Chapter 23: Great Disaster in the North

"You know what I mean by Martial Arts!"

"Scaling walls and vaulting over roofs, killing without a trace!"

Zhu Gaoxu put away his nonchalance, his eyes staring straight at Mao Xiang.

Mao Xiang also set down the chopsticks in his hand, as if he had thought of something, and said indifferently: "The Jianghu people have crossed the line!"

"Jianghu people? What are Jianghu people? How have they crossed the line? Do we have an agreement with them?"

Zhu Gaoxu grasped the point instantly and asked Mao Xiang a series of questions.

Unfortunately, Mao Xiang seemed to know he had said the wrong thing and refused to say anything more, no matter what.

Finally, being pressed by Zhu Gaoxu's questions, he couldn't even care about finishing his meal, stood up, said goodbye, and left.

Watching Mao Xiang's back as he fled in such a disheveled manner, Zhu Gaoxu smiled secretly.

"Do they really exist?"

As if asking himself, Zhu Gaoxu withdrew his gaze, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.

The night passed without incident, and the next morning arrived.

Zhu Gaoxu had just walked out of the military tent and stretched, facing the first ray of sunlight at dawn.

He began to consider how to start his happy life for the day.

Except for that business yesterday, Zhu Gaoxu felt that his good days were also coming to an end.

He might as well live freely for one day while he could.

After all, it wouldn't be so comfortable once he returned to Jingcheng.

Of course, what he didn't know was that even without yesterday's incident, he wouldn't have been free for long; Zhu Yuanzhang had already arranged everything for him, but Zhu Gaoxu just didn't know it.

Just as Zhu Gaoxu was thinking about how many more days of vacation his Imperial Grandfather might give him, Zhu Yuanzhang in the Kyoto Imperial Palace had no time to pay him any mind.

Having finished the morning court session, Zhu Yuanzhang wore a gloomy face, his mind filled with the disaster reports sent from various regions to the imperial court today.

Major provinces in the North reported disasters one after another today, either severe drought or massive flooding.

It was said that corpses lay across the fields, commoners were trading children to eat, and for thousands of miles, there was no sign of human life.

In the face of national affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had no mood to worry about his little Imperial Grandson, Zhu Gaoxu.

Dismissing the eunuchs and guards who were following him, Zhu Yuanzhang went to the Study alone.

"Start the Simulation of this natural disaster!"

Without a moment's delay, Zhu Yuanzhang started the Simulation directly.

At this moment, only the Simulation could make him feel a trace of peace of mind.

【Ding, the Simulation is now starting.】

【In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, various natural disasters began to appear in the northern provinces.】

【Severe drought occurred in the Henan and Hebei regions, with disaster victims starving for thousands of miles, and thousands of commoners dying of hunger daily.】

【Massive flooding appeared in Shandong and Anhui, washing away tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, with tens of thousands of commoners dead or injured.】

【The local government's grain reserves in the disaster areas were nearly exhausted, and a large number of disaster victims moved toward the South.】

【With the movement and increase of disaster victims, some victims chose to occupy the mountains and declare themselves kings, and public order in the North declined significantly.】

【The following month, provinces near the disaster areas distributed relief grain to support the disaster areas, but most of it was seized by mountain bandits or delayed due to impassable roads; only a small amount of relief grain reached the disaster areas, which was like a cup of water on a burning cartload of firewood.】

【A large number of disaster victims were forced to flood into the southern regions, bringing various negative impacts to the southern areas, and for a time, everywhere was in a foul atmosphere.】

【The following year, the relief grain issued by the imperial court was finally distributed to the provinces, but most of it was embezzled by officials, only barely easing the situation.】

【In September of the fourteenth year of Hongwu, locust plagues appeared in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, and other places, causing the fertile land to yield no harvest, and the disaster situation continued to worsen.】

【At this time, the imperial court finally realized the severity and dispatched a large amount of relief grain, as well as supervisory officials.】

【But it was clearly too late by now; the population in the Central Plains had withered, with no sign of human life for ten miles, and there was no vitality at all.】

【In November of the eleventh year of Hongwu, a plague occurred in the Central Plains, making the already withered population even more sparse.】

【Thus, this disaster in the Central Plains region came to an end.】

Looking at the results of this Simulation, Zhu Yuanzhang's brow looked as if it could snap a chopstick.

He did not expect that this disaster in the Central Plains would actually last for nearly two years.

The key was that after two years, there was almost no population left in the Central Plains.

Not to mention restoring productivity, just consider if the Northern Yuan were to send troops south at that time.

It could be said that there would be no buffer zone in the North at all, and half of the country's territory in the North would be lost in an instant.

By then, the whole country would certainly be in an uproar, people's hearts would be restless, and there might even be the possibility of the nation being destroyed.

"Where is Jiang Huan!"

Zhu Yuanzhang only felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, and subconsciously called for Jiang Huan.

Jiang Huan seemed to have been waiting outside the Study for a long time; as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he pushed the door open and walked to Zhu Yuanzhang's side.

"Send all the Embroidered Uniform Guard down for me; I want to see the entire Central Plains clearly!"

"Also, strictly investigate the vermin in the Ministry of Revenue; once discovered, execute them on the spot for me!"

Jiang Huan clearly felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was different today; every word he said seemed to carry killing intent.

Not daring to delay for even a moment, Jiang Huan immediately agreed, and then went out to execute Zhu Yuanzhang's decree.

Just as he reached the door, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of something and called out to stop Jiang Huan.

"Mao Xiang sent word yesterday saying something happened over at the little monkey's side?"

"The Nanyang Commandery Prince was assassinated, but fortunately, the Nanyang Commandery Prince was valiant and slew the assassins."

Jiang Huan stood with his hands bound, cautiously replying with a sentence.

After all, the Zhu Yuanzhang before him was somewhat terrifying; one wrong word could lead to a great disaster.

Hearing that his Imperial Grandson had been assassinated, a flash of sharp light crossed Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

"Some people are becoming increasingly unruly; I hear they have even gotten involved with people from the pugilistic world?"