However, even so, the number of deaths due to the plague every day reached dozens and nearly hundreds, which does not sound terrifying, but compared to the real history, this is already a small thing, according to the record of the street at that time in Beijing City: "The children in the street are stunning, there are coffins, there are no coffins, and the nine doors count more than 200,000." ”?? Between August and December 1643, a conservative estimate of the death toll in the city was as high as one-fifth.

So when Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, the capital of the Ming Empire, in April of the following year, he was faced with a dead city where "people and ghosts are intricate, and people dare not do it at dusk".

But this has just seen some effect due to the change of the sanitary environment, but because the Tartar soldiers entered the customs, the people in the city poured in, making the capital, which had just been renovated for a long time, become chaotic again.

"Refugees are not allowed to enter the inner city" Chang Yu thought about it and decided to divide the area into isolation, not to engage in regional discrimination but to reduce the source of infection.

Chongzhen was right, and said: "The war in Henan, Hebei, and Shanxi is chaotic, and countless people have been displaced, and how they will make a living is a headache, and I am afraid that many people will starve to death this year." Regardless, the court can't do anything, no matter what, let it starve to death, and it will be even more agitated."

Chang Yu is also a human head, bowing his head and being silent for a while: "Delay first and then boil."

Chongzhen didn't understand for a while, and Chang Yu elaborated: "The imperial court will first exempt the tax, and then provide free grain, and then do its best to provide disaster relief, and after two or three years, it will be able to recover its vitality."

Chongzhen smiled bitterly, not to mention that the imperial court's ability is limited at this time, in addition to whether it can provide such grain and disaster relief food, with the current urine weather that God does not appreciate food, whether there can be a harvest is a problem.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes, Chang Yu had a flash of inspiration.

In fact, these two crops have been introduced into China at the end of the Ming Dynasty for more than 20 years, but they have not been promoted, and they are mostly planted as non-staple grains in the mountainous areas of Fujian, taking sweet potatoes as an example, they were introduced by Xu Guangqi from Fujian to the area of Songjiang Prefecture (now Shanghai) ten years ago to the Kangxi period by Chen Chuangui to Zhejiang, and his son Chen Shiyuan was introduced to Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places.

Now, Chang Yu wants to promote the planting range of these two crops in advance, the reason is very simple, drought and cold tolerance are also planted and the yield is high, dozens of stones per acre, and 20 times better than the grain planted." In addition, "moist and edible, or boiled or ground into powder, raw food such as arrowroot, cooked food such as honey, taste like water chestnut"

It is simply a sacred object necessary for famine.

Emperor Chongzhen was surprised and delighted, he didn't know that there were such crops in the world, but he hated those officials in the southwest who didn't know how to promote them inland, so he thought of issuing an order for the governor of Fujian to handle this matter as soon as possible and purchase seeds.

Chang Yu said that the speed is too slow, the potatoes have passed the sowing period, and the sweet potatoes happen to be sown in April and May, the faster the better, but the official affairs are too cumbersome and procrastinating, and when they get it, it is almost autumn.

"Chen Yue sent people to Guangzhou to do business, so that when he returned to Fujian, he would buy and send back by sea, and he would arrive in more than a month at most, and he would still have time to sow seeds."

"Hurry up and let Jinyiwei handle this matter, the sooner the better" Chongzhen heard that there was this kind of famine nemesis, Longxin Dayue, and praised Chang Yu for his ability again and again, it was a great blessing star, and Chang Yu was a little embarrassed.

It's not that Emperor Chongzhen boasted with a conscience in order to win him over, and he was suspicious of Chang Yu and even secretly guarded against it before, at this time he was really fond of Chang Yu, because he felt that this little eunuch was simply an all-rounder, both civil and military, able to fight and make money, and now he can even mention his worries about civil affairs, so take sweet potatoes as an example, it is ridiculous that the Heavenly Empire has had such crops for more than ten years, he is the emperor does not know this thing, and no one in the court and the ministers does not know? At least the officials in Fujian know that no one has proposed to promote it for many years!

I don't know why Emperor Chongzhen felt that no matter how tricky things were, they were always easy to solve when they came to Chang Yu, and subtly made him have a sense of dependence on the little eunuch.

"Hebei, Henan due to the military disaster, the death of the officials of the prefectures and prefectures, the death of the escape of the surrender, the whole mess, plus the people of these prefectures are wandering, you need to send a capable official to preside over the overall situation, do you have a recommended candidate" Emperor Chongzhen This is the first time to take the initiative to ask Chang Yu.

Although Chang Yu helped to recommend some people behind the scenes, such as Li Banghua, Wang Jiayan, etc., Chongzhen also knew it, but he didn't make it clear, after all, he still remembered the ancestral training, and eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, although this ancestral training had long become an ornament.

And now that he asks directly, it undoubtedly shows that he has regarded Chang Yu as a confidant, a confidant among confidants.

"Yu Jackie Chan" Chang Yu did not hesitate!

Emperor Chongzhen was stunned, he seemed to have heard of such a person, Wu Mengming once said that Chang Yu brought a sheep herd from a ravine in Shanxi, and at this time it seemed that he was in the East Palace.

"This person is unknown, can he be of great use?" Chongzhen hesitated slightly.

"The emperor uses his talent, not his fame, the minister can vouch for his life, this person can't be" Chang Yu was categorical, Emperor Chongzhen was silent for a while, and finally nodded silently.

Chang Yu came out of the palace was close to Hai (nine o'clock in the evening) hurried to the Dongchang Yamen and immediately summoned the Dongchang and Jinyiwei thousands of households, and issued several orders, and then several groups of people and horses went out of the city to the south, and soon the soldiers and horses of the city also received an order, from tomorrow the inner city is forbidden to refugees to enter, from the barracks to the city gate of the main road to implement road control.

In the dead of night, Chang Yu slept in good spirits for an afternoon, and after handling official business in the yamen, he led half a hundred guards out of the yamen on the street, and Chunxiang walked around the imperial city in the carriage, and then went to Dongcheng, and the homeless people sleeping on the street saw that their convoys were evading, and the wine shops on the side of the road were hooked into the ears, Chang Yu sneered: "I guess many people in it are scolding the court for being incompetent, maybe we are also there."

"I can't wait to go in and beat him all over the place" Chunxiang said viciously, Chang Yu shook his head: "We are civilized people, and Dongchang is also a civilized unit, this thing must not be done, at least not openly."

The carriage passed by the Huang Mansion, Chunxiang asked in a low voice if he wanted to go in and have a look, Chang Yu thought for a while: "Wait for you for a few days" This is his home, his own harbor, as soon as he enters this house, he can not only make him feel at ease, but also disturbed, at this time the war is imminent, he does not want to be disturbed.

The car went to the Dongzhi Gate, Chang Yu got off the car and went to the city, at this time the city gate and the upper city entrance have Jinyi Wei and the East Factory of the Fan on duty, this is Chang Yu's order, during the special period of the East Factory and the Jin Yi Wei is responsible for supervising the city defense tasks of the Beijing camp, but where dereliction of duty is found, immediately take someone to investigate.

Go to the north of the city, there is no light in the sky, the wind above the city is slightly cool, climb high and look into the distance and can vaguely see a little firelight, I don't know what it means, look down at the refugees who have not had time to enter the city under the city, Chang Yu frowned, and whispered to Chunxiang: "Tomorrow another day, the day after tomorrow is forbidden to enter the city, let them go south to avoid the war."

Chunxiang smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that tomorrow the Tartars will come to the city, and it will be too late for him to enter the city."

Chang Yu looked north and smiled coldly: "The arrival of soldiers in the city is not necessarily a bad thing."

At this time, the guards reported in a low voice, Jin Yiwei commanded Wu Mengming to come, Chang Yu turned his head to look, and saw Wu Mengming staggering over, smelling the wine before he was three feet, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said: "Lord Wu is such a good Yaxing."

"P's Yaxing, just borrow wine to strengthen your courage" Wu Mengming's mouth was full of tongues.

Chang Yu laughed: "How did you get it?" ”

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