Ming Dynasty: Abandoned baby at the beginning, Zhu let me be the emperor

The heavy door that had been sealed for a long time creaked open, and a musty smell mixed with raised dust rushed straight into Zhu Ming's nostrils, making him frown.

“Is this the granary of this county?”

Zhu Ming waved his hand and waited for the dust to settle before walking in.

Looking at the less than half of the food in the granary, his brows furrowed even more.

With less than half of the food left, how can we provide relief to so many disaster victims?

"Go and call the county clerk."

Zhu Ming spoke in a deep voice, and the Jinyiwei outside the door said "yes" and was about to leave.

"Your Highness, you are looking for me."

A handsome middle-aged man was already standing at the door of the granary.

Facing Zhu Ming, the noble grandson of the emperor, the man did not panic like the county magistrate, but was quite calm instead.

"I am the chief clerk here. I am honored to meet the emperor's grandson."

He bowed, then walked straight to Zhu Ming and introduced him with a smile.

"You knew I was looking for you?"

Zhu Ming looked at him in surprise. He had just asked someone to summon him and this person had already arrived.

This person can guess what I am thinking. Unless I give myself a reasonable explanation, the only possibility left is to bribe the people around me.

"Yes, I heard that the emperor's grandson has detained Mr. Zhang, and there is no one to take care of the affairs of this county."

Faced with Zhu Ming's questioning, the chief clerk was able to answer calmly.

"Then how did you know I was here?"

Zhu Ming looked at him and asked again, even if he knew that he would look for him, how did he know that he would come to the granary.

"The emperor's grandson doesn't recognize me, but I recognize the emperor's grandson."

The chief clerk chuckled and spoke slowly in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, as if Zhu Ming's question was within his expectations.

Seeing Zhu Ming's blank look, the chief clerk did not dare to keep him in suspense any longer. "I admire your Royal Highness's previous national policies very much. This time he is coming to Hedong to provide disaster relief, which shows that your Royal Highness has the people of the Ming Dynasty in his heart."

"And if we want to provide disaster relief, we naturally have to look into the granaries and treasuries, so I am waiting here for Your Highness the Grandson."

After listening to the chief clerk's words, Zhu Ming nodded with satisfaction. This reason was reasonable.

Compared to this, Zhu Ming was even more surprised to see that the chief clerk could handle it so easily.

It's a waste of talent for such a person to be just a small clerk here.

"This county still has 8,000 dan of grain in reserve. If we use it as usual, it will last for thirteen days. If we want to feed the people, it will be enough for five days."

Before Zhu Ming opened his mouth, the chief clerk had already begun to explain the specific situation of the county.

"The magistrate has embezzled a total of thirty thousand taels of silver, which has already been squandered. Confiscating his property will be of no use."

After listening to the chief clerk's report, Zhu Mingcai's brows, which had just relaxed, began to frown again.

According to what the chief clerk said, the situation in this county is not optimistic at all.

"In my opinion, the first priority right now is to ask the prefect of Shanxi, Lord Wang, to send us food. After hearing that the emperor's grandson is coming, they probably haven't touched the relief money yet."

While Zhu Ming was deep in thought, the chief clerk had already told him the countermeasures he had come up with.

"Well, that's a way."

Zhu Ming nodded and strode out the door.

Without further ado, we should write a letter to Wang Ganju, the governor of Shanxi, to request that we transfer grain to solve our urgent problem.

"Oh, you come too."

When he reached the door, Zhu Ming paused again, then turned around and spoke to the chief clerk.

I can now relax a little more about the affairs of this county.

"As ordered."

Hearing Zhu Ming's words, the chief clerk was obviously a little excited and quickly followed.

Walking behind Zhu Ming, this chief clerk was a few points higher than Zhu Ming, but he would never look down on this kid because of this.

This little grandson of the emperor will surely become a great ruler in the future.

Zhu Ming returned to the county government office, and immediately wrote a letter asking for food and handed it to Chen Ling.

"Master Chen Ling, I have no choice but to ask you to send it to the prefect over 800 miles."

Zhu Ming looked at Chen Ling seriously. He didn't dare to trust these local people.

This letter concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of households in this county.

"Yes."

Chen Ling naturally understood the importance of this letter and responded in a deep voice.

"You are very smart."

After watching Chen Ling leave, Zhu Ming turned around and looked at the chief clerk.

This person is the only one in this small place who makes my eyes light up.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind to praise me."

The chief clerk took a step back and spoke with a smile.

Zhu Ming saw the shadow of another person in this person.

Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Qi Tai.

"What's your name?"

Zhu Ming waved his hand, exempting himself from the courtesy of the chief clerk, and asked.

"I am Wang Juren, a native of Changning, Hengzhou. I was a Jinshi in the 13th year of Hongwu and am currently serving as the local chief clerk."

When Zhu Ming asked about his name, Wang Juren reported his background to him one by one.

Being noticed by His Royal Highness the Emperor's grandson, my future is bright.

"You are well aware of the affairs of this county."

Zhu Ming looked at Wang Juren seriously and spoke to test him.

This chief clerk not only had a clear understanding of the disaster relief matter, he also knew how much the county magistrate had taken.

"I am only a clerk, my words carry no weight."

Wang Juren responded with a smile.

Zhu Ming naturally knew what Wang Juren meant by saying this and chuckled.

Everything he knew was the magistrate's leverage.

Saying that one's influence does not count is nothing but an excuse to seek an official position.

I'm afraid he has been waiting for this day for a long time.

This person has great ambitions.

"The previous magistrate has been imprisoned, and the position is vacant. You will be the temporary magistrate."

Zhu Ming pondered for a moment and thought that this man was indeed smart, but it was a waste of his talent for him to be a county magistrate.

Now is the right time to employ people, and it is also a good time to see his abilities.

"Your Majesty, take your orders."

Upon seeing this, Wang Juren knelt in front of Zhu Ming and bowed deeply again.

Although he was only appointed as temporary magistrate, Zhu Ming was the grandson of the emperor. If he did his job to his satisfaction, it would only be a matter of time before the word "temporary" was removed.

"Don't be happy too soon. If you have failed in your duty, I will punish you anyway."

Zhu Ming just narrowed his eyes and gave Wang Juren a simple warning.

"Yes."

Wang Juren responded naturally and promptly.

However, I am confident that I can do a good job as a county magistrate.

"If you don't do much, I will report to His Majesty after I return to the capital and ask him to allow you to serve as an official in the capital."

Since there is punishment for doing something wrong, Zhu Ming will naturally not treat him unfairly if he does something good.

As long as you can serve as an official in Beijing, in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as you have enough ability, you will always have a day to stand out.

If such a person could serve as an official in the court, his power would be much greater.

"Yes, I understand."

Wang Juren raised his head and looked at Zhu Ming with gratitude. Of course, if one wants to succeed, the most important thing is one's own ability.

Wang Juren naturally had no doubts about his own abilities.