Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Inside the Imperial Study,

Emperor Jing held a brush in his hand, staring at the memorial before him, unable to move.

Various thoughts churned in his mind.

According to the information sent back by the inner guards and Nie Zheng, the Crown Prince should have returned long ago.

However, there was still no news of the Crown Prince.

Emperor Jing already knew that Li Yuanzhao was hiding in Jianjiang City, most likely mixed up with Fang Zheng.

Moreover, with Nie Zheng guarding him, there should be no need to worry.

However, as time passed, Emperor Jing began to harbor doubts.

The feeling of unease grew stronger.

The Crown Prince had been away for too long this time.

For some reason, the face of Li Yuanzhao kept flashing in Emperor Jing's mind from time to time.

Guo Tianyang watched Emperor Jing in a daze, sighing inwardly, already guessing what was going on.

Seeing that the tea beside Emperor Jing's hand had been left for a long time, he immediately replaced it with a cup of hot tea.

After a long while, Emperor Jing put down his brush and sighed.

"I want to go south."

"Ah?"

Guo Tianyang was dumbfounded!

Go south! Such a long journey, what's the point of going south for more than ten days?

The Crown Prince has been led astray, and now His Majesty too?

Emperor Jing glared at Guo Tianyang: "What 'ah' are you 'ah'ing about! I said I want to go south!"

Guo Tianyang's throat tightened, and he asked: "Your Majesty, why? If you leave, what will happen to the court without a leader?"

Emperor Jing was silent for a while: "With no wars, leave all other matters to the Grand Secretariat to handle."

"Of the three prefectures, I am relieved to leave Jianjiang to Fang Zheng, but the other two places must not be lost."

"Yang Yingcai is right, if the local authorities handle things improperly and cause civil unrest, then it will be my fault."

"The Crown Prince forged an edict, this matter concerns the face of the royal family, if the new method of disaster relief fails, then how will I face my ancestors?"

"This trip must be taken by me personally, you go and make arrangements in advance."

What a good reason.

Now that you've said so, what else can I say?

Guo Tianyang really didn't want to bother.

He was old, and riding in a carriage was uncomfortable. Going out once felt like his bones would fall apart.

The Emperor missed his son, what could he do?

Guo Tianyang bowed and said: "Then does this servant need to report to the Grand Secretariat?"

Once the decision was made, his mind was clear.

Emperor Jing picked up his brush and continued to review the memorials, without even raising his head: "Go."

.........

Guo Tianyang went to the Grand Secretariat and finished the notification. Unexpectedly, the Grand Secretaries did not argue.

They all nodded in tacit agreement.

Li Yansong sighed: "Is His Majesty... in good spirits?"

Guo Tianyang smacked his lips, thought for a while: "So-so."

Immediately following, Li Yansong asked again: "The Crown Prince has not been seen for a long time, where is he?"

Guo Tianyang smiled and said: "His Highness is not in the capital."

The Grand Secretaries sighed and shook their heads.

There was no escape, he must have gone to mess around with Fang Zheng, and they couldn't bring him back.

Then the Emperor, apart from personally supervising the disaster relief situation, was either going to find the Crown Prince.

Li Yansong cautiously said: "Could it be with Fang Zheng?"

Seeing that the conversation had started, Guo Tianyang didn't hide anything.

"I don't know, but besides being with your nephew, where else could he be! In the capital, His Highness is with him every day."

Then he leaned close to Li Yansong's ear: "Lord Li, your nephew is too bold, please take care of him more in the future."

"Don't let this lawless nature corrupt the Crown Prince."

"I ......"

Li Yansong opened his mouth wide and looked at Guo Tianyang in surprise, angrily saying: "What! Is this matter not over yet! How many times do I have to say it, this old man is not his uncle!"

Unexpectedly, Guo Tianyang left before he finished speaking, turning his head back before leaving and giving a wink, a charming smile: "I understand!"

"Thump!" Li Yansong's head slammed heavily on the table.

"What a sin! ! !"

"Hey! Lord Li, don't be discouraged! Let's talk things over calmly." Zheng Qiao hurriedly jumped down from his seat and pulled Li Yansong.

Li Yansong raised his head and looked at Zhang Dongxiang and Zheng Qiao, expressionless: "You are his second and third uncles, why only mention this old man."

"Ah, this... Lord Li, you're confused! Quickly rest for a while."

Li Yansong rubbed his forehead and sighed: "This old man is not confused! Let's talk about serious matters, with His Majesty leaving for at least a month, we need someone to accompany him!"

"This old man is not going, I feel disgusted just seeing Fang Zheng! tui!"

Zheng Qiao worriedly said: "His Majesty will be gone for a month, will it be okay?"

Li Yansong waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, there's nothing major happening now. Even the biggest thing is not bigger than the face of the royal family."

"If the work-for-relief program really fails, then what will His Majesty do, and how will he face the court officials?"

Zheng Qiao thought for a while: "Then I'll accompany His Majesty on this trip."

"Okay, his second uncle!"

Zheng Qiao's face immediately turned long, and he glanced sideways, Zhang Dongxiang was chuckling beside him.

Zheng Qiao glared at him hatefully: "Don't mess around!"

.........

The Emperor's southern tour was undoubtedly a major event.

Fortunately, many people had a tacit understanding, and this trip went extremely smoothly.

After only a few days of preparation, they set off in a mighty and grand manner.

In addition to the accompanying ministers, countless factory guards scouted the way in advance.

The preparations were extremely thorough, but the large crowd undoubtedly slowed down the speed.

After a full twenty days, the Emperor personally arrived at Yunlu Prefecture.

Yunlu Prefecture was adjacent to Jianjiang. Emperor Jing and his party were still some distance away from the city when the Yunlu Prefect led a group of people out of the city to greet them.

Obviously, the situation was urgent. The Yunlu Prefect and his assistant knelt on the ground, panting.

"Your subject, Du Shun, Prefect of Yunlu, kowtows to Your Majesty!"

Emperor Jing was expressionless and said lightly: "Rise."

The sight of the disaster victims along the way was shocking, and Emperor Jing's heart was filled with anger.

Emperor Jing got off the carriage and said slowly: "It's not far from the city from here, right?"

Du Shun was sweating profusely.

He complained in his heart, there was no notification! Why did His Majesty suddenly make a private visit! If the people below hadn't seen it, who knows what kind of trouble would have occurred today!

He said in a low voice: "Returning to Your Majesty, it's not far, only about the distance of two cups of tea."

"Mm, good, then I'll take a walk."

"You all keep your movements small and disperse! Do not disturb the people!"

Emperor Jing walked in front of Du Shun, walking towards Yunlu City.

He kept looking around at the surrounding environment.

At the same time, he opened his mouth and asked: "Yunlu Prefecture, how is the disaster situation being handled?"

Du Shun said: "Returning to Your Majesty, the situation is good now, and disaster relief is being carried out in an orderly manner."

"The disaster victims gathering towards Yunlu City have also stopped, and are no longer increasing."

"A total of forty-eight disaster relief porridge sheds have been set up in the city, providing two meals a day, which can fill the people's stomachs."

"Uh.. The granary.. This subject has already sent heavy troops to guard the granary! Anyone who dares to embezzle grain will be beheaded, and there will definitely be no problems!"

"The work-for-relief program, a portion of the silver has now been allocated to begin renovating the prefectural government office."

"Roads, dams... are also being planned and constructed."

Emperor Jing didn't speak, and nothing could be seen on his expression, Du Shun became even more nervous.

Unknowingly, the group had already walked to the vicinity of the porridge shed outside the city......