Chapter 327: Arriving at Jining

In Zhu Youxiao's view, living near the hometown of Confucius should mean being well taken care of by the Kong family.

After all, in Confucius's philosophy, whether it was benevolence or education without discrimination, it should allow those around him to live good lives, even forming a cultural and educational center around Qufu. This might be the place with the most scholars, a place where the imperial examinations flourished.

But the reality was not like this—quite the opposite. The lives of the people of Shandong were very poor, and Shandong's scholars were not that famous either.

Confucius's education without discrimination had long been tossed aside by the Kong family. Moreover, the Kong family's own scholarship was not up to much—if they were to study and take the imperial examinations, they would probably do worse than ordinary people.

The feudal princes ate without working and were regarded as parasites on the state. Zhu Youxiao admitted this too.

But the Kong family also did nothing, doing the same things as the feudal princes, and should equally be parasites on the state.

In fact, in Zhu Youxiao's view, the Duke Yansheng's mansion was even more harmful. The reason was simple: this family was enshrined like an ancestral tablet—people listened to what they said, whereas what the feudal princes said was not necessarily heeded.

This time he had come to Shandong precisely for the Duke Yansheng's mansion before him. If he wanted to make a difference in ideology, this great mountain had to be moved aside.

Early the next morning, Zhu Youxiao went to the northern city of Dezhou where the disaster victims were, delivering an imperial edict to them while also showing his face, distributing the grain he had brought, proclaiming the disaster relief edict, and telling the victims that he, the Emperor, was here and would also leave officials behind to oversee things.

If they had any grievances, or if local officials mishandled the disaster relief, they could lodge complaints with the officials the Emperor had left behind, and those supervising officials would report matters to him.

The victims' reaction was intense—the sound of kowtowing in thanks was unceasing.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew this had actually been arranged in advance. News of his arrival had already leaked out yesterday, and the one who did this was Liu Mao, the Prefect of Dezhou.

In order to make the victims cheer sincerely, Liu Mao had yamen runners carry a large gong and go back and forth among the victims announcing the Emperor's policies several times—one could say he was thorough and diligent.

So Zhu Youxiao was not at all surprised by such a result.

As for Liu Mao's methods, Zhu Youxiao naturally said nothing and did not resent it in his heart. The reason was simple: this was propaganda for him as Emperor, propaganda for his policies—a good thing.

Zhu Youxiao could not go down and spread the word himself, nor could he go among the victims, so this was the only way.

In this era without media coverage, in this era where the common people were mostly illiterate, this was already the best method.

Zhu Youxiao believed it would spread quickly. After all, quite a few scholars had come, and they had written Zhu Youxiao many flattering essays.

At the same time, the gentry of Dezhou had also come, donating some grain and goods along the way, flattering him as Emperor, and showcasing Dezhou's culture and education.

Zhu Youxiao did affirm these people's behavior—of course, that was all.

After finishing these matters, Zhu Youxiao boarded the boat and continued southward.

This time Zhu Youxiao's target was Jining Prefecture, the epicenter of this earthquake.

Jining Prefecture was named after the Ji River. Jining, Jining—it means the tranquility of the Ji River.

Heading toward the court, it never reaches the sea; a thousand li, it cannot rest.

Only the clear Ji River, through ten thousand ages, flows on and on.

This poem describes the Ji River. After the Grand Canal was built, Jining Prefecture developed greatly and could be considered a key point of north-south shipping.

After the Northern Song, the Ji River was unobstructed, grain transport flourished, and Jizhou, established in Juye, became one of the most developed cities in the Jingdong West Circuit.

The Jizhou mentioned in Shi Nai'an's *Water Margin* is today's Juye County town. Daye Marsh, with its crisscrossing waterways, spreading lotus and reeds, water and sky of one color, and treacherous terrain, had always been a place where peasant uprisings gathered and rose up.

Zhu Youxiao stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the waterscape on both banks, but his mood grew heavy—gone was the leisure of leaving the capital, gone was the urgency of Dezhou.

What he had resolved to do, he would surely accomplish.

Xu Guangqi came up behind Zhu Youxiao and said softly, "Your Majesty, the weather is turning cold. Should you go into the cabin? Don't catch a chill."

Xu Guangqi truly valued and worried about Zhu Youxiao's health. If anything happened to His Majesty's body on this trip, then he would truly have no way out.

Though the court seemed stable now, that was only because His Majesty was in charge. If anything happened to His Majesty, the Great Ming would truly fall into great chaos.

Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Xu Guangqi, not answering his words, but asking with a smile, "During the day, it seemed you had something to say, but with so many people around, you didn't speak. Now that there's no one else around, if you have something to say, speak freely."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Shandong has suffered a great disaster, and the people are displaced. I see it with my eyes and feel pain in my heart. Your Majesty loves the people like your own children, and the disaster relief measures are proper—truly a blessing for the world, a blessing for the people!" Xu Guangqi hurriedly bowed and said, his tone sincere, his feelings fervent.

Zhu Youxiao turned to glance at him and said with exasperation, "The first time you met me, you spoke a whole pile of truths, and I never saw you flatter me like this. How is it that after getting along for a while, you've suddenly taken a liking to flattery?"

"Everything I say comes from my heart, and it is all the truth." Xu Guangqi said with a solemn expression.

"Alright, skip this part and say what you really want to say." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi and said, "Between sovereign and minister, there's no need to beat around the bush."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi hurriedly replied respectfully.

This time he indeed did not beat around the bush, feeling the time was ripe, and said directly, "Your Majesty, what I am worried about now is the court's silver. The court's income cannot cover its expenses. Dezhou alone cost this much; when we reach other places, it will likely cost even more. If so, the court's money and grain will likely become even more strained."

Zhu Youxiao turned to glance at Xu Guangqi and said with a smile, "So you were worried about this. But you can rest assured—I have already figured out the matter of money and grain. This time I came out, I never intended to use the capital's money again."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Xu Guangqi's brows furrowed slightly.

He naturally understood what Zhu Youxiao meant by this. For the court ministers, this was hardly a big deal.

Every time the court had no money, it usually adopted several methods. Among them, the more effective one was killing people.

Find some big corrupt officials to kill, find some lawbreaking merchants to kill. Whoever's family was well-off, I kill them—this was already standard procedure.

The Tianqi Emperor in history did exactly this, and the one who did it for him was Wei Zhongxian. Just as the Zhengde Emperor kept Liu Jin, the Tianqi Emperor kept Wei Zhongxian for the purpose of getting money. When the Emperor could not get money from the court, he would send eunuchs down below to get it.

The Jiajing Emperor kept Yan Song, largely to have Yan Song get him money.

That was not what Xu Guangqi was thinking about—he had long been accustomed to such things and would not make a fuss opposing them. What he worried about was how big this operation would be this time.

Mind you, this was not dispatching eunuchs on a trip—this was His Majesty coming in person. Given His Majesty's character, this would certainly not be a small stir; a little bit of silver would definitely not satisfy His Majesty.

For His Majesty, this trip would certainly be about scooping up a full bowl. But if he scooped too much, the people below would likely be dissatisfied.

Xu Guangqi was very worried, but looking at Zhu Youxiao's demeanor, he truly did not know how to advise him. Still, he kept a thought in his heart—when the time came to advise, he would still advise.

Seeing Xu Guangqi silent, Zhu Youxiao just smiled and said nothing more.

In fact, Xu Guangqi guessed correctly—Zhu Youxiao's trip out of the capital was not merely to scoop up silver for disaster relief; he wanted to gain more, and he intended to scoop up a full bowl.

After scooping up enough of this silver, Zhu Youxiao would have money to train a new army, money to strengthen city defenses, money for disaster relief, and money to do many, many things.

In Zhu Youxiao's heart, this journey south was to scoop up his primitive capital.

To put it plainly, the court had now been mostly sorted out; what remained was fine-tuning. It was time to start doing things according to his own ideas.

Once the court was tidied up and work began, money would naturally be needed. Where would this money come from?

Zhu Youxiao had no intention of saving up bit by bit. Even if he wanted to save bit by bit, time would not allow it—neither the Later Jin nor the seasons would give him that chance.

In the days ahead, his life would become harder and harder; natural disasters would be frequent, and he would need more money.

This time, he was set on scooping up enough to cover his costs. If he did not scoop up enough, then he would not go back.

Having made such a resolution, it was naturally impossible to simply stop halfway.

The journey proceeded smoothly along the way.

On this day, the imperial barge finally arrived at Jining Prefecture.

The barge docked at Jining's port, yet Zhu Youxiao did not disembark. Instead, he remained quietly there, leaving people puzzled and uncertain of his intentions.

The area where Zhu Youxiao had moored the barge had long since been sealed off. Qi Jin's great army was stationed there, and no one was permitted to approach.

Zhu Youxiao, meanwhile, received Xu Xianchun in his cabin.

Looking at Xu Xianchun kneeling on the ground, Zhu Youxiao said directly, "Enough, rise. I have some questions for you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun hastily rose to his feet.

Once Xu Xianchun had stood up, Zhu Youxiao asked directly, "How is the investigation into matters here in Jining going? How have they handled the disaster relief? Tell me about it."

"To answer Your Majesty, it is very bad." Xu Xianchun said directly, "Through my investigations, I discovered that the relief grain allocated by the court has all been swapped out — replaced with old stale rice from previous years, and even husk-mixed rice. These are the things they are feeding to the common people."

"If it were one jin of grain exchanged for two jin of old rice, that would be one thing. If local officials did that, it could be considered exchanging for more grain to let more commoners survive. For disaster victims, eating old rice is still better than having nothing to eat."

"But that is not what actually happened. They exchanged one jin of court relief grain for only seven liang of old rice. Everything else was embezzled by them. The silver allocated by the court was originally meant for them to purchase grain, but after layer upon layer of skimming, less than one part in ten was actually used to buy grain."

As Xu Xianchun spoke, he trembled with agitation. "Your Majesty, let me take men and arrest them all! These people are digging out the roots of the Great Ming! They are all moths gnawing at the Great Ming's foundation, all scum of the Great Ming — arrest them all and chop off their heads!"

Watching the agitated Xu Xianchun, Zhu Youxiao felt somewhat moved inwardly.

He now understood a saying: what the superior needs, the inferior will perform.

Xu Xianchun's behavior illustrated precisely this point.

In many cases, what ministers do is directly related to what the Emperor needs.

If the Emperor wants them to be upright and fair ministers, they will appear very upright and fair; if the Emperor needs them to be ruthless and vicious ministers, they will appear very ruthless and vicious.

People in officialdom all have several faces, showing whichever face suits whichever person they face. Clearly, Xu Xianchun knew what the Emperor wanted, and so he displayed exactly that before his Emperor.

Regarding this, Zhu Youxiao would not say anything. If one could keep up the act forever, that too counted as a good minister.

"Enough. Have the officials of Jining, great and small, come to receive the imperial carriage." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun and said softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun hastily acknowledged.

After the message was passed down, the officials of Jining, great and small, naturally dared not be negligent. They hurriedly rushed to the docks to receive the imperial carriage.

In fact, they had already been waiting there for a long time. Ever since His Majesty arrived at Dezhou, they knew their turn would come, and these past days they had been on tenterhooks.

Now being summoned to receive the imperial carriage, every one of them was terrified. At their head was Zhang Shun, the Prefect of Jining Prefecture.

As an old official in his fifties, Zhang Shun had a foreboding feeling in his heart. This time His Majesty had personally come south, and had even arrived at Jining — the things these people had done would probably be impossible to conceal.

These past few days, Zhang Shun had been constantly trying to think of a way out, but he had yet to come up with any good solution. After all, these matters were not his alone. He was merely a lowly Prefect of Jining — his words carried too little weight.

Zhang Shun inwardly cursed as well — these people had truly gone mad with greed. They had no sense at all of what money could be taken and what money could not.

Especially those people from Qufu — they were simply black-hearted.

Yesterday he had gone to their door himself, hoping they would contribute more grain. But those people had directly shut the door in his face. They truly felt emboldened by their backing.

Yet Zhang Shun also knew that even if things truly blew up, he would not dare speak out. Slandering the Duke Yansheng — that was a crime no one could bear.

Even if there truly were matters concerning the Duke Yansheng, His Majesty might not necessarily punish him. Under such circumstances, he truly had no recourse at all.

Watching the large procession descending from the barge, the expression on Zhang Shun's face grew heavier and heavier.

This time, he was probably doomed beyond escape. He could only hope that the arrangements he had made would be able to deceive His Majesty.

Zhu Youxiao walked over slowly, glanced at the kneeling Zhang Shun, and said directly to Xu Xianchun beside him, "Remove his official cap, strip his official robes, and take him into custody!"