"Yes, Your Majesty, I will arrange it when I return." Xu Guangqi quickly agreed, then said hesitantly, "It's just... Your Majesty, we still have enough money, but we don't have much food."
"It's okay, there will be food soon." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi and said, "Just go back and wait for news."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "If Your Majesty has nothing else to tell me, I will get started."
"Go." Zhu Youxiao nodded, indicating that Xu Guangqi could leave.
After Xu Guangqi left, Zhu Youxiao slowly sat down with an indifferent expression on his face, thinking in his mind what to do next and from which angle to do it.
At this time, Chen Hong walked in from outside, holding two question books in his hands.
Chen Hong walked straight up to Zhu Youxiao and said, "Your Majesty, these two memorials have just arrived. One is from Zhao Kui, the Shandong Provincial Governor, and the other is from Zhou Fusheng, the Shandong Chief Justice."
Hearing that these two people had submitted the examination papers to him, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "You can't sit still anymore! Bring it over and let me see it."
Chen Hong did not dare to delay and quickly presented the two petitions to Zhu Youxiao.
Reaching out to take the question book, Zhu Youxiao first looked at Zhao Kui's, after all, he was the governor of Shandong.
Reaching out to open the question book, Zhu Youxiao quickly read through it, and then a smile appeared on his face.
In this petition, Zhao Kui first confessed his guilt and admitted that he was ineffective in disaster relief; but then he changed the subject and put all the blame on Qufu and the Prince of Lu's Mansion, saying that they had committed many illegal acts in Shandong and controlled government offices and various grain merchants throughout Shandong.
This shows that both families owned a lot of land and also a lot of food. The rescue of the disaster victims in Shandong required the cooperation of these two families. Without their cooperation, the victims would not be able to receive good treatment.
Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to cooperate with the two families. To put it bluntly, it was to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens. It also means that all the relief money and food he brought were given to these two families, part of which was used to buy food, and part of which was used to exchange for old rice.
Zhu Youxiao reached out and put down Zhao Kui's notebook, and sighed softly.
Is what Zhao Kui said true?
Of course it's true.
But did he really have no choice?
Of course it's not a last resort.
There is a very telling saying these days: the county magistrate is not as good as the county manager.
You have to know that Zhao Kui is the governor of Shandong and holds great power. If he wants to do something, no one can stop him. Whether it is the Prince of Lu's Palace or Qufu, the problem is not there, the problem is whether Zhao Kui will do it.
If you offend Qufu after serving as an official for a few years, your life will probably be difficult; if you offend the Prince of Lu's Palace, your life in Shandong will probably be difficult too. Of course, this is not the key point. The key point is whether there is any benefit in this.
If Zhao Kui were to embezzle the relief funds himself, it would be very troublesome. However, if he gave them to Qufu and the Prince of Lu, things would become much simpler. Qufu and the Prince of Lu would privately give the funds to Zhao Kui, and he would just need to keep them quietly.
As for the so-called grain exchange, it was the most ridiculous excuse Zhu Youxiao had ever heard. Using the court's new relief grain to exchange for old grain and bran rice would allow them to get more food to help the people. It seemed like there was nothing wrong with that. After all, for the victims, having something to eat, whether it was old grain or new, was already a good thing.
If one stone of new grain can be exchanged for two stone of old grain, it may really be a good thing. They also said so to the outside world, but in fact they did not do so.
When the imperial relief grain came into the hands of these people, they would sell it at a high price. Hoarding and driving up grain prices were practices these people were very familiar with.
As for the old grain they brought out, it was certainly not enough in quantity. Not only was it not enough in quantity, but the quality was also not good. It was not enough in quantity, and it was not good in quality. They forced the people to buy their grain, forced them to sell their land and their children, and they made a fortune from it.
Officials at all levels appear to be providing disaster relief and shouting slogans loudly, but they also have an answer to their superiors: there are simply too many victims and too little food, so there is really no way to do anything.
But behind the scenes, the grain merchants and officials all made a fortune, and the gentry in various places took the opportunity to buy up the common people's land. It can be said that this was a feast of wealth from top to bottom.
As for those who suffer, it is only the victims.
After being in the Ming Dynasty for such a long time, Zhu Youxiao has learned a skill, that is, you cannot judge his ministers by what they say or even what they do, because what they say and what they do are often different from the real truth.
Just like the disaster relief work, they appear to be busy with disaster relief, very busy every day, using various means to provide disaster relief, and even fainting from exhaustion, but they are secretly enriching themselves.
Zhu Youxiao reached out and picked up Zhou Fusheng's notebook and began to read it slowly.
This petition was quite straightforward, directly impeaching Zhao Kui, the Prince of Lu, and Qufu, alleging they had colluded with each other and embezzled relief grain funds. The words were quite blunt. Clearly, this was an attack from the second-in-command on the first-in-command; all the problems were the first-in-command's fault.
However, both of them tacitly did not mention the Governor of Shandong, which surprised Zhu Youxiao.
Logically speaking, shouldn't this matter be blamed on the Governor of Shandong?
It is hard to say that the Shandong Governor did not know about this matter. You know, this Shandong Governor Zhao Yan was not an ordinary person.
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