Inside the Imperial Study Room
Emperor Jing held a pen in his hand and looked at the memorial in front of him without moving.
All kinds of thoughts kept rushing through my mind.
According to the news from the inner guards and Nie Zheng, the prince should have returned a long time ago.
But so far there has been no news about the prince.
Emperor Jing already knew that Li Yuanzhao was hiding in Jianjiang City and probably hanging out with Fang Zheng.
And with Nie Zheng on guard, there is no need to worry.
But as time went by, Emperor Jing began to have doubts in his heart.
The feeling of unease is getting stronger and stronger.
The prince has been away for too long this time.
For some reason, Li Yuanzhao's face always flashed through Emperor Jing's mind from time to time.
Guo Tianyang looked at Emperor Jing in a daze and sighed in his heart, having guessed 80% of it.
Seeing that the tea in Emperor Jing's hand had been left for a long time, he immediately changed it to a cup of hot tea.
After a long time, Emperor Jing put down his pen and sighed.
"I want to go south."
"ah?"
Guo Tianyang was dumbfounded!
Go south! What's going on all this way, more than ten days south?
The prince has been led astray, and so has His Majesty?
Emperor Jing glared at Guo Tianyang: "Ah what! I said I want to go south!"
Guo Tianyang's voice was tight and he asked, "Your Majesty, why? If you leave, what will happen if there is no leader in the court?"
Emperor Jing was silent for a while: "There is no war in the country, and all other matters will be left to the cabinet."
"I can rest assured that Jianjiang, the land of the Three Prefectures, will be left to Fang Zheng, but the other two places cannot be compromised."
"What Yang Yingcai said makes sense. If improper local handling leads to civil unrest, it will be my fault."
"Prince Jiao Zhao, this matter concerns the royal family's face. If the new law fails to provide disaster relief, then how should I face my ancestors?"
"I have to make this trip in person. You go and make arrangements in advance."
Good reason.
You have said so, what else can we say.
Guo Tianyang really doesn't want to bother.
As I get older, it’s uncomfortable to ride in a car. When I go out, I feel like my bones will fall apart.
The emperor misses his son, what can he do?
Guo Tianyang leaned over and said, "Do you need me to go to the cabinet and report it?"
Once you have made a decision, your thoughts are clear.
Emperor Jing picked up his pen and continued to review the memorial. He said without raising his head: "Go ahead."
.........
Guo Tianyang arrived at the cabinet and completed the notification. To his surprise, the cabinet elders did not quarrel.
They all nodded in agreement maintaining a tacit understanding.
Li Yansong sighed: "Your Majesty... are you in a good mood?"
Guo Tianyang smacked his lips and thought for a while: "General."
Li Yansong then asked again: "Long time no see, Prince. Where is he?"
Guo Tianyang smiled and said, "His Royal Highness is not in the capital."
All the pavilion elders sighed and shook their heads.
If he didn't run away, he must have gone to fool around with Fang Zheng and his gang, and he still can't get him back.
In addition to personally supervising the disaster relief situation, His Majesty would go to see the prince.
Li Yansong said cautiously: "But with Fang Zhengyi?"
Seeing that the conversation was open, Guo Tianyang stopped hiding it.
"I don't know, but where else can I be except with your nephew! His Highness is with him every day in the capital."
Then he leaned into Li Yansong's ear and said, "Mr. Li, your nephew is too bold. Please take care of him in the future."
"Don't let this lawless temper spoil the prince."
"I......"
Li Yansong opened his mouth and looked at Guo Tianyang in surprise, and said angrily: "What! Isn't this matter impossible to handle? How many times do I have to say it, I am not his uncle!"
Unexpectedly, Guo Tianyang left without hearing what he said. Before leaving, Wink turned around and smiled evilly: "I understand!"
"Boom!" Li Yansong hit his head hard on the table.
"What a sin!!!"
"Hey! Mr. Li, don't overthink it! If you have anything to say, talk to me." Zheng Qiao quickly jumped down from his seat and grabbed Li Yansong.
Li Yansong raised his head, looked at Zhang Dongxiang and Zheng Qiao, and said expressionlessly: "You are his second uncle and third uncle, why do you only mention me?"
"Ah... Li Gong, you are dizzy! Take a rest quickly."
Li Yansong rubbed his forehead and sighed: "I'm not unconscious! Let's get down to business. It will take at least a month for Your Majesty to leave and come back again. We need someone to accompany you!"
"I'm not going, I feel sick when I see Fang Zhengyi! tUi!"
Zheng Qiao said worriedly: "Your Majesty will be gone for a month, is that okay?"
Li Yansong waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, there's nothing big going on now. Even big things can't be bigger than the royal family's face."
"If the work-for-relief program really fails, what should His Majesty do and how should he face the courtiers?"
Zheng Qiao thought for a while: "Then let me accompany your Majesty."
"Okay, his second uncle!"
Zheng Qiao's face suddenly stretched. He looked sideways and saw Zhang Dongxiang laughing.
Zheng Qiao stared at him hatefully: "Don't make trouble!"
.........
The emperor's southern tour was a big event.
Fortunately, many people have a tacit understanding and this trip went extremely smoothly.
After only a few days of preparation, we set off in a grand way.
In addition to the accompanying ministers, countless factory guards had previously explored the road.
The preparations were extremely thorough, but the huge crowd undoubtedly slowed down the pace.
For twenty days, the emperor visited Yunlu Mansion in person.
Yunlu Mansion is adjacent to Jianjiang, and Emperor Jing and his party were still some distance away from the city, so Magistrate Yunlu led a group of people out of the city to greet them.
Obviously the situation was urgent. Magistrate Yunlu and Tongzhi fell to their knees panting.
"I, Du Shun, the magistrate of Yunlu, come to see Your Majesty!"
Emperor Jing had no expression on his face and said calmly: "Get down."
The sight of the victims along the way was shocking, and Emperor Jing was always sulky in his heart.
Emperor Jing got off the carriage and said slowly: "It's not far from the city."
Du Shun was sweating coldly.
I complained in my heart that there was no notice! Why did His Majesty pay a sudden private visit? If the people below hadn't seen it, I wouldn't know what went wrong today!
He whispered: "Back to Your Majesty, it's not far, only two cups of tea away."
"Well, okay, then I'll take a walk."
"Please be quiet and disperse! Don't disturb the people!"
Emperor Jing walked in front of Du Shun, heading towards Yunlu City.
Along the way, he kept looking at his surroundings.
At the same time, he asked: "Yunlu Mansion, how is the disaster situation handled?"
Du Shun said: "Your Majesty, everything is in good condition now and disaster relief is being carried out in an orderly manner."
"The gathering of victims towards Yunlu City has stopped long ago and will no longer increase."
"A total of forty-eight disaster relief porridge tents have been set up in the city. Two meals a day can keep the people full."
"Uh... the granary... the granary minister has sent heavy troops to guard it! Anyone who dares to covet food will be beheaded. There will definitely be no problem!"
"Relief for work, part of the money has been allocated to start renovating the government office."
"Roads and dams... are also being planned and constructed."
Emperor Jing didn't speak, nothing could be seen on his expression, and Du Shun became more and more nervous.
Unknowingly, a group of people had arrived near the soup kitchen outside the city...
