I can't afford to mess with the concubine doctor

Chapter 44
The Gangneung dam burst.

Although this era has never appeared in history, its geographical location is roughly similar to that of ancient China. There are two important rivers, the Jiangling River and the Jianghuai River, running through the territory. The Jiangling River is located in the prosperous Jiangnan area and is an important local In order to prevent the flooding of the river during the flood season and provide sufficient irrigation water for the downstream farmland, during the prosperous period of the previous dynasty, an emperor built the Jiangling dam with the power of the whole country. , For more than 200 years, it has been reinforced from time to time, and there has never been any problem. How could it burst suddenly?
"A good embankment, why did it suddenly burst? What does Zhou Ji do for food!" The emperor sternly shouted, and threw the report in his hand to the ground, all the officials were frightened and knelt down, begging the emperor to appease his anger.

Where can I calm my anger?

The dam burst, and the farmland and houses in the lower reaches of the Jiangling River were all submerged in the flood, turning into a vast ocean. Countless people were washed away by the flood, and their whereabouts were unknown. The hundreds of tons of grain to be harvested disappeared in an instant... In short, the situation is very serious.

After that, Qu Liancheng calmed down, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Red Lotus Sect has been rampant in the south of the Yangtze River in the past year. Although the imperial court has sent troops to eradicate it several times, it has not achieved the effect of eradicating the weeds. My humble opinion , Could it be that those rebellious parties did this to retaliate against the imperial court?"

In recent years, the emperor has built a palace on a large scale, laboring the people and wasting money, thereby increasing taxes and causing dissatisfaction among many people. After that, an organization called the Red Lotus Sect gradually emerged among the people. The leader of this organization, Chen Xiucheng, was a teacher. Under his leadership, the Red Lotus Sect grew stronger day by day, doing more things to rob the rich and help the poor, and was deeply supported by the people. Because most of its followers had dual identities, and they were good at using unexpected tricks, not only were they not wiped out by the court, On the contrary, there is gradually a tendency to contend with the imperial court.

What Qu Liancheng said clarified the problem, and many officials echoed, asking the emperor to send troops to destroy the Red Lotus Sect immediately, so as to avoid future troubles.

The emperor naturally agreed with this, and immediately ordered Qu Lian to become a general, and let Zuo Qingfeng, a general under Murongli's command, be the deputy general to lead an army of [-] to destroy the Red Lotus Sect. He was escorted to Beijing for trial, and immediately ordered the Minister of the Household Department to collect food, tents, quilts and other materials and transport them to the disaster area to solve the urgent need.

But this is only a temporary solution. Although the breach of the embankment will not cause all the people in the lower reaches of the Jiangling River to be affected, there are still three to four out of ten. The lower reaches are rich in land and relatively densely populated. If you calculate it carefully, it is not a small number. In the past few years, the emperor has built a palace extensively, and the treasury is already empty. It is already stretched to take out so much food all of a sudden. If he wants to deal with the aftermath, he will be powerless.

Since the emperor ascended the throne, he had never encountered such a serious disaster, and he had a lot of headaches. After some discussions, the ministers proposed to send imperial envoys to the Jiangling area with the first batch of relief food allocated by the imperial court, so as to use the thunderbolt method. Strictly control the crazy rise in rice prices, and then dispatch grain from other areas with abundant grain reserves.

Judging from the current situation, this is undoubtedly the best choice. The emperor thought for a moment, rubbed his sore temple and asked, "If you want to send an imperial envoy, who do you think is more suitable?"

The capital is far away from Jiangling, and the huge amount of food in custody will definitely slow down the pace. No one can guarantee to what extent the situation in the disaster area will spread when they arrive, so the imperial envoys must be high-ranking and resolute. People, otherwise they can't control the situation at all.

Hearing the emperor's words, the officials discussed in whispers for a while, and then Prime Minister Zuo said: "Reporting to the emperor, the governor of Liangjiang has been dismissed and investigated. There is a group of dragons without a leader in Jiangling. If the imperial envoy is appointed by ordinary ministers, it is bound to be overwhelming. To live in the scene, the veteran believes that members of the royal family need to sit in the town."

Prime Minister Zuo was the elder of the two dynasties, and he won the trust of the officials. After he finished speaking, several other ministers responded one after another.

These words are very pertinent, and the emperor also thinks it makes sense, but on the issue of who to send, he has encountered difficulties. The first emperor did not have many heirs, and only three sons survived to adulthood, and the other two were defeated in the fight for the throne. In the hands of the current emperor, it is useless to be imprisoned in the clan's mansion, and most of his sons have only inherited Xujue, and they are not useful. Only Prince Murong Jing and Mausoleum Prince Murong Li met the requirements.

These two people have been fighting openly and secretly all year round. Although the emperor didn't say anything, his heart was like a mirror. Moreover, the purpose of sending the imperial envoy this time was not only to provide disaster relief, but also to find out the reason why the dam burst. Zhou Ji, the dismissed Governor of Liangjiang, belonged to Murong Jing If Murong Jing is sent to send important money bags, he will try his best to exonerate Zhou Ji, but if he sends Murong Li, the result will be obvious. Push up at the root, leaving no room for it.

And these are obviously not what the emperor wants to see.

Whether it is the imperial court or the two rivers, there must be no further disturbances.

The emperor is in a dilemma, and Murong Jing and Murong Li are also in a dilemma.

The dignified prince, who has been pampered since he was a child, would be willing to go to a place where the conditions are not only difficult but may cause chaos at any time?
More importantly, they knew very well how suspicious their father was. They didn't deserve much credit for doing this kind of thing well, but if they didn't do it well, it would be a big mistake.

Only fools are willing to go if they are not thankful for their efforts!
However, at a time like this, as a central figure, it is obviously impossible not to make a statement.

After some tangling and weighing, the crown prince Murong Jing spoke first: "Father, the two rivers are seriously affected by the disaster, and there must be no delay. I dare to ask my father to order the Ministry of Households to raise food immediately. My son is willing to serve as an imperial envoy. Personally escort the food to the disaster area, appease the hearts of the people for the emperor, and solve the urgent need."

Murong Jing would say such a thing, so he is not crazy, because as soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry said: "His Royal Highness is the crown prince of a country, and it is related to the country's foundation. How can you personally get involved in a dangerous situation? It is absolutely impossible."

"That's right. His Royal Highness has always been in charge of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Industry. He doesn't know much about the affairs of the Ministry of Households. I'm afraid it's inappropriate."

After that, other officials followed suit one after another. Some of these people belonged to the prince's clique, and some were neutral but thought it was reasonable, which made it difficult for the emperor to judge for a while.

Seeing that the timing was about the same, Murong Jing said again: "My lords are wrong. It is precisely because I am the crown prince that I should share the worries of my father and our Great Xia Dynasty. If you are greedy for life and afraid of death in times of crisis, so what? I am worthy of the father's cultivation for many years." So saying, he gathered his clothes and knelt down, and said solemnly: "I also ask the father to agree to my request, and I will do my best to calm the disaster, appease the hearts of the people, and never insult my life!"

After that, many ministers still objected, but at the same time, those ministers who didn't know what was going on had a much better impression of Murong Jing. After all, they still had the courage to stand out in this chaotic situation, and they didn't have extraordinary courage and courage. It is impossible.

If someone appreciates it, there will be someone who will be resentful. Among those who are resentful, Murong Li will naturally bear the brunt of it. After fighting openly and secretly for so many years, he knows better than anyone that his brother, the emperor, is by no means someone who can devote himself to the country and die. Thinking that he would use this dangerous tactic of dying and reviving, after all, it is only a matter of the emperor's thought to disagree, and if it is self-defeating, there is no way out.

Having said that, Murong Jing has already talked about this point. If he doesn't make a statement, he will definitely displease the emperor, so he bit the bullet and cupped his hands: "Reporting to the emperor, as the adults said, the identity of the prince You are honorable, you must not be in danger, it is better to let the servants serve as imperial envoys, and the servants must fulfill their duties and control the disaster to a minimum."

As Murong Li's words fell, there were naturally ministers from his faction who spoke out against him, but in comparison, there were much fewer voices of objection. For one thing, Murong Li was just a prince, and in terms of status, he was far behind Murong Jing. Second, Murong Li has been in charge of the household department since he entered the court as an official. The household department is related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and it can be regarded as a proper job. In comparison, it can be said that it is a more suitable candidate.

Regarding this, the emperor also had some difficulties. Although Murong Li was a concubine, the emperor had loved Concubine Xu Gui for many years, so he naturally loved his family and his wife. He had no less affection for this son than Murong Li, and the investigation of this case was complicated. If Murong Li insisted on going his own way, the follow-up Inevitably, there are still many troubles...

Isn't there a compromise?

Seeing the emperor frowned deeply, Murong Jing and Murong Li's hearts were raised in their throats, not only worried that the emperor would really agree to their request, but also worried that the emperor would send the other party. The balance will be broken. The person who goes there is naturally extremely dangerous, but even if the other person is tricked, he is not fully sure that he can kill the other person. When the time comes back alive, the follow-up benefits he can get are not only immediate up.

Leng Yuanxun was also in the hall, but from the beginning until now, he has never said a word. He has been watching with cold eyes for so many years. He knows exactly what Murong Jing and Murong Li are. Competing for this extremely risky job, what's more, he doesn't think that this matter was done by the Red Lotus Sect. Although the Red Lotus Sect is against the court, it is actually doing things for the people and will never sacrifice With so many people's lives at the cost of adding obstacles to the imperial court, he had to infer from the details whether it was Murong Jing or Murong Li who did this!

(End of this chapter)