In less than a month, at the beginning of November, more than one million stone of grain was transported by sea to Tianjin Port and unloaded into the granary.

In the whole process of transporting grain, except for the capsizing of a small boat of more than 300 stones on the Yangtze River and the collision of two ships along the coast of Beizhili, everything was tense and orderly, and no major accidents occurred. According to rough estimates, the cost of transporting grain from Huguang to Tianjin Port by sea is more than 70% less than that of taking the canal.

………………

Jiannu entered Kou Datong, Xuanfu and Huailai in July of the seventh year of Chongzhen, and plundered in Shanxi and Beizhili.

However, Jiannu's entry into the Kou this time was just to beat rabbits with grass, and the main purpose was Lin Dan Khan of Chahar, and the invasion of Daming was just incidental.

By leap August, Jiannu gradually withdrew from the Great Wall and happily returned to his hometown in the northeast with the plundered wealth.

The Beijing division lifted the strictness, everything returned to the pre-war appearance, the normal upward and downward courts, restaurants and tea shops opened one after another, the business of the Hutong flower shop was booming, and the rivers and lakes that played with big knives and monkeys returned to the overpass to beg for a living.

But food prices, which have soared since the beginning of martial law, have not fallen much. After the lifting of martial law, the price of grain dropped from 10 taels to 6 taels, and soon returned to about 8 taels, and it is still slowly rising.

Jiannu Koubian, Shanxi drought, Liukou prominent encirclement in Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan and Chongqing caused chaos, and the entire north of the Ming Dynasty was obviously not self-sufficient in grain.

By October, the price of grain in the capital had risen even higher than before the war. Merchants began to hoard Juqi, and most of the people complained bitterly.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious in the court.

"At this time when the imperial court was in crisis, there were still people hoarding food and driving up prices. Is my knife not fast enough? ”

Back in the harem, Emperor Chongzhen was still angry and scolded "profiteers and traitors".

Empress Zhou smiled and persuaded her: "Your Majesty is angry. Maybe it's not that bad. Isn't there still a stunned person who shares the emperor's worries? ”

"Dumbfounded?" Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, then remembered something, and said with a smile: "The queen has also heard of this general soldier?" I don't know where his food has gone? Have you entered Beijing? ”

"I entered Beijing yesterday." Empress Zhou said with a smile: "I heard from the procurement office, the general soldier sent more than 100 carts, full of flags, and swaggered into Beijing from Chaoyangmen, and the soldiers guarding the gate were frightened by that formation. ”

"As soon as the grain entered Beijing, the price of grain in the capital fell in response. It will not be long before the price of grain in the capital will return to the price of normal years. Empress Zhou had a good impression of this young heavy soldier she had never met. Nowadays, it is too rare to have a courtier who does not care about personal gains and losses and does his best to share the country's worries.

"That's good, that's good, it's not easy for the people to eat." Chongzhen said hesitantly: "Fortunately, there is a minister like Zhu Zongbing, and the country is lucky." ”

"That's not right," Chongzhen frowned, "Why use a cart instead of a boat?" ”

"Otomo, Otomo ......"

"Your Majesty......" Wang Chengen hurriedly ran over.

"You go and check Zhu Shunming's grain transportation. Where did his food go? How many? Why go by land instead of water? Quick payback. ”

Don't look at Wang Chengen's honest and cautious appearance on weekdays, in fact, the power and power he has at hand are really not small. 、

As a eunuch with a pen in the hand, he has the right to approve red; As the emperor's most trusted eunuch, he has an influence on the emperor that ordinary people can't match (Zhu Shunming was the protector of Sun Yuanhua at the beginning, or Wang Chengen's path through Xu Guangqi); Wang Chengen is also in charge of the East Factory, a spy organization that is gradually recovering.

The situation was quickly clarified.

Zhu Shunming's grain has already arrived at Tianjin Port, and it is still arriving one after another, and it can be transported to Tianjin by sea before freezing.

Zhu Shunming also thought about taking the water transport into Beijing, but Fan Xiangyu, the commander of the Tianjin Caoyun Division, categorically refused, so he had to take the land route instead.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious and issued an order overnight, one to Fan Xiangyu, the Caoyun Division of Tianjin, and the other to Zhu Dadian, the Caoyun Governor of Huai'an.

………………

Fan Xiangyu is not a descendant of Zhu Dadian, but a clansman of Fan Jingwen, the imperial history of Nanjing's right capital, and was born in a family of eunuchs, so he can sit firmly in the position of commanding the Tianjin Caoyun Division.

Emperor Chongzhen's holy decree came down to the Cao Yun Division, Fan Xiangyu was so frightened that he hurriedly ran to Yangliuqing Wharf, and he didn't have time to pick up the hat when he fell off.

Emperor Chongzhen scolded Fan Xiangyu in the holy decree to the blood, put on the big hat of "disaster to the country and the people", and said, "If you fail to transport enough grain into Beijing, you should be dismissed and investigated, and the nine clans will be connected."

Fan Xiangyu has a butt of shit under his buttocks, as long as the court wants to investigate, any little thing can put him in prison and behead him for public display.

At this moment, the big boss spoke, and his words were fierce, how could Fan Xiangyu still remember Zhu Dadian's order. Looking at this posture, I am afraid that Zhu Dadian will not be able to protect himself.

Fan Xiangyu stumbled all the way to Yangliuqing Wharf and was stopped by the guards soldiers.

"This official is the commander of the Tianjin Caoyun Division, and this official has decided to transport grain for you free of charge. Please also inform your superiors. Fan Xiangyu also began to smile at a small soldier.

Xiao Bing hesitated: "Our Commander Peng is not here. Before leaving, he explained that he would keep everything as it was and wait for him to come back. Your Excellency, you should go back first, and then come back when Commander Peng returns. ”

"And when will he come back?"

"That's not exactly. How can we manage the affairs of being an official? Besides, no one can say for sure what is happening on the sea. ”

No matter what Fan Xiangyu said, the little soldier just wouldn't let him in. said that the others could not be the masters, and they had to wait until Commander Peng returned.

Fan Xiangyu wanted to cry without tears. He remembered what Peng Yulin said with a smile when he went to the Yamen of the Caoyun Division and was rejected, "Be a man and leave a line, and we will see each other in the future." If you don't give me luck today, maybe you will come to me in the future." I didn't expect retribution to come so quickly.

Up to now, begging for someone is nothing, it's okay to kneel and kowtow, even if you want to lick your ass Fan Xiangyu is willing.

Fan Xiangyu waited at Yangliuqing Wharf for three days, guarding the gate day and night, and kept asking the soldiers who were changing shifts.

"Isn't this Commander Fan? How did it come to this? Peng Yulin teased: "Come and beg me? Okay, kneel down and kowtow three times, and I'll promise you. ”

Fan Xiangyu's legs were weak, kowtowing like pounding garlic, banging, and apologetic: "This lord, the lower official kowtows to you to admit your mistakes, and please forgive the lower official for not knowing the current affairs and neglecting the adult." ”

"Please hand over the grain to the lower officials for transportation, and ensure that it arrives in Beijing safely and quickly."

Peng Yulin had to admire Zhu Shunming's scheming. At the beginning, Zhu Shunming said, "Don't be anxious when you arrive in Tianjin, Caoyun Yamen will be more anxious than us", where is Peng Yulin willing to believe, he has drawn his sword and cooperated with you?

But now that he sees Fan Xiangyu kowtowing and his face covered with blood, Peng Yulin knows why he is a commander at his age, and Zhu Shunming is his boss at a young age.

"We don't have enough manpower......

"The Cao Gang has a lot of manpower, and there is no need for adults to do it, and the loading and unloading are all taken care of by the Caoyun Yamen." Seeing Peng Yulin loosen his mouth, Fan Xiangyu agreed that the Cao Gang would be responsible for the whole process of loading, unloading and transportation.

"We have limited funds, and the freight we pay is not high......"

"You don't need a penny of money from adults, Caoyun is a major event that benefits the country and the people, and it is naturally borne by Caoyun Yamen."

"We are not familiar with the officials of the household department in the capital, and the grain is ...... in storage."

Peng Yulin's concern is not superfluous. Daming is actually very strict with the management of grain. Acquisition, shipment, and warehousing must be strictly inspected before entry.

In the corrupt Ming Dynasty, if the grain depot official of a household department is deliberately unable to get along with you, he can always pick out some justifiable stubble from the grain. It is like the traffic police of later generations inspecting large trucks.

Prior to this, Peng Yulin's grain transported to the capital by land was rejected by the grain depot officials.

Peng Yulin is not in a hurry. The grain depot official refused to accept it, and Peng Yulin asked his subordinates not to quarrel or quarrel, and silently pulled the grain to the "Jiu'an Grain Store" by the Guangqu Gate, looking honest and deceitful.

In the face of the grain depot official asking for bribes several times openly and secretly, Peng Yulin pretended not to understand, which made the grain depot official hate itchy, so he had to inspect the grain in the warehouse more strictly, and insisted on picking out the bones from the eggs.

"We have a good relationship with the household department. In this way, how many goods we pull at Yangliuqing Wharf are all counted as warehousing, and the loss on the road and the return of grain depots are all counted as Caoyun's. How is it? ”

As long as Peng Yulin promised to hand over the grain to the Caoyun Yamen, Fan Xiangyu was willing to do anything that could be done.

What's more, Peng Yulin's requests are all trivial things in Fan Xiangyu's opinion, and they are all things that are easy for Cao Yunsi to do.

………………

The Cao Gang mobilized nearly 100,000 people, loaded and unloaded and transported day and night, and the bow to the stern of the ship on the 300-mile canal did not stop, racing against time and constantly rushing to transport.

As soon as a large amount of grain entered Beijing, the grain prices in the capital were "uproared" and fell by four, two, or five, falling below the prices of the same period in the past.