In the dark room, Fuzhou fellow governor Li Tai and general judge Zhang Wenyi both knelt in front of Jiangxi Chief Secretary Yuan Wenqing, bursting into tears.
"Save you? I don't even know how to avoid this disaster!" Yuan Wenqing lowered his voice and said sternly, "At the beginning of the disaster, I specifically told you two not to do anything that would cause trouble, but you two kept agreeing? What happened?
What now?"
"You two are so brave! Even if the disaster relief is not successful, it has also caused a civil uprising. King Wu's imperial envoys are here. Who can protect you?"
"Yuan Fan Si!" Li Tai, a colleague, took a few steps forward and said angrily, "Who knew this disaster was so big and urgent. Besides, the Ming Dynasty was so big, how could there be no natural or man-made disasters? I'm sorry.
Are you going to be caught off guard?"
"Because of what you said, you shouldn't be allowed to be this official!" Yuan Wenqing was furious, "What do you mean there are natural and man-made disasters every year? Then how come there are no accidents in other places, but you have an accident in Fuzhou?"
As he spoke, Yuan Wenqing's expression became gritted, "You don't solve the problem when something happens, and you deliberately conceal it and cover it up layer by layer. You have brought me in and asked me to protect you. Who will protect me?"
"My lord, my lord!" General Judge Zhang Wenyi also stepped forward and begged, "My lord, for the sake of the past low-ranking officials who have tried so hard to fawn over us, you must save us." As he said this, a fifth-rank official,
He even cried out loud, "We have all accepted the dismissal and dismissal of subordinate officials. Don't let the Jin Yiwei take us!"
"I was so blind before that I actually fell in love with you two idiots!" Yuan Wenqing looked at the two people kneeling in front of him, with their buttocks raised like two dogs, and sneered coldly.
Greedy, stupid, and incompetent.
He is extremely courageous when nothing happens, but when something happens he just cries and begs. He is completely useless and useless.
These two people are Yuan Wenqing's local confidants. In recent years, whether they want money or things, these two people have tried their best and did not dare to neglect at all.
Yuan Wenqing was usually very protective of them, but now Yuan Wenqing wanted to kill them immediately to vent his anger.
However, after calming down for a while, Yuan Wenqing knew that now was not the time to kill people. If he killed them, no one would be able to do anything in Fuzhou.
King Wu suppressed his anger because the disaster came first, and he dealt with the victims first and then the officials.
Dealing with officials?
Yuan Wenqing's mind suddenly flashed back to Zhu Yunxi's face, which looked like a smile but was frightening. When King Wu came from the capital, he was definitely going to kill a lot of people.
So who to kill?
He is a third-rank chief secretary of a province in the Ming Dynasty, and he is not without a foothold in the court. I heard that the emperor intends to make the king of Wu the crown prince. The king of Wu has a distinguished status, but there must be a shortage of available people in Jiadai.
So if he has the intention to surrender, King Wu will definitely protect himself and not embarrass himself as the Chief Secretary.
And once the disaster situation improves, I will make some excuses for the old prince and praise the King of Wu. By using King Wu's line, this bad thing may turn into a good thing.
What does King Wu value most? Disaster victims!
After thinking about it for a moment, Yuan Wenqing had something to think about. Looking at the two officials at his feet, his expression suddenly softened, "You guys, get up!"
"Lord Hansi!"
"Get up!" Yuan Wenqing sighed, "You two have followed me all these years, serving you from front to back, and now if something happens, I will naturally protect you!"
Li Tai and Zhang Wenyi were immediately overjoyed.
"The king of Wu cares about the victims. The top priority is that you two must handle the errands well. Whatever he says, do it with all your strength." Yuan Wenqing continued.
"I'll definitely do it!" The two of them agreed quickly.
Although they are not high-ranking officials, they are closely connected in the local area and can unleash great energy. If nothing else, without their approval, recruiting civilian husbands in the countryside will be a big problem.
"However, I have something I want to ask clearly!"
"You say!"
Yuan Wenqing looked outside and lowered his voice again, "What's going on with the sand in the relief food for the victims?"
"This..." The two looked at each other, speechless.
The killing intent in Yuan Wenqing's eyes was fleeting, "The food mixed with sand must be dealt with quickly."
"Sir, the person who did this is a close confidant of the official, the treasurer of the granary of the government office." Li Tai, a colleague, whispered, "Do you want to...?"
"Shut up!" Yuan Wenqing scolded, "What you do is your business, I don't know anything." After saying that, he paused and said, "Did you also use the disaster relief money distributed by the imperial court?"
The two looked at each other again and lowered their heads.
He really dared to touch any money, and Yuan Wenqing wanted to do it now. But he held it back and said slowly, "If you touch anything, make up for it. Not a penny less, and the accounts must be clear!"
"Yes!" Li Tai, a colleague, said quickly, "I'm going to do it right away!"
Yuan Wenqing nodded, seeming a little tired, "Go and complete the tasks assigned by His Highness King Wu!"
"Yes!" The two bowed and slowly retreated.
When they left the door, Yuan Wenqing's face was full of sneers.
King Wu was right. If something happened to Fuzhou, his vassal could not escape responsibility, but the responsibility could be big or small.
For a feudal chief secretary, even if he discovers that local officials are corrupt and harms the people, lining his own pockets, and then promptly corrects the chaos, it is at best a misunderstanding of the people.
As long as you rely on the King of Wu and let the people behind the court exert their strength, this matter will pass easily.
The way to be an official is to cut them off, and the two of them are bound to die anyway. The top priority now is to clear up the relationship before stepping on them again. This made King Wu feel that he was also deceived by these fools because of his inability to provide disaster relief.
Thinking of this, Yuan Wenqing gradually began to think twice.
"Where did Prince Wu go?"
After he finished speaking, a master came out of the side door and said, "Sir, I heard that he went to the grain depot!"
"Come here!" Yuan Wenqing said again, and several senior officers followed him in.
"Let me change my clothes, Master!" Yuan Wenqing said, "Find some older clothes!"
At this moment, Zhu Yunxi was inspecting the grain warehouse. The first batch of military rations allocated by Wuchang had been arrived and neatly stacked in the warehouse.
Military rations are the foundation of the country. In the Ming Dynasty, from the emperor to the ministers, they were all heroes who came out of the turmoil of war. They might turn a blind eye to other things, but they did not dare to be careless about military rations.
Anyone who dares to touch military rations must die!
"Your Highness, the first batch of 150,000 shi of food sent from Wuchang is here!"
Zhu Yunxi, with his hands behind his back, walked in the grain depot and looked around. Behind him, the treasurer of the grain depot of Fuzhou Yamen followed humbly.
He was just a humble official, not an official of the imperial court. If Zhu Yunxi had not come suddenly, he would never have seen the prince of the Ming Dynasty in his life.
Whether it was anxiety or other emotions in his heart, there was cold sweat on the treasurer's head, face, and back at this moment.
"Check it!" Zhu Yunxi ordered to his side.
The words fell with a puff.
Liao Yong took a sharp tool with a slot and inserted it into a sack containing grain, and slowly pulled it out. The slot was filled with crystal clear white rice.
No sand? Zhu Yunxi sneered in his heart. The officials in Fuzhou were not stupid enough to cover up.
The next second, Zhu Yunxi snatched the guy from Liao Yong's hand, squatted on the ground and inserted it directly into the bottom sack of grain.
The feeling of inserting an iron tool into rice is different from that of inserting iron into sand. The greater the resistance, the greater the friction.
Zhu Yunxi slowly pulled it out, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
The iron trough is half rice and half sand.
"Your Highness, spare your life!" The treasurer's clerk knelt down on the spot and shouted in horror, "This food has been placed here since it was shipped, and no one has touched it!"
"You're not crying after seeing the coffin?" Zhu Yunxi sneered twice, "You still want to quibble. Could it be that the military rations were mixed with sand when they were in Wuchang?"
"Your Highness!" The treasurer's clerk shivered, "I really don't know, I really don't know!"
At this time, a guard strode in from outside the granary, "Your Highness, Yuan Fansi wishes to see you."
"Let him in!" Zhu Yunxi said with a cold face, "Look at the good things his officials have done!"
"Your Highness!" Yuan Wenqing saluted respectfully and began to plead guilty as soon as he came in. "Your Highness, please govern your ministers. I am guilty of negligence!"
"After the Fuhe River burst, I arrived at Jianchang Prefecture, which was severely affected by the disaster, overnight. I didn't have time to see it in Fuzhou. I thought the local officials would do their best, but I didn't expect that they were all evil-minded."
"Li Tai, the governor of Fuzhou, and Zhang Wenyi, the general judge, secretly tampered with the victims' food and used it as substandard food to line their own pockets. They even used the disaster relief money distributed by the court."
"Your Highness, I request Your Highness to use the Imperial Order Flag to execute the two men on the spot to calm the people!"
While listening to Yuan Wenqing speak, Zhu Yunxi's eyes kept falling on the grain full of sand.
When he finished speaking, Zhu Yunxi's face showed ridicule, "Oh? An oversight?" Then he cast his eyes on Yuan Wenqing's face, "Yuan Buzheng, do you think Gu is a fool? You came to Fuzhou earlier than Gu, why are you only now?
Do you know that you made an oversight? I just gave you a chance, but instead of reflecting on it, you are now trying to avoid it. This is the way to serve as an official in a province."
As he spoke, Zhu Yunxi threw the grain in his hand directly on the ground, "I was wrong. I underestimated the human heart, underestimated greed, and overestimated your conscience!"
At this time, someone outside the granary said loudly, "Your Highness, Ganzhou Guard Commander Xue Jizu and Fuzhou Magistrate Zhang Shan are asking for an audience."