Chapter 188: Surveying the Disaster Zone

……

Yingtian Prefecture, Wu Wang Fu.

Zhu Yong stood in the courtyard, watching Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng leading the Personal Guard Unit moving supplies.

It's not silver, it's not food.

It's a hoe, an iron spade, a shoulder pole, a bamboo basket.

There are also several hundred bundles of hemp rope.

"Lord, where should these tools be sent?" Zhang Wu, wiping sweat, asked.

Zhu Yong said: "Jurong, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, and also Wenzhou."

"What are they for?"

"To repair canals, dig wells, and build dikes," Zhu Yong said.

He crouched down, picked up a hoe, and weighed its heft.

"This hoe is too light; have the blacksmith forge another batch, thickening the blade by thirty percent," he said.

Zhang Wu responded, turned, and went to deliver the message.

Zhu Yong stood up, looking at the courtyard full of farming tools.

Guanyin Nu, holding Zhu Huanhuan, stood under the corridor and asked softly, "Lord, what is this…"

"The court allocates silver for emergencies; I send hoes to rescue the poor," Zhu Yong said.

He paused, then said earnestly, "I don't know those grand principles; I only know that once a person has land, seeds, and tools, they can feed themselves."

"I'll send the tools to them; next spring they'll be able to till the fields. Once the land is planted, there will be a harvest, and then they won't have to wait for the court's disaster relief."

Guanyin Nu looked at him.

They had been married for over three years, yet she was still often left speechless by this man's simple honesty.

It's not the kind of simple that makes people laugh.

It's the kind that makes one's heart burn.

"Lord," she said softly.

"Mm."

"You are a good person."

Zhu Yong scratched his head, wondering which "good person" card this was... Fortunately it's the ancient era; if it were modern, he'd have to spend his whole life as a bachelor...

Why can't I help but start singing?

Zhu Huanhuan perched on her mother's shoulder, clutching a freshly made osmanthus cake in her hand.

She didn't understand what father and mother were saying.

But she knew that dad hadn't gone to the barracks today; he stayed home with her.

She was very happy.

"Dad," she reached out her little hand.

Zhu Yong walked over and took his daughter in his arms.

"Huan Huan, dad will set out on a long journey tomorrow."

Zhu Huanhuan blinked and said, "Where are we going?"

"Going to Wenzhou to see the sea, the ocean—very, very big," Zhu Yong said.

"Huan Huan, you can come too!"

"You're still young; when you grow up, dad will take you."

The little girl pouted but didn't cry.

She shoved the piece of osmanthus cake she held into Zhu Yong's mouth.

"Dad, eat, eat till you're full, and come back early."

Zhu Yong took a bite.

Sweet.

Very sweet.

He swallowed it and held his daughter a little tighter.

"Good," he said softly.

"Dad, come back early."

……

Hongwu Year 8, September 15.

Prince Wu Zhu Yong, by imperial decree, left the capital to inspect the Wenzhou tsunami disaster zone.

He was accompanied by only twenty riders, old comrades from the Longxiang Army.

Zhang Wu led a horse over, while Chen Heng inspected the supplies from behind.

Zhu Yong turned over, mounted his horse, and glanced back.

At Chaoyang Gate, Zhu Biao stood there, not descending.

The two brothers were separated by the whole city, by the bustling crowd, by the early autumn wind.

Zhu Biao raised his hand and waved.

Zhu Yong also raised his hand and waved.

Then he spurred his horse, turned, and with the twenty riders, exited Chaoyang Gate.

The sound of hooves gradually faded.

On the city gate tower, Zhu Biao still stood there.

Chang Wan whispered, "Prince, second brother has left."

"Hmm." Zhu Biao said.

He stood there, continuously watching that road.

Until the dust settled completely, until the figure vanished at the end of the official road.

"Return," he whispered.

Chang Wan nodded and followed him down the city tower.

In Wenhua Hall, the Memoranda on the desk were piled in three more stacks.

Zhu Biao sat down, took the first volume, and opened it.

The Cabinet's ticket draft was affixed in the upper right corner, the handwriting neat, concise and to the point.

He read it once and marked a "acceptable" character.

Then he picked up the second one.

The third.

The fourth.

Outside the window, wind brushed the leaves of the old locust tree, rustling.

Hongwu Year 8, the ninth day of the tenth month.

Yingtian Prefecture, outside Chaoyang Gate.

Zhu Biao stood on the city tower, looking at the end of the official road.

He had been standing for almost an hour.

Chang Wan draped the cloak over him and whispered, "Prince, second brother's letter said he'd arrive today; we haven't seen any sign yet, perhaps he's delayed on the road."

"No rush," Zhu Biao said.

He truly was not in a hurry.

Second brother had been away for twenty‑three days; each day after finishing the Memoranda in Wenhua Hall, he would come here to stand for a while.

Sometimes he stood for a tea‑break, sometimes for an hour.

Today was the last day, and he stood the longest.

On the official road, a dust cloud finally appeared.

Over twenty riders galloped from the dusk.

Leading the way was a jujube‑red horse; the rider on its back was broad‑shouldered, Double Hammers hanging on both sides of the saddle, recognizable from afar.

Zhu Biao descended the city tower.

Just as he reached the city gate passage, the sound of hooves was already within arm's reach.

Zhu Yong halted the horse and dismounted.

"Elder brother."

Zhu Biao looked him up and down.

He was thinner.

He was much more sun‑tanned, his eyes had blood vessels, the hem of his python robe was stained with mud spots, and his boots were worn through.

"The road was hard," Zhu Biao said.

"Not really hard; just riding for so long makes the rear ache," Zhu Yong chuckled.

Zhu Biao couldn't hold back and laughed.

The two brothers walked side by side into the city.

Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng led the Personal Guard Unit behind, sensibly keeping their distance.

"How's it over in Wenzhou…" Zhu Biao asked.

"A tsunami destroyed three counties, over two thousand dead, more than four thousand houses collapsed, and the salt fields were completely flooded," Zhu Yong said.

"Hmm, I read it in the report; the disaster‑relief silver and grain arrived on the twentieth of September, and the Ministry of Works' dispatched physicians have already begun organizing the repair of the levees."

Zhu Biao nodded and said.

"I also saw it; the levees are being repaired quickly, but manpower is lacking, so I had Zhang Wu keep fifty brothers there to help, returning after spring."

Zhu Yong said.

Zhu Biao gave him a glance.

"You were away for twenty‑three days; how many days did you stay in Wenzhou?"

"Five days," Zhu Yong answered honestly.

"And the remaining eighteen days?"

Zhu Yong said nothing.

Zhu Biao also did not follow up.

The two brothers walked in silence for a while.

After passing Hongwu Gate, Zhu Yong suddenly spoke.

"Elder brother, I also went to Jurong."

Zhu Biao's steps halted.

"Then I went to Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou," Zhu Yong continued.

"I thought, since I'm out, I'll travel along the road, see those places that reported drought, and find out how they are now."

Zhu Biao said nothing.

"I inspected over twenty wells in Jurong," Zhu Yong said.

"The deep ones reached three to five Zhang, still with water; the shallow ones a little over one Zhang, dried up, and the villagers have to carry water, walking seven to eight Eight Li to the mountains."

"Changzhou over there is better; the river still has water, but the paddy fields are all cracked, the fissures wide enough for an arm to slip in. I asked an old farmer; he said he's been farming all his life and has never seen such a drought this year."

"Zhenjiang Prefecture, I also went to three counties; in two of them the disaster‑relief grain hasn't reached the people yet. The county office officials said the Ministry of Revenue's grain shipments have arrived at the prefectural capital, and from there they're distributed down, then further down to the counties, layer by layer; it takes time."

Zhu Yong paused.

"I don't understand any of that; I just think it's too slow."

Zhu Biao stopped walking.