I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 94 Dong Chong’s Worries

Tian Feng, who was at the center of the storm, was not unprepared for his situation.

But he still found himself underestimating potential opponents.

South of Henan is Nanyang. Since entering Jingzhou, he has selected a few smart people from the accompanying team and sent them to various places in groups.

Considering that the strangers were too conspicuous in the village, they pretended to be Wang Rui or Zhuge Xuan's Langya relatives and passed by.

If there is any disharmony, it can also directly reveal the identity of the messenger.

The patrolling party was, after all, the envoys of the imperial court, representing the emperor. If someone really dares to attack an angel, no matter what the reason is, it is definitely not something that can be easily uncovered, and it is only slightly better than direct rebellion.

After Tian Feng went to Jiangling to deliver the edict, people sent to various places reported back one after another.

Although some faced difficulties, and one of them was even arrested as a thief by the rural police, in the end everyone came back in good health.

Tian Feng brought news about Nanyang County, Nan County, and Jiangxia County.

The northernmost Nanyang County is home to many of the founding dignitaries, and its situation is not much different from that of Jizhou.

But the place further south is much more chaotic than Jizhou.

Although the wealthy families in Jizhou would also build high-walled courtyards and high-rise buildings to look out over the surrounding areas, they would often find retainers and knights to act as guards, and they would not dare to go too far.

The clans in Nanjun and Jiangxiajun, on the other hand, almost openly armed their villages on the grounds of preparing themselves against the barbarian invaders.

This gave Tian Feng a lot of knowledge.

Tian Feng combined what he saw with his own eyes along the way. Although he had not yet had time to learn the news about the four counties in Jingnan, he guessed that it would not be much different from Jiangxia County in Nanjun.

However, Tian Feng also understood the goal of his trip. Although he thought this was a hidden danger, it was not something he had to worry about now. He could write a memorial after returning.

Since Tian Feng entered the dynasty, he has seen domineering nobles and eunuchs in power. Fortunately, eunuchs and their followers cannot cover up the sky with one hand, and virtuous ministers can still compete with them.

From what he saw, this matter involved practical matters and would definitely attract attention.

According to the usual practice, the county should collect the accounting data for the year in September, and send accounting officials to deliver the results to Luoyang in October.

Even if it's later this year, it won't be around September or October.

These two months have been Tian Feng's inspection time.

The key point is whether the township officials have oppressed the poor people.

"Tian Yushi, where should we go next?" The person who spoke was named Chen Zhuan. He was originally a village chief responsible for the management of the twenty guards accompanying him. He originally had no hope of promotion and hoped to take this opportunity to establish a relationship with a promising person like Tian Feng.

Tian Feng knew that it would be impossible to visit all the counties in Jingzhou in more than two months, but he had to visit the seven counties in Jingzhou.

He said: "Our people have only gone to the counties in the northwest of Jiangxia County, not deep enough. Now we should go east to the south of Jiangxia, and then turn to Changsha to inspect Jingnan."

Chen Zhuan also took a look at the local armed forces. He suggested meaningfully: "Ten years ago, the Jiangxia barbarians united with the Lujiang thieves to rebel. You should be cautious before leaving. The safest way is to contact the governor and ask him to Send county soldiers to escort you. Although my two soldiers are elite and can guard against ordinary thieves, they are unfamiliar with the place. Once the barbarians are provoked, they may be hard to resist in large numbers."

Tian Feng shook his head: "If we take the county soldiers with us, I'm afraid we will go to many places in vain. But it is really not appropriate to conduct separate inspections like in Nanyang. We should take the main road and show the flag."

According to Tian Feng's original thoughts, he was not willing to be so upright during inspections. Only by acting in secret could he better understand the real situation.

However, the current situation in Jingzhou was like this. Although he didn't think anyone would dare to risk the disdain of the world to attack the angel, he had to take precautions.

Chen Zhuan pointed to the map and asked: "To go to Jiangxia from here, you can go straight to Jiangxia Jinling County, or you can go east along Yunmeng Daze and pass through Nanjun Huarong County and turn into Jiangxia. Which way does Tian Yushi want to go? "Way?" "Let's go from Huarong. When we leave Jiangxia for Changsha, we won't pass through Nanjun."

……

Luoyang.

Ever since Dong Zhong saw Liu Bian smiling at him on the first day he was in office, he always felt that Liu Bian was going to take the opportunity to cause trouble for him.

Especially when he saw that whenever Liu Bian proposed any measures, He Miao would do nothing. Ding Gong, Fan Ling, and Lu Zhi all acted like the prince made sense.

Even if there was a discussion, Dong Zhong couldn't get in the middle of the conversation. He Miao, who was also unable to speak, could still remain calm, but Dong Zhong only felt that he was like an outsider.

Under this atmosphere, Dong Chong felt very at ease for the next few days.

Originally, he had made bold promises in front of Empress Dowager Dong, planning to cause some trouble for Liu Bian in Yuntai Palace, but now he was afraid that Liu Bian would come back to trouble him.

He realized that there was no Queen Mother to protect him now. If something happened, everything would be over when the Queen Mother came back.

Dong Zhong simply stopped his activities.

But as an ordinary minister, he couldn't just claim to be sick and hide at home instead of going to Yuntai Palace!

Dong Chong couldn't hide, so he could only be wary and cautious every day to prevent Liu Bian from causing trouble for him.

As time passed, Dong Zhong didn't wait until Liu Bian really caused trouble for him, and he felt that he couldn't bear it anymore.

Among the ten permanent attendants, Zhang Rang accompanied the emperor on his tour. The one who is now in charge of Yuntai Palace is Guo Sheng. In Dong Chong's heart, he is a die-hard prince's party.

Sun Zhang, who originally discussed matters with Dong Zhong, also followed Empress Dowager Dong eastward.

Dong Chong then went to discuss countermeasures with Duan Gui, the official of Zhongchang Palace, who was close to Yongle Palace.

The ten constant attendants were on guard to help each other. Duan Gui had not heard anywhere that the prince wanted to attack Dong Chong. He did not know why and asked: "How did the general know that the prince wanted to punish the general?"

Dong Chong opened his mouth, but he couldn't tell the specific reason. He could only say: "I offended the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince will definitely take revenge on me while the Queen Mother is away."

It cannot be said that what Dong Zhong said is unreasonable. Duan Gui consoled him: "Nowadays, there is constant communication between the palace and Xing Zai. Even if the prince wants to punish the general, he will not go too far. Don't worry, general. If the general is imprisoned, he will not go too far." I will definitely send a message to the Empress Dowager on behalf of the general."

Dong Zhong felt a little relieved.

But he didn't know that after he left, Duan Gui changed hands and sold him.

After Zhang Rang left, the Shi Changshi who stayed in Luoyang were headed by Zhao Zhong. Duan Gui quickly told Zhao Zhong and others about the situation.

Then they were faced with a choice, whether to tell the prince about this.

Guo Sheng hoped to make a contribution to Liu Bian with this incident.

But Duan Gui just wanted to share the matter with the ten ministers. He was worried that once the prince knew about the matter and targeted Dong Zhong, if Dong Zhong found out that he failed to keep the secret, he might wait until the Queen Mother came back. Tough luck.

After all, he was apparently close to Yongle Palace and Liu Xie.

(End of this chapter)