Hangzhou is a big city in the southeast, prosperous and wealthy, but in the face of the sudden influx of 300,000 soldiers and civilians, it cannot be accepted for a while, and the people of Yangzhou are mostly sleeping outside.

In July, when the weather was hot and the epidemic broke out, Wang Yanguan gathered in the city and could not be resettled, so he felt a little anxious.

At this time, the five battalions under his command had been initially organized, and the rest was the run-in between the generals and the soldiers, and the soldiers and the soldiers, so he didn't need to worry too much, Wang Yan's attention shifted from the army to the soldiers and civilians of Yangzhou who followed him south.

With the influx of 300,000 people into Hangzhou, coupled with the habit of storing grain in troubled times, the price of rice in Hangzhou has doubled several times, so that except for a few rich people who carry some money, most of the people have no food to eat.

The people followed Wang Yan south, Wang Yan naturally couldn't let it go, but when he left Yang, he was afraid of slowing down the speed of the army, and only brought 500,000 taels for military expenses, which was not enough for the army in March.

In order to solve the livelihood of the people, he rushed to the governor's yamen early in the morning, which is now the office of Hangzhou officials, and the six ministries, the inspectorate and other imperial yamen, all of which are crowded into this small governor's yamen.

Wang Yan took more than a dozen guards and rode to the governor's yamen, and the sergeant on guard immediately stepped forward and saluted, "Master Hou!" ”

Wang Yan turned over and dismounted, handed over the war horse to the guards, and asked them to wait outside, and then explained his intention to the guards, and his own soldiers led him to the office of the household officials.

The government is not big, in a moment, Wang Yan came to a row of low houses, the six departments of the imperial court, and now they are living in small rooms, which looks extremely shabby, where it seems to be the center of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Yan looked at it, and couldn't help but feel sad in his heart.

At this time, in the office room of the household officials, more than a dozen generals in armor were pulling two household officials, looking at their official robes, because they were two five-grade langzhong.

Wang Yan walked outside the door, and the people in the house were unaware, but the quarrel became more and more intense.

"Our soldiers have not been paid in March, so why doesn't the household department pay the arrears?"

"The soldier's salary is allocated to the military department in April, and you are looking for the military department, how can there be a reason for the household department to pay the salary!"

"The military department has money, how can it be so far, if you don't pay your salary, you may mutiny, and you can't afford it!"

"The treasury of the Ministry of War is trapped in Nanjing, there are officials in the sky today, but there is no money to win, but the household department can call Zhejiang Province money and grain, and we will naturally ask for money!"

"There are all old and young in the soldiers' families, if there is no silver salary, how can they support their fathers, old wives and children? Today, no matter what, the household department must allocate the silver, even half of it. ”

"My household department Shangshu and Shilang are all trapped in Nanjing, our Langzhong, the position is lowly and light, where you can transfer money, even if you kill us, you can't change a penny!"

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said that it was a quarrel, but in fact, more than a dozen military academies questioned angrily, and the two Lang Zhong explained bitterly, Wang Yan's heart couldn't help but sink when he heard it.

The dignified household department, one of the six major departments of the imperial court, only two Langzhong remained, and the situation in Hangzhou can be seen in general, which is also the reason why Wang Yan and his party entered Zhejiang and were reused.

The fall of Nanjing was too heavy a blow to the Ming Dynasty, and the court that was hastily formed in Hangzhou could not even appoint the six Shangshu and the squires, and the court could not operate at all in a short time, let alone pay any military salaries.

Wang Yan originally wanted to find the officials of the household department and solve the livelihood of the people in Yangzhou, but now it seems that there are only two Langzhong household departments left, and they can't play any role at all.

Wang Yan didn't enter the house at that moment, so he turned around and walked out of the governor's yamen, ready to go to Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng to discuss, but Ma and Ruan were not in the house.

The two could not be found, but Wang Yan did not return to the army, but went to the place where the people of Yangzhou in the north of the city lived at the time.

Nearly 300,000 people, although the Hangzhou gentry gave up a lot of houses to live in, but it is still a drop in the bucket, and most of them still sleep outside.

At this time, at three o'clock in the sky, the sergeants arranged by Wang Yan had already begun to distribute morning food to the people, and the people saw Wang Yanzhi and saluted one after another.

Because of the shortage of materials, the price of grain in Hangzhou has skyrocketed, and the people's morning food is just a simple bowl of gruel with a little pickles, which is definitely not full.

Wang Yan walked through the street, the guards behind him were also leading horses and walking, and the people on both sides of the street stood up to greet him.

"Let the fathers and elders suffer, and it is also the fault of Hiko!"

"Master Hou saved the lives of the whole city first, and took us out of the sea of suffering, how can it be better." But the people said.

When Wang Yan heard this, he couldn't help but be moved in his heart, and secretly made up his mind to let the people have enough food and help them settle down again.

At this time, he visited the people along the way, and the sick were immediately helped to be healed, and he comforted the people with kind words to ensure that everything would be fine.

Wang Yan walked all the way along the street, and unconsciously, he came to the porridge shed at the city gate, and was about to put the porridge for the people in person, but suddenly saw a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a four-clawed dragon robe, who was in the porridge shed, and couldn't help but be surprised.

At this time, Zhou Zhiwei, who was accompanying the man, saw Wang Yan coming, and bowed to the man, and then exited the porridge shed, came to see Wang Yan, and informed: "This Tang Wang is also!" ”

Tang King Zhu Yujian, but Wang Yan has heard that compared with many clans, Tang Wang does have many differences, and he is a figure who stands out from the crowd. Although he was born in the royal palace, he suffered a lot from a young age, because his ancestor Tang Duanwang did not like his father and son, and wanted to set up another son, so he was imprisoned since he was a child.

In the cage, Zhu Yujian immersed himself in hard reading, delved into Confucian classics, did not waste time, his experience was completely different from the feudal domains, so that he was not like other feudal kings, who were raised as wasted people by the life of worry-free food and clothing since childhood, but established great ambitions from the book, cherishing his family and country.

In the forty-three years after his birth, except for seven years in the feudal domain, he spent most of the rest of his life in adversity, and the experience of many disasters and hardships made him tempered by other feudal lords, and he gained many experiences.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Yujian violated the rules of the imperial court because he raised troops without authorization, angered the first emperor, was deposed as a concubine, and sent Jinyi guards to escort him to Fengyang Royal Prison.

During the Hongguang Dynasty, Zhu Yujian was released, and soon the title of Tang King was restored, but somehow, now he also came to Hangzhou.

At this time, Wang Yan saw that King Tang was looking at him, so he hurriedly led the guards to the side of the porridge shed, and saluted him: "Xiaguan Wang Yan, meet His Royal Highness King Tang!" ”