newbobooks Chapter 344: How about moving to Sinan?
Chapter 344: How about moving to Sinan?
"No need to greet you, my dear ministers."
The emperor's voice came from afar, "Is the palace ready?"
Zou Ming said in a deep voice: "We are ready. Your Majesty, please move."
The emperor said in an urgent voice, "Hurry up, move to the palace, and keep the soldiers stationed at the city gate."
At the moment the words fell.
Suddenly, countless ragged refugees rushed down from the forest not far away.
Some of them held knives and forks, some held hoes, and some even held wood and moved stones, and ran towards the emperor's sedan chair like crazy.
While running, he cursed "tyrant", "incompetent", "go to hell" and so on.
The guards around the emperor quickly formed a formation and protected his sedan chair tightly behind them.
The soldiers easily defeated this group of unruly refugees.
The blood dyed the snow red, which was extremely eye-catching in the vast white.
The emperor had encountered countless scenes like this along the way.
Apart from the organized rebels who were hunting them down, the most common assassinations were committed by these scattered refugees.
They were either the common people who had lost all hope in the natural disasters and were left without clothes or food, or they were the farmers who had been robbed by the emperor.
Originally a good citizen, he was forced into this state by the chaotic times.
The smell of blood filled her nose. Empress Xie Yunyan covered her chest and retched for a while. She said in a delicate voice, "The smell of these lowly people is really bad. Let's leave quickly."
The emperor gave orders.
"Head toward the Jiangnan Palace."
I thought I wouldn't encounter any assassinations once I arrived in Jiangnan, but I didn't expect there would still be refugees.
The emperor pondered for a moment and increased the number of palace guards from 30,000 to 50,000.
The remaining 50,000, together with the 80,000 soldiers in Jiaozhou, Jiangnan, patrolled the city back and forth to prevent rebel attacks.
A long line of people and horses walked on the snow-covered ground, slowly moving towards the Jiangnan city wall.
Lu Yinli walked at the back.
He slowly took off his outer robe and draped it over the bodies of the refugees.
We can’t cover all the people, nor can we give them rest in peace.
But at least, he will feel a little better.
Just as he was about to get up, Lu Yinli noticed that the middle-aged man running in front was holding a rattle tightly in his hand.
You can tell at first glance that it is a child's toy. The workmanship is very crude, and there is a cute kitten painted on the drum head.
Even though his arms were chopped off, his hands, covered with frostbite and calluses, still did not let go of the rattle.
As if holding his only hope.
Lu Yinli almost lost his balance and stumbled to the ground in the snow.
The cold wind blew, causing his heart to ache.
far away.
Yu Yichou's wide white sleeves fluttered up and down in the wind, and she nodded at him from a distance.
Lu Yinli gritted his teeth, stood up, and walked towards the large group step by step.
Behind him, snow was flying and the cold wind was raging.
In front of him, tall city walls stood, blocking out the sky and the sun, like a dormant beast, sizing up outsiders coldly.
The bright red blood and broken bodies were gradually buried, as if they had never appeared.
.........
Jiangnan is one of the few cities in Beijiang that has not been ravaged by refugees or occupied by rebels.
Governor Zou Ming was quite talented and had strong governance capabilities. When other places in Beijiang were in chaos, Zou Ming closed the city gates, distributed relief food, trained soldiers, and appeased the people...
Today, Jiangnan is still peaceful and stable.
Snow covered the small bridges, flowing water and houses. The streets in the city were neat and orderly. The people knelt in two rows and shouted "Long live the emperor".
The emperor was very proud.
It was as if he had returned to the time when there was no rebellion, and he was still the wise emperor who governed the world.
In order to demonstrate his authority, the emperor never allowed the people to rise up.
The weather was already cold, the floor was cold and hard, and the snow was still falling, so many people were frozen unconscious.
It was not until the sedan chair had completely passed and arrived at the gate of the temporary palace that the emperor condescended to extend his hand from behind the bright yellow brocade curtain and said, "No need to be polite."
Zou Ming quickly asked the soldiers to run and inform the people.
The people gritted their teeth and stood up.
Everyone has an idea in mind.
It would be better if this emperor didn't come.
Originally the people thought that it would be worth their lives to see the emperor’s majesty, but they didn’t expect that the emperor would be so unsympathetic to the people!
Everyone had gloomy faces and supported each other as they went home.
However, what the people didn’t know was that something even more devastating was yet to come.
At the gate of the palace.
The emperor couldn't wait to get down from the sedan chair with the help of the eunuchs.
In the past few months, because the weather was too cold, the emperor had to eat and go to the toilet in a carriage. This was the first time he saw the sun in months.
As soon as he came out, he shivered all over due to the cold wind and couldn't help sneezing.
The eunuch staggered in fear, his voice changing tone, "Your Majesty! Quick, quick, call the imperial physician!"
By the time the emperor got down from the carriage to treat the patient, another half hour had passed.
The curtain was lifted, and this time the emperor was wearing a thick cloak, a small felt hat, and deerskin boots. His face was white and plump, and covered with a beard.
All the officials looked sideways to see His Majesty, whom they had only heard of but not seen for several months.
After seeing it clearly, everyone felt annoyed for some unknown reason.
In the past few months, they have all become haggard and pale, but Your Majesty eats well and has a rosy and radiant complexion.
No matter how annoyed they are, no one would be crazy enough to say it out loud.
The world belongs to the emperor, so what's wrong with the emperor eating well?
Everyone knelt down again.
"Long live your majesty!"
This time the emperor quickly let them get up and was eager to see his new palace.
Zou Ming was notified of the construction of this palace two months ago, and the emperor was very much looking forward to it.
Surrounded by five or six eunuchs and palace maids, the emperor walked towards the palace step by step.
After walking under the eaves and taking a clear look at the entire palace, the emperor's fat white face was filled with anger, "Where is Zou Ming?"
Zou Ming stepped forward quickly, "I'm here."
He hesitated and asked, "Is Your Majesty dissatisfied?"
"I'm not satisfied!"
The emperor's eyes were filled with anger. He pointed at Zou Ming's nose and cursed, "Look at you. You only built this thing for me in a few months! It's so small and shabby! There's not even a garden. Is it big enough for me to live in?"
Zou Ming did not dare to look up, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the warehouses in Jiangnan are empty, and we can only build such pavilions. The people and soldiers can't even afford to eat, so how can we build a large-scale project?"
The emperor snorted coldly, still angry, "Where is your mansion? Don't let me see that you live better than me."
Zou Ming bent his waist even lower, "Your Majesty's temporary palace was converted from my mansion, and my mansion is there now."
Zou Ming pointed to a thatched house swaying in the wind not far from the palace, "That thatched house is where I live. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can go check it out."
The expression in the emperor's eyes was hard to read.
"Okay. Just stay here until spring. Someone, move my things in."
After these words were spoken, the palace servants began to move in twos and threes, carrying out large pieces of luxurious ornaments and furniture from the carriages.
Queen Xie Yunyan also entered the palace surrounded by palace maids.
Zou Ming had already arranged accommodation for all the ministers and led everyone forward.
He smiled a little embarrassedly, "In these troubled times, I can't entertain you all properly. My residence is a little shabby. I'm really sorry, Zou Ming."
The ministers waved their hands one after another, and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
Now that we have arrived in Jiangnan, what should we do next?
No money, no soldiers, and your majesty...
While the officials and the emperor were cleaning up the house.
In a secret manor in the south of the Yangtze River, the national teacher Yu Yichou, the prefect of Jiaozhou Yang, Lu Yinli, and Song Zhen, the former prince's tutor and a veteran of three dynasties, gathered quietly together.
Yu Yichou unfolded the letter and said, "Gu Wei's letter said that we should persuade the emperor to go to Lingnan.
Secondly, Governor Yang, tell your soldiers to spread the good news about Sinan and stir up trouble."
Governor Yang nodded repeatedly, "Okay!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but glance outside the house, feeling uneasy.
Cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He was the most cautious one.
Everyone discussed it.
Song Zhen said, "I have a new idea."
Lu Yinli nodded quickly, "Teacher, please speak."
Song Zhen knocked on the table, "I want to directly incite the officials and turn the passive situation into active one."
Yu Yichou was surprised, "Is this idea too risky?"
Song Zhen nodded, "Taking risks can sometimes have unexpected results."
After a pause, Song Zhen's straight body became a little hunched, and his gray hair was blown up and down by the wind, making him look very old.
"Beijiang has long been destroyed, but the people cannot continue to live in such dire straits. You have seen it along the way."
Lu Yinli gritted his teeth and said, "Yes! I really can't stand it anymore. The emperor is really ridiculous!"
Yu Yichou nodded, "Okay, but we have to carefully screen the list..."
Night falls.
The emperor asked eunuchs to go to the homes of officials to notify them of court meetings and discuss important matters.
When everyone was present, the emperor looked at Governor Yang and said, "I heard that you are in charge of the Lingnan area. Is that also the case with Sinan?"
Governor Yang stepped forward and said, "Yes. The magistrate of Sinan County is an official who was transferred from the capital six months ago, Zhou Shijing. He is not only loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but also incorruptible and extremely talented."
In fact, the officials had heard a lot about Sinan along the way.
Originally, they were a little skeptical. How could a small county town be governed so well in troubled times?
But when I heard that the county magistrate was Zhou Shijing, I began to understand a little.
This man was born into a commoner family, had no family and no power, but he relied on his talent to leave his small village and came to the capital to take part in the palace examination, where he won the top three places.
He was a taciturn, incorruptible person who rarely interacted with officials, so people did not know much about him.
But what is certain is that Zhou Shijing is an honest official who is loyal to Beijiang.
The emperor raised his lips and there was a hint of pride in his eyes.
This Zhou Shijing was promoted by Chen Daoyu and myself.
It was he who secretly sent him down to Sinan in the first place. Now it seems that he was really preparing for a rainy day.
"County Magistrate Zhou has come to me with a memorial, asking me to move to Sinan. What do you think, my dear ministers?"