Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 88
Hangzhou is a big city in the southeast, prosperous and prosperous, but faced with a sudden influx of 30 soldiers and civilians, it couldn't accept it for a while, so most of the people in Yangzhou slept outside.

In July, the weather was hot, and it was the time when the epidemic broke out. Wang Yan watched the people gather in the city, but they couldn't get resettlement, so he felt a little anxious.

At this time, the five major battalions under his command had already been pre-organized, and the rest was the running-in between generals and soldiers, and soldiers and soldiers. He didn't need to worry too much. Wang Yan shifted his attention from the army to Yangzhou, which followed him south On the soldiers and civilians.

From Yangzhou to the south, the people abandoned their homes and businesses and came to Hangzhou, basically with nothing in their possessions. With the influx of 30 people into Hangzhou, coupled with the habit of storing food in troubled times, the price of rice in Hangzhou has doubled several times. , so that except for a few rich people who brought some money, most of the people have no food to eat.

The people followed Wang Yan to the south, Wang Yan naturally couldn't let them go, but when he left Yang, he might slow down the speed of the army. He only brought 50 taels for military expenses, which was not enough for the army for three months. Can barely last a month.

Naturally, Wang Yan couldn't just sit and eat. In order to solve the livelihood of the people, he rushed to the Governor's Yamen early in the morning. This is now the office of officials in Hangzhou. within.

Wang Yan led more than a dozen guards and rode to the governor's office. The guards immediately went forward to salute and said, "Your Majesty!"

Wang Yan got off his horse, handed over the horse to the guards, and asked them to wait outside, and then explained to the guards why he came, and his own soldiers led him to the office of the officials of the household department.

The mansion is not big, and in a short while, Wang Yan came to a row of low houses. The six dignified imperial courts now live in small rooms, which look extremely shabby. It doesn't look like the center of the Ming Dynasty. Wang Yan sees it, I couldn't help feeling sad in my heart.

At this time, in the room where the officials of the household department work, more than a dozen senior generals are pulling two officials of the household department, watching their official robes, because they are two fifth-rank doctors.

When Wang Yan walked outside, the people in the house didn't realize it, but the quarrel became more and more intense.

"My soldiers haven't been paid in March, why didn't the household department allocate the arrears?"

"The military salary will be allocated to the Ministry of War in April. You are looking for the Ministry of Military Affairs. How can there be any reason for the Ministry of Households to pay the salary!"

"The Ministry of War has money, how could it go to this point, if you don't pay the salary, you may have a mutiny, you can't afford it!"

"The treasury of the Ministry of War is trapped in Nanjing. There are officials in the sky today, but there is no money-making equipment, but the Ministry of Households can transfer money and food from Zhejiang Province. We will naturally ask you for money!"

"There are old and young in the soldiers' families. If there is no money, how can they support their fathers, wives and children? Today, no matter what, the household department must allocate the money, even half of it."

"My Household Minister and the Minister of the Household are all trapped in Nanjing. We are among the Langs, and the position is low to say the least. We can transfer money there. Even if you kill us, you will not be able to exchange a penny!"

~~~

It was said to be a quarrel, but in fact, more than a dozen military academies questioned angrily, while the two doctors tried to explain, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel a sinking heart when he heard this.

The dignified household department, one of the six major departments of the imperial court, has only two doctors left. The situation in Hangzhou can be seen as normal. This is also the reason why Wang Yan and his party can be reused after entering Zhejiang.

The fall of Nanjing dealt a heavy blow to the Ming Dynasty. The hastily established court in Hangzhou did not even have six ministers and ministers appointed. The court could not operate in a short period of time, let alone pay any military salaries.

Wang Yan originally wanted to find officials from the household department to solve the livelihood of the people in Yangzhou. Now it seems that the household department with only two doctors left is of no use at all.

At that moment Wang Yan didn't enter the house, so he turned around and walked out of the governor's yamen, ready to seek Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng to discuss, but Ma and Ruan were not in the mansion.

They could not be found, but Wang Yan did not return to the army, but went to the place where the people of Yangzhou in the north of the city lived.

Nearly 30 people, although some Hangzhou gentry gave up many houses to live in, but it is still a drop in the bucket, and most of them still sleep outside.

At this time, at three quarters before the meal, the sergeants arranged by Wang Yan had already started distributing court food to the people, and the people greeted Wang Yanzhi one after another.

Due to the shortage of supplies, the price of food in Hangzhou has skyrocketed, and the people's daily meal is just a simple bowl of gruel with a little pickle, which is definitely not full.

Wang Yan walked on the street, and the guards behind him were also leading horses on foot. People on both sides of the street stood up to meet him. Wang Yan looked at them, all of them looked hungry, and sometimes there were children crying and begging for food from their parents. I couldn't help feeling a pain in my heart.

"It's my fault to let the elders suffer!"

"Hou Ye saves the whole city first, and then takes us out of the sea of ​​suffering. What's wrong with that?" the common people said.

When Wang Yan heard this, he couldn't help being moved, and secretly made up his mind that he must feed the people and help them settle down again.

At this time, he visited the people along the way, and those who were sick were immediately helped to be healed, and he comforted the people with good words, assuring that everything would be fine.

Wang Yan walked all the way along the street, and before he knew it, he came to the porridge shed at the city gate. He was about to serve porridge for the people himself, but suddenly he saw a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a four-clawed dragon suit, standing in front of him. In the porridge shed, I couldn't help being shocked.

At this time, Zhou Zhiwei, who was accompanying the man, saw Wang Yan coming, followed by saluting the man, then exited the porridge shed, came to see Wang Yan, and told him, "This is also the king of Tang!"

Tang Wang Zhu Yujian, but Wang Yan has heard about it. Compared with many vassals, Tang Wang is indeed different in many ways, and he is a figure that stands out from the crowd.Although he was born in the palace, he suffered from hardships since he was a child. The reason is that his ancestor Tang Duan Wang did not like his father and son and wanted to have another son, so he was imprisoned since he was a child.

In the cage, Zhu Yujian buried his head in studying hard and delved into Confucian classics without wasting time. His experience was completely different from those of other vassals, so that he was not like other vassal kings who were raised by a life of no worries since childhood. The book establishes great ambitions and has family and country in mind.

In the 43 years after his birth, except for the seven years of serving as a vassal, he spent most of the rest of his life in adversity. The experience of many disasters made him tempered and gained a lot of experience that other vassal kings did not have.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Yujian was deposed as a commoner because he violated the regulations of the imperial court by arbitrarily raising troops to serve the king, and offended the late emperor.

During the Hongguang Dynasty, Zhu Yujian was released, and soon he was restored to the title of King of Tang, but somehow, he also came to Hangzhou now.

At this time, Wang Yan saw that King Tang was looking at him, so he quickly led the guards to the side of the porridge shed, and saluted him: "Your Majesty Wang Yan, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness Tang Wang!"

(End of this chapter)