Today, the Ming Dynasty is not only short of money but also short of food.

Due to hoarding by unscrupulous landlords and merchants, food in the disaster-stricken areas has increased to ten taels of silver per stone.

Ten taels of silver may seem like a lot, but buying food in the late Ming Dynasty was really limited.

If we use the calculation method of later generations, it would be about 130 to 150 jins.

The man went out and bought about a thousand steamed buns and handed them out while walking on the street, basically two steamed buns per homeless person.

Hearing that someone was handing out steamed buns, more and more refugees gathered together, and eventually they even resorted to martial arts to get the steamed buns.

Seeing the refugees huddled together on the street, Chongzhen frowned again.

He did not expect that he had done bad things with good intentions and that some refugees would be injured because of it."

When Zhu Cihong saw that Chongzhen was deflated again, he smiled and said:

"Father, look, they are all crazy with hunger. They don't care about the food they see and they rob them. No one can survive without them.

At present, the best relief method is to build porridge shacks to provide porridge, so that more refugees can be saved..."

Chongzhen didn't speak, just nodded silently.

"The guest has served the dishes. As the saying goes, dragon meat is in the sky and donkey meat is on the ground. Donkey meat is a local specialty.

Donkey meat, donkey steak, donkey liver, donkey offal, donkey stew, donkey meat dumplings, donkey fat pancakes!”

At this time, the shopkeeper and two waiters began to serve the dishes. The eight dishes were quickly served, as well as a pot of old wine!

Okay, a full banquet looks delicious, but that’s not the point.

However, Chongzhen was deeply worried about the shopkeeper's saying that dragon meat is in the sky and donkey meat is on the ground.

The emperor is the real dragon emperor, so eating dragon meat is not eating his flesh?

Just as Chongzhen was about to have a seizure, he suddenly remembered that this was a private visit, and finally suppressed his silence!

Seeing the emperor's expression on his face, Zhu Cixiang thought he didn't like donkey meat, so he said to the shopkeeper:

"Why is it all donkey meat? How about some other dishes!"

Chongzhen was used to being frugal, so when he heard that he wanted to add more dishes, he quickly waved his hand:

"Forget it, eight dishes for four people are still meat dishes, that's enough!"

While speaking, Chongzhen picked up a piece of donkey meat and put it into his mouth, then nodded with satisfaction:

"Well, not bad, Himiya...ahem...it tastes delicious!"

Chongzhen was about to say that the food tasted better than those in the palace, but suddenly he felt speechless and couldn't help but cough a few times to relieve the embarrassment...

He was used to the dishes cooked by the royal chef in the palace. It was the first time he tasted folk local specialties and found them particularly delicious.

Zhu Cihong also picked up a piece of donkey meat with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Zhou Yuji waited for the emperor and the prince to taste it before picking up his chopsticks.

Lao Wang stood up, picked up the wine pot, filled the glasses for the three of them, and then poured half a glass for himself before starting to taste the folk delicacies.

I have to say, this donkey meat tastes really good. Even Zhu Cihong from later generations had a whole donkey banquet for the first time...

"Bang bang bang... get out of the way, make way for Mr. Wang..."

Suddenly, a gong sounded outside, and then a group of government officials appeared in front of Chongzhen and others.

The refugees who were fighting for steamed buns on the street were whipped by fierce government officials because they blocked the road.

The refugees were hurt by the beating and hurriedly gave up fighting for the steamed buns and ran to the roadside.

A luxurious carriage passed by slowly accompanied by a group of government servants and several officials wearing red official uniforms, looking full of official power.

After the carriage passed by, a few steamed buns that fell on the ground were crushed into large cakes by the carriage's wheels.

However, the refugees didn't mind the dirt and were quickly picked up and stuffed into their mouths.

Chongzhen was furious and immediately asked the tavern owner next to him:

"Who is so majestic on the carriage?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly smiled and said:

"This is my first visit to Zhaozhou. It is the imperial censor from the capital who came to inspect. Of course the local officials would not dare to offend him. He is very majestic.

As soon as the censors arrived, local officials treated them as honored guests, accompanied them with good food and drinks, and offered them large sums of money.

It is impossible for officials to pay these money out of their own pockets, so they can only plunder the people's fat and anoint them to entertain the censor, which is a hardship to the people!"

In Chongzhen's heart, the censors were all honest officials who loved the people. How could they be pretentious and corrupt when they went out to inspect the capital?

Do these so-called clean civil servants treat the people of the Ming Dynasty like this?

Chongzhen had already made up his mind that he would take good care of the censor when he returned.

He turned back and asked the tavern owner:

"Shopkeeper, what is the name of this royal censor?"

The shopkeeper looked around and then whispered:

"My surname seems to be Wang, Wang Duo, or something else. I can't remember clearly. It's better for you, sir, to ask less and be careful that there are ears through the walls..."

Thinking that he was on a private visit and Chongzhen was not asking, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip, so he secretly made a note of it in his mind.

Emperors who do not leave the palace are like hothouse flowers. They have never seen the world and do not know the sufferings of the world and the intrigues of officials.

Just like Chongzhen, he never left the capital when he was King Xin, and he never even left the Forbidden City after he became emperor.

How could one think that what the common people and civil and military officials say is true and false?

Only by going outside the capital and going deep into the people can we see clearly the faces of the ministers who have deceived him for many years.

Historically, in the 15th year of Chongzhen's reign, some local officials reported that the famine was severe and the people were in dire straits, demanding the abolition of suppression and training.

But the ministers did not agree with this. They said that these two taxes had limited impact on the people.

Chongzhen could not tell the truth from the false, so he planned to go out on a patrol to see how the people were doing.

As a result, the civil servant group clung to him on the grounds of safety.

Chongzhen had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​going on patrol and stayed in the palace to continue being deceived by the officials.

After finishing the meal, he spent twenty taels of silver at the checkout, which made Chongzhen very distressed.

After the group left the tavern, Chongzhen did not go back immediately and went around Zhaozhou again.

Refugees begging could be seen everywhere on Zhaozhou Street. Chongzhen's mood became worse and worse and he decided to go back and continue on his way.

After walking for a while, the sky gradually darkened. Next to an abandoned village, Zhu Cixi ordered us to set up camp and rest, and continue our journey tomorrow.

The soldiers all lived in the camp, while Zhu Cixiang and Chongzhen lived in the carriage. They stayed silent all night. They continued on their way the next day and soon entered Guangping Prefecture, which was later known as the Handan area.

It took another day to leave Guangping Prefecture and enter the territory of Cizhou in Changde Prefecture, Henan Province. This area still belonged to Henan in the Ming Dynasty. Cizhou was placed under Guangping Prefecture during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Cizhou belonged to Zhangde Prefecture, which was the boundary of Anyang in later generations. Emperor Chongzhen also officially entered the boundary of Henan for the first time, and once again camped under a hillside in Cizhou for one night.

It was daylight the next day, and the team began to have breakfast. After the meal, they started to set off. As the team gradually entered the border of Henan, the drought in Henan and the tragic situation of the people began to appear.

Not a single green seedling could be seen in the farmland, and many tender grass roots had been dug up and dug out. Everywhere you looked, there were patches of burnt yellow soil, and a breeze stirred up dust that made it difficult to open your eyes.

The bark of the trees on the roadside had been stripped away, leaving bare white stems that had lost their bark. Zhu Cixiang's mood gradually became heavier due to the disaster in Henan, while Chongzhen was confused. He did not believe that the bark could be eaten.

"Your Majesty, why are the barks of these trees peeled off?" If you like the Ming Dynasty, the prosperous age starts from the prince's supervision, please collect it: (https://www.myxls.net) The Daming Dynasty, the prosperous age starts from the prince's supervision, search and read the novel network update speed all over the network
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