Yang Dong rubbed his sore waist and returned to his residence.
Just as I was about to catch up on my sleep, I heard the singing of orioles outside the window.
The expression on his face changed slightly, he put on his coat and hurried to the back of the Imperial Garden.
There is a plum garden in the southwest corner of the Imperial Garden. Yang Dong stopped under the crooked plum tree against the wall. Seeing that there was no one around, he bent down and dug out a secret letter from the soil.
Returning to his residence, he opened the secret message.
The secret message was short, but its content made Yang Dong sneer.
Well, this old guy, Uncle Zhang, is quite well informed. After knowing that I was valued by the Empress, she arranged tasks for me non-stop.
Although you were the one who sent me to the Great Zhou Palace, who do you think I don’t know about you?
I, this bastard prince, am just a tool in your eyes?
However, the information given by this old guy is somewhat valuable. A small grain transport official dared to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dan of grain. No one will believe what you say behind your back!
And the Empress, the emperor, is not very good at being a queen! Thanks to her diligent review of memorials all day long, the corrupt officials under her nose could not even see her. If I were her, wouldn't I kill myself with a piece of tofu?
But having said that, since this information is in my hands, I have to find a way to get the best interests for myself. At least... I have to let my waist rest for two days, otherwise I will really become a exhausted cow...
After burning the secret letter, Yang Dong fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.
In the dream, he had a turbulent relationship with the queen again, but in the blink of an eye, the queen beneath him turned into an empress.
The queen's flattery was placed on the empress's majestic face, and coupled with the initiative to throw herself into her arms, how could Yang Dong endure it?
Just as he was about to get on his horse, Yang Dong was awakened by a rapid knock on the door.
"Eunuch Yang, it's time to go to the morning court!"
…
Go up in the morning,
Yang Dong yawned several times and stayed behind the empress listlessly.
The empress also knew that the boy was exhausted last night, so she didn't say much.
She glanced at the ministers under the hall, her eyes filled with coldness and majesty.
"My dear friends, do you have anything to say?"
The ministers were silent, all looking at Lin Chunqiu, the chief minister of the dynasty.
Lin Chunqiu glanced at Yuan Dao, the censor. Yuan Dao immediately stepped out of the queue, bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I sincerely request the impeachment of Luozhou Prefect Han Zheng!"
As soon as this statement came out, the officials were in an uproar.
Han Zheng, the state herdsman of Luozhou, has a clear mind and works for the people. He has an excellent reputation among the people. He is one of the few honest ministers in the court.
The empress frowned slightly and asked coldly:
"Yuan Dao, I heard that Han Zhoumu has a good reputation and manages Luochuan in an orderly manner. Why do you want to impeach Han Zheng?"
Yuan Dao seemed not to hear the coldness in the empress's tone, but continued to bow:
"Ten years ago, there were continuous heavy rains in Luozhou, causing floods in Qinghe River, which affected most of Luozhou. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, their families were destroyed, and their lives were destroyed. How tragic! However, Han Zheng neither opened the warehouse to release grain, nor sent anyone to provide disaster relief! "
"This guy has even issued a military order. Anyone who opens a granary without authorization will be killed without mercy!"
"Your Majesty, how innocent are those people in Luozhou? They are all my subjects in the Great Zhou Dynasty. I cannot do anything to save them even if they die!"
After saying this, Yuan Dao's eyes turned red and he burst into tears.
He howled loudly, knelt heavily in front of the empress, and said at the top of his lungs:
"Your Majesty, Han Zheng embezzled food and grass and refused to save him! Your Majesty, Yuan Dao, swears to impeach this man! I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an order to put Han Zheng to death to calm the people!"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the officials changed again.
The Minister of War and the Minister of Hubu came out together and both knelt in front of the empress.
"Your Majesty, Li Mo, begs your Majesty to execute Han Zheng to appease the people!"
"Your Majesty, Hu Guang, implores your Majesty to execute Han Zheng to comfort all the people!"
The empress glanced at the three of them coldly, her face even more chilly. She knows best about Han Zheng's character. She even guessed the reason why Han Zheng refused to open the warehouse to store grain.
Nowadays, grain merchants are rampant in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If Han Yangzheng opens a warehouse at will, the grain will most likely fall into the pockets of the grain merchants, who will then raise the price wildly and make a lot of money.
Moreover, she believed that Han Zheng would never take any action as Yuan Dao said.
As soon as she thought of this, the empress immediately spoke:
"Let's not care about Han Zheng for the moment. The top priority is the flood in Luochuan. Dear sirs, do you have any countermeasures?"
When Yuan Dao and the others heard this, their expressions became slightly stiff.
They spent so much time talking, but the Empress was indifferent?
Yuan Dao immediately knelt down again and cried bitterly:
"Your Majesty, please don't let Han Zheng go! If we don't get rid of him, it may be difficult to quell the public's anger!"
"presumptuous!"
The empress shouted coldly, her face stern.
"Yuan Aiqing, do you want to make the decision for me?"
"Wei Chen doesn't dare!"
Yuan Dao's expression changed, and cold sweat instantly soaked his temples. He knelt on the ground with a plop, kowtowing like pounding garlic.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I just thought about the people of Luozhou and I was confused for a moment."
"Your Majesty, please punish me. I am extremely frightened!"
Yang Dong watched the farce with a sneer on his lips.
This Yuan Dao is indeed not a good bird. He kept saying that he was doing it for the people, but he kept targeting Han Zheng. As soon as the empress did not agree to deal with Han Zheng, he immediately threatened to resign. What a shame! I just don’t know how the empress will handle this matter.
Yang Dong looked at the empress, but saw that her expression was as usual and she was not angry because of Yuan Dao's words.
The empress ignored Yuan Dao, but her eyes fell on Lin Chunqiu, the chief assistant.
"What do Lin Aiqing think?"
Lin Chunqiu immediately stepped out of the queue, pondered for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty, I believe that the top priority is the people of Luochuan. Disaster relief is a matter of human life. The Ministry of Revenue should take the lead and immediately allocate grain and grass to Luochuan."
Yang Dong was surprised when he said this.
What's going on? Aren't Lin Chunqiu and Yuan Dao the same person? Why should he speak for the empress?
Did I guess wrong?
After Lin Chunqiu finished speaking, Yuan Dao and the others did not object.
As if they had rehearsed it well, they all praised it.
"It's still the chief assistant who always carries the burden and thinks of the people!"
"It really makes us ashamed. Your Excellency, the Chief Assistant, is worthy of being the pillar of my great Zhou Dynasty!"
Only Hu Guang, the minister of household affairs, looked troubled and hesitated to speak.
"Does Hu Aiqing have any objections?"
The empress glanced at him and asked.
"Your Majesty, the chief assistant's plan is naturally the best choice. But now the treasury is empty and there is not so much food and grass!"
"Huh? Why is that?"
The empress frowned deeply and continued to ask:
"I remember that I sent a message to the Ministry of Household Affairs a few days ago, saying that we have had good harvests every year during the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why do you tell me now that the treasury is empty?"
"Hu Guang, do you know that the crime of deceiving the emperor will punish the nine tribes?"
Hu Guang immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic.
"Your Majesty will atone for his sins, but I don't dare!"
"To be honest, in recent years there have been bumper harvests, and the national treasury is indeed full. But... General Yang Yanchen and millions of soldiers on the border consume more than 100,000 shi of food every month. Most of the food and grass are consumed in On the way!"
"Therefore, the national treasury actually has no food to adjust... Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"
The empress frowned. She had read the account books of the household department. She knew that the frontier army was spending a lot of money. But she didn't expect that the treasury would have no surplus food!
"Lin Aiqing, what do you think about this matter?"
Lin Chunqiu seemed to have expected that the empress would ask questions. His old spirit was there and he said calmly:
"I believe that the people are greater than the sky, so I should mobilize food and grass for the border army to help Luozhou's urgent needs!"
