou Yanru and Yang Sichang caused Yang Sichang to lose his position as the first assistant to the cabinet, and Zhou Yanru, who once again served as the first assistant to the cabinet, did not care about the disaster and famine in the south at all, and was still intoxicated with the grasp of power, coupled with the atmosphere of reporting good news but not bad news. began to flow unscrupulously in the imperial court, and officials in Zhejiang and other places were unwilling to play the matter of the famine, so as not to affect their own promotion and reuse, so the disaster was concealed.

What's even worse is that officials from all over Zhejiang. Not only did they not care about the problem of famine, but they also had to collect taxes as usual, and even a considerable number of merchants were affected, and for a while, a large number of victims began to appear, and many people starved to death every day, and many villages and towns could not even see a single common person.

A large number of people began to wander. The government in various places is also strictly guarding against the disaster victims, and they are not allowed to enter the city, even if some places take out food and set up porridge sheds, but the effect is not great, but the good thing is that no one has dared to rebel, and the disaster victims just endure silently, they know very well. At that time, the majestic Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others led hundreds of thousands of troops. They were all exterminated by the imperial court, and if they thought about rebellion, they would definitely not end well.

Because of the obstruction of local governments, some people who were able to live in exile slowly walked to Shandong.

The victims who were able to go to Shandong were all in good health, but they arrived in Shandong. There was only one breath left.

The news of the arrival of the victims in Shandong was quickly reported to the Governor's Office.

In terms of how to deal with the victims, Su Tiancheng, Zhu Xianxuan and others have surprisingly unanimous opinions, and relief must be provided. And to keep these people alive.

Fuzhou County, to which Shandong belongs, has begun to provide relief to the victims, and the Yicang has been opened, which can supply sufficient food every day, and also provide cotton clothes to prevent the victims from freezing to death.

The news of Shandong's relief to the victims spread rapidly, and the victims of Zhejiang and Nanzhili began to flock to Shandong in large numbers, and these victims knew that as long as they could reach Shandong, they would be able to survive, and with hope, their tenacious vitality began to manifest, and a large number of disaster victims, with their families, rolled towards Shandong.

Zhu Xianxuan began to worry, he didn't expect that there would be so many victims, after all, to relieve the victims, it needs to consume a lot of silver, and it needs countless grains, although it is said that the grain stocks in Shandong's prefectures and counties are sufficient, but it is always relieved like this, and there are times when it is unbearable, not to mention that after the Jiangning battalion army starts the year, it will rush to Fujian, and it also needs a lot of silver.

However, Su Tiancheng's attitude is very clear, no matter what, we must persevere, if the grain storage is not enough, buy a large amount of grain from Luzon and Southeast Asia and other places, ensure storage, and ensure the daily supply of the victims. Moreover, these victims must not only have enough to eat, but also be able to have oil and meat, so as to ensure that they can survive the long winter.

Su Tiancheng made up his mind to help the victims, not entirely for the sake of fame, he knew very well that it was the responsibility of the government to help the victims, and he was originally an official of the imperial court, if he could not protect the people and watch the people starve to death in front of him, it would be better to die headlong, and the government would also lose support among the people, so in the process of helping the victims, Su Tiancheng repeatedly emphasized that the people are our food and clothing parents, and the people are in difficulty, and the officials are duty-bound to help.

It is precisely under the support of this belief that all parts of Shandong have moved and begun to provide relief to the victims in an orderly manner, helping them to build shacks and live temporarily, so that they can survive the winter and return to their hometowns when the flowers are warm.

The common people are not stupid, they know very well that in Zhejiang and Nanzhili, they have encountered the rejection of the government, and in some places they even drove and suppressed the victims, but only in Shandong, they have been relieved, and the government is not only concerned about food, but also about clothing and accommodation, the difference is too big, Su Tiancheng's name quickly spread among the people.

The people in the south are not very familiar with Su Tiancheng, although Su Tiancheng has done so many things and made so many contributions, but those are things that only scholars can understand, as for ordinary people, it is impossible to know the Tao, but this time the situation is different, the victims are the most basic people, and they can't read big characters, but they remember Su Tiancheng, and they also remember many things that Su Tiancheng has done, including exterminating the Liukou, hitting the Houjin Tartar and so on.

The common people are simple, they don't know how to thank Lu Dao, and they also know that Lu Dao can't thank Su Tiancheng, but they can do the simplest thing, that is, to set up a tablet for Su Tian, enshrine it, and beg God to bless this Lord Su every day.

Su Tiancheng would not have thought that his move would bring great results to the later expedition in the south.

Zhou Yanru also knew about the famine in the south, but he thought it was an unlucky thing, and relief required a lot of silver, the south was originally the granary of the imperial court, if there was a famine, the imperial court was exempted from taxes, then the income of the imperial court would be greatly reduced, which was unbearable, so Zhou Yanru did not care about the famine in the south.

After the victims were relieved in Shandong, Zhou Yanru was very happy when he learned the news, and he couldn't wait for all the victims to go to Shandong, and then Zhou Yanru even secretly issued an order, asking the officials of Nanzhili and Zhejiang, if necessary, to escort the victims to Shandong.

Zhou Yanru believes that after the victims arrive in Shandong, they need to spend a lot of silver and grain, which is also a weakening of Su Tiancheng's strength.

It's a pity that Shandong withstood it, or Su Tiancheng withstood it.

This surprised Zhou Yanru, to know that the relief of the victims, the amount of silver that needs to be consumed is astronomical, even if the imperial court tries its best to relieve the disaster, it is also a little unbearable, and it also needs local efforts, this time there are most of the places in Zhejiang, as well as some places under Nanzhili, so many victims, Su Tiancheng can actually bear it, what a lot of financial resources are needed, not to mention the military salary of the Jiangning camp and the salary of the officials in Shandong, there are also a lot.

It is precisely because of this incident that Zhou Yanru made up his mind not to become an enemy with Su Tian, even if the contradiction between Su Tiancheng and the imperial court broke out, and the soldiers met, he should not be involved, Su Tiancheng's ability is extraordinary, and it is no longer something that the imperial court can control.

Secretly, Zhou Yanru entrusted Shang Jia and gave Su Tiancheng 10,000 taels of silver, which means the silver sacrificed for the relief of the victims, Zhou Yanru's approach is very interesting, the court will not take out a penny of silver, but he personally took out 10,000 taels of silver, which is equivalent to giving Su Tiancheng a statement, I, Zhou Yanru, am personally unwilling to go against you Su Tiancheng, everything is decided by the court, and it is ordered by the emperor.

Su Tiancheng didn't care too much about these things, the disaster relief was done by the officials at all levels, and it had been carried out in an orderly manner, so he didn't need to worry about it, as for the attitude of officials at all levels, there was no need to worry, all of them were sent from Dengzhou and other places, and he knew what to do, as for the original officials, some of them returned to the capital and made other arrangements, and some were directly dismissed.

Su Tiancheng is thinking about the conquest of Fujian, but Zhejiang has suffered such a big famine, and the government's approach has already made the people feel chilled, this is his opportunity, when he takes Fujian, he can consider taking Zhejiang together, so that Nanzhili will be directly sandwiched in the middle, and it will be a matter of time before he takes it.

After careful consideration, Su Tiancheng made up his mind to bring Fujian and Zhejiang under his command.

Now that he has made up his mind, Su Tiancheng will not waste time, he began to plan and think, the original plan was to lead the army of 30,000 Jiangning battalions, and now it seems that it is necessary to increase the number of troops, at least lead 50,000 people, divided into two armies, all the way to Fujian by boat, all the way to Henan into Zhejiang, Xiong Zijian has laid a very good foundation in Quanzhou, after the Jiangning battalion enters Quanzhou in Fujian, it can get a good help, and it is much more convenient to attack, but when entering the army in Zhejiang, the situation is different. You need to be prepared.

As for the reason for the crusade, it is very simple, when he sees the disaster of the people, not only does he not provide relief, but also conceals it from the court and exploits the people, such officials will naturally be punished. (To be continued......)