Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 50: The Emperor's Grace Is Great in All Seasons

When they arrived at Xingfu Palace and saw the things displayed inside, they were all stunned.

They knew that after what happened today, the food in Xingfu Palace would not be any better.

Many of them were already prepared to eat cold food.

The banquet that the Duke of Korea held to welcome the emperor was naturally sumptuous.

Even though it's cold now and doesn't taste good, I'm still hungry, so it's okay to eat something reluctantly.

But who would have thought that after arriving here, I would find that the banquet set by the Korean prince, which had not even been touched, was all gone.

It was replaced with black steamed bread.

The black steamed bread is not big, about half the size of an adult's fist.

Even this is not available to everyone, only two per person, plus a bowl of soup.

This soup is real soup. If it weren't for some scattered chopped vegetable leaves, one would have to wonder if this was just a bowl of clear water scooped up and put here to fool people.

This... is this food for humans?

Even their dog won’t eat this food!
"Are you all hungry? Come on, sit down and eat something.

Don’t really starve yourself!
We can’t let you go hungry on Lantern Festival night!

Zhu Yuanzhang sat at the top, looking at everyone and greeting them.

As he spoke, he picked up a black steamed bun, brought it to his mouth and started eating.

I have to say, this steamed bun is really hard.

Zhu Yuanzhang had to use a lot of strength to bite off a piece from it.

He chewed it hard in his mouth, again and again, eating very seriously and carefully.

When biting it, the other hand would catch the crumbs that fell from the steamed bread and put them into the mouth.

I can't bear to waste anything.

It's like eating something delicious.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang could eat it, but these people of noble status could not.

Many people frowned as they looked at the black steamed buns.

Not to mention putting it in your mouth, even picking it up with your hands would make you feel disgusted and dirty your hands.

"Eat! Why not? Are you not satisfied with the dinner we treated you to?"

Zhu Yuanzhang chewed a steamed bun and spoke to these people.

After hearing what the emperor said, no matter how reluctant they were, these people had to suppress their disgust and picked up the steamed buns to eat.

After taking a bite, many people began to question their lives.

Is this food? Is this a stone?

If you can’t chew the steamed bun, just drink some soup.

It's quite cold today, so it would be nice to drink some hot soup.

But when I took a bite, I found that the soup was cold!
The more you drink, the colder it gets.

But at least there is no strange smell.

Tonight, there really is no good banquet!

Zhu Yuanzhang took a bite of steamed bread and drank a sip of soup. They were the same things, but he tasted them very sweetly.

By the time he finished his two steamed buns and a bowl of soup, most people had not even finished one of their steamed buns.

It's really too unpalatable.

"What? Can't eat anymore?

After just a few days of good life, you can't eat this anymore?"

Zhu Yuanzhang wiped his mouth with his sleeve, looked at everyone and spoke.

"This steamed bun is so delicious!

When we were little, we dreamed of eating steamed buns!

In the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty, a great disaster struck our area.

Not only did the Tartar court not provide disaster relief or tax exemptions, it also ignored the lives of the people and, in order to celebrate the birthday of that so-called queen, it continued to impose additional taxes.

The tax collectors came to our village and, led by the wealthy Liu, were the first to come to our house to collect the tax.

The tax collector took an abacus and made a few calculations, and finally calculated a tax of several hundred strings of cash for our family.

Our family had run out of food at that time, and we couldn't even come up with a single cent, let alone hundreds of strings of cash.

The tax officer ordered the tax collector to go into the house and search, and they found half a bag of rice seeds from our house.

My father knelt on the ground, holding the rice seeds, kowtowed and cried, begging the master to have mercy on him.

These rice seeds are the hope for the future and the life of the whole family. I would rather starve to death than eat a single grain of them!

But it's no use!

Our father was severely beaten, and the rice seeds were taken away by the corrupt officials to feed the horses!

Our father lay on the ground, crying, picking up the rice grains that fell to the ground during the argument, one by one.

Thirteen pills in total!

Our father was angry, hungry, desperate, and injured. Not long after returning to the house, he died!

Our mother didn't suffer any better and soon followed suit.

When I came back from herding cattle and heard this news, I felt like the sky was falling!
My second brother and I buried our parents, and my second brother cooked the thirteen grains of rice into porridge.

He gave us all thirteen grains of rice and drank a bowl of rice tea.

He took me away from home..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was calm at first, but as he spoke, it became nasal and he burst into tears in public.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang and Zhu Di's four brothers also burst into tears.

They had heard their father say this before, but when they heard it again, they still couldn't control their emotions.

Zhu Yuanzhang wiped his face with his sleeve and took a deep breath.

“At that time, we dreamed of eating black steamed bread!
With black steamed bread, our father, our mother, our eldest brother, our second brother... they won't starve to death!"

"We hate it!

I hate this world, I hate corrupt officials, and I hate the Yuan Tartar court that taxes and levies tyrannically!

I thought that after I became emperor, I would definitely be different from the Yuan Tartars!
If there is a disaster anywhere under our rule, we will definitely provide relief.

Even if we really can't save the disaster, we will still give tax exemptions there!

We will never impose excessive taxes!
We will not impose taxes specifically for celebrating our own birthdays or the birthdays of our relatives!

In order to save money, my sister has opened a large vegetable garden in our imperial garden!

Our sister, the Queen of the Ming Dynasty, grows vegetables herself!
The quilts we cover ourselves with are all sewn for us by using the scraps of fabric left over from making clothes for our wives and children!

We are emperors now, why do we still have to live like this?

If you are used to living a hard life, you don’t know how to enjoy it and how to live a good life!
We know that many people have a hard time!
These are the people's fat and the people's anointing!

If we spend less, we can use less of the people's money!
I think that if I become emperor, the people will definitely live better than at the end of the Yuan Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice became more and more passionate, and his momentum became more and more terrifying.

"But now, I've discovered that I was wrong!
In this Zhongdu city, countless people are starving because of the construction!

Being abused to death!
It is now the eighth year of Hongwu, and in order to build the capital, cannibalism has occurred!!!
Is this my Ming Dynasty?
What’s the difference between this and the Yuan Tatars!
What's the difference between you and those corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty?
After just a few days of good times, have you forgotten your roots?

Do you really feel noble?!
You complain that this steamed bun is too hard to chew and this soup is too hard to drink, but damn, isn't this the food you feed the many laborers in Xiuzhongdu?!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, his eyes turned red again.

With a 'bang', the slap landed heavily on the table.

The sound was particularly harsh at this moment, and many people couldn't help but shiver.

Everyone knelt down again.

"Guo Laosan, come here! Sing us the Huaguci lyrics you sang in Fengtian Temple Square again!"

Guo Laosan, who was named by Zhu Yuanzhang, trembled, knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously, unable to utter a word.

"Liu Erba, come and tell me, when I asked you about the construction of your Zhongdu City, what did you say?"

Liu Erba also kowtowed continuously.

“No duties, no taxes, the emperor’s grace is overwhelming all year round, and both sides of the Huai River are filled with joy!

If you don’t tell us, we will tell you!
The two sides of the Huai River are so happy, but we are all treating us like fools!

Zhu Yuanzhang's saliva was flying out.

"People like you, we've spoiled you too much!
I became the emperor and wanted you to benefit from it, but you guys just followed me to fool me and became unkind and rich!
In this case, all preferential treatment in Fengyang will be cancelled from today onwards.

You don't need to go to Yingtian to celebrate my birthday anymore. You can still perform labor service and pay taxes, and live the life of an ordinary citizen from now on!"

Zhu Yuanzhang issued the same order as in his previous life.

After Zhu Yuanzhang issued this order, the old villagers who could only kowtow suddenly burst into tears.

Many people kept saying that they were wrong and asked the emperor to give them another chance.

It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang's decision hit their sore spot.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang was not a pushover. He could be very soft-hearted or very hard-hearted.

When he treated them well before, these people hurt his feelings so much. Now that the order has been issued, it is impossible to change it.

Their crying and begging would not only fail to arouse Zhu Yuanzhang's sympathy, but would only make him more disgusted.

"Kick them out! Anyone who dares to cry and beg again will be put to death!"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said this, Xingfu Palace suddenly became quiet.

When these old folks were led out of Xingfu Palace by the emperor's guards, they were blown by the cold wind and suddenly realized how stupid their previous idea that the emperor was easy to deceive and fool was!

They were devastated, but they could never go back to the way things were...

"Zheng Shiyuan!"

"Chen is here!"

Zheng Shiyuan, whose name was called, immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"I promote you to be the prefect of Fengyang. Tomorrow you will open your office to accept complaints from the people and investigate all illegal activities in Zhongdu City, Fengyang, and Linhuai Counties!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

This was an extremely difficult job, but Zheng Shiyuan accepted it without hesitation.

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!
After receiving the order, he stood upright.

It's like a sharp blade, piercing through the dark clouds and revealing a bright and clear world!
This formed a sharp contrast with Li Shanchang, Li Cunyi and others who were kneeling on the ground.

"All of you, get out of here! Stop talking so much. Let the people decide whether it's right or wrong!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang and others and ordered them to leave...

……

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhongshan requests an audience."

After Li Shanchang and others left, Eunuch Wang came to Zhu Yuanzhang and reported carefully.

"Let him in!"

A moment later, Tang He, full of caution and trepidation, appeared before Zhu Yuanzhang...

(End of this chapter)