"Yes, sir, we really saw those fire dragons flying in the air!"
After hearing the excuses made by the guards in front of him to avoid responsibility, Cao Shunhe couldn't help but sneer, and his eyes when he looked at the guards were full of teasing.
Immediately, Cao Shunhe withdrew his gaze and gave instructions to his subordinates.
"Bring these officers under my custody and await severe punishment!"
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
As soon as Cao Shunhe finished speaking, the guards on the side stepped forward and dragged these officers down like a dead dog. What awaited them next would be an extremely cruel punishment.
"Sir, spare our lives, we really saw the fire dragon!"
"Sir, please, please spare us. This matter is none of our brothers' business!"
When Cao Shunhe heard this, he frowned slightly and immediately waved his hand. Seeing this, the guards quickly stopped what they were doing.
Seeing this, the officers thought that Cao Shunhe had changed his mind and planned to let him go. Their faces were full of joy of surviving the disaster, and they immediately knelt down on the ground and kowtowed their heads with a bang.
"Thank you sir, spare our lives, thank you sir, thank you sir!"
Unexpectedly, after hearing their pleas for mercy, Cao Shunhe smiled, showed his sharp teeth, and said unhurriedly: "When did I say that I would spare you?"
After hearing Cao Shunhe's words, the officers felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, and the blood in their bodies seemed to have been frozen in an instant!
The expressions of hopelessness on their faces disappeared in an instant, replaced by a look of deep despair.
The desire for survival in his heart was completely extinguished at this moment!
Cao Shunhe took in the expressions on the faces of these officers, then turned his eyes to the guards on the side, and ordered quite casually: "Since these officers are so sharp-tongued and trying to fool me, then use their teeth. Pull them all out one by one!"
The guard on the side heard the words and immediately responded in a deep voice.
"As you command, Lord Governor!"
When the officers heard this, they immediately panicked and kowtowed on the ground, using the most humble gesture they could think of to beg Cao Shunhe's forgiveness.
Unfortunately, it was too late. They were soon escorted down by the guards, and the screams and begging for mercy gradually faded away.
After that, Cao Shunhe casually withdrew his eyes from the guards, and then looked at the ship that had long been turned into a wreck not far away, with a gloomy look on his face, and said silently to himself.
"These damn insects, I will never spare you!"
In Cao Shunhe's view, the only people with the ability and motivation to do this are the people from Qingliu!
At the moment, the battle between the two sides is going on. If they are allowed to transport the grain to Zhejiang smoothly, then, with enough grain as support, the conversion of rice into mulberry will be successful, and the Qingliu side will also usher in a crazy counterattack by the Yan Party.
In fact, Cao Shunhe doesn't care about who wins and who loses between Yan Dang and Qingliu. In his opinion, Yandang and Qingliu are the same, and no one can say anything about the other!
The Yan Party side is greedy for ink and preying on the common people, but the situation on the Qingliu side is not much better either.
The so-called Qingliu is a group of people who gather together because they share the same goals or hold the same political views.
Because of this, the members of Qingliu do not have a clear affiliation with each other, and there is quite a sense of fighting on their own.
Although Xu Jie is the leader of the Qingliu faction, in fact, he is not able to adequately restrain the behavior of other Qingliu members.
Naturally, Xu Jie was aware of this problem. After serving as the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, he had been committed to integrating the entire force of Qingliu in order to better deal with the Yan Party.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, Xu Jie has done a good job. He has successfully integrated most of Qingliu's forces and has the capital to confront Yan Dang head-on!
I don't know how long time passed, but Cao Shunhe came back to his senses, turned his eyes to the subordinates aside, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Pass my order to mobilize grain-carrying ships from all over the place immediately!"
"In addition, we will thoroughly investigate tonight's incident. If there are any suspicious persons, we can capture them directly without asking the reason. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
When Cao Shunhe said this, he added another sentence.
"In addition, let the soldiers of the guard station be dispatched. All places near the rivers from Jiangxi to Zhejiang that can hide people will be carefully searched by this officer. Anyone who behaves suspiciously will be killed without mercy!"
The subordinates on the side heard the cold murderous intention contained in Cao Shunhe's words, and immediately looked stern and said respectfully.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
…
Capital City, Yan Mansion.
Although the night was very late, coughing sounds could still be heard coming from Yan Song's room.
Then, the lights in Yan Song's room were turned on again. Seeing this, the maid who had been waiting outside the door quickly opened the door carefully and walked in. She came to Yan Song and asked softly.
"Mr. Yan Ge, do you need someone to boil you another dose of medicine?"
"Um."
Faced with the maid's inquiry, Yan Song just responded in a subtle way and then said nothing.
After receiving the exact instructions, the maid did not dare to hesitate at all, and immediately left Yan Song's room with eager steps.
After the maid left the room, Yan Song slowly sat up from the bed and looked at the night outside the window, wondering what he was thinking.
After a while, Yan Song began to cough violently again. When Yan Song took off the handkerchief, the bright red blood stains on it looked particularly eye-catching under the candlelight!
Yan Song seemed to have been accustomed to this for a long time. He put the handkerchief away again, his eyes full of loneliness, and said silently to himself.
"It seems there isn't much time left!"
Previously, after Yan Shifan noticed that Yan Song was ill, he personally came to visit and invited Dr. Li from Tai Hospital to Yan's Mansion to diagnose and treat Yan Song.
However, due to his busy schedule, Yan Shifan did not pay too much attention to the results of diagnosis and treatment. In his opinion, Yan Song just had an occasional cold. He only needed to ask Dr. Li to prescribe a few medicines and take some good care, and he would be cured soon. .
But little did they know that when Dr. Li came to check Yan Song's pulse that day, his expression suddenly changed.
Yan Song couldn't remember exactly what Doctor Li told him that day, but the only thing he was sure of was that his body was failing day by day, and he didn't have much time left!
After that, Yan Song gradually came back to his senses, holding a brush and sitting next to the bookcase with a calm expression.
He wanted to leave something for Yan Shifan while he could still afford the brush.
But Yan Song picked up the brush several times and put it down again. He struggled for a long time and could not write a single word.
"well!"
Yan Song sighed helplessly and put the brush back into place.
At this moment, the maid from before came in with a freshly cooked soup and said respectfully.
"Mr. Yan Ge, the soup is ready. Do you need..."
Before the maid could finish her words, she was coldly interrupted by Yan Song.
"Leave it there, I can drink it myself. If nothing happens, you can leave!"
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge, please don't let the soup cool down!"
After hearing this, the maid placed the hot soup that had just been cooked on the table nearby, then turned and left.
Yan Song looked at the maid's leaving figure, and couldn't help flashing through his mind again, not long ago, when Dr. Li came to his door in person to diagnose and treat him.
After realizing that Yan Song's physical condition was very bad, Dr. Li immediately planned to inform Yan Shifan of the news, but later gave up after Yan Song's repeated requests.
Not only that, Yan Song also made Dr. Li swear in front of him not to reveal his physical condition to anyone!
At that time, only the maid was present in the room. When Yan Song saw this, he simply asked her to be responsible for decoction for him.
Except for the maid, no one in the Yan family knew about this!
Time passed slowly in Yan Song's memories. When Yan Song came back to his senses, the bowl of soup on the table was no longer as hot as before.
Then, Yan Song picked up the bowl, raised his neck, and drank the soup in one gulp.
"It's so bitter!"
The night passed in the blink of an eye, and Yan Shifan got up early the next morning.
Recently, Yan Shifan has been paying close attention to the activities in Qingliu, not daring to relax at all. When Yan Shifan passed by the room where Yan Song was, he still vaguely heard a cough coming from the room.
"Why is my father's cough getting more and more serious? Didn't Dr. Li come to his home for treatment not long ago?"
Without much hesitation, Yan Shifan paused, then went straight to Yan Song's door and knocked on the door.
Along with a knock on the door, the coughing in the room disappeared, and then Yan Song's voice came from the room.
"who?"
"Father, it's me."
Next, after getting Yan Song's permission, Yan Shifan pushed the door straight in.
After Yan Shifan entered the room, he looked at Yan Song, who was sitting next to the desk with a normal expression. His face was full of concern. After carefully considering the words in his mind, he asked.
"Father, your body..."
When Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, he waved his hands indifferently and immediately spoke.
"It's okay, I just didn't get a good rest last night!"
"I have already taken the prescriptions that Dr. Li prescribed to me earlier, and they are very effective. I should be cured soon!"
Seeing that Yan Shifan still had some worry on his face, Yan Song coughed twice and changed the topic.
"By the way, has there been anything unusual at Xu Jie's place recently?"
After Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he thought about it for a moment and then gave a response.
"The people sent by Haer haven't found any useful information yet!"
When Yan Shifan said this, he immediately changed the topic and continued: "But what is certain at present is that Xu Jie must have backup in Jiangxi, and he will never let the food from Jiangxi be transported easily. Arrived in Zhejiang!"
After listening to Yan Shifan's analysis, Yan Song frowned, the look in his eyes dimmed a little, and he immediately spoke.
"It seems that there is no hope for Jiangxi at the moment. Xu Jie has made all preparations before this. He dug a hole and waited for me to jump in, causing me to waste so many precious resources. time!"
"He Xu Jie now only needs to wait quietly for the grain reserves in Zhejiang to be exhausted before he can declare victory!"
After listening to Yan Song's analysis, Yan Shifan suddenly panicked and quickly asked Yan Song about the next countermeasures.
"Then, father, what should we do?"
Yan Song took in the expression on Yan Shifan's face, sighed helplessly, and continued.
"Now that things have happened, we can only try our luck with His Majesty!"
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
In the early morning, Jiajing was sitting in front of the desk, looking at the memorials delivered by the Supervisor of Ceremonies, while Lu Fang was serving Jiajing respectfully as usual.
Jiajing frowned slightly, put aside the half-read memorial in his hand, turned around, pointed at the memorial on the table, and asked Lu Fang.
"Who approved this memorial? How could a memorial like this be sent to me?"
Lu Fang looked in the direction Jiajing pointed, but because the distance was too far, Lu Fang did not see the contents of the memorial too clearly. She only vaguely saw the words "Auspiciousness descends from the sky", "Kilin appears in the world" and other words.
Jiajing didn't wait for Lu Fang to answer, and then continued: "These guys have fooled me as a fool. How come there are so many auspicious things coming from the sky? It's obviously all their little tricks!"
Seeing this, Lu Fang immediately asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, can you show the memorial to your servant?"
"Here, see for yourself!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he picked up the memorial and handed it to Lu Fang.
Lu Fang carefully took the memorial from Jiajing's hand and started browsing the contents.
The content of the memorial is very different from what Jiajing said before, but Lu Fang's focus is not on the content, but on the red comments of the memorial.
Lu Fang looked at the red comments on this memorial, and after thinking about it for a moment, she responded cautiously.
"Your Majesty, this is the approval of eunuch Feng Bao from the eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies!"
After Lu Fang finished speaking, he put the memorial back to its original position, then stepped aside and observed the expression on Jiajing's face without leaving any trace.
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing supported his chin with his hand and said slowly.
"Feng Bao?"
Then, as if he suddenly remembered, Jiajing turned his gaze to Lu Fang and asked.
"By the way, how long has Feng Bao been serving as the Eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies? Has it been a month?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang responded without thinking.
"Your Majesty, Feng Bao has been serving as eunuch Eunuch Bingbi, Supervisor of Ceremonies, for less than a month!"
After listening to Lu Fang's explanation, Jiajing suddenly understood and immediately gave instructions.
"Since Feng Bao has been serving as eunuch Bingbi for less than a month, it is excusable for him to make such a mistake. I will not pursue it this time!"
When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment and then continued to add.
"In addition, let him learn from Huang Jin and stop being irritable all day long. If there is another time, I will never forgive him lightly!"
When Lu Fang heard this, a look of gratitude suddenly appeared on her face, and she responded respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely bring your words to you!"
(End of chapter)
