Chapter 146 The Mongols Will Move South
“It seems that if what Tao Chengdao said is true, Yang Chen’s fertilizer can already be produced on a large scale, which can only be a great benefit to Ming Dynasty?”

Old Zhu was very happy when he learned about the magical effects of the fertilizer.

To be honest, in recent years, the Ming Dynasty has indeed encountered some minor disasters from time to time, but overall, the weather has been relatively good. As long as it is handled well, the benefits will still outweigh the disadvantages.

Being able to stabilize the people’s hearts within less than 20 years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang’s political achievements are generally good.

“Father, although fertilizers can be effective, we must not forget that there is a hidden enemy, and that is Little Ice River.”

Zhu Biao did not forget this opponent.

He never forgot the terrible thing that could cause tens of thousands of losses.

As soon as he heard about Xiao Binghe, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao if he had found a solution from Yang Chen.

However, Zhu Biao responded with a wry smile.

“In recent days, in addition to handling government affairs, I have also been paying close attention to the trends among the people. I have been so busy that I have not found the time to look for Yang Chen, which has caused this matter to be delayed again and again. Until now, there has been no sign of a solution.
It’s not just me who’s busy. Yang Chen also has his own things to deal with, so I didn’t go out of my way to look for him.”

“Biao’er, things need to be dealt with, but you have to know that we should slow down some things if we can. Once we are impatient, not only will we not be able to get it done, but we will hurt our bodies.”

From his son’s tone, Old Zhu also felt that the other party had been quite busy in recent days.

Since then he has never interfered with Zhu Biao’s governance.

The other party’s workload has increased by more than two times.

In the past, when Zhu Biao made a decision, Zhu would take a final look at it. Now, Zhu Biao doesn’t even look at it and just throws everything to Zhu Biao.

This left him with almost no rest time.

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said:

“Your Majesty, I know that you care about me. I won’t do that again in the future. Now that we are all here, why not send someone to find Brother Yang?”

This suggestion sounds good.

Just let Old Zhu nod in affirmation.

He ordered someone to ride as fast as possible to Yang Chen’s residence to inform him.

Outside the mansion, Mao Xiang’s face was covered with a layer of fine sweat beads, and he was breathing heavily with his mouth slightly open.

The gatekeeper was very sharp-eyed and could tell at a glance that Mao Xiang was wearing something very unusual. In addition, he could ride a leather-armored horse with a long sword on his waist and walk openly on the street. Only a powerful person in the palace was qualified to act like this.

Otherwise, ordinary people would have been pulled down by the guards patrolling the streets.

One of them came forward to greet him, while the other had already run to the mansion to find Yang Chen.

“Sir, someone has gone to inform the master, please stay.”

“Huh?” Mao Xiang glared at the servant, somewhat incredulous. How dare the other party stop him?
The servant was a little nervous at first, and was about to take two steps back and take back what he had just said, when Yang Chen’s instructions came to his mind again.

‘Except for those on his list, no one else can enter his mansion at will.’

As luck would have it, Mao Xiangzheng was not on the list.

“Sir, please don’t argue with me. The master said someone was looking for him, so he would definitely come out as quickly as possible. If an ordinary person with a knife barges in and causes trouble, it will be disastrous.”

Although Mao Xiang was unhappy, he was also aware of Yang Chen’s methods.

This guy almost made his majesty faint from anger.

Soon Yang Chen appeared. Today he was wearing a purple and black brocade suit, which looked very neat and energetic.

“Hey! Mao Xiang! Why is it you? It’s His Majesty looking for me, right?” Yang Chen recognized Mao Xiang at a glance and guessed that it was Zhu Yuanzhang who ordered the other party to find him. No one except Zhu Yuanzhang could order Mao Xiang around. This was an iron rule, not even Zhu Biao could do it.

“Yes, Lord Yang, please follow me into the palace immediately.” Mao Xiang said nothing, just bowed and mounted the horse.

Yang Chen didn’t waste any time and jumped onto the horse’s back swiftly. The two of them entered the palace from several miles away.

“It’s been at least eight days. I haven’t been to the palace for eight days. I feel like the air here has become a lot fresher.”

It has been eight days since Yang Chen last left the palace.

Otherwise, his bean sprouts would not have been able to grow in just one or two days.

“Yes, Lord Yang, since the last time you left the palace, His Majesty and the Crown Prince have been very busy. Every time you leave, you leave behind a lot of messes, and His Majesty has to send us running around, which takes a lot of time.”

Hearing this, Yang Chen also felt a little embarrassed.

This is the truth. Every time he entered the palace, he basically just raised issues, and how to solve them afterwards was not up to him.

“Actually, this can’t be entirely blamed on me. If you really want to blame someone, blame Your Majesty.” He defended himself, but Mao Xiang felt cold sweat on his back.

Good man, Yang Chen is definitely the first one who dares to whisper about the emperor behind his back.

But there is a reason why Yang Chen said this.

“Think about it, His Majesty always comes to me when he encounters a problem. When I really explain these things clearly, he can’t stand it, and finally I have to leave. As for what to do next, it is not up to me to decide. So tell me, is His Majesty to blame for this?”

After hearing Yang Chen’s explanation, Mao Xiang really wanted to say yes, but reason told him that if he dared to nod, he would be beheaded tomorrow.

I could only force myself to acknowledge and reply:
“Your Majesty cannot be wrong.”

Mao Xiang’s professional qualities made him defend Lao Zhu, and Yang Chen was too lazy to debate with him.

According to the duties of the Jinyiwei, it was already good enough that he was not pushed down on his horse.

“Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are up there. You’ve been here many times. You don’t need me to lead the way. Just go up by yourself.”

After saying this, Mao Xiang returned to his seat like a statue.

Yang Chen didn’t pay much attention and walked straight up.

Without saying anything, he opened the door and entered the house.

I won’t talk about how big the room is, it can easily accommodate dozens of people.

He looked around and found that in addition to Old Zhu and Zhu Biao, there was another familiar-looking prince.

Zhu Biao looked very similar to his brothers, but Zhu Di was thinner than his other brothers because of his age.

Therefore, in normal circumstances, Zhu Chong is the most similar to Zhu Biao in terms of body shape and appearance. The man in front of him, with tall and straight eyebrows, full of martial spirit, and wearing a yellow python robe, should be Prince of Jin Zhu Gang.

It could prevent Zhu Di from making any rash moves in front of him.

In addition to the three members of the Zhu family, the extra person was the Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi.

“Boy, I haven’t seen you for a long time. How come you have forgotten your manners?”

Following the source of the sound, he looked up and saw Zhu Yuanzhang staring at him with a stern and experienced face.

Yang Chen, who had long been accustomed to this, did not say much, but just cupped his hands and said:
“Your Majesty, it’s not that I deliberately didn’t see you, but you never looked for me.”

“Brother Yang, something happened in the south some time ago, which resulted in me delaying the visit to you as agreed. This is indeed my problem, and I hope you can forgive me. It’s almost the same for my father, and you should also know that it’s not that easy for us.” Zhu Biao stepped forward to smooth things over.

Old Zhu, who was about to lose his temper, saw that his son had already spoken, so he didn’t say anything more.

He just stared at Yang Chen with those frightening eyes, trying to make the other party know the respect he should maintain.

Unfortunately, Yang Chen had already gotten used to it and was completely immune to Lao Zhu’s might. “Of course I know that the prince is busy. Lao Tao told me on the way here.”

Of all the people in the palace, Zhu Biao had the best relationship with him, followed by Yongle, and finally Empress Ma.

He already has a judgment in his mind about who he can talk to easily and happily.

“My prince, don’t overwork yourself. Your health is the most important thing when you’re doing something. A healthy body is the capital of revolution. You and I still have great things to accomplish. Don’t let you collapse just when I want to show my skills.” Yang Chen patted Zhu Biao’s chest and said with concern.

“This young man is so impetuous and careless. I don’t know how he got to where he is today.”

Yang Siyi had witnessed Yang Chen’s abilities last time, but he still couldn’t figure out what abilities allowed this guy to be so presumptuous?

After thinking it over, he waited and saw that Lao Zhu didn’t say anything, so he didn’t stand up and speak either.

Facing the teasing, Zhu Biao seemed very relaxed, without any airs of a prince: “I have received Brother Yang’s concern, but compared to my health, I care more about the people.”

Yang Chen felt a little confused for a moment, so he asked:
“The people? What’s wrong with the people? It’s nothing more than a riot. The reason why the people rioted is because they had no food to eat, which led to them being bewitched and finally following the bad guys in the masses to cause trouble. As long as we deal with these food problems,

Who would have nothing better to do than to kill these guys?”

Now fertilizers can be extracted using the method he provided, which is a good thing.

Even if chemical fertilizers cannot be promoted nationwide, they are still several times better than before.

With fertilizers and land, more food can be produced. With more food, people will be less hungry. If there was no hunger, how could they join the rebels in making trouble?
In today’s era, there is no invisible mountain like debt; everything is tangible.

“My father already knows about the fertilizer issue, but the difficulty now lies in Little Ice River!” Zhu Biao stated the crux of the problem with a worried look on his face.

“Brother? What is Little Glacier?”

“Yes, Prince, what is a small ice river? Didn’t His Majesty just say that we came here to discuss state affairs? How come a small ice river suddenly appeared? This old minister has only heard of iron horses and ice rivers appearing in dreams, but has never heard of what a small ice river is?”

Not only Zhu Gang was confused, but Yang Siyi was also bewildered.

Like Yang Chen, he had just been brought here from the Six Ministry Office by Zhu’s Jinyiwei.

But he was a little confused and had no idea what a small glacier was. He seemed very ignorant.

Seeing that neither of them understood, Zhu Biao had to explain it himself.

“Minister Yang, Third Brother, the so-called Little Ice Age is an extreme climate that can affect the lives of ordinary people.

Yang Chen told us before that these changes have already occurred in the Ming Dynasty, but the changes are so subtle that ordinary people cannot detect them at all.

During the Little Ice Age, heavy snowstorms would occur in the south, and the north would be frozen for thousands of miles due to the cold, with all the large and small rivers freezing into ice.

All the crops and livestock froze to death.”

As the Minister of Revenue, when Yang Siyi heard about the influence of the Little Iceberg, he immediately thought of the losses it would cause to the country.

Nowadays, both the expenditure and income of the Ming Dynasty are close to being proportional, that is, a little more is not too much, and a little less is not too much.

If the Ming Dynasty were invaded by such extreme cold weather, it would definitely be a crisis of national destruction.

“How terrifying!” Yang Siyi, with cold sweat on his forehead, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and said:
“Your Majesty! This cold weather is truly horrible. It can reduce the grain supply of the Ming Dynasty by at least 30%! 30% of the grain supply will cause the people’s livelihood to wither. The people will have no rice to eat, which will inevitably cause many problems. The people’s uprising is nothing!”

Although he had not personally experienced a similar scene, it was not difficult for Yang Siyi to imagine the consequences of his own fields being damaged by natural disasters and having nothing to eat.

As an important part of the state’s governing machine, Yang Siyi does not want the court to be defeated by such a crisis.

“Not only that!”

Zhu Gang is a man of both civil and military talents, and his foresight is no less than that of Yang Siyi.

“If you have anything to say, please say it.”

Unlike Zhu Chong and Zhu Di, Zhu Gang never made any major mistakes, as Zhu himself investigated everything personally.

At the beginning, Yang Chen did say that he had made mistakes. Afterwards, Lao Zhu personally interrogated him and found that they were all minor problems and they would be fine after a few beatings.

Now Zhu Gang is not as terminally ill as Zhu Chong. If he can be saved, he will naturally come to his senses.

Zhu Biao asked a question, and Zhu Gang then drew a rough outline on the ground.

“This is the Ming Dynasty, and this is the Northern Yuan Dynasty.”

Through description, he roughly described the Ming Dynasty and its surrounding neighboring countries.

“What Big Brother said about the Little Glacier is true. It’s cold here, but it must be even colder in the north.

Since ancient times, the north has been rich in water and grass, so it has naturally lived in peace with the Han Chinese. However, whenever there is a natural disaster or a sudden climate change, the water and grass will no longer be able to support so many horses, cattle and sheep.

These people will go south to hunt for grass and valleys.”

This statement was unanimously recognized by Yang Siyi.

Zhu Biao paused and said:

“I know the importance of this matter. A reduction in grain production will inevitably lead to chaos in the Ming Dynasty. By then, order will collapse, the people will be divided, and there will be chaos abroad. With internal and external troubles, the Ming Dynasty will no longer be a country.”

Yang Chen frowned, looked at everyone and said:

“So, you asked me to come here just to solve this problem?”

“Yes, Brother Yang, please enlighten me. It was you who first proposed that the Ming Dynasty would experience a small ice age. Compared to us, you have a wider range of knowledge. I’m afraid you are the only one who can solve this troublesome matter.

If even you can’t solve it, who else in the entire Ming Dynasty can solve it?”

Zhu Biao did not look down on others with the slightest sign of a superior. Instead, his attitude was full of respect as if he was asking for advice.

This moment made Zhu Gang alert.

The last time he saw his elder brother like this was when Song Lian was teaching.

The great scholar of the time was the teacher of several of these brothers, not just Zhu Biao. He was also the teacher of Zhu Gang, Zhu Chong and Zhu Di.

Zhu Gang actually didn’t know Yang Chen’s specific identity. He only knew from his fourth brother that this young man was very capable and was valued by his father.

He also became his elder brother’s aide and would become a top official of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Judging from his appearance alone, Zhu Gang judged that Yang Chen was definitely not much younger than him.

Compared to others, Yang Chen is really too young.

‘This person was able to predict the climate disaster in advance, so he must have some unknown abilities.

I hope he can come up with a solution to the problems of the Ming Dynasty. If not, I will not let the Mongols go south even if I have to sacrifice all my troops!’

Zhu Gang was very capable in commanding troops. He could kill the enemy with a bow and arrow from a distance of three hundred steps.

Therefore, Zhu Gang had absolute confidence in killing the enemy.

As a prince of the Ming Dynasty, he had this awareness since he was crowned king.

In response to Zhu Biao’s politeness, Yang Chen raised his hand and untied Zhu Biao who was saluting.

“I say, Ah Biao, there’s no need to be so polite between you and me.”

(End of this chapter)